A date with my Benny.

Ben surprised me with a fun date last weekend.  We don't get babysitters often living here, because of the lack of teenagers :(  But, thanks to some of our friends, we were able to go out on the town!  We had such a fun time rock climbing and exploring in some caves they had built-into the building.  You crawl through these pitch black caves, finding your way up down and around with touch alone.  I almost lost it due to my minor claustrophobic tendencies, however I made it through.  It was the weirdest, coolest thing I think I've ever done {the caves that is}.   The rock climbing was fun too though! 

About to show me how it's done...

Grrr...

Emerging from the cave {not the cutest picture I've ever seen of myself...but gives you an idea of how small the caves were.}

Peek-a-BOO!

Hazel just loves to play peek-a-boo!  It's so cute to see her try to hide...

This last one is my personal favorite.

Thanksgiving Part 2.

As promised, here are the remainder of the pics from our trip...

Reuniting Sydney & Maddie was a highlight

Craft time for the kiddos.

Settlers of Zarahemla for the adults.

4-wheeling up the mountain that my parents live on...brought out some craziness in me.

My Benny & I.

See what I mean?

and again...

Laura & Russ came along for a ride too...we sure do miss them!

Cam is becoming quite the Daddy's boy.  I'm a little jealous how much he prefers him now days.

Caitlyn and Hazel playing...they are complete opposites in coloring.

Oh Suzanna!

Hazel learned a few things over vacation--

1-signing "more" (in photo below), baby, & all done

2-playing peek-a-boo by herself

3-folding her arms to pray

4-attempting to stand on her own

This is what happns after one gets food in ther hair...

Cam kept trying to follow Ethan around, which I'm sure was annoying for a 7 year old.  He was a good sport though.

Thanksgiving.

At the rate I'm going, my next post won't be until Christmas! My apologies, I'll do my best to not let that happen. Well, we were lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with my whole family in WA this year {I'm actually still here}. We took one heck of a flight here, then drove from Seattle to Spokane (6 hour drive),where my parents now live...and I'm here for another few days, while Ben is back in NY doing a hospital rotation. We had so much fun getting together with everyone for the holiday and got to watch the cousins reunite, play Zarahemla, go 4-wheeling, and make hair clippies and other fun crafts {of course!}. Here are some pics from our trip. The computer is being weird, so there are more to come. But here is my first batch...

Sisters and the momma.

These two are like sisters...guess that's what happens when you've got an 8 year gap between the 4th and 5th child.

My oldest sister, Steph & her girls....{I'll go ahead and brag for her...she's lost 30lbs and counting...way to go!!} What a fun surprise!

The whole gang.

Our fam.

Stay tuned for more pictures, once I can figure it out!

happy halloween!

I know, I know I'm a slacker blogger lately. You don't have to tell me, I feel guilty enough for the both of us {for some reason!}. Hopefully this post will tide you over for the next few days {ha ha, is there anyone even out there reading this blog anymore..?!}

We enjoyed a delightful trunk-or-treat at our church last night. It was filled with stress, uncomfortable costumes, whiny children {boy am I am downer!...i think it was my wig} thrilling games, and CANDY! {my favorite part}. Maddie and Camden were so excited to try each and every game they saw immediately. I didn't have more than a second to stop and say hello to anyone...what was I thinking? It's times like these that I wonder if I can handle more than 3 children. For some reason it felt so chaotic and crazy, but the kids enjoyed it, so it was worth it, I suppose. So, here are the pics:

please tell me you know who I dressed up as...?
Yes, that's right--Kate Gosselin from Jon & Kate + 8. I had a few people not know...and that just made me feel stupid, like I just like to wear crazy wigs on a daily basis. Some people just thought I had chopped my hair too!

The cute witch and giraffe.

the sweet little butterfly/fairy/flower.

I'll admit it, Hazel already knows what candy is. When she sees it, you can bet she comes a crawlin'!

Hazel longing for Cala's candy.

so intense! making a ghost lolly pop

hi--my name is kate!

Cam's costume is best from the side...

or from behind...

he had no clue how big his rump actually was!

donuts on a string!

mmm....

caught it!

and there you have it. happy halloween everyone!