Benton

Benton always wants to share his testimony at church, but he wants us to help him. So for FHE we had him put a bag together of all the things he believed in: book of mormon, jesus... and then we all bore our testimonies. Benton's testimony went like this: "I want to bear my testimony. I have this sister and she does not know how to share. It is really frustrating and we try and teach her to share, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen." When we said a testimony is something we believe in, he said "yeah I do believe Kate can't share."

We were driving in the car and Christian and I were talking about something coming up and he said "Oh that stinks we have to..." and Benton in the back said "Oh no that was me, I have been tooting back here."

At playgroup a few of the kids chased Kate and it scared her. Benton sat down on the floor and held her saying "its okay little sister I am here." Then he stood her up and took her by the hand and made all of the friends say sorry to her and give her a hug.

For some reason Benton was waking up in the middle of the night, just to be awake. I woke up at 4am to find all of the lights in the house on and him watching Netflix with a box of cereal. We went out the next day and bought a clock and showed him what time he could come out. The next morning I asked him how it went and he said "Well I woke up and it wasn't quite 7, so I just watched a few movies until it was 7." I told him that isn't how it works and he said "yeah mom I tried that and it just doesn't work for me."

These 2

I am kind of obsessed with these 2 people. They are so cute together (well most of the time.)
A few things I love:

• Benton tries to help Kate say the prayer.
• When she is crying he will tell her "its okay little sister I am here."
• She looks for him first thing in the morning.
• They play hide and seek together.
• He can get her out of her crib.
• He will climb in her crib with her and play.
• She never likes to hear him cry, just because it makes her sad.

I hope they always keep this close of a relationship!

Happy Birthday Benton

We had a week full of parties for Benton. Who knew it could be so fun to turn 4? Party #1 was a surprise to Benton. We told him we were going to Grandpa's and instead showed up at Cowabunga Water Park with his cousins. He was thrilled! We hadn't been there before so we weren't sure what he would be able or would brave enough to do, but thankfully he has some really cool older cousins. They took him to the top of the highest slide while Christian and I waited at the bottom. We kept thinking there is no way he is going to go down that, a few seconds later he was flying through the water and ready to do it again.

His actual birthday was on Sunday and the primary did a spotlight on him. He was so cute standing up there. They asked him "why is today a special day?" and Benton said "because today is Sunday." He loved telling everyone he was now 4!

 I love this picture...just look at his face! I forget how exciting birthday's are when you are little.

Benton kept telling everyone when he got his full Iron Man suit he would get his powers. He was pretty excited to finally get that suit...and he has worn it almost daily since.

Benton loves the Utes, even though most of his cousins are Cougar fans. I think his favorite part of the week was spending time with his cousins, thanks to everyone for making it a fantastic week!

Congrats to Alisa and Drew

Christian's sister, Alisa, got married a couple of weeks ago. She was beautiful and the wedding turned out great! Welcome to the Andersen Family, Drew!

 Little miss Kate...she kept calling all the brides a princess.

I Want a Cabin

 We are going in a few weeks to a cabin for youth conference, so a few people from the ward went up to check it all out. A great weekend, and all thanks to Elder and Sister Cheney (a service missionary couple in our ward)! They are definitely some of the best hosts I have ever had! It makes us want to buy a cabin, but I guess the smart thing to do would buy a house first.

 We had a total of 6 kids, all 4 and under...but they did great!

 Kate fell in love with Elder Cheney. He carried her on the hike and picked flowers with her. The pic below you can see her holding his hand, so sweet!

She isn't old enough!

 We went to Moab/Arches a few weeks ago with our good friends and discovered Kate isn't old enough for camping! Well, she liked being there in the day, just not at night...she cried both nights and I had to sleep holding her.

 Arches is great for hiking/walking which is perfect for kids!

 We loved the sand hill, and here is Mr. Cool to prove it!

 Benton was in charge of finding all the insects, lizards, and bugs. He did a great job!

 Kate LOVED hiking on her Dad's back and even took a nap or two up there.

