The Bentley Bunch

Happy Valentines Day

2012-02-14T06:19:00.001-08:00

Cousin Valentines Party

2012-02-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

I totally dropped the ball on taking pictures for our Cousins Valentines Party, we were busy having too much fun!!
The kids played outside while we cooked our heart shaped breakfast with pink milk :)

We only had one incident, Jonathan bit Brielle because she told him to go inside to eat lol TJ gave him hot sauce and then he ran to me with a death grip on my leg and wouldn't let go until I told him I would hide the hot sauce lol.

We decorate cookies, made a craft, and played Don't break my heart (a version of don't eat pete), cake walk, and Hunter made a scavenger hunt.

Hunter and Luke played basketball and legos most the night, apparently Valentines day is a girls holiday :)

We sure are Crazy about our Cousins :)

Sophie's Valentine Party

2012-02-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

Sophie was so exited writing her name on all 37 valentines, they combine all the classes for parties. I am surprised she did them all at once but it was nice getting it done with fast.

She loved handing them out and saying "You're welcome!" and then saying "oohhhh Thank you!" when she received one in return, it was hilarious.

"Mom, I got lots of Balentines, I sooo special!"

Yes Sophie, you sure are :)

Carpe a couple of Kairoses a day.

2012-02-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

This is a blog post I have saved to my favorites for many reasons, check it out if you haven't already

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/dont-carpe-diem_b_1206346.html

I am lucky I get to stay home and soak in every single second with my babies, but it isn't always fun, it isn't always rainbows and butterflies. My house is always a mess and I feel like I am always picking up or yelling for people to pick up. We are always on the go, from one practice, game, event to the next. I feel guilty most the time about the dumbest things I know but I just can't help it. I am stressed and frazzled and I know I am not my best self but I don't have time for myself and if I did I would probably sleep lol.

I have to remind and pray that my kids remember the Kairos times instead of the Choas times

Here are a few things to remember lately :)

Sophie

We were in her room cleaning off her coloring on the wall, I was explaining that we don't color on anything but paper and she said,
"Why, this is bootiful!"
Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder

"Feeling so fly like a cheesestick!" Singing Like a G6

"Santa made my feelings hurt" "He only comes one day"

Brielle

Called 911 on Superbowl Sunday, I was pissed, she is old enough to know better, she said she was pretending, uggg that girl drives me nuts

Sophie said a bad word and was getting in trouble and BB said "I think we need to go to church." bwahahahahah yea because that will make us good right? Wonder who has been getting in her head?

Photography work

2012-02-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

6 months ago a friend told me about a photography job for a new company launching in January. When I met with the owners, showing them some work I have done and carefully explained I am in no means a "photographer" I think I have an eye and I love taking pictures, but I have a lot to learn and I wish I had time too! I was hired at an hourly rate on the spot and took home my first batch of quilts and sewing products.

I would take their products home and work on them on my own time, it was great, I loved coming up with different ideas and seeing the amazing work they did. Sometimes I wish I would have had more say, like when I thought a pictures was awful, or when the lighting was horrible, but they were pressed on time and after all it was their company lol

We did a few shoots at the store Lazy Daisy Cottage and it was so fun, the ladies are hilarious and its a family business so there are always grandkids, nieces, nephews, the whole family around working.

Here is the site and if you sew... this is a GREAT business opportunity!!

Check out the catalogue, Im proud of myself, I think it looks pretty good seeing as it was my first time doing anything like this lol

http://mylazydaisy.com/

Sysco Food show

2012-02-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

Every year Sysco has a food show in Vegas, TJ goes every year but this is the first year I have been able to go.

I sadly forgot my camera!! I was so worried about getting all the kids stuff together I spaced putting it in my bag :( Oh well thank heavens for camera phones!

We went to the food show where TJ ordered 8 weeks worth of food for PF, such an eye opener on the cost and how many different types of food and brands there are! I followed him and ate my weight in food and stocked up on free samples. I may or may not have gone back to the Cheesecake factory samples a few times :) Nothing better than being with my love and free food :)

Our room was at the Golden Nugget, I really like this hotel, we have stayed there a few times, its cheap but really nice. Sysco paid for it so it made it even better lol.
We took a nap and then dressed up to hit the town!

Our first stop was half off tickets, we got a smokin deal to KA' at MGM and dinner tickets at La Salsa Canitina, they had the best margaritas and salsa, Mmmmmm

KA' was AMAZING!! Loved the way the stage moved in every direction possible and the acrobatics were seriously the best!

On =our way home we stopped at The Pawn Stars shop, TJ loves this show lol Sadly it had just barely closed and every time we drove by during the day it had a line a mile long!

We slept in the next day and went to Blueberry Hill for breakfast and then headed home to pick up the kids from school, it was a great little get away :)

Thanks Grandma Kathy for watching the monsters they had fun and we really appreciated it :)

9 years old

2012-01-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

9 years old!!! I cried that night after our nightly reading, it was Goosebumps of course 'Night of the living Dummy' He told me he had the best day of his life :P

This little boy changed my life.

He was my little buddy... a blonde haired, blue eyed, spitfire with a dimply smile that melted your heart, he still melts by heart with that smile.

He has the kindest heart and not a day goes by he doesn't say or do something nice for me. He is a Momma's boy but idolizes his Dad, he wants to be just like him, I am so thankful for that.

He reminds me so much of my Sister, I swear it's payback for all the times I was mean to her, they both are OCD about certain things. Quirky little habits, nervous ticks, things have to be in order and in place.

I always tear up when the kids blow out their candles, another year down, tears of joy, frustration, the known and unknown. But I cried tonight because my little buddy isn't so little anymore, he is 9!!!!
When did this happen? In another 9 years he will be off to College.

My Dad always teases me about this, but it's true, another 9 years and he is gone. Sure he will always be my little buddy but it's never the same. Every year he gets a little more independent, closer and closer to live his own life.

Hunter, I sure am glad you are mine, thank you for being mine. Happy Birthday, I love you so very much!

Birthday the big #9

2012-01-28T19:19:00.001-08:00

Wendys lunch for the special Birthday boy

* I have to remember this... At their school they are allowed to wear Red, White, or Blue polo shirts, he has all 3 but will only wear the Blue if ALL the others are really dirty lol. He says he CANNOT wear BYU Blue EVER :P

He wanted M&M cookies for his class, don't you love his birthday hat :)

He got home and saw his main gift being put together, I will take a pic when his room is in order, he wanted a shelf for all his trophy's :)

Then it was time to PAR-TAY, we had pizza and breadtwists of course, his friends were so cute saying how lucky he was to have PF pizza whenever he wanted lol

Then we headed to Antigravity to jump for 2 hours!!
I was sad this year he wanted to go somewhere and I didn't have a chance to put together a fun party at home but oh well, I still have 3 other kids ;)
The boys played dodgeball the entire time! Only to break for cake and ice cream and I had to pull them away to do that!

