Summer 2010 - Benjamin FUN

Benjamin in his new favorite spot - standing on top of the coffee table. His next favorite place - flying off the coffee table onto the couch. That's our boy! Can't resist that dimpled smile!

I introduced Benjamin to the ONLY way to eat a PB&J - dipped in milk! He instantly loved it.

This is how it ended - apparently it was way more fun to just leave the sandwich floating in the milk.

Benjamin thought it would be fun to lay in the basket of blankets...he was right, he loved it - at least for the 5 minutes that he laid there.

Updates coming soon

Sorry, I know you all are probably so sick of seeing how amazing I am STILL posted on our blog. Let's be honest, pictures of Benjamin are way more entertaining. Anyway, we have done a lot of fun things this summer and I will share all about them soon. Just know that we're doing well. So far this summer we've gone to Newdale, ID for Grandma Howard's birthday, Hogle Zoo, 5 Guys Burger and Fries, In-n-Out, Casper, WY, Yogurt Bliss, Sub Zero, Clearfield, UT, Springville, UT, Crumb Brothers, Pleasant Grove, UT, swimming at the Malad swimming pool, said good-bye to the Sandbergs (boo), met with a home loan officer - Stan the Man, Josh is getting good grades, and I've cut a minute off of my mile! Upcoming events include 4 year anniversary in St. George (first time without Benjamin), me running a 1/2 marathon next month, Josh baptizing his nephew in Indiana in September, and we may possibly be moving in November. Those are all of our forthcoming big new events. Stay tuned!

I'm Pretty Amazing

Hi, this is Terra.
Sometimes....okay, a lot of times, I want to be like someone else. I want to be super-woman and have it all and do it all.  I realize that I'm not. And honestly, I'm so blessed with what I have. One day....or month or so, I came up with a list of things that make me who I am. Read this if you want, but I won't be offended if you don't. I've decided that as imperfect and horrible as I am...I'm still pretty amazing. So here's part of me in list form and in no particular order.

• I love chocolate
• I love the color pink - SO much!
• I now have braces and am highly embarrassed by them
• I love talking to my Heavenly Father
• I wake up early to jog - like 5:30 a.m. early
• My goal is to run a half marathon - August 28th
  
• I need to shed some pounds
• I do NOT like trend diets, pills, shots, or drinks that are supposed to make you lose weight fast
  
• I believe in losing weight with hard work - a balanced diet and daily exercise
• If there are treats to be had - I lose self control - hence the overweight part, but I'm getting better
• I LOVE my husband with all my heart. He is my FAVORITE person in the world!
• I LOVE my son with all of my heart. He is my second favorite person in the world!
• I have a testimony of daily scripture study
• I love sleeping on my stomach
• I have eczema and it makes my hands look like old lady hands
  
• I've had 3 knee surgeries on my right knee
• I love to sing
• My mom is one of my best friends
• I have an insanely good memory with most things - especially birthdays
  
• I'm excited for the day I get to be a stay at home mother
• I speed
• I like sports
• Jessie Hylton inspires me and is one of my best friends
• I'm embarrassed by the fact that sometimes I put a movie on for Benjamin so I can get dinner made because Josh works nights
  
• I love it when Benjamin goes to bed
• I love it when Benjamin wakes up
• I love talking to Josh - he's my BFF
• I love Hondas
• I'm proud to be from Wyoming
• I'm usually cold - even when I was super pregnant in the summer with no AC
  
• I hate it when people say, "You just wait till...." followed by something negative, when talking about my marriage or about my child
• I love Logan - never thought I'd say that
• I LOVE nursery and Benjamin's nursery leaders
• I love that Jesus Christ knows me personally and I can complain to Him about anything and He completely understands
• I rely on the Spirit every day
• I feel completely inadequate as a wife and mother
  
• I LOVE ice water
• I love Harry Potter
• I love High School Musical - all of them
• I have a strong foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ thanks to great parents, siblings, and leaders
• I think that USU's administration is a joke
• I graduated from RICKS College before Josh graduated High School
  
• I'm 30 - it kills me to say that mostly because Josh is 27
• I'm immature - I act more like I'm 20
• I loved my mission - for many reasons
• I love a clean home
• Dirty toilets make me sick
  
