Positive

To announce my pregnancy, Mike and I sent an email to his family with this picture and the caption "positive". My sister-in-law rightly commented that a previously urinated on object is kind of nasty. She is so right, but I can't think of any other image that so utterly conveys the surprise, the amazement, the excitement, the shock. Two lines? Really!!!???

Anyway, we are due March 20th. I'm almost 11 weeks along. Mike and are surprised but so excited to be adding to our family!

While my parents were out visiting for my graduation we had lots of fun together. After my graduation on Friday, we all went to eat dinner at Mike's parents' house. We had a nice dinner, and after dinner, everyone, including my parents, went for a good post-meal ride down the homemade zip line in the back yard. It was fun to see my parents, so young at heart, not afraid to give it a try. And, although Olivia may look petrified in this picture, she is such a thrill-seeking child, she wasn't even fazed by her zip line ride. She did it several times, and after she kept crying for more!

We also enjoyed visiting Hoggle Zoo in SLC with my parents. It was a hot day, and I think the highlight for Olivia was the popsicle she got to eat at the park before we left to go home.

I Finally Gragitaded from the BYU!

BYU Class of 2028

Well, 3 houses, 2 pregnancies, 3 apartments, 3 years of marriage, and 7 years later, I finally got my degree! It feels good to finally have that diploma. Due to some poor planning and advising, I've been "pretty much done" for a couple of years now, but I just needed to finish up my 4 foreign language classes for a GE requirement. Unfortunately, foreign language classes can not be taken concurrently, so my BYU journey was stretched out a little longer than I would have preferred. Anyway, it all turned out good in the end; I got to take 4 classes of American Sign Language, and I've really enjoyed learning ASL and all about Deaf culture. I met some amazing people, and learned some important lessons.

Thanks to my parents for being there to help me celebrate my big day.

Family Reunion Fun

Well it seems no summer is complete without at least one family reunion. In mid July (yes, I'm way behind on my blogging) Mike's parents held a family reunion for all their children and grandchildren. This may not seem like a big reunion, but the Benson's are a big clan (and growing--more on that later!). In total, there were 2 grandparents, 18 children and their spouses, and 35 grandchildren, for a total of 55 people (I'm a college graduate now, so I can do that kind of amazing math)!
The highlights of the event included lots and lots of good food, an early morning run with my sister-in-law Becky (at home I usually run solo, so it is always a nice change to have someone to pass the time with), lots of good company and visiting, a big blow-up bouncer room for the kids, and a trip to an amazing privately owned pool/waterfall in the neighborhood. It was so fun to get together with family and relax.
Here are some pictures:


My dare-devil child loving the water slide with her Daddy:

Mike accompanying my beautiful and talented nieces during the family talent show:

A very tired, and very scrappy looking Olivia bonding with her Grandpa:

The amazing, privately-owned pool we got to swim at:

Worst Blogger Ever!

Well, I am not surprised if no one even checks this thing anymore, since I have been so negligent about updating it. I can't believe it has been over a month already! Time has just flown. We have been very busy this month, and I have some good updates and pictures to upload later tonight.