Birthday Celebration Day 2

2012-01-28T19:09:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa came over and opened presents, legos, sweater, jacket, and a pair of shoes, spoiled boy!! The jacket he is wearing is from Aunt Ashley and Uncle Ryan good choice he is our ALL-STAR :)

We head to Grandma and Grandpa Bentley's for dinner, Hunter chose her special Chicken Nuggets and sauce, mashed potatoes n gravy, corn, and muffins. I need to take a picture one of these days its the best Mmmmm
We had Root Beer floats instead of cake :)

Then presents! All the cousins sitting anxiously for him to tear into them, we let him open our presents except his main gift! He was spoiled with tons of stuff but he finally got his neon green cleats, he was soooo excited about these :)
Thanks to all our family who made him feel so loved :)

Birthday Celebration Day 1

2012-01-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

Grandma Kathy's Birthday lunch and shopping spree :)

Hunter chose Wendys for lunch and came home with tons of matchbox cars, which surprised me since he hardly plays with his anymore, but hey, what the birthday boy wants... he gets :)

Then my family went bowling, always commical with all of us

Tjs can win any game, all those impossible carnival games he wins! Hunter must have the Bentley luck because he tried the claw machine once and won!!!

PF number pizza dinner, Dad always spoils us when we go eat, pizza, breadtwists with all the sauces, honeybutter, sweet cream, cinnamon, yummy salads with ranch, and Never on Sundays for dessert. We had to be rolled out :P

Visitors

2012-01-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

For a couple days I got to watch these cute boys Tate and Beckham :) My bestie Ashlee had some work to do down here and I was just so excited to play with her and her boys!

We had so much fun and as always her trip was full of fun of adventures Lol

TJ watched all the kids Friday night so we could go out to eat and get in some chats without the little ones taking all the attention.
(picture to come)

The kids loved baby Beckham, especially Callaway! I was thinking I would be baby hungry but NOPE, I am soooo glad I am done with that chapter :) I love babies and I miss my babies being that little but man, I am so glad I am done!!! (knocking very hard on wood) Don't mind our bed head, weird outfits :P I had 5 kids under 5 all day and sometimes 7 kids, it was a little crazy at our house!

and Tate aka my Tater tot :) he had an ER visit because his cut was infected, poor guy always visits the ER while in STG lol :P We took good care of him and he wasn't as willing to get his picture as his brother, stinker :)

favorite time of day

2012-01-12T08:09:00.000-08:00

we read a ton at our house, Callaway likes to read before he goes to sleep and when he wakes up. He loves this puppy book, when it talks about dog bowls he pretends to lick up water out of the bowls on the page lol. He also barks through the whole book :) another favorite is peek-a-boo monster, tractors, and Monster's are silly

One of my favorite times of day :)

Happy Birthday to me and Grandma Kathy

2012-01-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

My last year in my 20s
Man, when did I get so old?

My birthday was pretty lame, we stayed up late on New Years Eve and that meant the kids and TJ napped for like 3-4 hours, which would have been good if I got a nap too lol

I did get to sleep in and then had to open presents before I could even brush my teeth lol
I got another PF jackets and pair of sweats. a pair of jeans and the veggie chopper I wanted lol

I got ready and went to Target and ran into my parents so we shopped the Christmas Sales together lol I got home everyone was still asleep so I went and washed and vaccummed my Jeep and when everyone woke up we went to TJs parents to celebrate Mom's birthday. TJ made a yummy greek type meal that was soo good and then we had ice cream cakes!

Thanks to all my friends and family who made my day special :)

NYE

2012-01-01T21:56:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve we stayed home, my parents had been over watching the game so we had TJ bring home some pizza and then had a karaoke party with many costume changes and then counted down at 10pm with some fireworks :)

Go Utes!!!

2012-01-01T21:35:00.001-08:00

We all watched the Utes vs Georgia Tech in the Sun bowl game and it was intense!! Our team pulled through in overtime and WON 30-27!!! GO UTES!!

Christmas Day

2011-12-26T20:12:00.001-08:00

These pictures need no words :)

Spoiled Rotten kids-

I have to tell this story becuase I find it hilarious....
TJ and I usually don't exchange gifts, Christmas is about the kids to us. He usually gets me some Pizza Factory jackets and I get him a collectors coin set, sometimes if we have extra money we will buy something but not every year.
This year since I had some extra money from some side jobs I have been doing I bought him a new Dewalt drill and impact driver set, they're pretty expensive but he needed a new drill and has always wanted a impact driver. He knew about it because I wanted to make sure it was a good deal and that's really what he wanted.
He asked me what I wanted and I said a new veggie chopper since mine broke, you know the cheap ones that are like $15 bucks at walmart.
Christmas morning I open this huge box and I am think what the heck? He bought me a chopper alright, an industrial HUGE chopper, he got from his work catalogue. I was so mad he spent over $100 bucks on this huge thing I would never use, I told him to take it back!!!

That's my hubby for ya, always trying to get the best for me!! lol :P

Then later than day after his drill charged he was showing me how the impact driver works and said "You will use this as much as I will."
Ummm, I don't think so, but you can tell yourself that to make you feel better about your epic fail of a present for me lol

We then headed to my parents house for Breakfast and more presents! We got them a book with all the pictures of our family trip and pictures of the kids

TJ had someone make all of us these U beanies :) So fun!

Then to the Bentley side, just before this I started to get a migraine, it was awful, I hated that I was missing out on feeling good and enjoying the rest of the day with my family. I didn't get a picture we gave each family a fort kit :) We gave his Mom her coin collector kit and his Dad a pf jacket and pics of the kids.

Final stop Grandma and Grandpa Cannon and then it was home to rest!!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-26T19:43:00.000-08:00

TJ worked all day so the kids and I cleaned and watched Christmas movies, earlier we had made cookies for Santa and yes Callaway has a black eye, he was sweeping with a vacuum and it hit the corner of his eye and then spread across his eyelid into a bruise, so sad :( He is such a tornado always into something and getting banged up!

We went to my Parents house and had a yummy dinner and then hung out. Callaway loved the Disney Characters singing decoration that I remember loving as a kid too :)

Grandma and Grandpa always have the funniest and loudest toys to play with, good thing they stay there :)

Then to Grandma and Grandpa Bentley's for their Christmas Pjs! Hunter's was too big, he is in between sizes so they are either too small or too big lol

We did our Christmas service project and then got some Hot Coco and drove around and looked at lights and kept our eyes peeled for Rudolph!

We got home really late, everyone headed to bed and was out! So Santa and his elves got to work....

Cousin Christmas Fun

2011-12-23T21:35:00.000-08:00

We had all the cousins over for some Christmas fun!

Cute Taeler brought pin the star on the tree and a scavanger hunt, so thankful my big helpers are back in STG :)

We ate pizza, made some Christmasy crafts, baked cupcakes, and painted nails! all in a 3 hour period :P

We had a special visitor, making sure we were being nice :) Sophie was so excited the real Santa was finally here! All the kids were so excited "Sophie's Santa" came :)

Halle and Kade were the only ones able to sleepover and we had to keep with our tradition of a bubble bath, movie with popcorn and piling in the living room all together to sleep :)

I am so thankful my kids have such a fun relationship with their cousins, and I hope they all remember all these fun times, we sure love them all so much!

Holiday fun

2011-12-23T19:46:00.001-08:00

We decided to have a family date night and go see Santa and then go out to eat.

We headed to the mall and while we were in line Sophie saw Santa, she was so excited! She was so giddy with excitement and was waving at him, she could barley wait her turn.

She walked up to sit on his lap, looked at him and said, "That's not Santa! He's a fake!" she would not even go sit on his lap, she was so mad. I was shocked since last year she loved him but apparently she knows the real Santa and the fake one just wont' do!

Rock-a-bye baby

2011-12-21T14:45:00.001-08:00

When we got home from the millionth time trying to get a picture, Callaway ran to bounce on his horse, he loves this thing. All my kids have, it was mine when I was a little girl and I loved it :)

He was bouncing away and then in a split second wasn't, I go in the toy room and find him snoring away, fast asleep. So cute, then I realized he is snoring because he has a big glob of snot lol poor kid hasn't been feeling well and he rocked himself to sleep!!

