Adventures in Bennionland

We were thrilled to hear that my cousin Stephanie and her husband James were going to be in town last weekend. Stephanie grew up in a town near my hometown so we have always been close. It was fun to get to know James before we moved away. They came down to visit her family and have a vacation. We were tickled that they wanted to see us. I actually think James just wanted to see the boys and see if they’d talk about body parts or bodily functions.

We met them at Balboa Beach. It was a ton of fun!

James played Frisbee and badminton with the boys for a while. Well, you cannot actually play the game with them – rather you just hit the ball, they scream with delight, and then you have to go pick the ball back up and hit it again. James was a good sport:

Steph’s Mom (my Aunt Cindy) and sister Stacey were there when we first got there. It was fun to get caught up on the whole family:

We couldn’t wait to start the campfire though. It was fun to sit around, chat, watch the boys’ delight in such simplicity (hot dogs and fire), and enjoy a little bit of nature.

The boys treated us to an original song:

Thanks Steph and James! We had a glorious time!

Mornings are an absolutely magical time. At this moment, aside from the typing of my fingers, I can hear the soft noises of awakening coming from the boys room, the gleeful chirps of birds outside, and a train horn in the distance. Each of these makes me grateful that I rolled out of bed early to herald in the day my own way. A chat with a friend, passing words with my Mom, a chapter read in my book, and time to type out some thoughts.

I have missed blogging as much as you have missed reading our blog. Or maybe it’s a little more for me.

I am glad though for the perspective I have been given by not being on the computer each morning. Last week, for example, I sat on the couch deeply consumed by a book. At one point I looked up and found myself staring at Will, who had crawled out of bed to find me reading. I asked if he wanted to snuggle with me and he did. First though he ran and grabbed his own book. We sat on the couch, the two of us immersed in our reading, until his belly reminded him of other things.

That same week I found myself at the table, sipping my chocolate Instant Breakfast, and flipping through a catalog for classes at the church Eric and I have been going through. With typical Walker pizazz, the bedroom door slammed open and he appeared. Still groggy, with tousled blond hair he waddled into the hall. And then, a miracle. Saying nothing to me, in fact barely acknowledging my presence, he shuffled down the hall and into the bathroom. He closed the door and proceeded to do his thing. All by himself. No urging or direction from me. As he walked down the hall back towards me, ready for his morning cuddles, I could not have been more proud. It also made me keenly aware that his is growing up. So while I held him, nestled up close to me as if he were two weeks old, my heart rejoiced that I still have moments like this. It will not be long before cuddling with me will be old news.

So my blogger friends, it is with this post that I say we are back! Our weeks, like yours, have been full and exciting. I cannot wait to post pictures of our Balboa trip, bike rides, the Zoo trip, Spring celebrations, gluten-free healthy Easter food, and all of the other random pictures I took knowing that I wanted to blog about them. Those will have to wait just a little bit longer…I can hear the boys out of their beds and the best part of my morning is about to begin.

We haven’t forgotten about our blog! We’ve just been having lots of adventures that we cannot wait to share. Plus Daddy is away on business so Mommy has less time to blog! So if you are anxiously awaiting a new post…take some anxiety meds and chill out. Or if you are one of the people (you know who you are) still waiting for me to respond to an email – I will

Watch for a new post over the weekend – maybe even more than one!

Thanks for reading! We sure love you.