Nauvoo the Beautiful

I had a short break from school this weekend, so we made a run for Nauvoo as a family. We arrived in a monsoon at about 11:30 p.m. and set up camp in the downpour. The tent was soaked, along with many of our clothes and we didn't get our children to sleep until past 1:00--I assure you it was not the best start to a vacation. We heard on the radio the next morning that we had received over 4 inches of rain that night! Now we know what the swamp might have been like ;) The next morning brought beautiful weather and things only improved from there. Jordan and Chelsea came up with us on Friday and this enabled us to attend the temple on Saturday, which was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Nauvoo holds such a special place in our hearts...it has become a sacred place for Megan and me and hopefully our children. Our testimonies of the Prophet Joseph Smith were strengthened and we are grateful for those who so faithfully endured affliction and sorrow in order to preserve the blessings of the gospel for us today.


Oh, and when we arrived home, Ben was so excited to get out of his car seat, he cruised almost everywhere in the house he could think of, then got high centered on the Capri Sun box and started grunting because he couldn't get off. :) It was great!

Rams Game

Megan and I were able to go to a Saint Louis Rams game last Friday thanks to a generous class member! It was a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons, who won 20-13. It was awesome and we were happy to get the chance to go...had pretty decent seats too!

Here's the Proof!

Ben keeps growing and growing! This week his new trick is saying da da... Brent wanted to document it for "PROOF" that it was his first word. So, here's the proof!

Mascara Princess

Leila has had this obsession lately with mascara. Why? We're not quite sure, but she says it helps her look like a princess. Little smarty pants :) Megan hardly ever uses it so we were surprised she even knows where it goes!



Oh, and I forgot, she's had the same obsession with 'lip-loss':



Fun, fun!

All about BEN!!

Six months old!! That's right Ben is SIX months! I can't believe how fast time flies! He has been such a fun addition to our family!
Here are just a FEW of our favorite moments of his first SIX months!

Let's start at the beginning... Feb. 12, 2009...

Blessing day with Daddy and Leila...

Jumping before he could even sit up by himself...


learning how to sit up...

Toes, TOES, TOES... need I say more! First Bath sitting up

Leila ALWAYS playing with him and making him laugh:

Scooting... ALL OVER!


First time trying new foods:
ICE CREAMWAFFLESHe will smile for almost ANYONE!
And ALWAYS full of smiles for the camera:What a HANDSOME BIG BOY!!

Sunday IS a day of REST... and other sleepy times!

Most Sundays, after church, we come home have a quick lunch and take a nap. This past Sunday Brent told me he would put Leila down for a nap while I put Ben down. I thought that was a nice idea... HOWEVER, about 10 minutes after he had taken Leila in her room I heard something that didn't sound like sleeping, I walk in to find this...



Brent sleeping on the toddler bed while the toddler is playing on the floor with toys! It made me laugh pretty hard! I asked Leila if she put daddy to bed, and she said he was tired. I told her that it was time for her to go to sleep too--she asked if she could sleep with daddy. So, she climbed up into bed and a few minutes later I found them both zonked!


I'm glad Sunday is a day of REST! Ü

I guess we have been pretty tired here the last few weeks, because we can't seem to keep Ben or Leila awake during lunch.

This was just ONE of the days Leila fell asleep while eating her Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich (which she requests to eat EVERY day for lunch!)


And Ben just falls asleep when he is tired! Yes, he really is asleep with his nose smashed up against his tray!
It doesn't seem to matter what position he is in!