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Benjamonkey and the Squirrel

Many of you may have heard this story.

But for those of you who haven't, these are the facts.

Benjamin is a curious boy. On a bright sunny hot afternoon,

as he was walking home from school, he noticed a squirrel

laying under a tree. He was immediately drawn to the soft furry

creature and decided to reach down and catch it and began

petting it. This all was cute and fun for about a

couple of seconds before the squirrel realized what was going on

and twisted around to chomp down in a viscious bite on Ben's finger.

Ben immediately tried to escape the jaws of the squirrel

but it held on mercilessly as he was shaking his finger vigorously.

After what seemed like endless hours... the squirrel finally

released it's bite and scurried away.

Andersen and Sara quickly aided Benjamin and got him home.

Ben was hysterical and sobbing as big fat drops of blood were

dripping from his injured finger. At home he was assessed and

immediately taken to the pediatrician's office. Everyone seemed

most fearful that Benjamin might have rabies.

He was checked out as rabies free and we were advised that

squirrels don't generally carry rabies.

It's more likely in larger rodents like racoons or possums.

(good to know, right!?)

Because the bite was so deep, they did an xray on his finger to

ensure there was no damage to the bones and he checked out okay.

He was bandaged up and given antibiotics... and we were told to

observe him the next few days in case he starts to grow a bushy tail.

The next chapter of this story happened a week later when

Ben came home from school in a panicked state. He said that when

he was crossing the bridge on the way home he couldn't breathe

and it scared him. He said it hurt and it felt like someone was

pushing on his chest and he couldn't breathe air in.

Of course I was worried it might be asthma.

I don't know much about it and how one get's it -

I always thought it was genetic. So again we went to the dr's office

to check it out. This time we saw another doctor who said it was

more likely anxiety... and it definitely wasn't asthma because

he was able to recover breathing on his own.

Hearing the update of the squirrel story, he was amazed.

He never heard in all his years and fantastic stories of anyone

who had ever caught a squirrel and gotten bit by one.

You'd think this might be more common, right?

Anyway, the diagnosis was that Benjamin was having a

'conversion reaction'.... he was experiencing some subconscous

post traumatic stress from the squirrel encounter.

Just to be sure, he did an EKG and an xray of his heart to check

for anything cardio-pulmonary-like that we might not see.

Ben checked out clear and he got his booster shot for his

chicken pox vaccine. He didn't even cry.

So Brave & So Bold. (Ben's first EKG)

WT Hanes Graduation

You may be thinking 5th grade is a little early for a

Graduation Ceremony.... but it's serious business here.

When kids finish Elementary School, they dress up

as formal as they want/like/can and we spend hours honoring

their accomplishments and the even make a procession through

the hallways one last time for all the underclassmen

(kindergarteners through 4th graders) to watch and cheer them on

to the next big adventure.... Middle School! Andersen sitting at the Award Ceremony....

next to his friend Ahmad and Ndidi smiling up front.

It was a LOOooonnnnng ceremony.....

Andersen was awarded excellence in Mathmatics.

5th grade mom's rejoice!

Celebrating that evening with Grandma and Grandpa Andersen

in downtown Dallas... listening to live Jazz under the stars.

Glad you're back in town Greta! I've missed you!

Sara's Ballet Recital

It's that time of year again...

no, not time for my annual blog entry... Stop thinking that!

Sara had her recital a couple of weeks ago. And as always,

she was beautiful and talented and made us all very proud of her.

Of course there is a lot of preparation: learning the variation,

ordering the costume, dress rehearsals and her favorite part...

putting on make up!

As always - very proud of my beautiful ballerina!

When in Rome.....

Last weekend, Andersen, Sara, Ben and I followed our cousins up to the Ladner farm just north of the Red River in Oklahoma... a pecan tree farm (not yet in bloom as you can see) that is groomed and fertilized by gentle cows. It was just my brother Troy and I and 7 of our kids. We put them to task immediately gathering wood for a fire.

