Adventures in Bennionland » Daddy B

San Simeon & The Elephant Seals

DiaryDad — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:04:11 +0000

We are always looking for that next adventure around here. So after Shell and I ran our first race of the year. We loaded up our car and made our way to catch with Papa Paul and KK who had the boys and were on their way up to San Simeon. We arrived at the Elephant Seal Beach just before sunset and caught them particularily active. The boys had fun running up and down the viewing area to see the seals in action.

We spent the evening at a little lodge in San Simeon. The boys enjoyed hopping from our room to Papa and KK’s. They really enjoyed watching the Olympics cuddled up with Mom and Dad. Before they went to bed.

Next morning we walked down to the pebble beach to relax, explore, and watch the waves. We had a great time, the trip was exactly what all our little souls needed. I wonder where the next adventure will take us.

Pictures after the break:

Now off to edit the video from the trip…

Snow Day

DiaryDad — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:27:00 +0000

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:

Chinese New Year 2010 – Year of The Tiger

DiaryDad — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:04:46 +0000

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:

Gung Hay Fa Choy – Happy Year of the Dragon!

Jesus Who?

DiaryDad — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:59:15 +0000

So we got a new Home Entertainment System. The old one was one I bought with my brother almost 12 years ago… and was really showing its age. As part of the process of setting this up, I took the old one to Goodwill.

William has a rough time with getting rid of anything he grows attached to his/our stuff… Even Capri Sun packets… I took the boys with me to drop it off because we were going to get a treat on the way home.

To distract the boys from what I was doing I had them look for shapes in the clouds out the front window, while I dropped off the stereo out the back of the car.

When I got back in and we started to drive Will and I had this conversation:

Will: “Do you know what I see in the clouds?”

Me: “What?”

Will: “Jesus.”

Me: “huh?”

Will: “yeah Jesus, Jesus Christ.”

Me: “oh”

Will: “Yeah he has a beard.”

Me: “What color is his beard?”

Will: “Daaaad, He’s a cloud…!”

yup…

The Elfs Return

DiaryDad — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:56:00 +0000

Yeah baby the Elves are back and bold as can be… This really needs no intro… just sit back and watch…Happy Holidays!


Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The Holiday Season Starts with a Tree

DiaryDad — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 09:52:20 +0000

Once again the holiday Season is upon us. Too kick it off we decorate our tree. Every year our Christmas tree brings a magical feeling into our house. We hope you enjoy:

LA County Fair – 2009

DiaryDad — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:13:55 +0000

Just a few Video Highlights from our trip to the LA County Fair.

Enjoy:

Passport to Adventure!

Shelly! — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:14:58 +0000

We heard of REI’s Passport to Adventure program through one of the blogs we read. The program is designed to get family spending more time out of doors. Kids keep track of their adventures in a journal and submit them REI. REI then sends a reward for the activity. This year the boys got a fantastic hiking tool that combines binoculars, a compass, a magnifying glass, and a mirror.

Eric took up the challenge and planned out hikes all through the summer. The first one, pictured here, was up a local canyon that follows a train route. Walker, of course, loved it! Every twenty to thirty minutes a train would run by adding to the excitement of the trip.

The boys always took their journals, water and their cameras. Eric encouraged them to take lots of pictures and make notes in their journals. They loved it!

Happy Holidays

DiaryDad — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:34:57 +0000

Happy Holidays from the Bennions

Chicago: November 2008

Shelly! — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:55:19 +0000

When we first found out that E was headed to Chicago (again!) we made the plan for me to go as well using a free pass we had. Then the trip got passed to someone else and we set our move date. So when the trip opened up again I was a little anxious to pack up the kids shortly after the move and ship them back to my parents (not to mention GreatAunt Patti and Goosey who helped watch them). I am so glad we did! The boys had a splendid time without us and we had a splendid time without them.

