Hurst Family

Family Photos

2011-07-24T23:59:00.018-04:00

While we were in Utah in May, Doug's little sister Kristen was also in Utah at the same time. So we hired her to take our pictures. Here are some of my favorite pictures:
Even though Genevieve was not in a good mood. (She hadn't had a nap and it was super windy) I think we got some good pictures. Thanks for sharing you time and talents with us Kristen. It was good seeing you and your little family.

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-06T18:51:00.005-04:00

This year I decided to put Benjamin into swimming lessons. Doug really wanted me to teach him, (because I used to teach swimming lessons)but I felt like he needed someone besides his mom. He listens better when its not me, sad I know! He did really well, the only problem with Ben is that he gets pretty shy, I know shocking!!!
He really enjoyed swimming lessons, and showing his teacher how awesome he is!

As for me, I have been volunteered by Doug to teach his 11 year old scouts how to swim. I guess they have to pass a swim test and need some help. We start tonight, I have to admit I am a little nervous because a couple of these boys are bigger than me! But I love to swim and am excited and happy to teach these boys.

Sprinklers

2011-07-05T18:45:00.010-04:00

When we first moved into this house, I was so excited to finally make my dreams a reality and decorate a house the way I wanted too. I could paint the walls any color that my heart desired. But Doug had different day dreams running through his head. He was so excited that our yard was pretty much bare, and could do anything he wanted to it. Well, one of the first steps to having an awesome backyard, is having the best irrigation system. So after designing his future yard, Doug got started on the sprinkler system. I am happy to say that, the first step to having a awesome backyard is complete! As you can tell by the pictures below, Ben is loving the new sprinklers!!

Genevieve doesn't like playing in the new sprinklers as much as Ben. She likes to watch.Truth be told, I don't know how is having more fun Ben playing in the sprinklers, Genevieve watching or Doug watching his sprinklers working awesome!! I am excited to get the rest of the yard done. By next summer its going to be the awesome yard that both Doug and I have been dreaming of.

5K run

2011-06-30T17:48:00.006-04:00

On May 28th I ran my first ever 5K race. I know some people are thinking whats the big deal, its only 3.2 miles. But for me it was a big deal! I don't like to see people or been seen while running. Another thing I swam not ran! But I do run for pleasure so I thought it was time to put my money where my mouth is.

My sister, Jen and I have been talking about wanting to run a race for a long time now, but for one reason or another we have never been able to it. So back in March, we committed to each other to run a race when we were both in SLC in May. After a couple of weeks of convincing, we got all 7 Terry women to committed to running/walking it with us. (Jen also got her mom and two sisters to run too, so total there was 10 women all running the race together.)

So I started to train like crazy, the only problem was that I been dealing with a lot of back pain for over the last two years, and then my left knee decided it wanted to give me problems too. I was really pretty worried about it because I was the one to talk my sisters (minus Jen) into to running this race. I couldn't even finish the whole 3.2 miles without stopping at least once. Anyway, Doug knowing that I was a little stressed out about the race, asked if he could give me a Priesthood blessing. I agreed, and I am glad that I did. My pain didn't go away immediately but by the time race came I wasn't in any pain. It wasn't until about a week after the race, when my pain started to come back that I realized that the blessing worked. (I am pretty slow!!) But its true the power of the Priesthood is real. Even when its something that you might not think the Lord in concerned about, like running a 5k race. He hears our prayers and answers them. All 7 of us Terry women before the race. My sisters are so awesome, none of us a real runners. 1 is a dancer, 1 is the proud Grandmother and the other 5, well we are swimmers, not to mention that my little sister returned from her mission only 2.5 days before the big race!!! We are quite the group, but we are all united and wanted to support each other! Love you, girls. This picture is proof that I actually crossed the finish line! Jen being the amazing woman that she is, was the first the cross the finish line out of our group. My mom also won an award, although she won't admit it, she took second in her age group!! My time wasn't the best, but I am still pretty proud of myself. I ran my first 5K race in 35 minutes and some seconds, taking 114 place. Not bad for having a double ear infection and a sinus infection!! (2 days after arriving in SLC, I visited the Urgent Care. I had a double ear infection and a sinus infection, fun huh) I am so happy that I ran this race, and am looking forward to my next race in September. I just might become a runner yet!!

Welcome Home!!

2011-06-04T18:40:00.009-04:00

For the past 18 months my little sister has been serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. She was serving in the Washington D.C. North mission. We are so glad to have her home!! I know it sounds selfish but it has been a long 6 months waiting for her, because if you recall we lived in the Washington D.C. and got to see her a couple of times. Due to the weather in the Midwest, Valerie came home a day late. She also got into SLC late at night, but that didn't keep the Grand kids away from the airport. The grand kids are patiently waiting for Valerie to come down the stairs. Valerie's flight arrived in SLC just a couple of hours after Doug flew in from Denver. And because I didn't want to make two trips to the airport, Doug was able to pick Ducky up at the gate. Although, she walked right past him he was still able to pick her up a the gate. I honestly don't know who was more excited to see Ducky: my parents, me or Ben or all the other grand kids for that matter. It was so nice to finally get her home. Her first week home she didn't want to sleep alone, so Ben volunteered to sleep on her floor. He was excited that he got to have a sleep over with her. We had to take a family photo at Valerie's homecoming. This photo is almost complete, we are missing 4 of the grand kids in this picture. It was so nice to all be together.I love just spending time with my family. I love that we all get along and would do anything for anyone of us. I know that not every family is as close as mine, and I love it!!! I have truly been blessed!This is the first time that all of my siblings and there spouses have been together in almost 4 years. It was so great being all together. I couldn't have asked for better siblings.
My sisters are the best!!! Honestly, as I type I am crying because my sisters mean the world to me. I have learned and continue to learn from them. They inspire me! I just love them!! I also have been blessed with three wonderful sister in laws. Trust me they are the best too! Its been so much fun getting to know them over the years. They are just as much as part of the family as my two blood sisters, I just don't have pictures of them. Besides that they put up with my brothers and love them, and thats a hard thing to do! I love them too, just the same!!!

Welcome Home Sister Duckry, we love you!!!

Party Fun

2011-05-18T17:40:00.016-04:00

Doug's Birthday was pretty low key, he is not much of a birthday party guy. But we had fun as a family! We took him out to dinner to a place called Rock Canyon, because kids eat free on Tuesdays. And boy do they eat free! The kids meals were huge and the service was great, so if you are ever in town its a good place to go. Anyway, before we left I made Doug open his presents.I think the kids had more fun opening presents. Because Benjamin is so honest, nothing was a surprise, except his gift from his mom. Doug got pretty spoiled this Birthday so I think some of it counts for Fathers Day. But I do have to say that the Wii that Doug got is truly a gift that keeps on giving!! Ben likes to play it but we have rules that have to be followed before it goes on, lets just say Ben's room is super clean!!Doug's mom made him this blanket for his birthday.Genevieve seemed really confused and curious about the fire on her cupcake. So I blow it before she could hurt herself.

We had a couple of friends over to celebrate Genevieve's birthday and Mother's Day. So thank you Ladies for sharing your Mothers day with Genevieve.

Cake goodness!! She was funny to watch eating her cake, because she doesn't like to be messy and wanted to share with everyone. She is super cute and we just love her to pieces!

Happy Birthday Genevieve!

2011-05-14T21:54:00.009-04:00

Last Saturday was Genevieve's 1st Birthday. I can't believe that it has been a year since this beautiful girl joined our family!Words just aren't enough to describe how I felt when she was placed in my arms. I remember feeling gratitude to my Heavenly Father that he would trust me with one of his choice daughters.

4 weeks old 4months old8 months old
1 year old!

For the last year I have found myself just staring at her, she is truly beautiful! And is special spirit that we have the privilege of raising. She is full of life and personality, she is by far more active and curious than Ben ever was. (Ben was a very chill baby.) Genevieve on the other hand is always into something and keeps me on my toes. On a daily basis she makes me laugh and cry. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for her and her sweet spirit. We love you Genevieve!!

We have a Walker!

2011-04-27T21:52:00.002-04:00

Genevieve has been playing around with this walking thing for a about a month now. She has now taken off into this new world of walking and loving every minute of it. She is still faster crawling, but seems so much more happy on her feet. I love watching her walk, she is so happy and proud of herself!!

Zoo Day!

2011-04-21T17:16:00.015-04:00

Doug's family came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. While they were here visiting, Doug took the day off and we decided to head down to the Zoo in Colorado Springs. It was a bit pricey, but worth it. (we are used to the free zoo in D.C.)

I am not even kidding when I say that you get up close and personal with the Giraffes! For a couple of dollars you can get some lettuce to feed the giraffes.

Ben taking his turn feeding the the giraffes! He was doing his best not to get licked, he thought is was gross.
I have to admit I was a little nervous at first. It was the first time I have ever been that close to a animal that big before. And there saliva was gross!!

Most people would be amazed at the bear that was staring right at them. (If the glass wasn't there you could have pet it) But not my boys, they sat and stared at the fish, in the bears exhibit and made faces at them.
Whenever we see one of these things we have to take a picture.In the bird room, you could buy a stick with bird seed stuck to it. Doug is trying to help Ben get a bird.
Doug's attempt at getting Ben closer to the birds.I think this picture speaks for itself.This cute little bird came and landed on my shoulder. I didn't really want it there, I have been pooped on by a bird and its not funny!! At first Genevieve just looked at it and then she tried to grab it, luckily to bird was smart and flow away! (You like the double chin, I feed it, its mine. Although, it is getting smaller, Wahoo!)
Genevieve was having fun playing with the Gorilla. She would hit the glass and the gorilla would hit it back in the same spot. A high so to speak.I hate getting on the scale alone so I made my family get on with me. I don't remember how much we weighed together.(probally a good thing!)We had a lot of fun, even though it was pretty windy and Genevieve would not take a nap. We will definitely have to visit Colorado Springs again to visit the zoo. It was by far the best zoo, we have ever gone too. Benjamin is still talking about it.

Reed + Charlotte

2011-04-08T20:22:00.012-04:00

On March 12th of this year my little brother was married for Time and All Eternity to the love of his life. Reed and Charlotte were married in the Jordan River Temple. The ceremony was simply beautiful, it was very special to witness my baby brother get married. I still can't believe that he is married, I remember when my parents brought him home from the hospital in a huge Christmas stocking. (he came home the day before Christmas)I am glad that Reed found such a wonderful woman to marry. She fits into our family just perfect, which if you know our family can be hard to do! I am excited to get to know her better and to call her my sister!! A family photo after the wedding ceremony. The weather turned out just right. Excuse my naked feet, I didn't realize that they were showing, but I was aerating the lawn with my shoes.Reed and Charlotte with all of the 12 grand kids. Genevieve was not happy that we would set her down and walk away. She really does like Charlotte! After they kicked Genevieve and Audri out of the picture, they took another, happier group shot. The family photo at the wedding reception. The only person that we are missing in the photo is Valerie, but she will be home in 48 days!! My siblings, parents and I, again missing Valerie.

