3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!: April 2014

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

1st Science Project

The girls were in the mood to do some science projects the other day. So we went at it :)

The first one we filled up a glass 3/4 of the way with water. Then we added an inch or so of oil. They learned that oil and water do not mix. Then we added 3 or 4 tbls of salt. When the salt was added, it pulled some of the oil to the bottom of the glass. Little by little, the salt would dissolve in the water and bubbles of oil would then rise back to the surface. Super cool to watch!

As the oil came back up, it pulled some salt with it as well...

We had so much fun!

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Lazy day...

I can't help it...she is so cute all cuddled up, passed out!

Marissa, busy at work ;)

Monday, April 28, 2014

A day at the park with friends! :)

Remember last week when I deleted all those pictures? Well God is good and I was able to recover most of them. Some were corrupted during the recover process, but there is no telling they were good pictures to begin with. The ones I was excited about were able to be transferred! I'm so thankful!!! So here you go :)

Last Monday the kids had off of school, or at least the public school kids did, so we took the afternoon and met a few friends at the park. Cari and I had a lot of kiddos there, but they were all so good and seemed to have a good time. Although they did a lot of complaining about how "hot" it was! LOL They are in for a rude awakening in another month! ;) I can't take credit for all the photos in this blog...some of them were taken by this up and coming photographer :) ...

Haylie loved this slide...until one of the times she went down and saw a bug at the bottom...I never saw breaks go on so fast! LOL She was NOT pleased!

Kaleb spent a lot of time on it as well :)

Madalyn and Madison...maybe we should have opted for crocs instead of boots and we might not have had as many complaints ;)

Marissa spent some time playing baseball ;)

Lucas wanted to slide!

I love this picture!

They look like they are heading down a HUGE slide by their expressions!

...and again! Love how much fun they had on the slide :)

So cute!

Friday, April 25, 2014

What a morning...

Doug has today off, but is headed to Massachusetts for a Men's Conference. Madalyn was all excited he was off and quickly went to tears when she found out he was leaving and wouldn't be back till tomorrow. I told her that he was going to learn about being a better man, to which she quickly replied, "He already is!" Made my heart swell. The tears ended soon enough and I thought all was well. That little girl is smart though! I had to take Doug down to the carpooling spot at 9:45, but we left at 9 to stop in at Laurie's to see the baby ducks. The girls stayed there while I ran Doug down. I got back and told the girls we needed to head home to start school. In the car, Madalyn starts asking random questions..."Is Daddy home?" I told her no. "Is his car home?" I said yes. "Well, how did he leave then?" Come to find out, she had taken his keys out of the bucket on the hutch and hidden them in her room so he wouldn't be able to leave! She didn't take into consideration that we weren't taking his work car! LOL It was super cute. I love my family!
Then I come home to this message on Facebook from Doug that he wrote me last night!

Douglas Benedict‎Sarah Benedict

10 hrs ·

Sitting in bed and the movie is finished. I can't stop thinking about how much I love you, and how much you mean to me. I love the family that you have given to me. I love how much you spoil me. I love that you can't seem to finish a movie with me home. I love everything about you. You are the best wife, mom, teacher, and help meet that the Lord could have ever given me. Thank you so much for the past 11 years. Thank you for picking me. I love you.

I don't cry easily, but that was a tough one to hold back on. I'm beyond blessed. It left me speechless, and so thankful! God is so good to me. He gave me exactly what I needed and much more than I ever thought I wanted!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Frustrated!!!!

I uploaded pictures to my computer this morning, and clicked the button that says delete pictures from camera after download. It's a regular habit that will no longer be occurring after today's incident. I'm still not sure what happened, but there was an error that occurred during the download from my camera to the computer and they didn't all download....they did however delete from my memory card. I had a lot of awesome pictures on there and unless I'm missing something, they are gone. :( Probably around 40 of them from Monday's play day at the park and Tuesday's science projects. I'm trying not to let it get to me....but I'm just so aggravated at myself! From now on, I will delete all the pictures the long way AFTER I have them saved safety on my flash drive!

Lesson learned the hard way :(
P.S. I googled my problem and I think I may have a possibility for a recover! I have to wait till Doug gets home to give me a hand...Here is hoping!!! If anyone has an experience with this....I'm all ears!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Easter egg hunt...

Sunday after church, we headed over to Cari and Stefan's for an egg hunt for the kids. The guys went out to hide the eggs and then called us when they were ready. We headed over to the park and set the kids free. Of course just about the time we started with directions, the fire whistle went off (the park is at the firehall) so that made things interesting.

And they are off!

Madalyn on a mission

The girls had a lot of fun!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Dyeing Eggs :)

Cari and Stefan brought the girls over so the girls could dye eggs together. We had a lot of fun!

One of their favorite parts was watching the shrinky paper on the eggs! They did so good doing it by themselves!

Then on to the coloring...

You can tell she definitely isn't my kid...she loves the camera!

Dyeing eggs takes concentration!

I told Madalyn to smile....LOL

It's a work in progress!

If you were to ask me where I would see myself in 10 years, I never would have guessed that I would be here. However, I couldn't be happier! I'm very happily married to the love of my life and have two girls. We have begun our journey towards adoption and I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us over the next couple of years. I'm a stay at home mom who home-schools. I enjoy researching and finding things out for myself. This blog allows me to share with others my passions and keep in touch with family that I wouldn't normally be able to keep in such close touch with.

