The Smith Family

NEW BLOG

2011-06-07T12:48:00.001-05:00

ATTENTION ALL FOLLOWERS OF THIS BLOG:

I have merged this blog into my new blog. http://www.accompanime.blogspot.com/.

Go over there and click "follow" on that blog. http://www.accompanime.blogspot.com/.

This will be my last post on this blog. So now you will have to go over there to follow my fabulous life.

Click on this link:

http://www.accompanime.blogspot.com/.

You won't want to miss it.

Do it.

Today.

:)

Name That Tune!!

2011-06-02T11:53:00.000-05:00

Two-year-olds are so dang cute when they sing! Aaron has been picking up a lot of tunes that we sing or play around the house. Here's the latest.

Busy May!

2011-05-30T10:22:00.000-05:00

Well, looking through these photos I obviously need to clean my camera lens better before I take pictures!

The last day of school happened two weeks earlier this year. They are trying a new program in Kaylee's school district where the kids who don't need remedial help get out two weeks earlier. So yay for two more weeks of summer!!

We spent a fun day at Sea World in San Antonio with Shawn's parents who came for a visit this month. We had been passing a nasty virus around the family and poor Aaron had it worse on this day. He was out of it for much of the day, poor lil guy.

They tried to touch a dolphin - got close!

He did enjoy Shamu though!

Ready for church with my cute kids!

Last day of school - can you tell she's excited??!

We love and will miss Ms. Jones.

Dorothy came with me for Kaylee's last day party - we got to eat some yummy pizza and watch some bouncing-off-the-wall excited kids.

The requisite Taco Bell stop - a Smith family tradition. Anyone for a free refill?! :)

My little chefs preparing the goodies for our American Idol party. I love how Kaylee made Eva pose with the olive can. :) That's my girl!

And to finish up our May we are off to see the biggest tree in Texas! Pictures to come! (I know you are all dying with anticipation...) :)

4 Months Old!!

2011-05-04T11:40:00.005-05:00

My girls on their 4 months birthdays - can you guess who is who?!

Happy 4 Month Birthday Rebekah! I love you!

Look what I woke up to this morning!

2011-04-21T10:13:00.002-05:00

MMmmmmm...Yummy Alton Brown crepes with citrus sauce. My schweetie is the baking bomb and I love him!

My girl is old enough not only to take pictures of her scary looking mom first thing in the morning, she's also old enough to buy me presents with her own hard-earned money!!

She was so excited. Kept these hidden from me for a month!

A girl after my own heart. I love her.

Other birthday happenings: a trip to San An next week for Time Out for Women....YAY! So excited. Also, a trip to the beach and Snoopy's tomorrow with the fam...can't wait!

Oh, and check out my new blog. It will be more of a "life according to koth" type blog rather than updates on kiddos.

http://www.accompanime.blogspot.com/

Twill be fun!

I LOVE HIM!!

2011-04-12T20:27:00.009-05:00

This was the closing song for Family Home Evening this week:

Such a little man!

Oh, and for those of you who don't know and can't understand the lyrics:

I am a child of God, and He has sent me here. Has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do, to live with Him someday.

It's pretty much the most well known children's song in our church - comparable to Jesus Loves Me in other denominations. It's one of my favorite hymns.

Kiddos

2011-04-06T20:52:00.003-05:00

Kaylee's artwork was chosen to be on display at City Hall! Each elementary school in the city picked a handful of artwork. We got to attend a reception this past Tuesday to oooohhh and aaahhhh. So proud of my little budding artist!

Wednesday mornings usually finds us at the First Baptist open gym time. It is the highlight of Aaron's week. :)

Rebekah just sits and takes it all in.

And if we're lucky we get one of these. :)

Lovin' life with my kiddos!

Blonde Moments

2011-03-25T20:28:00.003-05:00

This is how the dictionary defines a blonde moment:

a brief mental lapse, as of judgment or memory
an instance of acting dumb or scatterbrained; momentary forgetfulness or ditziness

I am blonde, and I have these.

A few examples:

Example 1 is a clip from a previous blog post:

We went to an indoor play place about a half-mile from the mall. It was a great way to kill a few hours and get the energy out. The funniest thing happened...Aaron found this little friend and I was making small talk with the mom...I asked her how old her little boy was. She said, "Oh, she's 3." Whoops. Honest mistake. Neutral colors, hair could go either way, no bows...how was I supposed to know? So a little while later, Aaron was getting a little too aggressive and pushed her...the words that came out of my mouth in front of her mom were, "Aaron, did you just hit him?" OK, embarassing. I mumbled a quick apology to the mom and made Aaron apologize for the push. It wasn't going well. Fast forward about 15 minutes...still making small talk...the mom is really nice and we're having a great conversation. I look over at the kids playing and say, "He has the cutest hair!" Then I said in a loud, frustrated voice, "SHE, I'm sorry!!!" Thankfully I got it right after that, but MAN!! Not one of my better playdates!

Example 2 is famous in the Wadley (my maiden name) family folklore:

I am 12 years old. My family is back in the States from a long hiatus in Germany and England and we all decide to go get some frozen yogurt. It's a nice day so we sit outside to eat. I'm thirsty. Mom tells me to go inside and ask the counter man if there's a drinking fountain, so I do. He tells me it's around the back, so out I go. After fiddling with it and not being able to get it to spue forth the water that I am now desperately in need of, I go back and tell mom, who has Uncle John go help me. I take him around back, he takes a look at it, tries not to laugh, and turns right around to go back to mom, where he proceeds to tell her I was trying to turn on a gas meter. :)

Example 3 happened a couple of weeks ago:

We took the kids bowling. Kaylee had free coupons for getting good grades in school. We set up the computer screen so we could start and noticed as they started bowling the screen wasn't working, so I went to tell the guy at the counter. He fixed it and off we went. About 4 frames away from the end, the screen popped up a scrolling message that read, "PREPAID LIMIT EXPIRED", or something like that. This is how I saw it: "PREP AID LIMIT EXPIRED". After getting frustrated with not being able to understand it, I asked Shawn what in the heck "PREP AID" was. :) (I still say there was a bigger space between those two letters than the rest...)