I am so glad that Charlotte decided to marry into the Terry family. She truly will be a wonderful addition to the family. Congrats! you two crazy love birds, I wish you the best!!!

9 Month Wellness Visit

2011-02-25T21:24:00.001-05:00

Last week, I took Genevieve to her 9 month wellness checkup and let me tell you it was a nightmare!! We checked in at the front office at 9:45 am, I had all the paper work done before hand, so all we had to do was wait. We waited until 10:40 am, almost an hour!! By the time we finally got back into the room, Ben was already bored and extremely antsy. Then the second I put Genevieve down on the scale to be weighed, she starts screaming and didn't clam down until she was buckled into her car seat. While Genevieve is screaming, Ben was singing at the top of his lungs. Truth be know Ben was just trying to help calm Genevieve down, but not only was it not working it was driving me crazy! When anyone who was wearing scrubs even walked into the room, she was would start screaming again. I think she remembers when she had a catheter for a urine sample, about a month ago. She usually does really well with the doctor, NOT this time. If you can't tell it was a horrible experience for everyone involved. The only saving grace about the appointment was that the office had free Costco cookies. I am now trying to decide whether to go back to that office or to find another Pediatrician. I miss our old Doctor, he was awesome!! Sorry, if you can't tell it was a stressful situation, I am glad its over!

Genevieve's stats for her 9 month wellness visit:

Weight: 20 pounds or 80%
Height: 31.5 inches or 100+%
Head: 60% (I couldn't hear over her screaming what it was in inches)

The nurse measured her twice, just to make sure that she got her height right. Yeah, my daughter is very tall for her age! The doctor said that he was going to put her into the 100+% plus club! Once again they asked about how tall her dad is, I told him 6 ft, which is average for a man. He said then she most likely gets her height from me, because 5'10 is pretty tall for a woman. If Genevieve follows in my foot steps she will always know where to stand in a class picture, in the very back! It has is its perks.

At the moment Genevieve has six teeth. Four on the bottom and two on the top. On the top she has her "I" and not her two front teeth, just like Ben! She is a very curious little girl and is into everything!! She loves to play peek-a-boo. She will put the blanket over her head and then start to laugh. When you ask her "how big is Genevieve, she will raise her hands over her head. "So big"

She loves to eat Cheerios! She is really good at the self feeding thing, well that's if its finger foods.She looks so big sitting in a high chair. Where did the time go? She is such a happy little girl and makes others around her happy. I can't go to the store without someone commenting on how beautiful and happy she is. I love this little girl so much! She makes me laugh and cry on a daily basis.

Digging Roots

2011-02-10T18:20:00.007-05:00

The dream of owning our own home is finally becoming a reality! We tried to buy a home while we were living in Virgina, but lost all 4 homes that we put offers on. After we lost the 4th house, Doug and I decided to stop trying to buy a house and start putting our efforts into moving closer to home (the west).

So after more than a one year of putting in a transfer request, we made the journey back west. We found the perfect rent situation, i.e. month to month. After only living in Colorado for 2 weeks, we put in a offer on a house and it was accepted. Doug and I were both extremely excited, it was the perfect house. Well, except for all the many repairs that needed to be done on. Even though we were excited there was something that had us both worried and kept us up at night. We decided that we needed to go through the house one more time and really pay attention to the things that we were worried about. Later that night we prayed about it, and both felt that we needed to let this house go. Even though we were both disappointed and discouraged, we felt at peace and felt like a big burden had been lifted off our shoulders. It wasn't the house that was meant to be our Home.

The next weekend we decided to expand our search to the city of Castle Rock. The only thing that we knew about Castle Rock was that I have a cousin and his family that live there. Even though Doug's commute would be more in miles the time would be the same if not shorter. The city is right up against the mountains, which we love!! So we drove down to Castle Rock and we immediately felt at home.

We walked into the house and fell in love, and felt like we were coming home. We put an offer on the home within a couple of hours of seeing it, but had to wait until Monday to hear if we got it. Our offer was accepted and we will close on the 25th of February, which is only two weeks away!!! We love it and can't wait to move in. We are going to paint a couple of old colored walls and have it deep cleaned before we move in. The previous owners had a dog, if you know Doug you know that he HATES dogs and their hair. Hence the reason for the deep cleaning, other than that it is move in ready. Here is a picture of the outside of the house. Once we paint the inside, I'll post more pictures.

9 Months old

2011-02-08T15:10:00.006-05:00

Genevieve hit another milestone yesterday, she turned nine months old. I was supposed to take her to the doctor today for her wellness check-up but due to snow and freezing temps, I had to reschedule her appointment until next week. But since it has been forever I thought I would post some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!!She loves this jumperoo thing and I love it too cause it keeps her from falling down the stairs.
Ben's new favorite show is "Super Why" and I am so glad that they have it on Netflix. He is taking a break to smile for me.Genevieve loves to crawl up to you and beg for food and Ben is happy to feed her, most of the time! She wants his bread.I am sad to see that this picture is so fuzzy. But this is what Genevieve looks like when she wakes up in the morning, happy and ready to go!!

By the look of these pictures it looks like Genevieve is wearing Pj's all the time, which is partially true. Don't judge! It has been so cold lately and I can not keep socks on her to save my life, so I keep her in her footie pj's to keep her feet warm. Well, thats all I got for now. I promise to one day be more on top of this blog thing!

Saying Goodbye

2011-01-05T15:46:00.010-05:00

I never thought in a million years that it would be hard to say goodbye to Virginia. But many people wiggled there way into our hearts, and in the end it was VERY hard to say good bye.

The first year and half of living in VA were very hard for me. I spent many nights pleading with my Heavenly Father, for friends and to feel like I belonged. My prayers were answered when we moved to Centreville, VA. Things quickly changed for me and my family. For the first time in many years, I felt like I belonged. I thank my Heavenly Father daily for the wonderful friends that I have made. (You know who you are) Thanks for being my friend and for loving me despite my imperfections!
It was so much fun watching these two little boys grow up together. When we first met Josh and his family the boys were just barely a year old, and not even walking yet.

Now they are running, playing and laughing together. They are both big brothers now, too.Genevieve has learned to be one of the boys!
These two little love birds. Sofia kissed Ben on his birthday and Ben looked immediately up at her dad to make sure that it was OK. It was hilarious!!They had so much fun together. Sofia lived next door to us, so every day Ben had to knock on her door and give her a hug and say hi.We cooked out and camped alot with Sofia and her parents. Ben tells me almost every day that he is going to marry Sofia when he gets older.

I love that Ben has such great little friends. It breaks my heart, that he asks me to play with Josh and Sofia daily. Oh, how I wish that they could! When we Ben first saw his new bedroom, his first comment was that it was big enough to have Josh and Sofia come and visit.

I feel so blessed to have been able to live in VA. At times it was hardest and loneliest times of my life, but I learned and grown so much. Doug and I have grown together so much. I have grown closer to my Heavenly Father and have truly felt the warmth of my Savior's love. I would never change the time that we spent in VA for a million dollars.

A Family Tradition

2010-12-08T20:49:00.009-05:00

Every year during the Christmas Holiday our little family goes to see the lights at the Washington D.C. Temple. This year was no exception even though our apartment looks like a tornado hit it, boxes everywhere and more stuff laying around ready to go into a box. Anyway, this year was extra special. Our good friends came with us to share our family tradition.It was fun to show Brandon and Rachel the temple lights. Our kids love there adopted aunt and uncle. We have truly been blessed to get to know such wonderful people and share our lives with them.
It was also special because we got to see my little sister who is serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her mission covers the Washington D.C. Temple visitors center. She is not supposed to tell us when she is working at the visitors center, but we were hoping that she would be there so that we could see her. Turns out she was there and we got to visit with her for a couple of minutes. The minute Ben saw her, he ran to her and jumped into her arms. It was so cute!
Ben is such a stinker! I kept trying to take a pictures of him, but he would never look at the camera.
It was freezing walking around the temple ground!! Genevieve's poor little nose was frozen. She was such a good sport though, she never cried or wined.
We had to get the traditional family photo in front of the temple.

6 Months old

2010-11-13T12:47:00.011-05:00

Genevieve is growing way to fast! She is now 6 months old. I took her to her 6 month wellness check up the other day. She weighs 17 pounds and in 28.5 inches long!! She is in the 75 percentile for her weight and 95% for her height!! The day after her appointment I put three different outfits that were all for 9 months, and every one of them were to small for her. Oh well, it gave me a good excuse to go shopping, I love buying girl clothes!!

It has been fun watching her grow and to see what she likes and dislikes. She has recently decided that when she sleeps she likes to bury her face into something soft. The soft thing of choice is this little bunny head blanket that Grandpa Hurst gave her. If she doesn't have it next to her face she will only sleep for a couple of minutes but if she does have it you can count on a very long nap!!

We started feeding her rice cereal over a month ago. The first time didn't go so well, but she has sense decided that it isn't so bad. We have also moved on to Stage 1 fruits and veggies. She wasn't too fond of green beans at first but now seems to enjoy them, good thing too because they are my favorite and we eat a lot of them around here.

Genevieve has been crawling for about a month now. She is getting pretty fast!! Now that she is on the move it means that nothing is safe anymore. If its on the floor, its going in her mouth. Don't worry the sock is clean!

She is such a happy little girl! She loves to watch her big brother, if Ben is in the room, she is starring at him. Ben can always make her laugh!! Its really fun to watch them interact with each other, that is when he is being nice to her!!! Ben gave her the nickname "Ernie" a long time ago. So when I found this Ernie doll I had to buy it!! Ben makes sure that it is always by her at all times!!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-10T19:28:00.009-05:00

Things have been pretty crazy at our house the last couple of weeks. I have spent so much time on the Internet, trying to figure things out for our move to Colorado. So the last thing I want to do is blog, but things are starting to come together and I found these pictures and thought they were too cute not to post. So they are a couple of weeks late.

A couple of weeks ago, we went on a nice drive down Skyline drive in the Shenandoah National Forest, to see all of the beautiful fall colors. It was a beautiful drive and the trees were in full fall bloom. Sorry, the slacker that I am I did not take any pictures. While on our drive we went on a detour to pick pumpkins at a farm.

Ben had a good time riding in the wagon. He tried to pull Doug, you can image how well that worked!

The pumpkin patch was a little picked over. But that really didn't matter, we still had a lot of fun picking out the right pumpkins. Ben would pick up a pumpkin and look over it and if it had any flaws he would toss it to the ground, which would send it rolling down the hill. Ben got some good exercise chasing all the pumpkins down the hill!! It was pretty funny to watch.
Showing off another "perfect" pumpkin.

Ben was so proud of the pumpkins that he picked out!!

Ben felt that because he was three years old, he should be able to get three pumpkins. In this picture, Doug and Ben are talking about the pumpkins and Ben's reasoning behind three. It was really funny to listen to them talking about them and how Ben felt like he needed three. I have to admit he had some pretty good arguments, but in the end we only got two.

