Kenadee is Three

My little girl turned three yesterday! I can hardly believe she is that old. Kena is such a fun part of our family! She is extremely loving and cuddly. She is also a little mom. She likes to take care of Benson and let us know when he needs better care. :) She loves to dress up, have tea parties and build forts. We are so grateful for this little girl in our lives!!!

We had her birthday party last weekend, so on her birthday we kept things a little more simple. I asked her what she wanted to do and she said go to the zoo. So I bundled up Kena and Benson and we had a great time at the zoo! When Ben came home we enjoyed a pancake dinner and she blew out the candles on her giant cupcake.

I thought this picture was hilarious. 6 little monkeys sitting in a row!

Lady Bug Bash

For Kenadee's birthday we did a ladybug theme. She was one for Halloween and has loved them since! I borrowed some ideas from my cute friend Mindy. We had a blast. One of Kena's favorite presents was this dress up box with three princess costumes. Her and Kenzie lived in them for a few days!!
Benson after eating a black frosted cupcake.

Ayden and Jake Chapman

Kena with Daddy and cousin Avie.

Kena, Kenzie and Maizee.

The lady bug cake.

The rice krispy treat flower party favors.

Amd the birthday wall.

Kenzie's Visit

We were so lucky to have Stephanie, Kenzie and Jordyn Chappell come visit us for 10 days! We had a blast while they were here! The girls were so excited to see each other. They played very well together with only a few scwabbles here and there. Both Kenadee and Benson were enthralled with Jordyn, they couldn't get enough of her!! Thanks you guys for a fun week and a half!!
Finger painting

Hanging at the park

Cute Jordyn

Snack Time

Pictures in front of the tree

Games at Peter Piper Pizza.

Merry-Go-Round at the train park with the Jurcas.

Best Buds

Having a good time in Santa's Sled. (Benson is trying to escape!)

At the Mall

Sporting the princess pjs. These are my favorite Carters jammies. Kena loves them!!

Benson and Jordyn along for the ride.

Pre-church picture

"Jumpoline" fun. They loved being on the trampoline and playing Ring Around the Rosies.

Benson wanted to hold Jordyn. He pointed at her, waved her over and patted his lap!

Sunday #2 pre church pose.

Train park triple slide:Kena, Joe and Kenzie

Train ride

Rainy Day

I am sitting here at my computer, staring out at the beautiful rain, trying to figure out how best to catch up on all that has been going on lately and I feel overwhelmed! I just need more time! :)

Here is a picture of Kenadee Benson and I up at the Anthem Outlets for the giant tree lighting. Thanks Heidi for coming with me!!

Thanksgiving

This was the first Thanksgiving I have hosted. It was also my first turkey! My mom, brother Nate and his wife Millie and my sister Heidi all came over. Everyone helped make the food and everything turned out great! Here is our group.
Ben carving the turkey.

The serving table.

The dinner set up. It was our first time using our formal dining room!

One More Week

One more week and Kenzie comes to visit! Every time Kenadee sees an airplane she asks "Is that Kenzie's plane?" We are excited for adventures, crafts and fun!!

Mini-van Mom

It's official I am a mini-van mom! I wasn't sure I was willing to do it. I thought I wanted to try out an SUV, but they make these vans so mom-friendly that I couldn't resist! We bought used, but its in great shape and we love it!
After having it for about a month, I got hit while parked in a Joanne's parking lot, so this is the beast I get to drive while my van is being fixed. It's fun to have the opportunity to try out a Suburban too. It is super nice and I love feeling huge on the road, but I've decided with little kids I like the van more.

10 Year Reunion

I had my 10 year reunion last weekend. It was so much fun. I spent the weekend in Gilbert going to bed around 1 or 2 am each night hanging out with some of my most favorite people! We started the weekend with a BBQ at the Chapmans. Thanks for the wonderful food! (Rhona, Meg, Me, Jaeleen, Tiff)
Next we headed out the last homegame for HHS. It was crazy to be back at the school! This is Tiffany Alexander and Tiffany Lassetter Chapman.

Sarah Wright Dunn, Megann Richey Heath, Jaeleen Payne Munns and Me.

After the football game we met up with Natalie McCabe White and Leah Sellards Martineau for some old school tping! The target...Curtis Beecroft our buddy from highschool. It was so fun to be out with 6 other near 30 moms being crazy! Girls I love you, you made high school very memorable for me! Thanks for sticking with me for over 10 years!!

Creative Play

I've been feeling like a dud mom with our play lately, so I subscribed to Family Fun and I haven't been disappointed! We took our recycle boxes and containers and made a little store.
Kenadee used her fake money to buy stuff. She loved it!

We made handprint tulips.

And then homemade finger paint! (This one I got from snips and snails)

I stripped the kids down and let them paint the tub! Everything just washed down the drain when they were done!!

Halloween 2009

This year Benson was a little lion and Kena was a cute lady-bug! These two loved trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Once Benson realized people were giving him candy, he was all about going from door to door! Kenadee was absolutely in heaven. Grandma Sue and the Benefields came with us. The kids ended up with enough candy to last all year! :)

Pumpkin Carving

This year we carved 4 pumpkins. The smallest isn't in these pictures. The kids enjoyed watching and using the large spoons. Neither wanted to touch the seeds or the goo!