Example 4 happened a few days ago:

Aaron, Rebekah and I are at the mall kids play area. There is a nice older lady there with her two grandkids...one looks about 4 and the other 2. She is pointing out how the floor carpet area is a map of the Corpus Christi Bay and surrounding areas, something I had just noticed that morning. Anyway, I was walking back and forth bouncing Rebekah, and as I was coming back towards her and her granddaughter she looked at me while saying, "What does that say?" She was pointing to the floor where it said "Corpus Christi". So after about half a second where I was wondering if she was blind, I said, "Corpus Christi". She looked at me and said, "She can read it," meaning her granddaughter. DUH! She was asking her granddaughter to help her practice her reading. Like I needed to practice my reading!!!! After mumbling something about thinking she was asking me, I sheepishly walked to my seat and hid my red face in Rebekah's hair.

So you see my friends, there are such things as "blonde moments", and as an often embarrassed blonde, I just have to say that looking back on these moments I find them hilarious and hope you do too. What is life without laughter? Glad I could provide some. :)

Recent Pics and Happenings...

2011-03-13T08:14:00.006-05:00

Last week was Texas Public School week at Kay's school. Here she is all decked out in her western gear...

This one is getting more and more interactive...we have regular "conversations" every day now.
Someone had a birthday!! This year was a "friend year". (We alternate every-other-year between family parties and friend parties). So the girl got to invite some friends to Peter Piper Pizza to celebrate.

This one has been sleeping better and better at nights. She will regularly go 6-8 hours now, feed, and go back for another 2-4. :)

He has been learning to hit the ball! It is his current favorite activity, and he's getting pretty dang good at it!

Notice the half smile (we get a lot of big ones these days), and the top-notch! And the thighs :) She was 11 and a half pounds at her 2 month - 75th percentile!

Kay's class at school went to the Nadatorium for a weeks worth of swim lessons. She had a great time!

That's what's been going on around here...what have you been up to?

You Had To Have Been There!!!

2011-02-28T13:27:00.007-06:00

This post is for posterity's sake.

But, you're welcome to read along.

And laugh.

A lot.

It's Monday morning. I've been thinking since yesterday that I really need to get to the grocery store, as we were down to our last standby meal of spaghetti and meatballs. So, grocery store today it is. I had a brief conversation with Shawn this morning that went something like this:

Me: What time will you be home?
Shawn: around 5.
Me: Huh. (Thinking that tonight will be busy with FHE). Well, I need to get some groceries.
Shawn: You want me to try to come home a little earlier?
Me: Thinking...thinking...(do I deal with rush hour grocery store or toddler and baby in grocery store, the latter of which I have not done yet in a full out grocery run). No, go ahead and come home when you plan and I'll try to do it with the kids. I'll call you if I have to abandon ship.

Fast forward 2 hours.

Rebekah is asleep after a GREAT night (slept 8, fed, slept 3) and Aaron is dressed, ready to go, watching Dora. List has been prepared with produce circled so I don't have to go back to that section if I miss something...I was going to try to itemize by isle after that, but ran out of time...

Plan of attack: Wait for baby to wake up, feed, burp, change, and off we go.

We get to the store. They have these cool carts where I can strap Aaron in front of Rebekah and have the cart free for the food. He loves it. I promise him a sucker at the end if he's a good boy. Baby is starting to show signs of being unhappy...fidgeting and making the sucking motions....didn't I just feed you kid? You wanted more? Why didn't you say so at the house? (Let me just say at this point that at 8 weeks we are still on a feed-on-demand routine that varies from hour to hour, minute to minute. In other words, I have no idea when I'm going to be feeding the child). Hoping the pacifier will hold her off we race off to the produce. Onion, celery, romaine, apples, and strawberries all in the bag at record speed. Darting to the cheese - baby is fussy...put in the paci...she sucks for 5 seconds and spits it out. Meanwhile I've found the cheese...put in the paci...look for the cheaper brand - there it is! Quickly on to the bread isle for pnut butter. I ask Aaron to help me find the pnut butter to keep him entertained...put in the paci...walking down the isle to get to the pnut butter at the end of the isle and the whole way down the isle I hear, "THAT'S not the pnut butter, THAT'S not the pnut butter, ad nauseum. Whew. Rounding the cart to the next isle - move it buddy, I've got a fussy 8 week old in tow...put in the paci...hold in the paci while awkwardly moving the cart down the isle in search of salsa....where is it...where is it...THERE! Oh, wait, there's a coupon - I can get free chips that I need anyway - WOOHOO!! Gotta remember that when I get to the chip isle cause it's not on my list...put in the paci...OK, keep it moving. Up and down the isles I go like a woman possessed...trying to get out of the store before baby hits Meltdown...

Fast forward 10 minutes.

We've made it through the isles and all that's left is dairy. Have to have the dairy, even though baby has clearly had it (and I don't mean the dairy, I mean had it as in "Meltdown is imminent"). Mad dash to the dairy. Leave the cart in the middle of the aisle while I grab butter, milk, cottage cheese and yogurt all in one pass. Put in the paci....nope....baby is having none of the paci anymore. Have officially hit Meltdown status...MAYDAY...MAYDAY! A quick, and I mean a quick, scan of the list reveals I have forgotten the rotel...DANG THE ROTEL! Off we zoom to isle 6 with crying baby in store. Aaron is pleased to know we are now going to check out and he gets his sucker (the one bright spot in this trip...he was awesome!). To the checkout where the cashier asks how I'm doing....ummmm....yeah. I start piling stuff on the belt and baby's cry turns to a scream. Time for action. Baby is taken out of the car seat much to her and the cashier's relief. I again one-handedly begin piling stuff on the belt while squatting to reach the stuff in the bottom - oh, the thighs are getting a good workout! Transaction is complete. Problem: no suckers in sight. Solution: my buddy Sharon down at the self checkout stands who is sure to pull through with a sucker while I sit down on the conviently located bench and shove a boob in baby's mouth. Ahhhh, sweet peace for a few minutes. I take this opportunity to go over my list where I discover I've forgotten PEANUTS!! Must have the peanuts. I can see the peanuts from where I'm nursing - they are approximately 15 steps away. Oooohh, what to do...after thinking through the options, I determine the only workable one is to let baby finish, burp her, put her in her car seat, go get the peanuts and rush through the self checkout stand. Easy enough, right? Baby finishes, into the car seat we go. Sharon is kind enough to ask if she feels better now...cue the crying....quick, someone get me out of this nightmare! Put in the paci....nope, having none of it. In the peanut isle, take out the baby, put the peanuts in the cart, one-handedly maneuver the cart into the self checkout (where mercifully there is no line), scan, pay, bag, all with baby on shoulder and off we one-handedly go out the store...bye, Sharon, have a good day.

