A Great Thanksgiving Weekend!

This week was a crazy week with a lot going on. Wednesday Carrie and Carrissa came to visit and we hung out and had some adult beverages. On Thursday Rachel, Aiden, Rowan, and I drove to Bloomington, IL to spend time with Rachel's side of the family for Thankgiving. To make the day even better, Dallas won and took control of the NFC East. We drove back Thursday night and on Friday we had a suprise party for my Grandpa Breon and his 75th birthday. All the family was together and a good time was had by all.

On Saturday we celebrated Dad and Kathy's 25th wedding anniversary. They didn't know we were going to do it but we went to Mazzio's that night for dinner, a place we use to go when we were kids. When we got back to their house we had a mock wedding cake that looked like their real wedding cake along with a scrap book we had all made.

Kate was back for all of this and we got to spend time with her and Bryson. It was a really good time and can't wait to see them again.

A Busy Time

It has been a long time since I posted anything here. Truth be told it's because I got a new computer and forgot to add this site as a favorite to remind me to update it. Since I last wrote there have been a few changes around the Benda household. Rowan James was born on June 9, 2009. He is now 4 months old and is crazy as ever. We are all excited as Aunt Kate and cousin Bryson will be gracing us with their presence in November.

The wine is going great and just this past Thursday we bottled 90 bottles of wine. I've ordered 3 more batches of wine and they should be going and complete at the begining or mid December.

The prison is talking about possibly laying off some workers and unfortunately they are talking about laying me off. This isn't for sure obviously as the jury is still out on how many they are going to lay off so keep your fingers crossed. I will try to keep up with this page a little better now that I have remembered it's here.

A little update.

We decided to get some pictures taken of Rachel, Aiden and I along with Rachel's belly. I really hate getting my picture taken but I'm sure I'm really going to appreciate the fact that it was done down the road. The photo's were taken by a girl I went to school with, her name is now Amy Poe. You can find her on facebook under poetography. I have added a few of the pictures she did so you can see what kind of a job she does.

We have been told to basically expect the baby any day now. However, if Rachel hasn't given birth by the 8th of June, the doctor is going to induce her. She is pretty miserable right about now and we are both ready for the new Baby Benda to get here.

Happy Easter 2009

This was the first Easter Aiden knew what he was doing. He woke to a note from the Easter Bunny telling him that he had eggs and his basket to find. After the egg hunt We got him ready for church. The other picture is Aiden posing for Aunt Katey. Easter was nice as we spent it at my Dad's house with some of our family. We had a big lunch and Aiden got search for more eggs. In a little over a week we go to see Aunt Kate in PA.

Everything that's going on!

Aiden got an early Easter present from his Grandma Kathy and Papa Mike. He basically refuses to anywhere without his new bike. He wakes up early in the morning wanting to ride it, he takes shorter naps so he can ride it a little bit longer, and he's actually pretty good on it. We've been riding down to the park everyday possible, when the weather permits that is. A week from tomorrow Aiden gets his tonsils taken out so we are all so very anxious about that. They say his tonsils are to big and they are causing him to snore. They also have pits in them and that's causing him to get sick a lot.

Rachel is doing great. She has been at her job for over a year now and she is finally starting to settle in. Thank you Jesus, I finally get a little peace. Now she's two months from her due date and I get to deal with that now.

Kaine is doing great, obviously he is getting pretty big. He is just a little over 5 months old. He is training very well. He is now house broke and he no longer sleeps in a cage, instead he sleeps on a big pillow on the floor by our bed. He fetches and does very well on walks. I'm still trying to get him to listen to Aiden. As it is right now he loves to chew on Aiden's toys.

Overall the Benda family is doing very well. We have a lot going on in the next couple of weeks. We have Easter this Sunday and in a few weeks we are heading out to PA to visit Kate and Adam and their soon to be new arrival. I'm sure there will be plenty of posts from that trip. More to follow soon.

A Little Update!

It's been a little while since I've posted anything here so I thought I would give you all a little update on the things going on around here. Rachel and the unborn baby are doing great. We are going on walks every now and again and we are officially done with volleyball. That is of course a good thing because Rachel was starting to scare me a little bit while she was playing.

Kaine got his stitches out today and is doing very well. He is getting huge after only being 4 months old. His obedience is doing very well and will soon be a very well behaved dog.

I painted the living room a week ago and also put in a new sink with faucet and put in a new counter top. I'm trying to get Rachel to let me do the rest of the kitchen. When that is done, pretty much every room downstairs will have been redone and finished. My buddy Colin was in town this past weekend and we hung out. I haven't seen him in like 5 years. That's how my friends do it, they spread their time out that way you miss them a little bit.

