I didn't realize I gave birth to twins...4 1/2 years apart!

Ever since Benjamin was born people have been commenting about how much he looks like Derek...even complete strangers.

Well, I was looking at pictures of Derek the other day and I was completely floored by how much they look alike! Even Benjamin saw the pictures of Derek and said, "Ben!" Derek's cheeks are still a little chubbier, but it's pretty amazing nonetheless.

So, I thought I would search through the archives and find some pictures of my twins...

Derek is always on the left and Benjamin is always on the right









Really really weird...now let's see if I give birth to triplets when Banner boy #4 is born in a couple months!

Happy Birthday Tyler!!!

Well along with Christmas always comes another birthday for Tyler! He turned 11...he is just getting so big it's crazy!

On Christmas night, we went up to my parent's house and celebrated his birthday with his cousins. I made a giant cookie for him and we sang and he opened some presents.

I had issues with the frosting on this cookie, but it was still yummy!

Tyler got a little remote control car from Radio Shack (one of his favorite stores!)

Ty was also excited to get a new speaker/docking station for his new iPod.

Happy Birthday Tyler!!!

Merry Christmas One and All!

We had a wonderful Christmas! The kids were so excited all month long and could hardly wait for Christmas to come! I had to keep reminding them that WAITING for Christmas is part of the fun!

We enjoyed making (and eating) Christmas candy, making candy houses, reading Christmas stories, singing Christmas songs, going on Christmas drives to see the lights, enjoying Christmas parties, and just the whole spirit of the season!

This is Christmas Eve night right after Santa delivered all the goods! This is my favorite time...so exciting! We knew the kids were still half awake upstairs, so Kevin tried to jingle some jingle bells and do some HO HO HOs! it was fun!

The kids were SO EXCITED Christmas morning...can you tell???



Benjamin LOVED his soft Elmo...

Sadly, I didn't take too many pictures. I guess I got caught up with all the excitement and forgot to take more pictures. Tyler was excited to get a new iPod and Lego sets, Brooklyn was thrilled to get a bunch of new clothes (that's what she wanted most of all!), accessories, Pixos, and Webkins, Derek loved his new cars, Bendaroos, Webkins, art stuff and other toys. Benjamin loved his new Elmo, books, and plastic animals. It was a lot of fun!

Random Pictures

Okay, just like it says, here are some random pictures of our fam...

The kids...Benjamin wouldn't cooperate...

Derek & Brooklyn

Tyler, almost 11

Brooklyn, 8 1/2

Derek, 6

Benjamin, 21 months

Me, 5 1/2 months pregnant

Derek, STILL loves cars! He had a fun time arranging all his cars in his room...until Benjamin came along...

A Little Fun Family Trip

On the last weekend before Christmas, Kev and I decided to take our kids on a little surprise family outing. We had so much fun. After school, I told the kids to pack an overnight bag. I drove the kids into Salt Lake City and pulled into the Red Lion Hotel. They were so excited! We checked in and hung out in our room for a bit. After Kev got off work, he met us over there.

We then took the kids to dinner at Leatherby's (their choice). Which, by the way, I don't think we'll ever go to again. Decent food and ice cream, but way overpriced and not a very nice atmosphere. I doubt they will be in business much longer. The kids LOVED it though.

After dinner, we headed over to the The Gateway movie theater and saw The Princess and the Frog. Very cute. Then we went back to the hotel and settled in for the night.

We had so much fun. It was nice to get away and go on a little trip and the kids had so much fun!

At the Movie Theater (not a very good picture, I know)

In the hotel room...

Brooke and Derek pretending to be asleep...

A Funny Book

Okay so, I went to the library with the kids around Halloween time and Benjamin absolutely fell in love with a book called Halloween Night. It's a really cute book...we renewed it 3 times (the maximum aloud) and we probably read it at least 50 times. Benjamin loved all the "scary guys" and all the "pumpkins".

Well there was a certain page that Benjamin loved which shows a bunch of kids dressed in their Halloween Costumes. Benjamin LOVED this page and he started converting our family members into these Trick-or-Treaters (click on the pictures and you can see them better).

He of course immediately dubbed Brooklyn the girl in the pink ballerina costume blowing a bubble (very appropriate!) Then he said Derek was the vampire (Derek was a vampire for Halloween this year, so that was very appropriate as well.) He said Kevin was the Batman dude (okay, that works) and Tyler was the tall green frog-lookin' guy near the front. So, when I asked him, "Where's mommy?", do you want to know who he picked!????

Yes, I am the little round pudgy guy at the end (I think he's dressed as a rat)! Lovely. I tried to get him to change me to be the little black cat girl or the witch or at least a girl....but no....he was determined that I was the little guy on the end and never diverted from it.

So....this is me.....I guess I am pregnant so it's kind of appropriate! The other kids loved this book as well because they would laugh and laugh and laugh at ME!

I'm glad we finally got to return this book to the library.

Tyler's Arrow of Light

In November, Tyler earned his Arrow of Light award in scouts and moved onto 11-year old scouts (he didn't turn 11 until Christmas though). It was a really nice Pack meeting and Tyler enjoyed all the attention. He got to show all the scouts how to fold a flag properly...

Then the Cub Master led a special ceremony for Tyler. He pretended to perform a surgery on him...he laid Tyler on a little "operation table" and talked about all that he learned throughout Cub Scouts. It was very cute. At the end, he presented him with his Arrow of Light and a plaque. It was a great night!