Happy Halloween!!!

Trick or Treat - Smell my Feet - Give me way more sugar than I should EVER eat!

We went trick or treating this year with the McAllister group - which is what we did last year too now that I think about it. Joseph has been talking all month about being a ghost which worked out nicely for me since I am too broke to go all out this year. I told Marcus and Elijah that they could create any costume they wanted - as long as they used what we already had around the house. They did an awesome job and we all ha a great night. (Benny is a red gummy bear in case you were wondering)

Marcus - Nerdfest

JoJo the friendly Ghost

Srgt. Eli Bratton

Pumpkin Carving

Here are some pics of our pumpkin carving - ENJOY!

JoJo's First Field Trip

Joseph got to go on his very first field trip today! It was so much - We went to Los Rios Farms in San Juan with his preschool class. They got to play in the hay maze, make crafts, pick out their own pumpkin, go on the petting zoo, and ride on the train. We had a great time!

My favorite is how cute he looks in his overalls. He loves to pose for pictures too, so I was able to get some fun ones!

Birthdays!!

Well - it is the end of September and my two older boys just finished celebrating their birthdays!! They had two separate parties - well three if you count our little family one.

Marcus turned 13 on September 21st. AAHHHH a teenager!!!!!!!!!!!!! He celebrated after a win 28-0 at home. We took the team out for pizza and then bowling. It was a BLAST - especially when the parents went into the "lounge" and discovered they had karaoke. Now the real party begins - raising a teenage boy!!





Elijah turned 11 on September 25th. He had a nice simple party with a few of his friends from school. They just came over, played outside, had pizza, and brownies and ice cream. It was one of the most mellow and simple parties he's ever had, but he loved it. Many of the boys even commented how mush they enjoyed it. I guess less really is more.

Why I Ride

Sorry - didn't work the first time. Please see posting below.

Why I Ride

This is a beautiful video clip that my AMAZING brother-in-law Andy put together about my sister Deb and tells why he is riding in MS Ride in October. My other sister Barb has MS too, but thankfully is does not affect her a badly as it does Deb. If you wish to support him, you can go to his MS support page at:
http://www.biketofinishms.com/abenis
If you cannot give financially, your prayers for the Benis and Green families would be a blessing.

Are you ready for some football?????

The boys football season is underway and the boy' teams are loking pretty good. Marcus' team the Wolverines are 2-0 right now having beaten both Pasadena and Tri-cities 30-0. Marcus scored his first touchdown on the first play when Pasadena kicked off and Marcus ran it back 70 yards for the touchdown. He then scored his second touchdown on the second down of the first series. Last Saturday night Marcus scored three touchdowns and had some great hits. Now we just got to keep him humble.



















Elijah's Cowboys are 1-0 having beaten the Corona Panthers 12-0. Elijah had some good defensive plays and almost scored a touchdown on a great pass, but due to pass interference, didn't complete the catch. He has a hard game coming up next week against Carson Colts who played in the Super Bowl last year.

First Day of School! First Day of School!

Well, school is officially in full swing. So Sad. I love summer and hate to see it go by so quickly. Elijah and Joseph started on August 30th and Marcus started on September 6th.

Elijah started the sixth grade this year and has the most beautiful, sweet teacher named Mrs. Pace. He really seems to enjoy being in her class so far. He is in the same class as two of his cousins which is the first time since the second grade that this has happened and we are very excited. He has a wonderful class and has some great friends. His buddy Ben is in the other sixth grade and they get to hang out durinf lunch and recess. Elijah has also taken on flag football along with all his other committments. He's a bit crazy I think, but he loves it.

JoJo started preschool this year and couldn't be happier although I miss him terribly. He loves his teachers, Mrs. deViso and Mrs. Rexinger. He recently told me that Mrs. deViso is from heaven. He also lets out a grunt everytime I come to pick him up because he doesn't want to leave. I guess that that is good and bad. He loves to help and play on the playground, especially the water table and riding the bikes. He's made some new friends and I can't wait until the preschool is back on the main campus cuz he drive down there is killing me! And I will love being able to see him on the playground every day!








Marcus has now been integrated in to the world of public school - YIKES!!!! He is attending the middle school down the street and loves walking to school every day. The school seems to be very structured which is good for him and he is making new friends. I just pray that God will send him a couple good, Christian friends and keep all those fast scandalous girls away from my baby :) he seems motivated to get his work done, for now, and I am very proud of him.

I went back to monitoring so I could keep Elijah and Joseph at our school. I am working with my BFF Heather and we are having a ton of fun. We have a totally awesome group of kids and it looks like it'll be a great year.

Wicked!!

I was so blessed today to be included in my BFF's sister's bday bash! We got to celebrate Shannon's 39th birthday by having a surprise lunch at her aunt's house and then the going to see Wicked. It was soooooooooooo amazing!!! The music, the costumes, the whole thing was fabulous. I am so glad that I was able to go!! Thank you Shannon, Cathi, and Heather for inviting me. I had soooooo much fun. Whether we were playing spoons with forks, Bob's nines, taking silly pics, raiding Carrie's closet (thanks again Carrie for letting me borrow stuff) or roaming a round LA looking for a place to eat - you guys are so much fun to be around! Not to mention that scary random guy that assaulted me while we were tyring to have our girlie pic taken at the bowling-restaurant place. Can't wait for more girl's time out with you!

Holy Scrap!!

I just got back Saturday from a 2 day scrapfest in San Diego. Heather and I headed down to San Diego on Friday to Scrapbook Expo. We had so much fun. We took some classes, spent a little money, volunteered for 4 hours (we made $46, and attended the crop night. On Friday afternoon we walked around downtown San Diego in the historic gaslamp district and had lunch at a yummy burger place called "Dirty Rottens".
I loved San Diego. The weather was a little hot, but still beautiful. We plan to hit the expo every year and hope to make a longer weekend out of it so we can enjoy all that San Diego has to offer.

Next up is Scrapbook Expo Costa Mesa in February. Can't Wait!!

Wild Rivers

The boys and I just had a fun day at Wild Rivers with Heather and her kids. The church where Marcus goes to Jr. High group had a great deal on tickets that we just couldn't pass up. It was a blast!! I haven't been to Wild Rivers since high school and it was really fun!!! Joey was so brave and went down all the slides he was tall enough to ride, swam in the lazy river, and loved all the splash areas. Elijah especially liked the wave pool. I took a ride on the inner tube in the wave pool and was crashed into and flipped over face first into the pool. I'm sure I looked like an idiot.

On Thursday we went to my sister's country club and had fun trying to escape the heat in the pool. We had a great time especially since Grammy and PopPop joined us for the day. The only problem was that there was a shark pool there and every time you stepped foot in it, you were attacked and bitten. (the kids were the sharks and they were swimming around the toddler pool and they actually did bite!) We have been blessed to be able to use this pool. Thanks, Barb and Keith!

All said and done this has been a wonderful summer. Wish I could have spent more time at the beach, lake , and pool, but I did enjoy the times we were able to go. School starts for Elijah and JoJo next week and for Marcus in two. We're gonna make the best out of the little bit of summer we have left. I love summer and this was a great summer with my boys, family, and friends!!