Caleb

Caleb tells me that I don't update my blog enough.  "Look," he says, "there were 95 entries in 2009 and only one so far in 2012."  So here I am, updating my blog.

One of my favorite things about my brother Caleb is that he keeps me in line.  He always tells me when I need to do something or when I do something I shouldn't do.  He is very concerned with fairness, and points out things that go against his sense of justice.  Also, he is a fantastic writer.  His blog and his entire google account were deleted because he was not yet 13, but when he was blogging, it was one of my favorite things to read.  He just has a way with words!  He is getting close to 13 now...  Caleb is a really fast typer.  He has an A+++++ in his 7th grade typing class.  He types much faster than the requirements.  Caleb is a very good pet owner.  He takes good care of his dog Scruffy.  He likes to play on his computer a lot.  He also loves to read.  It's always fun to talk about books with Caleb - he really thinks about what he reads, and he has an amazing memory for the small details in the book.  He is great at building things and has an intuitive sense for how things work and how they are put together.  Maybe he will be an engineer some day.  Caleb is going to stay with us for about a week after Christmas.  I am excited to spend that time with him.  He is my favorite youngest brother, and these are just a few of the many things I love about him!

Chalk writing

Landis loves being outdoors, and lately, he has been very interested in writing. So we have been going outside most days to write and draw pictures with his sidewalk chalk! Today, Landis wanted to write the names of his two youngest uncles, Josh and Caleb. He still has a little bit of trouble with the orientation of his letters - he wrote his J and S backwards - but he is getting better and better at writing!

P.S. Caleb, now you have to update your blog!

Gainesville pics :)

Landis and came up to Gainesville for the weekend. We had a blast today at a state park with Paul, Josh, Caleb and Scruffy!

We climbed the largest oak tree in Florida, took turns running around with Scruff and relaxed in a hammock.

It was a very fun day!

Birthday Party Pictures

Landis had a great 3rd birthday party! He had so much fun with his big brother, uncles and friends.



We had the party at a local park, and Landis had a blast running around near the lake...


...and climbing trees with his friend Guinnevere!


Caleb had fun climbing too..


...so did Josh and Aaron Scott!

We are in Gainesville for the weekend! We just watched the game (Go Gators!!) and arrived back at my parents' house.

Landis wanted to play with Caleb's toys. Josh reminded him that he should ask before he played with them. Landis walked over to Caleb and said, "Caleb, your toys are nice. I like to play with them. I am going to play with them now."

Umm, Landis, that was not quite what we meant by "ask Caleb." Silly boy!

Landis just called my parents' house to talk to his uncles and said "Hi, Caleb. Do you want to come to my house or not?" What happened to Caylo? His adorable mispronunciations are getting rarer and rarer - my little boy is growing up whether I'm ready or not!

Landis-isms of the Day

Landis, Caleb and I had to run some errands today. As I was driving to the grocery store, I asked the boys if there was anything they would like me to add to my list. Caleb requested milk and tomato soup so that we could make "Grandpa's Penne Pasta" (pasta with cheese and tomato soup.) Landis chirped in, "I want tomato soup! I do! I do!"

Caleb, amused by Landis' response, asked, "Landis, do you believe in fairies?"

Landis replied, "I believe in tomato soup!"

Silly boys!!!

Big Update Post

I've been neglecting this poor blog because we have been busy recently!

Goat is still working like crazy, making a valiant effort to do 6 people's jobs. In his spare time (Ha! What spare time?) he has managed to complete several computer and truck related projects, as well as taking over Monday and Wednesday evening Landis wrangling duties because...

I am back in school! My schooling was put on hold by the arrival of a certain 2 year old we all know and love, and I am finally going back. I'm taking classes at Brevard Community College - a speech class for the first half of the summer that meets Monday and Wednesday evening, then a Humanities class that meets Tuesday and Thursday evening for the rest of the summer. In the fall and spring, I plan to take a few last general ed requirements and several prerequisite courses so that I can begin the UCF education program in either the summer or fall semester of next year.

Speaking of school, Aaron Scott is out of school for the summer. He will be in 4th grade next year, and will be 9 years old in August. Time is flying by! He is an extremely fun and active boy. When he is here, we almost always end up spending a lot of time outside, running, jumping, riding bikes, going for walks, swimming etc. He has some exciting travel plans with his mom and stepdad this summer, and we hope to see a lot of him when he is not traveling.

