Update

I thought I'd give a quick update, but can't think of much to say now. I think I'm just tired. Ben is now doing four day alerts. Thanks to those of you who have sent or called with recipes! It is fun for me to get them, and helpful! Thank you, thank you. We are happy for all of you with new homes, or soon to be in new homes. I'm sorry none of you need to build a new chimney, but if you'd like to help rebuild ours, you're welcome to come to North Dakota! You're welcome anytime anyway! It is actually now in the 60's and sometimes 70's. Wow! We even have a few buds on trees. The boys found a salamander in the backyard a couple of weeks ago when it was in the 40's- finally broke freezing. It's amazing, we defrost just a tiny bit and already the bugs and reptiles come out! We are so happy for spring! We hope all of you enjoy spring as well!

Quick Question

I can now set up this blog so that only invited people can read it. That would allow us to update each other with addresses and telephone numbers safely, which would be nice. However, if you ever refer friends to look at pictures on the blog or something, then you may not want to hide the content.

When you get a chance, make a comment and let me know what you would like to do.

Benges on the Move

Congratulations on the sale of Kirk's home and his pending move. Kirk, when do you actually close and move into your new place? Let us know so Ben, Daryl and I can come help you. (No pansy excuses about it being too far, OK men?)

Tara and David Simmonds are now moved in, correct? Everyone OK there?

Kirk and Tara, if you get a chance, you oughtta post a picture, too.

Susan and I just had an offer accepted on a home in Layton. It is very nice and in a very nice part of town, just past Fruit Heights. It is pretty large and has 6 bedrooms and some really neat features like an intercom and central vacuum. I am having a hard time getting psyched, though, because I really thought the Orem home we missed out on would have been perfect, and would have been pretty close to family in Utah. But, if there is nothing seriously wrong with it (like our van not being able to fit in the garage), I think we will take it. Take a tour, if you'd like.

Steven Colbert

I'm a big fan of the Colbert report. This one made me laugh.

It Just Makes Me Laugh

I used to photograph my action figures when I was young, too.

Help Desk

Kirk shared this with me awhile back. If you have a fast enough connection, please enjoy.

That Was Fast

We accepted an offer on the house. We will close in May but won't need to move out until about the middle of June. I think that is quite a blessing. Sorry none of you get the carbonated beverage, though.

The buyer is Sean "Roombus" (spelling?) Hansen from Fountain Green. Dad knows him. Anybody else know him?

Homely News

I think everyone knows all or most of the the big Benge news, but I thought I would post something since we often aren't real good at posting news.

Tara and David found a home in Springville and are moving. In fact, I think they are moving a bunch of stuff today, but I don't know when they will actually start living there. Tara and David, be sure to send us all an email with your new address, phone number, etc. (you probably won't want to post it on this site).

It is a good thing they are leaving Mom & Dad's basement because our house is also now for sale. We have it listed by a realtor but are also able to sell it by owner, and I would like to offer an incentive to the family: if you refer someone to our home and they buy it without assistance of a real estate agent, I will give you a 2 liter bottle of pop (of your choice) and $250. You may be asking yourself how I am able to offer 250 clams. Answer: 1) that ain't nothin' compared to what a real estate agent will get (and please remember that we can sell it cheaper if we don't pay a real estate agent), and 2) I doubt you would be able to do it. Let the games begin. We are asking for $1.5 million, but have it listed for $268,000. I hope it sells.

I sometimes wonder if trying to get a bigger place is selfish, and if such a move is wise or not. After all, I bet Grandma and Grandpa Walker would have felt like royalty to put 13 people in a house as big as ours and let them stretch out. But, it seems like a good thing to do.

I'm not done yet. Kirk is also selling his home. He has found another, and the owner accepted his offer, which is contingent upon the sale of his home. Thus, I am certain Kirk would also appreciate you sending business his way. I don't know what kind of incentives he is offering, but I am sure a big hug and a vow of eternal servitude are part of the deal. Wouldn't it be great for them to have a bigger place before Cherrie's parents come over?