So this week there were a lot of things going on. I started bottling my wine on Thursday. I got 22 1/2 bottles out of my approximate 5 gallons. To some of the bottles I added a raspberry flavoring and some I left as is. It tasted pretty good for my first batch of home made wine if I do say so myself. I've already started giving some bottles away but Rachel has informed me that I need to save some bottles for when she is no longer pregnant.

Last night we had a poker tournament here at the house and Rachel was the perfect hostess. The turnout for the game was great and I ended up taking 2nd place. Kaine is doing really well and is getting bigger everyday. Rachel is a little nervous of how big he is actually going to get. Aiden and Kaine are wresting all the time which is good I guess. I think Aiden is going to be in for a rude awakening when Kaine gets full grown.

This Thursday is the big day for Kaine, he gets the old snip! I know, I'm taking away his manhood but it's honestly for the best. So that's what's going on in the Benda house.

Sick at Home

Two weeks ago Aiden was home sick with strep, we gave him medicine, he started feeling better, and then last night he came down with a fever. I took him to the hospital today and he still has strep. So we have two more weeks of medicine, then to the doctor, and if he still has it, they will probably have to take out his tonsils.

Kaine is doing very well with house training, we haven't had an accident in over a week. Aiden and Kaine are so cute together and play like no other. They are rather funny together, although today, Aiden doesn't feel like playing so Kaine is just lying there next to him wondering what is going on.

Rachel is doing very well although she wasn't feeling very good last night or today either. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the next baby. In April we are planning a trip out to PA to visit Kate and Adam and their new baby beer.

My next project is a big one and am probably going to require some help on it. I want to tackle the kitchen. My goal is to be able to do it for about $1000, maybe even less. We shall see how it goes. That is what's new in the Benda house.

Murder Mystery Party

Friday night we had a birthday party for Kriisti. It was a murder mystery party and it's theme was a 20 year class reunion from 1985. Everyone had a part and at some point throughout the night, someone would be mudered. After the murder you had to figure out who did it. Here are a few photo's from that party. A good time was had by all. Oh, and about 18 of us killed a keg.

The first picture is the entire cast and party. The second is Rachel's (Natalie Nebraska) fake senior picture. Then there is Dad and Kathy (Mr. and Mrs. Nick Nixon) who is running for president. Then there is Rachel and I (Joe and Natalie Nebraska). A good time was had by all.

At Home Sick

Well for the third day in a row Aiden woke up with a fever. After taking him to the hospital they informed us that he has strep. So I got to stay home today and take care of my sick kid, which is so much fun. He actually wasn't to bad considering everything. We played with Kaine and just spent the day together.

Our new addition...Kaine

This is the newest addition to our family. His name is Kaine and he is a boxer lab mix. He has really taken to Aiden and is doing really well so far. We'll see how he does in the future. There is also a video of Kaine and Aiden playing together.

A Night Out

Rachel went to St. Louis yesterday to spend time with her St. Louis girls and left me alone in the house to my crazy games. After work a buddy of mine were going to go to Vinnies, a nice little pub here in Ft. Madison, to check out a band that was playing down there. The band was pretty good but the bar was packed. My Dad, Cory, and his girlfriend Deborah met us down there and Amos showed up a little bit later. We stayed down there for a few beers then headed for Captain Kirks. Another band was playing and they were pretty good also. Leaving there we went to the Old E, now known as Kinnik South. Fatina called while we were on our way down there and she met us there for a drink. We didn't stay down there long before we ended back up at Kirks, drinking and telling jokes. Deborah peed her pants, not really I spilled a beer on her, and she was pretty stoked about that. We closed the bar down at about 2 a.m. and all went our separate ways. Amos came over to my house for an intense game on the Wii. After destroying him in tennis and in bowling, and after killing a bottle of wine, I figured it was time to go to bed before I couldn't walk anymore. A good time was had by all but I'm a little slow going today.

Aiden's Room Complete

A few months back I painted Aiden's room and never got around to putting up his shelves and hanging his Fat Head that he got from Grandma Sandy last year at his birthday. Rachel told me that was the next thing she wanted done so here are the pictures of the finished product.

A week of Choas!

This week was crazy. I have been trying to get tons of things done before my sister and her husband got here and I actually made it happen. I got the entryway, the stairway and the hallway at the top of the stairs all painted and some pictures hung up. I also completed the library which, in case you haven't figure it out, is what the pictures are of. My brother Cory arrived on Wednesday and Adam and Kate came in early Friday morning. It was a great week with everyone spending time together. Kate was back for her baby shower that was held here on Saturday. Everything went great and now today I go back to work. I can't tell you how excited I am about that.