Landis is also getting ridiculously big! He starts swimming lessons Monday morning, and I hope that he will be swimming by the end of the summer. He loves swimming at his Grandma and Papa's house, at the public pool and in the little kiddie pool in our yard. He has been really interested in learning about letters and their sounds recently, and enjoys playing on the Starfall website.

Josh had been visiting for the past week, which has been so much fun! We always enjoy having him around. We baked scones and a pie, went to the beach and pool, Goat took him target shooting, and now the guys are fishing. He has also been a huge help, keeping Landis occupied so I can get some projects done around the house. He even offered to mow the grass this weekend! We went to several garage sales yesterday and the best find was a 9 cube organizer similar to this one for $5! It fits perfectly in the boys' room.

Caleb is coming to visit next week and we are excited about spending some time with him. I am so fortunate to have 4 wonderful little brothers!

We are looking forward to going up to North Carolina to see Johnny and meet his girlfriend Andrea later this summer. It will be nice to have all of the siblings together.

It should be a fun summer!!!

Happy Birthday

Caleb!!! We love you. Have fun being 9!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are all enjoying the Christmas season with family, friends, food and fun!  We are in Gainesville spending some time with my parents and brothers.  It has been a fun visit, filled with music and presents and the pitter patter of tiny little feet in giant combat boots.  

Landis just took his evening bath with Uncle Caleb.  It was a very loud, splashy and fun bath.  Uncle Josh is practicing his piano.  He is getting to be a very talented pianist.  Caleb wants to make sure that everyone knows that he is both a talented pianist AND drum player.  The 2 big uncles are out and about.  John has seamlessly rejoined Paul's busy social life.  Goat is, unfortunately, working on his truck.  The ball bearings went out as we were driving up.  We were able to make it under our own steam, but Goat has had to spend most of the day replacing the bearings.  All 4 of his brothers-in-law have helped him throughout the day.  They were kind of cute, all crowded underneath the truck.  Awww, male bonding!  

The Benton uncles are using this visit to make sure we are raising their nephew right - as a Gator fan!  Paul dressed Landis up in his Gator Gear, and Landis has learned good Gator Chomp technique.  Maybe one day he will be able to attend a game with his uncles.  

We will be heading home later today or early tomorrow.  I don't know what Landis is going to do in our boring house after spending so much fun time in Gainesville!  We are looking forward to spending some time with Aaron Scott while he is still on his school break and seeing Goat's parents, (who are in Arizona visiting his Grandmother) his siblings, and all of our friends.   

Landis in Gainesville

...having a great time with his uncles!

Cedar Key Pics

They day before the fun week with Caleb in Melbourne, my Mom, Dad, brothers, Landis and I went out to Cedar key to visit my Grandpa.

Landis with Nonny and Great-Grandpa. We had 4 generations together!


Swinging with Uncle Caleb.


Back from a nice walk with Grandpa.


Landis is not so sure about riding on Nonny's shoulders.

Landis, Aaron Scott and Caleb Pics :)

A few pictures from Caleb's visit to Melbourne.

Aaron Scott and Landis. Just look at those big blue eyes! I think Landis is looking more and more like Aaron Scott as he gets older.


The 3 boys together. They are so goofy!


Caleb playing with Landis. Caleb is a very fun uncle!


The big boys, absolutely thrilled to be running errands. Goat had 2 oil changes to do, on the Honda and the Z, and one boy helped with each oil change. He got them each a nice cold orange soda to drink after working out in the heat, so they have matching orange mustaches.

Caleb is vising for the week. We are having LOTS of fun. My mom drove us down on Tuesday and we ate dinner together (Goat makes an amazing lasagna!), took a walk, got ice cream, and then she drove back. :( We tried to convince her to stay overnight, but since Josh decided to stay home rather than enduring the long car ride, she wanted to get back. Wednesday Caleb helped me make bread, we took another walk, did some gardening and had a Dr. Mario tournament. Fun! Thursday we took the bike and trailer, which carries both Landis and Caleb without a problem, to the park. Caleb had to use the gross park bathrooms. He was really upset that someone had written "women's bathroom" on the inside of the door in the men's bathroom. Caleb and I played Risk II and he beat me. Nooooooooo! Today, we are picking Aaron Scott up from school at 1 pm and we will have lots of fun with him. I will probably take all 3 boys to the park if the weather is nice to run off some energy. I do not want 3 overly energetic boys bouncing around my house! Caleb is attacking me with a glowing spoon from his cereal box, so I had better go...