Easter- Delayed

I know Easter was last week, but I didn't get a picture of the kids in their Easter outfits until this week, so that is why we are delayed just a bit. We had a wonderful Easter, the kids had a great time finding the malted easter eggs that the easter bunny hid, and they looked completely adorable in their outfits. (At least I think so.) Bryn wasn't feeling so good Easter morning and she was on the border of even going to church. My reasoning for having her go to church was completely selfish... I just wanted her to be able to wear her pretty dress and coordinate with her brothers. She was so miserable through Sacrament Meeting that Greg brought her home for the last 2 hours. After church we were able to have the Hoopers over for Easter Dinner. I was so excited I was able to use my china for the first time ever! It has been sitting in boxes for the last 7 1/2 years! Now I know how fun it is to dress up dinner I might have to start getting it out a bit more. Thank you Hoopers for coming over for dinner, it is nice to have friends we can call family.

A Welcomed Sight

I know you may be thinking that this is probably a pretty silly picture to post on a blog. But, let me explain. I smile everytime I walk by my laundry room and it looks like this. You see, this is where I hang my shirts that need to be ironed. And on this particular day, there are no shirts hanging there. So, I smile. All my ironing is done. I like to highlight this moment because I know that as soon as another load of laundry is pushed through I won't be able to smile when I walk by my laundry room.

So, now I would like to tag Casi, Stefani and Alissa to post the most welcomed sight in your house.

Spring Break- Dallas Here We Come

Last Thursday we packed up and "got the heck out of Dodge." It wasn't long into our 5 hour drive to Dallas that Tanner began with the "Are we there yets" but we got a movie going and the time began to pass a bit faster. It was fun to be back in a big city. Once we drove into Dallas and I began to see the big buildings and began to notice all the traffic around us I realized that other than our trip to Utah last July I haven't been further than 30 minutes from my house in the last year! It was definitely time to get away.

We made the trip with some of our good friends Mike and Stefani Hooper and their kids, Megan, Sammy and Noah. It was a lot of fun to hit the local shopping sites and enjoy the "Big City Life." (Keep in mind that almost any life is 'Big City Life' compared to life in Bentonville.)

After we arrived and checked in to the hotel we hooked up with some good friends that Greg and I met while going to Utah State. Elliott and Camille have lived in Dallas for the past few years and it was fun to catch up with them. We went to dinner at Olive Garden, and the entire time Greg was trying to convince Elliott that they needed to come work for Wal-Mart and move out to Bentonville, kind of a hard sale to make. :) After dinner we headed back to their house and Camille saved me from the 'poor mother of the year' award and let us join her kids in coloring Easter Eggs. I don't know how I missed this important Easter tradition, but I am grateful Camille saved me.

Friday morning we woke up bright and early to catch one of the outlet malls nearby. I can tell you I have been shopping deprived in the recent past and it was fun to have so many stores at my fingertips. Stef and I could have seriously spent the entire vacation shopping and have been completely happy, but we do have husbands and children that would rather gouge their eyes out than spend and entire day in the mall. Although they all enjoyed a fun ride on the carousel.

After the mall we decided to take the kids to the Dallas Zoo, it took us about 45 minutes to get there, another 45 minutes waiting in line to find a place to park, only to finally decide that we didn't want to walk 5 miles from our parked car to the zoo entrance then turn around and spend another 45 minutes going back towards the hotel and to find a place to eat. During dinner it was impossible to get the kids to sit still for even one minute. Thankfully a few police officers were eating at the same place and Stef asked them where a local park was. The park was the highlight of their day. They had so much fun just running and playing.

