Tuesday, June 12, 2012

 "If I ever get a chance to go wake boarding again, I'm DOING IT!" ~Eli


 Rob and Cari Freeman are in our ward, have two year old twins and a 4 mo old. (they are just SO cute!) They invited us to go out on their sweet Green wake boarding boat, and we said YES! We ate lunch on a beach, played in the water, and built sand castle's. We have so much to get done at home, but we had a great time with no regrets! Abram missed it due to taking the ACT's. Bummer...I keep thinking we only have a few weeks with the kid and then it will be as if he's in college!


Just to document that I too was on the boat, thus the self portrait! (=
Nat and dad did the tube together and got tossed. This was because somehow the plug got unplugged. WHooPs! She was the most nervous and freaked out pretty bad, but ended up enjoying herself! She kept giving the thumbs up to speed up then quickly thumbs down.  Madi and Eli had a great time and didn't stop smiling the whole day! The water was 80 and temp was 90. Super perfect day.

Monday, June 4, 2012


Memorial Day Weekend

Our family, Sarah's Yi's family and Aaron's parents all met in Hershey PA for the weekend. What a great time we had. Swimming at the Hotel, hanging out together, and visiting the chocolate factory. They have a free tour and man do they make all our favorite chocolates and then some!
After we took a couple pics with Grandma Bennett. Grandpa is still recuperating from a spill on the Golf cart a few weeks back. His leg is pretty banged up. It was so nice to visit with them. And celebrate Ethan Yi's Birthday. He is so cute and loves Aaron and I so much. I love how he calls Aaron, "Uncle, Uncle!" He has the cutest smile.



Each of our kids got a huge chocolate bar and chowed down as soon as we got in the HOT car! Notice that cool Grandma holding sweet Isaiah. Later that weekend we met Aaron's cousin Cynthia and family and hung out for a bit at there pool. Her family is so nice and Tall! HA! What a fun time and I'm so glad we did it!



May 2012

~Eli got a radio controlled airplane for Christmas and Dad loves to fly it! Aaron, Bryce, Isaiah, and I headed over to Natalie's elementary school to fly at dusk. Bryce kept chasing the plane, and we found it is a good way to wear that kid out! Bryce loves airplanes, can see and hear them easier than anyone. Just like a true toddler he points to the sky all day saying, "mom, MOM....Nane!" Meaning, Airplane. So cute every time he says it all day long~


Edwards Air force Base Air Show

We went to the kids' very first Airshow. We never know or maybe we do, how the kids will respond when we let them know we are going somewhere together. (Remember we have 3 teenagers!) We were so happy they didn't complain of going and even though they were done after a few hours it was a good experience. Their were some pretty unique planes there. Eli is really into how things work and inventing things. He enjoyed the mechanical robot that shot balls into a basketball hoop. He told us a few weeks back he wanted to be a Genetic Engineer.
 Bryce loves airplanes, so this was entertaining for him! Plus, he got to ride a bus over to the base. Little kids just love firetrucks, buses, planes, motorcycles, animals, etc! I remember thinking a few years back....we don't point out trains or cows anymore?
 Lucky us we get to do it ALL over again X 2!


It's easy to see that Bryce loves rain, water, and puddles! What kid doesn't. Here in Virginia, rain is always a day or two away. It will be 80 out and rain like crazy. Natalie loves to be young and if that means splashing in puddles and running in the rain, game on with little brother!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012


Mother's Day...

Baby Isaiah wanted me to remember it was Mother's Day all day even at 4 am! Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for all my kids, but at 4 am, I was a little grumpy! As I went back to sleep and enjoyed some rest, Aaron got up, went downstairs and made me the above! Yes, that is a waffle under there! It was like pure perfection. For one I didn't have to leave my bed. Why is that so awesome? Can anyone tell me why we like to be treated like that? When I think of it, it reminds me of some hospital stays I'd rather forget! Regardless, I loved it.


Natalie is always one for making big deals out of special days. She was a sweetheart! Made me cards(4 or so) Candy too, a potted plant, but best of all she cleaned her room, "Just for you mommy!" I couldn't have been more happy with her. She doesn't keep an extremely messy room, I won't mention names. But just that she did it without asking, and knowing I'd be pleased in her service, made me smile!

Eli gave me a treat he made at school. He has been going to an after school club one of the teacher's had put together. They make yummy treats! He loves to make desserts!
Madison is taking art this year and it hasn't been an easy class. She had thought it would be her easy A class, but the teacher is all business! She has done well besides it taking more time than she had thought. She made me the picture below. I don't remember the technique, but it requires using a brush that doesn't leave the paper. Her teacher commented that it was excellent and I have to agree! We went out and got a frame right away! Love her talent.
Abram got me a.....large bag of sour patch kids. You may think that is my favorite candy? No. He just happened to have it and thought I may like it. Like they say, it's the thought that counts! (=

Aaron made a great dinner and best of all let me take a much needed nap after church.
I told him I had the best Mother's Day ever! Why he asked? I replied, Because you never gave up all day on making it special just for me! I felt loved from start to finish!
I can now say, I love Mother's Day! So grateful for the mother I have. I hope to be as selfless and patient as her! Grateful for the mother who raised my husband. He has so many wonderful qualities! Thankful for my friend/family who sent me cards, texts and emails and showed their love for me. What a great Day!~

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Be Prepared...

