The Holidays!

Warning Before reading this Post, super sleep deprived mom is at the keyboard, so reader beware. Plus the words will not match up with the pictures tonight, so good luck. Santa brought a Trampoline and God sent us rain. We are enjoying the Holiday Season. Christmas Day was a much needed day of rest. We hope you had a wonderful day and we send our love to all our family and friends.

Enjoy the wee banini's first Christmas Story Moment! The boys had fun and so did the adults.
Our current Superman Fan!

Okay, so let's play catch up...

November is a blur of activities... as most of you know. School starts in August and then every weekend until the third weekend in January is booked with school events, holiday activities and family reunions.....plus church stuff.

We had our 22nd annual Thanksgiving feast with Dad's family. It was nice and small this year, only 15 guest instead of the 45 last year. The banini's played with their cousins and watched "Wall-E" on their uncle's huge TV. We adults swapped lies and ate until uncomfortable. We are grateful to have family close to where we live and the opportunities we have to spend time with them.

The oldest Banini participated in the school talent show. He played the piano piece, "Morning" in Peer Gynt by Grieg. His father said he performed well. We are pleased with him for overcoming his stage fright and learning to play, for him, a challenging piece of music. He is a hard worker. He is also going to play the piano in the ward symphony at the upcoming Christmas party. He is learning how to follow a conductor. Painist do not usually have a conductor, so this is a challenge for him also.

The other Baninis are keeping us busy with their antics. Their are a blessing in our lives.


I had a friend speak in church on Thanksgiving weekend and she shared four things for which she is grateful. One, consistency; two, peace; three, knowledge; four, family. ( These are the concepts that stuck in my brain as I held a very squirmy two year old!) All centered around the gospel and what it does when we actively participate in our own salvation. I was grateful for the insightful word usage she utilized. So often we get caught up in rote thankfulness, I found it refreshing to hear different terms applied to basic gospel principles.

On a different note, Dad was successful is getting a picture of the boys together. Enjoy the photos and have a safe, and merry month. We hope each of you enjoy the holidays surrounded by loved ones.


Banini #2 with his giraffe Cece. He loves giraffes and Dad caught him snuggling.

Halloween

We had a great time on Halloween. The Banini's dressed up as Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. The night was a flurry of activity, so not many pictures occurred. Hopefullly, we will get more this weekend as we go to a postponed Halloween Party.


We are all happy and doing well. I actually made their costumes this year. I love using my serger!

Pumpkin pictures Two

Pumpkin Bumpkins

We had so much fun at a local Great Pumpkin Festival on Saturday. The banini's all enjoyed running around the pumpkin field, through the straw maze, and petting the animals in the petting zoo. Banini # 3 really loves pumpkins (he draws them at school, does pumpkin shaped works and is thinking about becoming a pumpkin farmer when he grows up)! The wee banini enjoyed the hay and let dad capture a really nice shot. The banini's all brought home a pumpkin, with strict instruction to choose one they could carry all the way back to the car. What a neat way to bring in the fall season.

Charlotte's Web

We had a fun crazy night at Pack Night the other day. The theme was Adventure in Books, so I dressed up as a favorite book character. (It had to be one they knew, that did not require me to buy a new black robe.) So I chose Charlotte's Web. I went as Charlotte and the baby went as Wilbur the pig. It was fun. Enjoy the Wilbur pictures dad took before the meeting. (I actually went and purchased a pink outfit!!!!! Exciting for a mom of all boys.)

Old and New Art Combined!

This banini decided to decorate his face with a marker. The art work was strangely similar to some ancient cave drawings found near our hall's entrance. The banini was more than willing to allow the resident photographer to document the similarities. Note how he seems to blend into the wall. One can only surmise what these ancients glyphs actually mean. Perhaps this wee banini has the knowledge to unlock the secrets.

Oh, how they grow!

We are having FUN!

Life is moving all around us. The boys are in school, or at least three are, with number four saying, "I go mama!" Wee Banini is crawling everywhere and eating everything. They keep us happy, healthy, and able to sleep well every night.

We had so much fun this summer. We saw family, friends, wildlife, and beautiful places. It is a summer I will treasure. I know the boys will only remember being happy, but I will remember their enthusiasm, wonder, joy and tears at times over the many new things we did this summer. They all grew at least an inch, with the smallest one growing over two inches. I am always surprised at how sunshine, freedom and a wee bit of imagination combines into bigger boys. My oldest even had the audacity to quip to me the other day that "He is almost a teenager!" I am enjoying now, but the future is quickly coming with each new day. (Although, I may not miss two year old bedtime tears and pleas....)

I am grateful for Forever Families and the eternities I will have to continue to enjoy my posterity. - Time flies faster with each day, so hopefully in "forever" time, I can slow down and enjoy more moments.

On Tuesday, I took the boys to the visitors center at the Temple. We saw the Reflections of Christ exhibit. Although the boys were squirmy and I struggled with my ability to be patient, each of the boys enjoyed seeing the pictures of Jesus Christ. Our Banini #3 struggles at times with wanting to do Church activities and often resists. Yet, on Thursday he told me he liked seeing the pictures. As an added bonus, he later that day he shared with me a pers0nal experience. At the dinosaur museum he was giving me problems about not feeling well. I was less than sympathetic and told him to keep up. I knew he would like the museum and after paying $30.00 for admission, I was not about to leave before we saw the entire place. So unknown to me, He said a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to make his stomach not hurt anymore, (his phrase). His face was filled with delight as he shared with me that Heavenly Father had answered his prayer and his stomach did not hurt anymore. (Now at least an hour had passed between him saying he was sick and then his unasked for revelation of being healed.) I am grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord. http://reflectionsofchrist.org/index.html

Crazy Fun Summer Days

Super bike riding man.....











Officer I am hungry....


















Mr. oh so sweet....,











Darth He who must not be named....,


















Sir Knight.....

We have had a good amount of fun during the past month. We ended school in a flurry of fun activities, promptly went on vacation to San Diego, and then spent the rest of June recovering from school and vacation. I really enjoy having the boys home from school. The time restrictions and schedules of school are gone. The boys are each growing...it is evident because pants are too small and shoes no longer fit. Oh well, another month of pleasure and then it is back to school.



















My Grandparent are doing well. The Boys, Dad, Grandma and I spent some memorable and pleaseant time with them.


















We visited my super special great aunt....she is 101 years old. We enjoyed the time we spent with her. Her personality is vivacious with a tenacity to overcome.



















We went to Sea World. The banini's loved seeing the sea life. Banini number three found Bruce, Dory and knows that Shamu loves him. He has always loved sea animals and was so excited to see the animal up close and alive. The other banini's also really enjoyed the park, with their dinner with Shamu being the highlight of this park.























The boys had never seen the ocean, so we took them several times to the beach. They saw seals, birds, tide pool animals and especially loved playing in the sand and waves. Banini number two and three had so much fun just running along the surf. Dad of course took pictures and captured our memories beautifully. Grandma and baby banini watched us play from the top of the cliff, where we had our picnic dinner. TheI wish we lived closer to the ocean.





Also in San Diego, we went to the Zoo, the Wild Animal park, and visited Cabrillo National Monument. Dad captured a beautiful photo of the light house. We had fun!