Happy Birthday!!

Dear Joanna,

You are the best wife ever and I wish you the happiest of birthdays!!!   :-)
Russell said he would bake you a cake. . . . . or did that grunt mean EAT you a cake? . . .
Anyways, I'll be wishing that I was there in cheeseland celebrating your birthday with you by eating cheese curds and Reeses Pieces cake, but alas, I must stay here and work.  :-( 
Here are some birthday kisses from me and Russell.:

I love you!


 - Ben


Here is a bonus Russell smiling at mommy picture!:

New Year Resolutions

I know I'm almost a month late on sharing my resolutions, but I really wanted to make sure they were ones that I would/really needed to do.

1. Really magnify my calling. I have struggled with teaching the 12 and 13 year old Sunday School class because they act like 12 and 13 year olds. Most Sundays they would not stay focused on whatever topic the lesson was about, and would spend most of the time discussing things like which language is the hardest to learn or the movie that just came out. And, there were some that had high opinions of themselves. So, I've been trying to put more effort into the lessons and trying to get to know the kids better.

2. Learn to use our new camera. We got a nice new camera that takes good pictures, so I'm happy to learn to use it well. I'm not planning on making any money or anything, but I would like to have good pictures of the kiddos (and Ben and I, too, I guess). I've have tried to practice taking pictures almost every day. Russell makes it easy because he points to the camera insisting I take pictures. Of him. I do plan to take new baby's newborn pictures, so we'll see how that goes.

What a cute boy :)

3. Finish unfinished projects and go through my fabric stash. I have tons of projects and fabric that are breaking out of their boxes and taking over my desk. I just need to finish the projects and use up the fabric so that they are out of here. Plus, I don't want to have to move it all next time we move.

Last Day of the Semester

Just a few thoughts. . . . 
Well, half the school year is over. YAY!
Just one more half to go until summer.
For my chemistry classes, I give students 100 points extra credit if they can memorize and then sing, in front of the whole class, the Elements Song by Tom Lehrer: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcS3NOQnsQM  
Last year only 1 student got it. This year, 3 students did it!
I'm sure that this song will be something that they carry with them the rest of their lives!
The 1 student who did it last year still remembers it.
Those of you who have ever taught can relate to this: I am glad that I won't have to teach some of my students ever again (troublemakers!), but I will miss all of them. The teacher that retired and I took his spot last year came and visited me before school started, and he said that he loves retirement, and not having to grade papers or deal with pesky parents or administrators, but that he really really misses the kids! I feel the same way. In a sense they are like my own kids - I have cared for and helped them grow for a short amount of time. I am glad that I now, (thanks to my amazing wife) I get a lifetime of having this amazing experience by being a parent to Russell and his soon-to-be sibling!

- Ben

New Year's Eve

We flew back from Arizona on New Year's Eve Day, so we planned beforehand what we were going to do for our little New Year's Eve party.

We had our own little party that evening for dinner.

Ben and Russell celebrating meat and cheese.

Our baked good foods: egg rolls, pizza rolls, mozzarella sticks, and breaded green beans.

Veggies and fruit.

Happy New Year!

We were going to let Russell bang some lids together, but we forgot because we wanted to get him in bed. He went to bed really easy and slept great after 9 nights of not going to bed easy and not sleeping great.

Ben and I stayed up and watched Downton Abbey. After watching the ball drop, Ben insisted we stay awake until midnight, so as we were reading scriptures, we stopped long enough to wish each other a Happy New Year.

Tennage Mutant Ninja Turtle

Russell got this ridiculous bath set from some of Ben's students for Christmas. Michelangelo's mask, turtle shell, and nun chucks.

It was complete with bath fizzies and some body wash, but Russell probably won't be using them.

Christmas Pics

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Since we were in Arizona for Christmas, dreaming was all we could do in order for us to have a white Christmas. Here is our travelogue:

Saturday, December 21: We left early to drive up to MSP for our flight. We had no trouble getting with parking, the shuttle to the airport, getting through security, etc. Russell did awesome on the flight falling asleep shortly after take-off and then charming the ladies around us when he woke back up. He loved being on the 'ai-pa'. We got our rental car and then drove to Phil and Karen's house, and relaxed after our flight.

Sunday, December 22: We went to church. It was the Christmas Sacrament Program, so there was some nice music. Abram and Rebecca were also there, so Russell got to decide if he was going to like Annette (which he did). He did not like nursery, though. After church, we enjoyed a restful Sunday afternoon. Joseph and Hannah came over to see us, and the Mike and Lori dropped in about the same time. Russell got very excited to see lots of little boys to play with.

