Bedtime Buddies

Bedtime has become quite the ordeal at our house because Bentley insists on taking the above toy box to bed with him.

That's 9 cars, 1 gas tank (because with 9 cars you are sure to need extra fuel during the night), 2 blankets, a pillow, Buzz Lightyear phone, the baby football, the big football, his baby, Froggie, the other frog, and his Curious George and Cars books.

Did I mention he is still in the crib?

I can only imagine what he'll fit in a twin bed.

Practically Perfect

Bentley has made being a mom so enjoyable these past two days. He has practically been perfect--agreeable, obedient....all the things he usually isn't.

I don't know what has happened, maybe it's me and not him, but I'm liking it.

This morning, when I walked out of the bathroom to find him holding his black hands up begging to have them washed, he was still cute.

After washing them he showed me exactly where he had found grease. On the broken bike chain, in the garage (why are we keeping a broken bike chain??)--but as far as I can see he didn't touch a wall on his way up the stairs. No grease to be found except on his hands.

See? Perfect.

Hot and Cold

Since the beginning of time, Chod and I have had different ranges of comfort. Mine is usually a very narrow range and his is quite broad. Lately though, it seems like things have changed.

I currently have a condition that causes me to be extra hot. Especially my feet, especially at night. In order to cope with this problem I sleep with my feet hanging off the side of the bed and a fan blowing directly on me.

Chod swears this turns our room into sub-artic conditions. To deal with this, he sleeps wearing a beanie.

Last night was a little cooler than normal, and Chod mentioned needing gloves to protect him from frostbite.

I thought it was just right.


Monday I made Chod some salsa. He tends to like his food a lot hotter than I do, so we usually compromise with something in the middle. I can't remember what kind of peppers we planted in the garden, or their hotness, so I chopped up 2-seeds and all and threw them in.

Deidra and Chris were over so we enjoyed some chips and salsa and we all thought it tasted fine (well Chris actually mentioned that it had too many tomatoes in it).

When Chod got home he dug in. "HOT!" And went running to the fridge for the milk.

I haven't tried it since, but he swears it is super hot.

Call me Goldilocks, but I thought it was just right.

TOU.5

Bright and early this morning Karisa and Chod sat off to run the Top of Utah Half Marathon. They spent the summer training and I'm so proud of them for sticking with it and for pushing one another along.

The cheering section

As we sat and cheered for runners as they passed, it was apparent that this race meant something different for each runner. Those that crossed the finish line first and then turned around and headed back for another 7 miles were obviously using today as training for something bigger. One lady in the 70 and over category was announced as having ran 125 marathons--that is insane.

Then there were those that had sat a goal to train and finish those 13.1 miles. None of us on the sideline knew what the runners had had to overcome to get across the finish line. And we cheered extra loud for them.
Chod had been toying with the idea of running the full in a few weeks, but after today both Karisa and he agree that they would never want to run farther than 13 miles. Although, they both seem to be looking forward to the next one.
Chod finished 6 minutes faster than the goal he had set for himself.

Good job Chod and Karisa!

Cousin love

Bentley has 2 girl cousins (1 on each side) that he loves very much.

This morning I asked, "Guess who is coming to our house today?"

"Kaayl!"

"No. Dalanie."

"Oh, she cute!"

"You think Lanie is cute?"

"YESS!"

Such a funny boy.

A boy and his bike

All marriages have those sore spots, which are better left untouched. One of ours was/is the toaster (which is sitting in our garage even though there is a new one in kitchen--he just can't let go) and another is Chod's bike.


Shortly after we were married Chod decided to go on a bike trip through Canyonlands with his dad and the scouts. Of course, he needed a new bike for this adventure.

He told me how much money he would need to get a bike he liked. I raised my eyebrows and said "Uh huh". After weeks of looking he found one that would suit his needs.

It cost 3 times the amount we had originally agreed on.

They went on their week long bike ride and had a great time.

The bike was retired to the balcony for the majority of the next year.

Then we moved to Idaho and the bike took it's place hanging in the garage. Chod said the 40 mile commute he made each way, every day was a bit long to ride.

I have given him a really hard time (rightfully so!) about the expensive 1 use bike he had to have. And whenever the Canyonland trip is brought up I am sure to mention something about it being the most expensive trip he has taken.

So this summer, in order to shut me up, and to save a little money on gas, Chod has ridden his bike up the hill every day.

The other day the chain broke. He carried it a mile home and now it is in the shop getting some much needed maintenence.

This morning as he was getting ready for work he looked at me and asked, "How am I getting to work?"

"The car?"

Apparently he has developed a dependence on his bike after all these years, and it may no longer be a sore subject in our house.


I suppose I could have offered to let him use my bike.
That would have been cute.

Hard to let go

Dear Deidra,

Today, after Mom and I went to the garden we stopped by your house to share our vegetables with you. I didn't realize how attached I was to them until we drove away.

