Sedona

Luckily James was able to take a day off work so that we could go play in Oak Creek Canyon with Grammy and Papa and escape the heat for a day. It was exactly what the Dr. ordered for all 3 of us. Ben was a terrific little hiker, loved the water and rocks and showed no fear even though he did wipe out twice, just got right up, those rocks can be a little slippery. We started out having sandwiches at Garlands, a great spot in the canyon and then after our hike stopped at "World of Jerky" so James could get his craving taken care of. Afterward we went to Los abrigados park to see the ducks and play, there was a cool ginormous chess/checkers game board and pieces Ben liked playing with and a prayer labyrinth to walk with a peace pole in the center, we joked that Ben was cheating and not walking it correctly. We finished the day with some cold brewski's from Oak creek brewing company along with hot dogs, chili and Brats and had the nice surprise of Kris stopping by to say "hi", it's been way too long since we got to see her and Ben was definitely drawn to her, he repeated "buh bye Kris" more times than I can count.

Closeness

I feel very fortunate because all of my life I have had a close bond with my Grandma Bev. She and I just have a huge love for one another that has had no boundaries, whether it be distance (Minnesota to Hawaii or Arizona) or familial tension, there is nothing that stands in the way of our relationship. When I was a little girl I always got the best birthday and all sorts of other holiday cards from her with little slots for dimes/nickels/quarters and I always felt so excited to receive them, be it Easter or Halloween I felt honored that she thought of me and sent me a sweet treat. Speaking of sweet treats, Grandma Bev always had goodies in her kitchen, when I would fly back to visit my Dad in the Summer or at Christmas I would sit in her kitchen, on a red step stool and visit with her while eating some sort of delicious cookie or bar, even a graham cracker tasted better if it came from her. I always thought she was the best cook on the planet and could make any dinner taste absolutely remarkable. I tease her that she can open a can of creamed corn and it's the love that she has in opening it that makes it taste so much better than anything I've ever had. we continue to have our close bond, mainly over the telephone, although there isn't a time I don't go back to Minnesota and spend as much time as possible with her, her hugs are definitely second to none, no one has ever made me feel as much love with one hug as her, except perhaps my Dad. I try to give her a call at least once a month and when we talk time flies right on by and the next thing I know it's been an hour...or two. We have so much in common it seems, love of family, the tight bond you have with one or two girlfriends, home, deals and discounts and ways of saving money, cooking and growing things, making things and most of all humility and kindness.
I love the stories she tells about her childhood, her parents and brothers and sisters, the Great Depression and of raising her five Children. My Dad is the second oldest, the oldest boy and was always giving her a run for her money, in a very cute and funny way. Never lacked a sense of humor, my Dad would make my Grandmother laugh even when she should have been scolding him because of his wily ways. Today she told me a story about when she had cooked a venison roast that one of her brothers brought to her after he shot and killed a deer, she told the kids, who were all under the age of 4, that was what they were having and how they got it once it was set on the table with the other side dishes and my Dad exclaimed, and I can almost hear his little voice saying it now, "Well then who shot the potatoes!"
I adore listening to the stories my Grandma tells me and I miss the way she smells, the light in her eyes, the giant hugs that last for several minutes and the fact that, so similarly to me, some stories bring on the tears and she cannot hold back her emotions because they just come, she's very on the surface with her feelings and that's just another one of the many reasons I adore her.

Lou's 30th

We took Lindsey to Benihana for lunch today for her 30th birthday, the boys enjoyed the California rolls, "China beans" as Aaron calls Edamame and then the pineapple boat and green tea ice cream for Dessert.

The Dunn's

On Saturday James had his much anticipated football draft night with a bunch of his college buddies so I took off work and we got to go out to the Dunn's for a fun night of swimming, playing, dinner and catching up. Ben loved going all over the pool with Uncle Lance, playing with his tools, checking out all of his big boy toys like quads and dirbikes and playing endlessly with sweet Elyse, it gave me a nice break to just be able to chat with Ginna. It also cooled off tremendously, rained a little, got some lightning and then there was a rainbow, Ben really enjoyed pointing that out to all of us!

Ben loves Jackson

Lindsey, Aaron and Jackson came over to play and have dinner and Ben couldn't keep his hands off Jackson, he wanted to be near him, hold him, kiss him and love up on that precious little baby. It was adorable!

Dear Friends

Our wonderful friends Camille and Paul came to see us (they had never met Benjamin) on the way back to CA from Sedona, we had lunch and took them to the airport, it was a lovely couple of hours that we got to spend with them, I hadn't seen them since our wedding and Camille has always been an adopted "Auntie" to me. Now Ben calls Paul "Pop" and seemed absolutely smitten with him. I hope it isn't another 4 years until we get to see them again, sure do love those guys!

