The Russell Ranch

December...Finally

2012-02-15T11:10:00.004-07:00

Warning! This post is long, due to my slacking off in posting.

December was so nice! We started off with Noni's Christmas Party. They have it at Costco where they have a cake walk (with the yummy bakery goods they have at Costco; we got Peppermint Bark, mmmm), snack bar, music, drawings, soda bar, a free ham (or turkey), and a bunch of sports booths where you can earn $5 gift cards each. To end it, you can get your picture taken as well! Benj was drilling the next morning so we only got to stay about 20 min. but we took full advantage!

One thing I love about the Ranches is that Santa comes around and they throw candy from the Fire Truck. It's like 3 of kids' true joys all mixed into one experience! Here are the kids waving, so cute!

It doesn't feel like Christmas unless we visit Temple Square!

This is where Benj and I were sealed so it's fun to have this picture each year with little, cute additions!

Christmas was....interesting. That weekend, Gabby and I had the flu so we missed out on a few fun parties. (Hence the lack of pictures) Benj took Will and Lydia to my parents' Christmas Party on the 23rd and we had to miss out on getting together with Benj's parents on Christmas Eve. That night, Benj got some Burger King and we watched Miracle on 34th Street. The kids still thought it was great! Gabby was miserable Christmas morning but we still managed to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus around the German Chocolate cake Benj made and open presents. Will got a Toy Story 3 tent, a Sesame Street Memory Game,

and Cowboy Boots just like Daddy!

You can barely see it but Lydia got that Baby Chick that makes noises and an Elmo book that has sounds with the story.

Gabby also got Cowboy boots,

Disney Princess barbies,

and a Cabbage Patch Doll with a stroller!

Benj was spoiled with this Vizio TV (he did the Black Friday sale at Walmart; oh yeah!), reciever, and Blu-ray Player. The family got some blu-ray movies as well.

I was also spoiled with this nice, warm coat and Fablehaven series!

As Lydia's shirt says it, Christmas Rocks!

Somewhere in all this, the kids got a hold of the washable markers and decided to color on each other's faces. Gotta love sibling plotting!

New Year's Eve was nice. The night before, my family got together with some of my cousins to have dinner and play games. We had some neighbors and friends over on New Year's Eve. We had yummy homemade Cafe Rio Salads and snacks and played games while the kids watched movie after movie. It was heaven for all of us!

The Big 4!

2011-12-01T12:27:00.003-07:00

Well, I can't believe it but my little William is 4 years old. We celebrated on his birthday, the 11th, at every 4 year old's dream place, Chuck E. Cheese. (Will called it "Chunky Cheese" lol)

We had his grandparents join us. We had some pizza and soda pop and then sang to Will. I know the cake looks a little busy but we had so many fun candles, we couldn't leave any out : )

Will got spoiled with presents! He got a Spiderman fishing pole from me and Benj. He's already had a chance to try it out twice with Benj at the, oh so exciting, Utah Lake!

Presents from the grandparents!

We got a killer deal on groupon for pizza and 150 tokens so they got to play and play until we dropped!

We sure love our sweet William. He's an amazing big brother to his sisters and so incredibly smart! Happy Birthday, Will!

Halloween

2011-11-29T20:59:00.005-07:00

We got home from California Saturday morning at 3am. That night, we went to my parent's to celebrate with the Z family. We did our own trunk-or-treat and went inside for soup and hot chocolate. My sisters and mom did a little Halloween Bingo.

I led the family doing thriller and the monster mash

Will and Tyler were smokin' with their moves!

On Halloween, we went to Benj's parents. I got pics of all the kids before we headed out to trick-or-treat

Will was a dinosaur (my sister, Corey made the costume!)

Gabby was a bumblebee

Lydia was a flower!

I sure love these guys!

The kids loved trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Benj's parents live in a very established area so the old people just loved to even see kids coming to their doors. They loaded the kids up with as much as we would let them have : )

The whole family at the trunk-or-treat. I was a pilot and Benj was a tail-gater. (I loved the contrast with my brother, Jon, who was a BYU football player)

The kids were adorable with the excitement from going to random doors and getting candy! They loved it! Happy (belated) Halloween!

Lydia's Croup

2011-11-22T13:43:00.003-07:00

Yes, I'm still blogging about our trip to California. So, the last post was how much fun it was celebrating Lydia's b-day. That night, Lydia was starting to have a deep cough and there was one point in the night where she was struggling to breath and had a fever. We gave her Tylenol and she calmed down and went back to sleep. By morning, she was happily eating and sounded a little raspy but didn't struggle to breath. We decided to give our last day at Disneyland a go. Right as we got parked, Lydia woke up and was really struggling to breath. Her little chest was collapsing and her throat was caving in. I dropped off Benj with the other kids at the entrance and headed over to the Urgent Care Center. The Dr. sent me to the Emergency Room 10 min away because she was struggling so much to breath. When I got in there, they had us come right in because she sounded so bad and gave her a breathing treatment. They gave her steroids and did an x-ray on her throat. The x-ray confirmed that she had inflamation in the throat. It's a type of croup that's manifested in the throat instead of it normally being in the chest. We waited a few hours and she was not getting much better. The dr. said he only felt comfortable giving her 2 treatments and that she would need to be transferred to the Children's Hospital a few miles away. I was so worried about my little Lydia and couldn't believe this was happening. The ambulance came to pick up Lydia and I followed them in my car.

This was Lydia's home for the next day. Looks like a prison cell, eh? She sure acted like she was being imprisoned. We were in isolation so we couldn't leave the room, poor girl!

By the time, they let me leave to pick up Benj and the kids, Disneyland had been closed for hours and they were all exausted! Benj ended up sleeping with the other kids in the car at the hospital parking garage for the night. Luckily, Lydia slept very well that night and didn't need any treatments.

Unfortunately, the next morning I asked for another treatment because I thought it would be good for her to have one last one before we took off. Come to find out, they can't release you until 6 hours after their last treatment. So Benj went to Rich's to pack our stuff while I tried to keep the little monkey at bay. She was feeling good enough to crawl around and so she would make that alarm sensor go off nonstop. The nurses got sick of making sure she was ok so they brought in this high chair to keep from making it go off so much.

