By George ...

Our little monkey is 7 months old!And it appears that he also has a new friend! Joshua has discovered the pure joy of tickling E-Why! Joshua can make Eli giggle and laugh like no one else can :) I tried to get it on video but J How stops tickling, stares at the camera and says ... CHEESE!!! Where did we get him from?

A Little Pre-Memorial Day Picnic at Joe's ...

With gorgeous weather still hanging around ... our small group decided to grab lunch at Joe's and ENJOY THE AFTERNOON!

Such a fun time ... made complete with a full moon :)  I'm telling you, if he doesn't gain weight soon ... we'll be investing in suspenders.  He was running around the grass area and made a dash towards me as his pants his the ground.  He waddled closer ... "Mom, what happened?  What happened pants?  They fall down??"   

Lucas, Marianne and Noah ... who later joined Eli in a "screech off" ... Marianne and I needed earplugs but the boys seemed to be having the time of their lives!

Abby and Eli

J How practicing his tree climbing trees with Ben.  What is wrong with my non-rule following family members?  Did they not read all the signs that say, "DO NOT CLIMB THE TREES" ... Geez.  It's a lonely place .... stuck with all these rule breakers :)

So close How ... trying to swipe Drew's bucket.  Bummer there were 7 adults watching you ... next time, you'll have to be a bit more sneaky!

The whole crew ... (minus Kenton).

Abby, J How, Ben, Lucas, Andy

Me, Eli, Marianne, Noah, Lindsey and Drew

I suppose it's not the small group to be in if you're going to have a girl??

Drew is 8 weeks older than Eli who is 6 weeks older than Noah ... 

Abby and Kenton ... you're up next :)

 

Do You Think They're Spending Too Much Time Together?

Joshua Howard and his MINI ME!

Rain, Rain ... Go AWAY!

J How had a little something to say about yesterday's weather.  He obviously does not realize that 70 degrees in late May is FANTASTIC and that he'll be begging the rain to come back in just a few days ... but he's two ... what do you expect?

And just in case you need a Joshua translation ... he took this from an episode of Jack's Big Music Show and they changed the words a bit:

Rain, rain go away

Come again another day

The marching band is here to play

Rain, rain go away.

It Was A Rough Day ... He Deserved A Break!

After helping me with a few loads of laundry ...

Joshua was EXHAUSTED! And who could blame him? After all ... stretching your arms to put all those heavy clothes in the machine is hard work. So he did what any overworked two year old would do ... he headed out back for a rest (on a mild 100+ afternoon) ...

And cast his fishing line in the ice blue, tranquil waters of Lake Concrete. Now there's a boy who knows how to relax!

So I Lied ... But Only A Little ...

At his six month appointment, the doctor went through the list of things that a child of that age should be doing ... grasping for things, making eye contact, starting to eat solid foods ... check, check, check. So far, so good. The former teacher in me was getting excited about our 100%!! Then she threw a curve ball. "Is he sitting up?" " Yes," I said confidently. Then, I began fidgeting and looking around. Not wanting my lie exposed, I clarified ... "What do you mean my sitting up?" Umm .. I already have a child. I knew perfectly well what she meant by sitting up but I was hoping she'd give me a loose definition of "sitting" that Eli would fit into. "Well, can he sit - by himself - briefly?" "Oh, okay!" I responded. "Briefly. Sure, he can do that!"One one thousand ...

Two one thousand ...

Three one thousand!

Well, I feel better about confessing that already.

Family Dedication for Eli Bennett ...

J How informed us - on the way to church - that he was a rock and roll star. He was a tad upset that I didn't bring his guitar with us but was quickly distracted when he saw my cell phone. He had an entire pretend conversation with my mom. "I call Bella. Hello, Bella. What you doing, Bella? Go church Bella. Play friends. Go church. Bye Bella." He closed the phone, handed it back to me and told us that Bella - indeed - was coming to church. Phew! Good thing he confirmed that for us!

The crew with Pastor Cal. Eli is looking pretty excited about the whole event! Actually, there were two security guards sitting in a golf cart right in front of us ... Eli was just giving them a bit of an "evil glare" to make sure they didn't get in the picture.

Pastor Cal prayed and all J How was concerned with was that there were two guitars on the stage behind him. This is me - trying to explain to him - in hushed tones to FOCUS on something other than a guitar :)

We committed to raise Eli in a home that is Christ-centered, teach him Scripture, pray for him daily and to show him through our life, our commitment to Christ and the Church. The church then committed to partner with us in our desire to raise godly children, to assist us and support us as we seek to grow and mature in Christ.

Me (wearing ovals - as J How pointed out), GiGi (my grandma), How How (my grandpa), Pap Pap (Ben's dad), Cake (Ben's mom), Eli, Ben (holding Eli's newest friend, Blue), J How (holding Mook) and Bella.

Our first attempt at a Mother's Day photo when we got home. This is me trying my hand at "discipline with a smile" ... okay ... you could also call it bribing ... it didn't work so well.

This is my attempt at "You'll sit here for ONE more photo or else!" More effective!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

An Anniversary Photo Shoot ...

