I just love this smile.....

Nuff said!

A wonderful CAUSE

I found out today, a friend of my mom's has asked to add me as one of her honorees as she runs in the "Leukemia & Lymphoma" marathon in Boise, Idaho.

Her name is Jodie Quercia and she is running the half marathon. She is trying to raise $1800.00. Anyone interested in donating anything at all can click HERE.

Thanks so much!! Jen

Service WITH a Smile

Lauren had a wonderful idea. She wanted her & Josh to make a dinner for Larry and I and serve it to us as a Valentine's gift. We had a pretty busy weekend, so we decided to do it tonight. She wanted to have a "romantic Italian restaurant" theme. They set the table themselves and got dressed up. They picked the menu. They wanted dad's favorite spaghetti, garlic bread, salad and pie for dessert. So they helped me cook the dinner and got some romantic music going on the satellite radio and really set the mood.
When dad got home, he and I (and Hope) were seated at their best table. And from that point on I must say, the service could not have been better. If I even mentioned I needed ice in my drink, a waiter was there in an instant. And the food could not have been better, had I made it myself! :)







The Menu
The setting

The wonderful wait staff

Their best table

When I think of LOVE

We had such a fun Valentine's Day. When I think of LOVE, I think first of my husband and how lucky I am to have him in my life. It's true what they say about marrying your best friend. It makes for a very happy, loving life. The second thing I think of is my beautiful kids. They are each so special. I am proud of each one of them. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family.
Love also makes me think of my parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces & nephews. I absolutely love the closeness I have with my family. They are always there for me. I can't imagine my life without them.
Love also makes me think of the wonderful friends near and far. I feel like I have extended my "extended" family over the past few years. I have met people who have touched my life in a way, that I now consider them a part of my family. They celebrate the good times with me, and pull me up during the hard times. And I LOVE them.

what the WHAT??

So Hope has 2 favorite shows. She watches them over & over. One is Barney (ever heard of it? LOL) The other is called Hi-5. It is on Discovery Kids Channel. It has 2 men and 3 women that sing and dance. She LOVES Hi-5.

Well.......last night as we were watching American Idol we realized one of the girls trying out for the show was a girl from Hi-5 named Jen. She had to sing for survival with the girl with long blonde hair and bright pink highlights. Anyway, she ended up not making the cut and I was so sad. I love to root for people I know..and I consider "knowing" her since she's in my family room several times a day. Anyway, just a little co-inckydink!

Definitely Defining

(Jen Anderson Benson, Brandi White Gordon, Rick Olivares & Michelle Tresner Lyman 1989)


I haven't posted for a little while because I've been busy taking care of the usual things; home, family, bills, dinners, cleaning, laundry..etc. I haven't had time to post cute pictures of what the kids are doing, or random things going on.
Then yesterday, my best friend from high school posted a bunch of pictures from way back when. It was so fun to look at them and reminisce. But then I realized...life was so good back then. I mean, life is good now but, back then it was just different, really a defining time in my life. I look at myself in the pictures and think about all the things I didn't care about then. Things I didn't have to care about like..
How will the current economy affect my life and my family's?
What kind of world will my children grow up in?
How will our current president help or hinder our country?

And then there are the daily mom things like...
Did the kids get their lunches in their backpacks?
Are all the bills sent and paid?
What am I making for dinner tonight? etc, etc

I loved this specific picture because this is what my high school years were all about. My 2 best friends in the whole world (plus Rick, lucky enough to pose with us:). If you thought Jen Anderson...then you immediately thought Brandi White and Michelle Tresner as well. We were inseparable. We had most of our classes together, we spent every weekend together. We double-dated, we even worked fast food together (shout out to Arctic Circle). We cheered together, went to school dances together. We sluffed together (sorry for that mom!) We really grew up together. I have been so lucky to reconnect with a lot of my friends from high school via Facebook the past few months. And it has been so much fun catching up and seeing how they're all doing. And even seeing some of them with their own kids now in high school. Crazy!!
It was such a fun time in my life, I wanted to post about it, so in the future I can look back and remember how it feels to live carefree. To have your only worries be about ..are we riding the bus with the football players to the game, or driving ourselves? Big concerns. And I didn't worry about what was for dinner..because I already knew...we were going to McDonalds after the game. And I would get the quarter pounder combo with a Coke and I would always eat my fries first. And, no, I didn't have to worry if they were going straight to my hips. Not back then! :)