We found out...

I had an ultrasound last Friday and found out we are having a girl! Yeah! Mason said he wanted a baby sister but Camden will tell you he wanted a baby brother. They are both going to be great helpers. I'm excited, scared and anxious all at once. Baby girls just seem foreign to me at this point, so it's a little overwhelming. Everything looks healthy and wonderful with the baby, which we are so blessed for!

Headed Down South

Zion National Park


Over the UEA break (in October) we took a little road trip to Cedar City to visit Aaron, Kim and their new addition, baby Jayna. We spent one day in St. George where we shopped and met one of my good friends at Jumping Jacks to let the kids play. We spent one full day hiking, busing, and driving around Zion National Park. It was a lot of fun, neither Ben nor I had ever been there. The boys did great on the hikes and had fun picking up rocks and playing in the dirt and water. Mason especially loved the tunnel which honestly, kind of gave me a panic attack. We had a great time hanging out with Aaron, Kim, Lacey, Mark and of course the adorable Jayna.

School and Camping...

Ward Campout

We had such a fun ward campout this year. There were so many fun activites for the kiddos. This is a list of what Mason participated in: face painting, horseback riding, water balloon games, smores roasting, wiffle ball, playdoh, hide-n-seek with glow sticks, and his absolute favorite...4 wheeling. Camden, Ben and I basically ate, socialized and ate some more. Even though our blow up bed deflated in 5 minutes, we had a fun, fun time!

First Day of School

Mason had his first day of Kindergarden today. He was so excited. I was so excited. We all (mom, dad and Cam) walked him to the bus stop. He got a little worried look right as he was getting on the bus, but he did just fine. He said it was a fun day of playdoh, recess, reading stories, singing songs and painting. He is such a stud, I love him so much! His teacher already said he'll be going with the 1st graders for reading time, since he's reading so well already.

(Maybe mom won't shed tears tomorrow as he's getting on the bus...maybe)

Busy Summer and Loving It!

Night Out in Salt Lake...

For our bday's Mindy and Dave gave Ben and I tickets to Tim McGraw and Lady Antebellum at the USANA Ampitheatre! It was so much fun! We got to relax on a blanket and listen to great music at the beginning. Then when Tim came out we danced and sang our hearts out. It was a much needed night out with my handsome hubby!

Cousin Fun

This summer we have had a lot of visitors, and we love it!

*boys going for a ride in Uncle Sam's semi-truck, Camden thought it was too loud*

*Brooke rolling Mason at the Scout Breakfast*

*Texas and Roosevelt cousins*

*Grant and Mason, these two get along SO well!*

Summer Review

Boys being boys...

Ben took the boys to Lowe's for their Build and Grow Saturday...such a fun thing to do! They made monster trucks and LOVED spending that time with Dad!

Whenever it rains, these two beg to go play in it...

Grandpa Gene's Funeral

Ben's grandpa passed away unexpectantly. Ben was able to go out to Bountiful and say goodbye, which we are grateful for. He was such an amazing man, he will truly be missed. The funeral services were very touching. Ben's sister sang a beautiful song and his dad gave a wonderful, spiritual talk. Ben felt very honored to be a pallbearer.

Swim Lessons

Mason loves swimming and is getting quite independent in the pool. He took lessons this summer for two weeks.

Summer Review

Damn Yankees

Ben performed in the Outlaw Trail production this summer. He had a fun part where he got to sing, dance and be a goofy baseball player. It was a long 10 weeks with rehearsals and performances 5 out of the 7 nights, but he enjoyed it and did a really great job. Mason really liked watching daddy, he came with me twice to see the play.

Mason Turns 5

Mason had a really fun birthday party. We had friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas come over for a water party in our backyard. My boys LOVE putting a sprinkler under the trampoline. We ate pizza, had spiderman cupcakes, broke open a pinata and even Ben got in the water fun. He had his swimsuit on (so basically he was asking for it), his sister kept his attention as I came up behind him with a pitcher of water. Oh, but don't feel sorry for him. He of course got me back. Mason got some fun presents including: an iron man, a cars race track, some coloring books, a nintendo DS and a DS game.

Christina's Wedding

Christina and Joe were married June 4th in the Vernal temple. They had a luncheon that afternoon and the reception was that evening. A busy but fun day full of family and friends.

Summer Review

Killer Bees Soccer Team

Mason played soccer this spring for the first time. He was on a younger/smaller team so the score was generally 10-0 (his team being the 0), but he had such a blast. His team scored 3 goals total out of all the games, and Mason scored 2 out of those 3. He got so into the games, he was so much fun to watch.