"Cank you Mommy"

Lately Benjamin has been thanking us for everything! He thanks us for all of the refills of sippy, snacks, meals, fixing or giving or opening a toy, turning things on or off....you get the picture. So, I was thinking about this today after he "canked" me for taking him swimming and I just want to THANK HIM, for coming in to my life and filling it with endless amounts of joy, laughter, happiness and allowing my heart to be filled to the brim full of love. I remember the moment he was born and the nurse put him on my chest (after they got him breathing) and I thanked him for being born and told him I had always wanted him. The moment seems very surreal right now but couldn't be more truthful. He has exceeded all of my expectations of parenting, all of my dreams of being a Mother and although I always knew I would love my child, I never had any idea it could reach this magnitude. So, "THANK YOU MY SWEET, SWEET BOY, THANK YOU!"

New words for old things

I know that it isn't just my Son who comes up with these things, but it is so darn cute coming from him and it adds to so much laughter with me and James. We went to dairy queen about a week ago and Ben kept calling his "special tweet" an "ice cweem coat", no matter how many times he said it, it was never a "cone", it was always his "coat". He knows when he sees cakes that there is a party going on but for some reason it is a "Hocake", not quite sure why. He makes me laugh constantly and a lot of times he laughs right along with me, we've noticed the kid has a great sense of humor, just like his Daddy:-)

Hot Summer

It's been an awfully hot Summer and I don't just say that because we are residents of Phoenix, we have had heat advisory warnings repeatedly (meaning, do not leave your house). I preface this post with that because we have done a lot of swimming at the gym and I don't have an underwater camera so no pics have been taken, therefore my blog has been a little lonely, but let me assure you there are a million times I've thought that Ben looks so cute playing, kicking his legs, going after his "shissheess", asking me to go toward the "mushooom" and just being his adorable self, that I'd wish I had a camera. He has a funny little farmer tan from his swim shirt right now, his hair is lightening up and his body has a nice tan that I've never nor will I ever see, on my fair skin. Lucky boy. We swim for awhile then I take him in to play and can do my thing, works well for both of us. We've also been doing a lot of this afterward, getting worn out first. ZZZZZZZZZZ....

Precious new addition

We got to go over to the Postal's and visit them and meet their new baby, Jackson. He's perfect in every way and Ben thought so too. He wanted to kiss him, look at him and be near him, it was interesting to see just how gentle and loving he was with a brand new baby.

I love the way

I keep thinking that the amount of things that Ben is saying these days needs to be written down or blogged about so that I don't forget. He's so in to saying new things and it always sounds so cute coming from this little voice. Lately he asks quite often for a "special tweet" because at the grocery store last week I told him if he was a good boy he could have a special treat, which turned out to be peanut butter crackers but now he always asks for a "special tweet" in his teeny, tiny, cute little man voice.
I'd rather focus on that than the fact that every night for the past 3 nights since we converted his crib in to a big boy bed he has had the hardest time falling asleep or staying in it and that, my friends, is exhausting. Thank god I married the best husband and Daddy in the world, he makes what I can't do become his job and I fall more in love with him every single day.

Children's Museum

We went to the Children's museum with our friends Ruxhana and Salomon and had a great time, as always. Ben never seems to tire of it but I definitely tire of chasing him everywhere, there's so much to see that he moves quickly from one thing to another and his listening skills are something we're working on:-)

My boys having fun!

Northern Arizona

We needed a break from the 115 degree temps of the Valley so James took a few days off and we headed up to Sedona to see my Mom, Step-Dad, Aunt and Uncle and were fortunate enough to also have time with my Cousins, Ryan and Elyse, they were on a school break. Benjamin was absolutely enamored with his Cousin Elyse, following her around and wanting to be picked up by her, only eating if she fed him, it was pretty darn cute. He also loved all of the "Beeeloons" that Auntie made for him, water AND air, he now sees her and calls her "Auntie Beeelooon". He adores Grammy and asked her to "Come on Gwammy" anytime she wasn't following his every footstep. It was still pretty warm in Sedona, mid 90's, but hanging out in Oak Creek and the pool made it all more enjoyable and then before heading home we went to Snowbowl in Flagstaff where it dropped down to 79! Gorgeous drive with the flowers, ferns, pines and Aspens greeting us. All in all it was a nice break!

4th of July

What a great 4th of July we got to have because Auntie June and Uncle Chuck came and spent it with us and we went out to the cooler temps (ha ha) of Cave Creek, a charming little Western town, where there were all sorts of fun festivities and awesome fireworks! We went to C4 which is a coffeehouse, bar and restaurant that had a band playing, Ben thoroughly enjoyed dancing! Seeing the look of amazement and awe on his face was pure joy for me, he loved every second and talked about them the whole ride home! I hope we get to spend many more 4ths out in Cave Creek and make that a family tradition.