The Bennetts

London Rosa Bennett

2010-03-09T18:26:00.004-07:00

Introducing London Rosa Bennett

Born March 4, 2010

12:04 p.m.

7 pounds 2 ounces, 21 inches long

Change Is A Coming!

2010-03-02T09:39:00.003-07:00

Our family will be experiences three life-changing events in the next few days and weeks! First, we'll be welcoming a new baby girl into the family any day now. Next, we'll be moving to Eastern Idaho (I'm trying to convince myself that I will be able to handle the weather over there!). And last, Hal will be starting a new job. All taking place during the month of March! Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Actually, we are really excited for all 3 events and looking forward to what the future holds. We know this is the right path for our family and feel that we are being blessed. Life is good and we're still smiling! :)

38 Weeks

2010-02-26T09:08:00.002-07:00

I have been so horrible about remembering to take pictures of myself during this pregnancy. Probably because I'm the one who is usually behind the camera taking pictures. So here I am at 38 weeks. The end is in sight and we can hardly wait! We are filled with anticipation and excitement as we prepare to meet our baby girl.

We'll let you know when she makes her grand arrival!

First for Madison

2010-02-26T08:56:00.003-07:00

Madison lost her first tooth! We noticed it was wiggly shortly after Christmas and it finally popped out a few weeks ago. She was so excited to leave it out in her new tooth fairy box the night it came out. She left out some gum for the tooth fairy and was thrilled to see she had been given a 50 cent piece. Hal and I can hardly believe our little girl is loosing teeth. She's growing up way too quickly. I had to hold back the tears when I saw she'd lost her first tooth!

Christmas in February???

2010-02-04T19:02:00.006-07:00

My poor blog has been highly neglected, I know. Most of you have probably given up on me actually putting together a post! I'm finally getting around to doing an update and I can't just skip putting up a Christmas post, so here's my best effort of making it short and sweet!

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Merry Christmas!

2009-12-16T18:04:00.003-07:00

Wishing all our family and friends a very merry Christmas! We aren't sending cards in the mail this year, but we are still thinking of all of you this holiday season.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-10T15:57:00.005-07:00

We headed south to Utah for Thanksgiving this year. One of our stops was to visit my Grandma Elam. The kids adored her and it was so sweet to watch her play with them. Quinn and Grandma had a ball playing cars together! I love my Grandma so much and wish I got to see her more often.

Here are the cousins enjoying their Thanksgiving meal. Ryan polished off the turkey drumstick all on his own. Impressive! Not sure where Quinn was????

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and didn't disappoint. I didn't get a picture of the beautiful pies my sister made, but they were oh so yummy!

Our turkey feathers that we mailed out to family were a success! The kids loved checking the mail box each day hoping for a feather to arrive. We loved reading as a family what our other family members are thankful for. This has been a fun family tradition.
We had our first snow fall this week. Quinn doesn't have boots or snow pants quite yet, so he had to wear Madison's old ones. When I first put on the pink boots he said, "No Mom, I want black boots." But after I explained to him it was either wear pink boots or not play in the snow he decided he'd go pink this one time.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-09T19:00:00.008-07:00

Quinn, the new sheriff in town.

Madison, the glowing Tinker Bell fairy.

Of course we carved pumpkins.

We were surprised when Madison wanted to do a scary face for her pumpkin.

Trick-Or-Treat!

Pink or Blue????

2009-10-26T22:01:00.005-06:00

In case you haven't heard our exciting news.... we are expecting baby #3 in March! I'm 20 weeks along now and things are going great. We recently found out if we'll be having a boy or a girl. Madison and Quinn wanted to help make the announcement, so here's a short video clip with the big reveal!

Man Alive... She's Five!

2009-10-02T16:23:00.008-06:00

All of a sudden, my baby girl isn't so little any more. On September 23rd, our Madison May turned 5! I made her favorite breakfast the morning of her special day and she ate every bite.

She got to take a poster all about her to preschool to celebrate her birthday.

We had a party with our family.

Opening presents:

She has been asking for a Barbie computer for months and months and months. The look on her face when she opened it up was priceless.

This little cake was the perfect size for our little family.

We decided she could have a friend birthday party this year. She wanted to have a Tinkerbell party and have her friends come dressed up as fairies. She chose to be Tinkerbell, of course.

She thought she had died and gone to heaven when I told her she could wear glitter for her party. And no, I don't ask her to pose for pictures. It just comes naturally to her!

Madison requested we have cupcakes instead of a birthday cake. I wasn't going to argue with that!

Quinn couldn't be left out of the fairy fun!

Coloring fairy pictures.

Decorating star cookie wands.

Playing Tinkerbell bingo.

Making fairy dust.

Pin the wand on Tinkerbell

And presents!

Hal and I really enjoyed reflecting back on the five years Madison has been in our family. She has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. Our family certainly wouldn't be complete without our Madison. A few things we love about Madison:

* Her endless imagination.

* Her beautiful ballerina dancing and all the other crazy dancing she does!

* How she will remind us that we need to say our prayers.

