Haircuts!

Katie and I got our hair cut today. Kate loves hers and I am still getting used to mine. I think I'll love it once I stop doing a double take every time I look in the mirror. We are donating the ponytails to "Locks of Love" (a charity that provides wigs to disadvantaged children with long-term hair loss).

Before:

After:
After a little taming:

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Papa Bennion!

We hope you felt special today recognizing your 32 years of dad-hood! Rob & I love you!

We made the cake the night before and the boys (especially Burke, as you can see) really enjoyed it when I gave them a beater to lick. Burke just had this mischevous grin after he did this to William.

Will's friends Mads (pronounced mess), Olivia (Mads and Olivia are cousins). and Isabella. Isabella is actually the daughter of Heather Pulley's brother Tim and his wife Olga. We enjoy having a family connection here in Copenhagen. William loves all of his friends, and gets especially hyper with Isabella. Maybe because she also speaks English, I don't know. We think William thinks all the Danes around him are speaking in jibberish. When he runs and plays with his Danish friends and they speak to him in Danish, he'll occasionally yell something back in total nonsense syllables. It's hilarious.

John's Big Ride

I went on my second semi-big ride this evening. It took me about 75-80 min, and you can see the route below. Notice the numbers on the map are mile markers. The chart on the bottom is the elevation gain. I did 16.34 miles and had a 800 ft ascent. Now to compare with L'Alpe D'Huez (hors categorie in the Tour). It is 8 miles with a 3,350 ft climb. HELLO!!!

It was a workout like I had not had in 20+ years. I was actually scared my body would not pedal any further. The last time I felt like this was when I took my first swim test at Camp Oljato. Death seemed like a real possibility. I didn't think I would die tonight, but I thought my cell phone might die, and I may have to lie on the side of the road for an hour and recover. I was looking for someone to offer to pull me up the last hill. Think the scene from"Napoleon Dynamite" -- It would be nice if you could pull me [up the last 400 feet of hills]. Anyway I was really proud of myself.

San Diego

My Mom is in San Diego with Burke and she took this picture from her cell phone. Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Burke look great. Grandma's hat gave her the perfect shade in the light. Thought I would share. Looks like a beautiful day in Southern California.

Catching Up with the Beaverton Bennions.

We have not posted for a while so here is our attempt at playing catch up:



Below is the family at Nathan's baptism (May 2). Note William's expression. The aversion to being photographed continues strong from child to child.



The two pictures below are of climbing Beacon Rock -- The second largest monolith in the world (1st is Gibraltar). Nathan, Gregory and I went camping 2 weeks ago and climbed Beacon Rock with a group from our ward at church. Note Greg's smile (similar though not as violent reaction as William's at the baptism).






Wendy and I got away this past weekend for our 10th Anniversary. WOW! We stayed in Leavenworth at Pension Rohrbach. This is the view from our room. Muchas Gracias to Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe for taking the children (note the sincere smile on Wendy's face).

Happy Birthday Robin Burton!

Tomorrow Robin, our first born, will celebrate her sixtieth birthday.

I love Robin because she is happy, compassionate, loving, irrepressible, gutsy, lovable, and beautiful.
I love her for her courage and her fortitude in difficult times.
She is so talented in so many ways, but most especially when she sits down at a sewing machine to create lovely and practical clothing.
She makes everyone feel special as she lights up a room.
Mom and I are anxiously awaiting her visit on May 27 the day after her birthday along with her brother Burke.

Happy Birthday Richard

What a surprise came to Don and Margaret Bennion on May 24, 1949 when 2 baby boys, each weighing in at 7+ pounds arrived! How lucky I feel that one of those bouncing baby boys became my husband 24 years later! How I love Richard!
I love him because
he is the most generous person I know
he is unstoppable when he is sure that the thing he is pursuing is right. When all around him give up in exhaustion, he keeps on going
he is an excellent sounding board for ideas
he is interesting and intelligent
he is funny and witty
he is wise and I trust his instincts completely
he loves great art and great literature
he is a fabulous father - knows how to have fun and how to work hard and has been a part of most of the boys scouting adventures
he has taught each of us in our family how to serve others
he can fix just about anything
he is remarkably supportive in the political causes and church activities in which I am involved
he is a loyal friend
he is a first rate genealogist
he is a compassionate doctor who is dearly loved by his patients
he is a romantic and an optimist
he loves to give a "perfect" gift
he loves my family and would do anything for them
he lights up whenever our children are home
he loves my company and makes me feel like I light up his life
he is always ready to pitch in and help with the dishes and the laundry
he is the best thing that ever happened to me!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU MOTHERS

