Daddy's Pancakes

Brad loves to make pancakes in the morning when he has time. He has perfected the art. He triples the recipe, so the children can have pancakes for breakfast the days after. His pancakes are perfectly round and very fluffy, not to mention delicious. Benjamin enjoys helping Brad any time he has the chance, especially if he is making pancakes.

Benjamin and Bradley's Birthday party

Brad and Benjamin's (2) birthday was on November 16th. Benjamin couldn't wait to open his presents when he awoke in the morning. Joseph was more than happy to offer technical support.

At night, we had a family birthday party for the boys. Julene made gluten-free chocolate cupcakes for Ben and bought a Claim Jumper Motherlode chocolate cake for the rest.

Ben was blowing out the candles with Brad's help.

Happy Birthday Brad and Benjamin!

Our Little Cinderella

One recent Sunday, Angelina wanted Julene to do her hair up for church. We put a tiara in her hair to make her look like Cinderella.

We used lots of bobby pins and barrettes to put it all up. Angelina's hair is down to her waist now, so it took Julene some time.

This is the end result--beautiful!

Brad took pictures of Angelina and, of course, Ben just had to be in the picture, too.

Angelina was Cinderella and Ben was Prince Charming while Julene sang "So This Is Love" from "Cinderella."

Angelina hugged her little Prince Charming.

Benjamin and His Many Looks

You don't know the power of the dark side!

When Joseph was Ben's age, he had a teddy bear which had a Buzz Lightyear costume made to fit it. One day, Ben surprised us all by taking the teddy bear's Buzz costume and putting it on himself. We couldn't believe it fit Ben. Now, Ben thinks the costume is his. He puts it on and runs around the house in his diapers saying a two-year-old's version of "To infinity and beyond!"

There was a crooked man who had a crooked smile!

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!

So You Think You Can Dance?

Whenever he hears a good beat, Benjamin loves to get his groove on. The kids were playing the soundtrack from "High School Musical 3" and Benjamin couldn't help but boogie when he heard the music. The only challenge is for me to grab my camera fast enough to capture him. Angelina is his elegant dancing partner at the start of the video.

Josh's Marshmallow Birthday Party

Joshua wanted a marshmallow party for his 12th birthday, so Julene put together a bunch of marshmallow activities for Josh and his friends. After building things out of marshmallows, they had a contest to see who could stuff the most marshmallows in his mouth. Instinctively, I knew going into it that the best photos would come from this contest.

Joseph gave it his best effort.

Josh's friend Devon has an innovative way of connecting the marshmallows into a large mass without actually having them in his mouth.

The undisputed largest mouth went to Josh's friend, T.J. Little wonder since he is nearly as large as me, and he is only 13.

The highlight of the party was making a playing with marshmallow guns. On the previous Saturday, I cut enough PVC to make about 15 guns. The kids assembled their guns, picked up bags of ammo and went outside for an old-fashioned shootout. The party might not have been very politically correct, but it was a lot of fun.

Ethan and Joshua looking for more marshmallows to shoot.

Joseph shooting Josh's friend at point blank.

Allyse joined the marshmallow mayhem.

Angelina was the only one who figured out that the real fun was in eating the ammo.

Another highlight was the S'mores cake that Julene made. I'm not quite sure what was in it but it was pretty good. Mixing chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers can only be good.

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

Brad and Benjamin's Birthday Bash at the Mirage (The Full Story)

Earlier in the year, I won a birthday party for me and up to 25 guests at Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage Hotel. We decided to use it for Benjamin and my birthday and invite members of the family who have small children, as we thought the kids would really enjoy the animals.

First, we were given a private tour, one which included only members of our group. We started at the side of one of the pools where the dolphins live. Our guide told us a bunch of interesting facts about dolphins, but I would be hard-pressed to recite any of them now.

Next, we went below to a window where we could observe the dolphins as they swam around the pool.

Our guide told us more interesting facts about dolphins.

Then, we went to a private observation room. This was the best, because the dolphins kept coming up to the glass and smiling for the camera.

Angelina and her cousin, Nora, enjoyed seeing the dolphins up close.

The guides had the children sit down and they taught them more about dolphins.

To their credit, the children actually looked interested.

More dolphins up close.

Benjamin really loved the dolphins, and he laughed each time they came up to the glass.

After the observation room, we went to a separate pool that served as the nursery.

At the nursery, there were a couple of baby dolphins swimming with their moms.

After the dolphins, we went to the secret garden. If you have been to a regular zoo, the cool animals are always in hiding. Not in Vegas: they have to get out and perform. The white tigers didn't disappoint. This beast was the size of a small horse, and I'm not exaggerating.

They had a feeding of the tiger cubs while we were there. It was really funny to watch the "kittens" attack their bottles.

After the felines, we went back to the pools for some cake. The tiger cage was made of chocolate.

The two birthday boys.

Uncle Kris and Corbin had fun.

Cousins Aubrey and Lauren appear to have enjoyed the cake.

As usual, Angelina ate frosting first.

Joshua, Ethan and Jacob couldn't wait to eat the chocolate tiger cage.

Benjamin wasn't very excited about eating the cake with his grandmas.

The highlight of the birthday party was a family photo with the dolphin. Benjamin, who was squealing when he saw the dolphins in the pool, wasn't nearly as thrilled to see one out of the water and right next to us. At first, he looked a little unsettled, but by the time the photos were being snapped, he was certain that he did not like this. The rest of us were having a great time, as we had not previously touched a dolphin.

Baby with Attitude

Recently, Benjamin has been kind of crazy. He has this little attitude, and he knows it. He will do something totally unexpected, and then look at you with a smile. It is like he knows that he is being funny.

On Saturday, Julene went to get her hair done, so I had several hours alone with Benjamin. He got hungry, so I put him in the highchair and started feeding him. When he had enough, without any warning, he attacked the spoon with his hands, causing the food to go all over the place. In part, that is how he ended up with the messy face, above.

I decided to give him some Cheerios to finish his dinner. He really likes to chew on them, and it seems to keep him occupied. Plus, they are not as messy as mashed baby food. No sooner did he get into the Cheerios than he started doing a little trick with them, part of which I was able to catch on video, posted below.

Also, while Julene was gone, I had to replace the batteries on a digital wall clock. I kept repeating the word "clock" to Benjamin while I had the clock down off the wall. He would repeat back a "cl" sound. He is actually quite good at imitating sounds that he hears. Anyway, while I was saying the word, all of a sudden he said "clock."

When Julene returned home, she really didn't believe me when I told her about Benjamin saying "clock." Later, as she was getting him ready for bed, I got Benjamin to say "clock" again, and make a believer out of his mommy.

On Sunday, I had more time with Benjamin, and I was playing with him using a dog puppet. I kept repeating the word "doggy," and sure enough, he said it. I was also able to have him recite the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Okay, I'm stretching a bit.

Conspiracy

"Okay Benjamin. Now, if you really want to drive Mommy and Daddy crazy, start climbing the stairs. First, you have to get your arms up on the step. Second, you pull your legs up one at a time. Just keep repeating until you reach the top."

"Oops, Daddy caught us. Just act natural and smile at him. He'll never suspect a thing. After he leaves, we can get back to practice."

Angelina's covert training program for Benjamin started last Sunday. By Thursday, her hard work was paying dividends. Julene turned her back for a few minutes and then found Benjamin at the top of the landing. Needless to say, we'll be shopping for gates this weekend.