Anna's Ring Toss

Anna had her chance at a business day too. She decided on a ring-toss game with GIANT cookies for the "grand prize." Scott laughed at our set-up...he said it looked like a Relief Society table. We'll take that as a compliment! :) Anyway, she had plenty of customers vying for the giant cookies. A few teachers were especially persistent, and we ended up running out of them. We had to make three more and deliver them the next day.

Anna with her "shop."

Our cute friend, Olivia trying for a cookie (she was one of the winners!)

Anna's teacher (another winner...she kept coming back until she got a cookie!)


Nathan especially liked spending Anna's "money" at all of the other shops. He'd won several prizes and had two ice cream sundaes by 9:30 in the morning. Whoops! Anna was so sweet to share her money. Sometimes she'd take him shopping, but sometimes she'd just hand him the money, and he'd take care of the rest (hence the reason for his two sundaes...) He got the ball through the hardest hole on his first try in the game above and won an Angel's Rally Monkey. Pretty cool stuff for a 4-year-old! He also won a $10 Borders gift card in one of the raffles. Go Nathan!

Aimee's Dream Come True...

Last week Aimee got to run her own business at school for an afternoon. She and her friend, Hayley decided to open a snow cone shop. They were busy the entire time. Quite the successful little entrepreneurs, those two!

Aimee showing us which advertisement is hers.

Browsing with Nathan before the shopping officially begins.


"Aimee and Hayley's Delicious Snow Cones"


One satisfied customer...
(I think Nathan managed to get about four snow cones out of the girls. A kid's got to sample every flavor!)

The next day, Aimee got to be a consumer (the dream-come-true part!) Here she is, ready with her shopping bag and her envelope of "funny money" to spend, spend, SPEND. She loved the fact that she could do whatever she wanted with the money. Usually I put in my "two cents" about what she is spending her allowance on (you wouldn't believe how money burns a hole in this girl's pocket!) As you can see, she is one happy shopper!

Anna's Concert

Wow....the end of the school year gets so busy! Anna had her first concert the other night. She was so excited to learn to play the violin, and she did really well. It was so fun to go and see her perform with all of the other kids. She looked so grown-up! I just can't believe my "Little Anna" will be a fifth grader next year. Am I really that old???

Anna and her good friend, Camden.

"Gold" Fever

A couple of weeks ago, Anna got to participate with her 4th grade class in performing "Gold Dust or Bust," a cute little play about the California Gold Rush. I was so impressed with all of the kids. There were several songs, and the singing and dancing was SO GOOD in all of them! What a talented little group! The set was pretty amazing too. Grammie and Poppa were here for the event, and we all had a really nice time. Good job, Annalyn!

A couple of days later, Aimee was recognized for earning a "Gold" award at the school's Friday assembly. She's been earning "Red" and "Blue" awards since Kindergarten to make it to this big moment. We are so proud of you, Sweet Girl!

Mother's Day

Better late then never, right? My "Mother's Day" picture with the kids wasn't so hot this year (they're super cute, but I'm still looking pretty sickly...) so I decided to post one from a couple of years ago. I can't believe how quickly they are growing....they've all changed so much!

I had such a great day. I was blessed to feel good pretty much the whole day, which doesn't happen very often. I had an especially rough time the following week, which made me very grateful that Mother's Day was a good one! Scott spoke in Sacrament Meeting, the girls got to sing a musical number with a couple of friends, and all three kids went up to sing with the Primary. I was the only one not on the stand at some point during the meeting.....it was so nice!

After church we came home and relaxed. The kids were all so sweet, and made it a really nice day (i.e. no arguing, being helpful, etc.) Scott made me my favorite "Grandma Bennion Enchiladas" and they tasted so good! I love real food. I even had a couple of cookies for dessert. I was in heaven! Most food still doesn't settle very well , so I was especially happy to eat my favorite things without suffering for it.

Scott gave a really great talk. I thought it was the sweetest Mother's Day talk I've heard (although I may be a little biased!) He talked a little about this rough pregnancy and all of the wonderful mothers who have helped us through the really hard times. I wished he'd have let me read it beforehand so I would know how many tissues I'd need! Some of my favorite parts were :

(Speaking of the difficulty of my pregnancy...) Many men who hear of such suffering shake their heads and say they are sorry. Mothers, however—mothers do something else.

o I’ve seen mothers drop by a treat, to have an excuse to show their love and to see how Annette is doing.
o I’ve seen many mothers, some pregnant themselves, bring dinner for our family.
o I’ve seen mothers take our children into their homes to offer relief—relief to Annette and love to the child.
o I’ve seen a neighbor mother walk our children back and forth from school and activities, like they were her own.
o I’ve seen my mother take a second run at motherhood—putting her life on hold and moving in with our family for months. A grandma acting in every way like a thirty-something again. Cooking and cleaning; shopping and shuttling. Going for walks, going to parks, going for picnics. Kids off to bed, kids off to school. Play dates and homework. Loving and leading. All the while caring for Annette with the love of a mother. The love that heals—if not the body, the soul.

(And a little later....)

Now, children and brethren. We have work to do. Our mothers, our wives, are in need of our love in return. They are in need of our appreciation. I checked with many of your wives and your mothers to see what they most desire this Mother’s Day. To no surprise, their needs are not great—they are simple and they are made of love. That very fuel that keeps them going.

Their favorite Mother’s Day is every year. It is the homemade card. The fresh hand-picked flowers from the yard. Breakfast in bed. The dinner and dishes done for one day not by her, but for her. It is having the kids home from college. Or a phone call from the missionary son. It is the heartfelt letter of appreciation from a grown child far away, the one still at home, or the father of her children. It is the simple things that say “I love you.”

The lesson for us is simple—appreciate her. Love her. Make her feel like she makes you feel. It is a good day to practice such things. It is a good day to start good habits.

So good, huh? This was so true for me, especially this year. Due to the crazy economy, we've been doing a lot of simplifying. My gifts this year were sweet books the girls made me at school, a little "foam flower" pin Anna made at Activity Days, a poem from Aimee, and roses(picked from our own yard) from Nathan. Scott wrote me a really sweet and thoughtful letter that meant so much. I have never felt more loved...these simple things really are what it's all about. I am so grateful to have the privilege of being a mother, and so blessed to have such an amazing family.

Our Little Hula Man

Nathan got to participate in our ward talent show last weekend, hula hooping with his little friend, Summer. They were a hit! I was laughing so hard that it was impossible to hold the camera still. Nathan got a little stage fright at first, but it didn't take too long for him to find his groove. I love that he won't look at the audience, and that he decided to show off his talent of nail biting WHILE hula hooping. Amazing! Even though he was a little nervous, he loved it, and wanted to go back up on stage afterward. The next morning as we were leaving for church, he wouldn't get into the car without his hula hoop. I don't know if that would've gone over well in Primary.....luckily he left it in the trunk until we got home!

And the Girls....

Annalyn and Aimee got to perform in the talent show as well. Anna accompanied Aimee and their friend, Brooke, singing "Teach Me to Walk in the Light." They all did a fabulous job and didn't seem a bit nervous. I was impressed!