Daddy is such a blessing to me. We met in college and became best friends. About one and a half years after we met we were dating. The rest is history. Together we have grown in the Lord and learned many lessons even in our few years together. Things haven't always been smooth, but together and with the Lord's help we can accomplish anything. He is the love of my life and my true soul mate. He is 100% committed to his family and the Lord. He is currently working for Dairy One in Ithaca. He loves to ski, ride dirt bikes, tinker on things, mow the lawn :) and spend time with his girls.

Marissa is our oldest. She was born in May 2005. She is 100% Daddy's girl. She is a home body and usually isn't away from home for long and she is asking to go back to our house. She always claims a job and sticks with it till its done. She is very quick and catches on fast. You have to be careful what you show her, because before you know it she is going to be attempting it herself. Madalyn is her best friend. She loves church and loves learning and singing about Jesus. Marissa is now is school and she is doing great. She loves to read and do projects. She LOVES animals and has decided that she wants to be a Veterinarian when she grows up!

Madalyn is our youngest. She is 100% Mommy's girl (nice of them that they split us up so that one isn't quite so overwhelmed isn't it?). Madalyn knows what she wants and goes for it. She has no fear and is usually the leader of my two even though she is younger. She does love to shadow her older sister though. She is my girly girl, but also my one that is always getting messy. She loves her hair done, to get dressed up, and shoes! We are in trouble with this one! She loves school and is super smart. She has decided she wants to be a "snow plow driver" when she grows up. She is also going to build a house RIGHT next to us and live there so she can still see us every day ;)

Case was actually our "oldest child". Sadly we said goodbye to him on October 29th, 2013. He was a black lab/ red-tick coonhound. He loved to roam the fields, swim, play ball, catch frisbees, go hiking and spend time at the barn. He also very much enjoyed those black and white cats that roam in the dark and have stripes down their backs...or he must have because he kept getting sprayed! He hated to be abandoned by his family and preferred us to all be in the house by 9pm or he started pacing. His biggest dislike was winter. He hated the cold and would rather hold his potty all day long than to go out and pee. Even when he did go out he barely makes it out the door and he was starting to go! Haha He was our "little boy in a doggie suit" as my aunt says. We love him and miss him like crazy.

Cali is our first cat together as a married couple. Sadly we said goodbye to her on October 8th, 2014. We got her from the barn shortly after we moved. She had to be one of the softest cats you had ever felt and of course one of the best looking calicos. LOL She was a great mouser and spent alot of her time in the basement hunting. She had a funny quirk. When she got ready to settle down and sleep, she parted the hair on her tail so only a few hairs were sticking up and then she proceeded to suck on those hairs.

Beaker is a litter mate to Cali. She is a great mouser. She loves to sneak outside when she gets the chance but if you say her name she quickly darts back in. She is VERY attached to Doug and is always coming up to him purring just as loud as can be begging to be picked up. Beaker of course never does this to me. She doesn't like change and isn't fond of strange dogs, although she has gotten much better with the dogs. She will still swat at Molly but it's not angry, it's almost like she is playing.

Sid was our Marshall Ferret. We said goodbye to him in 2012. He was amazing! Great with kids and other animals, but a total goofball. He definitely lived up to the typical ferret personality and a total thief! Sid's favorite thing to steal was pacifiers. He would take them right out of a baby's mouth if given the opportunity and then take off running! He always hid everything in the same place, so at least we knew where to find them, but of course they were always ruined. Anything rubber was in danger of ending up in the said spot. We definitely miss having him around.

Chloe is Cairn Terrier. She is a blast to have around and I'm definitely sold on the terrier family! She is great with the kids and loves spending time outside. She is a great woodchuck hunter and will sit at an occupied hole all day till she catches one. Even in the winter time she will spend forever out there and come back looking like a snowman. She loves to swim and will swim in any temperature water. She loves to mother other animals. Whether it be kittens from the barn, Case, or her own litter of puppies, she is a great mother! We have since fixed her. Although I'm sad there won't be another litter, it's for the best with the probability of us moving and having to find a new vet.

Meet Molly, our newest dog addition :) After taking some time to heal after losing Case, we decided that our household wasn't the same without a big dog around and we were missing something. So we took the plunge and went full out this time. Molly is a purebred, mis-marked mantle, Great Dane :) She has grown into one good looking pup! I'm still in love with this old picture though, so I'm not changing it! She stands about 31 inches at the shoulder and weighs over 100lbs (although honestly I'm not sure how much over because I can't lift her anymore!) She is great with the kids and loves to cuddle. She shares our bed and is the biggest baby ever. She is very protective and does not like when anyone is pinned down. She is right there to break up the "fight" LOL We love her to pieces!

When Doug's sister and her husband started breeding rabbits, I had a feeling deep down that it was only a matter of time....Here she is! Peterette started out as "Peter". When Madalyn realized "he" was actually a "she", she settled with Peterette. :) Peterette is a flemish giant, which according to what I have read is the Great Dane breed in the bunny world! Figures right? She is super sweet, very laid back and loves to be cuddled and pet. She'll stick her nose out of her cage when you enter the room just so you will scratch it!