keep him entertained

So, here I am about 30 weeks pregnant, and I am constantly trying to find things that keep Benson entertained while at the same time allowing me to be as lazy as possible. I'm such a good mom. So, that's why we've been at Grandma and Grandpa's house all week--there are 3 more people to keep him entertained during the day...We've been going to parks, taking long walks, shopping, watching choo-choo movies (I know, I'm such a good mom), doing crafts, watching Jordan at his basketball camp...anything to keep him entertained. Today was a kiddy pool day.

Cantigny=tanks

 Today Jordan, Benson, and I went to Cantigny (again--Benson's 3rd time) to look at the tanks and explore the war museum. Jordan and Benson had fun climbing on all of the tanks. We also had fun learning about how much fuel it takes to run those things!!! On average you'd be LUCKY to get 1 mile per GALLON! crazy.

daily craft: oragami and painting

We've been spending the week at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Our nephew is in town and Josh has had to work super late every night, so we headed to the 'burbs. We've been having fun! Today's craft involved painting, of course, and oragami...

cubs win!!!!

Today Grandpa treated Jordan, Benson and me to a CUBS game!!!! Wohoo!!!! Cubs played the Colorado Rockies and they won 7-3!!! It was a really fun game and Benson did great!

 In fact, he fell asleep in the 6th inning and slept the rest of the game. AWESOME!!!!

my work in progress

slowly but surely I am getting my entryway done. Yes, I have lived in this house for 19 months--no big deal...

I don't have a true "before" picture. I never think about those things until I'm halfway through a project. So, imagine nothing on the wall and a bunch of toys lining the wall. Classy, I know...

I have ONE frame to go...Seriously, who knew it would be SOOOO hard to find a brown 24x24 frame that doesn't already have some sort of art in it...It's been taking me WEEKS to find one.

Frames: all were at least 50% off. So, I spent less than $150 for 10 frames. That's pretty darn good.

Bench: bought at World Market on sale from $180 to $115.

Pillows: Pottery Barn gift card. They were on sale for $100 total. I got them for free. love it.

Rug: Saw it on my friend, Erica's, blog and bought it that day. IKEA for $30. awesome. It's a little large for the space, but not too bad so we'll keep it there.

Once I get that last frame I will order the pictures and then I'll post a picture of the completed project. It's been fun designing and putting this space together.

FermiLab

Our nephew, Jordan, is in town visiting from Seattle. Today we took him to the Fermilab Museum for a little bit just for fun.

 We even got to see some Bison that roam on the land. fun times.

nesting phase

So, my pregnancy "nesting phase" basically consists of cooking and baking ALL THE TIME! SO, I decided to try making sticky buns (which I have never attempted before). I did go the healthy route and found a yummy Weight Watcher's recipe and so each bun was around 180 calories. NOT BAD! Plus, they tasted delicious!

beach day

Can't go to California without hitting up the beach. Luckily for us, Josh was able to join us this time!!!

Real Chinese food

So while we were in California this last week we took, Marshall, Josh's little brother to a REAL Chinese Restaurant to try some of the same food he'll be eating in Washington DC. He's going on a mission to the DC  area, but he'll be speaking Mandarin Chinese and so he'll basically only be associating with Asians in that area.

Josh's Cousin, Kurt, recommended this place and it was a lot of fun to try! The waiters walk around with carts full of food and you pick what you want (think Tucanos for those of you from Utah).

 Of course, the main thing we had to try were Chicken Feet. Oh yes. They were in fact quite gross and I felt bad for Marshall (we've heard he'll be eating these with almost EVERY meal). You literally have to bite past the knuckle, roll it around in your mouth, spit out the bone and swallow the skin. It was gross, but I ate one toe.

 Marshall ate the whole thing like it wasn't a big deal...

 Josh took a bite and spit the whole thing out. chicken...no pun intended.

It was quite the experience. Definitely not like Panda Express or any other Chinese food I've ever tried :) Thanks Kurt and Mara for inviting us!

museums

Benson loves museums. Almost everyday he asks if he can go to a "moose-e-um". A couple of weeks ago we were out in the suburbs so I could attend my friend, Stephanie's, baby shower. Josh took Benson to Fermilab (a working Physics lab in Batavia). They had a lot of fun.

 Then 2 Saturdays ago we took Benson to Cantigny, a war museum out in the suburbs. This is a really fun and really interactive museum. They even have real tanks from the different wars spread out on the grounds and they let the kids climb on them.

Sorry for the random pictures...just trying to document our lives :)

Family day at Kirkland & Ellis

Last Thursday, Josh's office hosted a family day. Benson and I walked up to Daddy's office for the party. Benson walked in the room, saw the giant Cookie Monster and Elmo and immediately freaked out. he screamed and cried and yelled, "I want to go home" the entire time they were in the room. At one point the face painter had to ask Elmo to leave the room so Benson would calm down. Out of the 50 kids there he was the only one who was freaking out. Lovely. Other than that fiasco though, he had a fun time! He made crafts, decorated cookies, danced to music, played instruments, had a balloon sword and shield made so he could fight Cookie Monster or Elmo if they came in the room, and had his leg painted. It was a lot of fun!

Happy Daddy's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the men in our lives! I especially want to tell Josh how much we love and appreciate him. He works so hard in so many ways for our family. I have never had to question his love and support for me or for Benson because he does such an amazing job showing us and telling us. We are truly lucky. 

To my dad and Josh's dad--you are both wonderful examples to us.That sounds vague, but truly the way you have taught and reared your children have set up a standard that Josh and I hope to emulate in our own family. We love you both.

PS-Here was Josh's little gift from Benson and me. 

The first tie was mine.

 This was Benson's tie. After I sewed it together, he decorated it for Josh.

It was a fun day. Josh's brother, Marshall, is leaving on Wednesday to serve a mission for our church. So, today he spoke in Church and we had a family get together at the McLane's. He will be serving for 2 years in the Washington DC area, and he will be learning and speaking Mandarin Chinese. We are excited for him and we know he will do an amazing job representing the Lord and the Church as he serves and teaches the people in this area.

play time at the park

mommy craft

I made this fun necklace the other day. If you want instructions/tips for making a similar one head on over to http://www.m-how.blogspot.com/

creepy craft

This wasn't meant to turn out creepy looking, but it did anways. Haha. It was supposed to be a mask for the 4th of July (I'm pretty sure it's Uncle Sam).

playtime with Peyton

Benson's best bud, Peyton, is spending a lot of the summer in Utah. So, Benson had to get one last play session with him on Saturday.

We made "pluffy cars" (clay that you bake and it hardens).

They also painted.

 It was a lot of fun and Benson sure misses his buddy. He can't wait until August when they get back!

PS- Painting is now one of Benson's favorite activities.