* Her O.C.D. tendencies (she's way particular about keeping her room just the way she likes it).

* She's a good friend.

* She's very helpful around the house and always willing to help Mom in the kitchen.

* She will play trucks and cars with Quinn.

* She always has to take something with her everywhere she goes.

* She loves to snuggle with Mom or Dad and read stories.

WE LOVE YOU MADISON!

Still Here

2009-10-02T15:12:00.008-06:00

Yes, it's been a long time since I've blogged. It just hasn't been a priority lately. I've even had thoughts of just bagging it altogether, but since it's the only form of journaling I'm doing, I'll try to stick with it. So here's my attempt to quickly catch up on our latest happenings.

Hal celebrated his birthday in August. I won't disclose his age, but to me, he doesn't look a day older than 25! I made him one of his favorite desserts (or maybe it's really one of my favorites) a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. It was delicious!

Each week when Hal fires up the lawn mower, Quinn is out the door in a hurry. He must get suited up for the job. Bubble lawn mower, Hal's work gloves, sunglasses, and backpack. I'm not sure why the backpack, he just likes to accessorize.

Since Madison just missed the cut off date to start kindergarten this year, she's headed back to Brite Kids Preschool for one more year. I'm really happy about that since I'm not ready to send her out into the real world!

Quinn felt left out of the first day of preschool pictures, so he jumped in.

We managed to squeeze in one camping trip this Summer. We got together with a few families and headed over to Stanley Lake. We had a great time, even if the nights were pretty chilly. You may wonder why we are dressed in church clothes if we are camping. We managed to attend sacrament meeting smelling like campfire smoke and all!

Sawtooth Mountains

Quinn fishing at a little stock pond at Red Fish.

Madison trying to make fishing look glamorous.

Madison caught her first fish! She didn't get too close to it.

All Quinn wanted to do was poke the fish's eyes. Poor thing!

Next, was the Peach Days parade in Brigham City. Our kids had a blast playing with the Schmelter cousins and watching the parade. Quinn LOVED watching all the firetrucks in the parade go by.

Hal and Quinn watching the parade together.

I had to throw this picture in. Quinn loves to eat pickles. What he loves the most, is eating them with his Dad.

Celebrating One Decade!

2009-08-09T20:30:00.008-06:00

10 years of marriage

9 different jobs (between the two of us)

8 years since college graduation

7 months from 1st date to wedding date

6 times moving (including summer moves to Driggs)

5 loads of laundry a week

4 different cars

3 trips to the emergency room

2 beautiful children

1 eternal family

Hal, you are all that I want and more than I deserve. I love you!

Table Rock

2009-07-16T23:06:00.009-06:00

We hiked Table Rock here in Boise last weekend. We've lived here for 8 years and we've never done this hike! So it was time. Unfortunately, when we got out of the truck at the trail head, we realized we forgot to put the hiking backpack in the truck! So, Hal being the good sport and tough guy that he is, volunteered to carry Quinn!

Here are Quinn, Hal and Madison on our way to the top. The hike takes you to the top of that little mountain with the cross on the top. I'm not exactly sure why there's a 6 stories high cross on the top of this mountain, but there is!
Quinn did walk some of the way and gave Hal a brake. Madison was a real trooper and hiked the entire way to the top! We were so proud of her and she was pretty pleased herself! I don't remember how far the hike is or how much elevation you gain.... Hal knows all the number details. I was in charge of snacks and drinks!

A view of Boise as we hike towards the top.

Yea!!!!! We made it!!!!!

Both kids were pretty tired after the hike up, so I ended up giving Madison a piggy-back ride part of the way back down. This was a great hike and perfect for our little family.

Stars & Stripes

2009-07-16T19:05:00.017-06:00

We had all the ingredients for a memorable 4th of July: good food, family, fireworks, home made ice cream, and perfect weather! We headed to Brigham City to celebrate with the Duce grandparents, Uncle Jonny, and the Schmelter Family (although we missed you Kevin).

We went to the fireworks in Logan and stopped by the zoo at Willow Park before the fireworks started.

Madison LOVES her cousin Ally and she is so sweet to her!

Here are the Schmelter cousins with Quinn and Madison. All little blondies!!

Jonny and I at the fireworks. Wow, we look alike!

Hal and I watching the Logan fireworks. Ohhhhh Ahhhhhh!

Madison loved the fireworks and her glow stick necklace she created.

Quinn's first sparkler. I've decided two year old boys and fire don't mix so well. Although we didn't have any mishaps.

All Aboard!

2009-07-01T13:56:00.023-06:00

Last weekend our family went on a train ride! The train leaves from Horseshoe Bend (which is about an hour away from Boise) and it travels along the Payette River. The weather and scenery were beautiful! You can check out Thunder Mountain Line to see what other fun themed train rides they have. Hal and I would love to go on the murder mystery ride.

Hal and the kids getting ready to board the train.

Madison was so excited for her first train ride.

Quinn would have much rather skipped the photo taking! Just let the poor little boy ride his choo choo!

We opted to ride most of the time in the train car. Madison and Hal were suffering from allergies and the open train car made for some pretty itchy eyes and runny noses.

