Benjamin's 5th Birthday!

Benjamin turned 5 this year! I can't believe it. The time has gone by quickly. Ben had decided that he wanted a pirate party earlier this year. So for months I did research to try and make it the best party I could for him. I may have gone a little over board, but I was so excited planning this party for him. His birthday fell on a Monday this year so I did a party with his friends while Jon was at work and then later that night we did the family thing. When I asked Ben who he wanted to invite to his party we ended up again with Ben and Tyler being the only boys, the rest were girls. He really needs to make some more friends that are boys. He made some friends in school this year that he wanted to invite. People were able to dress up if they wanted. My mom made costumes for both Ben and Andrew. They turned out super cute. First we had a little treasure hunt. They had to go around doing different tasks, a beanbag toss, pin the flag on the treasure, coloring, walking the blank, and then they were lead to the treasure which was the pinata. After we ate shark meat (watermelon), veggies of the sea (vegetables), and cheese and cracker, with pirate ale (root beer) to drink. And of course a pirate ship for a cake, which Ben never wanted to cut into and eat, Jon ended up throwing it away while the boys and I were in New Hampshire. Thank goodness I made cupcakes to go along with it. Later that day Ben decided he wanted to go to Chick-Fil-A for dinner and then we came home to do cake and presents. He was spoiled with a pirate ship from Grandma and Grandpa Andreas. We also decided to start him on real legos. Benjamin is growing up so fast. We love having him in our family. He can be so kind to others, especially with friends from school and his younger brother. I love watching the moments when he doesn't think I'm looking and helps Andrew or asks if he is okay. He does have to habit of telling on people. I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But for now if it's not life threatening I usually thank him and ignore what's going on. He loves to play and I wish that I could let him play until he dropped at night, but then I think he would never go to bed and I would never get peace and quiet before I went to bed. He loves to draw and color. He is getting better everyday. The details in his pictures are improving constantly. He loves to draw pirate ships and anything that he sees in movies. When the movie Tangled came our he was able to draw the castle, tower, and the glowing lanterns with a lot of detail. He is my first born and I love him to death, but I know that I have a lot to learn from him. Happy Birthday Benjamin!Party Guests: Tyler, Lizzy, Kimberli, Mikayla, Ben, Samantha, Tatiana, Chloe

Idaho Visit

Since it's been awhile since I've been back home the boys and I ventured off to Idaho. We flew my mom in and she drove with us back to Idaho. Jon later flew out and drove back home with us. Both times we were able to make the trip in two days. It was a little bit of a push and the boys were glad to be done at the end, but over all they did great. Ben just watched a lot of movies and Andrew just ate a lot of junk. When we got to Idaho we took a few days to relax before heading up to Canada. Lisa came over with Tavia and Gabrielle. Ben was entertained greatly by Tavia and Andrew sometimes ventured off with them. But they both loved the baby and were so good with him. It gives me great hope that they will love, and be as gentle with our baby as they are with Gabrielle. While we were there Lisa and Josh blessed their baby. It was nice getting to be there for is. After I took pictures for them and Ben wanted pictures of him as well. I love the shot I got of him chewing on his tie. He constantly has something in his mouth. And what is a trip to Grandma and Grandpa Christen without going to see Grandpa's truck. We took the boys out and they loved playing in it. Ben even got to honk the horn, which he thought was really cool. We spent the 4th of July in Idaho. Jon was able to make it out for this holiday. We had a little BBQ and then went to one of the elementary schools to watch the fireworks. I'm not sure if I built them up too much for Jon and he was disappointed or not, but I sure did enjoy being back for the show. They are the best I have ever seen, but yet I haven't been to Disney World or New York to see fireworks. Ben loved his flag so much that he went to sleep with it that night. It was a great trip and I'm glad I went. When I had originally planned the trip I wasn't planning on being pregnant. That made it a little more difficult getting around and the sensitive emotions. Next time I go I hopefully won't be pregnant.

Canada Visit

Since it had been awhile since I saw Dad and Jan we headed up to Canada for a visit. My sister Lisa and her two kids joined us. Originally we had made plans to borrow my brothers Highlander to take us all up, but plans changed and we ended up borrowing a van from Michael and Kelly (Van's son). We pushed ourselves and made it up in one day. By the end everyone was very tired and warn out. It wasn't the best trip up to Dad and Jan's. I think with me being pregnant and Lisa having a 4 month old that screams all the time and no sleep emotions were sensitive. Both of our kids were on different time/sleep schedules and were waking each other up. Benjamin and Tavia could be the best of friends, but the worst of enemies too. This has always been a difficult thing for our family. We just can't seem to be in closed quarters for too long. The next time I visit Dad and Jan it will be just my little family. However, we tried to make the best of it and were able to have some fun times. Dad would work in the mornings and then come home and spend the afternoons with us. We went to several of the local parks, even the splash pad. Even though it was cold, especially since it was 100 degree weather in Texas, we went to the lake a couple times. Dad also took us on the local steam train. The boys loved it. I haven't seem Andrew this quiet in a long time, just taking in the adventure of riding a train. The boys had a great time. They especially enjoyed playing with their dog Taz. I think I have pet children on my hands. Overall it was a good visit. It was the first time that Dad and Jan saw Andrew.

Randoms - June 2011

Other then a whole bunch of cute picture of the boys, going to Idaho and Canada, not much happened this month. Benjamin "graduated" from Pre-K and will officially be starting school next year. We were away from Jon for father's day but I took a bunch of pictures of the boys to get a cute one of them together. We put it on a mug for him, Ben picked out a tie and a t-shirt that said "Number 1 Dad!" He seemed to like his gift. I guess Dad's like those kinds of gifts. We are also very proud of Jon. He received an award for getting the highest score on a important test this year. He was stressing over this test for months. And after taking it thought he had failed when actually he was in the 100th percentile for the nuero section, and the 98th or higher for the other sections (this was a nationwide test). We are so proud of him and all the hard work he does. Sometimes it can be very stressful when he's preparing for an exam, presentation, or just trying to be the best he can at work, but in the end his hard work pays off and we only benefit from it.