That lasted about 10 minutes : )

We were finally released around 5pm and I drove us all the way home. I was done with Cali for the time being! She has taken quite a liking to the little bear they gave her at the hospital.

I sure love this little girl and am so grateful to Heavenly Father that she's ok!

Lydia's 1st Birthday

2011-11-17T09:10:00.004-07:00

Lydia's 1st birthday fell on the wednesday that we were in California. We were planning on going to Sea World and the beach that day but Will and Gabby woke up with a fever and we thought we would give them some down time. We were staying at Rich's house (Benj's brother). Amy, Rich's wife was so sweet to make it a special birthday for Lydia. She blew up balloons, gave her a gift, and even decorated Lydia's little seat!

We started off the celebrations with balloon fights!

Will and Gabby were feeling pretty good by then but still needed to rest!

You're never too sick to have cake and ice cream, right?

Amy had music playing and her kids sure knew how to shake it!

Benj was doing his own zumba moves!

Don't you love how Amy decorated her chair? So cute!

Of course, I have to show off the cake I made for Lydia

Lydia was not afraid to dig into that cake. Will and Gabby didn't get into it nearly as much as Lydia. She was all about eating every last crumb!

Gotta love the hat!

Washing off in the sink!

Nice and warm!

Amy and Rich gave Lydia an adorable red sweater and cute silver shoes!

We got her a vibrating elephant that plays music. She loved it!

We were so grateful to Rich and Amy for making Lydia's birthday so fun! I sure do love my Pretty Lyddie! She's a momma's girl all the way and has such a sweet little personality!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2011-11-12T12:09:00.012-07:00

We finally made it to Disneyland with the kids! We hadn't been since before we had Will and we wanted the kids to experience the magic! They did so amazing! They were on cloud 9! Here we are all ready to go!

I love Will's sweet shades!

Right as we walked in, there was Minnie Mouse! The girls couldn't take their eyes off her! It was so cute!

Oh, the excitement!

I love how they decorate the park during October. It was so cute! Some of the rides were even different and improved to have a better Halloween experience!

The kids loved fantasyland!

They were begging us to go on the train that goes around the park. Gabby just couldn't wait!

Gabby was a little nervous in the submarine Finding Nemo ride but it was pretty cute!

Benj and I did a few baby passes. You can go on a ride and then the other parent can go in the fast pass line. The kids were entertained waiting at Space Mountain.

Will and Gabby LOVED Mark Twain's Boat! I went on it with Gabby while Will and Benj were going on Thunder Mountain Railroad to pass the time and apparently Will wanted to go on the boat even more than the Railroad!

Gabby and Will loved to see all the ducks!

Will thought this big bear next to the rapids was pretty awesome. He had to show his muscles in his pic with it!

The kids did not have enough eyes to see everything on the Little Mermaid ride. They were loving it! Even cute little Lydia was constantly pointing at stuff with little grunts!

The kids really wanted to go on this rocket ship ride but there were no lap riders so the kids had to be buckled on their own. We had Will and Gabby hold hands so they wouldn't be scared. So cute!

Even Lydia rode by herself next to me. She so wanted to just stand and take in the view. Those blasted seat belts!

This was Mickey Mouse's Ferris Wheel. Can you tell thier excited to get on it?

There was even a carousel in California Adventure. I think these were her favorites! She would spout off as many animals as she could decifer!

The first time we went, the kids loved the "Tough to be a Bug" 3D show

So, those were the first 2 days of Disneyland. So fun! We took a day off to go to Sea World and the beach but unfortunately Will and Gabby got sick so we hung out at Benj's brother's and celebrated Lydia's B-Day (will be another post). Total bummer, Lydia got sick the next day and could barely breath because of the croup she had so I took her to the hospital (Also a seperate post) while Benj took the kids to their last day there.

Benj said they would be really excited on the rides and then crash in the stroller and then get exicted on the next ride and crash, etc.

Gabby got pretty scared the second time they went to the 3D Bug show

These kids could be in magazines advertizing these glasses, right?!
They sure liked the tea cups!

We saved Toon Town for the last day because we wanted to make it the apex of the trip! Hindsight is 20/20. I'm so sad Lydia and I missed this part!

Gabby could not contain her excitement seeing Mickey Mouse! She ran up and gave him a HUGE hug and Will couldn not stop laughing.

We are so glad we made it there! It was some amazing family time and feel so blessed in how it all worked out so well!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home...

2011-11-04T18:35:00.009-06:00

I apologize in advance for the length of this post. Hope you make it all the way through ; )

At Last! The day had arrived when I could go to Georgia and see Benj graduate! My parents, Benj's parents, and I flew out Sept. 13 to Atlanta. We all met up and shared a mini van and drove down to the Meet and Greet. I thought it was kind of lame that we didn't get to see our soldiers. It was basically a test of the family's knowledge of what their soldiers are up to and introducing the cadre. They did door prizes for those that answered quiz questions correctly and also gave prizes for things like, who had the youngest baby, who lived the furthest away and so forth. I got the prize for being married the longest. (Go figure because most of these "men" are 18 and 19) Nonetheless, I got an Army Wife keychain : )

They also had some of the MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) and gear that the soldiers had to wear for us to try out. Benj's Mom is sporting it quite well! You don't mess with her!

The next morning, we got to finally see Benj at the Beret Ceremony. What was torture was that we had to go through the whole ceremony before we actually could be with them! We noticed the whole company lined up a couple of minutes before the ceremony began so, of course, I had to get a picture.

Marching in all professional!

Benj said that they could get in so much trouble if they even move their eyes from the person in front of them so Benj couldn't even peek to see us during the whole ceremony. Poor guy! This ceremony basically is their rite to wear the Beret. They've definitely earned it!

Together again at last!

After the ceremony, we got the whole day with our soldiers. We decided to go the the National Infantry Museum. It had a lot of new exhibits and was quite impressive! They even had this family section where you could dress up like your soldier.

We also took a walk at the Chattahoochee riverwalk. It's the river that separates Georgia and Alabama. It was beautiful!

I thought this was a cute pic of Benj's parents!