Genevieve sat in the stroller the whole time, sucking on the stroller straps. She is such a happy content baby. Love her for it!!

The pumpkins are still sitting on our porch because Benjamin did not want to carve them. I'll talk him into it sometime before we move. I keep telling him there are yummy seeds inside.

Fall for Fairfax

2010-10-25T13:05:00.009-04:00

Every year the county that we live in puts on this mini carnival. Doug thinks its pretty lame, so this year I tricked him into going. I told him we were going grocery shopping, but when I passed the store he figured out that I tricked him!! (I was proud of myself) Anyway, it turned out to be pretty fun. There was a half dozen or so fire trucks and ambulance that we were open for the kids to crawl through. One fireman even let the kids go up the big ladder. And of course I don't have pictures, because as soon as Ben and Doug saw the trucks they took off.

Ben was waiting not so patiently to go into the petting zoo area.

Ben thought it was disgusting that the goat was licking me.

I thought it was pretty funny, that Ben kept asking me if he could ride the donkey. He said that it looks like a horse just smaller.

Ben really wanted to take this pig home with us. He said that he would feed it and it can sleep in his bed. When I asked him who would clean up after it when it goes to the bathroom, he said he would take it outside like Baxter (our neighbors dog). Smart kid, but we are a no animals house!

We let Ben pick one of the rides to ride. He choose the little Merry go round. It was pretty small, but as you can see the smile on his face he was pretty happy.

One thing that I made sure we did was, that the police department was there making little ID cards for the kids. So I had Doug wait in the really long line so that we could get one for Ben. The police took Ben finger prints and his picture and made a card. I told Ben that he better not do anything wrong, because the police have his finger prints on file. He now makes sure that I carry his card in my wallet. I hope that I will never have to use his ID card, but I like to be safe no sorry.

A Name and a Blessing

2010-10-08T21:11:00.003-04:00

We (when I say "we", I am "I") decided that while we were in Utah it was the perfect time to have Genevieve blessed. I really wanted to share this special day with family. As it turned out Doug's parents were in town too, so they were able there too. So on August 22nd, Doug was able to bless Genevieve in my parents ward.

Many people have asked me where we came up with the name Genevieve. So I'll tell you. Doug's Grandma's name is Geneva, and his mom's name is Evelyn, but she goes by Eve. So we decided to melt the two names together and wahla, Genevieve Lynn Hurst.
My mom made her dress and I think it turned out beautiful!Even though this isn't the best picture, I think its pretty cute. Genevieve always has her fingers in her mouth! Four generations: my Grandma McEntire, my Mom, Genevieve and I.It was really nice to see some of Doug's siblings, it has been a couple of years since we have seen them. I am so grateful for Doug's parents and for the way they raised him, they have played such a big part in making Doug the man that he is today.
Our cute little family on Genevieve's special day. I am so grateful for a husband that honors his priesthood and can give our children blessings. It is truly a blessing to have a worthy priesthood holder in our home.
Heavenly Father has truly blessed me with a wonderful family! I am so grateful for my family and for the unconditional love that they have for me. I just can't put into words how much I love my family and what they mean to me.

Bear Lake

2010-09-24T13:37:00.022-04:00

In August we had our 2nd Semi-Annual Terry family reunion. This year my family decided to go to Bear Lake. My mom isn't much of a camper, so my parents got us all little individual cabins for our little families. We had such a fun time!! I love spending time with my family, and its more fun when everyone is relaxing and enjoying themselves. The KOA had this little train ride every night and because it was free, the kids rode it every night. All of the 11 grand kids minus Genevieve.
This is where Doug spent a lot of his time. Playing horse shoes with my big bro Jordan. When neither of them could be found it was safe to say they were at the pits. Reed is a such a little kid at heart!!

This picture is one side of the story! Genevieve is humoring my sister.And this is the other side of that story! LeeAnn is such a good sport! She knows how to make the little ones laugh. She is going to kill me for putting this picture up.We roasted marshmallows and played around the camp fire at night.My mom made these cute little hats for all the little girls. Genevieve is sporting hers as she is about to fall asleep.
Playing on the shore at Bear Lake, it was too cold to get in all the way but we still had fun!My nieces Ara and Maya building sand castles! Until the boys came and ruined them!Reed was trying to see how far he could walk into the lake without taking off his shirt. Some good old fashion brotherly love!We had fun with the pinata that my dad got! Poor Elmo!! I think the adults had more with the pinata then the kids did!!My parents rented wave runners one afternoon. We all had so much fun!! We all had a little need for speed! I took my dad out for a ride.Ben patiently waiting for his turn to ride on the wave runner.
I had a lot of fun, but I would honestly have to say that the funnest part was listening to my Aunt Marie laughing so hard! I took her out for a ride and was really gentle at first, knowing that this was her first time doing anything like this. After a couple of minutes she kept telling me to go faster and faster! Then she would just start laughing so hard! I have never since her have so much fun before, I loved that I got to be a part of it!While Doug and I were out playing on the wave runners, this is what Genevieve did. Doesn't she look cute!!
Our wonderful lifeguards and babysitters!! Thanks Aunt Marie, Grandma, and Mom!

I am so glad that Doug and I were able to attend our family reunion this year. We had so much fun hanging out with my family and building even stronger friendships. This year the only person that we were missing was Ducky. We all really missed her and felt her absence but we all know the important work that she is doing on her mission in the D.C. area. But we are looking forward to seeing everyone present at the next family reunion.

Four Months Old!

2010-09-14T14:13:00.001-04:00

I can't believe that Genevieve is already four months old! The time has just flown by as quickly! I took her to her four month doctors visit the other day, she is doing very well. I was surprised to see (I mean hear) that she screamed louder when the doctor looked in her ears then when she was getting her shots. Poor little girl! She is like her mom in the height department. She is 26.5 inches tall, which puts her in the 95% for height. She weighs 15 pounds, which puts her in the 90% for weight and her head is a lot smaller than the rest of her body at only 60% (I don't remember the measurement)
At four months she is already rolling over, is cutting two teeth, sleeps through the night(this isn't new she has been sleeping through night since 5 weeks) doesn't enjoy her car seat, lights up every time she sees her daddy, loves to put her fingers in her mouth, loves being outside, thinks her big brother is the greatest, loves to laugh and smile.

She has her whole family wrapped around her finger, even Ben! She is such a happy go lucky kind of girl! Looking at her just melts my heart. I am so blessed to have this little girl in my life!

Our visit to Utah

2010-09-11T17:01:00.016-04:00

We spent almost the whole month of August in Utah, visiting with our awesome family and friends. When I originally bought our airplane tickets they were for only 2 weeks, but one day I was feeling extremely homesick. So I called Doug and told him if the tickets weren't that expensive to change then I wanted to go home, sooner rather than later. So the awesome husband that Doug is, changed our tickets for a week and half early. Which made Doug miss our 6th anniversary and Ben's 3rd B-Day. It was nice to be able to be home and visit with all of the people that I miss so dearly.

We took Genevieve down to Provo, to met my Grandma Terry. I was really glad that my Grandma was able to met Genevieve and to see Ben again.
My Dad, Ben, Great Grandma Terry and Genevieve. I guess this counts as a four generation picture because I am the one that is taking the picture.My sister and her kids came with us too. It was fun to be able to play with our cousins.Genevieve looks so big in my Grandma's arms. My Grandma is one amazing lady. She is 92 years old and has been living on her own for 32 years. She is such a sweet lady, I am glad that we were able to visit with her. My cute little niece Peyton loved to help out with Genevieve. Ben and his dad sit on the pouch and eat peanuts all the time. So Ben thought it was pretty cool that Grandpa likes to eat peanuts too!While they were cracking peanuts they were having the cutest conversation about what they learned in church that day.
On Ben's Birthday, my sister LeeAnn and I took our kids down to Thanksgiving Point to see the petting zoo. The kids waiting patiently until the horse started to move on the hay ride.
Garrett and Ben had fun petting the little horse.
Ben wanted to get a better view of the little horse. I honestly thought Ben would have gotten in the cage if I hadn't stopped him. My Dad took me and the kids up to Sliver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon. When I was growing up we spent a lot of time up in the mountains. So it was nice to take Ben to this place where I have such good memories. Ben was very interested in this guy who was reeling in a fish. He kept telling him that his daddy fishes too.
I miss this about Utah! When I saw the mountains I cried! I forgot how much I missed the beautiful mountains! You don't realize how you love them until there gone!!

One, Two, Three!!

2010-09-04T22:09:00.017-04:00

Benjamin turned three years old on the 10th of August! I can't believe that I am the mother of a three year old! Where did the time go? I'll tell you, we had a lot of fun being together and enjoying every milestone! Here are a few pictures that recap the last three years.
Only a couple of hours old!
We went to the Shenandoah National Forest.We went and visited the National Museums in Washington D.C.We have eaten a lot of lemonsand apples!We visited Daddy at work.
We celebrated his first Birthday in Yellowstone. His cake was the first sugar treat he had ever had. I wish we could keep him from it now.
We went and visited family and friends in Utah.We read a lot!We went to Philly and saw the Liberty Bell.
We went fishing to many times to count! And became a big brother for the first time!!

Blogging about Ben's birthday has taken a lot longer than expected. Every time I sat down at the computer to write my thoughts about this milestone, I would look through all of the many pictures that we have and would find myself in tears. I can't beleive how fast he has grown. It has been a pleasure watching him grow and develop into the little man that he is. Words just can't describe how much I love this little boy. I am extremely grateful and humbled that my Heavenly Father would send him to us to be a part of our family.

6 Years on the 6th of August

2010-08-27T20:37:00.006-04:00

On the 6th August Doug and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We technically didn't celebrated until the 16th because I was in Utah and Doug was in Virginia on the actual date. This year we decided to actual go and do something besides dinner, so my parents watched to the kids and we went to Anniversary Inn, in Salt Lake. It was a lot of fun, it was also very nice to be able to sleep in together.
This is where is all began!! This picture was taken the day that Doug proposed to me. Which was over Memorial day weekend at Calf Creek Falls in Southern Utah.We were married for Time and All Eternity in the Mount Timpanogos Temple. Six years, two kids and thirty pounds later, we are still as happy as ever! I am so glad that I decided to marry my best friend. I could have not asked for a better friend, husband, and father to my babies. I love you sweetheart! Here's to the next sixty six years!

Family Photos

2010-07-21T21:33:00.017-04:00

About 7 weeks ago, we took family pictures. It has taken me forever to post them. Here are a couple of my favorites! Enjoy!

I wish I post them all, because I love them all!

