Guess where?

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our niece, Lauren, who turned 3 today!!!! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our sister-in-law, Emily, who turned 21 today!!!! We miss both of you and hope you both had a wonderful day!!!!!

Okay, now guess where?!!?!?

So, we went to Ohio this last weekend for Memorial day. My sister and her family live out there. We had a fun time, but now we're back home. Good times!

We went to Kirtland yesterday. It was a lovely time.

My sweet husband picked me a daisy.

Bensonisms

This kid loves his Vanilla Wafers...

He always has a scrapped knee...or two...

He's always a messy eater. We love him so much!!!!

Lights out

Hey Cubs! Next time pay your electricity bill on time!

The electricity went out during the Cubs game on Wednesday night. It took 15-20 minutes to get it back up and running again. Crazy!

Just the three of us :)

After the lights went out...Josh took a video of everyone taking pictures of it.

PS-HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO (my grandma) OMA!!!! She turned 83 today!

JP Morgan/Chase 5k Run

Josh ran a 5k yesterday. He did a fantastic job! Benson and I went down to cheer him on and we took pictures--but I haven't downloaded them yet, so here are some randoms to enjoy for the time being.

WRIGLEY FIELD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Benson's first Cubs game...against the LA Dodgers...It was FUN! We had to leave during the 7th inning because Benson was SOOOOOOOOO tired, but he lasted a pretty long time considering he's 1. Well done Ben! Sadly the Cubs were down when we left. boo!

Benson was in awe of the people and the huge score board behind us.

Still in awe...

Once he figured out there was a ball being thrown on the field, that was all he could concentrate on.

My cute boys!

Josh's Pictures

These are some pictures Josh took of his office building

It's okay to be jealous

Oh how I love thee....craigslist

As preparation for a baby shower I am throwing for two friends, Josh and I found a DEAL (really a steal) on craigslist. 7 table and 35 chairs (all Lifetime brand) for $175. Normally ONE table from Lifetime is $162.00, and a set of four chairs is normally $135.00, people.

Just another reason why I L.o.V.e craigslist.

Only problem? We don't want to store them in our garage forever...We'll see what ends up happening with them long term.

Saturday Night Feast

Saturday my parents came out to Chicago to take care of Benson while Josh and I went to the temple! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!!!! As a token of our gratitude we took them to dinner at an amazing Mexican Restaurant in Chicago called Nuevo Leon. Yummo!!!

After dinner, we took a stroll for a bit through Grant Park. It was a BEAUTIFUL afternoon!!! So fun!

I love this city!

Where's Benson?

This kid knows a good climbing spot when he sees one!

The truck parked next to us at Jewel the other day....This person loves their Coke products.

Happy birthday to our friend, Sarah! Hope it was a great day!

Get your motor runnin'

Shopping for flowers at Home Depot. This kid was in HEAVEN in this ridiculously large shopping cart.

The Origin of words

Funniest line ever. Modern Family.

"I can provide Luke the tools he needs without smothering him"

"You think I smother our child?"

"It's not your fault, honey. Mother is part of the word. You never hear of anyone being 'smfathered' to death".

Hilarious. And true.

Lest I forget

I haven't posted today. It's not that we haven't been busy, but I feel bad posting about the fun things we've been doing when I forget to take PICTURES of the fun things! So, sorry! I took pictures on my phone, but have no way of transferring them here, so you'll just have to believe me.

Today I went with my two friends, Heather & Megan walking. They brought their kids and we walked through Grant Park to Buckingham Fountain and then to a park on Randolph and Columbus. I know that means nothing to most of you people, but it was about 3.8 miles round trip. Benson and I LOVED it! It was GORGEOUS day!

And. I. Mean. Gorgeous.

It was one of those days where you were just happy to be alive to experience it.

Anyways, we played at the park for a while and then walked through Millennium Park, listened to a free concert for a few minutes, walked to the Bean Sculpture/metal thingy, and then we walked home. It was WAY fun!

The fun didn't stop there. After Benson got home and got a nap and some food in him, he was ready to go again. We met Sarah and her girls at the park from 3:15-5pm where they played and had fun.

When we got home, Benson and I were tired! Benson took a nap and I vegged. It was a FUN day! I LOVE walking through Chicago. It makes me happy. I am just so amazed I get to live here, in this city, right downtown...It is truly so fun for me. Can you tell?

Ben update

So, I haven't posted new things about Benson lately. He turns 16 months in two days. Holy cow!

He has 12 teeth now. 4 front top/ 4 front bottom/2 top molars/ 2 bottom molars. We've been lucky so far in that he gets his teeth two at a time. So it's no fun while he's getting the teeth, but it's a two for one deal.