The riverwalk

It was not fun saying goodbye to him that night. I felt like we were engaged again ; ) The next morning was the Graduation. Benj was "voluntold" to represent a soldier from Vietnam so unfortunately he didn't get to march with the rest of his platoon in the ceremony because he wasn't in his dress blues. Before the ceremony started, Dad couldn't resist getting a pic of him when he can't break being at attention.

In the portion where they have Benj come out, they give a brief history of the soldiers that have served in the past.

This part was pretty cool. They had these guys come out at the end of the field with smoke and expolosive sounds and then they explain the duty of each member of the team.

Benj's platoon

There's a part where they have any that have served or are serving in the Army recite the Army creed? (I could be wrong, but I can't remember what it's called) It was kind of neat to see mine and Benj's Dad recite it with everyone else!

The whole company

After the ceremony, Benj had to be at attention for quite a while for people to come and see the uniforms.

They finally gave him leave and we had the rest of the day to enjoy ourselves. My handsome man with a very happy wife!

We did a tour of the WWII area they had. It was pretty neat but very long!

Benj and his Dad sporting the battle helmets they had in the tour

Benj in front of the NIM

The rest of the day was spent eating food, where we enjoyed hearing about Benj's experiences. We also saw Harry Potter 7.2 at the NIM. The next day, we met at the airport. We tried to get on the same flight home but they wanted to charge us too much money to do that so I got in before him. Benj's cousin, Cody, and his wife, Hayden were gems! They picked up all the kids, (Will was with my brother, Gabby with my sister, and Lydia with Cody and Hayden) and then picked my up at the airport. We ate dinner at their house and then they went with me to help with the kids to pick up Benj at the airport.

I played a mean trick. I made it sound like we were running late when Benj called to say he landed. But we were right there when he came down the escalator.
Just waiting for Daddy to come.

Will booked it when he realized it was Daddy coming down the escalator. Gabby wasn't too far behind!

The whole clan together again!

We had a fun surprise coming home. Our sweet neighbors had decked out the house for Benj's homecoming!

It took Lydia a while to get comfortable having Benj hold her but she warmed up as soon as she let him!

I thought the grenade balloons were a nice touch!

We couldn't be happier that Benj is home! We are definitely treasuring the time we have together a lot more now. Here's a cute pic to end. It says Future Trooper on all their shirts. (Yes the Mickey Mouses are family now)

10 Weeks of H...

2011-09-28T11:42:00.003-06:00

Well, I highly doubt any of you want to hear about how basic went for Benjy from me but considering Benj has been running from one thing to the next since he got home and relief is nowhere in sight, I'm your informant!

The first week was spent recieving all the company. Process paperwork, physicals, haircuts, etc. Benj said they had to hurry up to wait wherever they went. When they actually got to their barracks and were set up, the real work began.

This is part of an obstacle course they had to complete in the 1st week of training. They had to caterpillar crawl under those ropes. These pics were posted on facebook so I'm not even sure if that's Benj but it sure looks like him : )

If you use your zoom, Benj is standing to the left of the rope ladder.

This was one of those problem solving challenges where they had to figure out as a group. The better they work together, the faster and dryer they stay!

The really good stuff! The gas chamber. don don don! They start with their masks on and then have to take them off inside, recite information, and come out without touching their eyes, face, etc. Because if they do, it's a LOT worse! I believe Benj is just about to go in the door.

Grenade training! Benj scored an expert in grenade! There's my man holding that grenade to his chest right by the door.

Benj also scored expert in rifle marksmanship! He looks so serious, eh?

This pic was taken at the 3rd Field Training Exercise. It's 5 days in the field putting all your training into practice. Benj was the Platoon Guide for a couple of weeks and into this training. This is my all time favorite pic taken. He is a hunk!

All in all, Benj sailed through Basic with ease. He said he didn't realize how difficult it would be to not be with the family but was able to handle all the physical and mental demands put upon him! I'm so proud of him and am so grateful for how hard he works! I'm also grateful to the Lord for safely bringing Benj home and for giving us both the strength to get through those 10 weeks!

Z "Scout Camp"

2011-09-26T13:44:00.002-06:00

So, unfortunately I was a little too busy at this family reunion to takes pics. I do want to document it though. Around the end of August, my Dad, since he works for the Boy Scouts of America, was able to reserve half of a scout camp for us to have our annual reunion. It was a blast! There were little cabins with bunk beds in it for each family, a gated pool, a trailer to prepare food, a commissary, a horseshoe court, a rope swing, showers, and flushing toilets! My kind of place to camp! There were a lot of my siblings missing a spouse at one point or another but that doesn't mean we didn't have a blast! The kids especially enjoyed the pool! Mom got little flotation devices and they were eating it up!

We had a little scare with Lydia falling off the bottom bunk. She wasn't responding for a few minutes and looked very sleepy. It was super scary! My Dad was amazing and knew what to do. After she started to cry enough to get some oxygen to her brain, my brother-in-law checked her pupils and then the men in my fam gave her a blessing. It was so comforting to know Lydia would be just fine and it was pretty incredible that all the cousins were dead silent during the blessing! The priesthood is such a comfort! I sure missed Benj at that point, but I'm so grateful for my family! My parents especially were so amazing during Benj's absence and I feel so blessed!

Russell Campout

2011-09-22T18:48:00.004-06:00

I failed to post these in order but at the end of July, we went to the Russell Family Reunion at Twin Peakes. It was my first venture without Benj so I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be but we still had a good time. We got there Friday afternoon and hung out by playing games and enjoying the fresh air.

Our site even had this amazing amphitheater just for us!

I had to take a picture of my successful attempt to get the tent up all by myself! (I fully appreciate all Benj does when we go camping now :)

Grandma Russell is always prepared with fun games to play!

And this was Lydia's home for the duration of camping!

Grandma reading The Friend to the kids. They were enthralled!

You can always count on silliness with the Russells!

Aaand more silliness

Miles and Gabby sure liked loading rocks into that bucket

The rest of the night, we roasted hot dogs and marshmellows and chatted. The kids were tuckered out and slept so well for me! We certainly missed Benj and by the next morning, I was all camped out! We took off after cleaning up breakfast, which was good because if I had lingered to go fishing and have lunch, I probably would have missed my first phone call from Benj!

