Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Merry Christmas!

We have had a wonderful Christmas and I'm finally uploading pictures from the past week. Not that we've been too busy. It's been a nice pace of relaxation and kinda forgetting what day we were even on....
On Christmas Even, we went to the Iannucci's house for dinner. After dinner, Santa surprised us all and brought a few presents. Carter was dying over his Obi-Wan Kenobi figure.
Matthew also loved his Star Wars figure. Santa coming here was just priming the pump for the massive excitement that night over Santa coming to our house.

Abby was appropriately scared to be on the lap of a guy dressed in white with a huge beard... She was amazingly out of sorts this night anyway...

We headed home and the boys were eager to go to sleep because they knew that Santa knows when they are awake and wouldn't come until they were alseep. We left out cookies, milk and carrots. Earlier they had sprinkled reindeer food out on the driveway. They had really been trying to leave out the milk and cookies for several days and we had to put it repeatedly put it away saying Santa doesn't want warm milk...


Come Christmas morning.... we TOLD the boys NOT to go downstairs until they woke us up. I really wanted to get video of them seeing their gifts. BUT.... they came into our room with the announcement that Santa HAD indeed come and had left them exactly what they wanted!! So I don't have any pictures of them on the stairs... Their excitement was just wonderful. (Carter actually got sick in the middle of the night from coughing and was super cooperative as we cleaned so he could go back to sleep...)
Here is Abby as she saw the cradle Santa left her with a doll in it. Here she is actually stashing all of her presents in the cradle and did not want anyone touching them...

We then went to Bill's brother's house for a wonderful dinner and celebration with all of the Benjaminsens. The food was amazing and it was a great day together. The kids were finally introduced to Guitar Hero and Rock Band. We couldn't get Abby off the drums! Look - she knew exactly where to put her food - no one showed her! (Don't you just love the Mrs. Claus dress that Auntie Kimmie bought her over a year ago!!!)

Carter rockin' on the guitar with Ryan. This is feeding Carter's desire for a guitar. He'll get lessons one day...


Matthew and the guitar...


It was a great Christmas. Bill and I are really trying to cherish these years where the magic is so alive and the excitement is so wonderful you want to bottle it up!
Below is Abby on the way home from church this past Sunday. Notice that she has a cookie in one hand that she feel asleep holding!


We talked tonight at dinner about all the great things that will happen in 2009. Time is definitely flying...
We are wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

Posting a Test Video

I'm learning how to do videos with my camera. Here is a test video of Abby waking up and what happens each morning. The boys usually end up in the crib with her. (I hate listening to myself!) Warning: lots of "oh you guys are the best kids" quotes.


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Snowy Weekend

Well this weekend we've easily gotten 24 inches of snow. The wild thing about Massachusetts - I doubt school will even be delayed tomorrow!
This afternoon Abby was carrying around this bag of chips and seriously would not share them or give the bag back! I just thought it was funny.

Here the boys are enjoying some cookies that our "Secret Santas" left us to decorate on this snowy day. The boys had a blast. (Notice the two houses they both decorated at school.)
Everyone outside yesterday. It's been snowing non-stop. I'll get some pictures of the house so you can see the amount of snow. Abby was just too precious in her pepto-bismol explosion outfit. She tootled around outside with us and was stinkin' mad if anyone went outside without her.


Our little pink bear in the snow.


Luckily we bought the boys their own shovels. They were quite a help since the snow is light and fluffy. I introduced Carter to the idea that he'll be able to shovel and make money in the future!


The bonus - we'll have a White Christmas!

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More Thanksgiving Memories

Sorry it has taken awhile for me to get some pictures up from our trip to Maryland and NC over Thanksgiving. It was a great trip. I've downloaded some highlights. They are in reverse chronological order, but for the sake of updating the blog, I'm going to leave them that way.
This is a (fuzzy) picture we took with Mama as we were leaving. I'm mainly posting because.... hello... doesn't Abby look just like Robin E. as a little girl?!?!


We took a ferry ride to the deserted island Shackleford Banks. It's right off the coast of Morehead City and Beaufort. It was a BLAST, to say the least. Dad made sure we had good campfire food with us. Note the 3-pronged hotdog holder that Clint has! After the trip, Bill said "It isn't an Edwards trip if we don't come back smelling like a campfire!"
This is the view of Fort Macon across the sound from Shackleford Banks.


Abby in the sand on the Banks.



On the ferry (only 15 minutes) from Beaufort to Shackleford. Everyone LOVED the ride.


As I noted earlier, Matthew learned to ride a 2-wheeler after Thanksgiving dinner. He asked Dad to take the training wheels off, and after one push from Bill, he was off and going. He was BEYOND proud of himself (as was everyone else). It is wonderful to see your children learning new skills that give them such positive self-esteem and independence.


The boys were often seen sporting these Batman masks. Here the big boys are using chalk on the driveway as the masked hero.

