Grandpa Great

 Great Grandpa Bennett passed away today, my heart is full as I sit and reflect on the life of this great man.  The first time I met him Cameron and I were dating and Cameron's family was coming to visit in Utah so Cameron and I drove the 2 hours to Logan UT to spend time with his family. Cameron and I weren't engaged yet but I think everyone knew that was coming.  the whole time we were there Grandpa was bustling around, cooking, taking care of Grandma and showing off his garden.  He laughed easily and had a way of making people feel loved.

 Grandma Bennett with K, 2004

Cameron and I loved visiting Grandma and Grandpa any chance we got.  It was always so peaceful and relaxing at their house, we'd go up for long weekend and just hang out. That's how Cameron became a slow driver, we were driving around with Grandpa and Cameron decided that there is no reason to rush around from place to place, he's been driving slow ever since.

 I love these pictures of him with K, He always loved holding the little ones and he had a knack for calming fussy babies and upset toddlers.

After Grandma passed away Grandpa started spending the winters in Florida with Louise and the summers in Utah with Roger. Which was perfect for us because by then we had moved to Florida so we were still able to see Grandpa Great.

 While I was going through cancer treatments the kids got to visit him a lot and he and D developed a cute relationship.  He liked to call D, Little Joe, Dallin was... and still is... so practical that he would always say, "I not 'ittle Joe, I 'allin!" and then Grandpa would tickle him and they'ed laugh together. They were best buds.

 Then this last time we went to visit it was fun to see L and P continue that same relationship with their grandpa Great.  He loves to tease and they love the attention.

We will miss you Grandpa Great!  You were one amazing person and we look forward to seeing you again.

A second Mother

 You may not know this but Charlie actually has 2 mothers... or at least that's what L would like us to believe.  That girl is completely in love with her little brother, unfortunately that poor little guy and completely terrified whenever L gets even close to him... except apparently when food is involved.

 I loved how she would open her mouth so big to show him how it's done... just like a true mom!

Life doesn't get much better then this!

AUNT AMY!!!!

 We LOVE it when Amy comes to visit us, she is AMAZING!!! We made her this super awesome welcome sign... I think she liked it.

We were lucky enough to hang out with her on her birthday. the kids were pretty excited that Amy requested brownies for her birthday.

 We took her to the Zoo, because that's what we do when she comes, she loves the zoo, we love the zoo, it's a win-win.

The animals love it when we come to visit... 

especially this guy! pucker up!

We did a lot of other stuff too but I think the zoo was a favorite!

Easter 2014

I love this time of year, the weather is perfectly warm and perfectly cool, and it just makes me happy!   This year for Easter we stayed in Texas and enjoyed an Easter egg hunt with our ward.  I didn't take many pictures but got this cute one of little L.  

 She LOVES anything princess, she can often be found dancing and singing "wet it DOE!" at the top of her lungs. "let it go" for those not versed in 2-year-old,  she loves to say the prayer and will insist on saying it even if it's someone else's turn.  She loves Baby C and wants to be touching him at all times, which is slightly terrifying for the poor little guy.  She is a super sweet little girl who loves everything pink and beautiful.

 Somehow this is the only good picture of C. He hasn't been feeling well, He's either teething or is trying to fight an ear infection or something.  other then that he is probably the best, most easy going, happy little baby ever.  He loves to smile and laugh.  He's 7 months old and loves to eat rice cereal and other mush.  I give him little puffs but he's still trying to figure those out.   He gets held A LOT. so much in fact that he only knows how to roll over from his stomach to his back and only if he is mad.  He has recently mastered the sitting up thing.  We moved him out of the living room and is now sharing a room with L and P. so far it seems to be working out great.

G is getting so big, he is in Kindergarten right now and LOVES it.  He loves everything about school.  He is also taking piano and is doing really well.  he actually enjoys practicing and is getting pretty good at it.  He is such a happy kid,  he makes things fun and exciting.

sadly as we were finishing up pictures, P tripped on a short prickly cactus and had cactus thorns all over his hands, feet and legs, poor little guy!  I felt so bad for him.  Generally speaking he is a happy little guy,  he loves to cause a little mischief, especially if it involved teasing his sister.  he loves blue and likes to dress from head to toe in blue.  He loves his daddy and is the first to hear the garage door when daddy comes home. he gives the best hugs.

 D just turned 8 and will be getting baptised shortly.  He is such a great kid, He's almost always the first to listen and obey when we ask the kids to do something,  He realizes the benefit of just getting things done.  He has started only wanting to play with boys and doing boy things but he is also really great with L and P and C he is an amazing big brother.

K is growing so fast,  she is a ferocious reader and can usually be found with her nose in a book.  This girl LOVES to read.  She is also a really good friend and has a lot of fun laughing making up stories and telling jokes with everyone.  She loves to make things special and helps me plan fun things for special events.  we love having her in our family. 

Our happy little crew.  sometimes I still can't believe we have 6 kids.  We love them all. 

a little Drama

This girl is one of the cutest, smartest, silliest, most excited and fun person I know.  She fits so well in this family with rest of the happy excited kids we have. so it's always surprising when her cheerfulness can turn to this in less then an instant. 

 This week Peter has decided that he can dress himself, all. by. himself. He has also convinced himself that shirts and pants are interchangeable. He likes to get out every shirt in his drawer and bring them into the living room to try them all on.  He's getting pretty good at putting them on upside down. such a cute kid.

Little Helper

Peter and Cameron have spent a lot of time together fixing things around here.  Even new bikes have a few kinks to work out and Peter is happy to help.

 Peter loves nothing more then being with his Daddy. He is a daddy's boy through and through. Unlike our other kids, He prefers Cameron over me every single time. When he hears the garage door open he drops whatever he is doing and runs as fast as he can yelling "daddy ome!!" then he jumps into his arms and gives him a huge hug.  He loves his dad!

Halloween!!

 This year for Halloween we decided to go easy.  We have a HUGE dress up bin and they got to pick a costume from there.  we happen to have a girl and boy pirate costumes that would have been perfect but Peter flat out refused to wear a costume... oh well maybe next year.

 Grant was super excited about the spiderwebs on his cheek.

Katelyn really got into the trunk or treat and came home with a huge bag of candy.  Dallin mistook it for the bag of candy we had been handing out and started passing out her candy to the other trunk or treaters until Katelyn protested.

 On Halloween we had a few families from the neighborhood over for a driveway dinner and then went trick or treating together.   I only managed to get a few pictures before i got distracted.

 King Triton, Ursula and 2 little mermaids.

 Cute Little horse with her cowgirl, cowboy mom and dad.

 By the time Halloween finally comes we have dressed up so many times that I kind of give up and this is what we get. a mouse/tiger, mad scientist... I think... ninja turtle and Halloween twins.

we have a princess, Minnie mouse, cow and witch.

Checking out the spoils before it all disappears.

Charlie was such a good baby and slept during most of our Halloween festivities.

Spirit Week

We love Spirit week around here.  

 Crazy hair day is always a hit.

 Then was nerd day. the kids actually had no idea what a nerd was.

 The book wasn't a prop, this girl loves to read

Grant didn't want to have anything to do with being a nerd.

we also had backwards day, crazy socks, and 80's day but I didn't get pictures of those days.