Noni Summer Party

2011-08-31T14:10:00.002-06:00

So, you would think that we would just skip out on Benj's work party since he's still at Basic Training but...we didn't wanna miss out on the fun and we were still invited! So I asked my Mom if she would help me with all the kiddies have some fun!

If you can see it, Gabby has a churro and a chocolate shake. They had a 50's theme to the party so they had the appropriate music going and all sorts of yummy food and snacks. They had popcorn, sno cones, nachos, and cotton candy all you can eat! For dinner they had burgers and fries or you could put a plate together from a buffet table.

They had a bunch of carnival games and Will's favorite part was the prize he got to pick! One of the prizes was a cheap toy watch. He kept looking at his watch and would say things like, "My watch says it's time to go to another game!"

They also had a bunch of bounce houses and what kid doesn't like bouncing around?

This one was pretty cool. They harness the kids and then they go up like a space ship and bounce around for a bit!

Will was a sweet brother and painted Lydia a piggy bank. He did a pretty good job!

They also had a camera that would film us all dressed up for 5 seconds and then they would give a flip book of it! It was pretty fun! They had a mini ferris wheel, bingo for kids, a hula hoop contest, airbrush tattoos, and a bunch of other things I'm sure I'm forgetting! We all had a really good time!

Counting Down

2011-07-26T15:04:00.002-06:00

You better believe we are counting down the days till we see Daddy! It's nice to have something concrete to point to when they ask how long till Daddy gets home!

We've already knocked down 8 of those chains since I took this pic!
You can't see it but the chain ends on our family picture where Benj is. They "kiss him goodnight" (the picture) every night!

Princess Gabby's 2nd

2011-07-20T19:50:00.004-06:00

My sweet Gabrielle turned 2 on the 7th! I can't believe how fast the time goes! We had her grandparent's over to celebrate and we definitely felt a void without Benj there! Gabby got to choose the cake I made and she wanted to be a "Pincess". So here's my amatuer attempt. (With the help of a cake pan of course!)

Grandma and Grandpa Russell gave her clothes,

clothes,

reading and coloring books,

and if you can get past the "cheese" you can see a Princess tea set!

From Grandma and Grandpa Zabriskie, she got a pretty necklace (which Will managed to break within a minute of opening) with a bunch of cute pendants,

a homemade purse, and a stuffed turtle. (So now she sleeps with the turtle in one arm and her soldier bear in the other, so cute!)

Cheesy smile before we sing.

Chowing down!

Gabby is my sunshine! She is so energetic and when she's happy, you certainly know it! I love to see her "deep shoulder action" when she dances and she sings like no one's listening! She is my little cuddle bug and has such a tender heart! I love her to pieces!

Hey, hey hey, Goodbye : (

2011-07-16T13:54:00.002-06:00

Well, the day finally arrived for Benj to leave for Basic Training at Ft. Benning.

Here's sweet Benj with Gabby. Gabby wants to be like dad and wear his boots!

He had to report to the hotel on the 4th at 6pm. He checked in and I left with the kiddies. They let us take Benj to hang out from about 3pm-8pm the next day. His flight wasn't scheduled to leave until the 6th. We went to Gateway Mall and wandered into Build-a-Bear. Gabby's b-day was coming up and we hadn't gotten a gift for her so we decided to make a bear for her. We each got to put a heart in the bear. Gabby got an extra one and gave it to Benj. He slipped it in his pocket and said he will carry it always.

Will even got to help replenish the stuffing supply in the machine!

They "washed" the bear

And dressed "soldier bear" in his Army National Guard uniform.

Gabby sleeps with "Daddy Soldier Bear" every night now!

Then we got outside just in time to see the fountain show with a song. It was awesome!

We went to Denny's to get some grub and headed over to the Church History Museum so the kids could enjoy the Book of Mormon Exhibit they have there. They had a blast! You could put quilts together and "sew".

Will really enjoyed fishing off of Nephi's boat!

They had some traditional Mexican dancing complete with skirts for the girls, vests for the boys, and video screens displaying the dance to music! The skirt didn't quite fit around her waist!

Benj couldn't resist getting in on the dancing

It was a nice family day to end with before Benj left. We sure have missed him but are so proud of his willingness to serve his family and this beautiful country! If you want info on how to follow what he's doing day to day, you can check out my facebook wall!

Lydia's Sitting Up!

2011-07-07T13:47:00.003-06:00

On June 8, our little Lydia started sitting up! It sure is a relief to mom! She plays to her little heart's content! Isn't she cute?

My happy girl!

Give her some toys and she's a happy camper!

Love those big smiles!

This was the picture of her actual first time sitting up. I love the squinty face!

Now, hopefully she'll just stay sitting up while her Daddy's doing Basic Training at Ft. Benning!

You Can!

2011-05-31T13:47:00.003-06:00

That's right folks! Benj finally got his golden opportunity to join the National Guard. An officer position opened up and we snatched it! As of nowBenj is SPC Benjy Russell. Once he's done with training, he will be a Communications Officer with the 145th Field Artillery Unit. He does basic training starting July 5 for 10 weeks at Fort Benning in Georgia. It's gonna be loads of fun! Not only is he training in the humidity and heat but this is known as the toughest place to do training! Benj is tough too though, so he can do it! Luckily, he also secured a slot doing state-side training for OCS (Officer Candidate School). So instead of heading straight from Basic to another location for 18 weeks, he'll be home! Yay! He'll do that training 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year until he completes it, which is about 16-18 months. Then, he'll be doing his actual training for his job for 18 weeks out of state.

Here's Benj swearing in. That was loads of fun. The kids must've known what we were getting into because they were all throwing tantrums and crying. Good times!

This is Benj's "army" face. You fear him, don't you?

And, here's a smile; such a trooper for humoring me! We realize this will be a challenge for the whole family but we know that this is right for us and with the Lord's help, we can do anything! Or, as the National Guard puts it, You Can!

Family Pics

2011-05-11T08:43:00.003-06:00

Our neighbors had the great idea of doing their own family pictures after church on Easter Sunday. So they were gracious enough to take our family pictures as well. We couldn't resist doing some of the kids together!

From left to right: Kameron, William, Kenner

Gabby, Jasmine, Lydia

I love the GQ pose Will's sporting!

