Jaxson the BRAVE.....

Jaxson has been showing us all week how BRAVE he is....Jaxson moved into his bedroom shortly after Vada was born. He was so used to being in a crib that he would not get out of bed until we came and got him. We would encourage him to be a big boy...but he was still our little chicken. Well, we are now starting to regret this encouragement! Jaxson has been waking very early and coming to our bed to let us know that is "awake time". Two nights in a row he came up at 3:30! When I took him back to his bed he did stay there, but we are hoping that this is a short phase!

Jaxson continues to spend every minute that he can with Dianna. It is going to be a sad day if she ever decides not to come over and play with him. The minute Jaxson comes outside, Dianna is right over. Jaxson even went over to her house this weekend to play. We could hear them just giggling from across the street. Dianna has two roosters that just run around their backyard and Jaxson loves to watch them.

Vada continues to keep us on our toes. She wants to be the center of attention ALL the time! She is VERY demanding!! She has quite the personality and I have a feeling that it is more than just a phase. I am not sure that I am ready for it! She has also been standing for longer periods of time now by herself so I have a feeling that it will not be long and she will be running! -Oh and if you remember the little hand thing that Jaxson did when he was a baby...well Vada is starting to do it! (They just twirl their hands in circles over --happy, mad ..the hands are twirling!)

This past week I was able to meet up with my girlfriend Amy for dinner. Kid FREE! It had been a couple months since our last dinner date so we had a lot to catch up on. It was gorgeous night so we had dinner on the patio and combined with great conversation -what more is there!

Then Wednesday we went out for dinner with Jon and Lindsey to Bennihana's. This was with the kids...and was pretty interesting. Jaxson did awesome, but Vada is just at that age that it can be a little tricky to take her out. Her little high pitched squealing doesn't really help matters either. The chef did a good presentation so Jaxson thought that was pretty cool to watch.

Saturday was our first Saturday that we were home and Presten did not have to work. We did some landscaping, cleaning and other misc. tasks. That night we went to our friends and neighbors to celebrate Ashish's 10 years in the USA. They provided some wonderful Indian food and then each family that came brought one of their family favorites. We always have such a good time with them and it was a really nice celebration. After Ashish's party I decided that I still had some socializing to do. I joined another group of neighbors for drinks on the patio. We laughed and laughed ....this is always the time that you REALLY get to know your neighbors. We are so blessed to have such good friends that live so close to us.

Today we had our church picnic. Great food and fellowship! Jaxson played and played at the park and chased the big kids around because he tries so hard to be a BIG kid. He also did the water balloon toss and the watermelon seed spitting contest. I'll need a little more practice before doing that one again!

We spent some really meaningful time with some great friends this week and we are so thankful to live such rich lives....

Have a wonderful week! The Bean's

Vada eating her new favorite black beans!

This week Vada had her 9 month check up. I cannot believe how fast she is growing up! She weighs 19 pounds! She was in the 63% for height and weight and the 44% for her head. She has a clean bill of health too! Hopefully she can stay as healthy as Jaxson...both have only been seen for their well visits! Knock on wood! Jaxson was very good at the appointment this time, so after I took him over to Barnes and Noble to play with their Thomas the Train set display that he loves.


Vada continues to get into everything that she can...she is so QUICK!! She still wants me to hold her whenever I am in the same room as her...and when she wants something you will know! Presten and Jaxon are having a VERY hard time with her ear piercing squealing! Over the past few weeks my ears I think have adjusted--at least most of the time. She is trying new foods every week. Her new favorite is black beans. I made a big pot this week and she could not get them in her mouth fast enough!


Grandpa Steve and Grandma Vicky gave Jaxson their motorized jeep this week. He was so excited when he saw it! He has been doing really good with getting around in it. It has also been a good bargaining piece, because if he doesn't listen then I tell him that I will take the jeep back to Grandma Vicky's. It has been working....for how long..we'll see!


This week we also made it down to the St. Louis Park Splash Pad with our neighbor Erica and her three kids. Jaxson had so much fun! He was a little timid at first as usual, but after about a half hour he was running all over the place. We will definitely be going back!


Presten and I are continuing to try and train for this marathon....it is going so-so... I rollerbladed 9 miles today and Presten did 5! It is a far cry from 26, but it is a start.....


Have a great week! The Bean's

Mini Vacation... By Presten Bean

Jaxson and Me watching the storm!!

WOW, what a great weekend. We survived a severe weather storm in a shower room. Our tent stayed standing and no one got burnt from the sun. All in all a good weekend.



We decided to go to Taylor Falls this weekend to take in WILD MOUNTAIN and spend time Krista's family. It is an amazing water park for the whole family. So, I took Friday off so we could head out and camp the weekend and spend Saturday at Wild Mountain. We arrived to our campsite to see that Krista's family was already there. Krista's sister Katie and new boyfriend Bill were there waiting to greet us. We had a great site and we were tucked in the tree's in the nice shade.

