Wow - it has been over a year.

Hard to believe it has been over a year. Needless to say I need to do a better job. So here are your updates on the family members in the spirit of world news in a minute.

Senia - keeps growing up. Currently is 2 years old, and very active. Among her favorite sayings are:

• I do it (meaning i am independent, I will do it myself - you just supervise)
• Senia's (to let us know that what she touched is now her's)
  
• Show (meaning I want to watch a show)
• No way (which she uses to any request from her parents)
  

Kaitlinn - loves Kindergarten and is reading really well. She enjoys playing soccer and looks like she will be quite the athlete. Kaitlinn and Tia are taking art classes and both are enjoying and getting pretty good at it.

Tia - She made her Elementry School debut as a servant and back up singer in the musical "Annie." She did a great job and is growing up each and every day. She too plays soccer, and takes piano lessons. (as well as the art lessons mentioned above)

Shannon - She is the rock of our family. She is still working part time, and being an incredible mother. She is coaching Kaitlinn's soccer team and enjoys doing that.

Corey - Last year the little league team I helped coach not only won the championship - they went undefeated. I am really looking forward to this next season. I am still working at ADP.

Lesson Learned or not?

At work yesterday, we learned that one of my co-workers had passed away - the result of a car accident. This caused me to reflect on the past 4 months. Our family lost some very valuable people. First my dear mother-in-law lost her short battle with cancer. Then my brother Mark which as near as we can tell was the result of alcohol poisoning. We still have not received confirmation from the authorities nearly 2 months after the fact. In January, a dear dear friend and former neighbor, Jim lost his battle with cancer.

I miss them all. They all had a tremendous influence on me and none of them will ever be forgotten.

None of us ever know when it will be our turn. I can not imagine having my girls grow up with out me or me them.

It makes me want to be a better dad, husband, friend and employee. This alone does not mean I won't have my moments - we are human, we all have our moments.

I want to take advantage of the time I have left with my family and friends. I am going to start being very selfish in terms of the time I spend with my loved ones. I just hope I can get through this.

Of Cactuses, baked beans, and broken boxes

Cactuses

Yes sirree folks, you are looking at the latest creation of Kaitlinn. Her pre-school had a Cowboy day at school. Pictured below is Kaitlinn's creation --- what amounts to a green painted potato with a lot of toothpicks. Laugh it up while you can, they probably laughed at Michelangelo when he drew on the ceiling of his room as a kid.


Baked Beans

We did not realize that baked beans had a dozing effect on 1 year olds. Well lasting until dinner without a nap can create this result. I kept thinking in my mind the scene from "Mr. Mom," in which several repair men are in the house when their toddler comes around the corner in a walker with a can of chili and a spoon. One of their repairmen asks the main character, "you fed a baby chili?" With that all 3 repairmen are next seen screeching out of the neighborhood. Well, we survived -- although we should give it another day to have the baked beans process through. Anyone know where I can buy a gas mask?


Broken boxes

The girls joined with their cousin Xavier to make the most out of a card board box. When we found out we would be watching Xavier, I thought we would need to pull out some old Sesame Street videos, little did we know we should have gone to Mailboxes Etc., to get supplies for the night. It was a very enjoyable night. The girls really enjoyed playing with Xavier. I am looking forward to seeing them grow up together.

The Benson girls in goal, the walking 9 month old, a running Titan and some sad news

Life has been real hectic. When I looked at the blog tonight, I was shocked that I had not written a post in nearly 4 months. I guess that is what little league football, girls soccer and some family events will does to you.

THE BENSON GIRLS IN GOAL
The picts below are of Kaitlinn and Tia - each of them took a turn to play goalie this year. They had enjoyable seasons and I think they will be playing again next season.



Tia is the small speck of green....she played great in this game, despite not having played there a lot. Kaitlinn is the adorable goalie on the right. She played there several games and seemed to enjoy it.

THE WALKING 9 MONTH OLD
I know - she is now 10 months old but the video was shot when she was 9 months old - so there. She is growing up each day, now she waves and is found smiling most of the time (apart from the "change my diaper," "feed me now'" and "I just woke up faces" moments she has)

AND NO - THERE IS NO NEED FOR A SOBRIETY TEST - REMEMBER THIS IS A 9 MONTH OLD WALKING - THERE IS GOING TO BE A CERTAIN TILT TO HER SWAGGER.




A Running Titan
This year was my second year coaching little league football. Our team was the Olympus Titans Grey Team - (hence the Running Titan reference) I have learned a lot and have found a lot of joy helping coach. The pict below was in a game against Cooper Hills. The 42-0 win was very satisfying. We did not make the playoffs this year, but hopefully we will be in the playoffs next year. I am hoping to take some coaching clinics in the off season to help me improve.




Some Sad News
Some of you may now that on October 21, 2009, Shannon's mom, Joan lost her battle with cancer. She was an incredibly, amazing woman. I was very lucky to have known her as long as I did. We have been very touched by our friends and family who have checked in on us. I have hope that my girls will grow up to be as amazing as their Grandma Flowers. We were lucky to have her in our lives and she will NEVER be forgotten.

Tia's Baptism

Our 8 year old got dunked.

We celebrated the baptism of Tia Aldine Benson on Saturday June 27th. She has been an incredible part of our lives, we are so proud of her. We were lucky to have many family and friends joining us for this special day.

It was a busy day as later that afternoon we went to a family party at Shelly and Jim's. It made for a real long day, but it was so worth it.

Below are some other pictures from the baptism:

• Tia was able to share this day with her best friend Mimi, who was baptized the same day.

• A picture of Tia and the rest of the family.

• My Mom and Steve and our three girls.
  

• Joan and Mike (Shannon's parents and the rest of the gang)

• My Dad and his mom Aldine Benson and the rest of the family.
  

• Tia and her great grandmother Aldine whom Tia is named after.
  

• Tia and Mom and Dad

Sizing up the competition

TAKE THAT

Late tonight Kaitlinn brought one of her dolls out. Needless to say a"Toddler Cat Fight" broke out between Senia and the doll. I am not sure if she was jealous or annoyed at the noises the baby could make. Her dad was excited because he has been wanting to smack that noise making baby around before but held back.

There is no truth that Dad is going to start her on a training regimen so she can be in mixed martial arts when she is older. But if anyone know how much those woman fighters make - please let me know - I am curious.

If you add water - they multiply

Tia's Birthday

We had Tia's birthday party in our back yard. We invited over 20 kids and most of them showed up. There were two slip and slides in the back yard along with a 8 person kiddie pool. Let's just say our back yard was packed. Good times. We even decorated little surf boards and let the kids color their own beach balls. Both were hits.

The kids seemed to have a great time. Mom and Dad are still comatose.