This is just perfect for Gabby! She is my sunshine!

Lydia's not sitting up yet but it still turned out so adorable!

And...the whole gang! I'm sure grateful for my family! I never thought that I could be so incredibly happy! I feel so blessed!

Easter

2011-05-04T08:29:00.005-06:00

We did well this Easter season! We started off by doing the Zabriskie Easter Egg Hunt

Mom gave all the kids a basket with their name on it. Apparently it works as a hat as well!

Even the adults get an Easter Egg Hunt. We get money instead of candy, though. As you can see, we don't mind that!

Will and Gabby both did very well in collecting candy!

The big pile to be divided out!

The kids even got an egg with money in it. The Banker (otherwise known as my dad) redeemed the pieces of paper in the egg that told them how much they get. Lydia was the big winner. She got the big $10!

Easter morning, Will and Gabby looked for the Easter Baskets the Easter Bunny hid. Will got a big 4-wheeler in his with candy and Gabby got a princess jewelry set. We also gave them each an Easter outfit. Pictures to follow in a future post.

That night we had the Easter Egg Hunt at Benj's parent's.

Will came out like a bandit this year!

Gabby was loving it!

Happy Easter to everyone!

Benj's parents spoiled us with a variety of different foods from Sam's Club!

Hope you all had a good Easter!

Fun to Dye!

2011-04-30T09:36:00.002-06:00

A few days before Easter, we dyed eggs! This is Will's happy face to go with all the other ones on the eggs!

If my memory serves me correctly, I've never dyed eggs before so I was quite proud of my finished product!

Will got so excited every time we pulled the newly colored egg out!

April Fun

2011-04-26T12:28:00.002-06:00

Here are some random pictures from this month!

My nieghbor, Julia, and I went to a baby shower together and Benj was gracious enough to watch her boys. They enjoyed a fire truck movie. Don't they look thrilled?

Gabby LOVES jewelry. I think it looks much better on her than me, eh?

Random Sunday afternoon of watching those good old Living Scriptures movies!

Will helped me make rolls one afternoon. He must have had that magic touch because they turned out to be the best I've ever made!

Bring on the grub!

2011-04-04T15:55:00.003-06:00

Lydia is eating solid foods now! It gives her a lot a grief at night so she's not sleeping as well but she sure loves to eat!

Gotta love the face expression on Benj to get her to eat! And Gabby just thinks it looks unappetizing!

The trick during feeding is to keep her fist out of her mouth long enough to put a bite in there!

Random Pics

2011-04-04T15:40:00.002-06:00

I haven't blogged in a while but I just wanted to show the occasional pics we took in the past couple of months!

I want to keep taking pics of Lydia in this chair and gradually see how much she grows.

Our good friends and neighbors, the Bartletts had a little gal 6 weeks before Lydia was born. They're already good pals! I just love how cute Gabby looks sitting on my parents' fireplace!

My kids love watching movies! We love to watch it with them!

And Lydia just likes to watch us!

Lydia's Blessing

2011-02-02T13:41:00.002-07:00

On January 9th, Lydia was blessed. Benj did an incredible job and I'm so grateful I have a husband who is a worthy priesthood holder! Lydia was able to wear the dress that I was blessed in. My Aunt Joyce made it and I love how beautiful my girls look in it! Thanks to friends and family for coming and supporting us; especially thanks to my sister, Steph, where we gathered after the blessing!

Movie Time

2011-01-20T08:41:00.002-07:00

So, one Family Night, we watched Night at the Museum and I couldn't resist showing how cute they all looked watching it!

Doesn't Gabby look thrilled?

Even Lydia was enjoying it!

And Will decided to serenade us in his underwear! Gotta save that one to show future dates right?

December Fun

2011-01-11T13:45:00.006-07:00

December, as it is for most, was a busy month. We kicked it off by going to visit Temple Square!

Doesn't Gabby look excited?

I love that anytime Gabby spotted lights she would gasp really loud and say "wow!" and some jibberish along with it. It was hilarious at Temple Square obviously because she was about to hyperventilate with how many she saw.

They had these cute little nativities all over temple square honoring different nationalities

Doesn't look a day older than when I married him!

As you can see, Will's a little ancy. After this picture he ran off as fast as his legs could carry him. Scary moment for mom and dad to scramble to catch up before he was lost!

Unfortunately I didn't take any pics of the Zabriskie 23rd celebration. Mom went all out though. We had the traditional delicious Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. Then, since mom thought we could all use a little extra change around the holidays, they had 3 jars of change and we all guessed how much was in it. The closest person got the money. Gabby won the biggest jar (with a little help from Benj) which had more than $40 in it! Then the kids wrote thank you notes to santa and put some cookies in a bag to leave with the note. After than we did the candy bar pass game while mom read "Twas the Night Before Christmas". Dad read from Luke 2 and my neice, Aubrey, impressively recited The Living Christ. Then we exchanged gifts and ate pie!

Christmas Eve was spent with Benj's family. We had pizza and pot luck dinner and then Benj's Dad and Mom always present a new Christmas story with an ornament.

Whenever Grandma Russell is around, Gabby is her shadow!

Grandpa then played while we sang Christmas carols. Gabby so graciously helped Grandpa play and put in a little dancing here and there too!

Only lasted so long though because she wasn't with Grandma!

When we got home that night, we did our traditional video recording of the goings on of the past year and went to bed (at least the kids did:) When the kids woke up, we went into the kitchen and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus around the beautiful (and yummy) cake Benj made and then we went crazy with the presents!

The kids were actually catching onto the excitement of opening presents. Gabby got this caterpillar and some flip flop alphabet blocks. Lydia got a playmat that makes sounds when you move around on it and a butterfly that crawls and plays songs.

For over a month before Christmas, Will constantly would say that Santa was bringing him a belt and tie. And what do ya know, he did!

Will also got a race car set that he constantly plays with (probably because Benj likes to "help set it up for him" so much:) and some horses with a brush and food that he can take care of. Benj got a portable hard drive so we can store all our pics and video recordings in our little fire safe. I got some socks, a crock pot, and tights. We had a good Christmas and hope you all did too!

I just had to add these pics on the end. Isn't she adorable?

