Michelle & Ben 2011

      The Burnett Clan has had a great 2011.  We were able to move out of our little apartment into a house right next to our church and a playground.  We love it and feel so blessed!  In the spring Ben and I were able to go to an actual “Ball” (hence the formal wear in our picture) down in Springville with Ben’s family.  His sister was running for a pageant royalty and so that was fun to participate in.  We loved having a garden this summer that my mom and dad helped us start.  We also started out with five chickens but now we only have four because of an unfriendly skunk.

 The summer was a blast going to Newell and Sally’s home for the reunion.  There was always something fun to do every minute.  We did anything from playing basketball in their pool to going to the lake or the river or just people watching at their farmer’s markets.  Their house is beautiful and the scenery there is equally as beautiful.  It was fun bonding with cousins and playing Spoons and Mafia till late at night.  The drive was definitely worth it!  Thanks for hosting such a fun reunion.

  Ben:  He is currently working at Fidelity Investments at the Gateway as a Stock Broker.  He has been working there for almost a year now.  He likes his job and all of the perks it offers. He is the 2^nd counselor in the Bishopric and this keeps him very busy especially because we have such a needy ward.  He is working on a few different websites and still doing the My Calculator Rental business on the side.  (Graphing Calculators to high school and college students)  He’s been able to start playing basketball with the ward guys on Wednesday nights.  He has a lot on his plate being a wonderful father, husband, priesthood leader and provider he is. 

  Michelle:  I get to stay home with the two little ones and work with Melanie at Great Clips cutting hair every Saturday.  I also just finished (well it’s getting there) my salon in the basement so I’ve been able to cut hair for people in the neighborhood.  I just finished writing my novel called Divine Aberdeen that I have been working on for the past two years.  I occasionally do jobs for Urban Talent and BrideQueen.  Saturday mornings I’ve started playing basketball with ladies from the Stake.  I’m also the 2^nd Counselor in the Primary Presidency. I had a lot of fun with Camille this summer at the American Idol try-outs.

  Brayden:  He is four years old now.  He still loves playing with and acting like a dinosaur.  Some days he doesn’t even want us to call him Brayden.  He wants us to call him T-Rex or Triceratops and that’s all he’ll answer to.  He is a wonderful older brother to Jasmine and loves her very much.  But of course there are the constant fights that have to be broken up on a daily basis.  He loves to give her kisses which usually starts the fights.  He loves playing with his cousins and talks about them daily.  I’m sure he wishes that he had some boy cousins his age.  He had a lot of fun playing with C.J. and Laurie’s boys this summer.

   Jasmine:  She is our sassy girl, quite the attitude lately.  She turned two on Grandpa Dean’s birthday.  But she has a really sweet side to her as well.  She is our little “thank you” girl.  She says thank you to anything from Mommy putting diaper cream on her bum bum to tucking her in at night.  We love it and we hope it stays.  She’s starting to get more hair and say more words.  She got a lot of baby dolls for Christmas and can’t sleep without them.

We love you all and we will see you at the reunion this summer.