I am back... Benjy is Gone Fishin'

I am back to the blogging world and I just finished the book, The Host. I really liked it. You can tell it is an adult book compared to the Twilight Series, it takes a little more thinking and comtemplating. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading. If you haven't read the Twilight Series, you should take a stab at those first. I actually found myself liking The Host as much if not a little more than the Young Adult Books. For Benjy's Birthday, he really wanted a new fishing pole, since he snapped his on opening fishing weekend? accident? huh?;-) After a lot of head aches and running all over Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota, my brother Steve found one at Cabella's in Kansas City. Benjy was so excited. On his actual Birthday, I didn't have the rod yet, so I gave him an actual baby carrot in a bag. He knew right away what it meant.

Here is a picture of his new Carrot Stix Rod.

To prove a point that he really is going to catch more fish for me to fry... which I love! He held his pole up to his throat while he talked so I could feel the vibrations.... Wow...how exciting! Apparently the sensitivity to the vibrations is going to help him catch more fish than anyone else?
Here are the group of guys that are going. The Iowa crew, My brother, Spencer and his 3 friends, Bloom, Woody and Jason, arrived at 3:30 AM and were all up by 6:30AM ready to go! From Left to Right: Benjy, My bro Steve JR., Cory (family friend), My bro Spencer, Bloom, My dad Steve Sr. , Woody and Jason.
Spencer has already started with his story telling. He always is making everyone laugh.
My brother Steve and my dad are very much like, I am. (maybe a little type A in us) Always making sure everything is on the list and ready to go. Wait, my dad's lights weren't working on the boat and he did have to put air in the trailor tires. I had to laugh about the differences between the male and female species. If you put 8 women together for 4 days and half of them are starting out on 3 hours of sleep, it could get a little tense or loopy! (sound familiar anyone?) These guys just thought it added to the excitement!
We are excited for them to catch a lot of fish and for us to have a nice relaxing girl's weekend in air conditioning and soft beds. Our idea of fun is hitting some movies, the pool and the hot tub!

Priceless Moments at the Anoka County Fair!

Since we moved to Anoka County we have missed the Fair two years in a row. This is usually the week we ended up going to Washington. In order to get to and from our house, it is very difficult to go anywhere without going right past the fair. The girls go into hysterics every time we drive past the fair. It has been torture on them and on us. I told them they had to earn it with no fighting yesterday...(Thinking there was no way, they could do it!) However, the girls were on their very best behavior, even faking it when I walked into the room that they weren't fighting. One time Karsyn went to take a swing at Kaydree, and as I walked in, I asked, "You girls aren't fighting are you?," Kaydree in a panic says, " NO, High 5 Karsyn, High 5!" So with reluctance on the amount of money you spend at the fair and with the wrong kind of attitude...we took the girls last night.

Even with connections of Mitch working the Fair, we still had to pay $19 just to get in! Ouch! ;-) Just kidding, we didn't see Mitch until hours after we had been there, besides we really wouldn't have expected Mitch to do anything dishonest and we wouldn't have let him! ( Ask him about his one sunburned knee. It is his Right one and it was glowing!)

To start out we had cheese curds: $5, Cotton Candy: $2.50 and a Snow Cone: $3. Wow, going to the Fair, really is PRICEless. Oh, but it was all sooooo good!
We all loved seeing the animals at the fair. Karsyn was a little scared of the cows, so she wouldn't get close enough for the first animal picture! She got over it, so we pet horses,
Sheep, and pigs.
So the other thing that I was dreading... the rides. Not that you all are surprised, but against my better judgment on trying to keep my children safe and alive...;-) We bought them unlimited rides wrist bands. Why, because every ride is either 3,4 or 5 dollars. The bands were $22 dollars each. So instead of saying, "Well you can pick one or two rides to do," Benjy and I split them up for the first hour to maximize the amount of rides they could do! We were saying to them," let's go do more rides and let's see how many times you can go through the fun house maze!"
Karsyn's favorite ride. The four wheelers that go round and round. This was Kaydree's favorite ride. It went pretty high and she was screaming the whole time, yet she loved it, she said, " That is soooo awesome, but one time was enough!"

If you look closely Kaydree's eyes were closed, she had done 3 spinning rides in a row, by this time she was asking us, "Can we be done doing the rides now?" Pony rides: $4 each! I have to say that this was collectively our entire families favorite part of the night. The girls loved riding, Benjy loved seeing them smile and I loved watching as Kaydree's horse reared up a little and kicked Benjy's Blackberry off his hip and it fell to the ground! PRICELESS!!!!!!

