Please NEVER do this

...it will irritate me and my husband to the point of insanity, to the point of fury!

And, if you are a girl scout leader, never ever teach your girls that it's okay to do this, and never ever ever do it yourself! It's not okay!

Picture I took at the World War II Memorial yesterday afternoon

There are not many things that strangers can do to really make my husband mad. He gets annoyed but is generally pretty understanding with people we don't know. He tries to look at the situation in a different light and understand. I try to do that too but I'll be honest he's a lot better at it than I am. Well, anyways this even made him mad. Actually, not just mad, we were both "steam coming out of our ears, glaring at the world, stay 50 feet away or else" mad! We didn't even walk around the whole thing. We had to leave before we made a scene!

Respect is something I truly believe in! You may not like someone, agree with someone, or even appreciate someone, but I still think you should respect them! And, if you're going to respect anyone it better dang well be someone who risked their life for you, for your freedom, so you could have the opportunity to disrespect the memorial built for them.

Some veterans getting ready to pose for a picture

Please, if you ever visit the World War II Memorial or any other memorial, please don't do this, or anything similar, even if it's really really hot. That does not in the slightest bit make it okay. Ever. Period. End of Story!

9 Months

Seriously, this little boy of mine is getting so old! Kamden is 9 months old today and has the band aids to prove it (heel prick and shot)!

At his well visit his stats were:

Weight   17.8 lbs.   5%

Height   25.75"   3%

Head Circumference   17.5"   25%

 His eyes melt my heart every time I look at him!

When you look at the kid he looks like a chunker but if you hold him you can tell he is made of solid muscle. It is interesting to see reactions from people. When we are in town a lot of people will comment on how chunky he looks but anyone who holds him always comments on how solid and strong he is! When he laughs or cries the kid's got a six pack! For the chunky little guy people think he is (including his mom), he's pretty small!

Kamden cruises wherever he goes, especially when we try to stop him. If he's trying to go into a particular doorway or something and we are trying to stop him, he will go from 0-60 mph in a second flat!

I'm scared to see how he reacts when he's older to discipline or the word "no" because right now, he laughs! If he's doing something he shouldn't I will tell him no in a serious voice and he will go from stone faced to smiling as soon as he hears that word! I try to be serious but he's pretty darn cute when he does it, I'll be honest!

There have been a couple times where he gets brave and decides to let go of the couch or chair he's standing next to but no major interest in walking yet. He will walk along the couch or chair as long as he's holding on an then plant himself back to his rear when he's ready to move farther away.

In the last month he has really taken a liking to adult food rather than his baby food. He will still eat the baby food but when he sees us eating he wants whatever goes in our mouth! We realized about a week ago he loves red lobster biscuits (Thanks Grandma Mower for Nathan's gift certificate), but who doesn't, right? He loves cheerios, watermelon, bananas, carrots, yogurt melts, baby puffs, water, and of course his trusty bottle with formula!

I can't think of any food he dislikes at the moment. Honestly the kid is not very picky!

Kamden enjoys sneaking into the bathroom, kitchen, or Uncle David's room to find things to play with or chew on that he shouldn't. Baby proofing everything is now a must and I'm working on getting that all done. He loves to talk and we practically beg him to say "mama" or "dada" but he just looks at us like he's teaching us patience!

There is so much to say about Kamden because he's got a huge personality and spunk, especially when I'm trying to change his diaper or get him dressed!

I must say, I think we got lucky in the baby department! We got the best of the best!

Two Years

Two years ago today I married my best friend!

I chose to spend eternity with him, through the thick and the thin, through the good and the bad, the happy, the sad! Two years has brought all these things around once or twice but we are only two years in. There is much more to come and I wouldn't want to spend it with anyone else.

We have gotten to know each other so deeply in those two years that I could not imagine ever being with anyone else.

In the past two years we have done quite a bit together. Here are the top ten things I love (and can remember) in no particular order.

1. We were sealed for time and all eternity in the Rexburg, Idaho LDS Temple.

2. We went to Kauai, Hawaii on our honeymoon, vowed we would go back as much as possible and maybe even retire there!

3. We packed up all our stuff and moved to Woodburn, Oregon, two weeks after being married, where we started our new lives together and lived for a year.

4. We visited Arizona for a short period of time!

5. We moved to Laurel, Maryland where Nathan started working at NASA, and I became a stay at home mother!

6. We had a rock-star baby! His name is Kamden Wade.

7. We visited the ocean in Kuaui, Hawaii...Lincoln City, Oregon...and Ocean City, Maryland together.

8. We each said goodbye to our favorite cars, my beloved Honda Accord and Nate's sentimental Subaru Outback, and bought two new cars together.

9. We traveled coast to coast in a VERY LARGE Penske moving truck with a car trailer behind it while I was 7 months pregnant!

10.  We have been inside (together or seperate) the Idaho Falls, Rexburg, Logan, Portland, Washington D.C., and  Mesa temple.

I'd say that's a good list so far.

This was one of my favorite days, but I'm excited for many more amazing days with you through eternity!

Love you, Nathaniel Moroni Benson!
Happy Anniversary!

Ocean City

Nathan was a peach and took us out yesterday! He knew I needed something different from the norm of life around here lately. We packed up the Tahoe and headed to the coast!

It's about a 3 hour drive to a place called Ocean City with a beach that goes for 11 miles, right on the boardwalk that is enamored with little shops, restaurants, and vendors. We even convinced Uncle David to come with us, we made a day of it, and all got a little sun!

I couldn't convince David to get in the water but the husband gave in! We had some fun trying to stand strong and jump through the waves but I'll be honest there were a few times those waves won and beat me right down into the sand! It was so much fun though!

The waves were pretty intense so Kamden kept his distance. He really wasn't a fan of them at all. We tried bringing him up to see them but he wasn't very happy about it and when we tried getting his feet a little wet, he decided that was the end of it!

While Nathan and I played in the water for a little while Kamden oriented himself to the sand with Uncle David and by the time we got back up on the beach he was totally into the sand. I'm sure that he ate more than a couple mouthfuls of sand but he survived and enjoyed the experience once we let him run free, mouthfuls of sand and all!

We built a sandcastle for Kamden to play in.

He broke through the walls and filled our mote with sand!

Did I mention he ate that sand?

I love that handsome face, sand and all!

We checked out some artwork in the sand!

And played some more, too!

I had a blast! It was just the break I needed for the weekend. Kamden enjoyed his first time to the ocean, even if he only played in the sand. He wore lots of sunscreen...he didn't get sunburned! We didn't wear enough sunscreen...and we got sunburned!

I'm ready to go back! Anyone want to come next time?

Kamden's Randoms

There are a few pictures I want to post but don't find myself doing a separate blog post for each so here are a few of our randoms around here!

Kamden is really into the dishwasher and he loves to "help" do the dishes!

He's also really into the washing machine. He will sit in the kitchen and watch it go for a good few minutes!

He loves watermelon just like his mom! Can you tell?

He's been chasing after mom and the camera!

He's spent some quality time with dad, being silly!

And grumpy!

Kamden will be 9 months old in a few days! He keeps growing and so does his personality, if that's possible. I think he has a personality the size of Texas, seriously!