Palymra, New York

2010-07-18T15:56:00.016-04:00

Last week Doug was with the Boy Scouts on their high adventure, backpacking through Pennsylvania. When they were done backpacking they went up to Palmyra, New York to see the LDS Church sites. And since Doug was already up there and going up to that part of the country was on my list of things to do before we leave VA. I decided to join them. So I packed up the car and kids and drove 7 hours up to New York. The kids did awesome on the long car ride, Genevieve slept the whole way and Ben watched the same movie over and over again.
While we were there we saw a classic car show. This was really so that we could take pictures of Ben with some of the cars that Grandpa Terry goes nuts over.This car was Ben's favorite car. I believe it is a Corvette, Sting Ray. It started to rain while we were at the Hill Cumorah. So Doug and Ben took a cookie break while watching the storm. Funny story about the milk and cookies that Ben was eating. I had gone inside the Visitors Center to use the bathroom and when I came out, Ben had milk and cookies in his hands. When I asked him where he got them, she said that some old lady gave them to him. Doug didn't seem to bothered by the fact that Ben now had milk and cookies. When I asked Doug what random old lady gave Ben milk and cookies, he laughed. Turns out the old lady that gave him the milk and cookies was our Bishops wife. She is NOT old.
Genevieve waiting patiently for the rain to stop so that we could see the sights.
There's no time like the present to learn how to drive.
She is not quite tall enough to see over the steering wheel.

These two pictures were taken in Joseph Smith's home. It was amazing to walk through this home and see where the Prophet Joseph Smith lived as a young boy.
Doug and Ben in the Sacred Grove. It was a really neat experience to be in the Sacred Grove with my little family. To know that Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ were here in this grove of trees. I am really glad that I got to see all of these wonderful church sites. This whole experience strengthed my testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That Jesus Christ choose Joseph Smith to restore his true church upon the earth, and the pains that Joseph Smith went through so that the true church of Christ could be restored.

How do you spell Mischief

2010-07-18T15:43:00.004-04:00

The other day when I was giving Genevieve a bath, Doug yelled for me to come quick, I couldn't cause I was busy with Genevieve. This is what Doug found Ben doing.
Ben found the stash of lotion and decided that he didn't need help putting it on.
He felt pretty proud of himself. He said he was doing what mommy does. So cute but so messy!

Bath time

2010-07-01T21:11:00.007-04:00

Genevieve's very first bath wasn't the best experience for her or for me. She screamed the whole time and because I was crouched over the bath tub, my back was killing me. I think the reason she hated it so much is because she was cold. (8 days old)In efforts to save my back, I decided that the sink is much better place to give a bath. Now she really seems to like the bath, as long as the water is warm. It won't be to much longer until she is too big to fit into the sink. (look at that pot belly! 8 weeks old)
Bathing Genevieve seems to be a family afair, you can see Ben in the background of the picture. He likes to try to help me. Mostly he just gets in the way or puts water in Genevieve's face and makes her mad.

Natural History Museum

2010-07-01T20:36:00.011-04:00

While Doug's mom was here visiting, we went to the Natural History Museum. If I had to pick my favorite Smithsonian, the Natural History museum would be it.

Ben was really interested at looking at everything.
Some little kid was yelling at Ben for touching the buttons. So he was looking at me to make sure that he wasn't in trouble.He wanted to get closer to the giraffe, because its Grandma's favorite animal.We got tickets to go into the butterfly exhibit. Ben loved seeing all of the butterflies flying around his head. He sat and watched this butterfly for a long time.It was a lot of fun watching Ben get so excited about the butterflies and seeing him so interested in the museum. We are so lucky that we have all of these wonderful museums only a hop, skip and jump away.

As we were getting ready to leave, Doug called us to tell us that we needed to get to the car and fast. Because there was a major down pour of rain and that it was coming our way. I high tailed it to the car and just as I got Genevieve buckled in the car, the sky opened up. I had to run up the stairs of the Smithsonian to get my stroller and on way down the stairs, I almost lost my pants! By the time, we were all loaded up in the car, there wasn't a dry spot on my me!

Fishing with Dad

2010-05-28T17:14:00.008-04:00

Last Saturday morning, Doug and his dad took Ben fishing with our friends at a local pond. I was uninvited to go, so that I could stay home and sleep.

Ben and Sofia learning how to fish.

Ben's first catch of the day!
A first he wasn't quite sure if he liked fishing but by the time it was time to go home, he was hooked! Sofia makes me laugh. She is fearless! Ben was concerned that the fish had an owie on there lips. So he was kissing there owies better. Gross!!

When I was pregnant, my little sister brought the shirt that Ben is wearing. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that he would acutally fit into it.

2 weeks old!

2010-05-21T19:11:00.006-04:00

Today Genevieve is two weeks old! The time has gone by way to fast!! We went to the doctor today. She weighs 6 lbs 10 oz, not quit back to her birth weight yet. She was born 6 lbs 13 oz. The doctor didn't seem concerned that she isn't back to her birth weight yet. I am glad that she is gaining weight, because I am trying to nurse her. I wasn't able to nurse Ben, so this breast feeding thing is all new to me. It has been kind of stressful at times, but it is all worth it knowing that she is gaining weight. As far as I can tell my milk has come in, its not as much as I would like but its better than nothing.

Even though Genevieve is only two weeks old, there are many things that we already know about her. For example: she hates to be naked, she loves to cuddle escpially with her daddy, she likes to take nice warm baths, she already sleeps through the night!! Ben loves his little sister so much. It has been fun to see him as a big brother. He is starting to be really protective of her.

Genevieve Lynn Hurst

2010-05-14T20:50:00.007-04:00

Genevieve Lynn was born on May 7Th at 6:22pm. She weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and 20 inches long. She was the exact same size and weight as her big brother.
I feel in love at first sight!!
Our cute little family. Minus me, my mom took this picture and cut off my head. Benjamin loves his baby sister. He always wants to hold her and help me with her.
Hanging out in the hospital. I decided that while I was in the hospital, Ben hit a growth spurt. He looks and feels so much bigger to me!

ERNIE IS HERE!!!!

2010-05-08T09:59:00.005-04:00

6 Lbs 13 oz 20 inches

Boys Weekend

2010-04-18T22:00:00.010-04:00

This weekend Doug took Ben away for a boys weekend. They went camping at a lake about 20 minutes away. (they couldn't go too far, just in case I went into labor) They had a lot of fun being together and relaxing! One of the objectives of the camping trip was to teach Ben how to pee standing up. When I potty trained him, I taught him to sit, but Doug feels like it is time that he stands. So what better place to learn then in the woods! When Ben got home his was so excited and proud that he peed on a tree!
Doug and Ben relaxing!Ben really enjoyed playing in the hammock.

After they were done camping Doug took him to the golf course that is down the street from the lake.
It was Ben's first time golfing.

What do you think, the next Tiger Woods? Ben was fast asleep within a couple of minutes of the car ride. He was one tried little boy. When they got home, they both took a very long nap. I am glad that they got to go and have some Father and son time. Ben loves his daddy so much!

"S" is for Stitches

2010-03-30T16:00:00.008-04:00

On Sunday we had our first family outing to the Urgent Care for Benjamin to get stitches. While he was in Primary he tripped and fell face first onto a wooden toy. He cut the space between his eye and eyebrow. I was glad that the Urgent Care wasn't that busy when we got there, but by the time we left there was a nice big line!! Anyway, the doctor accessed the cut and decided that it would be best if he got stitches. So they took us to the room where they place stitches and just as they took the papoose board down from the wall and started to put Ben into it, I stepped out of the room. I really didn't want to watch and I didn't feel like Ben needed 4 four people telling him what to do. I also felt like Doug could handle the situation a little better than I could. (He has had ton of stitches in his lifetime.) It was hard enough listening to him scream from down the hall. Doug said that he felt like the anesthetic didn't kick in until after they were done, because he would be fine until the doctor placed a stitch and that's when he would scream. Considering all that had happened, Ben did a great job and was pretty brave. After we were done at the Urgent Care we thought it was only fare to go and get ice cream. Because ice cream makes everything better!!

I am surprised that it has taken Ben two and half years, to get his first set of stitches. If you know Doug, you know that he spent a lot of time in the ER with his dad getting some injury taken care of. I knew it was only a matter of time, before Ben would make the same trip! Doug said that it was kind of a tradition that his dad would take him to the ER, so I thought it was fitting that Doug be with Ben! No offense Grandpa Hurst, but this is one tradition that I hope doesn't continue. Although Doug's knowledge of stitches has really come in handy!
Ben showing off his stitches and his beautiful black eye!

Happy Birthday Ducky!

2010-03-05T17:41:00.005-05:00

The other day was my little sister Valerie's Birthday. She is currently serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, here in the Washington D.C. area. Normally you aren't supposed to go and visit with your missionary, but Valerie got special permission from her Mission President, so we went up to the Temple and took her and her companion out to dinner. It was really nice to see her, she looks great and seems very happy! The minute Ben saw her, he ran to her and throw his arms around her. Of course I started to cry! Ben loves his Aunt Ducky so much, the two of them have a very special connection, one that no else has!! We had a really nice time at dinner. It was nice to get to know her companion a little bit. They seem like they have been friends their whole lives. She is a really nice girl! We only got the spend an hour with her, but it was still really nice! Sister Zhao, Sister Terry (aka Ducky) Benjamin and myself.And of course a family group shot!

I am so happy that I got to see her, even if it was only for a little while. Its been hard to be so close to her and not be able to see her. Words just can't express how much I love her. When we were driving away, Ben asked if we could back tomorrow to see his Ducky because he loves and misses his Ducky. Everyday since he has asked the same question, if we can go to the temple to see Ducky! We love you Ducky and hope you had a Happy Birthday!

We Survived!

2010-02-14T15:58:00.004-05:00

We survived the Blizzard of 2010! If you haven't watched the news lately then you probably have no clue what I am talking about. So I will fill you in. Here in the Washington D.C. metro area, we had two major snow storms back to back, in which a couple of records were broken and history was made! The last time that the area has seen so much snow was back in 1899 or something. I think the total snow fall count was like 55 inches!! You ask why this is a big deal, well its really not, except for the fact that there were like four or five snow storms pretty close together. And that Doug plows the snow in the winter. So it had been like 3 weeks since he had a day off and then these two storms hit. Doug and his co-workers worked almost non-stop for 8 days trying to clean up the snow. When I say non-stop, I mean it. If they were lucky they got to take a little nap here and there. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for watching out for Doug And for returning him to our little family safe and sound.(who is also sound asleep)

Once Doug got home and rested up a bit. It was time to play in the massive amounts of snow!
Ben wanted to play on the snow mountain that is right outside our door.

I don't know who had more fun sledding, Doug or Ben. Ben really wanted to play on the playground. He liked that the snow made it easier to get on and off of the horse. Taking a break from all the playing, to look and watch all of the clouds. After a long hard day of playing it was time to go inside and warm up and take a nap!

