These are a few of my favorite things!

Okay, I've been thinking about how many things I LOVE and thought I would make a list (it may get kind of long!), so here it goes...

1. My wonderful husband, Kevin. I thank my lucky stars EVERY DAY that I found him!!!

2. My sweet children, Tyler, Brooklyn, Derek, and Benjamin. They are the light of my life! They have taught me more than I could ever teach them.

3. My wonderful families! I am so blessed to be related to so many WONDERFUL people! I'm also glad that Kev and I are both from large families!

4. All my wonderful friends! I couldn't find pictures of them all! I am so grateful to have had so many wonderful people in my life--I have been forever changed by each one of them.

5. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. I am so thankful every day to be a member. My religion is my strength, my comfort, and my rock.

6. Temples. I love all the temples! I'm so grateful we can escape from the "real world" for a bit and find peace at the temple. My favorite temple is the San Diego Temple (I know, it's probably the most favorite temple out there, but it is absolutely BREATHTAKING!)

7. New York City! Okay, so far my most favorite place in the world is New York City! I love the hustle and bustle, the history, and just the magic of the city! I never get tired of it and it just makes me happy to be there! I'm sad I don't live within driving distance anymore! (Hawaii is a close second)
8. Marshmallow Brownies!!! THEY ARE SO GOOD!9. Chocolate Chip Cookies! They have to be gooey though. (this picture isn't very gooey)
10. Cocoa Pebbles. They are so good, but I hardly ever buy them because I would eat the whole box. Seriously. Cocoa Krispies don't even come close.11. Pizza. Okay, if there was one food that I had to eat the rest of my life, it would be pizza. I seriously don't think I could ever get sick of it. (BTW, I do like healthy food too--it's just not as exciting!)
12. My favorite book--Pride and Prejudice, hands down! I love the story, how they speak, the era, Jane Austen, and of course Darcy! It is magical!

13. My favorite flowers are red Roses, Gerbera Daisies, and Calla Lillies! Aren't they pretty?! They are gorgeous!

Well that is it for now! Sorry, I got carried away! I have a lot more "favorite things" and maybe I'll add some more another day, but for now this is it. Oh and by the way, Benjamin was very patient while I typed this post and this is why...

He was crawling around and found a sucker in Tyler's room. You would have thought he won the baby lottery. He was so proud of himself! I let him "enjoy" the sucker while I typed. He was a MESS, but loved every minute of it!

Afterward, he and Derek had a bath! It's a good thing babies are washable...good as new!

My friend Kelly

Last week, my good friend Kelly, from New Hampshire came to visit me. It was so much fun to see her!!!! She was originally going to come on Monday (along with our other friend from New Hampshire who lives in Utah now!), but sadly I got the flu.

So, she came to visit on Wednesday. We had a lot of fun chatting and catching up! Now I just need her to move here! I miss you Kelly!

Happy Birthday to me!

Yay--I had a great birthday! Because my birthday was on a Monday (February 9th), and because I really like to "milk it", we pretty much celebrated all weekend long. It was fun.

On Saturday, we took the kids to see "Madagascar 2" at the dollar theatre and then we went to dinner at Mimi's Cafe. We had a great time.

On Sunday, we sang Happy Birthday to me and had cake (that Kevin made--thanks hun!) and Mint Chocolate Chip Baskin Robbins Ice Cream (my favorite!) It was nice. Here's a pic...By the way--Kevin LOVES my UTES shirt! Actually, it's pretty funny--someone at work gave it to him as a gag gift, (Kev is the biggest BYU fan ever!!!) so I adopted it. After all, I graduated from the "U" and I actually kind of like the Utes! (GO UTES!!!)

Anyway, on Monday (my actual birthday), Kev and I went out on a date. It was very fun. We went to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse (very yummy!), wandered around the mall for a bit, and then went bowling. It was a very fun night, but I was a rather lame bowler. I always try to beat Kev, but I NEVER do! I have a lot of fun trying though. Here are some pics...

This is my professional bowling "kick" that Kevin says is "cute"...

This is Kevin's "real" professional "Banner bowling" kick...That might be part of the reason why I never win!!!
Anyway, I had a great birthday, I just don't think I like the whole "getting older" thing.

