Adventures in Bennionland

We have had a wet winter here in SoCal.
I had been thinking about winter here in California and I realized that my boys have lived here for more of their life in CA than UT. That this is more of how they envision winter than the snowy landscapes that I remember. So, since I had President’s day off I decided that the boys and I needed a Snow Day. We packed some lunches and made the 1 hour trip to “The Village” at Big Bear Lake. We speant about 2 hours exploring in the snow. As we were leaving the boys aggresively requested skiing lessons… I think next winter we will learn to snowboard. Here are the images: Read the rest of this entry »

This one sorta snuck up on us. We realized at the last minute that Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year were the same weekend. So in true Bennionz fashion we crammed in a quick trip to Chinatown on Chinese New Year’s Eve day! This year is the year of the Tiger, and we are hoping for good things. The boys had a Blast on the Train ride down. as well as running through Chinatown… which they think they own. Shell and I enjoyed it as well. As is our custom we took pictures, and here they are, Gung Hay Fa Choy: Read the rest of this entry »

As many of you know I hate camouflage. I think it’s ugly. Well, more like fugly.

So when Walker started expressing a great interest in all things military I had to reevaluate my feelings.

Parents have the tough role of being battle pickers. Which fights do we engage in? What’s the bigger picture? How do we in fact win the “war” of parenthood to raise healthy, happy individuals?

Well, this is how:

By letting our kids win some of the smaller battles. By putting parental distaste and embarrassment aside and letting our kids walk out into public in clothes we might not fully appreciate.

I bought that shirt (thank you 99-cent store!). I put it in their dresser rather than their dress-up box. And I’ve happily been drafted into the battle of camouflage and I’m letting Walker win this one. In the end, letting him make the decision and have some control means I am winning the parenting war. And that’s a good thing…

PS – on days that I really hate letting my kids dress themselves, I do comfort myself by chanting “it’s only a phase, it’s only a phase, it’s only a phase”….