Saturday was the last day of our trip. Tanner was pretty disappointed that we didn't make it to the zoo the day before so that was our destination for the day. Luckily we made it there early enough that we were able to park in the main parking lot and didn't have to walk far at all. The zoo didn't even begin to seem crowded until after noon. Tan and Bryn were so excited for the pony ride that was located in children's zoo. Bryn absolutely loved it, Tan... well, I think Tan still remembers what it is like to ride Bugs at Grandpa Ralph's house. He went on the ride, but wasn't exactly overly excited about it. There was also a 'free fly' zone in the children's zoo where birds will fly right up to you and let you feed them. I think it was a bit of a shock to both Tanner and Bryn when we walked through the door and 4 birds came and landed on them. Tanner even threw his 'food stick' on the ground and Bryn started to cry, but after a little coaxing they realized it was actually pretty cool. We spent a good 15 minutes just holding and feeding the birds. We all had a lot of fun at this spot. A few other hot spots at the zoo were the monkeys, elephants, giraffes and rhinos. Tanner was looking forward to seeing the rhinos all day. I was so glad when we finally found them. I really think the highlight of Bryn's day was finding a small patch of purple flowers and being able to pick flowers for a minute.

After the zoo we met up with the Hooper's again and started our caravan home. We had so much fun. It was good to get away for a little while and it is so good to come home.

The One I love Most

His name: Greg Lorin Bench

How long have you been married?: 7 1/2 years

How long did you date?: 2 weeks, but we were best friends for 2 years before that. It look him getting a girlfriend and getting me realizing I was jealous about it for us to start dating.

How old is he: 31 (TODAY!) Happy Birthday Babe!

Who eats more? For my pride, I am going to say him, but it is probably a toss up.

Who said "I love you" first? He did.

Who is taller? He is by 2 inches.

Who sings better? Probably another toss up. But I love it when we are singing in church and I all the sudden realize that he is making up his own words to the songs. He keeps me laughing.

Who is smarter? Greg

Whose temper is worse? Yikes, probably another toss up, maybe mine. But ask who is more stubborn and I think he would win.

Who does the laundry? Me, but he's usually pretty good to help me put things away.

Who does the dishes? Depends on who is giving the kids their baths that night. We switch off.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me.

Who pays the bills? Me.

Who mows the lawn? Greg... and I hope I never have to mow this yucky Arkansas grass. It is brutal.

Who cooks dinner? Me, unless we're grilling, then I leave it to him.

Who drives when you are together? Greg.

Who is more stubborn? Ok, here is the question I was waiting for... Greg!

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Usually Greg.

Whose parents do you see the most? Hum, in the past year they have each come out here twice so I would say it was a tie.

Who has more friends? Probably me. Just more time for it.

Who has more siblings? Greg. He has 1 sister and 3 brothers and I have 1 sister and 2 brothers.

Who wears the pants in the family? Greg. :)

I love you Babe. Happy Birthday!

Time to King Size

I love Saturday Mornings. It has become a habit for the kids to come and climb in bed with us. Usually it is just Tanner and Bryn because Kade is the one Bench child that actually knows how to sleep in.

This morning, after Tanner and Bryn were laying between Greg and I it was quite crowded and the conversation went like this.

Amy: "Greg, scoot over, I only have half an inch before I fall out."

Tanner: "Mom, scoot a half inch."

He is becoming such a smarty pants. I think it is just time to king size the bed.

My Boys

I guess I never really thought about how fun it would be to dress my boys up in matching outfits. Call me crazy, it was a lot of fun. These two boys love each other so much... I am completely enjoying it while it lasts.

Snow Days

We finally got some snow on the 31st of January. School was cancelled for 2 days, the town shut down and Walmart even made it optional to go into work (too bad we couldn't convince Greg to take advantage). We really laugh about the effect the snow has on the city but I guess it is all ok because then we get a chance to play together and enjoy the little snow that we get here. Bryn was able to wear Tanner's hand-me-downs for snow clothes and thank goodness Tanner was able to squeeze into his stuff from last year. It just isn't worth going out and buying new stuff for a one day event.

After playing in the snow the kids came in and we made Graham Cracker and frosting cookies and drank Chocolate Milk. It is a simple and favorite treat at this house.

Kade pretty much stayed inside and chilled (or should I say 'kept warm'). Nothing too exciting, but I also included some pictures to document it.

Later that night Kade sat in his Bumbo and watch as the kids got through the tub. He loves mirrors so this keeps him occupied.