So a good Mom would pick him up and take him to bed so he doesn't crash and hit his head on the cement floor, well.... I ran and grabbed my camera :P

Bentley Family Party

2011-12-21T13:01:00.000-08:00

The annual Bentley family party, always good food, tons of family, and fun :)
A chance to dress up in your Christmas best

Candy bar game

White elephant gift bingo

Christmas Photo's

2011-12-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

We are busy busy busy in this family, almost every night we have something and TJ works late 3 nights a week. I had penciled in a day to do family pictures the only day available in a 2 month period and guess who wakes up sick, TJ!!

I hadn't been feeling well but we all know Moms can't get sick so I was going to suck it up and not look as well in our pictures but he was looking really pasty, so I decided just to take the kids pics.

On the way Callaway fell asleep, he had started to not feel good either, he was being a pill so I decided to do single shots of each of them and try again later with Callaway.

I tried 3 other times and finally had to settle on this, the lighting is different he is by a lighter part of the rock but who cares its done lol

Then dang walmart chopped off all the sides even though the way it looked croped was fine, arggg I didn't want to re-do them
and come back so I settled :P

Merry Freakin Christmas from the Bentley Bunch is what I really wanted to put lol

Cards are all sent now.. .check
At least I got a few cute pics I just love my adorable monsters :)

these might be my favorite :P

Brielle's Christmas Party

2011-12-21T11:08:00.000-08:00

The kids got to wear their PJs to school and party all day!

Nothing like a bunch of 6 year olds to make you feel like a Rockstar :) I walked into Brielle's class and everyone was yelling in excitement that I was there to party, I throw the best parties according to these 1st graders :)

We had a blast and I totally forgot my camera! This crazy season has made me lose my mind, but then again it was long gone awhile ago :P
We had 5 stations that each group rotated to: Decorate gingerbread houses, build a snowman out of TP and accessories, Christmas Bingo, a donut reindeer and milk snack and then my group made reindeer bags and magic food.

The kids loved it and we had a blast!!

Sophie's Christmas Program

2011-12-17T16:20:00.000-08:00

For the last 2 weeks I have heard all Sophie's teachers say how cute she is when they practice their program, she sings the loudest, dances and is so cute they can't take their eyes off her.
So I have my video camera ready to catch this cute girl and what do I get, a shy Sophie!! She is hardly ever shy, she did smile the whole time and would sometimes sing and dance, and her part she had down "I see blue eyes looking at me" well see mumbled and put her head down and went back to her seat, she was so cute and I am sure will get use to performing in front of crowds :)

Future Tempest

2011-12-10T16:23:00.000-08:00

Brielle and her friends Lia and Bailey attend a drill camp all week and then preformed at halftime for the Desert Hills High School vs Juan Diego basketball game.

Before their age groups number Brielle was on the sideline dancing away, her dance was way better than the routine they learned!

We are so proud of our lil Dancing Queen :)

First Term

2011-12-07T18:50:00.000-08:00

First Term Stats for the kiddies:

Hunter got straight As, I am so proud of him, he worked really hard this summer preparing for his new school. I thought for sure he would struggle to catch up but nope, smart little cookie got straight As :) His teacher said he is such a funny kid, always happy and smiling, he is so nice to all the kids in his class and gets along with everyone.

Brielle got As and a A- she was upset she didn't get an award like Hunter but this is her first A- she missed an A by 2 points. I think its been a good lesson on working as hard as you can for her, she has never had to really study or practice. Her teacher loves her and says she is at the top of her class and is always happy and fun to be around.

Sophie is doing really well in Montessouri she has passed off letters C,M,A T,R, S and is working on numbers 10-20. She is one of the youngest in her class but is doing really well. Her teachers say she loves learning and works really hard in math and reading. She is the best singer in the class and is so strong in gymnastics. She is loving going to school 3 days a week!

Callaway is saying a ton more words lately, Dada, Momma, Bubba, Baba, Bumbum, Poopoo, Bye, Hi, No, to name a few. He will make a kissy face and smack his lips to kiss and waves hello and bye. He is getting too big and idolizes his Brother and Sisters. He loves any type of ball and we play catch every second of everyday lol. He also has started plaing with trucks and cars and makes a Brrrrrrmmmm sound, its hilarious! His new favorite toy is the bouncing horse, he really gets going fast! We love our Bubba

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Traditional family gingerbread houses at Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Kens, it's a little tricky with all of us trying to make one house, lots of "be nice, share, she can decorate that way, you use it then pass it over, don't eat the candy, don't take it off, if someone already put it on" and other lectures repeated over and over during the process :) Still it's fun and makes me smile every time I walk past it :)

The finished product

Alvin is back and Oh Christmas tree!

2011-11-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning and Alvin the elf is back!!! He even made us breakfast and brought some letters for the kids to fill out for Santa, we're so excited to see what mischief he gets into this year!

Sophie found him a girlfriend and Brielle wrote him a note :)

And we have another hilarious story to add to our Christmas tree adventures....

After we finished decorating we noticed something... Do you see it? Here is a hint our tree is really really Happy for the holidays ;P

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

2011-11-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving morning the boys go Hunting for quail and chuckers, they got a few, Hunter was so excited! TJ forgot to take pictures, and on the way home he realized it, so made everyone get out and take some "action" shots lol. Love him :)

And then I totally slacked on pictures, too busy chasing kids and eating! We went to Grandma Cannon's first and had fun with tons of family and yummy food! Then we headed to my parents house for more yummy food and fun, we were all tired!

At 8pm TJ, Ryan, and Ashley headed for Walmart, and were successful and that makes me totally done shopping! Woooo hooooo
I headed for The Children's place, a friend of mine works there and let me know they needed help on black Friday, if I worked I could get in early Thursday night and shop plus get an employee discount! I was so excited, my kids needed clothes so bad, I saved so much money and had a blast working, it was a shock though I haven't worked an 8 hour day for like 9 years lol. Definitely not as hard as staying home though!

The kicker for me was I have been photographing some products for a catalogue/Internet business these ladies are try to launch in January, they wanted me to come after work Friday and do some group shots in the store, they said it would take an hour or so. Well, 4 hours later we were finally done!! So I worked all day and was done, got home and went to bed at 9pm! TJ had to work 3pm-close so my family took the kids all afternoon, thank you it was so nice to know they were having fun and luckily went to bed with me early!!

But now I am done with everything and all I have left to do is enjoy this fun holiday season with my loved ones and get to wrapping!!

Colts are #1

2011-11-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

They played 3 playoff games Hunter scored 2-3 touchdowns per game

Colts take first place!!!!

This picture make me smile 4 generations of Bentley Atheletes :)

We had the team and their families over after to eat and watch our high school's state championship game!

On the way home Hunter told me the other team was crying and I said that it was okay, when you work so hard for something you get emotinal, He then said "I might have teared up just a little right after we won...." Made me smile and cry harder :) These boys have all worked so hard and have never gotten close in playoff games, this year they all did so well and really had a blast. They deserved this win!!

***And on a side note, every sport this year Hunter's team has taken first place!!! Spring: Soccer and Baseball Fall: Soccer and Football!!! Basketball starts in January!!!!

