So bugged...

Zack's amusing school assignment. Feathers? I had no idea this was an issue.

Socks With Sandals

Did you know this is acceptable?

After the conversation I heard between Noah and Ethan, I guess socks with sandals is making a come back. There are rules like no black socks with black sandals, although silver socks would look really good with black sandals. Orange socks are generally a bad idea. It's totally not a battle I am going to fight with Noah. We already disagree on what shoes are cool.  I doubt we will ever agree on footwear.

I am pretty sure that this will never be acceptable. 

 And let's all hope this never is either. 

Gamin'

This is Zack on a lucky day when his brothers were willing to play Smash Bros. Brawl with him. Zack has this certain outfit and accessories (wrist band/hat) that he thinks improves his abilities. I am thinking it was pretty risky to catch so much air while jumping on the edge of an ottoman.

Not According To Plan

Our plan was to leave Brian Head early Sunday morning so that we could make it home in time for church. We wanted to check out Cedar Breaks before we left. Again, the amount of snow threw us off. We were too lazy to pull out the boots and opted to move quickly and to follow Matt's trail.

It was too much for Zack. The snow did get pretty deep. Noah saved the day and carried him on his back so that we could all see this beautiful view.

From the cabin, Cedar Breaks is just a few minutes in the other direction. It is normally pretty easy to get back to the I-15, except when the road which takes you to Cedar City is closed and the only option is to go left. Now you can turn around, which Matt will tell you he asked me to do several times, but in all honesty I really just didn't want to drive back up the way we came.  People drive slow. What can I say? We were heading East which is not the direction we should have been but it sure was beautiful. We passed a lovely lake and saw Duck Creek. I've never seen Duck Creek. We made our way to the scenic 89, which took us through Zion National Park. I had hopes that we could still make church, but I didn't account for the wait time to drive through the tunnel or the fact that people drive slow through National Parks. Oh well, before we left, Matt had been trying to convince me that we should go to Zion on the way home.  I love that place, and as Noah put it, it was fun to accidentally go there. We didn't get out or stop while we were there, except for a quick side of the road potty break after the park. I snapped these pictures while we waited for someone to relieve himself.

We saw this headline when we finally arrived in St. George-- information that would have been useful two hours before.

A Snowy Retreat

When we were invited to spend the weekend at David & Emily's cabin we anticipated there might be a little bit of snow. We were not expecting this.
It was a good chance for Ben and Matt to brush up on their shoveling skills. 

We were woefully unprepared for the weather. I brought coats and gloves but not proper foot attire. This was a technique I thought might keep Zack's feet a little warmer.

This snowball fight didn't last very long because it was really cold. I mean it-28 degrees or something.

It was also foggy. We had a few moments of clear skies (Ben would say "it's viewable") where we could check out the beautiful view of the valley below. This was my first time to Brian Head and it is really pretty.

Aidan and Ben occupied themselves by building an awesome fort in the loft. It only took every pillow in the house.

There was almost always a game of Battleship going on. 

Matt and David made a Cal-Ranch run for boots (and a snow-blower) so that the kids could enjoy some serious snow fun.

There is nothing better than warming up with a nice cup of hot chocolate. 

It's pretty crazy that there was this much snow the first week of October. It's very cool to drive a few hours to play in the snow and then return home to warm weather. We won't be breaking out the boots and gloves again for awhile.

Ten Facts about the Ten Year Old

Ben has been with us for a decade now. Ten whole years!  Here are just ten things about Be-jammin' or Benja-B.

1. Ben loves v-neck shirts. I am not sure why, but once he decided he wanted one he became obsessed--like walking all over Town Square to check multiple stores and refusing to quit until we find one obsessed. It is surprisingly hard to find his size v-neck shirts.

2. Ben can be a hypochondriac. I have to be careful what I say around him because all of a sudden he will have the symptoms and is certain he has the disease. I learned the hard way not to tell him that adding salt to tortilla chips could cause heart problems. One of the best things I did was get him a flu shot last week. He told me today that he was starting to feel like he had a tummy ache and then he felt the shot kick in and he was all better.

3. Ben likes his hair long, end of discussion. He can Beiber with the best of them. Ask him to give you a Beiber and with the simple flip of his hair....

he looks heart throb-ish. 

I have come close a few times to convince him to go for a different style (maybe a little Adam Levine?) but he always gets cold feet and we end up asking for the shortest long hair style they can cut.

4. Like his brothers, Ben loves looking for fast and exotic super cars. But Ben has also developed a love for bullet bikes. Ben would some day love to own a Ducati.  He will park it right next to his Ferrari.

5. Ben could be single-handedly keeping the hot dog industry in business.  He LOVES hot dogs. He has become a bit of a hot dog snob and prefers Hebrew National brand hot dogs. I can make his day by buying the four pack at Costco.  Don't try to sneak in a Ball Park because he will detect it. He will eat it, but he won't love it.

6. Ben has some smooth dance moves. His dancing style is influenced by Michael Jackson. If you happen to be in Target and he comes across a "Michael Jackson hat" he will put it on and dance for you. Even if you don't ask. Usually he's pretty reserved but there is something about that hat. You can also count on a grand finale to the dance with the always impressive on the toes, knees bent move.

7. Ben collects license plates for souvenirs. It started on our trip to the Grand Canyon. Because of his collection he thinks he needs to buy them whenever he sees them, even in Vegas.

8.  Ben likes to bake. A few years ago, Nana introduced us to a chocolate cake that you mix in a mug and bake for two minutes in a microwave. Ben was all over it.  We've gotten away from the mug cakes (chocolate cake can sure stick to a mug) but Ben is always asking if he can make cookies or brownies.

9. Ben is my TV watcher. I had no idea how much he likes TV until I grounded him from it last week.  He flipped out and was willing to go without anything else. (Don't think I haven't filed that little bit of information away.) He has assumed the weighty responsibility of making sure all the Disney/Nickelodeon kids shows are being recorded.

10. Ben is observant and thoughtful. He pays attention to the things that interest others and then he is on the look out for those things. I hear this from Ben all the time: "(insert name here) would love this..." or "I wish (name) could see this."  It makes him happy to make other people happy and I really love that about Ben.