Chocolate is good!

Well today I took Brooklyn to a little birthday party at Carl's Jr. at "The District" shopping center in South Jordan. I decided that since I was already at The District, I might as well do some window shopping.

So Benjamin and I wandered around the stores. It was very fun except Benjamin was a little tired and cranky. Fortunately, I had a little bag of Kix cereal in my purse. Every time he would start to fuss, I would give him a Kix. I would say, "More" and he would open up his little mouth. This worked pretty well.

Well as I was shopping, I just so happened to walk by a Chocolate store and just HAD to check it out. I decided to buy a couple little chocolates. Yum. I gave Benjamin a little piece of chocolate and he immediately perked right up and said, "muh, muh, muh", which I interpreted as "more" in Benjamin language. He has never said that before, but I knew exactly what he meant. I guess chocolate sure beats out Kix.

He was happy as a clam the rest of our little shopping excursion. Yes, it seems he has my genes. Chocolate makes me happy too. :-)

The FLU Chronicles

Okay, you probably don't want to hear about "The FLU Chronicles", but that has been my life this week. So of course, I feel the need to blog about it.

First off, let me just say that I HATE the Flu! Yucky yuck yuck! I think the flu (and nausea in general) is pretty much the worst form of torture...

About a month ago I told Kev, "Ya know, we have all been pretty healthy lately." "No one has thrown up in a long time...it's kind of nice." Word of warning...NEVER SAY THAT...

Well, on Sunday Derek woke up saying his stomach hurt. Within an hour, he had thrown up. Kev and I played tag team at church so we could both be there when we had to be (that's when I'm grateful to have the church down the street as opposed to 30 minutes away as it was in New England)!

After church, Derek had really perked up--running around and eating. We thought we might be out of the woods! Yay!

The next morning I woke up and thought, "What in the world is wrong with me!?" I felt terrible and it didn't take me too long to realize the horror...I was the next victim!!!! Auggghhh!

I barely got the kids ready and off to school and then I just crashed on the couch. At first I was in denial...I think I really followed the 5 step process (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance). I had a hard time accepting the fact that I was sick. I was particularly "in denial" because I had a fun day planned. My good friends from New Hampshire (one was visiting and one lives in Utah now) were going to come to my house to "play". I was really looking forward to it, but because I literally couldn't pick myself off the couch, we had to postpone our play date. I was so sad.

So, I spent the rest of the day trying to recover. Derek took pretty good care of me--got me blankets, drinks, snacks for Ben, etc. I was proud of him. Thankfully, Ben took two decent naps, so I was able to rest.

Well, I started to feel better that night and I was hoping there would be no more victims.

About 3:00 AM poor poor little 10 1/2 month old Ben threw up!!!! That is about the saddest thing ever to witness. I didn't think HE would get sick! Thankfully, he was able to go back to sleep and never threw up again.

Well, on Tuesday we were all starting to feel decent and yesterday we all felt great, so I was once again, hoping the flu bug was gone.

Last night around 2:00 AM, I sat straight up in bed because I heard someone throwing up!!! I went to go check it out and it was....DEREK!!!??? What!?? That poor poor little boy! I thought there was a "flu rule" that once you had the flu, you couldn't get it again for at least a year. Well, I cleaned him up, made him a bed on our floor, and told him to try to go back to sleep.

As I was trying to go back to sleep, I heard him whispering. I asked him what he was saying. He said, "I'm just trying to think about all the good happy things, like my birthday and Christmas, so I can fall asleep."

What a sweetie.

Well, he is now starting to perk up (once again) and I hope (once again) that this is the end of the flu at the Banner home. I hope Tyler, Brooklyn, and Kevin will be spared. It has been a rough few days.

However, I must say the ONLY good thing about the flu is that it always makes me really appreciate my health! As I lay on the couch, sick as a dog, I could barely remember what it ever felt like to be healthy. I realize I am so fortunate to feel so healthy most of the time! I guess it's true; you don't appreciate the sweet until you've tasted the bitter. So, I hope we have many many healthy days ahead of us!