We hope that all you mothers will have the happiest day imaginable. We are so proud of you all and your motherly instincts are amply demonstrated in your sons and daughters. We have taken such great pleasure in witnessing how marvelous you are.

fun times at usc

hi all! we went out to dinner as girls from the branch before lots of them take off for jobs, missions, etc. i thought i'd post a picture. this is in five points, the down town party area. there are lots of bars and bands and places to eat:

also, every wednesday this sports bar type restaurant has a trivia night. it's kind of like bingo--at 9pm they start the game. everyone has team names and they call out the questions over a microphone and every team writes down the answer. the team with the most points at the end gets gift certificates. some grad friends and i went a few weeks ago. alas, i don't have a picture. it was a blast--we were team northern agression and ironically the final question was to name all the states that seceded from the union. they also have amazing burgers--home made patties and everything.

so, can anyone name the 11 states without looking it up? we were super close...

Tivoli

Tivoli is like Disneyland, Botanical Gardens, an outdoor Concert venue (every day), a state fair, a restaurant megaplex and the Bellagio Fountains, all wrapped together in a tiny package. It is pretty small relative to American entertainment parks, but they manage to pack a lot into it and it is beautiful and so fun. There are gorgeous flowers everwhere you go. There are 40 restaurants and food stands, ranging from hot dogs and hamburgers to expensive Italian or traditional Danish cuisine. You can also bring in your own food, which will be doing most of the time. Last night we ate there--hamburgers and hot dogs, drinks and fries for only $50! Yikes. There are beautiful places to eat or just to sit and enjoy the weather and surroundings, like below.

There is four or five really fun rides, comparable to Disneyland rollercoasters, and the Magic Mountain Free Fall. There are plenty of little airplane rides, boat rides, vintage car rides, bumper cars...things for our kids to do. There was a ride similar to It's a Small World at Disneyland. Will loved this ride (in the picture) with his dad. We thought he might be a little nervous because it went high in the air, but he loved every second of it. The little girl next to Don was so cute. I don't know where her parents were, I never saw them, but she did this ride atleast three times in a row, and that's just what I saw. She would get off, go to the back of the line (which was very short), and was able to get right back on. Then she'd just scream on the ride. It was cute to watch. There are also all sorts of carnival games (shooting a target, throwing balls, skiball) where you can win prizes.

This might have been my favorite part of the night. It is about 9 pm in this picture--amazing how light it still is. The orchestra was playing a medley from My Fair Lady and they sounded really good! It felt so cheerful. The stage and the flowers are so gorgeous, and the weather is unbeatable. About a five minute walk from this stage was another stage where a big band was playing the coolest jazz music. The atmosphere was just so charming. Don and I bought season passes, so my thought is we have really cheap date nights for the whole summer. Just come here and listen to these concerts. Both the band and the orchestra play almost every day, and from June-August there are daily concerts from a Boys Guard Band, also. There are rock concerts every Friday night. There is a light, water, laser and music show every night, but since it doesn't get dark until late, that show is at 10:30 pm. Hopefully our kids will stay up late enough at least a couple of times to catch the show. They have special engagemens, and the New York City Ballet will be performing here for six nights in September. There is a pantomime theater with shows every day. There is also a 100 foot long aquarium here (the longest saltwater aquarium in Europe) and you can watch them feed the fish every day. There is also just a big playground with slides and a long air filled bouncy thing. This place is amazing. From how long I have ranted about it, I am sure you can tell I'm pretty sold on it.

Wild Life in SC cont...

Every night there is a racket of some kind in our backyard. I've always kind of wondered what it is (geese? ducks?). No, friends, it's frogs. And they are going CRAZY!!

I found out tonight when my two two dear friends dropped by to chat for a minute in the midst of writing papers. When I opened up the door there was a little violently green frog chilling on the other side right in the middle of the door and 3 more chilling on the wall outside. I live in the JUNGLE!

seriously?

paula abdul on american idol last night. what was the deal with that?? who do you guys think will be off tonight? i'm worried for jason (i confess, i really like the guy), and i want syesha to go.