Our train ride was called the Teddy Bear Picnic. This huge bear was one of the characters on the train that entertained the kids. Sitting with Teddy is Goldie Locks. She came over to our table and told a very animated version of the Three Little Bears.

Quinn actually warmed up to Teddy (sorry, dark picture). Madison really liked Teddy, but it took her some time to warm up to him. Once we were ready to get off the train, she really wanted to give him a hug good-bye.

Quinn loved looking out the window at the Payette River.

After about an hour and a half on the train, we got off and had our picnic lunch. There was a little house there where they sold ice cream and other souvenirs... of course for an outrageous price! :)

Riding on the open train car. I know I'm biased, but we think our kids are pretty darn adorable!

Madison made a very good friend on the ride. Mother Goose and her Goose... can't remember if the goose had a name or not! Mother Goose got to know Madison very well because Madison would hardly leave her side. They sat and talked and talked and talked. It was so cute! Madison asked if she would be able to come to her birthday party in September! Then Mother Goose informed me that they do princess parties as well... I hope Madison didn't hear that!

We saw tons of rafters and kayaks on the river.

Quinn had worn out himself having fun that he crashed in Hal's arms on the ride back. I just love summer time and spending time together as a family. We hope we are creating some fun memories for our children to remember.

There... I think I'm finally caught up with our blog worthy events!

Our Little Pollywog

2009-06-29T21:54:00.007-06:00

Madison has been busy with swimming lessons. She's made so much progress this year. She's like a little fish swimming in the water.

And just for the record, Quinn is still mowing!

Trip to Tamarack

2009-06-29T21:23:00.007-06:00

We packed up our stuff and headed to Tamarack to spend Father's Day weekend in the mountains! The weather wasn't exactly perfect, but we still had a really good time.

A view of the ski hill. It was really overcast, so not a great pic.

We also visited the cute little town of McCall. We stopped at the lake to let the kids play.

Quinn found EVERY stick and rock on the beach, and threw them in the water. Give that boy a pile of sticks or rocks and he can entertain himself for hours!

The kids love breakfast for lunch/dinner. So we ate breakfast for lunch at the Pancake House in McCall. I ordered an omelet and chose a pancake as my side item. When our waitress brought out my side of pancake, we thought for sure she had made a mistake. Nope.... my side of pancake was gigantic!! We all nibbled on it, but never finished it.

We also fished and biked, but were too busy to take pictures. Maybe next time!

Summer Lovin'

2009-06-29T13:48:00.006-06:00

I finally had a minute to download 250 pictures from off our camera! There will be more posts to come. Here are a few pictures that I thought were pretty cute. The kids were outside playing one day and Hal captured some funny moments.

Quinn loves playing with his trucks. Here he has them all lined up, ready to roll!

Madison LOVES to pose for the camera.

Here's Quinn's impersonation of Madison's pose.

A dramatic reading of Barbie Fairytopia.

Quinn thought he was pretty funny when he got into the closet and pulled out the blankets for a hiding place.

MORE TO COME.....

I've Been Converted

2009-06-11T16:43:00.007-06:00

To using coupons, that is! Recently I've taken up the challenge to try and decrease our grocery (or more like Costco) bill each month. So far, I've hit some really good deals!

This stuff I got at Rite Aid. I don't think I've ever even shopped at Rite Aid before! It was the best shopping experience ever... no crowds of people, no long check out lines, friendly employees, and great deals! Here's how this deal worked out:

$17.74 total out of pocket after using $13.25 in coupons

THEN... I filed a very easy online rebate for some of these items. My rebate total was $18.48.

So I MADE money on this transaction: 74 cents!

This stuff I got at Albertsons. I did it in 2 transactions. The first transaction I paid $19.12 for 16 items. I used $10.55 in coupons and I received a $10 coupon to use on my next shopping trip. Which I used on the purchase of my next set of 12 items. Second total came to $9.96 after using my $10 coupon and other manufacture coupons. Plus I earned another $10 coupon for my next shopping trip. And the store manager gave me a $5 coupon because the register wasn't printing out my $10 coupon and I had to wait a few extra minutes while they fixed it all. So my grand total out of pocket was $29.08, but take away the second $10 coupon and the extra $5 coupon they gave me and my total out of pocket was $14.08! That's an average of 50 cents per item!! Cha Ching!!

Shopping these kinds of deals does take time, effort, and planning. But it's all worth it in the end and it's fun too! So what kind of deals have you scored???

Father & Son Campout

2009-06-11T16:32:00.008-06:00

Hal and Quinn went on their first official father and son campout last weekend. Hal was so excited to take Quinn. It's something he's been looking forward to since Quinn was born! They had a fun time and nobody got injured or lost (which is what I always worry about!). They took all their gear to spend the night, but ended up coming home because it started to rain. Seems like it always rains during the father and son campout! None the less, they had a great time! Quinn was more interested in eating his grapes than smiling for the camera.

