Jennifer Garner

Ben Affleck shows off his parenting skills while on daddy duty this past weekend. The actor giggled along with daughter Violet as they spent time together on a rocky beach off the coast of California near the exclusive Bacara Resort & Spa. Ben and his wife, Jennifer Garner, were in town to attend the wedding of her assistant at the Montecito Country Club. Jen served as a bridesmaid (right).

 
So cute. Don't you love them? Nice to see there are still some normal-looking celebrity couples out there. Talking to you, Britney & Kevin.

She survived the curse of Bennifer (the original Bennifer, that is) but the Phoenix heat in August proved too much for Jennifer Garner.

Ben Affleck's better half was hospitalized last week after passing out due to exhaustion suffered while filming her new movie, The Kingdom, out in the Arizona desert.

"Jennifer wasn't feeling well after working all day Friday in the Arizona heat, went to the hospital and was released the next morning. She is back on set and healthy," her representative said.

According to several reports, Affleck, who's been wrapping production on his directorial debut, Gone, Baby, Gone, in his native Boston, immediately bolted Beantown upon hearing of the hospitalization.

The Boston Herald confirms that Affleck was by her side, but says he didn't abandon his cinematic ship, because filming on his movie had already been completed. Regardless, the brief rest seemed to do the trick, as Garner was back on set the following day.

"She's great. Absolutely fabulous. Today she's in the desert, upside-down spinning around in a car that's pretending to have been blown up in 110-degree heat in Phoenix. That's my wife," Affleck said.

The 34-year-old former Alias star has been in Arizona filming the thriller centered around an elite group of government agents sent to investigate the bombing of a U.S. facility in the Middle East. Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman and Jeremy Piven also star in the firm, due out next April.

Next up, Violet's mom will flex her acting chops in Sabbatical, centering on a married couple who take a break only to have the husband go missing during their time apart, and Be With You, a remake of the Japanese film.

According to US Weekly, not everyone is enamored with the Hollywood scene. We are, of course, but Bennifer is hitting the road, seeking better surroundings for a budding family. Wanting to raise 8-month old Violet in an environment that's decidedly un-Hollywood, Ben and Jen are bound for Boston, Mass.

There are numerous advantages to the move. Not only is it currently a buyer's market in terms of real estate prices as rising mortgage rates have cooled demand, but they can seriously cut down on baby-sitting costs with Ben's family in the area. The 34-year old Affleck is a Boston native, while Garner, 33, grew up in Texas and West Virginia.

Oh, the delicious irony. The female portion of Bennifer reportedly turned down a movie role because the female half of the original Bennifer had already been cast.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Jennifer Garner passed on the part of Pamela Ewing in the upcoming Dallas movie upon discovering that Jennifer Lopez, ex-fiancee of Garner's husband Ben Affleck, had signed on.

The Alias star started dating Affleck in July 2004, when they co-starred in the movie Daredevil. Seven months earlier, the actor ended his much-ridiculed engagement with Lopez.

Garner was apparently engaged in talks to play Bobby Ewing's wife Pam in the upcoming Dallas flick, but backed out when she heard Lopez would be portraying Sue-Ellen, the alcoholic wife of J.R. A source close to Bennifer says Garner was really psyched about Dallas, but felt the strain between them on the set could have led to awkward situations.

Good call, Jen. No need to go anywhere near that skank. We love you!

In other news, Bennifer nearly burned down its rented Cambridge, Mass., home after leaving a frying pan unattended. Fortunately, the couple and daughter Violet emerged unscathed and the fire department saved the property from significant damage. Garner also recently joined Reese Witherspoon and Cicely Tyson on a visit New Orleans, La., to draw attention to the plight of Hurricane Katrina victims.