Out to the car...thinking through the options. In goes Rebekah, in goes Aaron, in go the groceries, in goes the paci...wow, she took it! On goes the white noise, off we go towards home. Wow, she's not fussing! (I love you white noise, I love you white noise).

Get home...still no fussing...leave the white noise on, pull open the trunk, carry first 4 bags to door...set the bags in one hand down to open door, pick them up and the one with the milk gallon promptly falls back on the ground. I'll get it in a second. Get the bags on the counter and come back for the milk only to find it spewing everywhere, thank you very much not-very-sturdy-HEB bags. Quick, into the house, find big bowl, find big bowl, run outside, hold what's left of milk in leaking plastic bag over my porch while laughing hysterically at the absurdity of the situation, or maybe just because I've finally lost it and will end up in the loony bin. Bring bowl with saved milk inside, back out to the car where baby is crying (surprise, surprise) and the rest of the groceries are brought in at record speed. In comes baby, in comes a dazed Aaron, and whew, we DID IT!!

And you thought YOU had a crazy life!!

I now have enough groceries to make it through the week minus a few things I will pick up at a different store...tonight...alone. What will next Monday bring???

Stay tuned for another episode of...

TERROR IN THE GROCERY STORE!!!!!

(cue the horror music)

My talented friend

2011-02-16T09:12:00.005-06:00

My good friend Tiff is an amazing photographer. She offered to take some pics of Rebekah as a baby gift - what an awesome baby gift, right?!

These are a few of my favs. You can see the rest at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2105514&id=1483514890&l=037772c776

AND, check out her photography blog at:

http://www.pineappleportraiture.blogspot.com

Thanks Tiff! Love you friend!

2011-02-16T08:17:00.003-06:00

Last week was the annual Girls Night Out at Kay's school. I always look forward to this as a Mommy-daughter together time. Here she is all ready to go.

The pickles were way yummy!

One of our favorite games...she won of course. :)

Her teacher, Ms. Jones, and the girls that came from her class.

Made a Valentine card for mom and dad.

Struttin' it on the red carpet. :)

Beautiful girl.

Face painting...

BFF's

And my favorite...my girl rockin' out!

We had a blast!

This is going by way too fast!!

2011-01-30T15:32:00.005-06:00

Today was Rebekah's blessing day! Her daddy gave her a beautiful blessing.

Yesterday Kaylee got her ears pierced as an early birthday present. My girly-girl is in heaven!

Friday we went to the park - it was a beautiful day in the Sparkling City by the Sea!

Maybe it's because I am living my life in 2 - 3 hour increments these days, but I can't believe how fast this is all going. Rebekah will be a month old in a few days! Kaylee will turn 9 in a few weeks and Aaron, well, he is the size of an average 4-year-old according to his dr. :) I sure am loving my life right now!!

2011-01-10T19:50:00.006-06:00

I cannot believe that we moved here 5 years ago wondering if we would ever have any more children after Miss Kaylee, and now we have THREE!!! Rebekah Lynn was born on Monday, January 3rd, 2011 at 6:26pm. She weighed exactly 7 pounds and was 20 and a half inches long. This is my favorite picture so far...

Both Aaron and Kaylee have done really well with their little sister. Aaron always brings me her hat or her blanket, and both Kay and Aaron love to hold her.

First pic of the whole fam.

She wanted a little sister so badly!

She looks like a chunk, but in person she is really petite and tiny. The camera does indeed add pounds...
I started this blog right after Aaron was born two and a half years ago, and one of the first posts has Kaylee singing this song to her little brother. Now the tradition lives on with her little sister.

We are so blessed to have you come and join our family Rebekah. We love you!!

AMA

2010-12-27T06:27:00.004-06:00

No, I didn't watch the American Music Awards. Those shows are getting way too raunchy for my taste. What I did do this morning after rising 2 hours before it was necessary because my pregnant body is all wacked out was create a Mormon profile!! It was way easy. If you click on the pink button on the right you can see it after they approve it...not sure how long that takes. I love that there are tools like this to share my testimony online. What I don't love is looking for other people on that site like me...I clicked on the age options and I was in the 35-49 category. That just feels way to old. I much prefer the 24 - 34 category. I have really begun to feel my age with this pregnancy...starting with my ob nagging me about getting an amnio. I didn't get one. I had a CVS procedure done with Kaylee (just like an amnio only earlier on in the pregnancy) and watching the needle be that close to my baby was not fun. Anyway, if you're pregnant and 35 or older they label you with "advanced maternal age".

AMA.

Not liking that one. They nag you to get the amnio after this age because the risk for problems with the baby goes up the older you get. Sighhh...I know there is a quote from one of the prophets to have your children young, and I certainly can see why. Well, this little one inside of me seems to be baking just fine, considering the pains I get with his/her kicks. Won't be long now!! :)

We saw Santa!!

2010-12-18T09:39:00.003-06:00

The Ward Christmas Party was last night and look who showed up!! He asked both kids what they wanted for Christmas...Kaylee: a new movie; Aaron: a choo-choo train. Aaron was quite reluctant to go until dad worked his magic, and even managed to tell Santa "Merry Christmas" at the end! It was the cutest thing ever and I wish I had gotten a video. Kaylee also sang "Silent Night"...again, wish I had a video, sigh. She did great - had all 3 verses memorized! So fun to watch the kids in these kinds of events...makes all of the screams, tantrums and attitudes so worth it!