Preschool

Mason absolutely LOVED preschool. He would wake up every morning and ask if he got to go to school that day. He had great teachers. I loved picking him up from school and listening to him talk on and on about what they did that day. He is so excited and ready for Kindergarden. He is such a smart little guy and loves to learn new things.

Mink Creek, Idaho

Over Memorial Day we went up to Mink Creek for the weekend. This is where my grandma lives and where my dad grew up. My parents were here for the Christensen family reunion so many of my siblings were able to come and visit also. It was fun to play at the park, swim at the hotel and play games (we would all cram into one hotel room and play games all night long).

Cruise April 2010

In April we went on a much needed vacation cruise with Mindy and Dave. Ben and I flew into Tampa Florida, rented a car and drove around the bay area. It is beautiful there. It was fun to just drive around, exploring the city. For dinner I tried the GROOPER fish. I guess it's quite popular in Florida and yes, it was yummy! We stayed the night in Tampa. The next day we did some shopping, picked the Gales up at the airport and headed for the boat.

In Grand Cayman we went on a boat tour. Our first stop we went snorkeling. We saw some cool fish but the neatest thing was we saw two huge eels. The guide we were with would swim down and play with the mama eel (7 feet long). The baby eel (4 feet long) would come up to him and eat from his hand, but then quickly go back into hiding. It was so neat to just float in the water, watching the eels. Then the highlight was we got to swim with the sting rays! They say there are about 50 sting rays that live on this sand bar. We held them, fed them squid, pet them and even kissed them for good luck.

In Cozumel we ate some lunch, took a taxi to the main city and did some shopping, then the boys went scuba diving. Ben hadn't ever been but the instructor gave him a mini class, practiced some techniques in the water and down they went.

We had a couple days to just hang out on the boat. One night was a formal dinner where we got dressed up and had steak and lobster for dinner. We laid out in the sun, played on the waterslides, stayed up late and slept in late, played lots of cards and ate and ate and ate! In the evenings we would go to the shows and comedians. One evening Ben and I went and played a group game. You were in teams of about ten people. The announcer guy would name something and you had to be the first team to bring it up to him on stage. It was rowdy and hilarious and Ben ended up kissing some bald guys head. Good times!

It was an awesome week full of fun!

Thanks Mindy and Dave for yet another fun vacation together.

He is Listening!

My mom and dad were giving the boys hugs as they were leaving our house this morning. I haven't been feeling well, so my mom tells Mason and Camden to be nice and help their mom today.

Camden turns to me and says "member that guy with a owie on his head" (pointing to his head) "Jesus help him feel better so we be nice and help you feel better."

WOW- amongst the caos, he does listen in Nursery!

(Our lesson last week was The Good Samaritan)

Look-alike???

This is Ron (Ben's dad) when he was two. Doesn't he look JUST like Camden?

I think he does...

*Ronald*

*Camden*

U.S. Census Bureau

I started working for the Census Bureau a few weeks ago, and it's been quite interesting. I'm just working a few hours here and there. For the training I was able to go to Richfield for three days. It was like a mini-vacation. I was able to drive the four hours listening to my own music, they put me in a nice hotel and paid for my food...it was a nice getaway. Ben was sweet enough to take work off and play Mr. Mom for a few days.

Easter 2010

I bought Ben, Mason and Camden matching ties for their Easter outfits and boy did they look handsome! The Saturday before Easter we went to the park and did an egg hunt. It lasted a whole 30 seconds because there were SO many kids. Easter Sunday the Easter bunny came and left goodies for us all. It was nice to have treats while watching General Conference.

Camden's Birthday!

Camden turned 3 the end of March. We had a big family party a few days before with cake, ice cream and presents. He got a big dump truck, some tools, a Mickey Mouse race track, a firetruck and some Mr. Potato Head people. On his actual bday we went to McDonalds for lunch, got some balloons (his favorite things), had pizza for dinner then went swimming at the rec center.

Weekend in SLC

We went out to SL one weekend to do some fun things. Friday we got to our hotel, ben got the boys ready for bed and I went shopping ALL BY MYSELF! It was heaven! Saturday we went to Chuck E Cheese for Grant's bday party. Mason and Camden had so much fun. We then let the boys pick one thing they wanted to do (zoo, children's museum, etc) so they picked Kangaroo Zoo. They were running and bouncing so much I didn't get any good pictures. We went out to dinner and called it a day. Sunday we slept in, then headed for home. It was a fun weekend!

That next week Aleisha and her two kiddos came out and stayed with us for a few days. Our four kids play so well together, it was fun to have a few days to just let them play.