Backtracking.....August 7, 2008

**Here's Ben getting ready to blow out his candles.....again! Later that evening, Ryan was already in bed and Paul & I sang "Happy Birthday!" to Ben all over again, let him blow out the candles another couple times, and then let him have another small piece of cake. It was fun! Kind of like our own secret little party! Ben got a chance to play with his toys for a little bit too without any interruption from his big brother!!**

Benjamin is 2!! I can't believe it's already been a full two years since he joined our little family! He's grown so much and so fast! He's very smart and doesn't have the slightest problem telling you whatever it is that's on his mind. He's quite articulate for barely turning 2. I'm sure having Ryan to converse with has helped speed up his vocabulary progress. I think that's the part of Ben that has always amazed me! His ability to communicate so clearly at such a young age, whether it be through words or body language. He is very good at conveying his thoughts and feelings to others whenever he chooses and is very rarely at a loss for the correct words.
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Ben's personality was fairly slow to reveal itself. He has always been very much in control of his thoughts and emotions. I remember as a baby, about 3 months, we would always try to tickle him to get him to laugh but when he didn't want to laugh, no amount of trying on our part could crack him. I could literally see the determination in his face to hold back, not give in. I always thought it was so odd because it seemed like such a conscious effort on his part (I'm not gonna laugh! I'm not gonna laugh!) and yet he was so young. As he's gotten older, he's become much more prone to laughing and smiling but still, he exercises control over when. He won't just laugh at anything like his mommy does!
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Ben is not shy. He's not super outgoing either but he seems to trust most people Mom & Dad trust and although he can be reserved and observant before he likes to interact with people, he's not afraid to look a newcomer in the eye either.
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Ben LOVES his cars!! He loves BYU football and anything of that nature. He loves playing with his brother, although, there's still some learning going on in that area. He's still a cuddler! I love that about him! He still likes to cuddle up with a big blanket on my lap and just sit with me (and he still sucks his thumb). He's just learning to pray and is getting pretty good with the beginning and endings of prayers but still needs help in the middle. He's always very pleased with his accomplishments, frequently yelling, "I did it!" for putting something in the trash or putting a puzzle piece in place or singing a song or catching/throwing a ball, any little random thing that to him is such a big deal. I love his enthusiasm for his accomplishments! He's a good napper and still hasn't figured out how to climb out of the crib despite Daddy's efforts to teach him. (Don't ask me what Daddy's thinking even trying to teach him! I'm happy that he can't get out yet!!)
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In about July Ben started saying "I'm mad at you!" which I thought was pretty funny for some reason. He furrows his eyebrows as he says it or actually, sometimes all he does his furrow his eyebrows and give you a serious "mad" look but usually, even when he really is mad, if I do it back to him it becomes a game and then he can't do it without laughing. It's pretty funny.
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We held a family party for Ben and he made out pretty well! A car, a truck, a big dump truck, some shirts, a puzzle, and a couple of books!

20 Years From Now, This Will Be Funny!

Okay, I'd been warned that 3 yrs old boys were actually worse than 2 yr old boys. I was hoping to escape it....I guess part of me knew I wouldn't. I mean, I've noticed for awhile now that Ryan has a knack for getting into things he knows he shouldn't and doing things he knows he shouldn't.

So what did my dear, sweet 3 yr old do this time??? Well, let's put it this way: this time it was bad enough, I was mad enough, that when I told him to go to his room and sit on his bed (before I did something I would regret).....he didn't put up even the smallest protest. He ran upstairs, got in bed, and even took a nap without so much as a whimper!

Ryan....dear, sweet, potty-trained little Ryan peed all over the cable box yesterday. And not just a little bit....oh no! He made sure he doused it well! The frustrating part is he is officially potty trained now.....he's gone for weeks without accidents and he doesn't even wet the bed most nights....he was just having a super-rebellion yesterday! Before peeing on the cable box he'd already peed his pants twice!

