Ben’s oldest brother is the last one of his siblings that hasn’t moved their family to Utah. They just came for a summer visit so we crammed in as much fun as we could. Lots of family dinners, church together, hiking, pictures, movies and my favorite – homemade slip n slide!…
they wanted to go and they went and they loved it.
starting the hike
Benji has been wanting to hike up to the Y for quite some time. The Wisconsin cousins came to town and wanted to hike to the Y…. So Ben took our 3 oldest kids and went with the cousins and did a night hike from 8pm-11pm. The rule was that no one could be carried, they had to be big – and they did it!
the hiking crew
B – Y – U
They were amazed at how big the Y was and enjoyed dad telling them stories about the Utes painting it red and to keep their eyes open for any COUGARS.
EIGHT. 8 years old! I’ve been a mom for 8 years!
look how big my baby is!
Benji is growing so fast. He is such a good kid and we love him so much. Benji wanted the traditional cousins party for his birthday. We had 21 Nettesheim cousins over to the house. We played a Star Wars card search game and chose little plastic men prizes. We opened presents and sang, ate cake and ice cream and then watched a movie and let the kids do their thing. Benji had a blast and the new house accommodated the numbers well.
cousin party
R2D2 = happy Benji
happy birthday dear Benji!
Saturday, the next morning was Benji’s real birthday. Benji and I worked on legos while Ben went and got donuts since that is one of his absolute favorites. After donuts he opened the gifts from us and then played with his new stuff until 12:30 when we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Netty’s for Nettesheim Family pictures. We spent the rest of the day at their house with all of Ben’s family… parents, 3 brothers, 2 sisters, spouses and kids. benji had a good time playing with cousins and Grandma made Tacos for dinner so he was happy. We had more ice cream sandwiches that night and it was birthday success.
new star wars legos!
spy gear, flying saucer, webkin, skylander, Ben 10 Xbox Game
cousin picture
trying the flying saucer
cousin time
Benji has grown leaps and bounds this year. He has gone from timid to crazy. He used to be scared to try new things or push himself but this year everything is starting to click. He has more confidence and isn’t afraid. He actually puts holes in his jeans and shoes! He is great at entertaining his brothers and sisters. He loves to make Ray and Rose laugh. He loves to be the center of attention (at home at least). He loves dancing to Witch Dr’s. He loves playing with his cousins. He learned to ride his bike. He is a good reader. He likes homework and scripture challenges. He is officially a swimmer. And now he is looking forward to getting baptized (August 3rd)! He is still the most tender hearted boy and will share his things in a heart beat. He is also curious and asks a million questions. At dinner tonight we were giving him a hard time because he kept asking “what?” “what did you say?” It’s not that he’s deaf, it’s that he is trying to understand everything that Ben and I are saying to each other!
It is summer time! June Highlights: We had a great Fathers Day cause we have great Fathers! There is LOTS of construction going on all around us. One day the house shook from morning till noon and my head was pounding from it. Ben and I went to a USA world cup qualifier match against Honduras – so much fun. We also spent a day in Ogden with Ryan and Tara’s family at their new house, in their pool! We went to the strawberry days parade! My friend Brittney came to visit for an afternoon! Benji and Packer went to the PG High Soccer camp all last week. It was 2 hours a day and they really liked it. It’s the first camp we’ve done and it went well for all of us. Angelee came to visit last week and we enjoyed some Brazillian Churrasco! We had all of the Netty cousins over for Benji’s birthday party! Rick and Jen’s Family is here from Wisconsin! We did Nettesheim Family pictures. And we have spent lots of time hanging out with ALL of Ben’s fam including church together on Sunday and FHE and family soccer game this evening.