24 Weeks

2010-01-19T16:05:00.003-05:00

Today, I went to the doctor for my 24 week check up. The baby is doing great, her heart sounds good and she is really active. The doctor put me on some iron pills. Hopefully that will help with my excessive tiredness. After the doctor was done listening to the babies heart beat, Ben lifted up his shirt and said "My turn now." He gets big kick out of hearing the sound his heart makes. After the doctor was done, he said "Good job, doctor. High Five." Ben cracks me up! As for me, things are going good. My wedding ring still fits and I still have ankles. By this time in my pregnancy with Ben, I couldn't wear my ring and I didn't have ankles, just cankles. The only complaint is that acid reflex is starting to kick in now, and that I can't sleep on my tummy anymore! Oh well, it will all be worth it when she is here!

The Name Game

2010-01-08T15:14:00.004-05:00

Now that we know that our baby is a Girl. We are trying agree on a name that we both like. We had a girls name picked out when I was pregnant with Ben, but that name doesn't feel right. We do have a couple of first names that we really like, but can't seem to figure out the middle name. (Don't bother asking what they are because we won't tell you.) I lay awake thinking about names to tell Doug in the morning. Only to get shot down, by one of his comments like; I dated a girl by that name, I knew a girl by that name and she was mean, or he will figure out a way to make fun of the name. How are you ever going to name a child, if that name reminds you of someone that you knew by that name!! (especially when your husband is as creative as Doug is!) So for know I guess we will keep calling her the name Benjamin picked out. Baby Ernie has been her name since before we knew it was a girl. Trust me though, it won't be her name!

Welcome Home!

2010-01-05T09:41:00.003-05:00

Today my little brother, Reed comes from serving a full time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For the past two years he has been serving in Alaska. I am so proud of him and his sacrifice to serve the people in Alaska. I wish that I was home so that I could see him. I have missed him so much! I feel extremely blessed to Lord blessed me with such a wonderful little brother. He might be younger than me, but he taught me so much. The world would be a better place if there more people like Reed in it! And he is single, so Ladies beware! Now Reed if you are reading this, go and get a cell phone so that we text each other. I love you!!

Our baby is...

2009-12-23T12:49:00.006-05:00

...a GIRL!!!

Blizard of 2009

2009-12-21T10:56:00.007-05:00

It finally stopped snowing late Saturday night early Sunday morning. The final count that I heard was 2 feet of snow! Wow, that's a ton for Virgina! Its more then we usually get all winter long, let alone in one storm. Like I said in my last post Doug left to go to work on Friday night at 12:00 am, well its Monday morning and he hasn't come home yet. He has worked none stop, with the exception of one 4 hour nap! Hopefully, he will be able to come home sometime today, we are crossing are fingers! I am grateful that the gas stations were stocked up with Pepsi! Although, I'm sure there's not much left! Hey whatever keeps you awake, right! Yesterday, Ben and I ventured outside to play! Ben liked being thrown into the snow! Once he got in he couldn't get out.Ben was trying to show Josh how playing in the snow is done. But Josh really didn't want anything to do with it. This is far as he would go.Ben found a flower pot on our porch and decided that it was a good place for snow, while he eats it.

Don't worry I made sure that the snow wasn't yellow or blue! Hey what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right! Besides I think every kid eats snow. I know I used too.

I am grateful to my our friends for coming and digging my car out of the snow. I promised Doug that I won't do it myself. I felt bad just watching them dig it out. I am extremely grateful that they did it for me. Now I can go to my ultrasound appointment!

It can stop now!!

2009-12-19T17:52:00.005-05:00

Last night it started to snow around 8:30 pm and went all through the night. Well, its been about 21 hours now and it isn't supposed to stop until tomorrow morning around 6 am. So far we have about 2 to 3 feet of snow. Usually I don't mind the snow, but since Doug is out plowing the snow, I really would like it to stop! Doug and his coworkers make me so nervous when they are out, because they work crazy, crazy hours on very little sleep! Doug worked about 10 and 1/2 hours yesterday to get the trucks and stuff ready for the snow. Then he came home slept for about 4 hours and left the house at 12:00 am last night, to go plow the snow!! So he has already been working for 18 hours straight and will continue all through the night! I hope that the Pepsi supply doesn't run out! This is the most snow that we have seen here in Virginia in the 3 years that we have been here, but others say its been about 15 years since they have seen so much snow! But the snow storms usually don't happen here until after the new year. This winter is going to be a long one. Church has already been canceled for tomorrow. As we speak my neighbors are starting to dig all the cars out of the parking lot, so that maybe by Monday they will be able to get out. As for Ben and I we are being lazy in pj's. I am crossing my fingers that we don't get freezing rain on top of all this snow, cause that is no fun! I am also hoping that it stops tonight so that maybe I will still be able to go to my ultasound appt. on Monday afternoon. Cross your fingers!!

Dreams do come true!

2009-12-17T12:46:00.010-05:00

Yesterday, Ben and I went and met Doug for lunch at a job site. When we were done we went and took Ben to where a friend was working. When we are in the car and Ben sees a tractor or big truck of any kind he points them out, so we thought it would be fun for him to see one up close. As you can tell by the pictures Ben had a good time!

Ben got to ride in a tractor and push the dirt around!

This makes me laugh because its hard to tell who is having a better time Ben or Brandon.

Ben liked watching the dump truck back up and then dump all of the dirt and then Brandon would push it where it needed to go.

You could hear Ben from where Doug and I were standing, saying "cool dude, thats awesome, wow!!!"

I wish this picture would have turned out better, but you can clearly see how happy he was. I felt bad cause it was so cold. The wind was whipping in and out of the buildings which made it a lot colder than it was out our house. He didn't seem to mind being so cold.
It was so much fun watching Ben get all excited about the tractor. He really wanted to fix it with his tools, but we didn't think that was a good idea because Brandon needed to get back to work. Thanks Brandon you made Ben's dreams come true.

Fun in the Snow!

2009-12-07T10:09:00.010-05:00

Last weekend we got our first snow of the season! It was actually quite a bite for Northern Virginia. While I was gone, Doug took Ben out into snow to play. But Ben didn't want to play without Sophia. Doug said they spent hours outside and had a blast! I wish I was home so that I could have played too! Oh well, I think that we will get a lot of snow this year.Ben had a ton of fun sledding down a little hill behind our house.Crash! Doug wanted to get into the action.
They made a snow man! You like Ben's hat, its actually Doug's but Ben wanted to wear it. It doesn't quite fit!
They had a snow ball fight. Sophia had this fun little snow ball maker. Sophia and Ben had a little wrestling match. I am sure that it was encouraged by the dads. But after it was done the kids hugged and kissed and it was all over.

Boys will be Boys

2009-12-04T20:24:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was such a nice day and since it has been so cold and rainy, we decided to seize the day and go outside to play. We hadn't even been to the park for 5 minutes before Ben found a big mud puddle. He thought it was a lot of fun to push his ball in the water and watch all the bubbles.I think this a funny picture because his pants kept falling. I would rather see his under ware than his bum!
Before long he was covered from head to toe, but was as happy as a hog in mud!

Ben's Favorites

2009-11-27T06:49:00.006-05:00

Since we live so far away and so many people are not able to see Ben grow and develop. I thought it would be fun to post some of his favorites. These are in no particular order.

Favorite Foods:
1. Hot Dogs
2. Green Beans (Mother like son)
3. Fruit of any kind
4. Cheese
5. Olives!

Favorite people:
1. Mom
2. Dad
3. Sophia (Ben's BFF)
4. Aunt Ducky
5. Sister Toni
(I think if Doug and I were not around anymore Ben would still be happy if he still had his Aunt Ducky and Sister Toni)

Favorite things to do:
1. Ride his bike
2. Play with Sophia
3. Read books
4. Be outside
5. Color

Favorite Songs:
1. I am a Child of God
2. Twinkle Twinkle little star
3. Spider song
4. Temple song (I love to see the Temple)
5. Ducky song (I hope they call me on a mission)

Random Facts about Ben
1. Ben is a blanket hog! No joke, he has to have at least 6 blakets on him at night.
2. He is potty trained.
3. He loves to take warm showers!
4. He loves to anything that his dad is doing.
5. He won't go to sleep at night until his teeth are brushed, we read scriptures and say prayers. If we forget to do any of these he will remind us, until it is done.

Happy Birthday, OLD Sis!

2009-11-18T17:18:00.013-05:00

Today, is my big sister's Birthday! I say old sis because I have always given LeeAnn a hard time for being older! Don't worry about being old, if it make you feel any better, I bought something the other day that makes me OLD. You guessed it right, an ironing board! But don't tell anyone!! In honor of LeeAnn's B-Day and being one day older, I went through my pictures and these are just a couple that I found.
LeeAnn has always helped me with my hair!
She was always the fun one to be around at home! She always made me happy!
Here is a picture of all the Terry girls! LeeAnn, Mom, Valerie and Me! Those were the days when we could all sit in the same chair and not totally squish our mom. Never in a million years did I think that LeeAnn would marry the guy that she always talked about when she was in high school. They said they were just friends! I am lucky to have such an awesome brother-in-law. Thanks for taking such good care of her for me. You were a cute couple then and you still are today!

The summer of 99'(I think), LeeAnn and I went on a awesome trip to England together. When she asked me if I wanted to go to England, I thought she was kidding! I am so glad that she wasn't, because we had such an awesome adventure. It was worth every penny! LeeAnn playing the bird lady in Trafalgar square in London. And to think that she was not the one that got pooped on!

Happy Birthday, LeeAnn! I hope that you had a wonderful B-day! I am so grateful that the Lord blessed me with such a wonderful sister! You are such a good example to me and Ducky! I love you!!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T18:20:00.009-05:00

For Halloween this year we went to our ward party. We stuffed our faces full of chili and hot dogs and then played games.

Ben frosting a sugar cookie.

Elmo posing for the camera.

Later on during the night we went and found Ben's BFF, Sophia. These two kids are like two peas in a pod.

Then we went trick or treating, to couple of houses that we know. It was so much fun to watch him get so excited.

When we got home we went through his candy to make sure there was nothing scary and to take out the things that we didn't want him to have. I don't want Ben to have gum or suckers. So after we took out all those things, we told him that he could pick out two pieces of candy to eat. He then picks out all the starbrusts and hands them to me, and tells me that he can't have gum. Poor kid he doesn't know what he is missing! Oh well, I enjoyed them.

Birthday Day Fun!

2009-10-29T14:43:00.011-04:00

This year for my Birthday all I wanted was a day of fun with my family. So Doug took the day off and we went to the National Aquarium at the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. It was a lot of fun! Ben is still talking about our little trip.
Ben was so interested in everything. Ben did not want to leave Nemo.
We took Ben to the dolphin show. Which he totally loved. When the trainer jumped into the water to play with one of the dolphins it freaked Ben out. He thought that the dolphin was hurting her.Ben loved watching the turtles!

The aquarium had a little rain forest. Doug and Ben are looking at a sloth, that was hiding in the trees.

Ben was such a champ! Strollers were not allowed so he had to walk everywhere, and he didn't even complain. By the end of the day he would sit and pat the ground next to him and say "come on mom, sit with me!" I love this boy!! We hadn't even been in the car for ten minutes before he was fast asleep!

