Thou Shall Not Eat Candy

After Bentley climbed out of the tub and as I was playing tech support for Dad (he was posting pictures of the new grandbaby--go take a looksy) Chod read Bentley stories from the Friend.

I started listening in to the stories, and noticed that either the Friend had changed noticeably from last month, or Chod was adding his two sense in.

Things like "...even though I told the truth I still got an F."

or "Bentley, Jimmy is dumb."

and how about "...so I started eating fruits and vegetables instead of candy, which is against the Word of Wisdom."

" WHAT!? Candy is against the Word of Wisdom!? Bentley we are in soo much trouble..."

I think that story was simplifying "everything in moderation" down a little more than Chod is comfortable with.

Fish Tales

After visiting his "Sis-sis" Hudson joined us on a little fishing trip with Grandma and Grandpa Stephens and Cameron. Hudson had a lot of fun, but he needs to learn a thing or two about "slapping the water" before Grandpa Parish takes him. He thinks casting means sitting on the edge of the bank and banging the pole into the river. It kept him occupied for quite a while and the only person worried about him scaring the fish was Cameron (who caught the only fish by the way).A little, big mouth bass, that was thrown back after the photo op.

We made Bentley practice with this stick away from the water since he is pretty wild and not trusted near bodies of water. He caught as many fish as his dad, but a lot more rocks than anyone else.

Book Worm

I used to read a lot. Then I had Bentley and my reading slowed way down, to the point of hardly. Our ward has a book club, so I should be reading at least 1 book a month, but some months I don't even make it through the book.

I think I have made up for my lack of reading in the past week. I finished I Am a Mother in one day. The next I started Twilight, our book of the month and finished it in a couple and then immediately started The Deathly Hallows and finished it within the week of starting I Am a Mother. It was a grand total of almost 1500 pages. All three were good books-you should read them.

Any suggestions for a good read?

Real words

Bentley got a *much* needed haircut a couple days ago (which is a story all in itself, imagine Bentley in the bathtub and me with a comb and scissors). With the new haircut, which makes him look so much more like a little boy, he has developed a larger vocabulary. Mostly it is parroting but it is nice to know that there is a little person inside the little body capable of saying real words.

He loves string cheese and will ask for "cheese". Tonight Chod asked him what he wanted for dinner. I think grilled cheese and pastrami was one option. Bentley shook his head yes and ran to the fridge saying "cheese, cheese". So Chod gave him a thing of string cheese which he ran off with and came out of his room a few minutes later without. Chod asked him where the cheese was and once again Bentley ran to the fridge saying "cheese, cheese" a little disappointed that his own father didn't realize we kept the cheese in the fridge.

The other day he was sitting in the basket on one of his toys and he couldn't get out. I asked him what the matter was and asked if he was stuck.

He said "I stuck, I stuck."

Tonight when I picked him up from the sitter, she said "He talks soo much." Don't know if he was jabbering or actually using real words.

Its a fact folks, Bentley is a talker.

Pioneer Day

Happy Pioneer Day.

This cool rainy weather has been perfect for staying inside curled up with Harry Potter.

Just as my ancestors would have wanted.

Breakfast Climb

Here is proof that Junior, aka Wild Child, Dudey, and The Monster has really earned the names. He is going to cause a lot of gray hairs.

Yes, this was while he was supposed to be eating breakfast. I turned around to see him crawling from the high chair, onto the tray and then onto the counter. There isn't an ounce of fear in him. (Please excuse the grimy fingerprints on the toaster-they aren't mine.)

While at the Hillman's today he took a tumble down the stairs resulting in some carpet burn to the face and hopefully a tiny bit of caution.

Prego Pictures

Karisa called and asked if I would take some maternity pictures of her this afternoon. Here are a few. Doesn't she look great? She's hoping her little girl makes her debut any day now.

I found these blue gloves on clearance the other day and gave them to Hudson. Maybe we should have waited until after the photo shoot? He refused to take them off.

Bag-O-Distraction

A few weeks ago Chod got a phone call asking us, as a couple, to meet with the Stake President the following night. Chod insisted I was getting a new calling. I was sure it was for Chod.

The next day I started thinking more and more about what calling for me would require a visit to the Stake President's office. I'm still not sure what those callings are, but all I could figure out was that it would have to be a stake calling.

Which meant I would have to go to ward conferences. Which would mean Chod would have to take Bentley to church by himself. And I would get to go to church by myself. I could sit through meetings without continuously pulling toys out the Bag-O-Distraction, and I wouldn't have to worry about keeping Bentley's singing under control. I would finally be able to actually pay attention to what the speakers are saying.

It would be so nice.

The more I thought about it, the more I hoped the calling issued that night would be for me!

But as things work, it wasn't. Instead Chod got called to be the Elder's Quorum President. Which means his Sundays have a few more meetings, and Bentley is all mine all the time.

And since I'm not going anywhere it is time for our little Bag-O-Distraction to get a makeover. Any suggestions?

7 Random Things

I have been tagged by my cute friend Jamie...but this time is a little different. I am suppose to list 7 different facts about myself; funny, random, silly, whatever. Then I will choose 7 new people to tag. It may seem a bit repetitive, but it is always fun to learn interesting new things about your friends. If you are tagged, please list the rules when you post.

1. I am very particular about the mates my socks have. For example with Chod's socks:
2 white socks--not good enough
2 white socks of similar length--not good enough
2 white socks of similar length and gray heel and toe--not good enough
2 white socks of similar length and gray heel and toe with green stitching---not good enough
2 white socks of similar length and gray heel and toe with green stitching and similar wear and all around dinginess--Now that is a match!