Breaking Dawn

2011-11-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

Tj won 4 tickets to the first showing of Breaking Dawn, I was so excited but at the same time saw we had to be there between 5:30pm-7pm and was thinking man we are going to waiting for 6 hours and then watch a 2 hour movie!! I don't do well without sleep and my husband works a lot so its not like I can take a nap or go to bed early so I usually wait until a few days after to go with my friends.

We decided to go and in the back of my mind I was thinking... what about all those people who bought midnight showing tickets? There's not enough seats to fit everyone, maybe they will play our movie early?

Heather, Jerri, and Cristy and I got there at 5:30pm and we were starving! They made us leave our phones in the car, no phones or camera's anything like that! I went to use the pay phone and the kid from Shallow Day, they sing 'Twilight what have you done with my wife' google it, it's a great music video! Anyway he let me use his cell phone, I called TJ and asked him to order food from the Pizza Factory store across the street. 10 minutes later they started seating us, It was only 6pm they said we would be seated at 7pm!! We couldn't leave the theater or the line, plus no phones to call and cancel our pizza!

A little while later all the sudden my husband is there with our food!! I guess the delivery boy called TJ and couldn't find us so TJ picked it up and searched the theater for u, he called the number I called him on and the guy answered and said he had no clue where we were now lol. He found us, hurried up and gave it to me, I put it under our seats and we secretly ate our yummy pizza, salad, and breadtwists So funny!!!

They gave away prizes and I won a plastic breaking dawn bracelet and we had so much fun, our theater was full of some fun people!

The movie was perfect, I need to re-read the book, I forgot a bunch of things but the ending.... oooooh it is GOOD!!!! Love love loved it!!! Plus, I walked right past those fans waiting since 5pm for the midnight show that was still 2 hours away and went home to go to bed at 10:15pm

Tis the season!!

2011-11-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

I am going to enjoy being THANKFUL before decking my halls with Christmas but I have been thinking a lot about my kids and presents this year, I am sure some of you are in my situtaton or heck, maybe have some advise!

I have stated before Christmas isn't my favorite Holiday, shocking I know, I am not a grinch, I love all the tradtions, the joy and excitement my kids have, the parties, the fun, the feeling in the air, all of that Christmasy stuff! I just don't like, the grouchy people in line buying crap they can't afford for people who don't even appreciate it and it ends up in the garbage anyway lol I feel like Christmas as turned into "I WANT, I WANT, I WANT" from big and little people.

My dilemma this year is my kids don't want anything specific, they want everything they see yes, but nothing specific. I now have 4 to buy for and I am sick of my money being spent on toys that fall apart the next day and or getting tossed aside. We are lucky to have tons of family and come home with tons of stuff, add that to birthday stuff, and my toy room is always cluttered!! Now, every few months we go through and throw away the broken stuff and a few weeks before Christmas I make the kids go through and give me everything they don't play with, I either box it for the younger ones or when we deliver dinner to a family in need we add the toys that are in good condition.

Christmas is so magical for kids so I would hate not to have what they want under the tree but at the same time it's such a waste! We usually give them clothes and stuff they need and fun craft things along with the toys but this year I am thinking of doing something different.

Santa will be bring them the present of their choice and we will give them the usual minus the toys, instead they will get "Fun" boxes filled with fun things to do with us or activities they like to do throughout the year.

For example... We try and take them one at a time to the movies, fiesta fun, or other places that are way to expensive for all of us to go all the time. So the boxes will be filled with whatever theme, gift certificates, treats, stuff like that. Another boxs will be filled with new dance stuff, or soccer, football, baseball gear that they will need later on.

So what do you think? Do you think they will be excited opening those types of boxes? Maybe there are some other ideas, let me know! I need some help!

Cars 2

2011-11-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

The kids and I made cars to watch Cars 2 in, Hunter and Brielle were so creative, I saw the idea on Pintrest (love this site) but I think ours are soooo much cuter!! The kids loved it and after poking holes for their feet watched the entire movie in them!! In fact they are still watching tv, reading, racing, eating, and crashing them lol

Strikers

2011-11-12T16:34:00.000-08:00

The strikers were UNDEFEATED this season!!! Wooooo hooooo!!!

So proud of my lil speedy he was amazing, he scored multiple goals each game and really worked hard on going after the ball more aggressively.

These boys had so much fun together

Go Speedy!

Neon Frogs

2011-11-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

Brielle is officially done with soccer, she did so well this season and always scored tons of goals. We are so proud of her and loved watching our little aggressive neon frog!

Her team was so fun and did really well they only lost 2 out of 8 games! We had our end of the season pizza party and they were all sad they didn't have time to practice after, such cuties!!

3rd grade Field Trip

2011-11-06T13:09:00.000-08:00

I am so glad I got to go on Hunter's 3rd grade Field trip to Staheli Farm! I am always volunteer at their school but Hunter's teacher doesn't ever need help in the class its usually making copies, grading, stuff that puts me in the teachers lounge not the classroom. So I feel like I don't know his class as well as I do Brielle's.

We rode our bikes to the farm and back, we even had a police escort, the kids ate it up!
Our first stop was the corn maze, we managed not to lose anyone and found the heart, well at least all the boys said we did :) Then we went around the farm looking at all the animals, the pigs were our favorite, we had a blast!!!

I want to remember this moment, Hunter and his friends were by the port-a-potties, they found that you could move the piece in the front to unlock them when someone was in there. They were doing it to one of their buddies and then a girl that is really quiet and odd in his class went in, the boys were trying to unlock it when Hunter moved in front of them blocking it and told them to knock it off. I quickly went over and took his spot in guarding the door, so he could go play. I was so proud of him for sticking up for her even though his friends were making fun of him.

trick r treat!

2011-11-06T13:00:00.001-08:00

Visited our family and then TJ took the kids around our neighborhood while I passed out candy, I love seeing all our neighbor kids dressed up. I was giving away fist fulls and still didn't make a dent in our Disneyland stash!

Carving Pumpkins

2011-11-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

Love carving pumpkins and I love that Hunter did his all by himself this year, It was great! Sophie found a bag of chips and only offered her opinion on what face she wanted and sat back and watched us do all the work. Brielle did everything but the cutting out and Callaway made a mess everywhere!

Cousin Party- Halloween

2011-11-06T12:36:00.000-08:00

Our Cousin Halloween party was a little different this year, only Halle and Kade were able to come so we took them to our neighborhood party (sadly, didn't get any pics) and then we came home and had some fun!

Bubble bath and painting our nails was requested followed by popcorn and a movie! I love my nieces and nephews so much, they are hilarious! We always have a blast playing together!

School festivities

2011-11-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

Love seeing all the kids costumes in the parade :)

Brielle's class party was so much fun, we played witch hat toss and spider toss and then pumpkin bowling. They made spider suckers and ate yummy cupcakes.

Then Jack Sparrow came and read them a pirate story!

Always love hearing I throw the best parties, even if it is from a bunch of 6 year olds :)

Family Fun- misc

2011-11-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

We didn't eat out a lot on our trip, we would pack sandwhiches for lunch and made our dinners at the hotel or ate at the parks. One night we did go get some yummy fish n chips and clam chowder, so fresh and soooo good.

This little guy is sneaky :)

On our drive home we stopped in Baker, CA and saw the Worlds tallest thermometer!

Disneyland

2011-11-05T16:16:00.001-07:00

The decorations were amazing, such a fun atmosephere and the kids loved every minute of it!

We went a whole day on Sunday, it was busy but not too bad, we didn't have to wait very long for the popular rides.
They don't have characters walking around anymore but we did see Cruela Devile she was hilarious, Brielle was her puppy!

