Brian Head

This last weekend Ben and I went to the cabin. We were the only ones there plus Belmont. It was a nice weekend away, however I wish I had felt better. I was deathly sick. The boys had a lot of fun though. We got there late Friday night and talked by the fire. Then we all went to bed. We got up the next morning and Belmont made us all breakfast. His usual, pancakes, eggs and bacon. It was delicious! Then Belmont and Ben took the boys skiing. They had a lot of fun. Ethan wanted to go a second time but Ben said it was way too hard to go again. So I took the boys back home while Ben and Belmont stayed and went skiing and snowboarding. Later that afternoon we watched the BYU vs. Utah basketball game and lounged around. Belmont left that night back to Vegas and our little family stayed and had dinner and cleaned the cabin. We left early the next morning. It was a short weekend but it's always nice to get away for a little bit.

Aidan skiing with Grandpa Belmont from jaclyn on Vimeo.

Ethan skiing with Grandpa Belmont from jaclyn on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving Week Highlights

Our Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. The whole Anderson family was there minus Jerm of course who is in Italy on his mission. The family, the food, the movies, the shopping, all of it was great! We got to see Tangled which I can't wait for that to come out on DVD already! Ben saw The Unstoppable which he enjoyed as well. We went to dinner with Danny and Stephanie Dastrup who we haven't seen in at least three years! We went to dinner with all the Anderson's minus all our kids. On our last day there, the guys went shooting and the girls got taken out to Nordstroms for lunch by Kathy followed by some shopping in the mall! My highlight was when Kathy bought all of us girls a pair of boots from Steve Madden! I absolutely LOVE my new boots! Thanks Kathy and Belmont for everything that week, Ben and I are so grateful for everything you do for us!

Newport Beach

On Tuesday after Disneyland we went to Newport Beach and yes Ben and the boys played in the ocean, while I sat freezing in my pants and sweatshirt on the beach! I can not believe they were playing in the water! The boys had so much fun with their dad though like they always do.

Disneyland

Our trip to Disneyland was the fastest trip! We only went for one day but I might have made it two if I had known during their off season they close at EIGHT!!! I was so disappointed when I found this out at 3 in the afternoon! We had a lot of fun with all the family. Aidan is now 40in. which Ben looked up before hand to see what he could ride now. He was able to go on Splash Mountain, Hollywood Tower of Terror, Soarin' Over California, and Swinging Symphony to name a few. His favorite was Soarin' Over California which he went on twice! Ben might have snuck Ethan on some of these rides because he wasn't tall enough! :) Ethan just wants to do everything his brother does!

Brian Head

The weekend before Halloween we were able to go up to the cabin just our little family and spend the weekend there. On our way up Ben and I realized we have the worst luck in the world when it comes to choosing what car to take! We had decided to take the van because it is easier for me to take care of Keaton sitting next to him then taking our Explorer and having no room next to him. It starts raining really bad and the further we get up the mountain the rain starts to turn to snow. Next thing I know we are in serious slippery roads and there are people sliding all over the place. Ben thinks we are okay because we are behind the plowman. We get to the steepest part of the mountain and the PLOWMAN begins to slide…right about now I start to freak out! I immediately start to pray that the Lord will watch over us and help us turn around on the mountain and get back down. Ben of course was super calm and was able to drive us safely back down the mountain. Fortunately for us Belmont, Ben's dad, was coming up in his truck and so we waited for him in Cedar City. That night when we got back to Parowan they had cleared the roads all the way up to the cabin so we were able to take the van up anyways. It ended up being a nice weekend away since Ben had been out of town the last three weeks. Ben took the boys out on the rhino and even took them fishing.

