All About Ben

Since Baby London is soon on her way, we needed to get Ben into a Big Boy Bed in his new room. He had a great time helping Daddy put together the bed. He was actually a really good helper.

Peek-A-Boo

He could even climb in and out of it himself. We were thinking he would just love to sleep in it that night......


Boy were we wrong! He hated it! After a couple weeks of crying, sleeping on the floor, and tired days, he is doing a lot better. The trick was letting him take toys to bed. He just sets them up on his bed and goes to sleep. It works wonders for him. Now we are doing great!

Ben Turns 2

Ben had his 2nd birthday in August. He had a wonderful birthday! We are all about Cars at our house so we got the balloons and cake with "Ka-Chow."

He loved all his presents. He got a basketball hoop (that Grandpa helped him with).....

Some Cars Duplos (He had to take sheriff to bed with him that night).....


And a train table set!

He loved helping Daddy put that together too!

Mommy and Daddy also got him some Tigger and Pooh movies and 2 other toy Cars (MOO and Red).

It was a great Birthday!

We love Ben and can't believe how big he is getting.

So as a side note, I just realized that Ben is in the same outfit for all of these pictures. This did not all happen on the same day. I guess we just need to get some more clothes for Ben.

24th of July!

For our WONDERFUL Utah holiday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a BBQ and fireworks. Ben sort of liked the fireworks. He liked the colors but did NOT like the sound. Fun times.

Daddy helps Ben cover his ears.

"Should I cry or not?"

Aren't we cute!

"I have my cars and I am happy!"

July Fun

So July has already been a fun, busy month for us.

For the 4th of July we have a tradition of going to the Oakley Rodeo with the Child side of the family. I LOVE the rodeo! Ben went last year but I think he slept through most of it. We were curious to see how he would like it.

He had a great time.

He is really into horses right now so he loved looking for them.
Thanks Mom and Dad for the fun outting!

We of course went to the zoo again. Ben loves all the animals. The weather was a little overcast when we went which was great because the animals were more active. When the rain started it was not so much fun though. At least we stayed dry in the STINKY reptile house until the downpour ended.

Last time I said we went to the zoo, a friend of mine wanted a picture of the baby elephant. So here you go Callee. She is a very cute baby elephant for any of you who haven't seen her yet. We spend a lot of time looking at the elephants.

We also tried to take a cute cousin picture on the rhino but the only one who could climb up was James. It was a bit slippery.


Last week was Steel Days in American Fork so we went to the wonderful carnival thinking Ben would have a great time. Not so much. He finally got on the Merry-Go-Round horse just as the ride was ending. Dad was just holding him before that.

Then there were some boats with steering wheels that Ben kept pointing at. We thought we would give it a try. He was having a great time until the ride started going. He then spent the whole ride SCREAMING!

Judging by the look of the girl's face behind Ben, we are the worst parents ever.

Since I couldn't end with a sad picture of Ben, here is one of our new favorite pictures. I think he is just the cutest! I am not bias or anything though!

I know I'm a kid, but I can't help it

I just purchased a new Playstation 3 game. Most guys are out purchasing the newest shoot em up killing game, not me! What did I get?  LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

I love these Lego video games, Lisa got me a couple for Christmas, so when I saw this new one I had to have it. It helped that I got it for free - I complete surveys for a company that gives you Amazon credit for each one you do, if any of you are interested let me know and I can send you a referral to the company. I have probally received $100 or so in Amazon credit since I started (which was arround the begining of the year).

Link to join if you want to: Get Paid to take Surveys!

Fun Times at the Zoo

Ben and I went up to the zoo with Grandma, Aunt Jeni, James and Anna.

We had a great time.

At the playground Ben's favorite thing was the bouncy bridge thing (that is it's official name).

He wasn't too much interested in anything else.


A Picture with EVERYONE smiling.
(We had just seen the cute baby elephant).

A train ride to finish the day!

Thanks family for a fun afternoon. We will have to go again soon.

Our baby girl!

For those of you who don't know, we are having a baby! We are having a girl around November 1st. We are SOOOO excited.

Here is her first picture.

We think she is just adorable!

Cutest Bank Card Ever!

