Lighting Ben on Fire

Before we got married (back in July 2008), Ben had a Bachelor Party, like many men do. Unlike many men, however, there were no immodest women and no alcohol at this party. It was tradition in his group of friends to watch a dumb movie (the dumber, the better), to eat lots of food, and to drink lots of rootbeer. It was also tradition for the bride-to-be to crash the party and do something silly in front of all the guys. As a graduate student in chemistry, I knew my performance had to involve fire. I found this video and thought I would finally post it on our blog. I'm so grateful that Ben still married me:)

Gentle, Loving, Energetic, and Sometimes Violent

Those are some adjectives that I think fit Tommy pretty well. He is so sweet most of the time. He loves hugs and tickles. He loves to pet Wrinkles and tuck him into bed. He loves to see babies at church and at the store. I have often heard Tommy described as "big, but gentle."

On the other hand, he has a ton of energy and he often goes a little crazy between dinner and bedtime. Ben does a great job wrestling with Tommy or taking him in the backyard to run around and play. Our boy loves the park more than anything and would probably live there if he could.

I made a little video comprised of four different clips of Tommy to illustrate this dual nature. He is such a fun little boy and we love him so much.

Tommy is also very organized. He loves to line things up straight. Here is a video of him helping me organize my pantry.

Our San Diego Getaway (and how we can never seem to get away from trouble)

Last weekend we gratefully left town to spend some quality time with the beach. All we really wanted was time together as a family relaxing and playing together. As you can see by the millions of pictures we took, we had an amazing time. We drove into San Diego at about 2:30 pm, checked into our hotel, and headed out for the ocean. We played in the water and the sand until until the sun went down, spending about 3 1/2 hours total at the beach. Our family has been under a lot of stress and pressure this past month so it was amazing to be able to sit, relax, have fun, laugh, and get a little bit dirty. One day when Ben makes it big we dream of actually living in San Diego paradise. We can always dream big, right?

Tommy and Daddy played a lot of ball ball, of course. That little boy has a pretty amazing throw. Tommy loved being able to run around and have lots of freedom while he played in the sand. He was covered from head to toe in sandy goodness by the time we left. I am happy to report this year that Tommy's swimsuit doesn't reach all the way down to his ankles:)

Tommy was a little bit afraid of the water this time around. I think it was because it was a bit chilly on his little toes when we first dipped our feet in. We played Ocean Tag with him, which he loved. The rules are that you run into the waves as they break, touch the water, and then run away as fast as you can so the water doesn't "tag" you again. Hauling 35 pounds of Tommy made it difficult to outrun the water, but it was fun anyway. That game wore Ben and I right out while Tommy begged for more.

After we watched the sun set we headed back to our hotel, intending to return for another glorious beach day the following day. This didn't actually happen, unfortunately. We woke up Saturday morning with high hopes of eating breakfast quickly and getting back to our sandy paradise as early as possible. Ben left to get McDonald's for breakfast. He returned to the hotel without breakfast and without our car. Awesome. At this point we didn't know what to do. The front desk hooked us up with a mechanic and a tow company. Our car always seems to die on us on roadtrips. Next time we are renting a car!

Ben has an old roommate (Jake) that lives with his family in San Diego so we gave him a call to see if he could help us. Bless his heart, he dropped everything, drove 40 minutes to pick us up at the hotel, drove us back to his house, and gave us a place to stay that night. He and his wife, Michelle, were so good to us. They have a daughter, Lizzie, who is just a few months older than Tommy, who loved having a little playmate around. The kids played, the adults chatted, we got to listen to Conference. Once the kids were in bed that night the four of us adults went out and lounged in their luxurious hot tub and ate ice cream. It was amazing. We got up early the next morning and drove back to Phoenix without any more trouble from the car. What a miracle.

This is Lizzie and Tommy playing at the park together. Look at those blond little heads!

Even though the trip didn't go exactly as we had planned it, we still had a great time. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends who are willing to drop everything to lend a helping hand. We were able to relax and enjoy our time together, which is really what we were after. And what a blessing that we were able to get our car back quickly and that it ran (and still runs) perfectly fine. We hope we can return to San Diego soon!

Aunt Steph's Visit

Aunt Steph got to come stay with us for a few days on her way back to Denver from California. We loved having her here! We went to the park and found lots of treasures for Tommy (acorns that I am still finding around my house), we went to the zoo, plus we got lots of good time at home to hang out together. Thanks for letting me take long naps and for playing with Tommy while I made dinner, Steph! You're the best and we miss you!

It's a Zoo Out There

This year we splurged and bought a membership to the Phoenix Zoo. We've had a great time visiting so far. Here are a few of my favorite pictures and videos from our recent trips to the zoo.

Sam, McKay, and Tommy (best buds)

Tommy and McKay driving the tractor together. I was shocked they actually drove the tractor together rather than pushing each other off the tractor.

Aunt Steph and Tommy in front of the rhino cage

Tommy getting snuggly with the monkeys

Quaker Commercial

Eat your heart out (while lowering your cholesterol!). Watch for Tommy's cheesy grins. He must take after his parents.

Grammy Nancy

My mom got to come visit us in February and we had such a great time! Tommy loves it when Grammy Nancy comes to visit. He gets a constant playmate who gives him undivided attention and incredible amounts of love. We hung out at home a lot this time and read books, blew bubbles, and played in the backyard. It was a great week and we only wish that Grammy could come visit more often.

We went to the park in Estrella one morning and had a great time. It was warm, but not hot, and Tommy had a great time playing in the sand and testing out all of the park equipment. He has become quite the climber lately and does really well climbing up ladders and climbing walls on his own. We even got to feed the ducks!

You have probably noticed that Tommy is wearing the same shirt in many of these photos. That is his truck shirt and he loves it as much as he loves Wrinkles. Once it gets dirty I have to hide it so that he doesn't try to wear it. He also loves his fire truck shirt.