Lake Powell

Well Ben has been in New Mexico working for the last 3 weeks. He gets to come home on the weekends but still, it sucks! Anyways he planned this little getaway awhile ago. He planned with the two guys that he is working with there in New Mexico to go to Lake Powell. They all are on what's called DOE which is a goverment job that has them working four 10 hour days which means they get three day weekends. I am not going to lie, I was really hesistant on going seeing I am due in 4 weeks. I will say this, it really was fun, short, and lots of fun! Thursday afternoon after Aidan got out of preschool I drove down to Cedar City and picked up Ben from the airport there. Then we had dinner and headed down to Lake Powell with his friend Tony Wilson. We got there and on the house boat about 11pm. Friday was a great day. We all went out on the boat and Ben was able to go wakeboarding which is not often enough for him! He also got to learn how to surf behind the boat which he was pretty good at. The wind started to pick up so he didn't get to go wakeboarding again. Tony then took us to this awesome beach. The sand was so white and clean, the kids loved it! Saturday wasn't as good as Friday. However Ben and his friend Jared took the kids out on the jet skis and went cliff jumping while Kim, Jared's wife, and I stayed on the house boat and relaxed. It was really nice. Later that afternoon we took the boat out and went sight seeing. We went through these amazing canyons. It was so pretty. We went to this other beach with red sand and the kids road down the hills with the knee board. That night we all played Mexican Train and then the boys stayed up to play cribbage which is Ben's new favorite game. Sidenote: Ben is in New Mexico this week and has informed me the first night there they had to go to Wal-Mart to buy it and has played it every night! Sunday the boys took the kids out tubing on the boat while Kim and I stayed and cleaned up the house boat. I was totally okay with this because the boys totally took care of every meal and cleanup while we were there! We left by noon and got home just before 7pm. Our road trips now take at least an hour longer because Ethan has a bladder the size of a pea. He has to stop all the time to go potty. I wish I had Ben's patience because he just says at least he is telling us and I have the attitude of "put a diaper on him!" Ben is such a great father and we were so grateful to spend that time with him before he left again this week. Thanks Tony for inviting us to come with you and enjoy your house boat! We had a blast!

Our trip to Reno

Ben had the first week in August off so we decided to go to Reno for the week. It worked out too because I just stayed for the next two weeks as he flew out Sunday, the eighth to Orlando for work and the third week he was in New Mexico. I was able to be there in Reno during my mom's 50th bday and my sister Samantha's 15th bday. We had a blast while Ben was in town with us. We tried to get everything accomplished that week he was there. We went to Beto's, one of our staple places for some of the most authentic Mexican food. By the way, this is not the chain of Beto's, this is a hole in the wall in downtown Reno. We also went to Siamese Hut which is a family favorite for the BEST Thai food around! Ben took the boys floating down the Truckee River with my dad and my brother Hunter, we went to Tahoe and had awesome weather, and they even went downtown to look at the old cars during Hot August Nights, and we went to a Reno Ace's baseball game. We truly enjoy the time we have with Ben because we don't get to see him very often!

2nd Busy Week and our trip to Vegas

On the 4th of July we went to Orem and spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa Baugh's house so that Ben could get up and go fishing with his dad the next morning and so we could go to the Provo City Parade. Ben got done fishing around 8am and we had breakfast and headed for Center St. We had the best seats thanks to some of his family that lives on Center St! The boys loved looking at all the floats.


After the parade we headed home to pack up to go camping. Ben and I have tried to go camping at least once a year during the summer. So far I think we have gone almost every year. We go up to the Uintas and camp out near Strawberry. We got the best camping spot this time because we went when everyone else was headed home. We camped that night until Wednesday morning. Ben did all the work. He packed up the car, set up camp and made every meal we ate. Then he cleaned up camp and packed the car back up! He is such a hard worker and I am so grateful for him. We had some nice walks around Willow Creek, Ben caught some small fish and even got a snake for Aidan and Ethan to play with! it was the perfect weather. It didn't get above 75 which was just great! Thanks honey for the great memories you help make with our family!



On Thursday I finally cleaned my house and then on Friday I took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum…their favorite. I think we spent like 3 hours there that day! Saturday Ben and I did absolutely nothing! It was really nice!
My parents gave us a bunk bed set that I had when I was little. It was pretty banged up but it's all wood, so Ben has taken it and sanded almost all the pieces. It looks brand new! I can't wait to stain it and it will look soooo nice. Our place is only 3 bedrooms so when the baby comes the boys will have to share a bedroom and bunk beds are the best way to save space. Ben has worked so hard on them and I just LOVE him for it! I will have to post some pictures of them later.
Sunday we left for Las Vegas because Ben had work to do down there for the week. I had a lot of fun. Kathy totally spoiled me and the boys while we were there. We went to Panera Bread twice for lunch. I don't think I could ever get sick of that place! We went shopping to TJ Max. We went to see Despicable Me which was such a cute movie. She watched the boys for Ben and I so that we could go on a date to see Knight and Day! She took Ben and the boys to see Karate Kid while I was shopping with my sister-n-law Jill and her mother-n-law Melinda to Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale. I think we spent about 5 hours shopping. I was wiped out when I got home! Saturday Kathy got in the pool and went swimming with us which has never happended in the five years that I have been married to Ben! It was so nice to have her out there with us. The boys absolutely loved having her swim with them!

Aidan swimming at age 3! from jaclyn on Vimeo.

Ethan swimming with his Grandma Kathy! from jaclyn on Vimeo.