Evan Skates at the Mavericks Game

Hi,
For those of you that don't know it, the Mavericks are the Mankato college hockey team. One of the big things of Evan's hockey year is to skate at the intermission of the Maverick's game in front of over 4,000 people. It was very exciting for the parents as well. They have 2 minutes to show off their talents and the college students really get into it when the kids are out there. There were about goals scored but now official score. I know that they had a great time out there and they did an AWESOME job!! Way to go Ev!! He had a big cheering section too. Pat, Adam, Stacy, Mom, Drew, Abbie, Uncle Jeff, and Grandpa Mark.
Daycare has been really busy. I had an 8 month old start Nov. 5. He is quite the happy little guy and the kids just love having a baby here.
Evan is doing great in school and his conference went well. He above the est of his class in everything so we are very proud of him for that hard work.
The twins really like the preschool at home. They can both write their names and are writing about 12 letters from the alphabet. We have also started sign language and they are doing great with that as well.
Owen is in the terrible twos and that is all we need to say about that. Most he is pretty good but he has learned that he can take Drew down pretty quickly and keep him there.
We have inherited a 5th cat names Stubby. He has no tail and is adorable. He was injured and we got him healthy and he is still here. He is going in next week to get snipped and declawed.
Ken is very busy at work and still loves it here. They have had a few interviews for new midlevels but have not found one to hire yet.
We had Thanksgiving here with Ken's family and in Rochester with Pat and Stacy. We had a nice time at both and have so many wonderful things to be thankful for.
Hope all is well with all of you! We are in the middle of a snow storm so I am sure to have pictures of the snow day soon!

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Ok. It has been another month and I haven't been able to get a post onto here. We are very busy lately and I am going to get busier.

Hockey has started and I am Evan's team manager and this year is a big job. I keep the team informed of upcoming practices and ice time. We are having pictures this week-end and also starting the Schwan's fund raiser. It has been quite challenging just getting all the correct contact information from the parents. we should be set and it should be smooth sailing from her on out.

I am getting a new baby for daycare. He is 8 months old and will start on Nov. 5. He has been her twice to check us out and coming over tomorrow night to get all the papers signed. We are very excited to have him starting with us. The next babies don't come until after the first of the year. They are both boys also.

We are doing some sort of preschool every day. The twins are writing and learning letters. Owen and the daycare Abby are learning shapes, colors, lines, and coloring. We have been making lots of Halloween crafts and that is really fun. My kids and I cooked yesterday and it was a lot of fun having lots of helpers. We made omelette's and I don't know where the cheese went. The kids or the floor. They were good anyway.

I am up for my relicensing this month and since it is so close to the end of the month the licensor should be knocking on the door any day now. I am going to change my license so I can have more preschoolers and less smaller. I only plan on keeping the eight, I think that will be enough.

We are hosting Thanksgiving here for Ken's family, Rosemary's side. Roberts Thanksgiving will be in Rochester. and Our Christmas will be here also. I can't believe that the holidays are so close. My Mom is almost done shopping! wish I was. Good job Mom!

That is all for now. I will try and get back here before another month flies by!

Evan lost his third tooth of the summer ! I think the tooth fairy is about broke!

New Addition to Daycare

I had a little girl names Abby start on the 28th and she is adorable. She will be coming 2 days a week and we are very excited to have her here with us.

August 23-26

Daycare CLOSED!!! I closed up the business and we headed for the lake with Stacy, Pat, and Adam. Ken had to work so he came up on Saturday. We had a great time and Ken's Mom was there with us. Mark was able to get off work Friday at noon and join us also. We grilled out, fished, went out on the boat, and tried to catch up on sleep. I am still wondering if we ever get caught up because I don't feel like it. It was a great get away and the most rest I have had in a long time. Rosemary is so great about cooking and then I can be with the kids and not worry about meals and when we grill, Ken or I grill and she gets the rest ready. All of the vegetarian recipes were a hit!
It was a great chance for us to get to know Stacy's new man and his son. They are great and I am glad that we got to spend that time with them.
Evan got a regular size fishing pole for his Birthday and then Stacy and Pat gave him a tackle box full of tackle. He was ready to call it quits with the new pole until he caught a fish and then he really liked it. He caught a lot of fish and had a great time.
Stacy and Pat got the twins small tackle boxes also and they had fun trying out the new things. It was really a great week-end with lots of fish to catch and lots of photos!

Visit from Maddy and Family

Maddy and her family were here for a visit and we had a great time. I am so glad that we had the chance to meet them and make them a part of our lives. When I started daycare I never expected such a wonderful friendship with the families of the children that I care for. It is wonderful. We had fun playing when they were here and seeing all of the new things that Maddy can do now. She likes it at her new daycare and we miss her every day here! They are waiting to sell their house here and then they will find on in Fargo. Good Luck!

