First of all, where did he find those things and second, what made him think that's where they belong. I love this kid!!!
We took Hampton to his first "real" movie. We went to dinner at Raisin' Canes and then to the dollar movie theatre. Hampton was so excited to see a movie with Mommy and Daddy, even though he had no idea what we were going to do. He was a little restless before the movie started, but barely moved once Horton Hears a Who came on the screen. He hammered most of a bag of popcorn, a few M&M's, and some Skittles. He L-O-V-E-D it all. What a fun family event. I know fun isn't the only thing that matters, but I hope we are always a fun family. Even with a big family, this kind of fun comes cheap. We all went to dinner and the movies for less than $15. We could have saved even more money by eating at home, but it wouldn't have been as special.
When we got home from the movie I got to put Hampton to bed. Usually Ben does this so I can rest, but I wanted to rock him tonight. We read 2 terribly boring books, but he seemed to enjoy them, and then the story of Gideon's army, which sadly didn't hold his attention as well as the boring story about an otter. I got up to turn off the light and asked him if he was ready to go to bed, "No...wock...Mommy sing." So we rocked and sang a few songs. His first request is always "the fountain song"...There's a Fountain Free...one of my favorite old hymns. His second request is usually "the word song"...Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. We said a prayer and rocked for a few more minutes before he took his binky out, gave me a really slobbery kiss and said, "Night, night Mommy. Go night, night." What a perfect end to such a fun night.
Something I don't want to forget: Every night part of my prayer for Hampton is that he would be a bold and positive leader among his peers. He always repeats, "bold among peers." He used to think when I said bold, I was talking about bowling. He then talked about rolling the ball to knock down the sticks. Now he understands that bold has nothing to do with bowling, but he has no idea what bold means. Some day, I am confident he will fully understand its meaning. Precious boy!!!
You heard him...2 babies!
11 weeks; due 2-11-09; praying that we make it to 2009
For those of you who don't know, Ben grew up on a farm with all of his cousins (11 total), aunt and uncles and paternal grandparents. They are a very close family with lots of traditions, one of the biggest is their 4th of July celebration. The first celebration was in 1976 and has grown since. This year close to 350 people attended. On Wednesday morning (or 2 days before the 4th) a huge fire is started in a "brick oven" underground. By the time evening comes the fire has died down and the meat goes in. They cook 2 whole pigs, chicken, goat and beef. The meat is seasoned, wrapped in foil, then cheese clothe, and then long tubes of chicken wire. It is then quickly placed into the brick oven. The lid is closed and completely covered with dirt. The meat cooks until the morning of July 4th, when it was served for lunch. The Stites family mainly provides the meat, drinks and paper goods while all the guests bring side dishes and desserts. The Stites women also add a few of their own sides and desserts. I'll admit, I went through the line early to make sure I got some of the Stites' food (it really is the best.)
Watching the men cover the pit with dirt...with Sarah
Of course Hampton and Isabelle helped.
This year several of Ben and Matt's college teammates came to visit. It was fun to catch up and meet the new additions to their families. The Tuley's, the Justice's and the Leslie's came to celebrate!
Brittany and Hampton
Hampton and Carrigan played well together in the ice. Hampton didn't leave these buckets for at least an hour. He moved ice and water from one bucket to another and handed people drinks.
Dadoo serving meat - Ben's brother
Quite a spread
The line
The Leslie Family
The Justice Family
With Ma and Papa...the ones who started the whole celebration
My sweet boys
3 of the 4 Stites girls...what sweet cousins!!!
He found the creek!!!
What a fun day!!!
(2 years 2 months)
(2 years 5 months)
(almost 7)
(4 years)
Sweet, sticky kisses
Helping Gran water the flowers
David and Candice are building a house on the farm. Not only have we been able to see it a few times during the process, we also had the chance to right special scriptures on the frame work of the house. Here are a few of the verses we wrote. What a special tradition. 
We are so excited for them and thankful for their strong foundation! We love you all!!!
Elizabeth
Madison