A Shout Out to My Man

Happy 33rd birthday to my fabulous husband. We had a great day, even though it was Sunday. Ben and I made a delicious crepe breakfast (Ryan prefers his crepes with bananas, peanut butter, syrup, and whipped cream) complete with Uncle Scott smoothies. Then I had my customary meetings and then it was time for church. After church Ryan got a great nap and then we had chicken enchiladas and beans for dinner (Ryan's favorite). We then had an exciting present opening (everything is exciting with two little boys in the house). For dessert it was a delicious toll house layer cake--oh so yummy. Here are just a few amazing things about Ryan:

1. He's a great Dad. I don't think I realized until the last year just how many not great dads there are out there. He's one of the best.

2. He's a great husband. Ditto on the last one. Ryan has serious husband skills.

3. He is patient with my shortcomings.

4. He can get wild and crazy with his boys--and they love it (until they get hurt and come crying to me--what can you say?)

5. He loves his parents--and a great big shout out to Glenn and Kathy for raising a fantastic son.

6. He honors his Priesthood.

7. He's expanded my food horizons--I used to be the pickiest eater on the planet (no, really. There was a solid year of my life where I think I subsisted on Fruit Loops, frozen fish sticks, and peas). Now I love to try out new food.

8. He works hard to support his family.

9. He introduced me to the joys of a great beach vacation.

10. He is still fun to date.

11. He has a desire to do the right things.

12. He supports me in my crazy whims wholeheartedly.

13. He compliments me.

14. He loves to read--though it does drive me crazy when he downloads books on his Blackberry and reads them--how can you read a novel on a PDA?

15. He knows a little bit about a lot of stuff (occasionally useless, but often very useful)

16. He likes to dress nice--no leaving the house in holey sweats and ripped T-shirts.

17. He is silly--most of you will not believe this, but you just don't know Ryan well enough yet.

Happy 33rd! Here's to the next great 66 birthdays.

Boys vs. Girls

Ben is very particular about the use of adjectives, especially pertaining to feminine and masculine. There are certain things that are specifically for boys and certain words for girls.

Anyway, Ben and I made a birthday breakfast for Ryan this morning while Ryan and Todd were still sleeping. Ben set the table all by himself, carefully placing appropriate colored plates at each place. He put himself next to me and put Ryan and Todd together on the other side. When we sat down, he very pointedly explained that he was sitting next to me (it is something of an ongoing battle). In response to Ben's careful explanation, Ryan said, "Ben, is mom cool?"

Ben very adamantly answered, "No." Well, OK, I guess, I'm not cool.

But then he thought for a moment and said, "She's cute."

Good boy, Benny.

Ego Slammer

We were having family home evening on Monday. We read a story in the Friend about a boy named Benjamin. One of the illustrations was of a dad who was . . .bald. Ben looked right at the picture and said, "Look, Dad, it's you."

Not five minutes later, Ben ran his fingers through his own hair, looked at Todd and I, and proclaimed, "We have good hair." Then he looked quizzically at Ryan, grinned, and said, "You have pokey hair."

Way to get Dad's ego with a one-two punch, Mr. Ben. I, for one, think Ryan looks hot with his semi-shaved look.

Clean anatomy

Ben was playing with a flashlight tonight so I obediently opened my mouth and said, "Aaahhhh."

Todd went right along with it as well, but he explained to Ben, "See that thing hanging down at the back of my throat? That's my lung."

I tried to contain myself, but I'll admit I laughed long and hard.

My Pirate Name

Your Pirate Name Is...

Evil Hairy Legs

What's" Your Pirate Name?

Fuzzy

We were changing the sheets on our bed the other day and Ben was helping. He started rubbing the blanket and said, "What's this fuzzy thing?"
Ryan said, "How do you know the word fuzzy, Ben?"
Ben replied, "I speak Spanish."

Blast From The Past