C.A.M.P.I.N.G

WARNING - This post is being written by Brian Benes (the guy who married the most understanding, beautiful, and forgiving wife of all time)

So what does CAMPING really stand for?
Can
A
Mommy
Please
Ignore
Naughty
Guys

Over the holiday weekend, the boys and I set off to our favorite campground to meet up with Grandpa Andy for a 4 day weekend of dirt, fires, lakes, rivers, mud, bugs, fishing, uncleanliness etc... and I thought I would give you a quick recap of some of our activities.

The first day we arrived, the boys were greeted at our campground by 3 kayaks and a canoe. They were really excited to see them and picked out the ones they wanted to ride within seconds. Since neither one had ever been in a kayak before, we decided in our own logical minds that the best way for them to learn was to put them in the kayak and push them out onto the lake to fend for themselves.

Amazingly they did awesome and got the hang of it within seconds. After that they tore off on the lake with Grandpa and Daddy chasing after them.


The next morning Uncle Tom came out to join us and we headed off to the Milwaukee river to test out their skills a little more. Again they did an amazing job and didn't tip once during the 4 mile journey down the winding river.


At the end of our river adventure, we waded out into the river and caught a few crawfish. You can see Jacob is very proud of this one.


The boys thought it was hilarious when the crawfish used his pinchers to get Grandpa.


They had so much fun, we went back to a different part of the river and caught a bunch more as "pets". (Yes, we were using our hats to catch them. Pretty resourceful if you ask me!)


Another favorite activity was catching daddy-long-legs spiders at the campsite.


And digging in the dirt with shovels and rubber mallets.


Don't forget about some fishing. Check out the monster that Jacob caught. We thought about having this one mounted.


Check out Tyler's "Sunny" fish.


And yes, sometimes it is just WAY too conventional to fish from land.

We did get saved during the 3 hour rain storm by Haley and mommy with the DVD player in the mini-van! Super mommy to the rescue! (We had Jacob, Grandpa, Tyler, Haley, Grandma, Mommy, Daddy and cousin Izzy all crammed in)


All in all it was a great trip with minimal bruises, scrapes and bumps. Can't wait to do it again soon!

Safety Town

The boys wrapped up their "Safety Town" program this week. These are the pictures from graduation. The class taught the boys everything and anything about "safety." Safe bus riding, playground rules, fire, police, guns, pets, water....and the list goes on. Their most favorite part was riding the go-carts in "Safety Town" where they had to obey the traffic signs, not hit pedestrians, or play bumper cars with each other.

Tyler is rounding the corner like a NASCAR driver.

Look at his "look" he's giving me! Shy, daredevil, my baby!

Here comes his counterpart (Jacob) with white knuckles and two hands on the wheel.

At least he stops to give a wave in the middle of the street :)

They look like they are up to something!!!

The class separated into groups of 4 and the boys paired up with their friends from Kindergarten...the twin girls. These 4 are the best of friends and so sweet with each other. What do you think...future dates? :)

Not to be missed this week is Haley. Here she is enjoying the boys' baseball game with some pretzels and water.

Another classic shot of Haley trying to be just like her brothers. So fun. Look at the detail of her costume. Sword, drill, belt, viewmaster disks, cowboy hat...where's the tu-tu?!!!

Look who discovered the boys' cleats. :)

Happy 4th of July!!!

Mini-Vaca in Minnesota

We spent last weekend in Minnesota with family. We actually had 1 rehearsal dinner, 2 weddings plus receptions, and one 80th birthday party/family reunion packed into a few days and sprinkled with lots of extras. Here is only a quick sampling of our 250 pictures that we took. It was super hard to choose only 10 photo's to share!!

We were able to spend some time at my mom's sisters' house. You can tell that we took full advantage of the pool (with diving board) and the sun. The boys (and Brian and I) loved launching ourselves off the diving board and into the 88 degree pool. Everyone had such a great time and even got alittle sun-burned, but it was totally worth it!!

Tyler, Haley, and Jacob enjoyed this floating "rescue boat."

That evening was capped off with my cousin's rehearsal dinner on a dinner cruise boat. We cruised around for 3 hours, enjoying the sunset and the regatta sailboat race going on in the background.

The next evening was the wedding. The 3 bears sure do clean up nice!