Dance Time

2009-06-02T16:02:00.018-06:00

Another year of dance has come to an end! Madison had a lot of fun taking ballet and tap lessons. Dancing seems to be her thing! The recital was absolutely adorable. She made a beautiful little dancer! There are PLENTY of pictures to follow. Too many cute ones to decide which to post!

Pretty good form if you ask me. (I know nothing about ballet!)

At the end of the recital all the dancers came back on stage for one last applause.

Goodbye Preschool.... Hello Summer!

2009-06-02T15:53:00.008-06:00

Madison finished up her first year of preschool at the end of May. Her class had a family picnic at the park to celebrate!

We will miss Teacher Summers, but look forward to seeing her next Fall. Madison won't start kingergarten this year because her birthay is later in September. I'm really happy I've got one more year of her at home before I have to send her out into the real world!

Defining Their Relationship

2009-05-12T17:15:00.005-06:00

Madison was putting her dolls/stuffed animals on her bed the other day. She found Raggedy Ann and placed her on her bed. Then looking around her room she said, "Now where is her boyfriend?" She was referring to Andy.... the boyfriend! I about died laughing! I have NO idea where she picked up the term boyfriend. And all this time I thought Raggedy Ann and Andy were brother and sister. Silly me!

Yogurt 101

2009-05-11T22:01:00.013-06:00

A few weeks ago, I went to a food storage class that was all about dairy products and how to use and prepare dairy products from non-fat dry milk powder. One thing I decided to implement from the class was how to make my own yogurt. Since my kids think yogurt is one of the major food groups and we eat it almost EVERY day, I figured making my own might be a brilliant idea! So, here's a mini lesson on how to make your own yogurt.

First, put 2 Cups of 130 degree water into a blender. As a side note, I had to turn my water heater up to get water out of my tap this hot.

Add 1 1/2 Cups of non-instant milk powder to the water in a blender. Add powdered milk slowly until smooth.
Non-instant milk powder is the stuff you buy at the cannery, through the church. Or you can use 3 cups of instant milk powder, which is like Carnation that you buy at the store. Instant milk makes a sweeter yogurt, but it's more expensive.

Add 1/2 Cup plain non-fat yogurt. Blend until smooth.

*Use only pure cultured plain yogurt as a start. It CANNOT contain gelatin, pectin or any other thickener. I found my plain yogurt at Fred Meyer in the organic section. All the other yogurt I looked at had pectin or some other thickener in the ingredients.

Immediately pour yogurt into mason jars. Screw lids on tight and place in ice chest.

Cover above level of milk with hot water (150 degrees). Close lid and let set for 4-8 hours.

Then check to see if yogurt is set. If you turn the jars upside down and the yogurt is runny, then it's not set. So if it doesn't set, drain the water out of the cooler, refill with 150 degree water and let set for another 30 minutes. The yogurt is set when you turn the jars over and the yogurt does not fall from the bottom of the jar. When I made my yogurt, it was not set after the 8 hours. So I refilled the cooler with the hot water and after 30 minutes it was set.

Dump your yogurt from your jars into a bowl. Let it refrigerate overnight before eating or sweetening.

I decided to sweeten mine since I knew my kids weren't going to like plain, unsweetened yogurt. To sweeten the yogurt add 1/2 t salt, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and 2 Tablespoons of Whippit powder to 1 quart of yogurt.

Here's what the Whippit powder looks like. This stuff is so awesome!! It's like whip cream, but not as bad for you! All you do is add water to it and whip it up. And it stays thick in the frig and doesn't get all watery like real whip cream does. I don't know where you can buy it, unless you live in Boise. :) I recently used it on our strawberry topped angel food cake and it was delicious!

So after you sweeten the yogurt you need to put it back in the frig over night again. After it sits in the frig, you can eat it or you can flavor it if you want to.

I decided to flavor mine and made it strawberry. I did this by adding 1/2 teaspoon strawberry jello dissolved in 1 1/2 teaspoon boiling water. Add this to 1 cup sweetened yogurt. There are other flavors you can make and other ingredients (like Crystal Light) you can use to flavor the yogurt. After it's been flavored it has to sit in the frig again for another 8 hours! Yes, making yogurt is NOT a short process!

So I didn't snap a picture of my yogurt after it had been sweetened and flavored, but it looked and smelled like store bought yogurt. So the true taste test.... will the kids eat it???? Well, I dished them up a bowl and they did eat a few bites. That's right, a few. Then they politely said, "No thank you." I ate some and I didn't think it was too bad. I'll admit, it's not quite like eating a Yoplait white chocolate strawberry yogurt. But what do you expect when making yogurt from your food storage... right? I knew my kids would eat this yogurt, but I had to disguise it! So I put it into a fruit smoothie and......

YUMMY..... and

more YUMMY!

Now I can say I've made my own yogurt! Will I do it again??? Maybe......

Milestones

2009-04-25T20:56:00.000-06:00

On April 19th, I reached a pretty big milestone in my life.... I turned 30!! I'm kind of glad I'm finally 30. The past few years I've had such a hard time remembering my age. 30 is much easier to remember!