Rachel's Birthday!

As the title implies, today was Rachel's birthday, the big 31, yeah she's stoked. Today was another fun filled day of staining and varnishing the shelves. I just finished up with the second coat of varnish to some of the wood, I'm officially high. Aiden and Rachel are asleep and the smell is so overwhelming I'm praying they wake up :P I did put a fan in the window and am blowing some of it out. How desperate is that, it's January, like 25 degrees and I have the window open, now that's dedication.

Tonight Rachel, Aiden, and I went to Amigo's for dinner. We met Dave and Jean, Rachel's parents, there and they treated for Rach's birthday. Of course I ate way to much as usual. After that we came back to the house for a bit before we took a jaunt over to Tim and Kriisti's house were the kids played and everyone made fun of my parenting skills. Listen up...Wednesday and Thursdays are Aiden and Daddy days. The problem being, by Thursday night, I'm pretty much ready to kill him. I don't know what it is, but lately that kid has been wound for sound. It's like he goes to school and does crack, then I go pick him up. For instance, yesterday I put him down for a nap, not 3 minutes later, he comes walking down the stairs saying "Dad I had a good nap." I had to convince him that he didn't sleep and that he needed to return to his bed. It's been like that for the last 2 days. Perhaps I bring it out in him.

Tomorrow I will continue the work on the shelves and there will be pictures to follow shortly after. If anyone wants to come help me paint feel free, that's my next project.

A Busy Day!

Today was a very busy day. This morning Aiden and I went and got our hair cuts because we are getting ready for Aiden's 3 year pictures, translation, family photo. On our way there we got a phone call from my Dad saying that the bowling alley in town was burning down. After our hair cuts, I took Aiden out to school. I went and loaded up about 5 truck loads of what was left over from the Christmas shop that the CVB put on.

I came home and started taking down all the Christmas decorations around the house. I went out and picked up the bookshelves that Jeff and I built and brought them home. I still have to stain them and varnish them and they will be done. Dad helped me carry all that in, oh and the room has been painted. Rachel came home and we enjoyed some Casey's Taco Pizza. I know I capitalized it but if you have ever eaten this pizza you would understand that it needs to be capitalized.

After our wonderful dinner we set out to take down the tree. Aiden was a huge help constantly getting in the way and every now and again taking down an ornament and handing it to Rachel. So now the Christmas has been taken out of our house and it's time to get down to work. I need to finish the shelves and then get some books on those. After that is all done I'm going to paint the entryway, the stairway, and the hall at the top of the stairs. I want to have all of this done by the time Kate gets here in a week. Yeah....should be a great week.

The Two New Projects!

Yesterday I drove to Burlington and ran some errands. I picked up some pins for the bookshelves I just made for the library, and I picked up the paint for the library and the entryway. I want to have both of these things done by the time my sister gets here in less than two weeks. I plan on starting on them todaybut we'll see what actually gets done. I will try to take some before and after pictures and post them on here. Stay tuned for more.

The Dueling Piano's

Last night they had a dueling piano group from Chicago here in Burlington. Rachel and I along with two of our friends who had never been to a dueling piano bar, ventured out last night to partake in the madness. They were a very good duo, however they couldn't compare to Pete's. Don't get me wrong I wasn't disappointed, we all had a great time. Neil, a buddy of mine that went with us, got put on stage for his "birthday" and they sang the "Itsy bitys teeny weeny" song to him and talked about the size, or lack there of, of his male anatomy. A very good time was had by all.

On another note, I'm almost done with the library shelves that I've been working on for the last two days. Jeff has been helping me every morning before I go to work. We've got all the pieces cut, I just need to sand them all and then assemble. Once that's done it will be staining and then to take them home and get some books on them. It should all be done before Kate gets home in two weeks.

New Years Day

New Years Eve Aiden went and stayed with his Grandma Sandy. Rachel and I ended up in Burlington. We went to dinner and did a little gambling at the casino. I actually won a little bit. After that we ended up at my Dad's house hanging out and playing some games.

New Years Day was spent out at Mom's house for our last Christmas. I know it's late but when you have so much family you have to spread everything out. Aiden and his Grandma had a Spider-Man marathon the night before. Santa was very good to all of us. After we ate, opened gifts and watched some football, Rachel and I went to Burlington to do some shopping. I got all the wood for my next project while she got some stuff for Aiden's birthday. So my next project begins today. I hope to have it done before Kate and Adam get here in 2 weeks but we'll see how it goes. I will post some pictures when it's all done.