He says:

hi

hello

bye-bye

gu (good)

Mama (grandma or grandpa)

Mommy

Daddy

Duh-ee (doggie)

peas (please)

did it (and then he claps for himself)

ba-ba (bottle/sippy cup)

book

ball

ah ah ah boo! (always 3 "ah" s)

bla (block)

amen

bath (anytime he sees any water)

car

meep-meep (belly button)

cheese

tree

more

nana (banana)

bird

all done

He nods his head when he wants to say yes and shakes his head when he wants to say no.

He still folds his arms and bows his head when praying--adorable!

****Funny story: a couple of Sundays ago we were eating dinner with my parents. My dad (who is known for his long prayers) was praying and taking too long for Benson because halfway through the prayer Benson said "amen!". It was his way of telling Grandpa to hurry it up! too cute!

Animal noises:

Horse--neighhhhhhh

Doggie---rararara

Cow--mooooooo

Sheep--baaaaa

Elephant--(he lifts his arm pretending it's an elephants trunk) buuuwwww

Duck--quack quack

If you ask him to get a specific book he knows which one to get (as long as it's one of the 6 or 7 books he loves to read).

His favorite books:

Brown bear, Brown bear what do you see?

Pat the Bunny

Good Morning, Goodnight

Goodnight Moon

Book of Mormon ;)

Any touch and feel book

Moo, Baa, La La La

A to Z

He's over walking-now it's all about the running.

He LOVES the sandbox at the park.

He love the park in general.

He loves our backyard.

He loves cars and balls.

He loves being in the water.

He loves to wave at everyone.

He knows where his mouth, nose and head are if you ask him to point to them. He also knows where his "meep-meep" is--his belly button. We're working on eyes and ears.

Favorite Foods:

Green beans

Black beans

Black Olives

Whole Wheat Toast

Water or Milk

Peas

Bananas

Cheese

***We're still trying to get him to love fruit as much as he loves vegetables.

New thing he's doing. He crouches down and puts his hands on his knees. He waits until someone says, "ready, set, go!" and then he takes off. It's soooo funny!!!!

What a joy this little man is in our lives!

Worth the 3 minutes to watch

http://www.thevisualmd.com/health_centers/cardiovascular_health/cardiovascular_continuum

One of the reasons I am wanting to eat more healthy. Thanks to my brother, Jarrett, for sending this.

My Fitness Pal

Will beat 75,778 times, pump 1,111 gallons of blood, and push that blood nearly 9,316 miles throughout my body!

Created by MyFitnessPal.com

Well, I'm trying to get back into a fit and active/ healthy lifestyle. I'm back into my old clothes and I'm back to pre-pregnancy weight, but now I want to be fit. I'm not looking to lose weight, but rather just be more healthy. I'm tracking what I eat and how often/much I exercise each day. I think we should all do this. www.myfitnesspal.com lets you set up an account to track everything and it has other little gadgets little BMR and BMI tracker and the heart calculator that I posted above.

um...hilarious.

Thank you Stephanie and Katie for this gem. Don't forget to pause other music. Oh and since my blog randomly cuts half of the video off--just go to YOU TUBE and type in "swagger wagon".

Carry-on luggage

Watch out! This item may have shifted during flight :)

PS- Happy 12th anniversary to my brother, Aaron, and his wife Kerry today!!!!

The trip that almost was...

Air New Zealand was having a HUGE sale on their tickets from Los Angeles to Auckland. $400 round trip people. serious deal.

Josh and I were SUPER close to booking the trip and then hesitated too long and the price jumped to $589 round trip. Still a fantastic deal, but not as good as $400, so we bailed.

So sad. A trip to New Zealand would have been amazing.

Preview of the Taste of Chicago

Yesterday in downtown Chicago there was a "preview" for the Taste of Chicago. So, Benson and I walked the 1.5 miles to Josh's work and met him for lunch. On the way home it poured.

Good thing I had decided to single-handedly bring the Gap Anorak back into fashion's good graces:). I didn't get wet at all on the 40 minute walk back home.

Yummy food! We're looking forward to the REAL Taste of Chicago June 25-July 4th.

Provo Peeps

An example

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing my neighbor's lawn.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.

I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.

I want to be there with the children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Candid Wedding day pictures

These were just some pictures taken with Cathy's camera on the big day. So fun!!!


So I realize I look pregnant in this picture--I'm not! It was the dress poofing out.

In between the Temple and the Reception, the Chamberlain's (friends of McLane's) had a luncheon at their house.

The cute couple cutting the cake! What a fun day!

Matt and Emily looked amazing! What a wonderful day!