• My home is cleanest after Benjamin goes to bed - when few people see it
  
• I've never been to Yellowstone
• I admire my brothers because of the amazing women they married
• I love my sister - she's awesome
• I like the New York Yankees
• I care too much about what people think of me
• I miss Beth Bernards
  
• I think my mother-in-law is an amazing woman
• I love the Book of Mormon
• I think bumper stickers are tacky
• I think family is SO important
• I miss all my friends that I don't see everyday - seriously I do
• I hate conflict
• I try to please everyone
• There are very few people that I've gotten to know that I don't like
• I may not be perfect, but I have a lot of determination
• Every day I am aware of my imperfections, but I know that with the Lord I can make weak things become strong
• I am pretty amazing!!!!!

Swimming

Yesterday the boys went golfing, so Alyssa Howe called me up and asked if Benjamin and I wanted to go swimming. Boy did we ever want to go swimming! First of all, it was free. Second of all, it was just me and Alyssa and our boys. We had the whole wonderfully warm outside pool to ourselves. It was great. Benjamin got the chance to wear his new swimsuit. He is the most darling little boy...how can he get cuter? Not possible!He did have a life jacket on while he was in the pool and he looked so stinking cute. I would do the whole, blow in his face and dunk him under water and he would say, "Again?!" He's going to be my little water bug. Thanks for inviting us Alyssa, it was SO much fun!

Birthday Post #3

My grandma (Benjamin's great grandma) turned 89 on Sunday(May23) and so on Saturday night we had the idea of surprising her for her birthday. Sunday morning we woke up and made the trek to Newdale, Idaho.

I thought this was a beautiful picture, so I had to take it. Yay for Idaho.

Here is sweet Benjamin just chillin in his car seat. Not his favorite place to be, but you'd think it was by this huge grin on his face. I love this picture, he looks so handsome!


Here is Benjamin and my dad having so much fun. And yes, Benjamin has no pants on. That's how he rolls.

Here are Grandpa Howard and Benjamin having so much fun. Benjamin likes anything dangerous or thrilling, so you bet he loved being flipped over by Grandpa!


Josh and Benjamin on the merry-go-round with Nana Howard looking on.



This is probably one of my most favorite pictures of Benjamin. He loves the slide...even though he looks slightly terrified yet slightly excited.

I know, we go to say Happy Birthday to Grandma and we didn't even get pictures of her...I'm lame and partially just love taking photos of my cute little guy.

Birthday #2

Josh's actual birthday is May 8th. We decided to go to breakfast since Josh would have to work that night. Evan and Ashlee so graciously came from Colorado for Josh's birthday - they love us. And maybe they had a wedding to go to as well...but mostly for us, right? Josh got a HUGE cinnamon roll just because it was his birthday. Needless to say, we took it home with us.

I think it's the size of Benjamin's huge noggin. Don't worry, that's a huge glob of BUTTER. We took that off before we ate it the next day.

Benjamin had a good time playing in the water. Go figure...he's just ALL boy.

Here's Benjamin sporting his new hat - it was just a cute picture so I had to take it!

Josh got a new i-pod touch for his birthday - he is spoiled, we know. He also got some new movies, a tennis racket, some clothes, an embosser for his books, some chocolate rice krispie treats, an i-tunes gift card, and some guitar picks. Thanks to all for helping us celebrate Josh's birthday. All in all, it was a great birthday for Josh...at least I think so.

Birthday #1

A couple of days before Josh's 27th birthday we decided that he really needed a hair cut. He asked me to cut in a mullet just for picture purposes. So here is the birthday mullet that I quickly cut off after we took the pictures.

On Friday, May 7th, we had a BASH. It was a Josh's Birthday, Swen graduated, Chelsea graduated, finals are over BASH. The Sandbergs so graciously let us have the BBQ at their home. It was barely warm enough for us to be outside, but we had fun.
Here is Swen starting our bonfire.

Here are some of our favorite peeps chatting...trying to get warm in the sun.

Here is the cake that I made from scratch...it was so easy and so delicious! It's true, it was a 4 layer cake. Yum-my! I'm pretty amazing like that. :-)