You see, I helped grow all of them. I placed each seed potato in their holes, got yelled at countless times for stepping on the baby tomato plants, and spent lots of mornings taking care of the garden when it was hot. I helped weed and water and watched them grow. Then today as Mom dug up the hills of potatoes it was my job to pick them out of the soil and put them in the basket. I also helped pick the tomatoes.

And then you show up in town after the work is done and benefit from all my hard work. I cried the entire way home after leaving my precious produce at your house. Mom tried to tell me that we were sharing, but I am having a really hard time letting go.

I think you're a weasel.

Love
Bentley

Chod "Lightning" Stephens

There has been a lot of Olympic watching at our house this past week.

Last night as we were watching the Men's 100m to see Bolt become the fastest man on earth Bentley watched intently.

Then he said that they ran fast like his dad.

A little later he placed 2 books on the ground, crouched down using them as starting blocks, shouted "Get set--GO!!" and took off running to the wall.

I asked if he was as fast as the guys on TV.

"Nope, fast like Dad."

Usain Bolt may be the fastest man on earth, but Chod is the fastest man in Bentley's world.

The people on the bus

Bentley loves buses, so today we went for a ride on the public bus.

The bus was almost completely empty so he was able to try out a few different seats.

To help pass the time we sang "The Wheels on the Bus."

All the excitement wore the boy out.

Memory Lane

Ten years ago this month I moved to Logan (for the first time). A lot has changed in those 10 years, the trees are taller, the shopping is better, I've graduated, married, and became a mom--but sometimes I still feel like I'm a freshman.

Earlier this week I was driving passed campus and I saw a couple of girls taking turns having their picture taken with The Bull.

It seems like just the other day I was a new in town and the roommies and I were at The Bull having our own pictures taken.
Somethings never change I guess, it's just different girls doing the same thing year after year.

Tomato Boy

I know Bentley loves tomatoes, so when we planted our garden we planted 8 tomato plants to ensure he would have plenty of tomatoes to eat. And then I planted a cherry tomato plant on the patio just to be sure.

I grossly underestimated the tomato consumption this little guy is capable of. So far he is keeping up with all that ripen.

I counted as he picked and immediately consumed 14 cherry tomatoes in one trip passed the cherry tomato plant. He hasn't let Chod or me eat a single one. As soon as they are orange he pops them in his mouth. At every meal this week he has eaten at least 1 whole tomato.

He better enjoy it while it lasts.

Temple Trip

Another week down. This baby is going to be here before I know it, since our weekends have been full time is flying by and I am marking the weeks off quickly.

Chod was gone all of last week and got back very early Friday morning. I spent the day doing laundry while he put in a few hours at work, and then it was back in the car. We went to the Twin Falls Temple open house.
We have been able to visit two temple open houses this year. The Rexburg and the Twin Falls. I don't know how much Bentley will remember of either of these visits years from now, but he does love to point out Moroni on top and loves all of the pictures of Christ inside the temples.

Baby Fever

There has been lots of baby talk going on at our house and baby clothes are starting to take over.

Yesterday, Bentley found a bright pink pipe cleaner and started calling it "baby" and he carried it and cuddled it. This morning he woke up and went straight for the "baby".

Tameka advised me to get him something that had more resemblance to a human than a fuzzy piece of wire, something with, oh, a head.

So, Dudey and I set off to find a baby this morning. He found this one and couldn't wait to get it out of the box, so I opened the box and took her out still attached to the cardboard. He held her and fussed over her feet and fingers, but really he likes the hat. When we were checking out the lady asked if I would like the doll back in the box.

"No, could we actually cut her free?"

I explained that he was really excited for this baby.

As she was snipping all the restraints she asked, "And what is his dad going to say about this?"

"I don't know, he is out of town." (surprise Chod, you're a grandpa!)
Right now the little boy and his baby are taking a nap. Each with a blanket of their own.

Loves his preserves

Chris brought us back mini jars of strawberry jam and honey from his trip. Bentley found them in the cupboard last week and has become slightly obsessed with them.

He packs them around during the day, and insists on sleeping with them--both of them. If you try to put him down without the honey he gets very upset.

Just in case he gets hungry I suppose?

Code Yellow

We were at Target and Chod had just headed to the fitting room to try on a pair of pants and Bentley and I were looking at shoes. I turned around and he was gone.

I walked up and down the aisles a few times and then started to get worried. How long do I waste looking for him before I ask for help.

On about my third trip through the shoes I saw a Target employee.

"I can't find my little boy."

Immediately she radios "Code Yellow" and asks for a description.

As I was telling her what he was wearing and she was relaying it over the radio Target employees start approaching us and a couple passing by say they saw a little boy heading to the front.

I raced to the front and found Bentley on aisle four playing with the candy bars.

I picked him up and he wrapped both arms around my neck and laid his head on my shoulder.

Apparently, that was enough to convince the 8 Target employees and a security guard that he was really mine.