We had so much fun! My Birthday this year was so much fun!

New and Exciting!

2009-10-19T16:17:00.003-04:00

Coming May 2010!

Called to Serve

2009-10-09T17:05:00.002-04:00

I am so excited to announce that my little sister received her mission call last Wednesday. Ever since she told me that she was going to go on a mission, I have teased her saying that she is going to come out to the Washington D.C. area. Never in a million years did I actually think that she would. That being said, Valerie was called to serve in the Washington D.C. North mission! She mission does not cover Virginia at all, but will be splitting her time and will serve in the Washington D.C. visitors center. Its going to be a huge temptation not to go and visit her, but I know that she is on the Lord's errand. I talked to her the other day and she is so excited and ready! I am so excited for her and extremely proud of her! She will be a great missionary! So she reports to the MTC in Provo on December 9th, and then mostly likely will report to D.C. sometime after Christmas. Get ready Ducky, because winter out here is not the same as it is in Utah. The ice storms are nuts! I love you and will do my best to stay hidden.

Happy Birthday!

2009-10-06T16:02:00.007-04:00

Today is my big brother, Jordan 28Th Birthday. I was looking through some of my pictures the other day and found these pictures of him. So I thought in honor of him I would share them.
In this picture Jordan is pushing me or Valerie in a baby stroller.
Jordan was the one who taught me how to get into trouble. Jordan was the one who taught me how to drive! (Shh don't tell our parents)
I just really like this picture. Jordan was always willing to show us how things were done.

Happy Birthday Jordan! I hope you have a happy day! I feel so blessed to have Jordan as my big brother. I love you Jordan! Thank you for all you love and support over the years.

Crap, too Short!

2009-10-05T12:19:00.006-04:00

Every time I go to Utah to visit, I always get my hair cut. But now that Ben has turned 2, I can't got to Utah as often as I have in the past. So I have been on the search for someone that speaks English to cut my hair. Well, I thought that search was over, but let me tell you I was wrong. She spoke English, but man she cut my hair so short. I feel like I look like a mushroom!! Last time I got my hair here in Virginia, the lady cut it short but not this short. After a couple of days, Doug asked me if I would grow my hair out again! Oops! He has not seen my hair yet, but I'm a little afraid of what he is going to say. If I hate it, he definitely will not like it. So from here on out I promise that I will let my hair grow and only get it cut to keep it healthy. That is until I go back to Utah. (I'm not smiling in the picture because I am trying to not show my double chin!)
Ben saw me take a picture of myself and wanted to have his picture taken.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-02T12:51:00.004-04:00

Last weekend we went to a Pumpkin Patch. It was crazy how much they wanted for there pumpkins.

Ben picked a good pumpkin!

I think Ben had more fun riding around on the wheel barrel.

Loves to read

2009-10-02T12:41:00.002-04:00

The other day we were out driving around when Ben got really quite. We turned around and this is what we see. Ben loves to read so much, even when its the cracker box.

Labor Day weekend

2009-09-10T15:16:00.003-04:00

For Labor Day our little family went back up to Pennsylvania. We decided that we should go back to Longwood Gardens since last time we were rained out. Our friends Rachel and Brandon came with us this time. I am so glad that we went back because the firework show was worth every penny. So thanks mom and dad! We thought it was kind of crazy that so many people came into the gardens with only a little time to spare, but once the show started we understood why. It was awesome!! The best firework show that I have ever seen. We had awesome seats too. The fireworks were being shot off not even a football field away from us, so we were right under them. Words just can't describe how cool they were. Ben also added to the fun by shouting out all of the different colors of the fireworks and then we would say Oh pretty, I like it, again please. It was very cute!

We decided that since we were so close to Philly, that we would go and get a real Philly steak and cheese sandwich. There are two places right across the street from each other that both clam to be the ones that invented the sandwich. So we had to try both, we got some crap from people saying that we could not eat the other sandwich while seating at the competitors seating area. I have to say that we tried them both and I think that Pat's Philly steak and cheese was better than Gino's. After we done eating, we decided to get out of the Ghetto. If you have ever been to South Philly, you know what I am talking about. We went up to see the Liberty Bell. Which was pretty cool. But we didn't spend that much time because we wanted to beat traffic home. Overall, we had a awesome weekend!
Ben in front of the Liberty Bell. It's a bad picture cause we only had Doug's cell phone.

Finally it has arrived!

2009-08-25T18:00:00.009-04:00

So this post is mainly so that my mom and sister can see my beautiful new bedroom furniture. So if seeing pictures of my new furniture doesn't excite you, then you don't have to read this post.

Back in February Doug and I bought some furniture from Costco.com and they told us to expect to have it arrive in 6-8 weeks. While 9 weeks rolled around, so Doug called to see where it was. They beat around the brush and finally told Doug that it was damaged in shipping, so they needed to fix it and then resend it. We said NO thank you, and got our money back. The search began for a new set. I found this beautiful set at a local furniture sold, back in April. Then they told me that I should expect to wait until July to receive it, which was about 9 weeks. Alot of other crap happened and finally 16 weeks later, all the pieces have been delivered. And I couldn't be happier with it. I guess good things really do take time. I just feel bad for when Doug has to move it, because it is extremely heavy! Without further ado.
The dresser and mirror. Can you tell that I really didn't want to be in this picture?

The huge king sleigh bed.One of the night stands. There is not enough in our bedroom to use both of the nightstands so the other one is turned sideways.

We have another dresser that doesn't fit into the room either. So it is in Ben room! I can't wait until we move and the master bedroom is big enough to hold all of my new favorite bedroom set!

Thanks Doug, I love this set!

Ben and Nina

Sold!!

2009-08-22T10:29:00.002-04:00

Yeah! I am so excited that we finally sold our Honda, Accord. We have had three cars since February and because Ben doesn't drive we decided that we should sell a car. I am kind of a sentimental person and did not want to sell the Camry because it is my first car and it has never given us any problems. So we put the Accord up for sell a couple of months ago and finally we sold it to someone. Yeah for us!!

Prayers at Costco

2009-08-14T17:10:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I took Ben with me to Costco to get the essentials. After we were done shopping I bought Ben a hot dog for lunch. While I was cutting his hot dog into smaller pieces, he said "No mommy, Pray first!" So we stopped and prayed in the food court of Costco. I am so very grateful for the lessons that my two year old teaches me.

Happy Birthday Benjamin!!

2009-08-10T17:01:00.007-04:00

My baby turned two years old today!! Man, time has just flown by! It feels like just yesterday the nurse placed him into my arms! Just a couple of hours old!
Celebrating Ben's first birthday! I can't believe that Ben is now 2!!

Birthday Party!!

2009-08-10T16:21:00.008-04:00

Yesterday we had a little Birthday party for Benjamin. A bunch of our friends came over to help us celebrate. While in Utah, I had the idea that we should make Ben an Elmo cake out of fondant for his Birthday. The wonderful husband and dad that Doug is, he took the reins and made the totally awesome cake!! I wish I could take credit but I can't. I don't think that the pictures acutally do this cake justice!

A labor of Love!

This cake was awesome!! And it tasted just as good as it looks!!

For some reason Doug thought it would be fun it let Ben cut into his cake! In my head I was thinking that I really don't want to teach Ben to play with sharp objects. there is plenty of time for him and Doug to have bonding time in the ER because one of there cut themselves with something sharp.

Eating cake and ice cream.

Ben and his friend Sophia. These kids are so cute together! She lives next door to us and everyday wants to go and play with Sophia.

Ben got what every boy wants for his birthday, he got a hug and a kiss from a cute girl!

Terry Family Reunion

2009-08-08T23:43:00.012-04:00

Over the 24th of July weekend we went up to my Grandma's ranch for a family reunion. It was really nice to go this year because I haven't been to this family reunion in about 5 five years, it has been even longer since I have seen a bunch of my aunts and uncles. This year all ten of Grandma's kids were there. Total there was 125 people present at the reunion, which is pretty awesome cause there were still a lot of cousins missing. We only had 14 of the 23 people in my family.

This is a picture of my dad and all of his siblings. I think this picture depicts what a fun loving group they are. They are always having fun!

My cousin Angela is so good with the kids, Ben and his cousins had fun blowing bubbles with her.

Ben just loves his Aunt Ducky! She stayed up all night hanging out with her cousins and still wanted to play with Ben the next morning.

My big sister LeeAnn and her baby Peyton!

I think the girls pinched Ben cause he didn't want to sit next to cousins!

My nieces Peyton and Ara

This is a picture of my nephews Garrett and Jaden. Everytime I would turn around they were wrestling.

When I was pregnant with Ben, we wouldn't tell anyone of the names that we were thinking of, because we didn't want to hear what everyone thought of our names. Well, after we annouced that his name is Benjamin Ross, my dad asked me if I knew that my cousins name was also Benjamin Ross. (Nope, I had no clue.) So this is a picture of both the Benjamin Ross's and my dad the man they were both named after.

The Great Grandkids from the Ross Terry Family. (There are four little kids that are missing.)

Playing on the tractor.

A special thanks to LeeAnn for driving us down to ranch! Hopefully, you have been able to get the spider song out of your head. And Jordan thank you for helping me with all those things that Doug normally does. I never thought to look for there rain fly there. I love you guys!!!

Helping Grandpa

2009-08-05T15:20:00.007-04:00

Ben absolutely loved playing outside at Grandma & Grandpa's house. We spent most of our free time playing outside. Either picking raspberries, playing in the kiddie pool or running through the sprinklers.

Ben had so much fun playing in the sprinklers! Almost everyday when my dad would come home from work, Ben would ask him to play in the sprinklers. This picture reminds me of Doug. Like father, like son.

Fixing the sprinklers!

Ben really likes Grandpa's tractor sprinkler. We don't have one of these at home!

Helping Grandpa pull weeds!

I guess if you sit down,you can get a better angle on the weeds.

When my dad would leave for work in the morning, Ben and I would be already playing outside. As my dad would ride off on this bike, Ben would chase him down the street, saying, "No work grandpa, stay!!" He loves his Grandpa! Everyday since he asks to call and talk to him. We love and miss you so much!!

Nightmare

2009-08-04T20:30:00.002-04:00

Last night we took Ben to Micheals craft store, while we were there Doug showed Ben something that completely freaked him out! The store is already for Halloween! Doug showed Ben a skeleton that moved around and made sounds, and then walked him around the rest of the Halloween display. Ben completely freaked out. I was in the front of the store and I could hear him scream like he was right next to me. Later that night, Ben woke up at about 11:00 pm, just screaming, and shaking like a leaf. He would not go back to sleep. I brought him into our bed, he kept cuddling into Doug and would not move. If we tried to move him he would claw into Doug. Needless to say we didn't sleep at all last night. Then today he would not take a nap because he was so scared. This is definitely a first for Ben, he has really never showed fear like this before. I pray that he sleeps tonight, cause I am not a happy person without sleep.