So I have been meaning to do this for awhile now, but I finally ordered my new card from Zions Bank:

(fake name and info on card, just in case you were wondering)

Family 5K

Last Saturday the whole family participated in the Salt Lake City Marathon 5K. It was a lot of fun, I am glad Lisa went with me. It was just a nice walk, a good hour together. Ben enjoyed it and sleep through part of it. Had to wake him at 6 to get there on time. We will be do other 5Ks this summer: AF & Lehi. Let us know if you want to walk with us.

We did this with some of my co-workers and their families. Go Sorenson Media!

It was a good Saturday, after the 5K, we went to the zoo and saw the cute baby elephant. If you have not gone you should. It's the cutest thing. We also finally saw The Blind Side - good movie. We bought it when it came out and finally just watched it. Same thing with New Moon - own it, never seen it, hope to some day.

Wow! - Is this really a new post?

So, yes it has been forever and lots has happened.

Clayton finished his Associates in Accounting at UVU and is still working towards getting a Bachelors degree. Work is busy as ever for him. Plus, he spends time with the Boy Scouts every week.

Lisa is still teaching half time at Greenwood, but this is actually her last year (for now). We want her to be able to stay home with Ben full time. Also it might give us more time to be together, it seems that any night Clayton is free, Lisa is either busy or has school stuff to work on.

Ben is now 18 months old. It's crazy how fast he grows. He's talking more, just little things. He's always laughing. Just last weekend he helped Dad build him a car:

Happy Birthday Benjamin!!!

Finally....A New Post!

So I know I have been a blog slacker lately. I was planning on posting some fun pictures about what we have been doing so far this summer but the motherboard on our computer went out and I am unable to access the pictures. I do have some pictures that are still on our camera so you will just have to wait for the others.

In June, Clayton and I were both in school and that about sums it up. I had class every Tuesday and Thursday to finish up my math endorsement. My mom was so great and watched Ben for us. That was such a blessing so I didn't have to worry about who he was with. I am finished though. Two long years of hard work and now I am done. Clayton had school before work and at night two nights a week. He also had Scouts one night a week so it was like we never saw each other. We survived June though and have made it sofar through July. Here are some of the things we have been doing:

Going to the zoo with cousins

Going to Thanksgiving point with cousins

Scout Camp

Oakley Rodeo

American Fork Steel Days Parade

Ben is growing so fast! He is crawling (or scooting) all over the place. He can crawl on his knees but prefers to army crawl and push himself with his toes. It is really cute. He loves to "talk." His favorite word is "Dada" unless he is crying and wants something. Then it is "Mama." He is just so stinkin cute.

Ben now has 2 teeth. Here is a close up.

This is Ben scooting along the floor.

Houston's summer haircut.


Happy Ben!

Ben wanted to help Daddy try and fix the computer.

My school (Greenwood Elementary) had a float in the American Fork Steel Day Parade. They asked for teachers to come and walk in the parade with the float. Clayton and Ben came and joined me. We all wore our Greenwood shirts. What a fun day. We even stopped off at the carnival on our way home and had a funnel cake (Clayton's favorite). Ben was a little tired when we got home.

Another picture of happy Ben. He is in the middle of clapping here. You can also see his 2 teeth.

This is my new favorite picture of Ben and Houston. They both look so cute. I didn't even pose this one. I love my family!

Ben's first tooth!

So I wanted to let everyone know that Ben has gotten his first tooth. I tired to take a picture of it but it is hard enough for me to get him to let me see it, let alone take a picture. I can't believe how big he is getting. We sure do love him!

Ben's First Basketball

Ben got a new toy today and he had a blast playing with it. It is a basketball hoop that when you pull down on the hoop it cheers. He just kept pushing the hoop over and over. He loves the basketball too but more to eat than to put in the hoop.

Tulip Festival

We had this great idea to go to the tulip festival at Thanksgiving Point. We tried to go on a few different days but either homework or weather had changed our plans. So Friday night was our last chance to go. Rain was threatening but we decided to risk it.

We arrived and started walking around the grounds and about 5 minutes later it started to rain. We kept walking and looking at the beautiful flowers with Ben bundled in his stroller. The gardens at Thanksgiving Point are beautiful. We had never been before but are looking forward to going back when we can actually get Ben out of his stroller to take some pictures.

Ben was happy all bundled up in his stroller.

We found some shelter to be able to take one picture with both Ben and Dad visible.

And the winner is....

So our biggest loser contest is over. If you would like to see everyone's results, check out our blog at losingthesparetire.blogspot.com