I had been in the room about 2 minutes prior to the incident but left for some reason and when I poked my head back in there a couple minutes after he had done his deed (which was only about 6-8 minutes after I had left originally), he told me he had peed his pants (which were on the ground on the opposite side of the room). I cleaned his pants up quickly but didn't think to check anything else. He didn't bother telling me about the cable box until about 5 minutes after that when the picture on the TV froze and he wanted me to get it working again. Then when I asked what happened (before I got to the box) he mentioned casually that he had peed on it. I saw red and ordered him to his room...I think the expression on my face was enough to warn him not to challenge me.

But like I said before, this was a very rare occasion where Ryan understood pretty quickly how much trouble he was in (he probably saw a vein in my forehead ready to burst or my eyes ready to pop out of their sockets or something!) because he didn't fight the punishment and then when Daddy got home and he had to tell Paul what he'd done, he started crying and was actually quite remorseful and promised that he'd pee in the potty from now on! I could tell he truly felt bad about it.

Paul called Comcast to tell them the box isn't working anymore (and he told them the truth as to why it's not working anymore) but so far they've asked him to take it in and they'll replace it....so far they're not going to charge us for it. Of course, if it can't be fixed they'll probably end up charging us for it....yikes!

Oh and the best part.....Paul & I had to be ready to go to the temple yesterday evening! Yeah. Not exactly an event that puts one in the best state of mind for the temple! But honestly, of all our parenting moments, I feel like we didn't do so bad with this one. I mean, yes, I got very angry very quickly, but both Paul & I handled it better than I thought we would. I don't feel like we (well, I, especially) did anything too drastic, harsh, unfair, or improper in handling it which is somewhat of a relief.....It helped that Ryan didn't argue with me about going to his room and that he willingly took a nap because I had time to cool down before he woke up and Paul got home..... so in the end, we were still able to go to the temple without guilty consciences of how maybe we could have handled it better or something like that. Maybe there's hope for us as parents after all! And I'm sure 20 years from now, this will be funny!

Backtracking.....July 13, 2008

When we got home from Oregon, Mom, Chuck, Rachel & Sarah were all waiting for us at home! They were stopping for a visit on their way up to Paul's graduation (bro-in-law, not husband)from BYU-I. (Congratulations Paul!) Anyway, they made a whole trip of it and came to spend the week before the graduation with us. It was kind of fun having them there when we got home! They had dinner ready for us and everything! We pretty much up stayed up all night every night playing games and enjoying company. Lissa & Nate came over to hang out while they were here too so our house was really full all week!

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Grandma won Ryan & Ben over fairly quickly this time with some books she had bought them. The big hit was a WALL*E book since they had just seen the movie. Grandma read to them just about everyday I think and the boys loved it! Chuck & the girls did a lot of fishing--of course!! But not as much as past visits because Lars wasn't as available this time which means we did get to soo a little bit more of Chuck.

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Friday they all went up to Idaho to help Paul & Christa pack their moving truck, who were moving back to California after graduation, and then went to Paul's graduation and turned right around and came back after it was over. Paul & Christa followed them Saturday morning and they were all here until Tuesday morning!! Then our house was even fuller!! But the best part was, there really was enough room for everyone! It made me very grateful for the home we live in and the opportunities it provides Paul & me to allow other people to come stay with us!

Ben & Keith

After evaluating the experience, going from the Oregon trip straight into a house full of people for the next week, plus, I wasn't as prepared to handle it as I thought. Don't get me wrong, I did okay; but the beginning of the week was a little harder on me than I originally thought it would be just because there was never really much of a break before the next big thing. It actaully worked out nicely that they all went up to Idaho Friday and that we stayed behind because not only did I get a brief reprieve (which was all I really needed), but Paul's boss had invited us over for a BBQ on Friday night and we were available to go without feeling like we were abandoning everyone or feeling like we were missing out on anything. So even though we had a break, we were still busy!!
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It really was a lot of fun having everyone here and even though it was rough on me at first, I would do it all over again if I could! Sadly, I didn't get all the pictures I should have with G'ma & G'pa. I really will get better about that!! I can't wait til Christmas when we get to see everyone....with their babies!!

