meet benson...

our elf on the shelf.

we recently said goodbye to him, but the girls wanted me to share all of his adventures.

it all started with the t.v. special. after watching it, the girls were hooked. they wanted an elf. they begged for an elf. they shouted to santa to send them one. only problem was, it was already december 2nd. i was in a bit of a bind.

i called my mother-in-law and asked if she had a spare elf that we could adopt. luckily, she did.

so, on december 4th, we woke up to this.

we unwrapped the scroll to find a note explaining benson's tardiness.

the girls were ecstatic! they couldn't wait to get to bed the first night (yay me!). and, best of all? they jumped right out of bed the next morning (yay me, again!) to see where benson was.

apparently, he worked up a sweat during his trip to and from the north pole and needed a bath.

in cheerios.
he popped up all over the house. sometimes he was just relaxing...or watching the girls. but most of the time, he was getting into some sort of mischief.

here are some of our favorite benson adventures.

just hanging out.

woke up to this note...slightly creepy, i must admit.

playing cards with barbie.

reindeer rides.

did you know they wrapped presents? i didn't...if i did, he would have done a lot more than this one small gift!

hoodlum!

okay...so benson almost lost his powers when we found him in the freezer. according to the story, if a human touches an elf, they will lose their powers. the girls had searched the house high and low and couldn't find benson anywhere. when i opened the freezer to grab my lunch, i found him. eating my ice cream. that i don't share with anyone. the girls watched me closely to make sure i didn't snatch the spoon out of his hands.

searching for treasure.

schmooozing the ladies.

making snowman portraits.

jaden left a note for benson to take his artwork home. this is what he left for her.

sleepover in the girls' room.

trying to eat our gingerbread houses.

lighting the girls' christmas tree.

conspiring to get frosty out of the snow globe.

sugar-loading for his trip back home.

i think benson was a hit. the girls were disappointed to see him go. (but rather excited to find the goodbye note he left them when santa picked him up christmas eve.)

i can't wait to see what he gets into next year.