Then came the storm. Yea, it was pretty intense. We got all set up Friday with the tents, the fire, we had dinner, went swimming, played at the park and were just relaxing when the Fire Marshall came. Telling everyone to get to the shelters because we were in the path of a severe storm that had strong winds and a possibility of producing a tornado. So, Krista and Katie took Jaxson to the shelter, while Bill and I sat on chairs commenting on every one's oohing and ahhhhing the lighting in the sky. It was rather amusing. The nice thing was Krista's parents took Vada to their hotel, so we knew she would be alright. The coolest thing was when the wall cloud finally arrived. The winds gusted and the rain came. It from hot and humid to freezing cold wind. It felt good. The whole thing lasted about an hour. When we got back to camp we were amazed to see our tents up and dry inside. The lighting kept up all night but we were fast a sleep...

Saturday could not have come any quicker. It was bright cool morning. We cooked up breakfast over the fire which was interesting seeing Krista and I hold grate so it was level to cook the eggs. It was good. I rustled up some toast and burnt it like a toaster would. Oh well what do ya do. After that Krista's parent showed up with Vada and we headed to Wild Mountain...

I heard it was a cool place to ski, however I think it is even better in the summer... One Phrase... ALPINE SLIDES RULE... Don't believe me ask Jaxson he went like 10 or 11 times. You basically take a chair lift to the top of the mountain get in a plastic sled to slide done a fiberglass chute. To make it more interesting the sled has a brake and wheels on the same lever. Jaxson didn't like the break. He pushed forward to go faster... WHOA!!! It was awesome. There were great water slides and a kids water park. We raced in go karts and had a little picnic lunch. Krista, Katie and Bill would not let me leave with out going down the black whole water slide. It is basically a straight drop down that goes under ground. It takes 5 mins to get to the top, but only 6 seconds to get to the bottom... Yea that's fast...

After Wild Mountain we headed back to camp to make dinner. We had spaghetti on the grill. Yea, it works, you just have to have a lot of wood. Or in my case go around and find some because I needed more than I thought. Krista, however came through. She found us plenty to last through dinner. We made SMOREs and called it a night. We were exhausted. Jaxson was out and soon there after were Krista and I.

All in all it was a great weekend. Krista kept us organized (because I would have forgot half the stuff we needed), Jaxson kept us on our toes, and Vada, well she let us know she was there.

Have phenominal week...
The Bean's

Summer Time Fun Continues......

Monday was our last night of soccer. We had a really great time with all the kids! They each received a little metal for participating and then we received a gift from the kids~a picture of the team and a gift card to Home Depot!! After soccer on Monday we had an initial meeting for a neighborhood watch. We decided to start the watch after several disturbances within the neighborhood. One of the Wright county deputies led the meeting to help guide us in our efforts to keep our neighborhood safe. The turnout was great --so we are very excited!

Wednesday morning Rachel, one of the girls that I used to work with at St. D's, came out because she needed a "child" to videotape for one of her class projects. She taped us playing playdough and now she has to transcribe everything that Jaxson said. He always says some pretty funny things-so I have a feeling she will be doing a lot of laughing!

We have been continuing to pick strawberries from the garden, but when Rachel was here I asked Jaxson to tell Rachel where we have been getting the strawberries from...He said "Coborns" (the grocery store in albertville)....it was pretty funny:) I guess he forgot that we get them from the backyard!

Friday, we went to Bunker Hills Beach in Coon Rapids. It was a gorgeous day. We played and played in the water and went down the little water slides. Jaxson, was pretty upset that he could not go down the big slides with Presten-maybe next year! We brought a picnic lunch and spent two more hours in the water after lunch. Jaxson finally decided that we could leave and then when he woke up from his mini nap on the car ride home he was mad because he wanted to go back to the waterpark! We rested for a little while at home then went down to lake Orono in Elk River for the 4th of July Carnival. Last year Jaxson went on the pony ride and LOVED it--this year was a total chicken and would not have anything to do with it!

We did not make it out to the fireworks because we were all exhausted. Presten and I did see some from our deck and then watch the finale on Channel 4!:)

Saturday we had Presten's family over for a BBQ and bonfire. The kids had a good time running through the sprinkler, making and throwing water balloons and trying to douse Jake with water! We had a really good time.

Today was a day of leisure--which is probably an understatement. We are all still in our pajamas! Presten and I have spent the day laying around and watching the Deadliest Catch (catching king crabs) on the discovery channel. I think that it is like a 10 hour marathon! I don't think that I have even been outside today! Everyone needs a day like that every 6 months or so --right?!

Vada has been a little under the weather. She has been sleeping a lot. She has a really runny nose and has been really drooling and is pretty crabby. Which all points to teething, so I am hoping that is all it is. Every week she is moving more and more. She can now do stairs! She is so fast that I can barely keep up with her. No big tumbles yet...... She is also starting to stand! She can make it about 10-20 seconds.

This next weekend we are going to Taylor's Falls with my parents. We are excited for another day of water slides!! -and another 4 day week!!

Have a great week and thank you for tuning into another week of buzzing with the Bean's!

Here is our next installment of our "next American Idol!"