My Mom gave me these beautiful flowers for my birthday. Gerber daisies are my favorite flower, so bright and colorful!

I look pretty official with my new apron, spatula, and pastry mat. I love making pies, but don't love the pie crust sticking to the counter!

Can I just say that my Mom is the best! Birthdays were always a big celebration in my family when we were growing up. We had amazing themed parties, food, cakes, decorations... the whole nine yards! I always felt so loved and special on my birthday. This year we happened to be in Utah for my birthday, and my Mom did not disappoint when it came time for celebrating. I requested strawberry shortcake for my birthday cake and this is what she whipped up. Beautiful and delicious!!

I used every breath I had to blow out my candles. There weren't even 30 on there! Madison helped me out too.

Hal and I ended the night by going to Salt Lake and seeing Wicked. It was AMAZING! Last summer I found out it was coming to Salt Lake and I decided that I would do everything possible to go. Tickets went on sale back in December and I called the minute they went on sale. It took me over 2 1/2 hours of constant calling before I finally got in (I was even calling from my cell phone while getting my hair cut. I was determined to get my hands on tickets!). But it was all well worth it! I'm so glad we got to go. Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids while we went!

Thanks everyone for making my birthday so special and memorable!

Like Father, Like Son

2009-04-21T22:58:00.001-06:00

Quinn got the perfect birthday gift from Grandma Duce this year...his very own bubble lawn mower! A few weeks ago, Quinn got his chance to mow the lawn with his Dad. And he LOVED it! He mowed and mowed and mowed....... (good thing his mower doesn't take gas!)

Hal is quite the lawn man himself! He's the first one in the neighborhood each spring to fire up the lawn mower and officially kick off lawn mowing season! Though I can't complain, our lawn always looks nice and it's all to Hal's credit.

I like to think Hal was some kind of master lawn gardner in a previous life. He just knows what he's doing! The fact that Quinn naturally took up a love for lawn mowing proves that he is indeed 50% made from Hal!

I wonder how many miles this baby is going to chalk up this summer?

Our Easter

2009-04-13T21:53:00.001-06:00

Easter time is probably one of my favorite times of the year. I love the coat-free weather, the blossoming trees, hearing the birds chirp, April showers, seeing the kites fly in the sky, and opening up the windows of my house. Just a few of my many favorites!

This year Hal and I decided to change up our Easter traditions. We both felt the need and desire to have our family's focus be more on the true meaning of Easter. Saturday would be spent doing fun Easter activities and Sunday would be spent focusing on the true Easter message. So The Easter Bunny made its visit to our house on Saturday. Madison and Quinn were excited to wake up that morning and find a few small things in their baskets.

We were so surprised to see Quinn run toward the Easter Bunny with outstretched arms and give him (I think it was a him???) a big hug! This past Christmas he was scared to death of Santa....so go figure. Madison clung tightly to my leg as the Easter Bunny made his rounds. She, on the other hand, has never been a fan of the Easter Bunny. And honestly, I don't blame her!

We hit up not one....but two Easter egg hunts on Saturday. Both were close by our house, so we figured why not. Madison's quick set of wheels paid off when it came time to finding the eggs.

Quinn had his own egg hunting strategy too. It was find one egg, open it up, eat the candy, then find another egg and repeat the process. None the less, he still scored some eggs and had a good time.

You can't have Easter and not color eggs, so that we did! I like to think the egg coloring kit I bought was a dud because our eggs just didn't seem to turn out all that great. But then again, I'm no Martha Stewart! I was just happy to not have a bowl of dye end up on the floor!

Who needs a spoon to hold the egg when you've got two useful hands? Quinn's hand was green the rest of the day, but it was all in the name of good fun.

So onto Easter Sunday. Our plan was to focus our day on the resurrection of our Savior. We had a little lesson together about the resurrection. We used many pictures from the gospel art kit as we taught about the life of the Savior, his atoning sacrifice, and glorious resurrection. There was no Easter candy, no talk of the Easter Bunny or Easter eggs. We felt the spirit in our home and felt the love of our Savior. It was a beautiful Easter Sunday.

I love the bright new colors that come along with spring time. Grandma Duce gave Madison this adorable dress. It fits her little personality so well. Quinn looked so handsome in his little sweater vest and matching argyle socks. Can I just say that I'm so happy I have a little boy! I get all excited when I get to buy little boy's argyle socks! Too bad you can't see them in the picture.

Quinn Had a Birthday Shout Hooray!

2009-04-04T22:14:00.000-06:00

On March 29th, Quinn celebrated his 2nd birthday! We can't believe he's already two. Where has the time gone? Quinn is our sweet little boy, who can sometimes get into trouble (proof in a few of the photos below)! He has brought so much happiness and laughter into our home. Our family wouldn't be complete without him. We love you Quinn!

Here are a few things about Quinn:

* He has the sweetest smile

* Give him a ball and he's happy

* He's very lovable and often gives us hugs and kisses

* He knows his ABC's, colors and even a few sight words

* He LOVES cars, trucks and trains - can play with them for hours

* His eye lashes are to die for long

* He loves to go to Cabella's with his Dad and look at the animals

* He hides behind the couch when he hears the garage door open and then runs out yelling "surprise" when we come in the house

*He loves veggies and salad - as long as it has ranch on it

* He loves to go down the slide at the park

* He's a Mama's boy (I love it!)