Gotta love that gal!

Lydia's Newborn Pictures

2010-11-27T12:02:00.007-07:00

When Lydia was 2 weeks old, we got her newborn pictures done by my friend, Dayna. Dayna did an amazing job! They turned out great! I'll let the pics do the talking!

If you are interested in getting pics done by Dayna, here's her website http://www.dayzyphotography.com/ She gives great prices and I couldn't be happier with the results! I sure love my pretty Lydie!

My 3 Year Old!

2010-11-13T20:52:00.002-07:00

It's hard to beleive that Will turned 3 on the 11th. He was so excited all day long for Grandma and Grandpa Russell and Grandma Zabriskie to come and spoil him with gifts! We missed Grandpa Z!

It's fun to see his excitement from knowing that he gets gifts now. He got some good stuff!

I made a Thomas the Train cake for him. He was so excited when he saw it!

Gabby wasn't complaining either!

Will got this cuddly blanket and Dad chased the kids around in it. It was pretty funny to see Gabby's reaction to the frog! We sure are glad Will is a part of our family and love his sweet personality!

Trick or Treat

2010-11-04T09:57:00.004-06:00

Despite the hectic life of a new addition to our family, we had a great Halloween!

Will was Ironman. As you can see, he's got the hand motion down. He kept singing "I am Ironman, da na na na na na na na na na" It was pretty cute!

Gabby was the cutest little flower you've ever seen!

Benj took Will and Gabby to his parents' Trunk or Treat. As you can see, both Grandpa and Gabby were pretty pooped

Grandma manned their trunk and had a pretty cute setup

Will and Gabby enjoying their spoils!

On Saturday, we went to my sister Marnie's. They got to do some real trick or treating with Dad! All the doors he went to, he said thank you. That impressed a lot of the people to have such a polite little ironman! They got soaked but had a good time!

It's a Girl!

2010-10-29T13:00:00.004-06:00

Lydia LeNeve Russell was born October 26, 2010! She weighed 6 lbs 6 oz and was 19 inches long. I went in for my 37 week check-up and was already dilated enough that they sent me over to the hospital. They broke my water at noon and she was born at 12:47pm. I went unmedicated, which wasn't too bad. As P90x says, you can do anything for 45 minutes! She's a beautiful addition to our family!

She didn't cry much at all when she was born

Fresh and clean after her bath! The nurses went on and on about what a gorgeous baby she is! The doctor likes the blond stripe she has at the back of her thick head of dark hair.

Mom and Lydia just hanging out!

Look at those kissable cheeks!

Ready to leave the hospital!

Will and Gabby are adjusting well to the new addition. We'll see how mom manages when Daddy has to go back to work!

Pumpkin Pickin'

2010-10-29T12:48:00.002-06:00

In the Ranches, there are a few families that have some land they decided to donate to the community. They grow pumpkins and anyone can come and pick all the pumkins they want and make a donation to the Perpetual Education Fund. The kids had a ball running around picking out pumpkins

It was a good Family Night!

My Walkin' Girl

2010-10-25T08:12:00.002-06:00

That's right! This beautiful girl is walking! We were at Grandma and Grandpa Russell's and she was on a roll. She could take at least 10 steps at a time and was just reveling in all the attention!
She doesn't walk all the time; just when she's feeling adventurous but we know she can do it! Way to go Gabby!

New Playground

2010-10-16T09:43:00.004-06:00

We got a new playground right in our backyard! The kids love it! There's a jungle gym, swings,
tether ball,

a "rockin" airplane,

a climbing wall,

and a slide!

We sure enjoy literally hours of fun on this playground!

Come Fly With Me

2010-10-11T07:58:00.002-06:00

We finally got a chance to visit Daddy at work flying airplanes! As you can see the kids were certainly in their element sitting in that plane!

Will kept wanting the hatch closed as he pretended to fly

My neice Kayla was with us so she got perched right in the middle!

Who knows, maybe one of these kids will be a pilot someday! They certainly look like they belong at the controls!

Gabby's First Teeth

2010-09-29T08:20:00.003-06:00

I've been a slacker and have waited until now to show Gabby's first teeth. The one on the right is the first she got and then the other one grew in soon afterward. It was a good 2 months ago that she first got them. My cute little 2-tooth girl!

Noni Party

2010-09-04T08:32:00.003-06:00

The last weekend in August, Benj's work had their summer party. Boy, do they know how to do it! Will got to start by riding the pony. If you've seen Man From Snowy River, you'll understand why he's putting his hand up. He's "going down the mountain like Jim"

They had a bunch of the inflatable toys. Will and Daddy had a great time!
They had a scales and tales show for kids where they talk about and show a bunch of yucky critters!

Gabby's favorite was the food. She would just stand there and wait for us to put more sugar in her mouth

The theme for the party was a night in New York so they had a broadway medley, vibe dance group, and the finale was STOMP all the way from New York! It was amazing! We just had started potty training Will 3 days before and he stayed dry the whole time! Needless to say, it was a good night! Thanks Noni!

Yuba Lake

2010-09-02T13:36:00.005-06:00

In August, we had our annual Zabriskie Family Reunion. This year, the Dollar family was generous enough to allow us to stay at their place by Yuba Lake. There's a lodge, 4 little cabins for sleeping, a pavillion, and a whole lot of other fun stuff!

Josh brought his 2 3-wheelers and a little 4-wheeler
We had a craft time for the kids. They colored pictures that describe themselves...

decorated a journal...

and painted the letter their name starts with. As you can see, Will is just thrilled I'm helping!

The finished product!

Beleive it or not, Benj painted Gabby's!

That's the best I could get of Gabby's journal

It's not a good reunion without yummy food!

We have a tradition of doing to-da-ta every year. Here is Will attempting to try it!

Yes, I'm supposed to look demented

Will ran around everywhere with those helmets on. At least he's safe!

This was our little cabin our family slept in

Gabby sure enjoyed herself!

Startin' him young

Isn't he hot?!

We had such a good time! The river that flows into the lake ran right around the cabin so we got to float down as well. That was my favorite part! It was good to be with the fam!