Road trip to Idaho

2009-08-03T15:48:00.007-04:00

My big brother and his family recently moved to Boise, Idaho. So one weekend we packed up the car and went on a road trip to Idaho. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Jordan, Jen and their cute kids.

Ben loved running around in the back yard with his cousins.

Jordan dug holes in his backyard for a future swingset. The kids had fun throwing there toys into the holes and them getting them out.

The boys found a grasshoper one of the holes. Jaden went and got his little bug
home.

Thanks for letting us come and crash at your house. We had lots of fun!

Missing in Action

2009-07-30T23:11:00.006-04:00

I know it has been a month since my last post but I have a good reason for not posting. Ben and I were having to much fun on our trip to Utah. While we were there we were able to attend two family reunions and spend lots of good time with family and friends.

Kyndra helping Ben put on his shoes so he can run through the water fountain at the Gateway Mall.

Garrett and Kyndra running through the fountain.

Peyton waiting patiently for the fountain to turn back on. Ben was a pretty big chicken he just liked to stand there and dance when the music would come on and watch all the big kids play.

One night a bunch of us girls got together to have girls night/play date. We ate yummy Cafe Rio! and sat around chatting and watching our kids play. It was funny to see Ben's reaction to Cassie's baby. I would be holding her and Ben would come and squeeze his way between us. He didn't want me holding another baby. Once he got between us he would say "cuddle me". I guess you could say he was a lot jealous!!

Isabell, Sam and Ben being silly!

I am so blessed to have such great friends. Even though we live so far apart from each other, when we get together its like we never missed a beat. Thanks guys!!

Date Night

2009-06-28T19:38:00.012-04:00

For our date night this last weekend Doug and I decided to go to PF Chang's for dinner. We couldn't find a babysitter so Ben came with us. After dinner went to a water fountain to let Ben play. Ben had a good time. It was really fun to watch him. Doug and I would throw our flip flops into the fountain and ask Ben to go get them. Otherwise he wouldn't go very far into the fountain. Ben really liked to watch his cup go up in the air.

You can tell...

2009-06-19T05:56:00.004-04:00

You can tell that I am trying to potty train Ben, because every time I go to the bathroom to do my thing, Ben runs right in after me and starts clapping while saying "Yeah, mommy you did it"!!!
No blog post is complete without a picture, so here it is. While my little sister was here, she bathed Ben and when they were done he came out of the bathroom like this. I think its pretty cute, but Doug doesn't like it. (And yes he has a diaper on underneath)

Grandma, Grandpa, Ducky

2009-06-05T20:50:00.002-04:00

So it has been a little over a week since my family left us to return home. And everyday since I have watched Ben walk around the house knocking on all the doors crying, "Grandma, Grandpa, Ducky, where they go." And it just breaks my heart that Ben doesn't get to see his Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins all the time. I am so very grateful that both Grandma and Grandpa Hurst and Terry have been able to come visit us within the last couple of months. So Thank you for coming out to visit, we love having you! Thank you for sitting in a rain storm and watching fireworks with me. I hope that one day our distance will be a lot closer than it is now. We love and miss you all!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-06-02T21:29:00.007-04:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we took my parents and sister up to Pennsylvania. The first day we went to Hershey Park. We took a little tour to see how they make chocolate. And course Ben loved every minute of it.

We all wanted to be chocolate factory workers.

The tour had lots of fun music and dancing cows!!

After we were done at Hershey Park we went to the Amish Country. Man, it is beautiful out there! Ben loved watching all of the horse and buggies ride around. For some reason we didn't take any pictures.

On Sunday we spent the whole day at Longwood gardens. If your ever in the area it is totally worth the money to go in and see it. We paid extra money so that we could stay and watch there Fountains and Fireworks show that night. Well as fate would have it, seconds before the show was to begin it started to down pour!! We all decided that rain or not we were going to see the show. I wish I had a waterproof camrea because it was hilarious to watch my dad. By the time we left we were all complelety wet!! Here are some pictures of our day aat Longwood gardens.

The garden had a little special area for the kids. This is one of the only pictures of Ben dry. I took off his shirt so that he would have something dry after he was done.

This little room there was a bucket of paint brushes so that the kids could paint water on the walls.

After he was done playing in the water gardens, Doug took him to get a change of clothes, a nap and lunch. They joined us at the lake to play.

While we were cooling off our feet in the pond, my dad got bit by a fish.

A little later we noticed that there was a school of catfish by the wall. So we feed the catfish goldfish crackers.

If you look close you can see the catfish in the water.

Butterfly exhibit and more

2009-05-29T15:18:00.005-04:00

One thing that I really wanted to show my parents was the Butterfly exhibit that is in the Natural history museum. You walk into a room that is kept at like 80 degrees and at 80 percent humidity, but the fun part is that there are tons of butterflies flying around your head. Needless to say Ben went nuts!! There was a lady that was holding a plate of dead butterflies. Ben kept saying that they were hurt and wanted to touch them. It was really fun to watch him and see how excited he was to see all the bright colored butterflies. I think my family enjoyed it too!

We also went to see Mt. Vernon, but I never even took my camera out of my backpack. It was a pretty cool place. Ben was super tired, so it was hard for me to enjoy myself. Doug and I well have to go back and see it some other time.

These pictures were taken at the Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial.

There's nothing better than a drink of cold water on a hot day!

No matter how hard Valerie tried to keep her sunglasses out of Ben's hands, somehow he always ended up with them. Thanks for sharing Aunt Valerie!

I think this pictures captures the way Ben felt most of the time. Tired, Bored and Hungry!

Monuments on Mall

2009-05-26T21:12:00.006-04:00

On the second day of my families visit. I took them into Washington D.C. to see the monuments on the National Mall. My parents are both big into history, so it was nice see them get excited about things that I kind of take advantage of because they are in my backyard, so to speak. Aunt Ducky and Ben walking down the stairs at Jefferson memorial. My dad found a ball around the Jefferson memorial and gave it to Ben and it was only a matter of time before Ben throw it into the Tidal Basin. So Sad!! Ben was chasing the ducks around the World War II Memorial.

This is a video clip of Ben running from the World War II memorial all the way to the Lincoln memorial, it was about a half walk between each memorial and he ran the whole way! I was I had as much energy as he does.

Visitors

2009-05-26T19:39:00.004-04:00

My parents and little sister came to visit us this last past week. At first Ben was not quite sure about them, he was very shy and would not them anyone hold him. Valerie promised Ben that he would be eating out of her hand by the end of her visit.

Well I am happy to say that Ben was eating out of Valerie's bowl by the end of the first night. He just loves his Aunt Valerie!

Ben loves his monkey! He carries it around the house and says that its his baby.

Zoo Day!!

2009-04-24T22:00:00.007-04:00

Doug's parent came to visit us from Oregon. While they were here we went to the National Zoo. Ben had a great time. It was so much fun to see get excited about the animals. Here are some pictures of our little outing.

ROAR!!

When we walked into the monkey house Ben started to make monkey sounds. The whole time we were walking around he was making different sounds. He loved the to see the monkeys.

Looking at the elephants.

Ben and Daddy! Smile

Waiting patiently for lunch to arrive!

Bath Time!

2009-04-07T19:55:00.004-04:00

Last night after dinner, I turned on the bath water for Ben and asked Doug to get Ben ready for the bath. Well, next thing I know is Doug calling me, telling me that I need to come see something. Doug had let Ben run into the bathroom without following him. So Ben jumped into the bathtub fully dressed! Doug and I died laughing at him! Ben was so proud of himself that he got into the bath with no help. He is such a funny boy! He loves bath time, he walks around the house saying, Tub, Tub, Please. This is a picture of his bath adventure for the day!

Playing in the Snow!!

2009-03-05T21:19:00.004-05:00

Earlier this week we got 8 inches of snow, which is a ton for Virginia. While Doug was working hard plowing the snow, Ben and I were out playing in it. He had so much fun! By the time we were done, he was a little snow ball. The sad thing is that the snow is almost gone already and it is supposed to be in the 70s this weekend.

I have a cute little video of Ben playing in the snow but for some reason it won't upload. Any suggestions?

Nice Day!

2009-02-07T20:52:00.009-05:00

Today was such a nice day. Doug and Ben were finally able to play with the remote control car that I brought for them for Christmas! Ben had a really good time chasing the car around the parking lot and Doug seemed to have a good time trying to get the car just close enough to Ben without him being able to catch it.

After Ben would catch the car, he wasn't quite sure what to do with it because Doug would make the wheels go around.

When the batteries died it was off to the park we went!

Ben loves to play at the playground. We are lucky because there is a playground not even 25 yards away from our front door. It was so beautiful today! I am glad that we were able to enjoy it as a family.

Doug's Christmas Present

2008-12-31T23:19:00.003-05:00

When I would ask Doug what he wanted for Christmas. He would say his family. So while Ben and I were in Utah, we had some pictures taken of us. Here are some of the pictures that we had taken for Doug's Christmas present.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-31T22:21:00.009-05:00

This Christmas we stayed in Virginia. It was my first Christmas without having family around. So needless to say it was pretty quite. As soon as we put Ben to bed on Christmas Eve, Doug had his first real experience playing Santa Clause. In the morning Doug woke me up so that we could go and get Ben out of his bed, together. Ben seemed pretty excited. Here are some pictures of Ben opening and playing with his new toys!

Some of the traditions we started this year were new PJ's on Christmas Eve and stockings first thing Christmas morning

Ben loves fruit!! So we had to stop everything so that he could eat the Clementine that he got in his stocking.

Later in the day our friends Chris and the Oliver family came over. Doug, Chris and Bryant all read the instructions for cooking the turkey very carefully. They didn't want to mess up, so they actually called in reinforcements, to make sure they were doing things right.

While waiting for dinner to be done, Ben played with Chris, So that Doug and I could finish dinner. It’s so nice to have someone distract Ben while I am cooking.

Chris is so patient with Ben.

After dinner we went to see the lights at the Washington D.C. Temple. Man, they did a good job. The grounds looked awesome. Boy, it was cold though!!

Decorating Sugar Cookies

2008-12-29T13:26:00.008-05:00

One of the things that I miss about being home around the Holidays is the smell of fresh sugar cookies and gingerbread baking. So I made some sugar cookies and the Olivers came over to decorate them with us.

I made a mistake on one of my snowman and instead of putting it aside, Doug decided to make a snowman murder scene out of it.

It looks like a scene of CSI. Doug was extremely proud of his creation!

Lighting of the Tree

2008-12-29T12:45:00.004-05:00

This year we went up to Maryland with some friends to cut down a Christmas tree. It was funny/sad cause by the time we got there all of the trees had already been cut down. So ended up going to a tree lot to buy our tree. Even though we all froze, we had a good time picking out the right tree. I must say our tree was beautiful!

When we got home Ben really wanted to help Doug string the lights on the tree. So Doug decided to string Ben with the lights.

