Everybody's ready to go hunt for their Easter baskets hidden in the backyard. We got to have Matt Salmon with us for our picnic and our Easter dinner, he's part of the fam. Looks like Grandpa Reader is in shock and awe that the Easter bunny came to visit :)
Sarah and Jake came for Spring Break/Easter. It was so fun and they loved all the sunshine. One night they went with Rob and I to Tempe Marketplace and we listened to a band playing there. They are so fun to hang out with.
Blowing out those candles, hard work when your an old man!
Westin's "friend", Lexi (the darling blonde on the right) helped me with inviting the kids over. Even the girls wore their hats and blew the horns.
At lunch that day, Westin's friends came over for pizza and birthday cake and Rob made them all wear these cute little party hats-they were all great sports about it. There were about 12 kids here for their short lunch break from Mt. View.
It's our family tradition to have a Birthday Breakfast and since Westin has an A hour, we all got up really early as you can see by Westin's lively expression.
Look a-likes :) So pretty. Kelsey is a mini-me of BriAnne and she takes pride in that. :)
Blowing out the candles, well matchsticks actually. Where are the candles when you need them?
And they're off to Disneyland...look out Mickey and Minnie!!
Before the girls left for Disney, Bri asked her Dad for a father's blessing and a picture :)
Bri came to visit for a few days before and after her Disneyland trip with Ashley. She went to see "10,000 B.C." with Rob and I and then we met up with McKensie and Robbie for dinner at Tia Rosa....dinner was GREAT, the movie was "no bueno".JPG)
BriAnne made this darling scrapbook page of the newest addition to our Benson family. My brother Paul and his wife Marisa decided to adopt and became certified with LDS Social Services. They created a really neat portfolio about themselves and sent it out via email to try and network to find a baby. Their email ended up in the mailbox of a nurse at a hospital here in town and she was at work when a birth mother delivered a beautiful 9 pound blue-eyed blonde baby girl and the mother had planned to give up the baby but had not done anything about it. The nurse passed the message to the doctor who called Paul and Marisa's representative and the mother agreed to the adoption that very day. So in one week they had a beautiful baby girl, Ashlyn LaRene Benson. Nothing short of a miracle that I have no doubt my sweet mother played an important role. She told us that she would be able to do more for us kids on the other side than she would be able to do here, and we have already seen that come to pass in many ways. We feel so much gratitude to our loving Heavenly Father and pray for the birth mother and father as well as Paul and Marisa. Another tender mercy.
Kelsey and I volunteered at the Cannery last week and we made LOTS of spaghetti sauce. We felt (and looked, obviously) like Laverne and Shirley on the assembly line at the beer factory :) The hair net look was a bit painful but we can get labels on a can lickety-split and put them in boxes like PROs now!-FUN DAY!
This is my great friend Amy Shipp. We were in St. Louis together with our husbands last weekend for a Leadership Development Seminar which was fantastic! Amy is one of the funnest people I know, she's not afraid to try anything! And if you are ever looking for anything girly or glittery- she's the girl to call :)
My life is wonderful because of this man. He is my very best friend, through 27 years of fun and trials and joy and some sadness too. He treats me with respect and courtesy and love. He works hard and devotes himself to our family and serving the Lord. He makes me laugh and helps me to not take life too seriously. I am so thankful for my Rob!