My plane flew out of Long Beach and I was thrilled to get a window seat. Neal’s work is somewhere down there:

I think I stared out of the window almost the entire time. I did sit by a cute couple who were headed to Chicago to celebrate their best friend’s 80th birthday. The man had a heart attack a year ago and had worked hard to get cleared for this trip. They’d only been married ten years and it was fun to watch them care for each other – especially since she doesn’t like to fly and the flight was bumpy.

Chicago is one of my all-time favorite cities. It manages to feel like both a small-town and a major city. This was my fourth time to Chicago . E has family outside of Chicago so the first time we went we spent our time with them. On my second trip I went with a nine-month-old Will to visit a cousin who lives in the city. My third trip was last year with Lyndsy (my sister) and was hard to top. What I liked about this go-round is that I had time by myself. I arrived Wednesday night and E surprised me by coming to the airport to get me. We rode the train back into town and I unloaded. We had a great dinner at Pizzeria Uno. We walked around the city and had a glorious time just chatting.

Thursday was my mellow day. The boys had been sick before I left and so I was low on sleep. It was heaven to sleep-in, not to mention watch a few episodes of Law & Order (my usual hotel room treat). I walked around town for a while and ended up at Navy Pier. They have a great conservatory so I sat and read my book for quite some time. That night I met up with E and his co-workers. We had a wonderful dinner at some Italian place. It was fascinating! I mean, I was the only woman and these were all big-tough, midwesterny fellows. Listening them talk shop, talk women, talk children made for quite the evening. We ended up at Tavern on Rush. Now this was completely out of the ordinary for me (how many nights am I at a bar until 2am?). They’d been doing it all week so they were all used to it. We arrive and one of the guys whips out some large bills to grab us a space in the reserved section. Soon we’re sitting across from a Chicago Bull’s player – who was also quite the playa. I had so much fun! I people watched like crazy. There were only (besides servers) like ten women in the entire bar versus the sixty or so men. Not being in the scene, but close enough, allowed for great observation! It is not a night I will soon forget – though I was glad to get home and go to bed (am I old?).

On Friday E went down to the convention center to pack up the stuff. After that we met one his co-workers, who is from France, and had a delightful lunch at Giordano’s. His co-worker, Paul, had never had Chicago-style pizza and was delighted with the food.

Eric and I walked down to Navy Pier – which he hadn’t been to in a while. I know it’s sappy- but it just felt magical to have that time with him.

Of course, in total parent style we kept commenting on things the boys would have liked (and I even took pictures of things JUST to show the boys). One of the highlights of Navy Pier was the Stained Glass Museum. I had heard about it – but honestly, wasn’t that enthused. When we saw it though I quickly changed my mind. I always think of stained glass as strictly religious and particularly gothic. This exhibit was exquisite with examples from Tiffany (who knew!), Frank Lloyd Wright, and a variety of others.

We went to dinner at Ed Debevic’s which can now be found in cities other than Chicago BUT started there and Eric had never been. Work that hat baby:

One hot momma:

On Saturday we got up and walked the Miracle Mile. We sat and had hot chocolate & coffee and watched the town come alive. Honestly, you wouldn’t have thought there was a recession watching all the Saturday morning shoppers! We debated going up the Hancock Tower but since it was something we’d already done before we passed. I did get this snazzy picture of Eric by it!

We walked through the First Presbyterian Church which was gorgeous – especially with gray skies:

We stood in line to get Garrett’s popcorn – which we hadn’t had before and brought home as treat for thank you’s. It was worth the wait in line – even though I hear we were lucky because we didn’t wait that long and it usually goes out the door. Here they are making some:

I didn’t got to Wicked – but Eric made me get a picture:

We did tour the Lego store.
The Hancock Tower

Pretty dang cool – and you can probably guess what my favorite thing was:

We were both excited to get home to the boys – especially Eric who had been gone almost ten days. Glad we got to have the trip together especially in a city we both love.