Ken's Work Picnic

Ken's work had a big picnic, they do every year, and it was a great time. They had 3 of those inflatables. One was a big slide, an obstacle course, and one to jump in. That was as far as we got at the picnic. We moved to a table long enough to eat and Ken went to get food while I watched the kids. Evan was not there since he was spending the week with Papa in his Wal*Mart truck. I had Abbie, Drew, Owen, and Katie from daycare.

Evan and my Dad had a great time. Evan was able to talk him into McDonald's three times the first day. He ate snack wraps and that is what Dad thought Evan's handle should be for the CB but Evan decided on Mello-Yellow. He had a great time and Dad sent home and atlas that had all of the stores marked where they had been, how many miles they drove, and what they did at each place while they were there. Evan is all ready to go next year or earlier if we can work it out.

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Evan's Party

Evan had his Birthday party at Jungle Bungle in Davenport, IA. It has a huge play place and he and his friends had a great time there. This was the second year they were there. He loved seeing all of his friends and got really cool presents.

David A. Marquez

We went over to our friends and saw their new baby, David. He was about 1 month old here and so adorable. That is her big brother Jorgito with Abbie. They were pretty cozy!!

Evan's 8th Birthday

August 5, Evan turned 8. It is hard to believe that he is already 8. His Grandpa Gordy and Grandma Dolly came down for the day and here are some photos. They went for a bike ride to the college and had a great time. Evan wanted have a big party with his friends in IA and that was on the 11th.

Pat & Adam's first trip to Mankato...

Last weekend I took Pat and Adam to Mankato to meet Team Bentson. (We also had my friends daughter, Maddie.) All went well. The kids had a great time together! We all walked down to the park. The big kids, Pat and Ken played a little baseball. Krista and I took the little kids over to the play ground. It wasn't long before the big kids joined us. All the kids (including Pat) played in the sand for a while. Then we headed for home.

The kids did a little swimming and goofing around in the front yard before dinner. After dinner, we turned on some rock n roll (Poison, Unskinny Bop) for them.

Pat and Adam had a great time and the kids can't wait to see each other again so they can all play! We are all looking forward to next weekend when we go down to Davenport and Pat and Adam get to meet mom and dad...

Just GOOFING

Who are these kids and who do they belong too?? Love the unibrow and the facial hair!

Ken't trip with the Kids

Ken had a couple days off, during the week so he and three of the kids headed to the lake. You can see they had their fishing attire on and did some fishing. They really like to fish and have a running tally at the cabin. The dock had a little remodeling and now it is easier for all of us to fish at once. We still untangle lines now and then but it is great to be out there together.

Our First Camping Trip

Team Bentson had their first "official" camping trip. We bought a tent and got tons of camoing supplies from some of Rosemary's friends. We loaded up the camping gear, the kids, and headed out to Sibley State Park. We learned that next year we need to reserve campsites well in advance. Sibley is about 20 minutes from the cabin so in case of disaster we could evacuate. Ken set up the camp while Denise, the kids, and myself went to the beach and swam. We grilled brats and hot dogs over the campfire. Made yummy smores!!! It was a little challenging getting the kids to settle down with all of us in a tent. Finally by 10PM all was quiet. We had cereal out of cups for breakfast and all has a good nights sleep. I must admit that it was much better than I imagined it would be. We are looking forward to doing it again before the summer is gone.

Evan has been busy with hockey camps and has one week left in August. He is awesome and gets better every time he skates. He is bored most of the day and looks forward to daycare kids.

We are keeping busy and it is hard to believe that summer is almost gone. We are heading to IA for the kids Birthdays. That will be a fun trip.

Stacy met a guy and they are doing great. His name is Pat and he has a 6 year old son. We are going to meet him this week-end, I hope.

I think that is all the news for now.

Thanks for stopping by!!

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Harold and Mary's Farm

All of Team Bentson was invited out to the farm. It belongs to Evan's bus drivers, Harold and Mary. They had all kinds o f baby animals, including, chicks, turkeys, calves, pigs, kittens, and geese. We had a great time. I think the hit of the farm was the tractors. They tried out as many of them as they could get on but I don't think that they hit all 16 of them. We are going to get some sweet corn form them and a fresh turkey for Thanksgiving.

Have a great week!

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Not Quite a Month

Well, it hasn't quite been a month since my last post, just close. Things have been hectic here and I am thinking that is going to be that way for about 18 years.

We are doing great and enjoying every day of this warm weather. We have been heading to the park or just out in the yard. We had a couple weeks of sick kids. That was daycare kids and all. We had pink eye, runny nose stuff, and a GI bug. I hope that we will start getting used to all the germs and quit getting sick. The kids have been out riding their bikes and usually when they do that we go to the college.

We made a trip to IA with Aunt Stacy and did The Race For a Cure with Mom and Dad. That was fun and the kids held up very well for being up at 5:30AM. We walked three miles---YEAH!!!

Evan has been playing baseball and and is really good this year. Papa was in town and got to see him play. Evan has had hockey camp this week and then goes right to baseball. He should be tired by tomorrow.