Christa & Lissa comparing bellies...They're only about 2-3 weeks apart.

Backtracking.....July 11, 2008

After the camping trip we all went home, took long showers, gave the boys a good bath, and hung out for another couple days at G'pa's house. By then Kendra had shown up with their cousin Jennifer and Lisa & Jonathan (Lisa's boyfriend.....ugh) were there. It was a full house! Paul & I had been using their trailer outside to sleep in since the inside was already full enough. The weather was beautiful the whole time we were in Oregon so staying outside was actually pretty nice. Kendra & Jen actually slept outside under the stars!

**The boys waking up Kendra & Jennifer in the morning.**

**Ben playing with cars (shocker!) at G'ma's house.**Ryan helping G'pa mow the lawn. He was loving that!**

The Jackson Family Reunion was very much a big exciting event! It was held at a 4H camp near Le Grande and there were LOTS of people there! I was surprised at the number of children there!! There were TONS of kids so our boys were quite excited. Especially Ryan who more recently has taken an interest in playing with other "kids," as Ryan excitedly says. The weird part was that our Ryan & Ben (and Bree & Peyton who are cousin Jen's kids) were great-grandkids while all the other kids there were only grandkids! Paul is the great-grandson of Alpheus Jackson and grandson of Jeron Jackson; and although Jeron is not the oldest of his siblings, he was the first to start his family, apparently by several years!

We shared a cabin with Jennifer, Jarom & their kids, Steve (Jennifer's brother), and Kendra. That was a lot of fun. Kevin (another cousin) joined us for games the first night, and we sang songs (actually, that was mostly Steve), quoted movie lines, and ate candy for a few hours. We were only up until midnight but we were kind of loud and we heard complaints the next day of how we stayed up til 3 in the morning! For real! I checked the clock and it was only 12:00 when the lights went out! But none of us were really very remorseful, we had a good time! We just got lucky to have the fun cabin!!

**Bree & Ryan were best buds all week and wanted to share a bunk.**Ben in his bag.**

**Kendra & Jen in the cabin.**


**My dear, sweet Paul climbing the rafters....yeah, no question that Ryan comes by it honestly!**

The activities were planned very well the next day for all the kids! Paul & I were very impressed with the number of activities they had and how well organized it all was. Ryan was in heaven! They got to make little sand necklaces...Ryan made one but ended up bringing someone else's home somehow; they painted craft animals, there was a huge bounce house water slide for the kids, an Easter egg hunt (in July! but sooo fun!), and then there were games and socializing for the adults. Actually, Paul, Kendra, Jennifer, Jarom, Kevin, Steve & I all snuck off to go get ice cream at a little ice cream place the family always visits every time we come. When we got back, we found Ryan on the water slide with all the other kids...someone had loaned him a swim suit. He was happy as could be! **We got some video of this but I'll have to post it later.**

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That evening they did their family "auction". It's really more of a selective raffle. Everyone brought items to raffle off, mostly home-made things, and then they put cups in front of everything and you buy tickets and then put your tickets in front of the things you would like to take home. Then they pick a name out of the cup. They use the money to fund the next reunion. They had lots of items to choose from for adults and children. The one thing Ryan wanted was this RoseArt set of "feet" that you put chalk powder in, strap them to your feet, and they make animal tracks....there are five different types of tracks they made. I tried to get him to show me what else he was interested in but that was the only thing that caught his eye. Aunt Kendra had already put in several tickets for him but I added a couple more since he seemed to have his heart set on it. And he WON! the feet. He's walked around with them on his feet a couple times since but I haven't put the chalk in them yet. I'm a little afraid of the consequences there. Paul & I took home a wooden plaque that says "hand in hand into eternity". Ben got a book.

