THE BENNETT'S: 2008

December 27, 2008

Christmas Day

We were very lucky this year because both my mom and dad could come for Christmas. They also picked up my Grandma Carolyn so she could come and stay with us for a couple days as well. It was a pretty short trip for them. They got here on Christmas Eve and then left Friday morning but it was still nice having them here, I just wish my brother Jason could have made the trip.

On Christmas morning we opened gifts from Santa and exchanged gifts with my parents, my grandma and each other. We then went to Bradyn's parents for breakfast and exchanged gifts there while my parents and grandma ate breakfast at our house. And Christmas night we had dinner at our house with my parents and grandma.

For some reason I didn't get any pictures of my mom while she was here. It was probably because she was taking most of my pictures for me with my camera. Sorry mom!!!

Birkinshaw Christmas Party

On Christmas Eve was the Birkinshaw Christmas Party (my mom's side of the family). Up until this last year the party has always been held at my Grandma's house but the last 2 years it has been held at my cousin Calie's in Salem. Again there was lots of good food and family. Every year at Thanksgiving the whole family draws names and then we exchange the gifts at the party.

Bennett Christmas Party

This last Tuesday the 23rd was the Bennett Christmas Party at the Riverton Community Center. There was lots of good food and family, the kids played musical chairs, they hit 2 pinatas, and they each got to sit on Santa's lap to receive a gift after singing Christmas songs.

The Gingerbread House

The Friday before Christmas Peyton begged me to buy a Gingerbread House kit. I let her talk me into hit with one condition, her dad had to help her with it. Bradyn was glad to help her and after all of that hard work the two of them put into it Peyton just wanted to eat the candy off of it immediately and the house ended up falling apart after all of Peyton's picking so I ended up throwing it away on last Sunday. It was a good idea anyways, I guess.

December 18, 2008

Christmas Dance Progression

This last Tuesday night Peyton had her what they call "Christmas Pajama Party Progression" for dance. The girls in Peyton's dance class came dressed in their jammies and showed their parents and grandparents what they have learned so far this year. First each girl had their own chance in the spot light to show their jumps, twirls and splits, then all the girls together showed some other dance moves they have learned (sorry I am not to familiar with dance terms, but I never took dance as a kid), then they all danced to a Christmas dance they have learned and then they each got to sit on Santa's lap. After the pajama party we took Peyton to dinner to celebrate at McDonald's with Hadley, Haylee, Preslie & Colter, Jake, Tana, Hallie & Hazen and Bradyn's parents.

This is all the girls in Peyton's class

Bradyn was in charge of taking pictures while I ran the camcorder and this is the only one he got of Peyton dancing. This is her doing the splits.

Peyton with Santa (if you haven't been counting, this is the 4th time seeing Santa)

December 15, 2008

Another Santa's Lap

So far our kids have seen Santa three times this year. Once at the Fashion Place Mall, on the fire truck driving through our neighborhood, and the latest at my friends Rick and Stacey's company Christmas party. I can name at least 2 mores times they will see him. At Peyton's Christmas Pajama Party Progression for dance and at the Bennett Christmas party. We have been very lucky with Peyton because she just loves Santa and has never been scared of him and Houston has been good so far but he is still pretty young so we'll see as he gets older. Peyton keeps telling Santa that she wants a 4-wheeler for Christmas. She ain't asking for much is she?

Sleepover With The Girls

This last Saturday night we had Hadley, Haylee & their kids, Shayne, Mandy, Raylee and friend Jackson, and Shawn, Kathy & their kids over to watch the final round of the NFR. After the rodeo we invited Preslie and Raylee to have a sleepover with Peyton. It suprisingly didn't take too long to get them all to sleep on the air mattress in the front room and they all slept through the night without a peep. After they woke up in the morning they all ate pancakes, bacon and eggs and then off to play some more.

December 8, 2008

What We've Been Up To

So we really haven't been doing much of interest lately. We had a great Thanksgiving. My mom was able to fly in and was here from Wednesday until Monday. It was really nice having her here and we got a lot accomplished as far our Christmas shopping goes. I am happy to say that my Christmas shopping is complete with the exception of some candy and a few gift bags. Bradyn of course will finish his up a day or two before Christmas. I am also happy to say that everything is wrapped as well. I wish my dad and my brother could have made the trip but I understand how busy they are with all the horses and just hope they can all come for Christmas or shortly after.

So since I have all my shopping done and I only work 2 days a week with the exception of my parents accounting and billing I do from home, I have had some free time on my hands so I have jumped into reading the Twighligt books. I finished Twighlight in 6 days which is good for me and I am a third of the way finished with New Moon (which I started at 11:00 last night). I loved the first book and am glad that I saw the movie first as I already knew from watching the movie what the characters should look like in the book. I know there were some people disappointed in the characters chosen for the movie after they read the book and already had their vision of the characters. As far as the second book goes, I'm unsure right now. I loved the beginning but am now confused. Those that have read the book know what I am talking about. I won't say much more as I don't want to give anything away to those who haven't read the books. But if something doesn't change soon, then I don't know if I will read the third book. I never thought that I would be into these books as much as I am. I have never had a lot of time for reading so I don't read novels much. But I can't seem to put these ones down. Bradyn keeps asking me if my middle name is Carolyn. It's an inside joke as my Grandma's name is Carolyn and there was period of time when all she did was read.

