Benton Turned 5

 Ninjas, Batman, Spiderman, pretty much any kind of superhero is really cool when you are 5!

Sleeping out in the tent. The girls only made it for about 20 mins before heading inside to our beds. There was no way Benton was caving in and going to his bed, thanks Christian for being a good sport!

Setting up the tent in the backyard.

Benton asked for a Batman cake...Christian pulled this together for his first fondant cake, I think it was a success. 

Happy 5th Birthday, Benton, we love you!

Kate Turned 3

All Kate wanted for her birthday was an Ariel cake. Thanks to Aunt Alisa and Uncle Drew, her wish came true.

 She LOVED the cake and still a few weeks later talks about how great it was!

 We had a few little princesses from the neighborhood over, we heard squeals and giggles the whole time. I think Kate was in heaven!

 London Bridges

 The Line Up

 Dancing around the room.

 To top the night off we celebrated Kate's and my Dad's Birthday with cake and ice cream.

2 Ariel cakes...what more can a little 3 year old ask for?

Happy 3rd Birthday Kate, we love you!

Suzanne's Birthday

Christian here:

It is not too often that I get a chance to highjack the family blog, but today is a special occasion.  It is Suzanne's Birthday.  I just wanted to share with everyone some reasons why I fell in love with this woman and remain smitten to this day.

Suzanne is the most caring individual that I know.  She loves her family, friends, and neighbors.  She is constantly serving those around her. She is an example to me of how to have charity for those around me.  She gives of her time, talents, and energy to bless the lives of others.  Whether it is serving in a church calling, babysitting for friends, making meals for those in need, talking on the phone in order to console or uplift others, or her late night conversations with me about how to help others, she demonstrates genuine love for her fellow brothers and sisters.  She has taught me the relationship between time and love by giving of her time to bless those around her.

Her days generally consists of serving Benton, Kate, and me.  We are so lucky to have her as our wife/mother.  Benton and Kate adore Suzanne.  She is a wonderful mother who plans play dates with friends, field trips to the museums or library, science experiments, and alone time with the kiddos.  I couldn't ask for a better mother for my children.  To her kids and me, she is a superhero.

She is so fun to be with.  She loves to go on hikes, go to movies, go to sewing class, run (by the way, good job on the 10k), go to book club (even though I don't think they read any books), and spending time with her friends and family.  She has a fun-loving personality that constantly boosts my spirits.  She fully engages in any activity with which she is involved.  She wants every gathering to be a success regardless of whether or not she was the one who organized it.

Suzanne, I love you and honor you today (and always) for all that you do for me and others.  I hope you have a wonderful birthday.

Love,
Christian

Danielle

 Danielle, Suzanne, Natalie

My sweet little sister returned to her Heavenly Father yesterday morning. She was the best to laugh with, shop with, and have Friday Movie day with.She was a wonderful mother and friend. We will all miss her!

Danielle Wade

5/29/88 - 6/24/12

Just Because

I have been loving this song today. I'm happy Christian asked me to marry him in his parents kitchen almost 7 years ago.

A Little Bit About them

Benton age 4

What makes you happy?  "Not getting mad at me"

What is your favorite animal? "Dinosaur"

What is your favorite thins to eat? "Corn dogs"

What is your least favorite thing to eat? "Pizza"

What is your favorite thing to do? "Play with friends or just playing with Parker"

What is your favorite TV show? "Star Wars"

What is your favorite color? "Red, green, yellow, black, and white and orange oh and purple"

What is your favorite song? "Of course I have a favorite song, its like a hula hoop...from Alvin and Chipmunks"

Who is your best friend? "Parker"

What do you like to do with Daddy? "Sword fighting"

What do your want to be when you grow up? "Fireman"

Kate age 2

What makes you happy? "Kate"

What is your favorite animal? "Puppy"

What is your favorite thing to eat? "apples"

What is your least favorite thing to eat? "yucky stuff"

What is your favorite thing to do? "Play princess"

What is your favorite TV show? "Princess"

What is your favorite color? "Pink"

What is your favorite song? "At last I see the light" (the Tangled song)

Who is your best friend? "Repunzel"

What do you like to do with Daddy? "Play in my room"

What do your want to be when you grow up? "Have a baby"

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."