Just a few weeks back we had Abram's Boy Scout Eagle Court of Honor. Wow was it a great day to breathe a sigh of relief. (for all of us) My dad came out from California for the special occasion. Which was so nice and made it even more special. Sarah, Aaron's sister came with her family too.
 Abram's Eagle Project was done at the Treasure Mountain Girls camp in CA, in 2010. He put in approved fire pits. But not before removing around 18 random circles of rocks first. Here are some pictures of the two day event. The first day it snowed the night before.


Grandpa Crist with his truck and trailer moving loads of rocks.


One of the fire pits. Grandpa Bennett was there to give a hand as well!



Their were many volunteers from the Auburn ward there to help out.


Aaron, Abram, Eli, and Grandpa Bennett taking a break after a long day of work.

The Eagle Scout Court of Honor... 


 Air force color guard presented the colors. So Cool!

Grandpa Crist and Abram!


This all would not have been accomplished if it hadn't been for my dad for being a huge example and for also taking Abram to his first boys Scout Camp when he was 11. Thank you dad for showing love to Abram and helping him with this huge task. There are many others that Abram considers role models throughout his scouting years. I know that without the Army of leaders he has had he would have fallen through the cracks. In the letter that the BSA sends to the Eagle scout it says, Did you know only 4% of boys who start out in the scouting program actually obtain Eagle Scout? I found that fascinating! Thank you to all who helped in shaping Abram to be the young man he is today.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Belated Family Letter 2011

Ha, this is the annual family letter that I wrote way back in January just after Isaiah was born with the intent of sending it out to all our friends and family.  We even solicited everyones addresses and printed out about 30 copies of the letters with pictures in full color.............and then somewhere, somehow the project flopped.  I blame it on the six kids, and more namely on the two babies.  To say the least life has been hectic with the addition of another full-time job! 
Here is the letter, four months later, with edits in red!

This letter arrives to you from us with a heart full of appreciation for our association and friendship shared between our families.  That is, in fact, the main reason for this letter, to express our gratitude for all the many wonderful people we were able to share memories this year as well as those we miss so dearly (you!) that have enriched our lives over the years. Our kids constantly remind us how much we miss all of you!!   

We feel bad to have left behind so many great friends and family in California this year.  We hope we can reunite soon as we intend to spend a part of the summer each year in the Grass Valley home (Abram will be arriving in Grass Valley sometime in July for Water Polo camp, and the rest of the family will be joining him in July or coming out in August - hope to pin down exact dates soon).  In the meantime we hope this letter, will in part, help to catch you up.

 To say the least, this has been a monumental year for our family.       

Today especially, our hearts are full as our newest edition, Isaiah Aaron Bennett, just arrived home (about an hour ago).  It’s hard to express how thankful we are for the newest edition, as well as the rest of our individually amazing kids; disregarding any rumored family planning faux pas, we are truly blessed.  J

Tonight is also family home evening night, and dad has decided that we will all write a small paragraph or two for the family letter to express our gratitude for all our blessings, reunions, and family/friend experiences and trips this year. 

Aaron:
A few highlights for me on the year, in no distinguished order:

1)       Landing my dream job as an engineer with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)! This was a job that was targeted long ago, approximately 10 years in the making.  I am very humbled to be one of a very few engineers (20) currently with USAID and hope to be a part of helping to define and grow our small Office of Infrastructure and Engineering. 

2)      Being assigned to Ghana – approximate arrival date = Summer 2012 (August,September).  Accra, Ghana is the site of USAID Western Africa Regional Offices.  I will be the only direct hire engineer in the Regional Office.  For that reason I was:

3)      Assigned to learn French.  I have begun to (become very frustrated) love learning French and find it quite amazing that I get paid to do nothing but learn a foreign language!!!! How great is that (Trust me Aaron of four months ago, it gets old, temper your enthusiasm!)?? If possible, I hope to get back to the Foreig n Service Institute some day to learn another language (doubt they will be letting me back in after such a poor showing in French).

4)      Our move from the Grass Valley home that we love so much.  Thank you to all our friends that supported and loved our family during the two years we lived in Grass Valley.  We loved the home that we lived in and can’t wait to visit in the summers!

5)      Natalie’s baptism on October 9th (my birthday) in Monticello, NY where my parents are currently serving a mission.  What a special day, with such great people, and in such a beautiful place.  Great memory!!

6)      Move to Springfield, Virginia which has allowed my family to see all the great historical sites in the area and more importantly live close to my sister Sarah and family who lives 45 minutes from us (and with whom I had such a great time living with prior in May prior to Amy and kids driving out) and closer to my sisters Angela, who visited us with her two boys during Christmas, and Courtney, who visited us over the summer with her kids!!   