Song of the Year

2010-12-18T09:32:00.002-06:00

We went to Kaylee's school talent show and a kid danced to this song. It is our favorite song, and especially Aaron's.

It's Christmas Time!

2010-12-18T09:26:00.002-06:00

Ready for church in their cute Christmas outfits - thanks Grandma and Grandpa Wadley!

30 Weeks Preggo!

2010-11-18T17:06:00.003-06:00

This is for you, DA!

I am 2 days shy of being 31 weeks in this pic. Had my dr. appt. this morning and will now start going every two weeks, which is always a signal that the end is near!! I had Kaylee at 36 and 1/2 weeks, and Aaron at 38 weeks. Which means I really only have about 7 weeks left!! Wow! I have been in major nesting mode wanting to organize everything that can be organized around the house. I'm excited to be so close to meeting this new little guy or gal!!

October Happenings

2010-10-30T10:22:00.010-05:00

Kay doing her camera thing...

For Mom and Dad...the "sidewinder"...always has to see what's going on while drinking...

Carving pumpkins night

Garden's lookin good...

Corpus Christi Naked Cowboy

New Van!

Ward Halloween Party

Fall Garden

2010-09-29T14:05:00.003-05:00

Here are the new garden beds!! Look at that luscious, expensive, non-clay dirt! Also notice the kiddo's new playground equipment in the background. I totally lucked out - my good friend Kelly said her daughter had outgrown it and asked if I wanted it...ummm...YES! It's perfect for Aaron and even Kaylee plays around on it.

So, here's the story: Shawn got the dirt in and we were itching to plant because it was already getting late in the season to start. Two Fridays ago we had an on-and-off cloudy day here and I could tell the rain was making it's way over to us. Shawn called from work and asked if I wanted him to pick up the seeds from the nursery on the way home. I said, yes, but hurry cause the rain is on it's way. He came home and we spent an hour or so putting everything in, then went out to eat. Less than an hour later the downpour started. And kept going. And kept going all weekend long! Literally a FOOT of rain later, and here's what we've got.

Look at how much lower the dirt is! Shawn went in with the shovel to try and break it up a bit around the plants, and we are hoping the poor garden survives the downpour of 2010. So far it looks promising. :)

The first of much excitement to come!!

2010-09-29T14:03:00.001-05:00

Tribute to the Oldies

2010-09-23T16:39:00.008-05:00

I know I have kept you all in suspense for way too long!! Our ward restarted the "Tribute to the Oldies" tradition this year. They haven't done it for about 7 years now and I guess before that it was a much-looked-forward-to yearly tradition. We had a great time.

Here are my two performers before the show

I helped the young women out with their fundraiser.

Some shots of some of the performances - California Dreamin'.

Don't know what this song was, but Rudy and Patsy were great!

The Young Women struttin' their stuff

In my opinion, the most creative get-up...

And now...for your viewing pleasure...

It was a great night...can't wait for next year!

This and That

2010-09-05T17:37:00.003-05:00

Here is the neglected garden area of our backyard that never recovered from last years drought.

Here is what is going in the neglected area of the backyard this week...raised beds for a new garden...so excited!! Home-grown produce, here we come again. Shawn spent all day making these little contraptions - thanks schweets - can't wait to get them in and plant!

Here's what goes on in the Smith house on any given Sunday afternoon...

oh dear.

And this one's for you mom...your 20 weeks pregnant daughter. :)

Coming soon: A blog post dedicated to the Tribute to the Oldies our ward hosted a few weeks ago. You won't wanna miss this one!

Hello 3rd Grade!!!!

2010-08-23T08:58:00.002-05:00

This is going by so fast!!

She was so excited this morning - came into my bed right at 6:30...no having to drag this one out.
Only 3 more years of Elementary. I watched the kids being dropped off at the middle school across the street and my tummy did a flip. How is it she can almost be that old?!?! Can't wait till 3pm. :)

A Hard Workin Man

2010-08-14T11:55:00.003-05:00

One of the nice things about Shawn's job is the extra time he has in the summer to hang out with the fam. It makes up for the insane days during April and October when we don't see him all that much. He is always good at doing fun stuff with the kids. Kaylee had a book from the library with instructions on how to make a volcano...sounds perfect for a daddy/daughter science experiment.

The first day...forming the volcano...

Next day...after the newspaper dried...painting...

Adding the ingredients to make it erupt. Watching the final result...

Not only does the man spend quality time with the kids...he fixes stuff around the house!

This is before... after... before... after... Refinishing hardwood floors is hard work...not that I would know personally...just from observation. :) It's especially hard when your wife picks the wrong color and you have to resand the whole thing a second time. So worth it though in the end...doesn't it look great?!! Thanks hon!

National Anthem at the Hooks Game

2010-08-03T10:30:00.005-05:00

We had a great night last night at the Corpus Christi Hooks baseball game. The weather was beautiful, the food was cheap, the seats were great, but best of all, my girl sang The Star Spangled Banner! She did an awesome job!

Summer Trip 2010

2010-07-25T13:02:00.020-05:00

WARNING: This is a super-long post. There, you've been warned. ;)

We had been planning this trip to Boise/Oregon for over a year. If you are a regular frequenter of my blog you will remember the countdown ticker that used to be at the top saying how many more days were left. I think it's the longest trip we've taken as a family. Almost 4 weeks, 6000 miles in the car, and 7 States driven through. Here's the story...

We started out the first night in El Paso. After a ten-hour drive, Aaron did NOT want to be cooped up in the hotel room so Shawn kept him busy looking at the freeway traffic right outside our window. The child is fascinated with cars, buses, and trucks. They had a pool we swam in for awhile after a dinner-run to Subway.

We stopped in Phoenix the next day and stayed with our good friends Johnny and Stacy. Lamo didn't get a picture. :( Next day we were on to SLC to see Granny J. This is her when she saw my t-shirt. It said "Baby Under Construction" with an arrow pointing down to my stomach. Yup, #3's on the way in case you didn't know. My extended family in SLC didn't know yet and they were all really excited. We stayed up late with Granny playing Pinochle then went to breakfast with her in the morning where Aaron was a little stinker at the table and Kaylee got the biggest chocolate chip pancake I have ever seen in my life. You should have seen her eyes bulge when they brought it out. There were so many pics I wish I would've gotten, but I guess it's always that way on vacations when there's so much going on at once.