 Benton was in heaven the entire time. This boy loves to climb anything!

 This is what happens when you sleep with Kate on a camping trip! He was so tired that he was sleeping while trying to eat his rice krispie treat.

This little miss was super hesitant about the sand, but we finally convinced her to sit in it and pick it up. She never did walk in it though...maybe next time.

It was a great trip despite the lack of sleep, but I guess that is to be expected. I think next time I will just stay one night, I can handle anything for one night. Thanks Emily and Spencer for the great memories!

What can be cuter?

What can be cuter than 2 handsome boys?

Maybe 2 cute girls?

We miss you guys! Please move back!!

Easter

 I have great memories of getting up early Saturday morning and hitting up all the Easter Egg hunts, so I was excited to add this tradition to our family.  I knew the hunt started at 9am, so we were up and going trying to hurry down to the park, but just as we were about to leave Kate needed to go potty, and girl cannot be rushed!  We hurried down and arrived at 9:03, just in time to see all the kids running and collecting candy (why do they only last 2 minutes??).  We tried to join in, but only ended up with one piece for Kate and one for Benton.  I felt so bad and then felt even worse when Benton started crying that he didn't even find one egg.  I wanted to cry with him, but thankfully a wonderful mom saw what was going on.  She quickly brought her 2 year old son over and with a little coaxing talked him into sharing his candy with my kids.  I wanted to hug this lady.  She didn't know us and probably would never see us again, but she went out of her way to make our Easter a wonderful and memorable one. I hope next year when I do show up on time I can remember to look for the sad empty handed kids. 

 It was fun to have Grandmom come!

Their was face painting (Alisa even got in on the action).

 Benton with his cousins, I love that the older kids are pushing the younger ones.  Benton is always happy when he is with his cousins!

Little miss Kate playing with Logan, this girl is growing up way too fast!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter, it really is one of my favorite holidays.

Particular

I have learned over the years that Benton is quite particular.  For instance several months ago we started leaving the hall light on and his door cracked a few inches.  Well now he can't go to sleep unless the door is closed to that exact spot. Or he likes to be tucked in starting with his small blankie on his feet first, then larger ones on top, no exceptions.   The other night I was out and Christian started a movie for he and Benton.  Benton fell asleep in his clothes on the couch, so not wanting to wake him up Christian put him to bed in his clothes.  Well sometime around 4am Benton wakes up screaming "DAD!!"  Naturally Christian jumped out of bed expecting to see blood or a burglar, but instead Benton just reminded him that he "forgot" to put his p.j.'s on.  I guess it can be confusing to sleep in your jeans, right?

FHE

 For family night I try and have a lesson (which usually ends up being super quick and Christian is typically holding Benton until I finish), but what really gets our kids excited about family night is all the fun activities we do, or at least they think they are fun!

One game (which is Benton's favorite) consists of putting odd clothing into a bag, music, a timer, and passing the bag to each person.  Whoever is holding the bag when the music ends gets to pick out an article to wear.

 

 It is always more fun when the dad gets involved!

Benton wanted to put everything on this time. 

One night we acted out Noah's Arc...a big hit, especially when it involved moving our couches together!

 

I guess our family nights aren't the most spiritual, but at least we have fun, that counts right? 

2011 Interview

R. B. Andersen
2011 Interview
1. Favorite cereal? Cheerios
2. Favorite vegetable? Carrots
3. Favorite drink? Apple Juice
4. Favorite toy? Race Track
5. Favorite TV show? Toy Story 3
6. Favorite game? Star Wars Game
7. Favorite Book? Star Wars Book
8. Favorite Restaurant? Cafe Rio
9. Favorite Holiday? Easter
10. Favorite animal? Pigs
11. If you could change your name what would you choose? B
12. Where do you want to go on vacation this year? California
13. What do you love about each person in our family?
Dad – Cause he is bigger
Mom – plays toys with me
Kate – plays in my room
14. What are some of your wishes for this year?
I want to play toys this year.

And there you have it.