On Saturday, Ben and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. Our trip to Whistler was fantastic! We really got a chance to relax ... we laughed and just enjoyed hanging out with each other. No kiddos, no work, no schedule (I'm sure Ben was most excited about that!!), no alarm clock. Just a great time!

We met up with my cousins who live in the Seattle on our way to the airport. Since John took our wedding pictures, I thought it would be fun to do a small photo session. He used my camera - not nearly as fancy as the one he normally uses - but the boy has serious talent! I tried for 7 days to get a good picture of the two of us. All he told us was to "work the camera" and "relax our shoulders" and I now know why he gets the big bucks!This might be one of the reasons I'm not a professional model. My idea of "hair flowing in the wind" can cause damage to innocent bystanders!

May 10, 2003

May 10, 2008

Not only did we get some great pictures but this garden shop behind us was TO DIE FOR!

John, me and Allison (who can be thanked for giving me my sanity back in regards to decorating the downstairs!) Allison has a degree in interior design and she had GREAT ideas for our room! Very fun to be related to such talent :)

Is It Really Time to Come Home?

Today ... another day jam packed with all sorts of eating!! We walked to "town" to grab a SERIOUSLY delicious hamburger. It wasn't bathing suit temperatures when we left but it was at least slightly sunny. Something must have happened during our meal because by the time we left ... IT WAS FREEZING! And here we are again ... sporting flip-flops! We made a couple of stops at shops as we walked back (just to warm our toes) and I found KILLER deals at The Gap ... $1.97 shirts for the boys. Only problem, they were size 6 and Ben was mocking me (yes, I believe it was full-on mocking) that I would entertain the idea of buying Joshua something 4 years early!! Perhaps he missed that the shirts were only $1.97?? I know ... I need therapy!

We leave tomorrow morning ... drive to Seattle ... meet my cousins for lunch (and shopping) and fly home! My cousin John, took our wedding pictures 5 years ago. He is a fantastic photographer ... so I'm hoping to bribe him to take an anniversary picture of us! You know you have time on your hands when you are reading articles on how to prevent having a double-chin in pictures. I practiced last night ... I'm ready for my close-up!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

One thing you've got to love about Canada ... SPARKLERS! As a kid, I spent summers on Lake Erie (on the Canadian side) and I LOVED going out on the beach, after dark, and waving sparklers all over the place! Who knew that instead of birthday candles ... Ben would get to experience the Canadian's love of sparklers on his birthday!

We were so stuffed after breakfast ... French crepes!

You would think it's the heat of summer here ... give the people a LITTLE sun and next thing you know, they're wearing shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops. Even though yesterday was a few degrees warmer, we thought we'd try to blend in a bit more today and wear flip-flops. Umm ... wrong move! Our feet were freezing! They must have MUCH thicker blood up here than we do!

Farmland in Pemberton ... just north of Whistler.

Birthday dinner ... Ben is hiding his face ... worried that the blogging world has seen too many photos of him with a yummy beverage :)

Happy Birthday, Benni!

Our waitress felt a bit bad that sparklers are illegal in AZ so she gave us a bunch of them! Now all we need is a bonfire to roast marshmallows and it would be a total trip down memory lane!

A Day of Relaxation!

Today ... we kicked it into HIGH relaxation mode. A late breakfast, a yummy lunch, massages ... ahh ... if only everyday would be like this! And ... I for one like that I packed an entire suitcase of clothes and have worn the same thing for 3 days now! I must be worried that it's going to take too much brain power to come up with a different outfit!

And just in case we needed to add a few more calories to our daily intake ... wings, beer, green curry and a delicious dessert!

Ben was giving me a hard time because each time I ask someone to take our picture, it turns out AWFUL! I wanted to ask this one man and Ben told me to stop asking old men who know nothing about technology to take our picture. Okay ... so I asked 2 cute girls instead! I think they did a much better job!

Now it's time to give a call to the home front and check in with the happenings in AZ!

More Whistler Fun ...

I've only been away for a few days and I've already turned over a new leaf ... busting out my athletic side (I worked out yesterday for the first time in 2 years) and kicked Ben's rear in a bit of bobsled competition! Gold for me!

Here is the bronze medal winner drowning his sorrows with a Canadian beverage.

What else is new with the anniversary crew? Well, we've become rule breakers. Whistler is the host city for the 2010 Olympics and we were on the hunt for the different venues. After driving for MILES, we were not going to let a little trespassing sign keep us from the ski jumps!

The security man "caught us" after we drove a few hundred yards and threatened us with jail and large fines! And then realized we were harmless and gave us permission to keep trekking! Phew ...

Another big moment ... I figured out the self-timer on my camera! It only took a year!

Pretending I'm a pro photographer :) Anyone else hearing Bob Ross painting pretty little trees?

Bungee jumping? Ben said he wanted to do this for his 32nd birthday. I believed him. It wasn't until we crossed over the suspension bridge ... and got halfway back that he told me he was kidding.

Yikes! Red hair! I colored my hair - at home - for the first time since high school (when I achieved similar BRIGHT RED results!) I vowed then to never do it again ... but I am such a slow learner! At least I didn't cry this time! I'll go back to more blonde before I turn 31!!