This is my cousin Syd. She is a speech therapist and was working with Aaron in SLC before we left. She taught him the sign and how to say "more" and he still does it today...it was so cute to watch her work with him. She really is talented at what she does.

So off we went for the 6-hour drive to Boise, which was heaven after the 11-hour drive the day before from Phoenix to SLC. Can't say I was a fan of the driving. Not a good idea with a two-year-old. Maybe when they're all Kaylee's age....
My mom and dad were on their porch waiting for us when we got there. Dad was so exited to get Aaron and Kaylee out on the hot wheels and the wagon. Kaylee's almost too old for the wagon, but they had a two-wheeler there for her that she rode around the block. She has a good friend there who lives just down from my parents - Oakley - who is her age and they have fun riding and playing together.

We stayed in Boise for about a week. Kaylee helped Grandma fix pancakes one morning...

The day after we got to Boise we went camping with Shawn's brothers and their families in Idaho City - about an hour north of Boise. It was a perfect camping site...what I miss so much...the scenery is not the same here.

This is Kenzie the "mom". She loves babies and always was offering to help hold.

Kaylee and Aaron had fun with their cousins on the Smith side.

G-man cooked dinner. :)

YUM! I don't care what it is - food cooked outdoors on a campfire always tastes so stinkin' good...

Brayden and Brockton...two peas in a pod.

Jason making dutch oven birthday cake for Carson. He blew out the candles too - what a neat birthday memory! (Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries at that point and I didn't catch the celebration...sigh.)

We ate a lot on this vacation. And I mean A LOT. I think we had 3 BBQ'S in 4 days. Everything was so good. These next few are at Derek and Laura's house in Boise.

Laura has a camera that does the sequence photos so she was getting a bunch of everyone jumping. D-man got excited a little too early on this one... :)

I love Shawn's face in this shot - kind of hard to see, but a great smile. :)

There we go - now we're together.

Kaylee at the splash park with Maddie - she got along really well with her.

Aaron loving the playground.

I love this shot of Kaylee holding hands with her Aunt Laura. Laura is an AWESOME aunt...she is always having the nieces and nephews over to do fun stuff. While we were there she had Kenzie, Maddie and Kaylee over to spend the night. She and Derek are adopting a baby next month after several years of waiting...I can't wait to see her with her own...she'll be a great mom.

Well, on to Oregon. A little history...my parents lived in the coastal town of Seaside about 6 months after they were married for a little while and fell in love with it. They have been going back ever since and a few years back they bought a time share at a resort there. So starting 4 years ago they have gathered whoever of the family can go and we all head up there for a week over the 4th of July. We went 4 years ago but didn't go 2 years ago because I had Aaron. This year my sister-in-law Mandi had a baby the end of June, so Mike and his family couldn't make it. But Jen and Josh, and Dave and Leticia and their families were there and we had such a good time.

This is Dave and Jen (my bro. and sis.) the first night we got there at Norma's - a GREAT seafood restaurant a block away from the Pacific Ocean.

Jen and Josh's little girl Jill. I LOVE her curls!!

Trying to keep the kids busy at the table with the phones...the chaos never ended!

No, Dave is not drinking alcohol....he is drnking a raw oyster in sauce after we all pooled money as a dare for him...I never had any doubt he would do it. Notice Leticia in the background with her hand over her mouth...that's code for "I can't believe I will have to kiss that mouth later on!"

The whole fam at Norma's.

This is the wheel we spun every night at the ice cream/taffy store. We had a nightly meet-up time to go get ice cream. If you got one of the numbers on the wheel you got a prize, but every spin got you a free piece of taffy. Too bad you could only spin once a day. The trademark of the ice cream shop was as they were giving you your cone they would put a little ice cream on top and hand it to you while saying, "This is for you cause your extra special". After hearing that every night you start to believe it! :)

The fourth of July...I LOVE this holiday. Especially at Seaside. Nothing like fireworks over the pacific. And see that view? That was from my brothers room...nice, right??!!

Kaylee and Brett excited for the fireworks to start.

It was FUH-REEZING!!

We drove into Portland one day to visit the Zoo...it was fun apart from almost losing Shawn's wallet. They have a neat train ride there that the kids loved.

Ah...the Pacific Ocean. Isn't the sky and water beautiful?!?!?! We took a surrey ride one morning down to this spot and took pictures after I left my mark...sometimes you can't wait with a baby pushing on your bladder.

Seaside is a total tourist town....they have the arcades, the train ride, the carousel, all the souvenier shops...it's fabulous.

Another gorgeous sunny day. This is Astoria. It's about 20 minutes north of Seaside right on the border of Oregon and Washington. Isn't it gorgeous?! We climbed up to the top of a column and this is where these pics were taken.

Looking down from the top of the column.

Astoria is the town where The Goonies was filmed. Being 80's kids, we LOVE that movie!

This is the house next door to the Walshs' in the movie...this one had been completely changed.

This is the Walsh's house...the one where Chunk did the "truffle-shuffle" in front of it.

Aaron keeping himself busy at a toy store in Seaside while Kaylee shopped.

The morning we left...breakfast at "Pig in a Poke". Dave's always a good one to smile for the pic. :)

The morning after we got back from Oregon we went over to say goodbye to the Smith gang at Garrett and Danielle's house. They were having a garage sale and the girls set up this cute lemonade stand.

Shawn and G-man.

On our way out of town we stopped at Helen's Chinese in Mtn. Home. This is my friend Janet...she was my YW leader when we lived in Mtn. Home. We have stayed in touch over the years and it was so fun to see her and her cute daughter again.

We stayed in SLC for a few days on the way back. We got to see my cousin Scott's homecoming from his mission. Then mom and dad took Kay to Lagoon and Shawn and I took Aaron to temple square. He loved the room with the Christus.

