Hot January?

We had some unseasonably warm weather this January so when Anthony needed new running shoes, we headed toward the beach for some great prices at Academy Sports and then a fun day in the sun. It wasn't warm enough to swim or even just wear our suits but we did snag a few photos.

I literally had to stare directly into the sun but it was nice to see it!

He is so good looking but never wants to pose for pictures! Glad when I can get some.

Beach Wedding - They looked like they dropped some serious cash on their duds!

Web.com Christmas Party

This was the first year that we sent Christmas Cards and the family response was great! Everyone seemed to love the personal touch in the digital age and I included a link to the blog which I have done a horrible job of keeping updated so I will be posting quite a few in quick secession here.

The following picture are from Anthony's work Christmas Party with Web.com. They sponsor a mini league golf tour which used to be the Nationwide Tour. The food was great, entertainment was rockin', the giveways were amazing, and it was overall a wonderful time!

In front of the house before we left... no photographer but you can see the Christmas lights on the house.

Just imagine all of the famous golfers that walked under those lights. Pretty cool!

I had to get my pose on!

They took our pictures by those trees when we walked in and had them printed out for when we left. 

Only bummer was that they were giving away Flat Screen TVs, I-pads, Kindles, X-Box 360s, Laptops, Tablets, Cruises with PTO, and Trips to Europe with PTO but it sure was fun to watch the winners. Who knows!? Maybe we will win something wonderful next year!

Baby Fever

So one of the Bennetts has baby fever and it isn't the Mrs. Oh no! He's got it bad too. In 2012, we babysat the best and cutest kids. We had Paisley (age 3) over at the house with her little brother Sawyer (age 1 or so). Paisley sweetly asked me, "Sister Bennett, where are your babies?" To which I responded, "we don't have any babies Paisley." And I am sure you could guess what follows? "Why not?" asked the very thoughtful girl. Anthony swiftly replied in a very straight forward manner, "it wouldn't be fiscally responsible right now." This just made me laugh so hard! She had no idea what he was saying.

Mr. Bennett circa my birth (I married an older man)

Anthony and Abbey 

Anthony and the preemie Andrea

Baby Dena's 1st Birthday Party! She had us all laughing!

Someday Anthony and when that day comes, you will be the best dad because you love our future kid's mom and you are so eager and excited to do a great job. You do such a good job with Thelma too and she isn't even human! :)

Together Since 2008

My Aunt Julie and Uncle Pete have been married for a long time (30ish years or so) and I really love this framed set of photos in their house with a picture from each year of marriage. Anthony and I have only been married for 2 years now but I still think that is a great accomplishment so I wanted to post my favorite picture of the two of us for each of the years we have been an item. Here it goes!

2008

Right when we started dating early May 2008

2009

After we returned from England in Summer 2009

2010

Our Wedding - December 27, 2010

2011

Thanksgiving 2011 - A week before our big move

2012

2012 Christmas Card Pictures

Isn't it wild to see how much we have both changed over the past 5 years? I look forward to the next 5 years together and think that Anthony will be a dashing 30 year when we arrive! A trip down memory lane is always a fun trip. Happy New Year!

Food Nanny

Anthony and I have been budget crazy this year so I definitely jumped on the chance to meet BYU Channel's The Food Nanny. Learn more about her and the plan here.

Me with the Food Nanny, Liz Edmunds

Anyway, Liz was super helpful in talking about how to simplify meal plans for your family making meals that are both affordable and healthy. So we have been trying to plans meals 2 weeks in advance. So far we have cut our groccery budget by almost $75. It is great! Anthony has even been experimenting with yeast and baking breads which can be totally fun and... interesting.

Doggy Knee Surgery

Probably one of the hardest things to go through with our little girl thus far has been her knee surgery. While chasing squirrels in the back yard, Thelma tore her doggy equivalent of the ACL and ruptured her meniscus. After her first soft tissue injury, the nervous parents Anthony and Danielle rushed her to the vet for x-rays and it ended up being completely not serious so we tried not to panic again. Three days later while in the vet for her shots, the vetrinarian urged us to do radiographs which confirmed his fears that she had in fast torn her CCL (dog equivalent to the ACL).

