Our final resting place...

We are all moved in and right now I feel like doing this: I will post pictures of our new home when I get some sleep! (The transition has taken its toll on poor Jeffey as well)

"There is no charge for awesomeness"

Nuff said!

Happy Five Birthday Benjamin Peter

Benjamin, I can't believe you are five. For as long as you've been four you have wanted to be five. You are such a great big brother to Jeffey and Lukey. At five, you definately are becoming quite a little man. You are very particular about the way things are and are very methodical and cautious. You like organization and knowing what to expect, however you have patience with your anything but organized mom. You have always been such a good boy, you are obedient and helpful. You are very smart and love to learn. You are starting to learn to read and write and enjoy going to school. Star Wars, anything to do with the ocean and sea, riding bikes, hitting baseballs and playing basketball are among your favorite things. Above all, you love your friends and family. You are so social and love being surrounded by "your people". Also, you are very competitive and love playing games and running races. My favorite thing about you is that you will still cuddle up next to me on the couch and watch a show. We love you so much Ben and are glad you are part of our family.

Last year, fourth birthday.

Three years old.

Second Birthday.

Eating cake at one.

Our first handsome little boy.

March 14, 2004. 8lbs. 5oz. 21 1/2 inches. You make us so happy Benjamin boy.

Ben's Birthday Week

Somehow, we always end up making it a week long event when someone has a birthday in our house. So here is the documentation of Benjamin's: The traditional trip to Toys R Us, Ben got to spend his birthday money from his grandparents and got a really cool lego set. In true Ben fashion he didn't spend it all!

My sister in law told us that their kids get to pick a restaurant on their birthday and we thought it was a fun tradition. It was no question that we were off to IHOP with cousins and Grandma and Papa to celebrate the "real" day. Ben ordered his "usual", ate it all and was full when his sunday came. His family was happy to help him enjoy the treat!

Who doesn't love pancakes with four kinds of syrup?

Sweet Ave enduring being the only girl with Grandma.

Ben's face was completely red when they sang him the birthday song.

Daddy was on shopping duty for the gift this year and came home with a SWEET bike for Bejamin. He is so excited to learn how to ride like his cousin Noah.

A week earlier we had a little party at the park for Ben and 22 of his closet friends! He is quite the social boy and loved having all his people in one place. We ate hot dogs, cupcakes and played. It was such a fun time. When he got home he put all his gifts in one room and opened them one by one, playing with each one and then putting the trash away and starting on another. It took him about an hour and is so indicative of his personality!

Avery and Noah at the party.

I love this picture of Benjamin and his buds. We love Spence and Diego.

We also celebrated Ben's birthday at Grandpa and Grandma's house with our other cousins. We love Caroline!

Grandma came through with the coolest Star Wars cake ever! I was so glad, because making cakes was not high on my list this week. Thank you to all our friends and family who helped celebrate Benjamin turning five!

Gotta Have It...

We love Zingo! If you need a fun game that works with a wide range of ages, head on down to Target and pick up this little treasure. I can lay on the couch and the boys can basically play it by themselves. It has broken up the packing, pottytraining and morning sickness. Oh, and I am loving Zofran right now also, I actually slept last night!

Star Struck

Tonight for date night, Brian and I went to the Suns game. We had fantastic seats (thanks Darin!) and sat just four rows from the court. This may sound nerdy, but coming from a small town Canadian girl, I was star struck, yet again. I never get over how cool it is to live in a city that has so many opportunities to see things like this. I remember watching Shaq on TV in highschool and seeing all the people in the stands and you just didn't think of ever getting to be one of them. Now, here I was sitting so close I could hear the players talk to eachother...amazing!!

Thanks again to Darin and our family for watching the boys. Aside from the rude lady behind me slurring and spitting profanities in my ear, we had a fantastic time.

(Neither of us are too camera savvy, so no pics of us, just The Diesel dunking...maybe next time)

Why I will never drink...

I read something the other day that said at eight weeks pregnant: "You are wondering why you feel hung over all the time and you haven't had a drink in weeks." If this is what is feels like to be hung over, aside from personal convictions, I will never drink!

I thought that with this being the fourth go around I would have this pregnancy thing down. Either I can't remember, or else I have never been this tired before. I wake up, get through the morning and then am back in bed in the afternoon and never quite recover until the next morning. Waves of guilt come over me as I read the blogs of all the fun moms. My poor boys. I think they've logged their lifetime quota of TV and independant playtime. My three year old niece made Luke a sandwhich for lunch today, because I couldn't get off the couch. My poor husband comes home to our partially packed house and does the dishes every night. Ahhhhhhhh!

The nausea has also kicked in and all I feel like it Sprite and smoothies.

However, I just talked to my friend who averaged throwing up 30+ times a day for six months! So I will count my blessings, stop complaining and be grateful to be incubating.

Hangin' at the Gym

Gymnastic classes are keeping us busy on Thursday nights. The boys love it, and Lukey and I love watching from the stands. Go Superoos!

Why Boys Are GREAT...

1. They know how to cheer really loud at sporting events.
2. They get everyone their blankets and stuffed animals for movie time while mommy takes a nap. Ben is the best helper right now.

3. They love to wrestle, with me, their daddy, Grandpas and best of all each other.

4. They give great hugs and kisses.

5. They think newspaper safari hats are really cool.

6. This one likes to stay in his jammies all day long. (Both of which are great ideas!)

My "Other" Blog and the Best Marriage Class Ever!

We just finshed seven weeks of marriage class put on through our church (see "My Faith" section down the sidebar for more info). I had no idea how much better our marriage could be!Brian went dragging his feet (afterall this is just two more hours of classes added to the eight plus he does each week, kinda can't blame the guy), but we both loved the experience. Beacuse of all the information we recieved, I decided to start another blog so I could write down great ideas I get or perspective I gain from people and experiences in my life. I am a terrible journal keeper, so I guess this is kind of a substitute. You can find the link on the sidebar if you want some heavier reading. Feel free to leave me comments if you have heard a great parenting/marriage/survival tip or observed someone who figured something out that needs to be shared. Enjoy "Two Mosquitos In A Tent"!
Warning: To date their are no pictures and it is just my rambling thoughts.