Taffy Apple Dip

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Mix with Kitchen Aid wire mixer. (That's what my recipe says, but I'm guessing that if you mix it with another brand, it would still turn out.)

Don't be fooled by it's simplicity. This is one SUPER YUMMY dip for just about any fruit!

P.S. - I have no idea why 'taffy' is in the name!?

Oh, how I love my Ben!

Sweet, tender, strong, stubborn, smart, funny, sensitive, imaginative, protective, destructive, thoughtful, capable, complex, loving, full of faith, creative, inquisitive, articulate, helpful, messy, observant, concerned, determined, huggable, kissable.

Superhero, inventor, worrier, warrior, artist, organizer, actor, director, singer/songwriter, dancer, pack-rat, policeman, playmate, friend, cousin, grandson, brother, son.

Ben, you were well worth waiting for! I am so very grateful to be your mommy. I am so proud of you! Thanks for coming to our family, and for being my boy!

It has been a great five years! I am glad that we have an eternity more! Happy Birthday! I love you!!!!

Princess Brianna

After several days of James

leaving before the kids were up,

and coming home after the kids were in bed,

Brianna saw her Daddy.

Immediately, she crawled over to him,

hugged his ankle,

and laid her sweet head on his foot.

She did this several times over that weekend,

and has done it several times since.

Ben put Brianna's Easter basket on her

(as shown in the picture)

and announced that it was her

"Jet Pack!"

Brianna, modeling her new swimsuit.

*** Moments I treasure!!***

Why Do They Always Wait Until You're On the Phone

"Thank you for calling the automated prescription refill system. Please enter . . ." Whatever I was supposed to enter is drowned out by:

"WAAAAAaaaaaah!"

I glance up to see Ben with his finger in Brianna's mouth, undoubtedly trying to retrieve some off-limits item that she has managed to put in her mouth.

I key in the prescription number, figuring that is the most likely thing that it asked for.

"You have entered . . ." "WAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaHHH!"

"If this is correct, press . . . " Thud. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

In his attempts, Ben has managed to knock Brianna over on the hard floor.

"You may pick up . . ." "AAAAAAAHHHH" "To . . . " "AAAAAAAAAHHHH"

I hang up and pick up my baby to comfort her.

I will go to the pharmacy later to pick up either my prescription, or perhaps, someone elses. Maybe theirs is for valium. Either way, I guess it will all work out.

Our Trip to Colorado

What a beautiful place! We enjoyed the Colorado National Monument so much! That is where these pictures were taken. James had another great interview, and now it is decision time.

I love my family! I will tell more about the trip and our decision later!

5 Things You May Not Know About Me

I have now been "tagged" to share with you five things that most people don't know about me. So, here goes:

1. I am an e-mail checking addict. I seriously check my e-mail at least a dozen times per day. I rarely get anything personal, but I can't help but check, . . . just in case. If regular mail were delivered more than once per day, I'd probably get a lot of exercise running back and forth to the mailbox.

2. I once dropped my cell phone in the toilet. . . . I'd rather not elaborate.

3. My son used to drive me crazy at bed time, . . . draaaaagging out his bedtime routine, and then begging and crying for me to snuggle him (which always meant another 10-15 minutes). Don't get me wrong, I love to snuggle, but not after an hour of a battle of the wills. So, now, after each Family Home Evening, Ben receives two coupons: one is good for "Another 15 minutes" and the other, for "A Snuggle with Mommy or Daddy". It has worked like a charm, with the added bonus that we rarely miss Family Home Evening.

4. I once walked out of the bathroom at work with my dress tucked into my nylons. Yup. That was pretty embarrassing.

5. About half of each of my two front teeth is fake. Let's just say, it's usually best not to eat the handle bars on your bicycle.

O.k., there you have it! I "tag" Sarah, Linda, Leon, and my James.

Benjamisms II

Two cute stories from yesterday:

I was taking the girl who cleans my house to her home when Ben asked her, "Do you clean at your house, too?"

"Yes. I have to clean my room, and I have one Saturday chore."

"Oh, 'cause I was thinkin' if you had to clean our house for so long, and then go home and clean your house, that's a lot of cleaning!!"

**************

Then, later, Ben was taking an Easter basket to our next door neighbor's little boy. He had been gone for longer than I thought was necessary, so I asked James to look out the window to see where he was. He said that Ben was walking back to their door with something (not the Easter basket) in his hands.

After even more time had passed, I looked out our window to see where he was.

