Party in Scottsbluff

Last weekend we packed up the dog and headed to Scottsbluff, Nebraska for a fun family party in honor of the new college graduate, Lydia. Chris' grandparents live there are were gracious to open their home to the whole Benger family to celebrate. There were about 20 of us, most of the family from Colorado and Nebraska. We ate a lot, played a lot, and just had a nice day with the family.

We stayed the night in a nearby hotel, and early on Sunday morning, Chris and his dad headed off in his dad's Honda to Seattle. Lydia is borrowing the car for the summer, so the transport team took care of the long two-day drive. Chris' mom and Lydia flew out on Monday and met the guys in Seattle. Lydia is slowly getting settled and now has an apartment in Bremerton, not far from Seattle. She begins her "big girl" job next week! I look forward to going to visit her once she is all settled in her new surroundings.

Sucking in some Nebraska air...

Watching some of the "activities"...

"The Activities"... aka Potato Guns

They may be loud, but they are really fun to shoot off!
Don't worry, they were shot into a large empty field...

Tired pup after playing hard in Granddad & Gramrosie's large yard...

Uber, you have something green in your teeth!
He was so beat, he didn't even notice the tennis ball hanging out of his mouth...

Playing Bags! Turns out Mom Benger had some beginner's luck!

Action shot...

The Peanut Gallery for the lawn games...

Lydia received a beautiful hand-sewn quilt from her grandmother.
It should keep her warm in the chilly Seattle weather...

Lydia's cookie cake. That's the ferry form Seattle to Bremerton...

Here's What Has Happened the Past Few Months

It's been quite awhile since I last updated. Here is my update in photos (and captions):

Uber loved all the late snow we got...

He started trying to catch the big snowflakes...

Uber learned to walk on two legs, just kidding,
he's trying to catch snowflakes...

In April, I went to California with my parents to help out at a car show (working the booth and photographing cars for the mag). We drove the truck out and had a lot of fun. I felt like I was back in high school traveling with just my parents.

Cat nap...

This is the face of concentration...

I got to see my best friend from high school while out in Cali.
We hadn't seen each other in 8 years! It was so fun to reconnect
and have dinner with Kimmy and her boyfriend Ryan.

In May I chopped off my long locks...I love my new 'do though!

Uber's favorite thing...water!
He seems to have gotten bigger since he used his pool last year.

In May we took another trip out to Chicago to see Lydia graduate from Illinois Institute of Technology (smart kid school). We went with Chris' parents and had fun roasting in the sun for 5 hours (no one expected sun in Chicago, nor that long of a ceremony, so we all got sun burned). We also enjoyed a nice celebratory dinner with the grad, and some hanging around in town. It was a quick trip, but fun nonetheless!

Lydia's cheering section...

Our lovely view of the graduates marching in...
Some people have no care for anyone but themselves...

Roasting in the sun during the second ceremony...

GOAL! Lydia did it (she was the goalie on the soccer team)...

The proud family...

Chris, Lydia and me...

Lydia got an iPhone from her parents, pre-loaded with
"congratulations" messages from family and friends!

Just some cool shots of Chicago. It will probably be awhile
before we go back, now that we don't have a family member living there...

When it gets really hot out, we water the dog (and the lawn)...

He just loves this thing...

more to come...

Trip to Chicago...

Chris and I took a short trip to Chicago to see Lydia on March 28th. We were going to run the Shamrock Shuffle, an 8k race through downtown Chicago. When we woke up on the day of the race, all we could see was white...apparently a blizzard rolled in overnight. We decided it wouldn't be any fun to get hypothermia, when we just wanted to do the race for fun. Even though we didn't do the race, we had a lot of fun hanging out with Lydia. We hung out at her apartment on campus, went to a movie, and walked around the city (when the weather cleared up). I challenged Lydia to a little Guitar Hero, she kicked my butt, but to be fair, I had never played it before. Chris took a stab and the two of them played until their fingers hurt! Here are a few photos from the trip.

We head back to Chicago mid-May to attend Lydia's graduation ceremony at Illinois Institute of Technology...should be a blast!

Guitar Hero: Battle of the Siblings

Waiting for the bus...

Walking around the city...

Sears...um...Willis Tower

I wanted to have a photo, before they change the sign...

View from the train station on Lydia's campus...

We Love Snow...

It seems we didn't have a very snowy winter, but recently we have been getting some big storms! Uber loves to be out in the snow. He can keep himself occupied for hours, just running around in the snow. Here are some random shots from a few of the recent snow storms...

3.25.09 Snow Storm - Got over a foot

Shoveling...one of many times that day

The next day was beautiful...and the snow melted fast!

There is a step there, but hidden in all the snow...

Quite the life!

4.17.2009 Snow Storm - over a foot of wet snow

My little love bird birdhouse...

"I'm not coming inside, this is great!"

The snowflakes were huge and Uber felt compelled to try to catch them all...

Sleepy puppy...too much fun in the snow...