Monday, December 23: We drove down to Tucson to visit Mary Anne. She went to lunch with us, and then we enjoyed a scenic tour of Tucson. Mary Anne hadn't been out for a while and enjoyed seeing the town. Part of the grand tour included a drive to Sentinel Peak where the A for the University of Arizona is. It is not nearly as awesome as BYU's Y Mountain, but it had some nice views of Tucson. We had a nice visit with Mary Anne while we were there. We drove back up to Phoenix that evening.

Tuesday, December 24: We got things ready for Christmas (including shopping for some presents). Ben, Russell, and I went to the park so Russell could finally play on the playground again. he was very happy he could be outside! Ben's Duvall Grandparents arrived that afternoon also escaping from cold snowy weather. We had the traditional Joslin Christmas Eve Dinner of eggs goldenrod and sausages, the read the Christmas story and lit the special nativity Abram brought back from Germany.

Wednesday, December 25:  Christmas Morning! Ben and I got a special awakening at 3 AM because the fire alarms were going off in one of the apartment buildings here at home. We had to call the lady we asked to 'be in charge' while we were gone and have her go turn them off. Then we got up had breakfast and opened presents. Russell was excited for his 3 pack of 'nacks' (fruit snacks) and his 'brmmm-brmmm' (steering wheel toy) that he got. Ben was happy to get the cologne he has been searching for since he came home from Italy. Once again, the three of us took a walk to enjoy some nice sunshine and collect some citrus fruits from neglected trees. Later that day we went to Becky's for Christmas Dinner and the Secret Santa gift exchange. On our way home, we stopped at Joseph and Hannah's and Abram and Rebecca's to see their homes.

Thursday, December 26: Dave and Lindsey invited us to join them at the zoo because they had some extra passes they needed to use. It was fine, and Russell enjoyed seeing the animals. I hadn't been to a big zoo like that for a long time, so it was fun to go again. There was also a sibling basketball game that afternoon, in which Ben was victorious at everything they did (a game, and then horse).

Friday, December 27: We went to the temple with Ben's grandparents, while Russell stayed home with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Rebecca, Annette, Lowe and Kingston. It is always nice to be in a larger temple, but I enjoy the nice small St. Paul Temple. You can't get lost, and there usually aren't tons of people. We went to lunch afterwards, and then came home to a napping Russell. He didn't have quite as enjoyable time. He did like Aunt Rebecca. That night we went to Nathan and Alicia's for dinner. Afterwards, we went to see the lights at the temple.

Saturday, December 28: We went to Mike and Lori's. We tried going to their favorite Chinese buffet, but it was closed. The second Asian buffet we tried was vacant, but we got lucky at the Asian Mall and had some Thai food. We ate lunch and then let the boys run around outside. After that, I took Russell back home for a nap, and Ben helped Mike fix some things around their apartment. When Ben got home, he fixed Aglio Olio Peperoncino for dinner.

Sunday, December 29: We went to church again. Russell was not happy to be at church, so Ben spent the whole time in the hall with Russell and they kept peeking in through the window into the Relief Society room. That afternoon we went and visited Ben's Aunt Barbara who had recently gotten back to Arizona from New York City. For dinner, Dave and Lindsey, Abram and Rebecca, and Joseph and Hannah came over. We had cheesecake for dessert. Russell didn't want to eat his, so I helped him out :)

Monday, December 30: We hiked up A Mountain with Joseph. Once again A Mountain isn't nearly as impressive as Y Mountain, but the walk from Joseph and Hannah's apartment through campus and to A Mountain was enjoyable. I fell on the way down, but only suffered sore hands from catching myself. Ben helped his Aunt Barbara hang some curtains and his other aunt, Beverly and her grand daughter were there. We just spent the rest of the day getting things ready to go home. 

Tuesday, December 31: We got up early so Phil and Karen could take us to the airport. Once again we had no trouble in the airport. They even let us go through a special security line that made it super quick to get though. Once we were on the plane, we learned the entire row next to us was empty, so the other guy in our row jumped over there and we had the whole back row to ourselves. Russell did pretty good again, but was getting a little grumpy by the end. When we got back to our car, it wouldn't start. The shuttle driver got the battery jumper truck and the car started right away. We drove home and then enjoyed New Year's Eve.

I'll put pictures up in a different post, so this post doesn't go on forever...