Last of all, I wanted to tell you about a young lady I met yesterday just as Mom and Dad were pulling out of my driveway. She asked how much I was selling our home for, as she was renting just down the road but was looking to buy. After I gave her the information, she told me she grew up in the house, and she wanted to know if it still had the raspberry bushes. She was glad to know they were alive and productive, and that four fruit trees had been added. I told her I'd give her a great deal if she wanted to move back. I was surprised to talk to one of the prior residents because they had moved to Wisconsin.

Remember: 2 liter bottle of pop and $250. Eternal servitude. Etc.

We love you all and pray for you daily. Don't be strangers, and don't be stranger than me.

Family Service Announcement of a Great Idea

I realize that none of us are big time travelers (at least not yet). But when we do need a hotel room, www.cleanhotels.com seems like a terrific choice. This website lists hotels in your selected area that do not show pornography, including pay-per-view porn. The CleanHotels website has more information about how and why they do this. Rebecca Hagelin of the Heritage Institute also has an article about it with some interesting information.

I recommend we use this service. I am so very grateful that there are people out there using their brains and talents for good.

Computer programmer testifies regarding election fraud

I've been neglectful

I had a goal of updating people more regularly, but I haven't done so well. I wonder how many people are checking the blog frequently, because if it is just not being used much, I might as well send emails. So if you read this, could you comment back to me to let me know who I am reaching?

We are nearly finished putting in our new floor in the kitchen and in the dining room. It looks so much better that i can hardly believe it. We have even hung most of our pictures now too and so it feeling like a nice livable house now. We had a couple of really nice warm days here a few days ago, and now it is freezing again with new snowfall. We are anxiously awaitng some springtime weather. It feels hopeful now, that someday winter will be over. Our next big project will be to paint the outside of the house when we get some steadier warm weather.

In a couple of weeks, Ben will start going to the capsule for three nights at a time. We are a bit confused as to why the Air Force thinks this might be a worthwhile thing to do, but we roll with the punches. Ben is a great and dutiful officer and though he doesn't like to be away from us, he doesn't complain and does a good job.

All the rascally boys are very alive and active. They are super excited about our upcoming vacation in the summer to visit all of you.

I thought you also might enjoy this boxing picture of Batman Dallin.

A visit from porter

it seems a shame we never post to this.....myself included!
anyway, i am compassionate service leader in RS and a lady in my ward ended up in the hospital with vertigo. i went to see her and now she is my new good friend. she was wanting to go to utah for a week or so during conference time, but didn't want to drive the whole way by herself and wondered if porter and i would like to come along. so, as long as her vertigo gets better, porter and i will be leaving on the 23rd to come visit you all....except Krissy.... :( ♥. anyway, hopefully we will get to come. of course, i have only been away from daryl 1 night in our 2 ½ years of marriage....so it won't be the easiest thing i have ever done, but i am so excited to see everyone and to have porter meet you all! ♪♫
oh, speaking of callings.....i was daryl's assistant in primary, but now i am the primary teacher because daryl got released...he is now our ward executive secretary. his dad was made bishop the week before, and his dad's dad is a bishop in salt lake, so we tease him a lot that he is learning the ropes so he can follow in their footsteps.

Updated Blog

Now that the Schlenske's started having problems, too, I went ahead and give the go ahead to update the the family blog. To post anything, you will need a google email address (gmail)--it will walk you through registration if you don't have a gmail account already.

Good luck! May the force be with you!

FYI, for those of you without gmail, it is OK. You don't have to use it for anything, although it can be handy. I use it for my email address when I fear I will be getting a lot of spam for something, and it is great for that.

Later.

Be happy in Winter

I am writing to help everyone feel better about cold winters, except for Darcee, who doesn't have cold winters anyway. I love you Dar! Anyhow, two weeks ago is 40 below zero and our fuel in the van froze. We had to pay a bit of money to rememdy that. We were told to use more additive in the fuel and we already have block heater. But we are discovering that living in North Dakota is detrimental to vehicles. The last few days it has been either -40 or -50 with wind chills. Our van, once again seems to have gelled fuel. There seems to be no let up either. The forecast predicts the highs will not get above zero for a few days, and even so, the wind chills are extreme sub zero. The little Mazda's battery died from cold and now the brakes don't work. I guess from the cold too! Luckily, we feel very blessed that we have great friends that lend us vehicles or give us rides. Has anyone ever lived in a place that when you walk outside you get a gust of 40 mph wind that burns your face and within two seconds you think you have frostbite? I question why anyone ever decided to homestead here. Despite the fact that it is cold, we are all happy and well. We miss you all so very much. And I hope this update makes you all feel warm and cozy!