So, we have driven I-10 several times now on our various moves and vacations and every time we go I see these signs every 5 miles or so for a good hour on the freeway advertising something called "The Thing". It's at an exit somewhere in the middle of nowhere...either in NM or AZ, I can't remember. It's all a blur by that point. Anyway, I told Shawn that's it...after all these years of wondering I have to see what "The Thing" is.

We went in and of course you have to pay a little to see "The Thing", so the kids were cute trying on some hats while dad payed.

We go through the door and follow these yellow. bigfoot-type foot prints that lead us through various hot buildings with all sorts of old stuff in them. We got all the way through the buildings and ended up back in the store...and we're like, wait a second...where was "The Thing"?!?!? So we back-tracked and our best guess is this...

You can't see really well cause of the lighting but it's a mummy in a see-thru coffin. The only reason we thought that's probably it is there were two footprints in front of it, where that didn't happen any other time through the maze. LAME-O-ROONY!!!

Oh well, at least we know what "The Thing" is now.

The last night of our vacation...can you tell that they've had it?!

Last meal before we got home in?? You guessed it...Mc'Ds. I swear those people make so much money off of crazy-eyed parents who've been couped up in the car with screaming kids for way too long. The Playland's are a hit with us.

We had such a great time. My only regrets were I didn't take enough pictures, and that we didn't get to see Larry and Dorothy and Mike and Mandi plus kids. The stuff on this post isn't even half of all the stuff we did. We had so many fun nights of cards, games, MURDER (a funny game we play). We sat and watched the sun go down over the Pacific Ocean (thanks, Mom!) and learned about the "flash of green" you see right before it disappears under the horizon (thanks, Dad!). We got to see so many friends in AZ from our old ward, that, again, I didn't get pics of...LAMO!! So many more kids now from when we lived there 5 years ago! It's neat to see everyone's family growing. I love my family so much and times like these make me look forward to heaven where the distances (and endless freeways) won't exist. We've been back to reality for a few weeks now and school will start in less than a month. It's a great life!

2 years old!!

2010-06-19T08:31:00.011-05:00

We had a fun time on Aaron's birthday this year. We spent the morning here...

It's a new park the city recently opened right by the American Bank Center and the bay downtown. It has a bunch of fountains that make for a really nice time on a hot summer morning.

My friend Katie joined us with her baby Holly - I was grateful for the adult conversation!
Blurry picture...but you get the sense of play we have here...
Two beautiful kids and a beautiful bay

Time for the party...the big hit of the evening were the two Tonka trucks (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Wadley!) This boy can't get enough of cars and trucks.
Or building things... Break in the action to go observe the big truck picking up our huge pile of brush and trees from the storm a few weeks ago...
We had fun with the hats and noisemakers...
He blew out the candles by himself this year right on cue! I was so excited!

How can life get any better?!I forgot to take pics of the dinner...Shawn brought home happy meals with freh frah (how Aaron says french fries). The little man didn't quite get what all the attention was for, but he sure loved it!! Fun times :)

Birth 6/16/2008

1 years old 6/16/2009

2 years old 6/16/2010
We love you Aaron and are so glad you came to join our family!!

Recital Time!!

2010-06-19T08:18:00.003-05:00

Kaylee spent the majority of Friday nights and Saturday mornings for the last several months rehearsing for Oz! The Musical. Her dance studio put on the production last Saturday and it was great! Kaylee THRIVES on this sort of thing...can't wait for every rehearsal and is sad when it's all over. She auditioned for a speaking/singing role in January and was cast as a winged monkey. She had several lines throughout the second act and a few songs with the other monkeys. So fun!!! We couldn't take pics during the actual performance, but here's a few after.

My cute little winged monkey!

Kaylee with Jilissa - the owner of InStep Dance

Kaylee with Amanda - her jazz teacher
Another monkey...

End of the Year Activities

2010-06-11T20:03:00.002-05:00

It's that time of the year again. Awards assemblies, end-of-the-year parties, etc. Here are a few of ours this year:

Kay's award assembly. As usual, she excelled. Top AR points in her grade, music award, straight A's for the year. Such a school girl. :)

This is Kaylee with Serina at the Achievement Days social this past Wednesday. The moms and the Primary Presidency were invited and it was a really nice program where they showed and talked to us about things they worked on during the year. They sewed the pillows themselves, and sewed part of the humanitarian bags for the church welfare program. They also worked on a Family Group Sheet for family history. We ended the evening with treats and a game of Apples to Apples Junior. So fun!

Future Trumpet Player

2010-06-11T19:44:00.002-05:00

So, we recently discovered that our little guy has a natural trumpet embouchure...who knew?! Must take after his daddy. :) Check this out: (Sorry for the filming and picture quality...you'll get the general idea)

We need to work on the hand position, but not bad right? Most kids, when you have them blow on one of those instruments - the first thing they'll do is puff out their cheeks when they blow, which is NOT what your supposed to do. No puffy cheeks on this little man! He knew just what to do - what a lover!

The Day Has Arrived

2010-05-24T11:14:00.003-05:00

See this?

That's right. Eight hundred and two pages of pure pleasure.

I take after my mom and my grandma. We all adore a good book. My schweetie, knowing this fact about me, suprised me on Mother's Day morning with this gem. I love Gerald Lund's writing. I've read all of his Work and the Glory series and Fire of the Covenant several times each. He has the ability to transport me to the scene of the story so I feel like I'm actually there watching it all happen in person. This book is about a Mormon pioneer company who settled a portion of southern Utah in the late 1800's.

I have saved it for today....it has sat tempting me in my nightstand for the last several weeks. Another cycle of work (accompanying/teaching) has ended for me as of last Saturday, so here's the plan...

See this little guy? Notice the plate's about empty?

He'll soon be going down for his nap, and I will spend a blessed hour and a half (two if I'm lucky) on this couch snuggled up with a book that I know will be awesome.

Heaven. :)

Jasmin and Jasmine

2010-04-25T19:28:00.005-05:00

Happy 1-year baptism anniversary Jasmin - we love you!!! :)

Mama's New Toy

2010-04-25T19:21:00.002-05:00

So, I turned 35 last week and felt like a little kid again for 2 reasons...