Happy News

Here is a happy bit of news. Christine Brinton forwarded this to me this morning and I thought you'd all enjoy seeing it. For those unaquainted with Kim Brinton, she is the widow of our friend Hyrum Brinton. She is a great girl and I'm so happy for her!

Love to you all!

Wendy

Pinewood Derby

Nathan had his first cub scout pack meeting. It was the pinewood derby! After some joint work on his car, Greg's car, and Katie's car we were off to the races! Katie won the award for the Loveliest car (car named Raspberry Lemonade), Gregory won the award for the Car with the Best Use of Decals (car named Lightning), and Nathan won the Mach Speed award (car name was Mach 5). Nathan also won 3rd place in the wolf den! Katie was 4th overall, and Gregory came in first in one of his races!

Here are some photos of the evening.

See how beautiful the ranunculus (spelling) are at our home. It brought spring in all its beauty.

Surprise Ending

The first thing the boys do when I tell them it's time for baths is to run upstairs, into our bathroom, lean over the edge of the tub, and just scream. I wonder if they hear an echo, like when you yell over a cliff or something. Anyway, I was trying to get that on video, but instead, I got this.

Burke is learning to sing and do little hand actions. He is also smiling, hugging and kissing on demand...what more could I ask for?

31 Years ago on April 20th

As I have been doing my Saturday activities, my mind has been thinking of events that occured 31 years ago....my world was spinning around the imminent arrival of a new baby. It was a planned c-section delivery, so my bag was packed and ready to go...ultrasounds to determine the sex of the baby were not done, so we didn't know if John would have a baby brother or sister. In the mid morning of April 20th, Dr. LaPata delivered an absolutey beautiful baby boy - Robert Lynn Bennion. That amazing face - so totally sweet. To this day, that face is still there although "handsomed" up by the years. As all moms will attest, there is no joy so sweet or so sacred as the birth of a child and so it was on April 20th that the magic of a soft adorable baby boy was placed in my arms and the life of Robert Lynn Bennion began....Happy Birthday, son. Let me be the first to say...."I love Rob because...."
He is persistent.
He is brave.
He is patient and kind.
He is smart and loves to learn.
He is undaunted by a hard task .
He is loyal to his family and friends.
He is the funnest sports fan.
He is the leader of the family in his lifelong commitment to fitness.
He is a great conversationalist.
He is a model gift giver....loves to give, loves to give something that will be "just right", takes the time to make it special.
He only needs to know you to like you....he sees the good in people.
He likes to think.
He loves people and loves to be around a group.
He is comfortable in his own skin.
He is married to the love of his life and I love being in their company...he has chosen so well.
He has great faith and loves to serve others.
He is a peacemaker.
He is the calm in a storm.
I am so lucky to be his MOM.

why SC is a great place

thanks so much for the great birthday love! it makes me feel so fantastic to read your posts! i had a very happy week.

so, we totally have wild turtles here! who knew that was even a possibility? i was walking around my neighborhood, and there, in the middle of the street, sat a little turtle. and sometimes my roommate, aimee, has to stop her car and move a turtle from the middle of the road so that she doesn't run over it. big ones! i knew there was a reason for me to move here. wild turtles!! how do they even survive?

Happy Birthday Anna

Happy Birthday, Anna. What a great day it was on April 9, 1981....A Girl!!!

I love Anna because
We share so many interests.
She is a fantastic listener.
She is intelligent and interesting.
She is beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
She is great at bringing people out of themselves.
She is a fantastic friend and beloved of many.
She is a gifted teacher.
She is pursuing her passion.
She is a thinker and is not afraid to face tough issues.
She is grateful for little things.
She is so good to me and Dad.
She is a fabulous sister for each of her brothers.
She is a delightful traveling companion.
She is always willing to learn new strategies to deal with tough issues.
She is well-read.
She is committed to living what she believes.
She is the perfect daughter, friend, confidant.
I absolutely adore her and consider her one of the most amazing women I know.
I am proud to be her mother and whenever anyone asks about her, I always say, "Anna is amazing " and I mean it.
I trust her and have the utmost confidence in her future and feel it the joy of my life to be a part of it.
Happy Birthday to my dear and amazing daughter.