2. My name is Nikkala and I am addicted to Google. There, I said it.

3. I love to plan. Doesn't matter if it is a vacation, school schedules, or a party, I just like to plan. The hunt for airfare, hotels, cars and attractions are fun for me. I have planned many semesters of classes for others just because I enjoy the challenge of arranging and re-arranging classes until it all works.

4. Although I am classified as a lefty I only write with my left hand. I throw, bat, golf, serve, eat, and cut with my right hand.

5. I like to learn. Not physics or anything serious like that, but I think it is important to keep your mind working. There are so many resources out there that make it easy to learn about whatever subject you are interested in. I have taken a couple continuing education classes and I highly recommend them. The internet is also a great place to learn too.

7. I am most comfortable on the ground. No heights for me. For this reason I don't enjoy changing light bulbs, driving up the side of a mountain, or amusement parks.

Now it's your turn. I tag Dad, Troy, Chod, Jolyn, Nikki, Whit, and Alisha.

Blue Popsicles

Chod has really been wanting to go skiing, so yesterday we called to see if Dad wanted to take the Ghetto out.

When we got there it was windy, so no river for us. But we did get to hang out with Karisa and Hudson since they were in Burley.

It was HOT so we gave each boy a popsicle.

And a bucket of water.They thought they were in heaven.

Aunt Tameka soon became Bentley's best friend because she was the holder of the hose. Hudson is still a little unsure of her. I think he is still upset over the coloring book incident.It was fun to hang out with Tameka. Her days at home are numbered and Grandma and Grandpa's house just won't be the same without her.

B in the bathroom

Just when I thought it was safe to go in the bathroom...

Bentley figured out how to fill his bath toys up with water, and squirt them.

Bentley learned how much fun it is to un-roll toilet paper.

Bentley thinks the bathroom is the coolest room in the house.


Looks like that door will now be kept closed.

Hey Dad!

Jealous?

Singing and Praying

We go to church. We sing the opening hymn. We have a prayer. We sing the sacrament hymn. We have another prayer. We sing the closing song. We have a closing prayer....

I think Bentley has got this figured out. Last night during FHE we sang an opening song and said a prayer. Bentley was holding a hymn book and continued to sing a song, fold his arms, say a prayer and then turn to another hymn and begin the process all over.

His songs and prayers got progressively shorter has he hurried on to the next. Its nice to know that he does get a little something out of going to church.

Suit x 2

We've been spending time (and money) in Logan. It is fun to go back and visit and see friends and family, but it makes me miss it. I miss driving down Main Street hearing Chod complain about the traffic, I miss spotting the temple and Old Main has we enter the valley....okay enough of that.

Chod wanted to look for a new suit while we were near a Men's Wearhouse. While he was looking I was entertaining a nap-less Bentley. I tried my hardest to keep him under control, and while I succeed in preventing any mannequins from being pulled over, he still managed to leave his fingerprints on every mirror in the store. Before I knew it Chod was getting 2 suits instead of 1 like originally planned.

This one:

And one similar to this:Thank goodness I intervened when they pulled out 6 shirt and tie combos, 2 pairs of shoes, 4 pairs of socks and 2 belts that he "needed to complete the look". And while Chod is the exact model size of suits (good thing since I am pretty sure we couldn't afford much tailoring on these 2 suits) he is a major impulse buyer and should not be allowed to make decisions such as this without so much as a thought to our bank account.

And to even things up, he took me to S.E. Needham's to get my ring cleaned...?

We had fun hanging out with Jeff and Jolyn (Jeff actually ended up buying a suit too-Men's Wearhouse should have been giving me commission this weekend), watched Jeopardy with Deidra and Chris, visited the cute little Dayton family, and visited Aunt Shannon.

It is something we need to do more often (sans the suits of course).

Fourth Festivities

We started the day bright and early at the ward's flag raising ceremony, followed by breakfast. By 8:30 we were home and took naps.

It was then off to Rigby, where we joined the Stephens on their adventures in Jackson. We went (poorly prepared ) to Jackson's Music in the Hole. A party for the town. They had concerts of different local bands during the day, and then that night an orchestra made up of people from all over the world preformed. It was a fun event, and I recommend it to all of you, just take a blanket or chairs to sit on, a cooler full of drinks, and an umbrella to sit on. It was a hot one! My favorite part of the day was when we were back in Rigby. We laid on the trampoline and watched fireworks from neighboring towns.

I love America.

Happy Birthday America

Silly, Coordinated, Singing, and Opinionated Bentley

Bentley is growing sillier by the day. He is also becoming more coordinated and opinionated each day. Yesterday morning on our walk, I looked down to see him doing Pat-A-Cake. He sings the song (he still doesn't use real words, but you can tell what he is singing by the tune) claps and has even mastered the "roll it and roll it". His arms used to make jerking movements, but his motor skills have advanced to the point of actual rolls. He also sings Ring Around the Rosies as he turns in circles and falls down. Which is my new favorite way of entertaining him. All I have to do is start singing the song and he takes over, repeating until he can't walk straight.

Then last night as we were eating at Papa Kelsey's he starting screaming and reaching for something. I finally realized he wanted the container of ranch dressing. I poured a little on his plate and he stuck his hand in and started licking the dressing off as fast as he could (he has never had ranch before, so I am not sure how he knew he loved it so much). Chod handed him a piece of pepperoni, which was then used to dip and lick.

Later Chod was sitting on the couch reading a magazine and I looked over to find this. Bentley had found a little book of his own and had climbed up next to Chod and was "reading" too. He is such a little character!

Can They FIx It?

Yes they can!
Saturday Dad brought his little welder up and Chod was able to fix the fence. It had a rough ride to Blackfoot and had broken into a couple pieces. It was being held together with a fence post and some wire. Now it is as good as new!
Thanks Dad.

3 and Counting

Happy Anniversary Choddie