SILLY!!

Some times we are just a little silly at our house. This is an example of one of our silly times.




OK, I know what you are thinking and yes, Ben does look like that a lot of the time.

Our 2008 Book List

These are the books that Ben and I have read this year. I don't know about Ben for sure but I can say for myself that any judgement towards me with regards to the quality or wholesomeness of these books please keep to yourself. The only three books that I can, in good conscience, really recommend are As I Have Loved You, which I read with my ward Book Club and The Watsons go to Birmingham, and To Kill a Mockingbird, both of which I read along with Michael for his 8th grade literature class. I know that doesn't say much for the remainder of my list but hey...I have like three minutes a day to read so....it really needs to be silly, mindless and light. Plus, Janet Evanovich empowers her heroines with guns, hand cuffs, pepper spray and tasers. I love it!!

Ben’s List 2008
1. “Band of Brothers” by Stephen E. Ambrose
2. “Piercing the Darkness” by Frank E. Peretti
3. “Empire” by Orson Scott Card,
4. “The Vampire Diaries, The Awaking & The Struggle” by L.J. Smith
5. “The Vampire Diaries, The Fury & Dark Reunion” by L.J. Smith
6. “Breaking Dawn” by Stephenie Meyer
7. “Blood Canticle” by Anne Rice
8. “Ultra Marathon Man” by Dean Karnazes
9. “The Gift of Valor” by Michael M. Phillips
10. “Seventh Son” by Orson Scott Card
11. “The Forgotten Soldier” by Guy Sajer
12. “First to Fight” by Victor H. Krulak
13. “Brisingr” by Christopher Paolini


Andrea’s List 2008
1. “Privleged Information” by Stephen White
2. “As I Have Loved You” by Kitty De Ruyter Bons
3. “Remember Me” by Sophie Kinsella
4. “The Convenient Wife” by Betty Neels
5. “The Vampire Diaries, The Awaking & The Struggle” by L.J. Smith
6. “The Vampire Diaries, The Fury & Dark Reunion” by L.J. Smith
7. “Breaking Dawn” by Stephenie Meyer
8. “One for the Money” by Janet Evanovich
9. “Two for the Dough” by Janet Evanovich
10. “Three to get Deadly” by Janet Evanovich
11. “Four to Score” by Janet Evanovich
12. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
13. “Hot Six” by Janet Evanovich
14. “Seven Up” by Janet Evanovich
15. “The Robinsons Go to Birmingham” by Christopher Paul Curtis
16. “Hard Eight” by Janet Evanovich
17. “To the Nines” by Janet Evanovich
18. “Eleven on Top” by Janet Evanovich
19. “Twelve Sharp” by Janet Evanovich
20. “Lean Mean Thirteen” by Janet Evanovich
21. “Plum Lovin’” by Janet Evanovich
22. “Plum Luck” by Janet Evanovich

Good-bye SOI, Hello 2/5!!

Well, our tour of duty with the School of Infantry has come to an end. It is very bitter-sweet(bitter for me, sweet for Ben.) Ben has really enjoyed his time as an instructor of new Marines but he has missed being out in a unit setting. He has missed the hands-on training and the camaraderie. I will miss having Ben home. His new unit, 2/5, is a deploy able unit and is scheduled to leave in August for a seven month training "pump" to Okinawa, Japan. The deployment really isn't the worst part of the deal. For the next 7 months Ben will be participating in "work ups"--heavy duty training that takes him away from home for weeks at a time. He is scheduled to be gone all of March and half of April. What a bummer. We have really enjoyed having him around for the last three years. Oh well, at least I get to look at him in a uniform...

Burnin' Off Steam

Christmas Break is the best. I love having the kids home. We have lots of fun sleeping in, hanging out, sleeping in, playing games, goofing off, sleeping in...you see the pattern. After about a week, however, the kids( and I) get a little cabin fever, especially when most of their friends are gone away for the vacation. We take them out to the helicopter landing pad at the School of Infantry and let them run, skate, bike ride and just burn off a little steam!!

Some thin' SOOO Awesome!!

Spencer and I were driving around, a few weeks ago, on a quest for door stop sized rocks for him to paint for everyone for Christmas this year. He piped up from the back seat, "Mom, wanna hear some thin' SOOOO awesome? When I get big I am going to be a space man and fly into space in my ship and go to planets." "That is pretty awesome," I said. "Yeah, SOOOOOOOOOOO awesome. Wanna hear some thin' even bigger awesome?" I couldn't imagine anything to much "bigger awesome" than "SOOOOOOOOOO awesome," so I was pretty excited to hear what he had to add. "When I get big I am going to ride Dad's bike." It was "bigger awesome" that being like his Dad beat out being a space man. These two are both SOOOOOOOOO awesome in my book.

Daddy Santa

I love Christmas parties...and this season we've had lots...school parties, work parties, assorted Church parties. We even had a little party at our house this year. I love the spirit of Christmas, the fun of Santa Claus and the wonder that is everywhere. I especially love the wonder that is in the eyes of my youngest as he climbs aboard the soft and jelly like lap of Old St. Nick.

During one of our occasions to party, Ben was asked to step in for Santa, as he was very busy at the time, dealing with a minor reindeer emergency at the North Pole. He was the most jolly, the most friendly and the most sweaty Santa I have ever seen. He had only three criers of the whole 100 kid bunch. When he came into the greeting room surrounded by children and belted his "HO-HO-HO" Spencer turned to me and said, "Hey, Santa sounds just like my Dad." The gig was up...sort of. Spencer called him Daddy Santa for the two hours he visited. When Ben reappeared as himself later in the evening Spencer asked him if he had passed Daddy Santa in the hallway. HMMMM?

We have been blessed with many Santa visits this year and these are a few pictures of the jolly old elf with my monkeys.



THANK YOU SANTA!!