* When he sings "I am a Child of God" it melts my hearts

* He loves to say the prayer at dinner

We had a birthday party for him in Utah while visiting family. It was fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Duce, Jon, and the Schmelter family there with us.

Now for the picture overload...sorry, but there were so many cute ones!

Quinn made quite the haul of gifts! I decided to have a Thomas the Train party for him since he can't get enough of his "choo choo."

He scored lots of "Cars" cars from his cousins. He was so excited!

I found a Thomas the Train lunch box and I couldn't resist getting it for him.

Just a cute picture of my baby boy.

He played with his new cars and trucks all night long! He plays with them all the time, it's fantastic!

Thanks to a lot of help from my Mom, we made this Thomas cupcake track. We saw the idea at Walmart and my Mom thought we could make it ourselves.

I thought our Thomas cupcakes turned out so cute. Even cuter than the picture at Walmart! And we didn't pay $25 for it either!!

We thought Quinn might pass out from trying to blow out his two candles. He blew and blew and blew! Finally, his cousins helped him out!

Here's the proof...he can't resist a little mischievous behavior! This one he did just today. While I was getting dinner on the table he managed to dump out my entire (and it was new!) container of loose face powder. And what about the look on his face??? I don't think he felt too bad about it either!

This time he got into my hair paste. Now you might be thinking that this kid is never supervised, but that's not the case. These little mishaps happen in a matter of seconds. It doesn't take him long at all to find something fun he can get into.

Like I said earlier, Quinn sure makes us laugh a lot. I just love this picture. Can he get any cuter???

Difficult News

2009-03-22T15:58:00.000-06:00

This post is a bit personal, but I want to express our thanks for the many prayers and kind acts of service offered on our behalf the past few days. Last Thursday I went to the doctor for a routine ultra sound and check up on the baby. The doctor was not able to find a heart beat during the ultra sound, we had lost our baby. We were devastated as just a week and a half ago we had been in for an ultra sound and confirmed that things were going well. Something happened during that time and we don't know exactly what. On Friday I went to the hospital and had a D&C done. I'm recovering well.
There are a few things we know that are bringing peace and comfort to us at this difficult time. We know that our Heavenly Father loves our family. He has blessed us with two beautiful children that we now hug a little tighter each day. We know that our Savior experienced the pain and sorrow that we feel at time time. We know The Comforter is real and can bring peace during times of disappointment and heart ache. Heavenly Father had a plan for the spirit we lost. We believe it was spared the trials of coming to earth at this time. We believe we'll one day have the opportunity to raise the two spirits we have lost. We are so grateful for the plan of salvation and that our family can be together forever.

Hidden Message

2009-03-16T18:57:00.000-06:00

Can you figure out what we are trying to say?????

Quinn's Video Debut

2009-03-08T21:05:00.000-06:00

We just discovered that Quinn has picked up a new skill...reading sight words. Actually, I know he's not reading, but he's at least got a few memorized. Madison has a sight words video she likes to watch (I wish I could say it's all because of my good teaching) and Quinn usually gets stuck watching it too. Little did I know he was actually paying attention! Don't mind the dirty undershirt he's wearing in the video, or the fact that he doesn't have on pants! The backwards hat was all his doing too. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get!

It's Dead

2009-03-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

So my computer just up and died a few days ago. The day it died I could smell smoke where we keep the computer. Never a good sign! Hopefully it's something we can fix. Until then Hal has to share his laptop with me! I know he's super happy about it too!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-17T12:33:00.001-07:00

Let me start by saying that Hal and I are pretty big Aggie fans. We love our alma mater and enjoy watching Utah State sports...at least basketball that is. Aggie football, well....that's another story. Since Boise State and Utah State are in the same conference, they play each other every year. We used to go to the football games, but every year the Aggies would get destroyed and we didn't find it amusing to watch. So we patiently wait for basketball season to roll around so we can cheer on the Aggies and hope to earn a little respect with our Boise State fan friends.
This year the Aggies played in Boise on Valentine's. We decided to go to the game as a family. The kids loved watching the game, but Madison was concerned that we weren't cheering for the white team. I reassured her that there were plenty of people clapping for them and that we should only cheer for the blue team! Quinn loved to watch the game and really wanted in on the action. If only he could have gotten his hands on that basketball!
Some how Boise State pulled off a win over our Aggies. We were disappointed. The Aggies had previously only lost one other game (to BYU, which is another hurtful loss!). But we still wore our Aggie gear with pride!!

Quinn loves to wear his Aggie hat (even if his face doesn't show it) when Hal has his on.

It was great to spend Valentine's with the people I love most!

We ended off the evening by indulging in this....

And suddenly we forgot about all our worries and troubles!