As far as the rest of them go. Bradyn is still busy with work and right now the NFR is going on so we have been watching that every night. Peyton is getting excited for Christmas and wants everything she sees advertised on T.V. She is also excited because Grandma Jill is coming back and she asks everyday "When's Grandma Jill going to be here?". Houston is doing good. Rolling all over the place, scooting a little and eating baby food. He goes in for this 6 month check up on the 19th so we will see then how huge he is.

November 23, 2008

Another Girls Night Out!!!

Last Thursday night me an my friends Tana, Valynn and Nicole got dressed in our comfy clothes and went to Olive Garden for a late dinner and then to the Gateway for the 12:01 a.m. Twilight premier. We had such a blast and I really loved the movie. I haven't read the books yet so I thought I might be lost and wouldn't really enjoy the movie but I followed along just fine and now am dying to read the books.

Nicole, Me, our waiter (who we thought looked like Edward), Tana and Valynn at Olive Garden

Tana, Me, Nicole and Valynn in the theater waiting for Twilight to start

November 1, 2008

Going Private

So I am thinking of going private probably along with a lot of other people right now. There is supposed to be a special during the news on I believe Channel 5 this coming Monday talking about the freakos out there that look at blogs and steal peoples family memories from blogs and post them as their own. Very freaky! I have noticed a couple of comments I have received from people that I don't know. I have set a Live Traffic Feed on my blog so that I can monitor where people are from that are looking at my blog. Please leave your email address in a comment for this post and I will be sure to add you so that you can still view my blog. Or if you would rather not leave your email address just call me or send me an email with your email address. I will put out a post letting everybody know when I have gone private for sure but plan to probably within a week or so. I will also be going private on my myspace so just to let you know if you check out that as well make sure I have you added as a friend.

Halloween

On Thursday, Peyton's preschool class had their Halloween party. She wore her costume, they had a parade and each kid took candy to hand out to the other kids. Yesterday for Halloween I took our kids trick or treating at my work. Later that night we went to Bradyn's parents house for dinner and then we went to my brother in-law and sister in-law Hadley and Haylee's house and Bradyn and his brothers Hadley and Shayne took the 3 girls, Peyton, Preslie and Raylee trick or treating in their neighborhood while me and my sister in-laws Haylee and Mandy hung out at the house with the boys Houston and Colter. After the girls were done trick or treating they started watching Halloween Town but just ended up playing. We had a lot of fun. Thanks Haylee for letting us all come over and spend Halloween with you guys! I forgot my camera last night so I didn't get any pictures of the other kids.

Carving Pumpkins

Last Wednesday my Grandma Carolyn flew back in town after being gone for 2 1/2 weeks visiting my Dad in Hobbs, New Mexico and then my Aunt Susan in Arizona. We had plans that night to carve our pumpkins so since she spent the night at our house, she helped Peyton carve hers. Houston's pumpkin went rotten before we carved it so only ended up carving 3.

October 26, 2008

Girls Day Out!

Today me and my friends Tana, Valynn, Malissa, Tracey, Nicole, and Kim all took our girls to see High School Musical 3. My friend Kallie also came even though she don't have any girls yet. I think all the girls really enjoyed the movie and liked just hanging out with their mom's without their brothers. This was the first time that Peyton has seen a movie in the theater. For a long time she had a short attention span so I knew she couldn't sit through a whole movie. As she has gotten older she has gotten better at watching movies at home so I finally thought she was ready to see a movie at the theater. She did pretty well for her first time although she kept telling me she was scared because it was so dark and loud. She enjoyed all the dancing and singing in the movie and of course the popcorn but lost interest a little during the parts in between.

All the Girls

Me and Peyton

Peyton and Hallie

Peyton wanted me to take a picture of her by the fountain in front of the theater

October 25, 2008

Witches Night Out!

Last night me, my sister in-law Haylee and two of our friends Tana and Natalie all went to the Witches Night Out at Gardner Village. We all had so much fun. It was nice to just have a girls night out and leave this kids at home with the guys. If you haven't ever been, they hold it every year in October and I believe it is always the weekend before Halloween. There is tons and tons of women dressed up like witches, there is good entertainment, good food and you also can do a little shopping because all the little shops in the village have big clearances during that time. It's for women 18 and older so the best part is, NO KIDS!!! This was mine, Tana's and Natalie's first year going so we wasn't sure what to expect. But after seeing all the women dressed up in very creative witches costumes and just being goofy with their friends, all 4 of us decided that we are going to start working on our costumes now and are definately going back next year. We enjoyed the entertainment, had our dessert before dinner which consisted of hot chocolate and very yummy pumpkin cake, of course we did a little shopping (I think I did more talking then I actually shopped though) and then we went for a late dinner at Archibald's. To the rest of our friends that weren't able to make it, you really missed out and hopefully you can come next year. Start working on your costumes!