Abby and Sheely at the piano.



Matthew and Carter climbing out of the ditch by the bridge next to Mama's house. They tried to re-enact some Indiana Jones scenes. They don't want you to know how shallow the ditch is and they want everyone to think they are escaping hot lava!


Just a funny picture of Abby standing in her rocking chair. She stands everywhere and is quite the daredevil!


Dad and Bill took Carter, Matthew and Xavey out on a canoe ride. They loaded canoes on our van and Dad's car. The boys were in HEAVEN, to say the least. They had so much fun.

The boys carrying the canoes into the Newport River.


I asked the boys to pose for a picture and this is their natural pose. Guns and all...


Corinne and I bought the boys matching planet jammies. They were just so darling. Here they are in the Edwards' living room. The boys just LOVED playing together. We had such a great time with their family. Even their skirmishes were so sibling-like, which is so nice (as nice as can be). They will grow up being close.


We visited the National Air & Space Museum out near Dulles Airport. It is AWESOME! Here the boys are in front of the SR-71 Blackbird. I can't wait to go back when the kids are a bit older to do a guided tour. Abby has a gigantic meltdown, unlike ever before, so I left early with her.


Overall we had a great trip. We loved spending so much time with Clint's family and being in NC with Mom and Dad. Clint and Bill got up VERY early the day after Thanksgiving to sit in the cold at Target in New Bern to get presents for their wives:) (Love my Dyson, guys!!!) Mama is doing very well and came over for dessert with Jerry, Ivonne and Chris after Thanksgiving. We made lots of desserts and chomped away the whole time. Amazingly, the trip did not involve a single trip to Sonic or Chick-fil-A. We'll get our fill next summer....

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Friday, December 12, 2008

Ice Storm!

Last night we had a huge ice storm which just trashed our backyard. All night we would hear a crash every few minutes - a few were huge crashes! Luckily we escaped the major damage our neighbor incurred - huge tree fell on her car! We just got power back about Noon today. The boys didn't have school so it's been a fun day-off!

This is our backyard. This front tree is just practically destroyed. Notice the red small sand box is destroyed.


This is Linda's backyard. This tree came down early this morning.

This is also Linda's backyard. This tree fell on her car about 3am.

This is the front of the house - everything has a nice layer off ice!

I'll update the blog with some more pictures from NC in a bit.

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Sunday, November 30, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are in Morehead City, NC with my parents and Clint & Corinne's family. We have had so much fun with little outings and mostly a lot of relaxing. I wanted to post just a few pictures from the actual Thanksgiving day - followed by the most important thing that happened that day!




We strolled along the Morehead waterfront on a gorgeous day. It was totally deserted, which was great. Here the boys are swinging on some public swings.








We had a fabulous dinner. Can you see the tower of rolls? They were awesome rolls. There were 4 batmen at the table... these boys rarely took off their masks.






Here the kids are eating the pumpkin chocolate chip muffins that Corinne made. They were a HIT! (Maybe I'll post the recipe...) I was in the dining room talking with relatives and eating "adult desserts" (food we didn't want to share with the kids) and didn't realize Carter was eating 7, yet 7, cupcakes!






Our muffin enjoying a muffin... She loved these also... She napped through dinner and joined us for dessert.






Most importantly..... after dinner the kids went outside to ride bikes and play. Matthew came in and asked for the training wheels to be taken off his bike. Dad went out to do it and Bill went out to help him ride the bike (he hasn't really ever ridden a 2-wheeler). Bill held him for 5 seconds, pushed off.... and he was riding! I was in the dining room and went running out to see and take pictures! He was so proud of himself... we just couldn't believe it.




Here Bill is standing with his arms out like "He just took off riding!"

It was a fun day. Hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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Friday, November 28, 2008

Thanksfulness...

Ten things I am so very thankful for...

1. My family - including my beautiful children, super supportive husband and the great family I was born into. (I also really like the family I married into!)
2. Books
3. Living in America with our freedoms and opportunities
4. The restored Gospel and being 'a forever family'.
5. My minivan and it's automatic doors and other luxuries that make the chaos quite endurable.
6. Really good friends
7. My husband's job
8. Sleep
9. Diet Coke
10. Chocolate

Happy Thanksgiving!
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Ramblings...

A few updates from Team Benjaminsen: We are officially now a 2-large-pizza-family. Last night we had pizza and got a large and a small. Everything was gone by the end! We can't believe that is our new status!

Also, Matthew said the cutest thing yesterday. We were walking in Target and passed a Coca-Cola display with boxes that have Santa on them. Matthew said with big eyes and lots of wonder, "Wow, Santa must be old enough to drink Diet Coke!"

Yet another cute (touching) thing he said the other day in the car. He said "Mom, isn't it going to be so sad when the kids are grown up and you have no more kids at home?" I told him how terribly sad I would be (then secretly wished for just 2 hours like that!).
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Monday, November 10, 2008

Sarcasm in a 4 year old...