They all were enthusiastic in making the flames grow bigger and bigger.... in fact, they used up all the firewood in one big flame and had to go fetch some more to sustain the fire for later... LOL.

Nate was especially thrilled about this.... look how he just lets Sara muscle that big long branch... hahaha!

Lots of hard work on the campfire... or was it a bonfire? Is there a difference?

Now comes the ritualistic dancing and chanting around the fire... fueled by sugary soda.

This is why we came. To shoot guns. Troy showed me the proper form for shooting his .44 pistol... and yes, she has a lot of kick.

I think it's as big as my head! very fun and empowering... but grateful for the ear protection.

Awww, cousin sisters: Emma and Sara

Pics from Christmas Morning.....

The 2nd annual Elf Dance... doin' a 'jig'

Featuring: Andersen, Sara, Benjamin, Caleb and introducing 'Sparky'

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/enlStfZ1vQRLWZcs

Other Christmas Season Traditions...

Saturday I took Sara down to see her cousin Emma sing in a choir

from her school. They were performing at the Arlington Stake Center.

Local choirs are invited to perform every 30 minutes in the

chapel for people to enjoy. Of course,

it's a missionary type experience... and an impressive tradition.

Every year during this time some group of ambitious people

transform the whole building into room to room vinettes of

Nativities for 2 wks. This is to say they set up backgrounds and

back drops and people from the ward/stake/community

bring their Nativity collections for display.

It's incredibly amazing... easily over a thousand sets...

the one from Kenya made from Banana tree leaves was

pretty amazing. This year they set up a stable in the gym area

and provided all kinds of costumes that people could wear

and make their own live family nativity and take pics.

Clever.

After that we grabbed the rest of the family and went downtown

for our small town like Christmas parade where

classic car zealots and hot rodders get to polish up their jalopies and

parade them down the street pelting the crowds with candy.

Firetruck, marching band, motorcycle cops, trailers of

boy scout troops and red hat ladies...

you know, typical parade fun...

There's only certain occassions

when toddlers riding in the back of a truck is acceptable.

I did mention the candy right?

Caleb has learned how to capitalize on that little benefit...

The Nutcracker, part "deaux"

Last year Sara made her debut in
The Nutcracker Ballet
as a mouse in the Fight Scene.

This year she has reprised her role
and included me in her world
as a mom in the Party Scene...

AKA: Party Mom (hey, if the name fits....)

I have to admit, it was quite a
funtastic

mom & daughter experience.
We finished with our final performance today... a matinee. This is definitely a brilliant beginning to a holiday season.

PSYCH!!

Time to restart my blog?

A lot of life's activities and trials have been consuming my time and resources like a hungry forest fire. But I've missed out on marking some of the great and pivotal moments in my life. So, I suppose it's a good time to restart my blog. My new goal is maybe a weekly update? hmmm. stay tuned.

Sara's Baptism

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon on March 30th.

Bluebonnets were just barely in bloom,

trees sprouting their tender new leaves,

and Sara was surrounded by family and friends

to witness and celebrate

her Baptism and Confirmation.

Mom & Dad were there.... (of course!)

Grandpa and Grandma Newman came from Boise

to be here for the special event.

Grandpa and Grandma Andersen came from Pocatello

to make sure they didn't miss anything.

And of course Sara's brothers were all there.

Sara was baptized by her Dad.

footloose and fancy free. Remember feeling like this?


All the family love and support - Sara is definitely loved dearly.
Wish everyone could have been here!

Sara's Birthday Week!

When Sara turned eight last week, the party kept going...

and going.......

and going.....

and going......

and going.....

and going......

Festivities included brownie cake with sprinkles; a crew of cousins; a couple of Aunts & an Uncle; 2 sets of Grandparents; Beauty and the Beast tickets and a white party dress.

A very memorable day.