Happy Birthday Bensen!

This sweet boy turned 5! I can hardly believe it!

 As I 've said before Bensen kind of likes Mario.

 So he had a birthday full of Mario.

He got Mario figurines, castle, underwear, sock, and game. I think he loved everything! He is pretty easy to please. He is really fun to watch open presents because he loves everything and gets excited! Even over socks and underwear.

His birthday landed on Saturday this year. He wanted to go back to the Ninja obstacle gym, but it wasn't available to us on Saturday.

So we went to the Zoo instead. They were offering free admission to those affected by the government shut down. Oh yeah, the government shut down on December 21st. And is still shut down! So crazy and kind of scary. Lucky for us Mike is amazing and was prepared for rainy days. So we have been fine. But free stuff is always good.

Bensen wasn't all that excited to go to the Zoo. He has never been, so he didn't know what to expect. When I asked him why he didn't want to go he said "Because there are bears there."

Once we got there he was a little more excited.

 We had a great time.

 I think we saw more animals then we usually do. I thought they might not be out because of the cold. But we saw most of them.

 The only otter we saw was the statue.

 The polar bears were so fun!

He says his favorite animal was the seals. He liked trying to race them.

 He said he wanted Burger King for dinner, but when I mentioned we could go to Chick-Fil-A he changed his mind.
On Sunday he had a Bailey party and a Borgstrom party and of coarse a Mario cake.

Bensen is such a fun kid. He is so friendly and happy most of the time. His favorite colors are red, blue, and pink.

Favorite food is sandwiches, yogurt, and spaghetti.

He says his favorite thing to do is be nice to his parents, and his kids. (Jaycee, Wesley, and Viv)

He loves hugs and snuggling.

We are so grateful to have him in our family, we sure love him!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to us!

#13years!

#Wemadeitthisfar

Because hashtags are a thing.

Marrying Mike was definitely the best decision I have ever made!

 He is easy going (most the time), hard working (all the time), the best dad and husband, and overall pretty great!

 Our day ended up being on a Saturday, but with the kids having basketball practice and a birthday party we decided to celebrate early. We planned to go out on Thursday, but Mikes mom got sick and she was going to watch the kids. So we didn't go to a movie, but Bensen got invited over to play at Ambers, so we took Viv with us and went to Olive Garden. We loved it, Viv did not.

On Friday my mom watched the little kids and we went as saw Aquaman. It was pretty good.

 On Saturday there was so much going on, but later that night the older kids were invited over to Trevor and Katie's to play.

After I dropped them off,  I stopped at Burly Burger and got us a Oreo shake to share, then came home and we watched the Jazz game.

 It was nice we were able to spend some time together. Much later that night Mike got sick and threw up most of the night. He was the last one to get it. It had already made it's way through the rest of us.

We had a great year and we are looking forward to many more!

Happy Anniversary Mike, I love you!!💖

Happy New Years!

On New Years Eve morning the first thing Jaycee and Vivian wanted to do was go out and play in the snow.

My girls love to play in the snow! The boys not so much. It is funny. The girls come out and shovel and would be out there for hours. On New Years Day Jaycee and Vivian went out to sled, it was so cold and windy and they stayed out there for a long time. They are die hards. We went up to Silverleaf to sled, we were there for a long time. When it was time to go Vivian started crying, she wasn't ready to go.

We headed over to Borgstrom's around 3 for games and dinner.

At around 8:30 we headed over to Trevor and Katie's for more games and more food.

Every year seems to be going faster and faster. I can't believe how big the kids are getting. I am having a hard time thinking about Bensen turning 5 and will start kindergarten!  Jaycee will be in 7th grade this year! It is just crazy. But I am excited to see what this year will bring.

Happy New year! 

December Catch Up

On December 1st Santa Wes made a appearance.

The kids were pretty excited.

On December 8th we had our ward Christmas Party. The Clauses showed up! The kids were able to make several kits to hand out to the homeless, and we had a pretty yummy breakfast.

My Uncle Vern passed away. He had been pretty sick for a while. We were able to go down to his funeral on the 15th. It was a good service. My dad gave a good talk.

This year for Christmas the kids are getting a Get Out Utah pass. While we were down in the Orem area we decided to us the pass and went to Momentum Climbing Gym 

 Most of the kids loved it!

 Bensen did finally warm up to the idea and started climbing about 5 minutes before we left.

We used our passes again on December 17th to go to a Ninja Obstacle Gym in Sandy. Wesley was throwing up and sick so Mike stayed home with him and Vivian. Jaycee and Bensen loved it. Bensen won't stop talking about going back.

On the 18th Jaycee graduated from the D.A.R.E. Program. It was touch and go there for a minute, but she pulled it off!

Jaycee's Jr. Jazz basketball team went undefeated! That was fun.

Since we are still obsessed with Mario, (I figure it could be worse...and who doesn't love Mario) instead of a gingerbread house we made a Mario castle.

This is probably the best gingerbread house we have ever made! 

November Catch Up

Bensen is starting to bee a little artist!

I don't remember why, but Viv got these glasses and wore them everywhere we went for a few days. Now they are lost.

We worked a little on potty training . I think we might wait a little longer, she does pretty good. This particular day she was not having it!

Bensen and Whitley had their Thanksgiving feast at preschool.

I love that they get to be in school together.

This year Thanksgiving Dinner was with the Borgstroms.

Man did we Feast!

I am so grateful for these people!

They are truly my greatest blessing!

I know I've said this before, but Mike is the best dad!

He would do anything to make the kids happy!

On November 27th Wesley got braces!

He has been so excited.

Now that he has them I don't think he is as excited as before.

I'm sure he will get tired of wearing that mask at night.

I am pretty sure I will miss his cute under bite!