What was Karsyn not sure of? My favorite part of the night, great music, could have sat there all night long... what were we watching?Bull riding! It was awesome. It was so fun. The crowd was so charged. Kaydree and I were rockin' out to the music and cheering along! Benjy and Karsyn, not so much!Benjy and the girls went again and again on the FUN SLIDE. Kaydree couldn't figure out why, Karsyn and Benjy kept beating her in the race.

To sum it up, the fair is a money slide, you watch the MONEY SLIDE, right out of your pocket, but we will probably never miss this fair if we are in town again! We left feeling grateful for our decision to go. We all left happy and have great memories together as a family..PRICELESS!

Happy Hatching Day, Grandpa.

The date that I posted this is really July 22. I was up very very late and it really was finished on the 22nd.

You haven't changed a bit, maybe just the hair color a little, but hey... we all like to experiment with different hair colors! ;-)
Grandpa Villarreal served a Mission in Peru.
Grandpa received his Master's Degree from Harvard School of Business.

Grandpa with all of his boys. Benjy is next to baby Danny's head.

Five years ago we were able to visit Grandpa when he was serving as a Mission President in Argentina. Kaydree was two and she helped Grandpa eat his Birthday cake.

Besides Grandpa's Birthday, we decided to go to Argentina at this specific time so that Benjy could get a Father's Blessing before he started Law School. Benjy always received a Father's Blessing before the start of a new school year and he knew that he didn't want to start law school without one. It was such a humbling experience and tender moment for all of us there.
Grandpa also gave myself and Kaydree a blessing. (We had Kaydree pose for this picture after the blessing! It still brings tears to my eyes just looking at this picture. ) Looking back at Law School, it was a difficult time for us as family. Benjy was away from Kaydree and I, a lot, in order to attend class, study and clerk. I am so grateful that Grandpa gave all of us a blessing, in order to help each of us, at that time in our life. I know it helped give us the extra patience and strength to keep moving forward and to count our many blessings along the way!

We are so thankful for you and for your example, Grandpa! Big Hugs and Kisses from all of us and we hope you have a great Birthday!

HAPPY HATCHING DAY, BENJY IS 30!

This is Benjy when he was a baby. His mom always calls his birthday, his Hatching Day!
Benjy is the little one that Becky is holding! Are those Karsyn eyes or what?
Benjy made a great Rabbit. He has always loved animals!
Benjy has a love for Scouting! He makes great dutch oven meals!
Benjy on his Mom's 30th Birthday!

Why such a serious face Benjy? He is in the back row with blue and white shirt. Benjy has fond memories of getting into trouble with his brothers. His dad loves to tell stories of the mischief they use to be into!

I love this picture of Benjy because he looks about the age of 7 and I think, "Is that Kaydree sitting there?
Benjy on his Baptism Day! Kaydree will be Baptized this January! Crazy how time flies!

This picture was taken in front of one of our Church buildings. Being a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints makes my husband have the priorities that he has and that is FAMILY! I am so thankful that his parents raised him in a church that helps him to be the wonderful husband and father that he is!

Benjy still loves fishing. Benjy with his Brother Tony! They have always enjoyed spending time together! I love the tank top that Benjy is sportin' here! What a HUNK!
My favorite picture of all. Benjy is in the Grey suit. How does one thank a mother who gave birth to such an amazing person who has a great sense of humor like her and that makes me laugh and enjoy my life? How does one thank his father that was such a great example of love, patience and understanding? How does one thank our Savior for making it possible for me to have an Eternal Companion? How does one thank our Heavenly Father for his watchful care? I am so grateful that today is a Celebration of 30 years of Benjy living a very blessed life and for him being a blessing to me and many others!

Floors, Floors, Glorious Floors.....

So one of my biggest on-going frustrations as a homemaker, is knowing or being inspired on what to have for dinner. I don't mind making what someone is craving the problem is most days I ask them, "What do you guys want for dinner?" Their typical response, "I don't know, what do we have?" I rattle off a couple of choices and they always end up saying, "Whatever!" My response is... "Just tell me what you want." I really struggle with making a meal and then they don't like it, so they pick at it! There is on rare occasion where Benjy will request spaghetti, which is not my favorite. I was in a sport every season during the school year and we always had spaghetti dinners the night before swimming, gymnastic and track meets, so I got a little burned out on spaghetti! The other issue for me is Benjy also loves for me to load it with mushrooms, which I also don't like, so we always have lots of leftovers for him to take to work the next day for lunch. Not this time!