15 Monnths

2008-11-08T10:50:00.004-05:00

Ben had his 15 month checkup this week. He weighs 24 pounds and is 32 inches tall. Which puts him in the 50% for his weight and 75% for his height. He is growing way to fast! I feel so bad for my little man, he started to develop a cough at the first of the week and was not acting like the happy guy he usually is, I thought it was perfect timing because of his wellness visit. Well turns out that he has a Double ear infection! And we had no clue!
I started to teach Ben sign language a long time ago, but gave up because I didn't feel like he was catching on. Well, when we moved into our new ward there is a little girl that is awesome with her sign language. So Doug and I decided to give it another shot. Its so exciting because he is doing it all the time. The other day while we were at Target, Doug had Ben in his arms, and Ben pointed over to the food court and signed "more" and "eat". So Doug walked back over to me, took his wallet back and said that because Ben asked without me encouraging him, he could have whatever he wanted! It was hilarious! I think it was probably one of those things that you had to be there to think was funny.

Pumpkin Patch!

2008-11-05T20:15:00.004-05:00

I took Ben to Cox Farm to pick out a pumpkin for Halloween. I made him wear his monkey costume because he looks soo cute in it and because I paid to much for it so I wanted to get as much wear out of it as I could. His two little friends Josh and Adalei came too. We had a good time playing with the carts and climbing all over the pumpkins.

Haircut

2008-10-10T12:43:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of Ben getting his haircut. This is not Ben's first haircut, but it was the first haircut that I knew about! Doug really doesn't want Ben's hair to get long so he has cut it a couple of times, without me knowing about it. He actually seems to like it.

Tagged!

2008-10-10T12:02:00.002-04:00

Jen and Karly both tagged me. Thanks alot guys!
So heres how it works....
Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write six random things about yourself.
Tag six people and let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
(Don't forget to come back and tell me you completed this tag!)

So here are the 6 random things about me:

1. I can't stand the smell of bad breath! Being a Dental Assistant has ruined me!!
2. I am down to my prebaby weight, now I am desperatliy trying to lose the 25 pounds I gained after I got married.
3. I can't handle to smell of chicken boiling!
4. Even though I am almost 25, I still feel like I just graduated high school!
5. I hate being cold!!
6. Honey Nut Cheerios and I don't get along! When I was pregnant I learned that they don't taste very good coming back up. Now I can't eat them!

Tag, your it: Cassie, Helen, Heidi, LeeAnn, Jen T, Sarah

Innocent mistake

2008-08-30T11:20:00.004-04:00

Gina in her innocence posted pictures of two of the fish I caught over the past few weeks and forgot to include all the details that I know everyone who looks at this blog is itching to know. So here it is for clarification.

Update!

2008-08-30T11:20:00.003-04:00

Things have been kind of crazy here at the Hurst household. So here is a long over due update. Some of the fun things that we have done are: we went to Utah and Yellowstone for three family reunions, we moved into our new place, we celebrated our 4 year annivsary, Ben turned 1!, and I went back to work. Here are some random pictures from our trip to Utah.

Packing

2008-07-19T22:13:00.004-04:00

This week I have been trying to pack for our family vacation to Utah and trying to pack up our apartment for our move. Well, it has been no easy task when Ben is trailing behind me undoing everything that I have just done. Ben decided that he needed to get his packing done too. I think I'll bring this bag as my carry on!

Bush Gardens

2008-07-03T20:48:00.003-04:00

On Monday, Doug and I went on a much needed adventure. Our good friends Bonnie and Chris watched Ben for the day, and we went to Bush Gardens down in Williamsburg. We had such a blast! I feel like a kid, when I am at amusement parks. I love riding roller coasters! If you are ever in Virginia and wanting to go amusement park, I totally recommend Bush Gardens. The ambiance is really nice, and they let you bring in your own food. The last couple of times Doug and I have gone to six flags, we have had to sneak our lunch in. If I had to pick my favorite amusement park it would still be the Six flags in Los Angelos, because the rides are bigger and better. But if I had to pick a park that has the best atmosphere it would be Bush Gardens. They do a awesome job at keeping the park clean and green. Next to Disneyland I have never seen a park so green and colorful. It was nice to have to the day to be together and not have to worry about Ben and his needs. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of our fun day because someone forgot the camrea (Doug). Thanks, Bonnie and Chris!

Slight Change in Plans

2008-06-29T21:44:00.003-04:00

Many of you know of our recent plans to move back to Utah to attend Dental Hygiene school. Well, there has been a "slight" change in those plans. The employment situation in Utah, the ambiguous state of our nation’s economy and the costs associated with school all played a part in our decision to stay. So Doug and I have decided to stay here in Virginia at least for another year. We will reapply to schools again this year. Hopefully, I'll be able to get into a school that will be good for both Doug and I. We still plan on moving out of our apartment sometime this summer; we are DONE with our neighbors! We will keep you up to date on our plans. We are still coming to Utah for a visit and for all of our family reunions. So we hope to see you then!

Summer Fun

2008-06-15T11:47:00.008-04:00

There are three words that I hate to hear the weather man say. They are Hot, Humid, Hazy and Hellish. I add Hellish to the list because it is! Just walking to the car from the apartment makes me break out a sweat. I have no clue how Doug is able to work outside all day long. I would melt! Because it’s so hot here, Ben and I met Doug at the pool 3 out of the 5 days of the week! It’s nice to relax and cool off at the same time.

For Memorial Day we decided to go a beach in the Chesapeake Bay instead of the pool. It was Ben's second time to beach, this time he seemed to really enjoy it a lot more than the first time. (He was only 2 months old) As much as I hate to admit it, in fear that Jordan and Jen would laugh at us. We had to pay to play at the beach! Anyway, I just barely got my pictures back from Target. So here are some of our fun pictures from the beach and from the pool. Sorry, that the pictures are a little fuzzy. Apparently, waterproof cameras aren't so waterproof.

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T11:47:00.007-04:00

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you so much! Thank you for all the many different things that you do for me. Your the best.
Love, Ben

I want to Move!!

2008-05-31T19:24:00.003-04:00

My whole life I have lived by the motto, "Fake it till, you make it." Well, I'm done faking it. I want to move so badly! The reason for mine and Doug's (I might add,) desire to move is because our neighbors have no common courtesy. They are so incredibly loud. In fact most nights I have to wear ear plugs to fall asleep, because they are so loud. While my sister was visiting it was kind funny to see her became outraged at the noise level. She marched next door, pounded on the door and asked them to turn it down. What’s funny is that they were only "kind of" loud that day! Asking them to turn it down only solves the problem for a couple of minutes. Today, while Doug was gone fishing, Ben and I decided to compete with the neighbors. I turned up our music pretty loud and danced around the apartment for an hour or so. Even though we listened to the August Rush soundtrack and Primary songs, it felt good to show a little retaliation. We could still hear there music over ours but Ben and I didn't care, we had fun. I think we will do it more often, even if they aren't being loud. I can't wait until we move so that I don't have to wear ear plugs to bed, and compete with there noise.

Nine Months old!

2008-05-16T20:36:00.004-04:00

I can't believe how fast Ben has grown. We went to his nine month checkup this week. Doug, Valerie and I had a bet to see who could guess Ben's weight. I lost the bet, I thought that Ben was heavier than the doctor said he was. He weighs 20 pounds & 8 oz, he is 28 inches long. Which means he is just under 50% for both his height and weight. He is such a fun, happy guy to have around! Right now he has 5 teeth and working on numbers 6 & 7. He is crawling all over the place and pulling himself up on everything. It will not be long before he is walking!! When Doug walks in the door from work, Ben gets so excited! He loves playing with his dad. He loves to be outside, he gets so excited when you pick him up and walk towards the door, like father like son. I could go on and on about the fun and cute things that he is doing right now, but I won't. If you can't tell I love my little guy so much! It has been fun watching him grow. Parts of me don't want him to grow up, but the other parts of me can't wait to watch him grow up. Here are some fun pictures of Ben.

Class of 2010

2008-05-12T09:43:00.008-04:00

Many of you know my goal/dream of becoming a Dental Hygienist. Well, I am happy to say that I am one step closer at making my dream a reality. I have been accepted into the Dental Hygiene program at the Utah College of Dental Hygiene, class of 2010. Sounds pretty good, huh! School starts the 27th of August. Which means that our little family will be moving back to Utah, sometime this summer. Ready or not here we come!

Getting Old

2008-05-07T08:54:00.003-04:00

May 3rd was Doug's 28th birthday. My little sister flew in for the special occasion. (not really, she came to play) We had a nice quite day at home, just the way Doug wanted it. Then we went to dinner with some of Doug's friends from work. We had a really nice time. I was so glad that we were at a restaurant because that means that I didn't have to clean up after Ben and his rice. Happy Birthday sweetheart, we love you!!

Camping!

2008-04-20T08:26:00.009-04:00

My family and I, a camping we went, hey look here are some pictures of Ben in my tent.

For breakfast the women and children ate pancakes with blue berries. The men ate real camping food! I tried to help Benjamin become a man but he just looked at me like I was insane and went back to his momma and her pancakes.

With a tummy full of pancakes it was time for a nap. Sleeping in the tent for the first time was a little bit rough for Ben, so he caught up by sneaking naps everywhere we went except in the tent.

Lots of Cousins!

2008-04-12T15:39:00.008-04:00

This year has been the year of babies! All of mine and Doug’s married siblings will have or are going to have a baby within the year. The total number of cousins born in 2007/2008 will be six. Brian and JeaNe started the trend when they had thier daughter Maya on the 16th of May. Followed by our Benjamin on the 10th of August, Darris and Sarah's Xander was born on the 13th of December, Jordan and Jen then had AraMi on the 22nd of December, Payton was born to Tyler and LeeAnn on March 5th and finally Baby boy Moss will be born in the first part of June. My parents now have ten grandchildren and Doug’s parents will have three. It will be so much fun to watch these little kids grow up together. Family reunions will be so much fun.

I get emotional when I think about how Heavenly Father has trusted us to raise his little children. It is very humbling experience to raise Ben. I can’t image my life without him. Doug and I thought that we were happy before we had him, but honestly we had no idea what real happiness was until we held Ben in our arms. It has been a pleasure having him in our home; he has such a sweet spirit. I am so grateful that I know that we can be together for time and all eternity as a family.

Cherry Blossom Festival

2008-04-04T20:49:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we went to Washington D.C. to see the National Cherry Blossom Festival. After such a long winter, it was nice to see all the Cherry trees blooming so beautifully. By the looks of it spring is finally here! On our way home, while riding the Metro train Ben started to throw a big fit. After a bit of exploratory investigation I figured out why. He had tons hives all around his neck. I Then found a bug down his shirt. The bug had been biting him! Doug decided that it was a flying ant. We were kind of scared because a couple of minutes before he started to fuss, Doug let Ben "try" his hotdog. So we thought he was having allergic reaction to the bread. (Cause the bun was all he got in his mouth) We were relived to found out that the bumps were little bits and not an allergic reaction. Because this family loves hotdogs!