This lady bumped into me on our way to California Adventures.

Yep, Camille Grammer on the Desperate Housewives of Beverly Hills I was so excited I saw someone famous, lol!

On Tuesday we went to Mickey's Halloween party, they let you in a few hours before the party starts, and then who ever didn't purchase the ticket has to leave. We put our costumes on and started trick r treating, there were tons of treat stations throughout the park, it was so much fun trick r treating!

This high school kid Patrick, he lost his family so he joined ours lol

The fireworks were the best I have ever seen, amazing show!

The parade ended the night and I have to say was one of my favorite memories. Cute lil Sophie was tired and standing by me when the float with Mickey and Minnie came down I told her to look and she was so excited, she pushed Brielle over and said "Move, Bielle!" and quickly sat on my Moms lap front and center waving and yelling at Mickey and Minnie, she was star struck! Sweetest moment, made all the craziness worth it!

And this is all the loot! Minus another big back we forgot in the car!

Legoland

2011-11-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

Legoland was so much fun, not as busy as Disneyland but really fun! The first day was really foggy and lucky Ryan let me borrow his cool jacket, it was chilly to me but perfect weather for walking around and riding rides.

Hunter's heaven, he loved it!! We all loved it, it was so cool to see everything made out of lego's!

At night they had a celebration called Brick r treat, the kids had fun going to all the haunted houses and getting fun treats!

The beach

2011-10-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a walk along the pier before getting ready to go to Mickey's Halloween party

We then went down by the ocean, I thought I should have put the kids in their swimsuits since we hadn't swam in the ocean yet. But I didn't thinking we wouldn't go by the ocean. Well, I was wrong, we did go by the ocean!

They started playing around and would get a little more wet each time they went near the water, finally I said go for it and they dove right in!! Such a fun memory watching them together fully clothed splashing in the ocean. I guaranty they wouldn't have had as much fun if they had their suits on :)

This little cutie has been to the ocean but was too little to remember, her joy was so contagious!

Nothing better than being with your family at the beach!

Oceanside Pier Resort

2011-10-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

We stayed in Oceanside, California about an hour south of Anaheim. Our hotel The Oceanside Pier Resort was right on the beach, you could walked across the street to the pier, it was amazing!

We had 2 units that each had 2 bedrooms, and 2 baths, that slept 8. My family had one unit and my parents and Sister and brother in law had the other.
The kids bedroom and bathroom

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Our bedroom and bathroom

I love having a kitchen to make food instead of spending hundreds of dollars eating out.

We had a great view and after the first couple of foggy mornings we could finally see the beautiful ocean, yipee!!

On the days we weren't at an amusement park it was great watching the sunset, listening to the waves crash on the shore and eating TJs yummy homemade dinners :)

Bentley's 6th Annual Halloween Potluck

2011-10-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had to have our party early this year since we are going to Disneyland, even though it was during Fall Break we still had over 100 people, we had a blast.
The Pirates of the Caribbean crew- Captain Jack, Angelica, Zombie Pirate, 2 girly pirates, and 1 cute pirate

My Uncle Lee, Doug and Mitch and my Sister and Ryan joined our party for the first time this year!

Here is a few pictures of our fun night! Thanks to all our families for helping us and coming!! Thanks to TJs Mom for doing the games again this year, the kids love it!!

Dixie Cotton Mission Parade

2011-10-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

In celebration of 150th Anniversary of the original "Cotton Mission" and establishment of St. George the City of St. George organized an eight-day, 100-mile wagon company expedition from Parowan to St. George.

TJs Grandpa Bentley rode in a wagon to represent some of our descendants, among them were Richard Bentley, the first mayor of St. George; William Snow and Robert Gardner, the first settlers of nearby Pine Valley; and William Carter, the first man to plow a furrow in both the Salt Lake and St. George valleys.

They had and guns and furs displayed, Sophie liked to touch their noses, lol

Bentley Haunted House

2011-10-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Here is the BENTLEY HAUNTED HOUSE for 2011

We add the different colored flood lights to light up the whole house, big impact for cheap :)

standing outside with my mouth open wide...

2011-10-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

We were inside on a gloomy afternoon reading and coloring when all the sudden it started to pour!

Sophie got a towel, stripped down, and danced in the rain. I love her spunky little attitude, always looking for the fun in anything.

Callaway splashed, played peekaboo and ran around giggling

They has so much fun jumping in the puddles

Nothing better than a warm rainy afternoon with my snuggle bugs

cousin time

2011-10-04T15:37:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and Sophie are both tornado's and lil spitfires, they can get into a lot of mischief together. Whenever Jonathan comes over he goes straight to the toy room to get a truck and then out to the sandbox, and never leaves.

I looked out the window to make sure they were alright and saw them swinging together, eating big marshmallow's, and laughing at each other while swinging their feet.

Then they caught me snappin pictures through the window, love these crazy cousins :)

Kidz Days

2011-10-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

Between soccer games we went to Kidz days at Fabulous Freddies Carwash, its free, fun and wears them out :)

The girls love going every year just to ride the pony.

Callaway had just woken up and didn't know what to think of the pony ride...... is this a dream?

Hunter likes the games so he can get tons of worthless prizes lol

These pictures are out of focus but I think they're hilarious!! Gotta love petting zoo's :)

Fancy Water Bottle

2011-09-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

Most mornings I fill up the kids water bottles and put them in their backpacks with their lunch, but there are some days when that just doesn't happen and we rush out the door, sometimes the kids fill their own.
When the kids get home I go through their backpacks and we start homework with a snack.
Today I find this in Brielle's backpack....

Yep, that is right...
A Flask sat at my daughters desk all day!

TJ and I had matching ones on our wedding day, we needed a little pick me up dealing with the hundreds of people we didn't know :) I can't get rid of them they remind us of a fun memory. They sit in the back of our cupboard, I guess Brielle couldn't find her water bottle and decided this would make a great one, after all no one would have one like it lol. Luckily the kids have no clue what its really meant for and surprisingly I haven't had a call from her teacher!

*Note to self, check backpacks while loading the car :)

UTAH vs byu

2011-09-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite traditions, fall football and the Holy War!!! Hunter told his friends at school he's been going his whole life to the Utah vs Byu Game :)

Since the game was in September TJ was able to get off work and come too, we dropped off Sophie and Callaway at Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Ken's house and headed up to Happy Valley! TJ was a little excited and got a speeding ticket on the way up, we joked the Cop was a BYU fan lol. We know he wasn't going that fast and their was a ton of other cars going faster, we just happened to have a big U on our Jeep :)

My parents got hotel rooms a few blocks from the stadium and it was so nice not having to drive home in crazy traffic after the game, thanks Mom and Dad! Plus my Mom decorated it with Red and White Ute stuff we were in the mood to cheer on our team, GO UTES!

Gotta look tough

The game was THE BEST GAME ever, seriously so much fun! The best part was singing "hey, hey, hey, good-bye" half way through the 3rd quarter as all the BYU fans left the stadium, final score 54-10 :)

Rodeo

2011-09-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

Family night at the Rodeo, nothin' better than cowboyin' up and havin' a good time!

This year all of TJs family went and the kids had such a great time.

Callaway is a tornado and did not want to sit still, gotta love this stage! Good thing he is so handsome :)

Tiny Dancers

2011-09-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

Sophie took her very first dance class and LOVED it!! She was so funny to watch and did better than I thought she would. She was so excited to be like her big Sister and go to dance with her dance bag!