October 20, 2008

Photo Tag!

This is Peyton coloring eggs for this last Easter '08.

Go to your pictures on your computer, pull up your 4th folder, open up your 4th picture in that folder and post it!

October 15, 2008

Our Kids Blessings

So I know that Peyton is 4 already and Houston is 4 months old today, but I finally got both of them blessed last Saturday. I wanted to have Peyton blessed when she was a baby but kept putting it off until my family was all in town at the same time and before I knew it she was 1 and I just thought it was too late. Then when Houston was born I wanted to have him blessed but felt that I couldn't have him blessed if Peyton wasn't blessed. So I called up my bishop and got his approval to have the kids blessed at our house the same day. Bradyn's Uncle Ralph performed the blessings and did a really good job. We are so happy that he did this for us. It all turned out really good even though I was sad that my dad and my brother couldn't attend. And after the blessing everybody ate lunch at our house and just hung out.

Us with My Mom, My Grandma Carolyn, My Grandma Pat, and My Uncle Wade

Us with Bradyn's parents and his Uncle Ralph and Aunt Rhonda

The Pumpkin Patch

Last Friday I took Peyton and Houston to this cute pumpkin patch just down the road from Bradyn's parents house. Bradyn's parents, my sister in-law Haylee, her kids Preslie and Colter, and Bradyn's cousin Jake and Tana's kids Hallie and Hazen all went as well. The kids had a fun time picking out their pumpkins, playing in the corn maze, riding in the wheel barrel and sitting on the tractor. I didn't get any pictures of Houston though because it was too cold to get him out of the stroller and he just slept the whole time. After we all went to pumpkin patch, Grandpa Brent took us all to McDonald's so the kids could play on the playground.

October 14, 2008

Easiest Tag Ever!

This is Peyton riding a sheep at the West Jordan Western Stampede Rodeo in July 2008.
The Rules:
Go to your pictures on your computer
Pull up your 6th folder
Open your 6th picture in that folder
and post it!

October 7, 2008

Man Tag

Calie tagged me to tell about my husband, so here goes!

What's your husbands name? Bradyn Hal Bennett
How long have you guys been married? 5 years 5 months
How long did you date? 7 years 4 months
How old is he? Turned 30 in July
Who eats more sweets? Probably me especially chocolate but Bradyn eats sour, hard, taffy, etc. candy more than I do
Who said I love you first? Bradyn
Who is taller? Bradyn
Who is the better singer? Probably me but I will admit I am not that great
Who is smarter? Me at school, financial and everyday stuff but Bradyn when it comes to vehicles and fixing stuff around the house
Who does the laundry? Me but Bradyn did attempt to wash his work clothes while I was in the hospital before Peyton was born
Who pays the bills? I do
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do
Who mows the lawn? Bradyn
Who cooks dinner? Most of the time me but Bradyn usually barbeques
Who drives? When we are together it's usually Bradyn unless he has been you know and then I do. We are very responsible when it comes to hauling our kids around.
Who is the first to say they are wrong? That's a toss up but probably Bradyn cause I a can be pretty bull headed
Who kissed who first? Bradyn kissed me
Who asked who out first? Trevor and Amanda set us up after a couple of days of convincing me
Who wears the pants? It's pretty equal but I would have to say that I get may way a little more
I now tag anyone who wants to play!

October 6, 2008

More Family Pictures

So I said that I would put up some more of our family pictures once I received them so here they are. Sorry I included so many but we don't have our family pictures taken as often as I think we should and I am just so excited that these turned out so good. At least I think they turned out good. There not so perfect poses and that's what I love about them.

October 1, 2008

Family Pictures

Last Saturday, Me, Bradyn, Peyton and Houston along with my brother and sister in-law, Hadley and Haylee and their 2 kids, Preslie and Colter went up Butterfield Canyon to have our family pictures taken by Lindsay Wright Photography. I was worried that the leaves might not have changed color yet but we knew we wanted to do it last Saturday because the weather was so nice. Well as you can see from the pictures, the leaves had definately changed color. We were extactic! I think Lindsay did a really great job with the pictures. She even got some really cute ones of the kids.

I got these pictures off of Lindsay's blogspot at http://lindsaywrightphotography.blogspot.com/. We should have the disk with all the pictures by this Saturday, but I couldn't wait to post some of the cute ones she had on her site aleady. You should check her site out, she does really great work and you will be able to see some of Hadley and Haylee and their kids pictures as well. When I get the rest of the pictures I will post some more.