Whirl Wind Weekend

2009-02-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

Our weekend started off with two burrito wraps. I'm not sure how this all came about, but I know it had something to do with Hal! He was the king at doing the burrito wrap when the kids were babies. After seeing how this can still work for older children (all you need is a bigger blanket), I'm starting to think it's not such a bad idea! It's one way to keep them from getting into trouble.

Saturday, Hal rode in St. Al's charity inside ride bike race. Here he is just getting warmed up. It's an hour long ride that they do inside the mall. This is not what I prefer to do at the mall, but we went to cheer Hal on.

Hal and his friend Daren kept those pedals going. No, they did not stop once during the hour long ride. They just kept on going!
Finally, the end of the ride! Hal clocked in 23.9 miles and was even able to walk afterwards! Now his back side, on the other hand, is a bit tender. Sunday he made sure to sit on the cushioned seats at church.

On to the next event... taking the family to Pojos. Now, if you aren't familiar with Pojos, it's basically the same deal as Chuck E Cheese. A germy, feet smelling, mass of humanity all contained in a small space (did I mention the GERMS!!). Hal and I both cringed as we opened the doors and got a whiff of the place. At least I was smart enough to know it would not be wise to eat dinner here, so we ate beforehand. This was our first time taking the kids to Pojos and we secretly hope it's our last! Now I know why my parents very rarely took us to Chuck E Cheese growing up. You have a whole new perspective of places like this as an adult!

Quinn had fun riding in all the little trucks and cars.

Of course we had to go on the merry go round. Madison thought it was great fun. She said she loved riding her reindeer!

And don't I look thrilled to be here! No, I didn't just take a joy ride around by myself. I'm holding Quinn in front of me on my lap. Some how I drew the short stick and got stuck taking the ride.

In Loving Memory

2009-01-21T15:52:00.001-07:00

Jennie Rosa Fonnesbeck Duce

April 18, 1917 - January 20, 2009

My dear, sweet Grandmother Duce quietly left this earthly life and is now joyously reunited with her husband and many other family members. Although I feel the loss of her presence and my heart is saddened, I know that I will be with her and my grandpa again. Both my Grandpa and Grandma Duce held special places in my heart. I grew to love and appreciate the kind of people they were and the incredible lives they lived. I'm so thankful for the opportunity I had to spend time visiting grandma in Idaho Falls while living in Driggs the past two summers. She even got to come visit us in Driggs our first summer there (the picture of her holding Quinn was taken during her visit). I have many wonderful memories of my grandma and they bring comfort to me at this time. Until we meet again, I love you Grandma Duce.

My Maid

2009-01-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday morning I started to clean house (like that's new around here!). Madison really wanted to be my helper so I gave her a few jobs to do. One of those jobs, which I really DO NOT enjoy doing, was cleaning the toilet. I got her started on polishing up the toilet and left her to complete the job. I happened to walk by the bathroom and this is what I see... Dear sweet Quinn giving his big sister some moral support by patting her on the back while she cleaned the toilet! It was almost as if he felt bad for her, like she was being horribly punished. It was so funny.

We took pictures of the kids before church on the first Sunday in January. How do we possibly have time to take pictures before church starts you ask. Well, we are lucky (or unlucky) enough to start church at 2:00! Quinn started his 4th month of nursery and still hasn't decided if he's really a fan or not.

Madison is now in the CTR 5 class. She loves going to Primary and has been faithfully wearing her new CTR ring. I'm just waiting for her finger to turn green!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

Christmas really was wonderful this year. I think it gets more and more fun as the kids get older. It was so fun to watch Quinn & Madison open their presents, and listen to Madison talk about the day that Jesus was born. Spending time with family really was great. We spent Christmas in Brigham City with my family. We missed having Jens and Becky with us, but they were able to enjoy Christmas together in their new home in warm, sunny Arizona! We also spent a few days in Grace visiting the Bennetts, but we didn't even get out our camera while we were there. I think we were picture taking worn out!

Dancing Queen

2009-01-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

Back in December (yes, I'm trying to play catch up) Madison's dance teacher had a mini recital the last 10 minutes of dance class. They did a ballet number and it was so cute. We took video with our old digital camera, which we've never done before. So it's not the best of quality, but I thought it would be fun for family to see Madison in action.

The Nutcracker & Santa

2008-12-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

As an early Christmas gift for Madison, I took her to see The Nutcracker here in Boise. We got all dressed up to go. Madison was SOOOO excited, she could hardly wait to see the ballerinas! Before the show started we browsed through some of the fun things they had for sale. She found this cute little ballerina mouse ornament. She said it was Angelina Ballerina, who she adores! Madison sat through the entire 2 hour performance on the edge of her seat. She loved every bit of it. I must admit that it was a spectacular show, the sugar plum princess was an amazing dancer and left us all breathless! During the short intermission Madison got out of her seat and did a few twirls! This girl just might be a real ballerina some day, we'll just have to wait and see!