Old McDonald

2010-08-18T11:06:00.003-06:00

We sure love $2 Tuesday at Thanksgiving Point. We decided to go to the Farm Country. Will and Gabby had such a good time! Will rode the "cow", the tractor,
we got to ride in the wagon this horse pulled and even pet it,

spent some time in jail,

and ride a sheep!

Oh the adventures the farm country bring!

Pioneer Day

2010-08-12T10:44:00.003-06:00

To celebrate Pioneer Day, we decided to go to This is the Place Heritage Park. Will had a ball! He got to play in the houses, pretend to be a conductor,
ride a pony,

pet the animals,

and ride the train.

Gabby had a good time just looking around! We had a chance to see the finished project of the Heber C. Kimball home, which I got to help build! We all had a great time and had an opportunity to reflect on our roots and have more gratitude for the legacy we have!

My Little Sunshine turned 1

2010-07-14T15:17:00.003-06:00

I can't beleive she is already 1 year old but we celebrated Gabby's birthday on the 7th. I was able to somewhat pull off making a Minnie Mouse cake for her. After family arrived and we sang Happy Birthday, she got to dig into one of the ears. Here's the before...

And the messy but adorable after!

She absolutely loved all her gifts. She was spoiled by her grandparents! We love you Gabby! Thanks for being our sunshine!

Memorial Day

2010-06-15T08:13:00.005-06:00

Our Memorial Day was jam-packed this year. We had a bbq lunch at my sister, Corey's. We ate yummy food and the kids played to their heart's content!

Then, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Russell's. Will sure loves that trampoline!

And presenting...the master chef, Karen. Benj's mom is theee ultimate cook! Yum!

Gabby sure enjoys her cousins!

Chelsea and Chris brought their tee-ball gear and Will got to swing a few with dad!

We definitely had our meat intake by the end of the day! Thanks Russells and Marsiglis for a great Memorial Day!

Yeeehaw!

2010-06-08T14:00:00.002-06:00

The Saturday of Memorial Weekend, we went to the first annual Pony Express Rodeo. We had a great time and it was done so well. The kids loved it! Gabby kept holding her arms out and just making all sorts of noise! It was hilarious!
You can't really see it but there's a guy wrestling that steer!

My 2 good-lookin' cowboys!

Zoo-rific!

2010-06-04T18:34:00.004-06:00

Our neighbors, the Bartletts, invited us to the Zoo and we had a blast! Will got to go on the carousel!
I love these ones. Seeing it from their perspective, eh?

Oh dear! (Believe it or not, this was Benj's first visit to Hogle Zoo! You wouldn't think he grew up in Salt Lake!)

Our ape neighbors!

Needless to say, it was a nice visit!

Tutu Cute!

2010-05-25T10:23:00.005-06:00

My friend Dayna, is a photographer. She wanted to have pics of these tutus so she can sell them. She took all of these adorable pictures of Gabby! If you wanna check out her photography blog to see more of her stuff, it is dayzyphotography.blogspot.com

Will wanted to join in too!

Dayna had balloons for the pictures. Will was the designated balloon holder!

I'm so glad they turned out so well and to have my chunky little princess!

Another One!

2010-04-15T08:28:00.002-06:00

Ok, so as most of you saw from the last post, we are expecting yet again! Yes, it was planned and we are thrilled! I'm due November 13, so chances are we'll have 3 under 3 for at least a few days ; ) I'm feeling good so far and am already getting a little ponch!

Easter Fun!

2010-04-14T15:21:00.003-06:00

As you can tell, we went to our fair share of Easter Egg Hunts! Will loved it! Sometimes he was so excited, he would take the eggs he picked up and put them in Gabby's basket. What a sweet brother! We went to our first one at Grandma and Grandpa Z's
Gabby loved being put in front of an egg to pick it up. The trick was getting her to let go!

Our next hunt was at Grandma and Grandpa Russell's. As if they didn't have enough sugar, Will got to have a creamie. MMMMM!

Gabby will be the cutest big sister ever! Happy Easter!

Here Comes the Sun...

2010-03-12T13:51:00.004-07:00

So, as you can tell from the pics, we are all thoroughly enjoying this sunny weather! Will was so enthralled with this rock, I couldn't even get him to look at the camera

This one just makes me laugh!

We hope you're having as much fun as we are!

My Sitting Beauty!

2010-02-05T14:37:00.004-07:00

We're happy to announce that Gabby has hit yet another milestone! As you can see she's sitting up like a pro! (And even has the coordination to stick her tongue out at mom!)
She sat up by herself for the first time about a week ago and we're all loving it! Gabby will actually play on her own for a while before demanding someone's attention.

Isn't she just the cutest little toe-head?

Recap of the last month

2010-01-20T13:27:00.003-07:00

Whew! Sorry, it's taken so long for me to update what's going on! We had such a great Christmas! Will is finally at the age where he understands, somewhat, Santa and that he brings him presents. He LOVED the Cars guitar he got and Gabby is just eating up all the time we spend with her reading from the Fairy Tales Collection book she received. Benj and I enjoyed the presents we received as well.
A couple of days after Christmas, Gabby officially started on solids. I know, I'm a slacker in just trying these out with her, but what can ya do? She's doing a lot better than the beginning. She wasn't all that interested at first but I think she's getting the hang of it!

Out sweet neighbor had some stuff she needed to clean out, including this bumbo chair. I don't know how I got along without it. Gabby loves feeling like she's a part of things. She can't sit up yet so I think she enjoys the different perspective. This chair is awesome and I take it almost everywhere we go!

Will really enjoys jamming on his new guitar with dad. His favorite song to sing is Jingle Bells. As you can imagine, Benj has those chords down so well now!

Gabby's cousin, Kayla was born at the end of last month. Grandma gave both of these adorable girls this outfit so we had to get a picture before Gabby busts out of it! As you can see Gabby and Kayla are such opposites in appearance. Kayla has TONZ of beautiful dark, long hair with a dark complexion and is such a little thing. (Not to mention, she's sleeping!) Gabby is...Gabby, still so adorable with blond (pretty much white) hair, fair complexion and sooooo chunky! Gotta love 'em both right?

Winter Fun

2009-12-23T09:23:00.006-07:00

This December has been so much fun! We started off decorating the house. Gabby loved laying underneath the tree!

