Dear Readers;

Hi, it's me, Benjamin. I'm writing because my mom obviously isn't. She's been very bad about posting lately, and she feels kind of bad, but not really, because let's be honest, who reads this thing anyway? She hasn't been feeling well lately and hasn't really felt much like writing, so I decided to take over for the time being. As my PR rep, I feel like she should be doing a better job of getting my name and face out there. But I guess I'll cut her some slack, especially since I haven't really been maintaining a good image, what with the poop and the tooth and all. She used to spend mornings blogging, but lately I've been getting up really early, so she doesn't have that time anymore. I make her watch Handy Manny with me because it's my favorite, and she does it because she's my favorite and bestest mom. Then we play a lot. She also used to blog during my nap, but lately she's been using that time to read, sleep, watch Secret Life of the American Teenager documentaries on the History Channel...let's just say the creative juices have been stagnant. I think her lack of effort is appalling. But I also keep her running all day, so...I guess to be fair she should get some time to herself, especially since she has to go back to work in four days. Boooo.

Anyway, here are the things that we have been doing: Wild Rivers (although I guess she told you about that), Atlantis Park, the beach, the dentist (I guess she told you about that one, too), Huntington Central Park, Disneyland, the Lagoon, and swimming, just to name a few. I will tell you all about Atlantis Park, Alice's Breakfast in the Park, and Wild Rivers (my side of the story). Those have been our Hometown Tourist destinations recently. We have two more days together (not including this weekend), so we have one more destination left before mommy goes back. We haven't picked yet. Lots of people have been telling us that they are inspired by our adventures. I hope that's true, because we have so much fun, and I think everyone should stop whining about how boring and hum-de-dum their lives are, get off the couch, and play! It doesn't even have to be really expensive. We are super-savers, and we do loads of fun things for hardly any money at all.


Anyway, we've also been doing lots of things that aren't New Adventures. Lately we've been visiting old favorites. Since the sun finally came out we've gone to the beach a lot. And now that our Disneyland passes aren't blocked out we've gone twice in the last week, and we're going back to tomorrow!

One of the things my mommy has been telling me lately is that we are very blessed. Blessed is when Jesus gives you presents--and not just the kind that you open on your birthday, like cars, but the kind that define you and your life. We pay a lot of money to live where we live (mommy says we could buy a house in Oklahoma with tons of bedrooms and a huge backyard for what we pay in rent, but then we'd have to live in Oklahoma), but we have lots of perks. Like how it's only 10 minutes to the beach, which is pretty cheap and always fun, and 15 minutes from Disneyland, which we can go to a lot. Mommy and daddy are also blessed because they have me, and I'm awesome. I'm super cute, fun, funny, sweet, and kind. I also nap and go to bed like a champ, which means mommy and daddy get to spend time together wearing their jammies and watching Friday Night Lights. Mommy says that all of our adventures and Hometown Tourism has made her appreciate her life and where she lives more. This is a good thing, because I think she worries that if I grow up here I will become selfish and entitled (which is when you think you deserve to have everything). I think that's silly. Okay, maybe I overreact a little when we leave the Mickey Mouse Store in the mall and I have to leave the Handy Manny toolbox there, and maybe that doesn't help. But it's just because I'm only two and I don't know how to articulate my feelings very well. So instead of saying, "Mother, I am really enjoying playing with this Handy Manny toolbox. May we please purchase it?" I throw myself face-down onto the floor and scream. But what she doesn't understand is that I do this because I'm two, not because I'm materialistic from living in a predominately wealthy county.


If you're wondering what I'm like these days, I'll tell you. I like Madagascar, but I call it Gascar. I used to call it Move It, because that's my favorite song from the movie, which I like to dance to. But that was babyish. I'm older now, and I know what it's actually called. Speaking of talking, I talk all the time. I love to tell stories. Because my vocabulary is still fairly limited, I use a lot of gestures, facial expressions, and vocal intonation to get my point across. Speaking of vocabulary, I can say truck now. But sometimes I still say it the other way, just for old time's sake. Speaking of trucks, I love them. I love cars, trucks, planes, trains...if it moves, I love it. Speaking of moving, dancing's my favorite. I especially love to do the "move it" dance from Madagascar and the "hot dog dance" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Speaking of songs, I love those too. I know all the words to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Jesus Loves Me," which I call the "Bible Song." It goes like this: "Bible bible bible song; bible bible bible song." I love it when my mommy sings to me. I often start singing a song and then after a couple of words I say, "mommy turn!" and make her sing the rest, over and over. I also love books. I love to read them, and I love having my mommy read them to me. Daddy's my favorite playmate. He does all the voices for my toys, and we do what mommy calls "horsing around." We turn on music and get crazy. My favorite bands are The Killers, Death Cab for Cutie, and Ingrid Michaelson.

Well, that's enough for now. I want to go watch Gascar. We can talk later about our Adventures.

Love, Benjamin