1. Kaylee was so excited for weeks on end leading up to it. It's nice that your kids get excited about your birthdays, cause the older I get the less excited I get.

2. I got a kid present! It was a total suprise. The best part about it is the very cool baby seat in the front. My little guy and I have been out several times already and I LOVE IT!!

So does he. :)

Trip to San Antonio

2010-04-23T09:24:00.010-05:00

Last week we took a mini-vacation to San Antonio. Shawn had a judging gig and we decided to take advantage of it since they were paying two nights hotel and food/gas per diem. It wasn't really a family trip cause he was working, but I had fun with the kids, we got to go to the temple, and it was a nice get-a-way from the hum-drum routine. Kaylee really got into the hotel...this was the first time we've seen her this excited about sleeping in a hotel room.

These are the world's largest cowboy boots. They are outside of a mall right across the freeway from our hotel. You can see how tiny Kaylee looks in the bottom right-hand corner.

The mall is called North Star. Here is my girl posing in the "O" of "North".
We went to an indoor play place about a half-mile from the mall. It was a great way to kill a few hours and get the energy out. The funniest thing happened...Aaron found this little friend and I was making small talk with the mom...I asked her how old her little boy was. She said, "Oh, she's 3." Whoops. Honest mistake. Neutral colors, hair could go either way, no bows...how was I supposed to know? So a little while later, Aaron was getting a little too aggressive and pushed her...the words that came out of my mouth in front of her mom were, "Aaron, did you just hit him?" OK, embarassing. I mumbled a quick apology to the mom and made Aaron apologize for the push. It wasn't going well. Fast forward about 15 minutes...still making small talk...the mom is really nice and we're having a great conversation. I look over at the kids playing and say, "He has the cutest hair!" Then I said in a loud, frustrated voice, "SHE, I'm sorry!!!" Thankfully I got it right after that, but MAN!! Not one of my better playdate times.
What do you think? Honest mistake right?
Here is a short clip of Aaron...I wish I would have got it longer...you can't see it really well, but he liked to walk around the outskirts of the playland with his head to the side...silly kid.

Kaylee on the Harley...thought you'd appreciate this one Josh.
Cute kids...
I was trying to get Aaron to smile for the camera at Whataburger and this is what I got...

We'll have to work on it.

First Jasmine

2010-04-14T09:00:00.002-05:00

For several days now our Jasmine flowers have looked like this...

This morning I walked out to this!

Our first one of the season - I love spring!

Kaylee's Baptism Day

2010-04-01T10:57:00.004-05:00

How do you put into words how you feel when your daughter is baptized? I don't know. There are no words for that feeling. Suffice it to say, watching her enter into the waters of baptism was unlike anything I've experienced before. I feel so blessed to be her mom.

March 29th, 2010.

It was a special, sacred day.

I'm glad you chose to be baptized Kay!

Sunny Days!!

2010-03-22T09:31:00.006-05:00

And what has the Smith family been up to lately you ask?? Well, lemme show ya!!

Kaylee

Aaron

Shawn

Suprise!!

2010-03-11T08:30:00.003-06:00

Here's what I woke up to this morning - not my birthday, anniversary, or Valentine's day. Just cause he loves me. Thanks honey, I LOVE YOU TOO!!

One way to get new clothes...

2010-03-10T21:31:00.003-06:00

I was having a great day today...

until

this

Note to self: It is imperative that you check the pockets of your clothes before loading them in the washer.

Following this piece of sound advice will save you the money you will now spend on new (used) clothes which is needed to put towards your Texas (yes-why-don't-we-secede-so-the-taxes-and-utilites-can-go-up-even-more) utilities/taxes.

That is all.

(Guilt aside however, I do look a teensy bit forward to the shopping trip... ;)

The Birthday Girl

2010-03-01T22:07:00.007-06:00

Well, time just keeps on a marchin...

I am now the mother of an eight-year-old, soon to be member of the Church, Wednesday night Activity Day goer, makeup lover, adorable little girl. I just started to delete "little girl" and replace it with "young woman", but no, that will need to wait for a few more years. She is still my little girl, and such a delight. She is the most kind, helpful daughter and wonderful big sister. She LOVES to interact with her little brother, and is such a great playmate for him in spite of the 6 years age difference. I love having her as part of our family.

Last Thursday began with Hello Kitty Banana Waffles...mmmm...

The baking continued....

The dinner of choice...Aaron's first time there...he was quite enamored...
I've tried for 8 years to capture this moment....YAY it finally worked!
The tongue helps sis. :)

Happy Birthday Kay - I LOVE YOU THE MOSTEST!

Kaylee sings the National Anthem

2010-02-20T19:52:00.002-06:00

Last fall Mr. O, Kaylee's music teacher at school asked her if she wanted to sing the National Anthem at an Ice Ray's game...the town's professional hockey team. Well, last night was the big night and she did AWESOME!!! See for yourself! (Thanks Josh for taking the video :)

We are so proud Kay!

Achievement Days and Girls Night Out

2010-02-12T11:28:00.005-06:00

Kaylee went to her first Achievement Activity Day this past Wednesday. I can't believe she is old enough! She raced into the church after giving me a kiss and wave and I got all teary-eyed watching her run in...the start of 10 years of Wednesday night church activities...so fun! She turns 8 on the 25th, but Sis. Diaz asked if she could come earlier and help with some invitations they were making. So, off she went!

The cute invitations they made to invite people to church.

Obviously, Kaylee took the picture, but I thought it highly appropriate since it gives Bertha a halo, rightfully identifying her as the angel she is. She helps me with Aaron every Sunday when I go to play the organ and I'm so excited she will be Kaylee's Achievement Day leader!
Then on to Girls Night Out at Kaylee's school. We went last year and had a blast so we were really looking forward to it. We got our nails all prettied-up.

And we're ready to go!

Making a frame.

With her teacher, Ms. Alaniz.

Working the runway.

Donut decorating.

Mmmmmm...

Check out that Yahtzee score!

It's a secret who won... :)

We had a great night!!

Awards Assembly and Other Happenings...