Prices for this type of surgery range from $3,000 to a more affordable $1,000. Anthony and I were both a little freaked out by the sticker shock as that was exactly what we had saved for a new car. I did what any smart person would do. I got on the phone and started calling EVERY specialist that performed dog knee surgeries within a 50 mile radius.

I finally found the Jacksonville Humane Society Hospital which opened approximately a year after we adopted Thelma next door and they said they understand costs concerns especially for adoptees so Thelma and I met with the surgeon veterinarian Christian Broadhurst. He was amazing! He was able to review everything with me, go over the prices, and assure me that even though we weren't going with the most expensive surgery ($3k) that Thelma would still have a great quality of life. So the real reason I am telling you this whole story to tell you how wonderful the Jacksonville Humane Society and Dr. Broadhurst is. The day of her surgery, I dropped her off and she was a little mad at me because she was hungry but was so excited to be going on an adventure... little did she know just how much of an adventure it would be. So Anthony and I were nervous most of the day but when I got the call from Dr. Broadhurst himself at 2:30 p.m. to tell me how well she did and how much work had to be done to correct the problems with the meniscus I felt so much better. He assured me that she was resting comfortably and would be ready for pick up the next day.

I picked her up that Friday and I am so glad my friend Brenda warned me about how groggy she would be and that she might cry a little in the car. Let's just say that car ride home was the worst and I don't know what I was thinking by making plans for Anthony and I that might but after the trauma of Thelma trying to stand and walk in the backseat and then she cried and then me cried. It was awful. I will never ever never pick an animal up from surgery alone. Her are some of her pictures below:

Day 2 - Leaving the hospital after surgery

Day 4 - She was super loopy on those pain meds. You can see the love on me look in her eyes.

Day 6 - Feeling better, sitting up but still not barking at the vacuum yet. You can see her 3-4 inch scar here.

 Anyway, we are 3 weeks out from surgery and our little champ is doing great. She has a gnarly scar and the hair on her leg hasn't grown all the way out yet but she is walking like a champ and even walking more than she did before the initial injury. We have a long way to go but this member of our family will be around for years and years and years. She'll be a great big sister to a human Bennett baby someday.

Happy Halloween!

When I was working for Vizergy and Anthony was working for Bank of America, he'd randomly ask me questions about technology and the Internet because as he said, "you work for the Internet so you should know this." Actually, I don't work for the Internet but I use it as a marketing tool and now that Anthony is with Web.com, you could say we both work for the Internet. NOTE: Anthony does not QC (Quality Check) my blog.

President Mitt Romney ??

Do I look like a Hot Tamale!?! Arriba!

The Internet industry is very different from most others because of how liberal and open it is. This is something I like and dislike at the same time. Both of our companies allow jeans, t-shirts, a somewhat flexible work schedule, freedom to use creativity, etc. so Halloween can be a lot of fun. Anthony and I both dressed up.

As you can see, he was Mitt Romney in an election year. He spent the day using his clever one liners and being told by coworkers how much scarier his costume was than the ghouls, goblins, zombies, and mad scientists in the office. I thought that was a hoot. For Halloween, I was a Hot Tamale and I lost our company's costume contest to a Despicable Me minion, Black Widow with wild make up, and a female Bob Ross. It was quite a show.

Anthony was trying to make the face of the pumpkin

You can also see the pumpkin that Anthony and I carved together. We even made some yummy pumpkin seeds. It is very easy to do but a little time confusing.

1. Open the pumpkin and pull out all the slimy seeds

2. Rinse the seeds in a colander and remove ALL slime

3. Lay out the seeds directly on a cookie sheet (no foil!!)

4. Season with season salt and garlic powder

5. Pop in the oven for an hour and a half at 220 degrees pulling them out every 20 minutes or so to scrape them around on the cookie sheet

6. Cool and enjoy!