Blog Changes

It is good to see so many pictures and updates. We really ought to get a decent little digital camera. Note to Cherrie (and if you are an OSHA employee, please do not read any further): as a dental assistant, you should be proud of your smile--drop that mask and show your pearly-whites!

Anyway, this free blogging site is now starting to push users to the NEW blogger. I am sure it is bigger, faster, smarter and will lead to world peace, but I haven't switched yet because it requires you all to get a GMail account. That isn't the biggest deal in the world, and the new log-in lets you create one very quickly. For now, I have not upgraded, but I think it is an inevitablility (and probably sooner than later). So, you may want to go ahead and set up a GMail account if you don't already have one. I will let you know when the change needs to be made.

FYI, GMail has a few good features to it, and I use it when I am at risk of getting spammed a lot.

TTFN

sorry we've been absent

I "updated" my account and somehow made myself not a member of this blog page and couldn't post. I've tried many things to get back, and just couldn't. So, I finally gave up and set up a whole new account and now I'm back!!!! We are happy and mostly healthy (I think Porter is getting a cough). We need you cold people to come visit us. It is rainy today, but on Monday it was over 70 degrees! I do love warmer weather. Good job Cherrie! and Kirk! You guys are so motivated! Speaking of motivation, good job Kristin too!!! Wow. I knew I was a lazy person, but you guys make me look really really bad. Love and miss you! Hope we can all get together around the 4th of July. And....what's the word on Nikki and her kids' health?

Who wants to get their teeth cleaned?

Can you tell who is behind this mask? ...


















That's RIGHT! It's Cherrie! And did you notice that her patient has a huge smile? Well why not? I think I would smile too if Cherrie were cleaning my teeth... unless I had bad breath, then I'd be too embarrassed to smile.


.......Or maybe it's just the Nitrous Oxide... Whatever.

The point is, Cherrie will graduate in July as a dental assistant. And she loves it. Oh yeah, and by the way, I'll graduate from my Masters program in May.

KIRK

Where is everyone?

I am just curious why no one has blogged lately. For some reason I was just waiting so that I didn't have two in a row. But why? Anyhow, I'm tired and need to go to bed, but I am wondering how my family is? We love you all. Here's a recent picture of Little Ben promoting his favorite product.

What a woman!

I think all of you should be aware of the greatness that is in the form of my beautiful wife. I am so proud of her. I usually let her do all the blogging, but tonight I must give a shout out to her prowess.
As many of you may know, Kristin is teaching the boys school at home. I chip in on occaisson when I am home, but she does english, math, etc. while keeping tabs on the littler ones with periodic feeding feedings in between subjects. There are of course the many normal duties around the house...laundry, cooking, general cleaning and putting out fires (not real ones thankfully). She is also in the primary presidency and without her organizational skill things could be a little scary. She is also a devouted wife. The best a man could ever hope for. She is here in Minot North Dakota of all places because the Lord and the Air Force brought us here. Its a nice place but it is far away from all her loving family that at times she truly longs to be with.While I am gone for close to 36 hours at a time several times a month, she willingly presses forward alone, doing things on her own that would be a whole lot easier with two parents instead of one (bath time and sacrament meeting for instance). And to top it all off, she has become the tool belt diva at the construction site known as our house. Our latest project has been the kithchen in which Kristin textured and painted the walls...but, even cooler than that, while we were intalling the new countertops, sink, dishwasher, garbage disposal all in the same night, she single handedly solved the plumbing issue underneath the sink. While my brain was to tired from the whole experience, she directed the succesful intallmentof the p-trap, t valve, drainage hose and disposal all on her own. It was magnificent! I also came home yesterday to find that she had hung four doors and screwed a small countertop onto a cabinet in the laundry room. Wow. Way to go Kristin.
I am sure you all do great things and even try new things from time to time. I guess life's all about overcoming our fears and discovering we really can do "stuff".

Grandpa Wes, Jim and Karalee

This is Cherrie. We got a christmas card from Grandma Vera with these pictures. Can you tell who is who?