Saturday we are heading to IA. Ron and Kelly and their kids are here for a visit. IT will be a lot of fun to see them. We are getting a family picture taken and plan on doing some swimming. It should be a great time.

Next week we are heading to WI Dells with Gordy and Dolly to celebrate their 20Th Anniversary and also their 70Th Birthdays. We have a video of the Dells and the kids are very excited to go. We will also be getting a family photo done with them.

I will try and not wait so long between the next post and add some more photos.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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Who's Garage is This?

I will never forget when my Grandma was here at Christmas, we walked her into the house through the garage and she said, "This garage is a pig sty!" We finally had some time and I hauled everything out and hung things up and now we have so much more room! The kids had a great time going up the stairs to check out the attic. What a great feeling of accomplishment!
Sunday we went to church, napped, and played in the yard! We took the kids up to MSU where they had all kinds of room to ride their bikes. Drew tried a ride on Evan's old bike with training wheels and did great! The yard was mowed and fertilized. Monday we had a lazy day. The kids wanted to put flags out in the front in honor of Memorial Day. They put them in a row in front of the fence. I got to sleep in!!! We spent most of the day outside! Then Evan had baseball practice and the other kids played at the school.
That's all for now and thanks for stopping by!

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An AWESOME Mother's Day Week-End

I must say that I have the most wonderful husband and kids! They not only made this Mother's Day a great one, but the whole week-end was a celebration for me. Saturday it was beautiful out and we spent the entire day outside. Ken cleaned up the front flowerbed and the kids and I put together a picnic table and a bench for the backyard. Then when the kids napped, Ken went to Menard's and got flowers and mulch. We planted all afternoon and got the mulch in and it looks so great! We made the flowerbed in the front smaller and have to put some sod in but it looks so good. We made the one in the back a little smaller and have our big birdbath out there.
Then on Sunday we went to Church and are really liking this new Church. It is called Messiah Lutheran. They have more of a contemporary service and lots of people and they are very good with the children. The church is full with lots of small children so we don't feel like ours are being so loud. I hope that we end up staying there. It is also the Church that Maddy and her family go to. (She is my daycare baby.)
I hope that all of the Mother's out there also had a great day!
Thanks for stopping in!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

How Time Flies

Hi,
I know that it has been weeks since I updated anything here. It seems that since the warmer weather is here that there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything in. The kids have been outside so much! It is wonderful.
Last Friday, Ken went to the cities to get some camping gear from some of his Mom's friends. They have been in their house for 42 years and it was time to get rid of things. I can't believe how generous they were. We have some wonderful camping gear, tents, and sleeping bags included. Ken put up tents in the front yard to the kids got to check them out. Abbie didn't like it when and ant came in her tent. We are excited about taking the kids to camp. I am hoping there will be showers close by!
While he was getting the camping gear the kids got to spend some time with Grandma Dolly and Grandpa Gordy. The took the kids to a community center with a huge play place. They had a really great time!
Daycare is going great. I have 3 full time kids, one that comes every day after school and then two part-time kids. We are really in the swing of things and it gets easier as it goes. I will be up to renew my license in Nov. and I will change it so I can have more preschoolers and then I should be busy, busy!
Ken ran into one of his co-workers and they were talking about May baskets and she said " People just don't have tine to do that anymore." Kens reply was, "Abbie and Krista made some for me to bring to the clinic. " To which she replied,"Those stay at home Moms have tome to do that stuff." I am so glad that Ken stood up for me and said that I own a daycare business AND the baskets were made after daycare hours!!! Way to go Ken. Abbie and I had a really fun time making them and the nurses loved them. Owen was sick with stomach bug and Ken had to pass them out but it is the thought that counts. We love to make crafts!
I think that is about it for now. Oh, we had a visit from Aunt Stacy and she brought the kids their souvenirs from Ireland and me LOTS of chocolate! Is that because she knows I love chocolate or so her weight loss goes better than mine? HAHAHA
Take care and I will get some photos on soon.

Beautiful Weather

What a beautiful week-end we had! The weather is starting to get nice and the ground might dry up so the kids have been out for the last three days. Andrew wanted to go out and play before 8AM today. We were going to try and get the kids to the Zoo but we decided to stay in Mankato and with them being out in the yard I got to sort out toys, put pieces back with the right toys, and clean out our biggest closet. One of those projects that takes a few hours. Papers get stacked and put onto shelves. There are thousands of photos that need a home. I am hoping to start scrap booking with daycare Moms and our good friend Denise. It would take me couple of days just to get organized and sort pictures out. I can't wait until we get that going.

I had a little boy, Christian, that started with us today. So far, so good. He is one and he and Owen have been playing. Abbie and Drew like to chase Owen and call him "poopy monster." Now with Christian, hopefully, they can leave he and Owen to play together.

That is all for now. I hope that all of you are able to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather. Take care and thanks for stopping by!

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HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, OWEN!!

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