After I put a full bowl of sauce in the refrigerator, I opened the door to put the noodles in and the sauce spilled all over the floor, rug, and on me!
* * * * * * This is what was left (See Below)

Well as most of you know and some of you might not know, Benjy REALLY LIKES CLEAN FLOORS! So, my first thought was..... well you can guess... oh crud! Benjy is going to die! In fact Kaydree went running out in the garage to tell him, "Dad, your floors.... it is really bad, Mom needs your help, fast!" Waiting for him to freak out and say something like, "What happened, how did this happen?" His response blew me away! He smiled and said, "OH GOOD, I WAS LOOKING FOR A REASON TO CLEAN THE FLOORS!"
Benjy loves to clean the floors. He lives to clean the floors. Benjy doesn't mess around when it comes to cleaning the floors! What a nice wife I was to help him have "A REASON TO CLEAN THE FLOORS!"

Side Note: I had to come back and add a comment by Benjy. I was laughing writing this blog, which made him nervous. After he read it his response was, "Oh, that was good, you didn't attack my OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) about cleaning floors!" ;-) He is such a good sport! It actually works to my benefit, I hate cleaning floors. I guess we really were meant to be together......

Why oh Why?

Why oh Why did I ever think it would be a good idea to change my hair color? Why did I even want to change my hair color? How much did it end up costing me to change my hair color? It all seems to be a blur to me now! If you spend any amount of time with me, you would often hear from people, "YOU LOOK LIKE SOMEONE I KNOW!" or "DO I KNOW YOU FROM SOMEWHERE? YOU LOOK SO FAMILIAR TO ME!" (Right Benjy?) My reactions are probably confusing to people sometimes, depending on my mood. I usually start laughing, and they are thinking, "WHAT IS SO FUNNY ABOUT THAT? and then I always reply, "Ah! YES...I HEAR THAT ALL THE TIME!" and I am thinking...."HERE WE GO AGAIN!" They usually start asking me where do I live, where did I grow up, where do you work....but you look so familiar to me. The kicker for me was when... an intoxicated girl came up to me and was freaking out, "OH MY GOSH YOU LOOK LIKE A GIRL THAT I KNEW THAT DIED LAST YEAR!" Well, I guess some of this may have sparked some of my wanting to look different, however earlier this week, with my hair still lighter, at the grocery store, it happened again! So I guess the saying, " YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE...." is similar to, YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR HAIR, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE, works for me... so thanks to Nicole last night....I am back!

So all of you who let me know that you disliked my lighter hair.... you know who you are... What do you think of this... is it close to my natural hair color? Dad... I am looking for your response! All honest responses welcome, unless you don't like it! Don't tell me.. because my cousin, Sam, asked me this morning, "What if your hair falls out from all the stuff you have done to it?" Let's just stay this color is here to stay.

The Smells of Summer!

I usually stuggle with the ablility to smell things, due to my allergies. Today, however, I was able to enjoy some of my favorite smells...As you can see, when my nose is in working condition, I am so grateful for the sense of smell. What an amazing day!

MORNING DEW!

It really rained and stormed lastnight, so on my walk this morning, there was a clean fresh smell.CHLORINE

We took the girls to the Maple Grove Outdoor pool at Lifetime Fitness and I love the smell of CHLORINE. I know some find this strange, but it brings me back to my childhood, spending days at the pool.

FAIR FOOD!

Yes, just the smell of the food, not any of the other smells that come along with a fair! Last night for Friday Family Fun night, Benjy planned on us going to the Andover Fair to have dinner, but it stormed and we were in tornado warnings. Kaydree was still willing to go out for fair food but we decided to play it safe. When we went to Maple Grove to swim today, it happened to be the weekend of their fair,also. So while we were swimming we could smell all of the FAIR FOOD, so we went to the Community Concession Stand and got 2 orders of Nachos, mini corn dogs and french fries for $8. We thought this was very cheap and decided the storm worked to our benefit.
FRESH CUT GRASS.

When we got home Benjy, mowed the lawn and it looked and smelled so nice! This is not a picture of our lawn, there aren't mountains like that in Minnesota! I just thought it portrayed the smell, well!

PICO DE GALLO

Benjy loves to make pico in the summer. When I walked into the kitchen the smell of lime and cilantro was to die for! I had to take a picture of his masterpiece!

CHARCOAL GRILL

We use our gas grill a lot, but I prefer the smell of our charcoal grill, so Benjy opted for our, "take to the lake and camping grill." instead.

CLEAN SHEETS AND TOWELS THAT HUNG TO DRY ON

THE CLOTHES LINE

I would love to end my day by smelling fresh clean sheets that have hung to dry outside. Since I don't have a clothes line, I guess that won't happen! I miss that smell from when my mom use to hang towels and sheets out to dry. When Becky came to visit, she left us a candle that reminds me of this smell, so we are burning it now.

Benjy was a busy guy today. He cleaned the house while I was on my walk, he played with the girls while I laid by the pool and read a book. He mowed the lawn, he made Pico de Gallo and grilled on my preferred grill. Do you see why I feel like the luckiest wife in the world?