August

Back to school we head... by august it is time to get back in the swing of things!

Carpools... I love them. I realize we wouldn't do half the things we do if we didn't have them. 

The Braces came off.... one kid down, three to go. At least he only had them for a year and a half. I remember having mine on for three+ years.

Our pack held a Raingutter Regatta for the first time. Much more low key than pinwood derby, and since no one has ever made a boat- no one knew how, so there was a much more level playing field. Matthew's boat was the Phantom.

 At the top of Humphries Peak.

 Headed out by headlamps

 Made it to the top

 Troop 608.
Brandon's first campout/hike with the Troop and they picked one of the hardest hikes in AZ- hiking to the top of Humphries Peak. They hiked a mile up Friday night and camped out on the trail and then made the rest of the hike Saturday morning. They all felt the effects of altitude sickness for a few days after. We told Brandon at least every hike after this one would feel like a peice of cake.

Brandon's first Court of Honor.

Twelve

Twelve. We have a twelve year old in our house now. How did that happen? Brandon has grown and matured, and has gotten kind of cute ( though he'd hate for us to say that in front of him!) In our church, young men at the age of twelve receive the Aaronic Priesthood. They are then able to help with various priesthood responsibilities, most notibly they pass the Sacrament to members of the congregation on Sunday. The birthday festivities started on his birthday the 28th- we were just finishing his Birthday Dinner when Zach slipped while jumping on chairs and split his chin open. We rushed off to urgent care and Brandon waited patiently for 2 1/2 hours to return and open presents. We gave him the option of opening them without us, but he wanted to wait.

His friends came over the following evening and played a myriad of water games (what else do you do in the middle of the summer) movie and pizza.

Sunday he was ordained a deacon by Brian. Grandma and Grandpa Benson were able to be here for the weekend, we enjoyed having them with us for this special time.

Zach no worse for the wear- just a bit of blood. It did take two of us to hold him down to get the stitches in- slightly tramatic for him.

A birthday party with fun boys and lots of water games.

Chocolate chocolate cake for the chocolate lover.

College Station

The reunion ended, Brian flew home to AZ and the boys and I took a little road trip through Texas. We realized for many miles there is nothing! Though the rolling hills and sporatic farms were more appealing than the desert here. I figured if I am only 3 1/2 hours from Jenny it was worth it to come see her- we'd already made it the majority of the way.

Jenn takes a picture of Tess every month- we happened to hit it for her 11 month photo shoot. We went up to the George Bush Presidential Library. As we were walking around, I realized the boys do not know nor understand what the Iron Curtain was. There was a peice of artwork on the grounds depicting the wall. They also do not understand pre 9/11, they only know what post 9/11 is and that is considered "normal" for them, they do not have anything to compare it to. Interesting what happens in a generation.

Zachary insisted he needed a picture with Tess- but she had been pictured out!!

Boys and water... that was ok to cool off, but this...

attempts at drinking it was not ok.

In the training room with Jenn. I get sad when we say goodbye, but for some reason I was even more sad, maybe as we get older and our children get older the miles seem even farther apart.

Family Reunion- Dallas

We flew from NY to Dallas to attend the Teuscher Reunion. Brian's next oldest brother Nathan and his family live outside of Dallas. And now, as of this belated writing Eric, Brian's youngest brother and his family will be moving to the Dallas area after school. We do enjoy seeing everyone, as the opportunities to see each other are limited.

Andrew attempting to get two pennies out of a pair of nylons

Brandon sucking up skittles with a straw.

Matthew stacking 6 dice on a popsicle stick in his mouth

Brian and Steph sliding ziti onto a spaghetti noodle.

The whole family

Matthew trying to figure out if he's got a real jelly bean or a Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean

The Teuscher Grandkids

All our shirts were numbered with the order in which we joined the Teuscher Family. Brian was 7, Steph 17, Brandon 20, Matthew 24, Andrew 28 and Zachary 31. 34 was born in December and 35 is due in June!!

We attended a Rough Riders Game! Brian caught a foul ball and the boys got full from the all you can eat hotdog buffet and we all swealtered in the humid evening, but everyone came home with smiles. Zach and I came home early with the other little ones and SIL's and had a delightful time visiting in the A/C hotel room!

Blessed be the name of MagiQuest!! Every waking free minutes were spent on this game. One of the large resort hotels in the area has a infrared wand-wizard treasure hunt up and down seven floors. The boys were instantly hooked on completing ruin tasks and were insistant they complete all before we left. For being inside, we certainly got our workout climbing up and down seven floors of stairs for HOURS!!

Rudy's BBQ for lunch one day.

Pool battles. At one time we had close to 30 people in the pool at one.

The real hit of the reunion were survival bracelets.Uncle Nathan kindly instructed and helped the kids make numberous bracelets.

Computers and work. It never ends.

Teuscher Family. After indoor soccer. Missing 3- Eric, Heather and Hadley.