Benjamin Eli - 11 months

So lately Ben E is getting more and more into stuff and trying to be more and more like one of the family. Here he is doing what his father does often...getting into the fridge right after grocery shopping. Ok I can't say that right now because Riggles is doing a new eating thing. (I don't think he likes the word diet). But this is what his Daddy did a lot just a short while ago. ;)

And Ben E also likes to play RockBand 2 with us. As you can see...i mean hear...he is going to be quite the vocalist!!

Cute Kids

Garrett is suppose to practice piano every day. He has been taking lessons for one year now and has gotten really good. Joy to the World and Deck the Halls were some tough ones but he pulled through and made them sound great! When it comes time to practice it's usually after school and Ben E is napping. But when Ben isn't asleep no matter where he is in the house he comes cruisin' to the living room to where Garrett is playing the piano. He usually is crawling and then stretches his arm and fingers up to play along with Garrett. At first Garrett was frustrated with this. I think he is finally getting used to it and thinks it's pretty cute.

We have always had probably the coolest cats ever. I'm sure some of you may remember our cat Stephen in Idaho. Drooled a lot, climbed rock walls. Well Summer Wheatley our cat now is pretty cool too. She has been with us for about 4 years now. She drools a bit. (nothing like Stephen did) and is good at playing fetch. We have NO mice or rabbit or gopher problem at all. The raccoons piss her off pretty good but not enough to where she wants to go take care of them. She is great with the kids too. The girls in the past have locked her in their room with them giving her the greatest of hair styles. (with hairspray, gel, and the works). Of course I was unaware and not happy with this when I found out what was happening. And even though the first time they got in trouble, they didn't quit.I still caught them in the act of Extreme Kitty Makeover the next couple of weeks. They have been a lot nicer to the cat and only seem to decorate her with stuff once in while.

I can't believe I just did a post about my cat....Man! Do I need something to do or something to happen!!!!

Update

Ben E and the girls all got new rides for Christmas. We were all a happy bunch this year. (Well, Sam was sulking because she didn't get a violin.) But we felt the Christmas spirit and had a nice Holiday.

I was kinda a scrooge when it came to taking down my Christmas stuff. I usually like to wait until after New Years...but...I got antsy to get my house back in order.

And I was even more antsy to get the kids back in school. Monday was a great day filled with lots of quiet and peace!!! Loved it! Even though we don't have a real routine...we have the basic schedule which is nice to get back onto.

As for New Years resolutions; I've never been good at those. I think its an everyday process to be a better person. But the one thing on my thoughts a lot right now is Elder Jeffrey R Hollands talk 'The Best is Yet to Be'. Look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. (In our Sunday program pamphlet part was taken from this, and it's in this January Ensign and when I turned on BYU tv the other day it was being showed. So I was getting it from everywhere I turned.) You can read the talk HERE