A couple of weeks ago we went to Temple Square. It was so nice! We showed up right when they turned the lights on and it was one of the coldest days so it seemed almost deserted.
The kids looked so cute all bundled up!

The manger scene on the reflecting pond. Isn't it beautiful?

We sure had fun!

This past Sunday, we all delivered neighbor's presents. Gabby was inside my coat in a snuggli and Will just loved being all toasty in his snow clothes. He was so excited to be outside running around!

My 2 year old boy!

2009-11-16T13:04:00.002-07:00

Will turned the big 2 years old on the 11th. On the 9th we had both sets of William's grandparents over. He got plenty of books and noisy toys (the best kind, right?).

I attempted to make a Mickey Mouse cake. At least Will recognized it when he saw it!

He sure loved being the center of attention. As you can see, he really liked the books he got. He HAD to hold it in his hand as we sang to him!

And it's not a birthday unless he gets to be a messy boy eating his cake! He had a great time!

On his actual birthday, we went swimming and made mickey mouse pancakes for dinner (what else?). We love our little 2 year old and are knocking on wood because it doesn't feel like he's hit his "terrible two" stage yet!

Natalie's Personal Triathlon

2009-11-12T18:02:00.004-07:00

Since my 6 week check-up after having Gabby, I've been training for the Orem Fitness Center Triathlon. As with most people, our finances are a little tight so I decided to set up my own triathlon around Lehi Legacy Center. It's a 3 mile run, 13 mile bike, and 350 meter swim. I felt good about it and managed to avoid being bit by a dog and getting run over ;D My time was 1 hour 35 min.

I'm still smiling when done. Whew!

Just the Two of Us

2009-11-10T12:45:00.004-07:00

I thought I would do a post on the good pals Will and Gabby are! We couldn't ask for a better big brother to Gabby than Will is! He'll lay down beside her and show her something or just talk gibberish. You gotta love the bathtime together too!

Gabby is finally big enough to go in the stroller/trailer. They had a ball when Benj and I went jogging. Will was so good to hold her hand sometimes!

Will is showing Gabby the good toys to play with. As you can see, he's holding her hand again! So cute!

2009-11-06T09:35:00.002-07:00

Halloween was a blast! We visited both of the kids' grandparents and ate way to much sugar but that's what Halloween is all about right? Here's Will with his pal Tyler and then Gabby with her gal, Kacie!

The whole clan! Benj was a cowboy and I was a cowgirl, Will was a fisherman and Gabby was our little ladybug!

Neighborhood Halloween Bash

2009-10-28T13:35:00.003-06:00

Last Friday, us neighborhood gals had a Halloween party for our youngun's. This is Will showing how ready he is to go in his adorable Fisherman's costume. Will had a great time! He got to decorate cookies,

decorate a pumpkin,

listen to Halloween stories,

and take a swipe at the pinata. I told him to hit the pinata and he took his free hand and hit it with that instead of the bat. It was hilarious!

And of course, Will didn't mind the candy that came bursting out either!

The highlight for Gabby was that she got a nice Lady Bug nap!

No Business Like Show Business

2009-10-23T12:58:00.003-06:00

Yes, we may look dirty but we were an AWESOME caveman and woman in our Ward Roadshow! We competed against the other wards in our stake and I haven't even heard if we won but we got a lot of compliments and it sure was a blast! This isn't the whole cast but you get the idea!

Cabin Fever!

2009-10-21T08:46:00.003-06:00

This past weekend, Benj won the draw for the Deer Hunt. The Cloward's were generous enough to let us stay at their beautiful cabin. We left on Thursday night and had an amazing time till Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, Benj just missed a 2 point Buck! Shucks!

We roasted hot dogs by the fire pit and as you can see, Will got into some Cheddar Sun Chips!

We did a lot of 4-wheeling up there

And Will even did some 4-wheeling of his own!

We sure had a good time!

Applesauce Canning

2009-10-10T09:36:00.002-06:00

Benj's parents gave us a "plethora" of apples so I invited my neighbor Julia over and we went applesauce crazy! It got interesting with the kids so we turned on Bolt, the movie, to entertain the kids! Of course, it only lasted about 15 minutes but we'll take all we can get!

Hiking Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-24T11:31:00.007-06:00

On Labor Day Weekend we decided to make the most of it by going to American Fork Canyon. We hiked Stewart Falls

Gabby was so good just hanging out in the snuggli

Will sure was a trooper. He loved hiking!

Unfortunately we didn't make it to the falls because it started raining. If you look closely, you can see that we're soaked!

Gabby was pretty well protected in the snuggli. Luckily we had a burp cloth to put over her head so she stayed pretty dry!

Will was out within a minute of driving away

On Monday, we had hot dogs and smores! Yummy!

Then, we decided to go to Cascade Springs. Will loved this toddler carrier Chelsea and Chris let us borrow

Will thought it was pretty funny to play peek-a-boo. Daddy's enjoying himself as well!

The whole clan!

Gabby's Blessing

2009-09-16T11:48:00.002-06:00

We had Gabrielle's blessing at my parent's due to the large size of both our families. Benj sure gave a great blessing for Gabrielle. As you can see, he relaxed right away after giving it. This is one of the only happy moments Will had. He sure struggled that night!

Gabrielle got to wear the dress I was blessed in. It was hand-crocheted by my Aunt Joyce! And apparently Gabs is pointing to something very important off camera!

Isn't she gorgeous?

Thanksgiving Point Fun

2009-08-31T18:18:00.004-06:00

We took advantage of the $2 Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point this past month. We went to the Farm Country the 18th and then the Garden's Discovery Park the next week. It was a blast!

Look at that professional milking!
He loved the animals!

My what big ears you have!

He liked splashing around in the water!

Will called Noah "Jesus". Close enough right?

Gabby just hung out in the stroller

Anyone home?

Beautiful musical abilities!

Luckily the gate was open to the main Gardens as well

It sure was beautiful!

Will even got to feed the fish

They sure are fat from all that food!

Bad Biker Will

2009-08-13T08:08:00.003-06:00

With all the excitement of his baby sister being born, we thought Will would enjoy having his own bike. He absolutely loves it! Now he's a big boy like his neighbor friends and has a ball riding around with them!