The boys put on their best smiles for cousin Alyssa. Also, they were so excited to wear a tie...just like daddy. (I wonder how they will feel about ties in 10 years :)

We blew off some steam at the Mall of America. The boys enjoyed the Nickelodeon Theme Park. Do you see us...drooling at the thought of riding all those rides? The boys could hardly wait to get in and go!

If you look in the middle (5 seats back) you will see Jacob and Grandpa Andy and in the seat behind them are Uncle Tom and Tyler.

Look at those "pure joy" smiles :)

This was our second wedding reception. By this time the kids were pro's at the dance part. Here Tyler (yellow), Jacob (orange), and Haley are catching the "Saturday Night Fever!" We have some really good video's that will be shown to their dates before their first dance.

Our weekend was capped off with Grandma Robben's 80th birthday party. Here Haley discovered that she loved walking in the sand and keeping the beach ball from flying into the lake.

We had such a wonderful time, filled with more memories than I can recount. Thank you to all the family we saw, it was great catching up with everyone!

Happy Father's Day

We had a wonderful and warm Father's Day weekend. We spent all of Saturday at my mom and dad's and some time on the lake.

We wanted to capture a great family photo to mark daddy's day of 2009. We did our best :)

A trip to the park is not complete without a train ride. The boys loved it and Haley will learn to love it.

Jacob loved his carousel ride. But it was loooong. We got our money's worth!

Tyler and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer enjoyed every minute of the ride.

Haley just held on tight. After 3 minutes she began to wave to the crowd. Again, she will learn to love this too!

Mommy and her girl.

The boys patiently waited for something to bite. But boy do they look angelic sitting on the rocks watching the water. I loved the photo so much that I had to put the one below on too.

Nope, nothing, too hot. Better luck next time!

We are blessed to have the most wonderful husband and father. We love you!!

Week in Review

Well, we made it through the first week of summer vacation! We had a crazy week with no chance to sleep in...yet. Here are some of our favorite picture moments from the week...

Haley has fully embraced her "terrible two's." My littlest angel expands her vocabulary daily, has an opinion about what she wears, and can flash you her "sassy-I-know-it face. If you have ever had a 2yr. old girl, I don't need to explain anything about this photo :)

We spent one night at the zoo for a special dinner and fun family trip. Tyler (on the right) insisted that this is where I take his photo. Jacob (on the left) didn't want to sit too close to his brother...I think that's called "The Buffer Seat."

Check out this beautiful peacock...look closer for the two terrors stalking it! The peacock then shook all his feathers very loudly, causing Haley to scream for safety.

Our week also included babysitting time with cousin Izzy. The boys pushed the girls around the kitchen for a LONG time. The girls loved every minute of it!!

Can't wait to see what the weekend brings!

Happy 2nd B-day Haley!

Happy Birthday to my favorite 2 year old!

Haley loved her "Elmo" and "Big Bird" cake plus two candles and a bonus singing candle.

Of course her favorite part, and her brothers favorite part, was opening gifts.

She loved the dress-up clothes she received from her friends Olivia and Sofia. She wore them for the rest of the day.

Here Haley is helping the big guys get the pool ready. I think her pink satin skirt looks right for the occasion. :)

Haley then switched it up to a pink tu-tu so she could help daddy pull weeds.

She really got into the job, and so did her tush. (Look closely for the grass hanging from her diaper bum.)

"Oh, do I have a wedgie or is there something on my booty?"

"Maybe if I put my hands like so, nobody will notice all the grass stuck to my diaper."

"Oh, who cares anyway...Today's My Birthday, na, na, na ,na!"

But pirates Jacob and lookout Tyler have spotted her :)

Final Friday

Well, it finally happened today. My babies ended their first year of school. Insert sigh. As we were driving to school this morning I began to reflect on this past school year, then I felt the tears coming. I told the boys to "stop growing up" and "to please stay my babies forever." Jacob proceeded to tell me that I could visit him anytime I wanted. Good to know.

Here is Jacob (on the left) and Tyler (has on the lighter shorts) on their final day of Kindergarten.

If we look back, here is Tyler (in blue) and Jacob on their first day of Kindergarten.

These days our photo sessions are not complete till we get a "silly faces" picture.

Then the peanut (who turns 2 on Monday) needed to be in a photo with the big boys too!

Here they are at school for an outside classroom shot. That's their principal behind them. Jacob and Tyler, you made momma proud this year!