We didn't spend the night the next night. We instead went back to G'ma's house to spend the last night there before the journey back to Utah. We made sure to take a five-generation photo with Paul's great-grandma Higley (Ryan & Ben's great-great), his grandma Jackson, Evelyn, Paul, and my boys! That's a pretty cool picture to have!

For the drive back to Utah on Sunday Kendra ended up having Steve with her. He chose to hang out with us one more night instead of going with Kevin, his ride back to Rexburg, who had to be back in Parma, ID early on Saturday. Steve did need to be in Parma by Sunday though and we were driving back to Utah with Kendra together (kind of caravaning for safety sake) so we stopped with them in Parma on Sunday...........................where Kendra locked her keys in the car! (For the first time ever, in her defense!) That gave us a little more of a layover in Idaho than we were planning but it sure made for an eventful afternoon!

Kevin's family was at church when we got there but Kevin came home when Steve called and let them know what happened. Then they called the police chief, who happened to be in their ward, to help get the keys out. After a lot of trying, probably more than 30 min of time, and some creative thinking, we finally got the keys out. As the police chief wedged the passenger door open, I slipped a long wire hanger through and managed to hook the keys that were sitting in the center console, and pulled them out through the tight opening. It was a great memory to end the vacation! (And it put me on Steve's top 10 favorite people list! ;) )

The drive home was mostly uneventful except for a huge crash we passed in Idaho. It was an SUV pulling a trailer. I don't know what happened but from the looks of it, it was fatal. The trailer was in splinters!! It looked as though they both had rolled a couple times and I think the took another car with them. Not pretty. It made me very grateful that we traveled so safely to and from Oregon.

Overall, the Oregon trip was 3 mini-trips in one, Boise, camping, & the reunion. It was a BLAST and we were very grateful to have been able to go. Unfortunately I didn't get a ton of great pictures from the trip....it seems like I don't have pictures of more than half of what I wrote about but I'll get better, hopefully, about knowing which pictures to take. And I know we have a 5-generation picture but I can't find it at the moment so I'll have to post it later. These were the best I could do!

Backtracking.....July 7,2008

After we got to Oregon, we visited with G'ma & G'pa Jackson for awhile before Paul's mom, dad & brother made it there. We went and watched the fireworks show in Le Grande that night. The boys loved it and quite honestly, it's one of the best fireworks shows I've been to in awhile. We attended church with them on Sunday and then bright and early Monday morning, we got ready for the second mini-trip of our vacation (Boise being the first).

We had planned to go camping at a place called Parish Cabin outside of John Day. Paul's mom, Evelyn, grew up in John Day and so they vacationed and went camping out there a lot while Paul was growing up. It was a three-day, two-night trip (pretty much all I can handle camping with the boys at this stage) and it was beautiful country! Evelyn stayed home with G'ma so that G'pa could come with us. It was G'pa & Jeff (Jeff is Paul's 12 yr old cousin who's being raised by his grandparents) Paul's dad, Ron, and his brother Kendall, and then us. The boys loved the dirt and the little stream that ran alongside the campground. And I loved it too, except for the mosquitos.....I have a problem with mosquitos! Even with repellent I got eaten alive.

**Ben & Ryan playing in the dirt.**Here are the boys chillin' in Papa's (Ron's) hammock at the camp site.**

**Ben was eating off of G'pa's plate and G'pa thought it was pretty funny!**

The guys all hiked up to the top of the stream did a little fishing. I tried but Ben wasn't really enjoying it much so I ended up taking him back to camp. One day at camp we had a forest ranger truck come through to pull water out of the creek. There was a nearby fire they were working on controlling. That was fun for G'pa because he worked for the forest service in that region for years and years before retiring. He chatted it up with one girl in particular. She even knew who he was! She remembered him from her early years when she was around 18, though he didn't know her at all. They chatted and he got to catch up on a few of his co-workers/friends that were still in the service.