At first, I couldn't see him, but soon he came bounding out of their door, took two steps, then turned and went back and talked for a minute. Then, two more steps, then turned and went back and talked for a minute. He repeated this three times. Then, he did a cute little gallop back to our house.

Later, he told us that he had given flowers to them. (That's what James had seen him carrying back to their door.)

Lessons with Ben

Ben had the lesson for Family Home Evening this week. Since Easter is this Sunday, I told Ben that I had an idea for his lesson. Then I got out of our Gospel Art Kit the pictues of The Crucifixion, Burial of Jesus, and Mary and the Resurrected Lord. I asked him to teach us about what was happening in these pictues.

He did a beautiful job giving an account of the events portrayed. He asked me questions and I answered them, and I asked him questions and he answered them. He let me know that Jesus had power over death, and that He chose to suffer and die for us. I asked him, "What do we get from Jesus suffering and dying for us?"

Ben said, "So we can repent." "That's right. And also," I prompted, pointing to the picture of the Resurrected Lord. "So we can be resurrected!" he finished.

Then, it was apparent that Ben felt the lesson had gone on long enough. "I'd like to hear your testimony," I said. "I don't have one," Ben said. "Oh, that's o.k. You're still young and learning." Then, pointing to the pictures, I said, "Do you believe all of this is true? That it really happened?" "Yes," he said, without hesitation. "Then you do have a testimony. That is your testimony!" "Oh!" he said, with big eyes and a smile.

For the record, I believe it's true as well! I am so grateful for our Savior and for our Father's plan for us! Happy Easter!

Some Updates . . .

It seems like it's time to write something on my blog. I'm just having trouble coming up with anything interesting. So, I 'spose I'll give you some updates on our little life here:


I finally decided to get a dog for Ben. We discussed it, and I explained how he would need to help take care of it. He was excited, and wanted to go get the dog. We had two lengthy stops to make before the animal shelter. Then, the drive to the animal shelter was muuuuch loooonger than I had anticipated. When we were finally two blocks away, Ben announced, "I don't want a dog!! They're too much TROUBLE!" By this point, I was grumpy, Brianna was crying because she needed a nap, and Ben was giving me attitude. I pulled into the animal shelter parking lot, turned around, and went home.

Instead, we bought season passes to a family water park. In addition to our zoo pass, this will be our entertainment for the summer! This way, when our knees and hands get wet, it will be from chlorinated water, not from wet doggy nose.

Brianna had her 9 month check up last week. She is growing wonderfully and normally. However, the doctor (the only one in the practice that I really don't like) let me know that in her estimation, Brianna is a drama queen. Brianna is well into the stranger anxiety stage. Add to that that she was stripped to her nothings, forced to lay down (which she hates), and was being poked and prodded by a stranger, and it's no wonder that she was screaming her head off. The doctor said that when she screams like that, I shouldn't "play into it", or I'll just create a LOT of problems. Well spoken, for a lady who had a nanny raise her kids. Thanks, but I think I know when to comfort my daughter, and when to not "play into it." (NOTE: This is the same doctor who, at Ben's 3 year old check up, told me that Ben was the most socially backward 3 year old she had ever seen. Then, she spent the remainder of the appointment telling me all of the things I needed to get him involved in in order to "fix" him. When we left that appointment, Ben said, "I will talk to a BOY doctor. I will not talk to her!")

James began his Pediatric rotation yesterday. It was only a 16 1/2 hour day. Thank goodness it's only a THREE month rotation! I've been told that Brigham Young said, "The key to a happy life is eight hours of work, eight hours of play, and eight hours of sleep." I wonder if Brigham Young lived his definition of a "happy life"??

I still don't have my Cub Scout Charter renewed. But, hey, it's on my list for this week. Does that count for anything?? I was really stressing about this a couple of weeks ago, but I had a lot of other things on my plate that needed my attention. I talked to James about that, and he said, "You shouldn't stress about it. You've already lost the charter, the best you can hope for is to get it back. It's kind of like when I enter a room and the patient has already died. I shouldn't stress, because the best I can hope for is to bring him back." Um, . . . thanks for putting things into perspective!

Well, that's all the news from Lake Wobegone, where the women are protective, the men are exhausted, and the children are smart, beautiful, captivating, and perhaps a wee bit dramatic!

That's Our Girl!

Brianna's unique way of crawling:

Brianna's unique way of sleeping -- folded in half:

Brianna, herself: