I honestly don't know how it happens...May 23...I told you that we were not going to Disney for competition. I remember where I was sitting when I typed that post....an Italian Restaurant on 1960...I can't remember the name because we hardly ever ate there because it wasn't close to our old home!!! Cherie and I broke the news to Summer and Kenley that we weren't going to Disney. Kenley and I were excited because we could go visit Jamie and visit Disney with her...well that changed too!!! Jamie is moving to TEXAS!!! Brad got a job at Trinity University! How exciting for us, Casey, Emma and Kenley will all be in Texas now! San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston~ Now that is exciting! The night Brad was going for his interview Kenley and I prayed hard and asked God to bless him and if God wanted the Durchslags in Texas he would bring them to us and he did! My favorite place is San Antonio because it has Sea World...and I hope Kenley loves it...so I can't wait to take her there and who better to share it with than Jamie, Kenley and Casey...hopefully Emma and Karrie too!
Kenley also went to kids camp in June, which is Monday-Wednsday 9-2:30 for 3 weeks...she didn't go every day, but it gave her something to do. We spent a lot of day with Jamie, Karrie, Emma, and Casey. She also had basketball camp. She starts another round of kids camp tomorrow! She has a lot of fun. Gives her something to do during the day, again it is a 3 week session.
Her summer cheer schedule is:
Monday: Private lesson to work on Back Handspring 3-3:30 and Tumbling 5-6
Tuesday: Private lesson to work on Back Handspring 5-5:30 and Practice 5:30-7:30
Thursday: Practice 5:30-7:30
We just returned from Montana...we had a great trip! We went this year with Kendra, Gary, and Cassi. We visited Grandma Benson while we were there we got to cousin Stacy and her 7 month old son Cooper! We also saw Aunt Wanda and Uncle Larry. Uncle Larry is getting ready to retire after 30 years as a civil servant...I think that is what you call it...he is currently the postmaster, which I think he has been for like 15-20 years. Grandma just moved from Kalispell, MT to Shelby, MT so we helped move her stuff.
Wait...Wait...Wait....Let's back up, to about a week before we left for Montana. I had taken Macy out to potty and came back into the house and I heard a noise on the front porch about 30 minutes later. I opened the door and there was a carrier and a sack with dog food and bowls. Somebody had left a wirehaired dachshund on our front porch. She is a miniature and her name is Bailey, it was Lily (not acceptable for many reasons, the easiest being that Peyton and Spencer have a dog that is Lily). She is a little shy around people...she likes kids, so we decided to take her to Montana! Airplane and all!
After we visited Grandma Benson and got her settled...we carried on to Philipsburg to visit Grandma Page, Aunt Sharon and Uncle Park. Cousin Kae were down from Alaska with Rory, Derrick and Dylan. Kenley got to play with her second cousins a lot! To her they seem like cousins...and we seem like Aunts and Uncles! It's so cute...I am Auntie Wendy! I love it! I have never been Auntie!!! They are such sweet kids and all three of them have such unique personalities. Rory is 7, Derrick is 5, and Dylan is 3...so they all play together brilliantly!
Kenley got an added bonus of getting to see Yellowstone National Park, and most importantly Old Faithful! We missed our flight leaving Houston last Saturday...so we had to fly into Jackson Hole, WY. So we drove to Old Faithful!
We hope that each and every one of you had a fabulous 4th of July~
I found myself so blessed to be surrounded by Garrett's family and cousins and feel so loved and nurtured by them. It's amazing that Kenley has 2 Great-Grandma's that I hope she will have such wonderful memories of each summer spending time with them in Montana.
Oh how children change you heart and soul~
Wife to Garrett, Mommy to Kenley & Jax, Aunt to Julie, Friend to who wants me, Daughter to Henry & Laura & Gary & Cassi, God-Mother to some of the cutest cuties Blakely and Casey. Insurance Agent to my lovely clients. I am working hard to raise my children to be all they can be, full of life, full of confidence, full of manners, full of love, showing God's love to others, being more than I am or can be...striving everyday to be a better person and it's not always easy!!
KENLEY PATRICIA BENSON started second grade this year at Trinity-Klein. She continues to cheer at Texas Lonestar Cheer and is in her fourth competitive year, she is on the Youth level 3 team. She has competitions all over the state this year and in Louisiana and California. Cheer practice and tumbling takes up a majority of her time, however she loves to spend time with her friends. She is enjoying Girl Scouts and all her friends. She still loves to ride in the golf cart, do her hair, she really like to play with her brother and Blakely. She enjoys traveling and got to go to Disney World this year, Montana, Louisiana, and had a great summer.
I can't imagine my life without her. She makes me laugh, she fills my heart with a joy I have never known and I enjoy watching her grow up. She is growing into such a beautiful soul.
Garrett graduated from the University of Houston in 2007 with a degree in Construction Management. He currently works at Baker Concrete as a Project Manager.
He is a sports fanatic. However, his love is Texans football and this takes up the majority of our fall and winter. He is an avid Texans tailgater. Every weekend there is a home game he is cooking and preparing for his time in the parking lot at Reliant Stadium. Fajitas, beer, washers, music and sausage are a few items you would find hanging out of the bed of his truck. He loves to hunt and is still continuing to fill our walls and our freezer.
Garrett finished up his job at EXXON in the Woodlands and is working in Midland, TX on a job for Chevron. Hopefully he'll be back home by November.
He is so happy to finally have a son. We welcomed Jaxon David into our family on March 31, 2014 and we, all three of us, are absolutely IN LOVE. ESPECIALLY DADDY!! He has his own personal Little Texan, who will grow into a big Texan.
Garrett loves his work and is a wonderful father and I could not ask for more. He works hard and his dedicated to our family. Being away is hard, but we are doing great, not to say it is without its hardships, but life isn't easy.
He reads stories to Kenley, takes and active role in her cheerleading, and helps in me in so many ways with her. I value his role as a father so much and I could not ask for a better partner in life or a father for her. They love each other dearly and that is so beautiful. He is so good with Jaxon and is such a great help. He has been on quite a few "man trips" lately...so he does owe me one or two...soon.
Garrett and I met at Lutheran High North in 1997. He came to North from Northwest Academy and I came from Our Savior. We started dating in in 1998 and the rest is history. We left Houston in 2001 after we graduted from Lutheran High North. Garrett went to University Texas and I went to Texas A&M. We spent many hours on the road between the two, to be fair it was Garrett who mostly did all the driving. We were married in September 2005 at the Fontenot Grand Mansion and welcomed Princess Kenley in April 2007 and Jaxon in March of 2014 (5 days shy of 7 years apart, by choice). We currently live in Klein, TX and will celebrate 9 years of marriage on the 10th of September.
Jaxon David Benson was born on March 31, 2014 at 9:04 am weighing 7 pounds 15 ounces and 21 inches long. He is a fantastic baby. He sleeps through the night since about 2 months old. His laughs and smiles light up a room, he never meets a stranger. He is calm and absoulte delight. He has light brown hair and sparkling blue eyes that belong to me. He is a beautiful cross between his father and myself. He is tall and more lean than chunky. Every morning he greets you with a smile and each night he leaves you with one. He is the perfect completion to our family.
Both Garrett and I grew up with dogs. Garrett had Boofer growing up and I had a host of dogs, one in particular was Autumn Marie, a Golden Retriever that went everywhere with my Dad. She could be found in the church parking lot, dropping me off at school or at a softball game.
In early 2005 I announced to Garrett that I wanted a Golden Retriever. He agreed and off to New Waverly we went and picked up a 3 month old pup, who shares my birthday of March 6. We chose her name while driving to pick her up, Brighton Marie. Yes, we got it from the home builder. She is very active and weighs around 80 pounds and firmly believes that she is a lap dog. She is very smart but many find it hard to love her. She is starting to calm down this days and is showing signs of her age. She has just a month and will beging a regime of "old lady" food. She is battling her skin lately it is not in agreement with all of the swimming she likes to do. She is aging around the eyes and after a long week at the lake with my parents her joints were worn out and she could barely get in the truck! Autumn lived to be in her teens...so I am hoping we have a long long life to live!!!
In early 2008 I added a maltipoo to our home, this I did without permission. Needless to say, I was in a bit of trouble. Macy is a sweet girl who loves Princess Kenley to death and pretty much allows anything to be done to her. Macy was born on December 10, 2007. This is a special day in our household. This is the day my mother died in 1999 and the day Garrett's grandpa Tom died in 2007. Macy has had her issues, Garrett kicked her out for a while because she could be potty trained. She has had major skin issues. Needless to say after many trips to the vet and being kennel trained she is doing fabulous! She doesn't hasn't had an accident since we moved to Klein. She does go to work with me every day. My Dad loves her too! Garrett is STILL not a fan
We added Emily the cat in 2009. Kenley begged and begged for a kitty and she got her wish. We went to a meeting at church and Kenley's Pre-School teacher Mrs. Eifert had brought 2 kittens that needed homes. They meowed and meowed, needless to say Emily came home. She has been a great edition and is working out wonderfully. I love her! (the secret is that she is a he!) She is so good about going with us to the lake every weekend and is very happy with all the dogs in the family.