I took her to get new ballet and tap shoes since she was in-between Brielle's old shoes (dang it) she tried on the tap shoes and the lady asked her to stand up, she stood up and started kick-ball-chaining lol it was hilarious. The lady said she doesn't need dance lessons she already knows how!

Halle, her cousin, is also in the same class, it was so cute watching them together! So glad they have each other to do all these fun girly things with it makes it that much more fun!

Miss Brielle started her 4th year, she is a natural!

These two girls are so funny, so proud of you girls you make my heart smile!

I am running around crazy trying to get all the kids ready to go and silly Sophie is always making me stop and laugh

Soccer Season has started!

2011-09-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Hunter and Brielle played their first game of the season, they were at the same time this week and next so TJ coached Hunters and will coach Brielles next week. I was busy keeping time, video taping, and trying to watch both of them to get any pictures so I will try next week! Luckily they play next to each other on the field setup so we don't have to walk far

Hunter was awesome, I saw 1 of his 2 goals and was really impressed with how he has improved with staying with the ball and passing. His team was incredible like 15-1 GO STRIKERS!!!

Brielle was a spitfire! She was so aggressive and scored 4 goals. She really goes after the ball and won't give it up! Her team also did really well they won I think the score was 12-0 GO NEON FROGS!!

We are so excited for the rest of the season!! I was also complimented on my great organizations skills by some of the Moms :) I laughed but when we are coaching 3 teams I have to be overly organized.

Arizona

2011-09-05T07:50:00.001-07:00

Hunter and Brielle has so much fun visiting my Sister in Kingman, AZ with my parents over Labor Day weekend. While telling me all about their adventures it reminded of me when I was little and all our family trips. I am so thankful for my parents, they always take time and make special memories with us, the kids will never forget the armpit of America :)
They arrived and stopped by Ashley's work :) they love her so much!

playing around on a hike, they even brought the cool rock home lol

bowling!!

These cracked me up :P

Hoover Dam

Stops on the way home!

Peach days

2011-09-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hunter and Brielle went with my parents to visit my Sister in AZ for the weekend. Sophie loved having all the attention and we had so much fun doing all the things she wanted to do. Ice cream, dance parties, painting, picnics at the park, strawberry shortcake movies, and lots of treats!!

Saturday night after TJ got off work we went to Peach days in Hurricane.
We shared Navajo taco for dinner, and Sophie shared her snow cone and cotton candy. :)

Lots of twirly rides that tickle your tummy

Grease

2011-09-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day TJ bought me a hair package that included tickets to Grease, when we went and saw The Little Mermaid I mentioned how I have never been close to the stage so he found a show with front row seats open!

I had a crazy day, Sophie had school, I went to the older kids school to get volunteer schedules finished, SEPs, and Pack Meeting. I hurried and made dinner we ate in 5 minutes then dropped the kids off with TJs Mom. I didn't have time to change or put on make up but oh well we had fun!

I have to say it was neat being up close but I think I like being further back better, the sound wasn't as crisp, you really couldn't see the whole stage and you had to turn around to see when they were on the side of the hill.

I thought the show was good a little quirky and some characters were overly played but it was still really good. Doesn't compare to The Little Mermaid though :)

I also forgot the camera, guess the phone camera will have to work! We both look a little worn lol. TJ is growing his facial hair for his Halloween costume, its disgusting and I don't know how I'm going to deal with it for another 2 months!! ahhhh!!! He is still handsome even though he carries a little comb to groom his facial hair that has gray hairs sticking out hee hee not that I can talk I have tons of gray hair now!! thank heavens for hair dye :)

It's a miracle!!

2011-09-02T22:09:00.001-07:00

I survived taking 4 kids to the dentist!!! I think I deserve a treat, yep, they should have treasure chest for Moms too :)

I am happy to report NO CAVITIES!!! Woot woot!! I was shocked!
Hunter hasn't had any cavities for the last 3 years.
Brielle had her major work done a little over a year ago, and has been cavity free since then
Sophie has had a small spot on her tooth for a year but we have been doing fluoride treatments and it hasn't grown so she is good
Callaway had his 3 teeth shined up and fluoride :)

I don't know which is worse 4 kids every 6 months all at once or spread out? I am thinking its like a band-aid just rip it off and get it over with lol

SEPs

2011-09-01T16:52:00.001-07:00

Hunter and Brielle had their first sep's. I am impressed with their teachers and it seems like it's going to be a great year!

Both are at the top of their class in reading and math!! I am so glad that Hunter isn't behind and they both are doing great.
They both were complimented on their happy attitudes and being great friends.

Hunter just needs to work on not being chatty :) his goal is to work on multiplication facts (he didn't start multiplication at his other school)

Brielle's goal is to listen and respect adults and peers

School info

2011-09-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

I have had a few people ask me about the Charter School I send my kids to, If you are interested in my opinions keep reading and please know that they are MY opinions and I am not judging anyone if you do not agree with me :)

Knowledge is power!!

Thankfully we have the wonderful world wide web to look up all sorts of information, I encourage everyone to read up on all the schools in your area, I even did this for the kids preschool. Heck, I do this with every decision lol.

Look up test scores, staff, reviews, curriculum, everything and anything you can. Be careful with word of mouth, everyone has different opinions and it is important you listen to the good and bad and make your own decision. Then visit the schools with your child, you will know if it has a good feeling and if it would be a good fit for you and your children.

We live in a really nice area and our public schools have great scores, the charter school was around 6-8% higher on the CRT testing. I really liked our elementary school teachers and staff but I didn't feel like my son was being pushed, he learned a lot and his scores were above the state average but I felt he could be learning more.

Public schools and charter schools both have the same requirements such as State qualified teachers, and the students are tested the same. You do not have to pay for either, they get money from the State.

The main reason I chose GWA was because of their curriculum, every charter school is different but GWA uses Saxon Math and Core Knowledge Sequence. The kids also have a different teacher for art, music, and PE, our public school only has a different PE teacher, the do not offer art or music classes.

I love the uniforms, especially since we live in an area that is really into name brands, when your kindergartner wants TOMS, you know you have a problem. Uniforms really do make a difference in the class, and saves a ton of money!

I love how involved the parents are, each family has to do 40 hours per year or pay instead. Parents are always at the school and truly care about their kids education, sometimes too much :) I was room mom for Brielle and some parents were mad we had a party for an hour 2 days in a row during Christmas time!

I also love its K-8 and once they are in High School they can do all the extra curricular activities but also start college courses and get a head start and possible get their associates while getting their HS diploma!

I do not like the fact that I have to pick them up and drop them off everyday but I would have to do that anyway since we are not in a bus zone. And I have to pack a lunch everyday too, since they do not offer school lunch. It does save money and is healthier plus Hunter is picky anyway lol.

If you are interested in Charter schools here is a great link to get you started http://www.publiccharters.org/

I am in no way saying that if your kid goes to public school they are dumb and you are the worst parent ever. This is just my opinion and not every child is the same. There are kids that would do better at a public school and the rigorous curriculum is too much for them, and some Charter school may not teach what you would want your child to learn.

So there you go there is a small reason why we chose GWA :) Hopefully I answered some of your questions or at least got you thinking!

BUSY!!!!

2011-08-31T18:43:00.000-07:00

September is here, crazy!!! I love fall in St George, it's perfect weather, sports start up again, and that equals CHOAS!!! But we love every minute of it! Ok.... not every minute :)

Printed the calendar and added the events that are going on, and this is what I know of so far!!!

