Baby Bennett Calhoun Olsen

Introducing Bennett Calhoun Olsen born January 18th at 7:30am weighing 8lbs 10oz

Bennett has been such a sweet addition to our family! With a  year gap between Mason and Bennett we sure were ready for him!! He is such a sweetie! And we can't get enough of him!! Porter and Mason adore their little brother. They want to wake him up to play with him but are very good and don't do it. They love to make him laugh, hold him, see him roll over and are excited about the new things Bennett is learning and doing! Brent is often saying "He's always smiling! He is definitely our happiest baby!". He was an angel for mommy! When Brent got a job in Oregon he went there to find a home for our family and was there for 6 weeks before we got to join him, Bennett was 6weeks when he left, and twice as old when he returned. To this day Bennett is 6 weeks to daddy ;). He started sleeping through the night early and has been a good napper and a happy child! Thank goodness for the sake of my sanity! 6 weeks with a newborn and 2 other boys would have made me crazy otherwise! I also had some AMAZING friends and family come and help out during that time!

He's about ready to come!

 Our family  with the newest edition!

 Love this picture of him, about 8 weeks

 He loves his brothers and they love him!

 Already so talented!

 A little camera shy....NOT! We've done quite a bit of hiking and BENNETT LOVES looking at all the big trees and nature while riding on daddy's back!

 Our big happy boy, about 5 months old here

=Beautiful Oregon, Sunday Walk

We live in such a gorgeous place! We can literally walk to somewhere like this or take a short drive and enjoy a beautiful walk! We LOVE it!!! This was our first family hike/walk that we took this past Sunday. Bennett got strapped in on daddy's back and enjoyed every minute! He looked up at the tall trees the entire time in AWE! Porter and Mason loved the hike and at the end helped daddy pick some Nettle (a poisonous plant you can cook and eat.) It was gorgeous and we had a fun time as a family!!

Going shooting

Brent just got a new 22 and couldn't wait to take it out to test out. This is the first time we took the boys actually shoot themselves. Even though the gun was huge it had much less a recoil than his 360 or 9mm so that was the gun of choice. We had strict rules with the boys that they had to stay sitting on the chairs while the gun was out and other things to keep them safe. It was so interesting to watch the difference between Porter and Mason when shooting. Porter really took his time (minutes) to focus on the target and get it just right. Whereas Mason barely looked at the target and pulled the trigger as much as possible. I'm sure it's partly because of age but interesting. I'm sure we'll be doing this a lot more, had fun and learned a lot

Trips to Holbrook

Brent has tot go out of town for his job a couple times a month and occasionally we get to go with him. Usually we stay at a Holiday Inn express, swim in the indoor pool, play games, hike around, and take it easy. It's a really fun trip for all of us. This time we stayed in a historical hotel that was beautiful! It had a Hay Maze, a train behind it to watch go by, a huge yard to play ball in and plenty of other outdoor things to do. The boys all looked for potatoe bugs and found tons to make into a little farm. We had a blast and can't wait to go again!

Super Soccer Stars!

What a season! Porter and mason were on the same team this year! This is Porter's 3rd season playing and Mason's 1st and...you could tell. ;) Porter did really great getting in there and kicking the ball around. He improved a lot from his first season that he only got out onto the field once. He even scored a few points! Mason was usually a ways behind the group of kids huddled around the ball or following some grasshopper or something. We were really attempted to stick Brent's bluetooth on him to keep him on track! ;) This age group is actually quite hilarious to watch! 70% of the time the ball is out of bounds and they don't always know what direction they should be kicking the ball. This season we were sweating hot in the beginning but as you can see we were in jackets trying to stay warm by the end. Gotta love AZ! We had a great time going to practices and games! Can't wait for next season!!!!

Mason...the entertainer!

Mason is constantly cracking me up! He loves to get a laugh out of anyone. While Porter has been gone to school all day we get to spend a lot of time together. He doesn't ever stop talking and says the darndst things! One of his specialties is his many faces. He is constantly freezing in a silly positions with funny faces. The other day as dad was in the office with him doing his PPI and I was in the kitchen making dinner and I just heard Brent laughing and laughing. As I listened closer I heard daddy asking Mason to show him another funny face, and another. As we get closer to his birthday I can't believe how much he has grown and what a helpful happy boy he is. He and Porter are so close and love to play together. (Almost) Every time I ask him to do something or help me out his response is "ok! Ya SURE mom!". And he is constantly making me feel good "Mommy you look so pretty". He's great with my clients too, after Ive finished their hair he tells them how pretty they are and they just love it! I am so grateful for him in our family!

School

We are all very much in school these days. I can't believe it but Porter is now in kindergarten at Eagle Harmony College Prep. We are really liking the school! They use love and logic and really focus on character building. Porter has done really well and I'm amazed every day he comes home with school work, listening to him read and doing homework for him that he does so well with.

Mason is in his first year of Preschool and we are doing a preschool co-op. Me and 3 other moms take a month and teach our kids using the learning box. I took the first month and even though it adds a little stress to my life I loved teaching Mason and his friends. It was fun to see how good he is at so many things. He picks things up so quickly and is so much fun to do different activities and crafts with.

Daddy just started his MBA and is doing really well. He is only gone Thursday nights and is so good at prioritizing his time and making sure we all have time with him. He is also Cub Master and is usually busy with that on Wednesdays but it makes me and the boys excited about scouts in a few years

As for me I get to learn everyday from my boys. Constantly working on being a better mom. Ive been having fun doing projects around the house, sewing curtains, skirts, painting walls, furniture and learning from my many mistakes. I thought it appropriate to share this suitcase cake my friend helped me learn how to make with fondot for my sisters going away party as she left to....you guessed it...school. :)