sneak peek

here's a sneak peak of my visit to ny. i was able to go see joy and help with her new baby, eliza, for 5 days. to some it may sound like work, but i had such a GREAT time cleaning, cooking, freezing meals, playing with kids, reading books, washing, sorting and folding laundry, grocery shopping, etc. maybe it's because i was doing these things for somebody who i really care about. it always feels good to serve and i am so thankful to joy and dan for letting me share in their lives for a few days.

most of our pictures were taken with joy's camera...and i don't have copies yet. (joy - the disk will be on it's way tomorrow!) so, when i have more photos i'll share the nitty gritty details. until then, enjoy a few pics from the sacred grove. we visited there last sunday. i have a hard time describing what i feel when i am there. it's my second visit and i am so grateful for those opportunities. joy and dan and their family live about 15 minutes away. what a treat! more to come...

saturday is a special day...

and super saturday is complete once again. as the enrichment leader i am only 'in charge' of 4 events a year. this year for super saturday we had a class with stories by me products. it was fun to help the sisters get their family pictures scanned and formatted to use with a puzzle or memory tree. i taught the class with the help of bethany (thank you!) and it was a grand time. it was fun to see those who were able to finish their projects and they all turned out great! it's so good to see others working to preserve their family memories and create something that will allow those memories and stories to be shared for years to come. i hope those who came felt the spirit of those who have gone before and enjoyed preserving their stories. i know i did.

hard working ladies

cindy waiting patiently for her picture to arrive (they never did...)

now it's time to start brainstorming for next year...

state fair 2008

so i've been a slacker on this whole blog thing. i have plenty of excuses, er...reasons why i haven't blogged any of our exciting life adventures. i finally got a chance to read my mom's blog and it reminded me, 'oh ya, i have state fair pictures i could post.' so here they are. if you want to read a good run-down of our evening, read more here. (thanks mom.) the fair is a tradition you don't want to miss in the benson fam. i love it. my kids love it. well i love most of it. i have to tell you though, the smelly pigs, horses, cows, sheep, etc. have about burned through my nostrils. i can only hold my breath so long. all for the memories.

another reason to check out my mom's blog - she has all the good photos! my camera battery died right after the chicken shot. oh well. i tried.

labor day bowling

usually labor day is hot. hot enough to go play outside at the park or have a bar-b-que with friends. not this year. we went to bed to howling wind, sideways rain and flickering power. we got up to the same...a downpour of wet and freezing temperatures. so, no bird hunting for the big boys and no picnic at the park for me and the little ones. we decided to take it to the alley...and took the boys bowling. luke insisted on 'helping' me every turn and finally settled down with a zone bar and a bag of chips. what a kid. max did great and as usual, mike creamed us all. (my excuse is that luke was helping and i didn't have a fair chance!)

jake's great form...

me & my helper.
go mike!
don't max's feet look huge here?
love the excitement!

now mike is off with jake riding horses while luke sleeps and max does puzzles and hangs at home with me.

happy labor day. we hope you found something fun to do on your day off...besides labor.

soccer

officially started yesterday with our first team practice. we are orange. the orange dragons. love it! these 5 little 5 year olds are such a hoot to watch. then tonight was the dragon's first game. max is on the same team as his friend britton. 2 other friends, sam and nicholas were on the opposing team for tonight's game. it was fun to watch them run around, throwing a kick here and there. and max even scored a goal! wahoo! here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure...


showing off his #6!
i love those eyes...
team huddle
in the game...
and the boy has quite the kick!

way to go max! great game.

max started kindergarten!

is max really old enough to be going to school? it's hard to believe. well, he started kindergarten this week - just got to go on monday, then have his assessment on tuesday and he'll start for real after labor day. this week was just a teaser. he picked out his new robot shirt and was so excited to wear his new school shoes (thanks, nana sue). he loved his camo backpack from preschool last year and didn't want me to get him a new one...so, off to school we went. lucky for us, we live just down the street from the school, so max can walk to school and home again with the neighbor kids. i took him up on monday and stayed for a few minutes. at one point he came up to me, gave me a huge hug and said, 'i love you, mom.' *sniff* what a gentle boy i have. he was so excited and having him be so ready for school makes it easier to 'let him go.' it was a short day, but he was thrilled to have 4 of his church friends in his class. as long a mrs. wallace can keep those boys in line...it'll be a great year!

the boy can ride!

max got a new bike for his 5th birthday a couple of weeks ago. it came with training wheels and we've just left them on...because it's easy. he can ride fine and i don't have to worry about him falling off. well, maybe mike was feeling a little bit of dad-guilt because he hadn't taught max how to ride a bike - without training wheels - yet. and he is 5. so, the wheels came off and mike set out to teach max. it didn't take much. after one attempt, here is what we have...

needless to say, i'm a pretty proud mama!

(sorry the video is a little shakey...i'm not too steady while looking through a camera and walking down the street)