Abram: Last year I won the most improved player award for my Bear River basketball team because I won the only game we won and was getting a double double each game. (He received MVP award for his JV team here in Springfield this year)  I found out we were going to have another boy! I ended my last year of Bear River because we were moving to D.C. :(   I went to EFY with my best friend and had such a fun time.  After EFY I got in the car with my family (except dad) and drove all the way across the U.S. in the suburban stopping only to see friends or sleep. When we got to D.C., Eli, Natalie and I were at the pool every day the whole summer making new friends and swimming while getting super tan!  I started my new school year at Robert E Lee and it has been fun so far although with hard classes… Christmas was great along with Thanksgiving with family! It was a pretty alright year.  Abram has decided to live in Grass Valley for his senior year of high school with his grandparents.  His parents aren't sure how long he will last without being around his baby brothers which he adores. 

 Madison; My Top 6 for 2011

1)       In May I turned 14 years old and had a birthday party at home.

2)      In June I got the privilege to go to EFY in Santa Barbara with some friends .I also got to go to Girls Camp for the last time in California!

3)      July 4th with Walters was really fun!! Plus our long road trip to Virginia!

4)      In August my family went to Kings Dominion A LOT (super fun)! I also got to go to the Girls Camp for the second time in, my new ward!!

5)      In September school started and my two electives are Art and French! (Je parle anglais et Francais)         I have also started to go to seminary which has been great!!:)

6)      In December I got to go on my Art field trip to New York which was an amazing experience!

7)      In January 2012 my newest baby brother, Isaiah was born on the 8th at 4:04 am.( he is too cute)

 Eli:  I drove across the United States this year on the way to Virginia.  We stopped in Utah to visit friends.  I didn’t eat that much dinner and I was still hungry, and mom drove to Del Taco just for me.  Then we drove to Colorado and saw my friend Trentin (Walters) on the Fourth of July.  One firework landed in the grass next to us and started a grass fire.  Then we drove straight to Virginia; that was pretty fun.  This last summer we went to Kings Dominion like ten times.  There was a roller coaster that goes 500 feet in the air and then straight down and then a hard right at the bottom where you get a black-out.  I went to the pool every day, we played games there with friends.  One week we went NY to see my Grandma and Grandpa Bennett.  We went to the play thing (Palmyra pageant) and it was about the Book of Mormon.  The toilets were disgusting there.  We also went to the Corning glass factory, were I sandblasted a glass cup.  Right after I set the cup down in the car, we got out of the car, I picked it up, and it was broken.  It was so cool, it was a Call of Duty cup.  L  We went to NY a second time the weekend of my dad’s birthday; we went there for my sister’s baptism.  There were these funny and crazy people there that made that trip really fun.  I got my tenderfoot thanks to help from my scoutmaster and my mom.  I’m looking forward to moving to Ghana and being with my new brother. 

 Natalie: I am happy to have met some new friends this year.  One of them is Hailey who lives a couple houses down from me and in the same court.   I was also very happy to have a pool right next door to the house we moved into.  I spent all summer at the pool! This summer I also got a summer pass to Kings Dominion (an amusement park) and got to go there with my cousins a few times.

In January my mom had a baby named Isaiah (Natalie just said, “You really wanted Isaiah?...........geez!).  One day later he came home.  He was crying, but at least he had his pacifier.  Bryce was having fun with him.  He never saw the baby before.  Isaiah had to get nursed because he loves to be nursed. 

Bryce especially likes to play basketball.  He has a small hoop and ball that he plays on.  We say “whoo hooo, go Bryce” and he claps and smiles when he makes a basket.  He is so cute when he plays it and he smiles all day. 

In October I had a baptism after I turned 8.  The water was kind of yellow, it looked like pee water, and when I was put in the water I kicked, uh oh!  My mom took a picture of me swimming in the water, and that was great!  It felt so good because the water was warm.  Abram loved the water. 

This next year I am looking forward to going to the pool again, going back to California, and visiting parts of Virginia.  The End. 

SOME OF OUR FAVORITE PICTURES 2011



























Sunday, April 22, 2012

Cherry Blossom's in DC


All week long I had been wanting to go to DC and see the Cherry blossom trees. It just wasn't working out. So Even though it rained on the trees we made the trek(a 15 min. drive) in on a Sunday morning before Church. I am so glad we went! Even with a lot of blossom's on the ground it was beautiful. I am happy to be making new memories with our family.


Went by the MLK memorial. What a great man with so many wonderful speaches!



We will only be in this area until the end of June, so we'd better make the most of it. Another reason for the blog resurrection, is so when we are abroad in Africa we can share our experience there as well.




I just love Natalie's laugh! She is always so happy. I would love to live in her world!


Bryce loves to get tossed by daddy!


Natalie and Bryce have fun together running around exploring new things!


Madison Suzanne is growing up~