Brielle and Sophie dance, Piano, Hunter and Brielle soccer practice and games, scouts, dr appointments, Room Mom and reading Mom for Brielle's class, Volunteer coordinator for Hunter's class, Reading Mom for Sophie's class, and PTO meetings!

HELP!!!!

It's always a bad sign when your calendar is already full at the first of the month! I still have to add in Football practices in a few weeks, Hunter's and Sophie's school volunteer days haven't been finished yet, parties, family events, and other dates I still don't know about, heaven help me!

Good thing we adjust well to chaotic schedules :)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

2011-08-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Monday nights TJ works late so I usually take the kids to the park to get their wiggles out before bed. This Monday night was no different, walked to the park, some PB&Js and capri suns and laying on the grass watching the kids play.
Callaway has been only taking 1 nap lately and is so tired at the end of the day, he didn't want to play he wanted his binky and snuggles. Hunter had the camera and was taking random pictures, he took a few of us, I was about to delete them because though I looked ugly and they are really really close up.

But when he saw them he said I look like a princess, love this handsome kid :)

Hungry?

2011-08-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days....

Sophies second day

2011-08-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

After getting ready for her 2nd day of school Sophie asked me to take a picture of her for Grandpa, I don't know why, maybe she thought she was having a good hair day.

Sophie's first day of school

2011-08-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

Sophie started her first day at Barefoot Montessouri, she was so excited to go to school like the big kids, she had her orientation last week and loved her teachers and all the fun learning stations.

The night before we went shopping, I always buy clothes on sale here and there, I never go back to school shopping and buy a ton of things at once so I take kids on a special date to pick out their first day of school outfit. Hunter and Brielle just get a ice cream date now that they have uniforms, which I love! You don't have to spend forever picking out an outfit in the morning, they can dress themselves since it's only red, blue or white :) and its saves a ton of money on clothes!

Sophie ran over to this cream fluffy skirt and squealed "Ohhhh Mom! Look it's a princess dress! I want this one!" I was shocked I would have never thought she would pick it, I couldn't say no to her she was too excited. She then wanted a pink shirt to go with it, she held on tightly to her hanger until she found the perfect cute pink shirt.

We had fun shopping and then got some ice cream and gabbed about all the fun things she would get to do at school. I can't believe she is going to preschool, she seems so little to me still. I am so excited for her to meet new friends and have fun learning.

There is something about taking each kid on their first day, they are all so different. I feel so excited for them, sad that they no longer need just me, anxious that they will be good and be treated kindly, all sorts of emotions as they open and shut that door.

To pick up and drop off the kids all the cars line up and the teachers bring them out, it was so sweet to see her so excited to tell me about her day :)

Summer cousin fun!

2011-08-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

TJs Sister moved to Texas 4 months ago and decided to come visit for a week before school started. We had a swimming day with all the cousins, they had so much fun.

Madi taught Brielle how to do a front and back flip into the pool, my kids sure miss their older cousins to play with :)

Halle Landri and Sophie

first day

2011-08-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have a 3rd and 1st grader, where does the time go?
Brielle was embarrassed I took her picture at her desk and Hunter wouldn't even let me go in the classroom, Sheesh!

Sophie thought it was her first day too, next week lil Sis :)

Gifts for teachers, family and friends starting school :)

7 years

2011-08-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

A week ago TJ told me he had something planned for our 7 year anniversary, even had a babysitter arranged. I was watching the bank account and credit cards but didn't see anything, yes Im a snooper :) but he knows me all too well and had my friend buy the tickets and our brother in law the hotel and paid them so I wouldn't see the charges lol

He told me the night before we were going overnight and to pack something dressy. I was so excited I had just bought a cute dressy sundress at Target for only $6 and now I could wear it!

Friday he worked in the morning and then my parents came and picked up the kids, he didn't even tell me they were watching them, probably because I would've gotten it out of my Mom where we were going lol
We stopped at my favorite drink stop Swig and got Dirty Dr. Peppers well a Triple D for me (Dirty Diet Dr. Pepper) and hit the road going South..... Mesquite, Vegas?

TJ was so cute and jittery just like he always is when he has a surprise for me :) as we were driving through the Gorge we were talking about traveling and places we wish we could go and then he told me to open the glove box for our itinerary for the evening :) There was a hotel confirmation and tickets to Le Reve, I was so excited Viva Las VEGAS!!!!!

We stayed at the Luxor and got upgraded to a King bed, we told them it was our anniversary and that's all they did for us lol! We got ready and then realized we didn't have time to go to dinner so we went to the Wynn where the show was and grabbed a quick bite to eat to tide us over. Does anyone else love soup, the clam chowder was yummy!

The show was AMAZING, some seriously strong limber people. I am sad I didn't ask more people to take more pics of us, I was wearing a way cute dress and heels! I never get to wear heels, seriously so fun!

After the show we went to Lindo Michoacan a mexican restuarant, they had AMAZING Guacamole, they made right in front of you. The Margaritas were also great but the food was only ok. TJ got a desert to go, dulce de leche, Im not a fan of Mexican desserts, they taste soggy to me.

We slept in until 11:30am it was sooo nice! We went to Blueberry Hill from Brunch and it was the best! Chocolate chip pancakes were so good!

Then it was home to the Monsters, we hardly ever leave them and missed them but it was so great to get away just the two of us!

Washington County Fair

2011-08-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to the fair on opening night, it's family night and all the rides are $1, let's face it there is no way we could take them all at regular price lol. They had a blast, it was a perfect night.

Hunter is at an in-between age, the kiddie rides don't appeal to him but he isn't a dare-devil. Brielle and Sophie will go on anything and everything.
Luckily we can convince him to ride with his Sisters still :)

Callaway is liking his new found Independence walking everywhere, and really wants to join in all the fun his Brother and Sisters are having.

Have to have a treat, well TJ has to have a treat, at least he shared :)

Love my family and spending summer nights together
Our family picture is horrible, Sophie was hamming it up for the camera or hiding from it all night, Callaway loves Balloons, but it's the only picture with me in it lol

Pinevalley

2011-08-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

We took a short overnight trip to Pinevalley to get away and relax.
School starts in a week, we needed to check this off our Summer bucket list.
While TJ and I worked in the yard the kids feed the horses apples and grass

The apples also kept Callaway happy

The next day we went to the lake to try and fish "try" being the key word here lol
I don't know why we attempt this, our family is just too young and big to all go. Sophie and Callaway get bored, there are poles, hooks, bait, and we never stay long enough to catch anything.

Our nerves usually last an hour and then we pack it up, at least the scenery is beautiful!

Went on tons of hikes and walks, rode the Motorcycle, and picked Raspberries

While cleaning up I walked out to the truck where the kids were loaded up and saw this....

at first I thought it was a dog, it wasn't I have never seen anything like it! I was trying to explain it to TJ, he thought it was a badger. When we got home we googled it and it was a Large Woodchuck!!

The Little Mermaid at Tuacahn

2011-08-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to go see The Little Mermaid at Tuacahn, everyone we know that went loved it.

We dropped off Callaway at Grandmas and then hit the Dollar Tree for some treats.

They had an 80x30 ft. water screen that projected animations to help convey the feeling of being under the water, the stage always had water on it and the cast wore healys to scoot around on it was amazing!
Ursula was our favorite, she was perfect, and the Les Poissons act with the Chef Louis and Sebastian was so funny!!

