Twenty-nine

Bret and I have been married for twenty-nine years as of May 27th 2011. He is what I call a

"home run"! A fabulous husband and father and grandpa! Plus hes extremely handsome!

 These are the flowers he had delivered to me. They were gorgeous! Love him, love him, love him!

Theyre Home!

Both of the babies are home now. This is Lydia on her way home. She went home two weeks before Matthew. The photo is from a phone camera, so its a little blurry.

 

Here is Matthew. He had to have oxygen for a couple weeks.

If a baby stays in the NICU 100 days or longer they get a cake when they go home.

 Getting his last check-up.

 Matthews entourage, including Bret and me. The nurses have to take them out and put them in the car.

It takes a village to buckle him in! :)

We are so happy to have them both home. Its tons of work, but well worth it!

Graduation!

On Wednesday June 1st  2011 Benny graduated! Here he is giving his name.
















Benny with the sibs. Amber was home with the twins and Nick is still on his mission.
                             

 The gang!

 The bros! I love loove loooooove these boys!

Congrats guys!

Planking

Bryce and Amber showed us this video the other day. Apparently "planking" has gone viral on Youtube and Facebook. Its so ugly and stupid, but sooo funny to me! I can see why its contagious!

So... now I have the bug, and I got Benny to plank for a couple photos to send to Bryce and Amber! Haha! They loved them... ! 

 Then, when I was at the hospital with Amber we decided to plank Bryce and Benny! I took this photo with my phone, but its blurry because I was laughing hysterically and could NOT hold still! Amber is a super planker!!

Court Of Honor

Yesterday was a big day for Benny. It was his Eagle Scout Court of Honor and Seminary graduation. In this photo here he called in the posting of the colors/flag ceremony, and led the pledge of allegiance. This is just a bad shot with his eyes closed but its the only one I have. :)

 And, a bad shot here as well! Im not taking the blame however, Bret was the photographer. I had to serve refreshments, so I didnt get to take any of the photos. I would have taken alot more, and with Bennys eyes open! ;) Oh well, Im just grateful I have these!

We scout mothers all decided together to go simple with the display and only have our boys photo and photos of their projects. Heres Bennys stuff.

 

Here are the the new Eagle Scouts.

The man in the middle here is Roger Western and we LOVE him! He walks on water as far as Im concerned! He is a huge part of all three of my boys becoming Eagle Scouts and, can he ever sing! He has an amazing, beautiful voice! He sang "Ballad of an Eagle Scout" in the program and seriously, he brings tears to your eyes!

Three of my favorite people in the world!

Im so proud of my Benny boy! Great accomplishments with  more to come. He is a terrific kid!

Scooter

About six years ago Grandma R. gave the kids this scooter for Christmas. They had to wait till the snow cleared to ride it. When spring finally came Benny and his friend were trying to start it and broke the clutch off. Bret tried to buy a replacement part but couldnt get one anywhere! He found out that they had stopped making the scooters due to injuries caused by riders leaning too far forward and going head first over the handlebars breaking noses and teeth. YIKES! So its been sitting in storage all this time. Well, last Saturday Bryce and Benny decided to dig it out and see if they could figure out how to get it started, and in about ten minutes Bryce fixed it!

 Filling up the tires here.

First test ride!

I think he likes it!

And, obviously, so does he!

Touch

Science tells us that when our skin receptors are stimulated they release a pharmacy of beneficial hormones that help to regulate our baby’s gastrointestinal track, promoting good digestion and growth.

More research tells us that nurturing touch improves intellectual and motor development immediately from birth. It also helps regulate a baby’s temperature, heart rate, and sleep-wake patterns, especially when the baby is held skin-to-skin. Numerous studies have shown that touch is as necessary as nutrition to a baby.