Background: Our little Matthew has picked up this habit (I'm praying it's a short-lived stage) of wanting to change his outfit about 4-5 times a day. I've heard of other kids (usually girls) doing this and prayed it wouldn't hit any of my kids. Matthew insists on having 'morning clothes' that he puts on when he wakes up then another set of clothes for school then he changes several other times. He's actually quite good at putting the dirty ones in the laundry - but I do a lot of laundry.

On to the story.... Last week Matthew insisted on a wardrobe change right as we really trying to get out the door. He ran upstairs and I could hear him walking around and banging things. I kept calling up saying "Come on Matthew, we're going to be late" and "Please come down Matthew". He shouted down a few things - then he finally shouted down - "DO YOU WANT ME TO BE UNDERWEAR MAN?" I couldn't stop laughing...

Last night, in an attempt to tell Bill he was ready to brush his teeth, he said "Dad, do you want me to get cavities?" with a big sarcasm look on his face.

As long as it stays funny... otherwise we have some work to do!
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Uncle Glenn is strong!

Uncle Glenn and Kathy came over for dinner last night - here he is showing off his amazing strength! These boys are not on the low end of the weight scale! Everyone needs an Uncle Glenn!

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Sunday, November 9, 2008

Sunday Brisket

This is a fabulous sunday dinner that everyone in our family absolutely loves, it's super easy and just right for a Sunday when you need the oven to heat up the house a bit! Enjoy!
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup chili sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
12 oz beef broth
3-4 lb breef brisket
15 small red potatoes
1 lb baby carrots
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Stir together first 5 ingredients. Place brisket, fat side up, in a large roasting pan or Dutch oven; piece several times with a fork. Arrange potatoes and carrots evenly around brisket; then pour sauce mixture evenly over brisket and vegetables.
Bake, covered, for 3 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with sauce. Remove from oven, and let stand in pan, for 20 minutes. Remove brisket from pan and cut into slices (we remove the slab of fat at this point). Return slices to pan with potatoes and carrots. Bake, covered 30 more minutes.
Note: Our BJs usually sells about a 7 lb brisket so we cut it in half and freeze the second half for another sunday dinner. Also - don't use CORNED beef brisket, as I did the first time as I didn't know the difference:) Gigantic difference!!!
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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Abby is a Character

Abby just loves her brothers. Here she is trying to be her own version of Indiana Jones. I thought the hat was just so cute!
Close-Up for our female Indy (or Marian...)



Today the boys got haircuts and lollipops at the Barber shop. I thought Abby had only taken one lollipop - until I looked back and saw she had taken two! Why suck one when you can suck two!!
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Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween!

Our boys decided to be Indiana Jones for Halloween awhile ago so we've been planning their costumes for awhile. We put brown makeup on their face to look like dirt. We were amazed at how much Matthew really looked like Indy! (He would study the book to make sure he looked like him...)






Yes, those are real whips and yes they will be hidden tomorrow.


Here is little Abigail, our little flower, who usually isn't crying. This isn't the funnest age for costumes - but this was the best picture I had showing her whole costume. She does, though, understand this is all about candy!!

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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Abby and Sammy in the Paper

Look who made the paper today!!! Yesterday we went to the Marlborough Main Street Trick-or-Treating. We were all freezing and it wasn't a ton of fun - but a photographer for the MetroWest Daily News came up to Christine and took a picture of Abby and Sam in the stroller and asked if it could be published.
And look - it's a very big picture! Notice the Twix in Abby's hand and lollipop in Sam's mouth! (If you click on the picture, you can enlarge it.)
An interesting note - when we finished yesterday, I realized one of Abby's footie things had fallen off. I had no idea where and wasn't too concerned about getting it back. She won't go out Friday night, anyway. Well - just an hour ago, a woman from Hudson called me asking for the "parents of Abby Benjaminsen". She said she picked up the footie and her friend saw the picture in the paper today and she knew how special first costumes were (I didn't want to break it to her that I probably wasn't going to keep this costume...) So I just picked it up and I can now pass on a complete costume to someone else!
I'll post other Halloween pictures later. Yesterday I had two very unhappy Indiana Jones'.
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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Happy Birthday Carter!


Our "little" boy Carter Bug is 6 today (well on Oct. 24th when I started this post)! Bill and I do not know where these 6 years have gone. We have been so blessed to have Carter in our family. He is such a sweet and good boy. He is a great big brother (always reminding Matthew he'll ALWAYS be older than him) and a real light in our house. I personally love that he comes to my side of the bed if he has a nightmare in the middle of the night, still thinks a kiss will heal anything, is excited to buy lunch once a week, will dance to The Wiggles with his sister and is such a sweet boy.


Here is Carter coming home from the hospital, 3 days old.





Our little Duck - about 1 year old.



With his special cousin Xavey who turns 6 in just 5 short weeks! (or long weeks for him and his family...)

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