We all LOVED it but should have left this girl at Grandmas too :) TJ took her out the last 15-20 minutes she wanted to talk, switch chairs, stand up on her chair, she wasn't really bad, just didn't want to be quiet and sit still. We had some annoyingly mean old people talking trash behind us.

Callaway's Par-tee: The Big ONE year old!!!

2011-07-31T10:43:00.000-07:00

Our handsome little boy

Callaway's Par-tee: Fun with Family

2011-07-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

His favorite people

Golf Ball pinata, Callaway liked to push it instead :)

I had my parents bring the golf cart for the kids to play on

Callaway's Par-tee: Presents

2011-07-31T10:27:00.001-07:00

This kid is so loved and spoiled, thank you to our amazing family!!!

Callaway's Par-tee: The cake

2011-07-31T10:14:00.000-07:00

He couldn't wait to eat his cake

I made his smash cake to look like a golf ball. I always tell him he is special he has his own logo :) I am not a cake decorator that is for sure, I don't have the patience especially with all the kids running around. I also made cupcakes for the little kids

He didn't care what it looked like it tasted sooo good, homemade frosting :)

Did I mention he loved it :)

Callaway's Par-tee: Details

2011-07-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

The invite

Dinner: 'Club' Sandwiches. 'Green' Salad and at the Watering Hole water and punch

The decor

baby brother

2011-07-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

It's tough being the youngest, especially when you have older Sisters :)

Callway's BIG news!!!

2011-07-27T15:21:00.001-07:00

We have a walker!!!

He stands there and gives you this looks like yea, I can walk...... What you wanna see me do it?

Hmmm Ok!
yay Im walkin!!!!

I cannot believe in a few days this lil boy will be one!!! We were playing and oddly enough all the other kids were napping so I took full advantage of it, busted out the camera to follow him around the backyard. He is such a funny lil one, just like his Brother and Sisters.

He has 3 teeth coming in, when you ask to see them he usually give you this cheesy grin :)

He loves to throw any type of ball, good thing we have a million of them :)

Bella loves playing with him

He crawls on the curbing lol

When I grow up....

2011-07-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

I was listening to Hunter and Brielle's conversation about what they want to be when they grow up.

Hunter- I want to be a US Navy Seal or take over Dad's Pizza Factory
Brielle- I want to do nails and be a Dr
Hunter- You don't want to be a Dr they see gross stuff, you should be a fashion designer
Brielle- I would still see sick stuff, what if they have ugly butt's

I start laughing and then ask Sophie what she wants to be, she starts shaken her groove thang (In only her underwear)
Hunter- A pole dancer?
Sophie- NO! A princess!

We all scream for ice cream

2011-07-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

After the fireworks we went to Iceburg for ice cream! Everyone was sharing with Callaway except me :)

I really did share but every time I took a bite he wanted that one too!

24th weekend

2011-07-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

We had a great 24th of July holiday weekend
Swimming all day

Picnic and fireworks

Hikes

Gunlock Reservoir

Sno cone night

2011-07-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

We are lucky in St George Sno-cones are a year round thing, but still there is something about a sno-cone on a hot summer night :)

Auggie's going away party

2011-07-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

The Ott's are moving in a few days, we are so sad and will miss them so much but we are so excited for this opportunity for them.

We met over 5 years ago, we went through hell building our houses at the same time, we both did most the work ourselves and found comfort in each other, knowing exactly how each other felt.

They have become not only the best neighbors and friends but family to us. Birthday's, holidays, Cecilie was at Sophie and Callaways births, not a day goes by we don't have some kind of contact. Hunter and August are only 2 days apart and are the best of friends, they have grown up from tiny little 3 year olds to cool 8 year olds

My heart aches not only because I will miss them, but it kills me to know the hurt Hunter is going to feel, his first best friend is moving.

We threw Auggie a going away party with some of the neighborhood boys. Pizza, rootbeer floats, scavenger hunts, smores, and a movie in the backyard, it doesn't get much better than that!! We love you Auggie and we are so thankful for all the fun memories we have made the past few years and hope you have fun in Logan, we hope to visit soon!

Slave labor

2011-07-18T12:06:00.001-07:00

Once a month TJ has to clean the carpets at PF, we usually go the next day and put the table and chairs back. Everyone knows what to do and now even lil Callaway has caught on :)

Everyday Moments

2011-07-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

This is an average night at the Bentley house:

No ones hair is brushed or done,
Clothes are mismatched and stained (most the time there is nothing but underwear on lol)
Mouths not washed from dinner
Moms in her frumpy clothes, most likely has a handprint food smear on her somewhere, hair back, mascara smeared, bags under her eyes, but happy with kids crawling all over, fighting for attention.
Dads at work late
Hunter throws the football too hard and giggles every time I tell him to throw it gently or I won't play
Sophie wants to be pushed on the swing and gets mad when Brielle pushes her instead
Callaway crawls around playing with any ball he can find, multiple times one of the kids picks him up to play, he gets mad and wants to be let down.
Brielle always puts on a show and tries to Mother everyone

Cries, shouts, and uncontrollable laughter fill the warm air

No one is picture perfect, but this is us almost every night.

This moment seems little, after all it happens all the time. But the years keep going by even more quickly than the last and I am beginning to realize these small moments really are big.

Cousin Sleepover

2011-07-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

Boys are so much different than girls lol :)
We had Jonathan sleepover, our night was filled with trucks, sand, mud, trains, and tons of Fun!

Cleaning up after getting dirty, even my floors and walls got cleaned :)
Jonathan kept throwing water at the girls it was hilarious watching them

The girls thought it was fun but after a couple dozen times they fought back :)

Little monkeys al clean eating popcorn and watching Thomas the train!

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Finally around 11:30pm I figured they would never get tired so we hit the sack, Sophie and Jonathan wanted to cuddle on the same bed :)

Hope you had fun JR we love you!!!!

Callaway 11 months

2011-07-08T18:22:00.001-07:00

I am a week late with Callaways 11 month stats, life has been busy!!

This little baby is now BIG!!!!
He is into everything, no more being content sitting in one spot.
He isn't army crawling as much anymore and pulls himself up and walks with help, boxes, dogs, basically anything that can move!
He finally sprouted 2 teeth on top this week!!
Loves all kinds of food. I weaned him completely a few weeks ago, he doesn't drink very much he loves to eat food!
He is the best sleeper, 12 hours at night and is down to one 2hr nap
Every time Hunter plays the piano, even just a quick song he crawls over and presses the peddles and tries to play too

We sure love our chubs and I am incredible sad the next post is his 1 year. My last baby is growing up too fast!!

homeward bound

2011-07-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Heather joined us on the way home, we were jammed packed for every angle!!

We had to get cheese in Beaver of course TJ won't eat anything else but their new cheese, most his family is the same way so we always pick a brick up for everyone :)

Thanks for joining the crazy Bentley Bunch Heather I am sure we were more than entertaining to ride with :)

The zoo and friends BBQ

2011-07-06T21:07:00.001-07:00

I didn't know if we were at the Zoo or the Dinosaur park???? There were not as many animals but tons of fake dinosaurs lol.

We lost Sophie, yep I think I might have to get one of those backpack leash things, I know I always thought they were tacky but she is too quick! She wanders off and isn't afraid of strangers, a lady saw she was alone and asked if she was lost and she said 'No, my family over there." Seriously!!!!

After the Zoo we had a BBQ with some friends, its crazy how many kids there are now, man we are getting old :) I was awful at taking pictures that night *sorry to those I missed!!!

Thanks Johnstuns for the fun night and letting us ride your horses!!!