So after the show was over, we walked out to the car (amidst a snow storm) and found that I had lost my keys. Arrrgh!! So we walked all the way back and I asked an employee about my keys. Luckily some kind person had found them and turned them in. When I bent down to button up Madison's coat, I set my keys down on the floor and forgot to pick them up! After finding my keys, the crowd of people leaving had pretty much died down. Madison ran over to look at all the Nutcracker things they were selling. I felt pretty bad that she had to walk out to the car and back, in the snow, with her church shoes on, so I caved in and bought her the nutcracker she had picked out. Lucky girl! What a "magical" (as Madison said) time we had!

Last week we took the kids to the mall to run a few errands. We thought if the kids were feeling up to it we'd stop by and see Santa. Now let me back up and say that in years past Madison has been very terrified of getting anywhere near Santa. I don't really blame her though! But this year she'd been telling us that she wasn't going to be shy with Santa and that she wanted to sit on his lap. And that she did!! We couldn't believe it. When it was our turn to see him, she walked right up to him and sat down with him. Quinn, on the other hand, held tight onto me and didn't want down. But then he warmed up and sat with him too. He wouldn't look at Santa, which was pretty funny. So we took our limit of 2 pictures with our own camera!

So here we've got the kids looking at the camera, but not Santa! Come on Santa! You'd think he'd have this down after how many pictures???

Christmas Kids

2008-12-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

The kids were looking pretty festive in their church clothes on Sunday, so we stuck them in front of the tree and snapped a few quick pictures.

If I Could Turn Back Time

2008-12-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

The other day I was looking at pictures we have of our family from over the years. I love looking back at them, it brings back so many good memories. I was looking at pictures of Madison (who is now 4 years old) from when she was Quinn's current age (20 months). I don't remember her having such a round little face! Time sure does fly by because now I have a hard time remembering what she was like as a toddler. Now I know why my Mom can't remember when I got my first tooth! (Remember when I asked you that Mom?)

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-02T14:58:00.001-07:00

We packed up the car and made the trip to Grace, Idaho for Thanksgiving this year. We spent the holiday with Hal's family. We were able to see almost all of his siblings and their families. We had a yummy spread of food and enjoyed the good company of family. Grandma Bennett gave all the grandkids Christmas pajamas and a Christmas book. We tried rounding up all the grandkids in their new pjs for a photo. It was a bit of a zoo! But somehow we were able to snap this photo of Quinn giving Madison a sweet little kiss.

Thankful for...

2008-12-02T14:50:00.001-07:00

For family home evening during the month of November we made a paper turkey and feathers. On one of the feathers our family wrote down things we are thankful for. Then we mailed a feather to grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and asked if they would write down on their feather what they are thankful for. Then Madison anxiously waited for the mail to come each day in hopes that she'd be sent a feather to add to the turkey. It was a lot of fun and maybe we'll make that a family tradition of ours.

Boys Will Be Boys

2008-11-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

When we found out we were going to be having our first baby boy, we were ecstatic! Madison would have a little brother, Dad would have his little buddy, and I would have my sweet little boy. 20+ months later and I'm still trying to figure out where this little boy came from and how come he didn't come with an owners manual! He has a mind and agenda of his own, that I know for sure.

The other day Madison had out some markers and was coloring. Of course Quinn wanted to join in on the fun. He climbed up onto a chair and dove into the markers. Me, being the conscientious mother that I am, pulled off Quinn's shirt knowing he would get marker all over it. Even if they are washable markers, why create more laundry for myself? So Quinn started coloring in his coloring book and I went about making dinner. I turn around from the stove and this is what I see....Not so much coloring on the coloring book, but mostly on himself. Now this is something Madison NEVER did. She was always very soft and gentle with all her toys and things. She wouldn't voluntarily get herself messy or dirty. So I'm wondering to myself, is this just a boy thing or what?

I think it's funny when friends come over to my house and see my kitchen drawers and ask about the yard stick going through the drawer handles. Thankfully my Mom came up with this brilliant idea on how to keep my little boy out of all the fun kitchen toys. It works like a charm and I would recommend it to anyone who has little ones who love to pull out and drop on the floor everything in the kitchen drawers. This system has surely saved Quinn from numerous injuries. Once again though, I'm thinking, is this just a boy thing or what? Why must he get into EVERYTHING!

But at the end of the day, after chasing Quinn out of all sorts of trouble and mischief, we love him still the same. How can we not with a face like this...

Meticulous Madison

2008-11-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

Every day Madison "makes her room beautiful" (as she says it). I think it's pretty funny how careful she is in placing each item in it's proper place. She gets out all her stuffed animals, babies, etc. and puts them in the perfect spot. She is super diligent about keeping her bedroom door shut during the day so Quinn doesn't come in and mess up her room. I'm amazed that she has kept her room this way for a few weeks. It's great, I love it! I'm not cleaning her room, she is! I wonder where she gets this little quirk from....hmmmm???

Now when she's a messy teenager, I have proof of what a clean room she used to keep! We love our meticulous Madison!

Here We Are

2008-11-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we have finally decided to start a blog. I had talked myself out of doing one for a long time, but I finally caved into the peer pressure! We hope it will help us stay in touch with all our family and friends. I'm still trying to figure all this out, so you'll have to be patient with me.