**This is Kendall, Ben, & Jeff waiting for Paul to finish fishing.**Ben fishing with G'pa Jackson.**

**Papa pumping water for Ben.**Ryan jumping off the picnic table. (Like he jumps off everything!)**

**Paul found a rounded branch which he wrapped some grass and flowers around to make me a "forest tiara". It fit perfectly!!**

Backtracking.....July 2, 2008

July 2nd was Paul & my 4th anniversary! Yay for us! It's been a wonderful 4 years and I have a lot to be grateful for! He's an awesome daddy and a great husband. We've had our moments of learning and trial but overall it's been a pretty positive four years! And things really do just keep getting better!

SO, this year for our anniversary we started the longest vacation of our lives, or marriage at least. That day, Wednesday, July 2, we started our trip to Oregon after Paul got off work. We traveled for about 5 hours until we reached Boise where we detoured for a couple of days. The boys did awesome in the car! They napped for a little bit but when they were awake, whenever they would start to get bored they'd come up with some new game to play with each other from their carseats in the back. Their favorite game was to throw their teddy bears toward each other, over the ice chest in between their seats, and then quickly pull them back...they thought that was just so funny! I didn't get a picture of them playing unfortunately but I did of them sleeping!

We stayed in Boise for two nights at the Residence Inn because on Thursday the 3rd, Paul worked out of Digis's newly acquired Boise office and we didn't want to have to worry about checking out while Paul was working. The boys & I hung out at the swimming pool most of the morning and then we went back and took naps in the afternoon, or really, they napped while I read the Twilight book my mom sent to me and urged me to read. (The funny part of that story was that I was the one who recommended it to her before I'd even read it! All my friends were reading it and thought it was a great book but I had never personally read it. After Mom read it, she figured it was my turn since I had recommended it so she sent it with Christa, who had been in California for the weekend and was on her way back through to Idaho.)

Of course, to be able to go swimming was a challenge in and of itself! The swimming diapers got left in Paul's car and he had the car. I was quite frustrated at that point because I very much had looked forward to swimming that day. After complaining to my friend Kari, online, about the situation, she was smart enough to use the internet to check out the nearest drug store so I could buy some. (Sometimes I pride myself on my resourcefulness; other times, I'm not so bright!) So the boys and I walked down to the nearest Albertson's, half a mile away, and then walked back. I didn't have a stroller either (also in the car), so I carried Ben on my shoulders the whole way. Ryan was a great little walker though and he kept up the whole way! When we got back we had a great time in the pool! Ryan acted like he's been in the water everyday and used his floaties all the way down to the deep end without fear! He would jump in at the shallow end, swim down the the opposite end of the pool, hoist himself out of the water, walk back to the shallow end (& I stress walk because he really wanted to run!) and then he'd do it all over again! Ben, on the other hand, sat out and watched most of the time. He never has been a big fan of the water. But he seemed to enjoy watching and occasionally he'd get up his courage enough to jump in for a minute or two before wanting out again.

After Paul got off work he wrestled with the boys for a minute before we took the boys to a matinee of Disney's WALL*E which the boys seemed to enjoy. Ryan was pretty excited about it because when we finally saw the rest of the family in Oregon the next day, it was the first thing he mentioned! Then we went out to dinner since Paul & I really didn't get to do even that on our anniversary, and when we got back to the hotel, followed the evening up with a little more swimming (and I did not get one swimming picture the whole time, bummer!) before putting our boys to sleep. It really was a full day of FUN!

**Ben has this thing about putting Pull-ups on his head! I have no idea where it came from!**

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and continued our journey to Oregon to visit Paul's grandparents and the rest of his family which showed up later that evening. In Paul's haste to get everything before we got out, he grabbed the wrong pillow and left my pillow there! Funny stuff!