update

Kirk and David, my kids LOVED the jib jab movies! Thanks for the entertainment, and I'm glad you had a good trip, Kirk and Cherrie.

We had such a great time seeing all of you this summer. It was very hard to come back. We love you all so very much and miss being around family. Please feel free to come visit us in North Dakota any time. We actually fixed the hole in our wall, and have a stove that works great. So you could even come when it's cold if you wish. (Ha! Like that would ever happen!)

Mom and Dad came up to visit and wow! They are fantastic! Not only did they drive all the way to be with us, which is hard enough, they also helped fix so many things, helping with all kinds of projects! Thanks mom and dad! And they were there to support me in my first ever marathon race! (Sounds like a great accomplishment, but really I was on a relay team and only ran 4 miles. But that was great for me!)

Also, I was going to call everyone, but thought I might as well just post it on the blog, we are expecting another little person in our home around the end of April or beginning of May. We are not going to find out what we are having this time, as that seemed to be of no use last time. However, we are assuming it will be another boy.

TRIP TO SEATTLE

I had to go to Seattle for training at work, and Cherrie wanted to come with me, so I arranged for us to go out there a few days early.
First I must thank Mom and Dad for generously offering to watch the kids while we went.
We had a good time and Devin got us a hotel with a deep discount thanks to his having access to hotels and being on the inside of the business. At first I wondered how it would all work out, since the hotel we opted to reserve was across the puget sound from downtown seattle. We stayed in Port Orchard, and it turned out to be wonderful (the first picture is just straight out about 30 yards from our hotel room door). The hotel was a five minute walk from a small ferry that brought us across the little bay to Bremerton where there was a much larger ferry that took us into downtown. (see 2nd picture of us leaving downtown on the ferry) It was alot of fun and really affordable to ride the ferry into downtown, where, upon arrival we were walking distance to all the fun stuff, like the Pike Place Market and the Seattle Aquarium. The Buses were very convinient so we took buses around too. Then after three days in port orchard, the company I was training at sent a car to pick us up at the ferry terminal and we transfered to a hotel in Redmond on the Microsoft campus. The company took us around to the sites too and so they brought us to a Native American Dance thing on Tillicum village Island State Park, and to the Space needle. It was alot of fun because I also got to have dinner with our cousin Rick, and we sat around and told stories and got to know each other a bit better. Cherrie put a bunch of pictures on our blog too if you want to see more.


KIRK

Dave Barry for President

Being all, like, into politics and stuff, I decided to ask Dave Barry a question since he is running for president. His Supreme Stud Manlinesshood answered me. (I am DVB from Layton, if you care.)

This Is Where Dad Got His Talent

Mom and Dad are caught in the act!

Pictures from the family reunion

Will everyone share their reuinion pictures with us? Not all of ours turned out that great, and we would like all of yours. You can send us yours and then we'll send you ours.

Okay. I'm just reminding everyone that we are coming to Utah soon. I hope you are all planning to come to the get together, including you, gluebrain. If you don't come, you are required to take your next vacation to North Dakota and visit us!

Schlenske news

There's not much news from here either. We are busy trying to get the lawn and garden taken care of. Ben built a huge sandbox for the boys, and we tore out part of the deck. Other than that, we have had record breaking amounts of rain. It has rained, and rained and rained. And it's heavy rain. So I am sending a picture of the large snapping turtle that was nonchalantly cruising down the road in front of our home. The boys loved it! We are soooooooooo excited to see you all soon.

I thought I'd give an update on me

So, it's been a while since I posted anything here and I thought you all might want an update on me. So here it goes. Nothing new is happening in my life. Well, stay posted for more unexciting news.

our new house

Our house is almost livable now. Sorry I don't have any really great before and after pictures to show just how filthy and disgusting the house was when we bought it.... but believe me, it was. What I do have are some before and after pics of what it looked like after we had ripped out the carpet and began repainting comparing to what it looks like now.

Here is one before and after set, taken from about the same vantage point-

BEFORE

AFTER




and another

BEFORE


AFTER

Also, did I mention that I graduated?

KIRK

Homeless Eco-Criminal

Our home is officially sold, as of Wednesday last week. We have until June 21st to move out, so we are houseless but not homeless. We expect to close on the Layton house on the 16th of May. Kirk is now officially moved into his place, meaning all of his stuff is there. But, they won't be able to move in the people until they get the upstairs part ready to live in. In the middle of all this, Kirk is finishing his finals. Ouch.

In semi-interesting news (though not too shocking), I am apparently an "Eco-Criminal" because I have a large family. Here is an excerpt from the beginning of the article:

Having Large Families 'Is An Eco-Crime'

HAVING large families should be frowned upon as an environmental misdemeanour in the same way as frequent long-haul flights, driving a 4x4 car and failing to reuse plastic bags, according to a report to be published tomorrow by a green think tank.

The paper by the Optimum Population Trust (OPT) will say that if couples had two children instead of three they could cut their family's carbon dioxide output by the equivalent of 620 return flights a year between London and New York.

John Guillebaud, co-chairman of OPT and emeritus professor of family planning at University College London, said...: "The greatest thing anyone in Britain could do to help the future of the planet would be to have one less child."

With 8 children, maybe Wes & Ruth deserve to be charged with an environmental felony. When I was a child, I remember being told that my large family was contributing to global starvation and depleting the world's resources so that the next generation would have nothing. That never happened and the world is now depopulating, but I guess it would have been a good thing according Mr. Guillebaud--to him, God's children are still a blight on the face of this telestial sphere. I enjoyed Mark Steyn's reductio ad absurdum:

In those terms, surely the greatest thing everyone in Britain could do to help the future of the planet would be to reduce his carbon footprint to zero by killing himself. The United Kingdom's present fertility rate is not three children or even two but 1.6 or 1.7, and the British will be extinct long before the polar bear. And when the self-loathing westerners are gone how many Yemeni imams will want to man the late shift at the local Greenpeace office?

On that note, I wish the women of our family a happy Mother's Day. I don't think I'm wresting the scriptures with my belief that the planet was made for man and not man for the planet. Children are a blessing and cure, especially when I see how our grandmothers, mothers and sisters raise them. May Father in Heaven bless you all for eternity!

Happy Mother’s Day!

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.