2,556 Days

Seven years old.

Benson had a birthday on March 15th. It's hard to believe how much time has passed since Mike and I became parents on the Ides of March 2004. He actually had to go to school on his birthday this year, which was a first since his birthday usually falls during Spring Break. The girls and I brought cupcakes to his class that were frosted black and then had the Big Dipper on them with white frosting. I'm not sure any of the other kids in his class noticed, but he definitely did. After school he opened his presents from his grandparents (National Geographic for Kids from Grandma Stacey and Despicable Me with Minion Madness from Grandma Kathy). Then he and his sisters proceeded to watch the minion movies and laugh hysterically while I tried to finish decorating the cake. He wanted a Fetch! cake and this is the best I could do. Hopefully it is at least sort of recognizable that it is Ruff Ruffman.
We had our friend's the Horspool's over and grilled yummy hamburgers and hot dogs and had cake and ice cream.

So Benson had been telling us for a while that he wanted a pet for his birthday. He had quite an argument for it as well. First he would start to get a little teary and then tell me that he was lonely because he's the only boy and doesn't have a brother. I reminded him that his Dad is in fact a boy, but he said "he's 30, I need another boy my age." And then he would tell us that he needed a boy pet to help fill the void in his life, complete with sad eyes and quivering lip. And apparently he can work us good, because he got a leopard gecko for his birthday that he promptly named "Spot." Spot has turned out to not be the friendliest leopard gecko, but that doesn't stop Ben from taking care of him and asking to hold him every night when Mike is home (I still haven't touched him).

We talked quite a bit about having a birthday party this year, but Benson and I weren't seeing eye to eye on all the plans, so I bribed him with a trip. I would totally pick a 2 1/2 hour drive each way and hours at a museum over throwing a birthday party any day and lucky for me, so would Benson! During Spring Break, the week after Ben's birthday, we headed to Wichita to Exploration Place. It was a very long but very fun day. Grandma Kathy was here visiting that week and joined us for the adventure (the Horspool's came too). In fact Grandma posted some more good pictures on her blog.



We love our Benson boy so much! He is growing up so fast and teaches us so much...really, Mike and I wouldn't know half of the stuff we do if it weren't for Benson. We can't wait to see what the next 365 days bring this boy!

Break from Winter Trip

The weekend after our trip to Omaha, Benson had Thursday and Friday off school so the kids and I headed to Oklahoma. Our first stop was Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Matt's house in Edmond. We had fun checking out their new place, shopping at Old Navy and the mall, and playing at the park every night because the weather was BEAUTIFUL! Aunt Chelsea even painted the girls fingernails and toenails, no small feat for someone 8 months pregnant. She must really love them! Such a welcome break from the crazy cold here in Kansas. We also spent most of a day at the Oklahoma Science Museum which everyone loved.



On Saturday we headed home by way of Bartlesville. We were hoping Aunt Kathleen's new baby would have made an appearance before we got there, but it was not to be. We had fun hanging out at Grandma's and going to the Dinosaur Park. We also got to see my Grandma and Grandpa Burkinshaw and my Grandma Stevens although we didn't take any pictures with them.



We headed out that evening after dinner and we had made it less than an hour before Sabrina threw up all over herself. We decided to head back to Grandma's for the night especially since our dryer at home was broken and we knew we wouldn't even be able to wash the throw-up clothes. We are grateful that Grandma and Grandpa are patient with us since we always seem to be sick at their house. We made it home on Sunday with no further incidents, thank goodness, just in time for more cold and snow in Kansas!

Weekend in Omaha

On February 11th and 12th we went to Omaha to go to the temple and we figured while we were there we should hit up the zoo. I found a killer deal at the hotel we usually stay at - we got 2 adult and 2 child passes to the zoo included with the price of the room. Our friend's the Horspool's went with us. On Friday we got there just in time for Jamie to head to the temple. Mike and I fed the kids dinner and then I left for the temple and left all 7 kids in his capable hands. He took them all swimming...putting his BSA lifeguard skills to good use! Mike went to the temple first thing the next morning while we got the kids ready and then we headed over to the zoo. One of the reasons why we love the zoo so much is that you can actually enjoy it in February because so much of it is indoors.

We started at the Rainforest since we didn't make it there last time we went to the zoo. The kids loved it but after a while the humidity started to get to all of us, especially since we were dressed for the cold temps outside.


We also hit the aquarium, the gorillas, the desert dome, and kingdoms of the night. There is still so much of the zoo that we haven't seen!


By the time we arrived at the desert dome it was Sabrina and Raegan's mission in life to pose together for a picture in every nook and cranny they came to. It was adorable and hilarious at first...but after the 1,000 pictures we were ready to move on out.


It was a great weekend trip! Hopefully we will make it back up there again before the end of the year.

Color My World

To say that Sabrina and Grace LOVE to write and color is a major understatement. Especially for Sabrina. They both constantly have a notebook and pencil that they carry around the house or they are asking to color. They get "homework" every day at preschool and they love to complete it as soon as they get home.

I took some pictures of Sabrina's latest work the other day, I'll have to take some of Grace's soon...


"My Family" by Sabrina Richards...notice the eyelashes and lips on the girls. The mustache and beard on Mike, and the fact that she used 2 colors on every one's hair. She draws our family at least once a day and continues to add new details all the time.

"The Bunny Family" by Sabrina Richards...this is a new favorite that she draws daily.

"My Name" by Sabrina Richards. She can pretty much write all her letters now. She likes to show Grace how to write new letters, which is sometimes not appreciated. This kid will NOT be left behind, she wants to learn and do everything that Benson and Grace can do.

Laugh Out Loud

I thought I would share some funny stories/pictures from lately.

On Saturday night, I took Grace and Sabrina to a baptism with me. I was playing the piano at the end and they were talking to another family that was sitting by them. They have a little girl named Jillian too, and I heard Grace tell them, "We have a Jillian too...she's really naughty." Do you think I need to stop calling Jilly naughty all the time?

Sabrina REALLY likes babies. She pushes her 4 babies around in her double stroller all the time and spends lots of time taking care of them. Her favorite thing is when you ask her questions about her babies. She has this one baby, Gilbert (a girl), who is kind of naughty. She doesn't like to take naps or go to bed, she doesn't eat very well, and she's always making messes and causing trouble. Sabrina was telling Mike the other day that sometimes she has to put Gilbert in her crib, not for a nap, but just so she can get some stuff done. And sometimes Gilbert and her other babies want to play "Ring Around the Rosie's" but Sabrina just has to say, "I can't right now, I have to get ready for Primary, you'll just have to wait." Mike thought it was hilarious...I didn't think it was quite as funny.

Sunday morning, Jilly and Sabrina had front row seats to watch the cinnamon rolls bake. I guess they were really hungry or something.

Over the weekend, Mike walked into a room and saw Sabrina laying down with Grace bent over her pretending to tie up her hands and feet. Then he watched Grace pick up a pencil and start stabbing at Sabrina (not hurting her, just pretending). He asked Grace what she was doing and Grace said, "playing Issac" (you know like Abraham and Issac). Mike took this teaching moment to make sure they understood that Abraham did not actually ever hurt Issac, the angel stopped him.

Jillian loves the broom and the vacuum. It drives me crazy. The other night the vacuum was out and Mike was attempting to vacuum the living room when Jillian decided she wanted a ride. As if standing in front of the vacuum all the time didn't make it hard enough, now I have to push the vacuum and the 20 lb baby around when I want to clean.