2010-02-05T19:46:00.004-06:00

This is what happens when my girl goes to school.

She makes friends fast and excels in her work.
She is in her element.

This is what happens when my girl gets home...

As my sister-in-law would say...

Oh dear.

Storytime

2010-01-22T08:17:00.010-06:00

So, Wednesday morning found us lazy in our pj's after a long Tuesday of Institute starting back up and Chorale practice. Hmm, what to do...

Good idea! Let's call and see if they are having storytime at the library!

Hi, Ms. Linda, are you sure storytime is on for this morning?

And what about the stamps? Cause you know I'm not comin if there are no stamps - that would be one for each hand....you got em'?

Ah yeah, song time. Why exactly are you jumping up and down again?
Oh, man, here come the stories...why does mom always want me to be still for the dang stories?
Ah, yes, another song...and you're waving your arms from side to side because....
C'mon mom....another story? Oh, the torture. Look, even the little lady back there can't take it.
While we're waiting for the cd player, I think I'll go check out this hot chick over here. Oh, yeah, baby, look at these goods!

More songs...ok ladies, I guess a few ab crunches wouldn't do me no harm...
Check it out little lady in the red...I can be a manly-man.

If I have to pretend to listen to one more story...

Hey it's alright little lady...I took a bath last night...

Woohoo! That's the last story! Almost stamp time!

It's this way! This is why we come here man!

Awww, yeah, red teddy bear stamps. Life is good.

Social Networking

2010-01-15T21:47:00.005-06:00

So, what's on my mind today? Well, lemme tell ya. I have been pondering how global communication has changed in the last ten years or so, and the effects, both present and future, it has and will have on society. I'm sure I am not the first person to ponder this and definitely not the last, but here are my thoughts.

I wonder whether or not the introduction of myspace, facebook, twitter, blogger, etc. has changed the way society communicates, both on small and large levels. First of all, the reactions to these methods of communications range from disgust to delight. I know people on both ends of the spectrum and am always fascinated by the difference of opinion. A profound skepticism and mistrust of these social networking sites seems prevelant in a fair amount of the baby boomers I know, whereas my generation and younger can't get enough of them. Assuming they will be around for generations to come, I find it fascinating to contemplate their effect on society.

I have lived on both sides - with and without these sites available during my adult life. Often these days I wonder why I am drawn to check status updates to find out that Susan was awake at 3 in the morning, or Bobby got all the laundry done today. Maybe it's because I also find out that my sister's cute little boy said something hilarious or my brother put up a picture he took that afternoon of his darling little girl. Wait, you say, 10 years ago I could have found out that information or seen that picture on e-mail... Ah, yes, but then I would miss out on Susan's insomnia and Bobby's clean clothes! Fascinating, isn't it? I can know on any given day that my old friend from junior high has had a fabulous day. I can see a picture of my old friend who lives half-way around the world that I haven't been in touch with for 25 years. I love that part of it. What I am not crazy about is the insane drive to the computer to check status updates/new blog posts. This bothers me - hence, the pondering.

So, back to communication. Have these sites changed the way we communicate? I think so. We know so much more detail about our everyday lives. I am flabbergasted to watch how much information people choose to share and the way they share it. Some examples - I have facebook friends who are comfortable sharing just about anything on their minds, including strong political preferences, details of their personal struggles with any difficult issue they're facing, and requests for prayers. It is interesting to watch priorities emerge from status updates...I could name off to you 5 friends right now and what is important to them on a daily basis based on their frequent status updates. Speaking of status updates, I have facebook friends who never post status updates...I will just see their names every once in a while when they add a new friend. Then there are the once in a while status updaters/lurkers/commenters on everyone else's status updates. This is where I would group myself. Finally we have the every-few-hour updaters who fall into several different categories - i.e. those who just type what is on their mind at the moment, those who give you a daily calendar of their schedules, those who have a cause or several causes that are important to them, and those who are desperately seeking for attention/love. Finally we come to the "so-and-so went to the next level in this game", or "so-and-so raked the manure on someone else's farm", etc. ad nauseum. Thankfully, facebook has provided a way to hide those wonderful "thanks, but I really didn't need to know that updates"....i'd just rather know that you cooked a mean lasagna tonight!

Blogging has made long distance living away from family not quite the dramatic separation it used to be. I feel like I know my brother's and sister's kids because of the pictures, videos and stories their parents have shared through blogging. I group blogging and facebook together because when I check one I usually immediately check the other, along with my e-mail, but the actual time spent from least to most is usually e-mail, blogger, facebook. However, I also group facebook separate from blogging because when I blog I feel like I am journaling and accomplishing something good (well, usually). A lot of the time on facebook I feel like I am wasting time scrolling through status updates to find out that Bobby had an omelet for breakfast and Susan can't find her socks. I guess what I am trying to say is that I find both positives and negatives regarding communication on these sites.

Regardless of their postive and negative qualities, social networking sites cannot replace the most important type of communication: that of one human being literally being within a few feet of another human being with the ability to feel that persons soul because they are actually physically in the same room speaking to each other (not texting). To reach out and literally physically touch that person in a way that no video cam or minute-by-minute status update can. Do these sites make such an impact on society that eventually this most important type of communication will be replaced? Or do they have no impact whatsoever? I believe only time will tell and the impact in my view will be somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. It does make for good contemplating when you're out on a stroll or a drive.

As for me, I'm done with this blog post and am going to go snuggle with my schweetie. TMI? IDK, you decide. :)

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-01T12:47:00.017-06:00

To begin this year, I went through all the pictures we took from 2009. Here are some of the things we did...

January
Played with Christmas toys

Had a first swing at the park
Went to a school awards assembly
February
Went to Girls Night Out at Wilson Elementary
Turned 7
Played at Cole Park

March
Laughed and hugged!

April

Celebrated Easter

Took a run to the beach on a swine flu break from school

May
Had a Girls Night Out (or in...) (no, that is NOT a wine bottle that Lane is holding for those or you who are curious - it's a bottle of the most amazing Philippine cooking sauce)

Completed 1st grade

June

Performed at the dance recital - Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass
Had family come to visit Turned 1
Took his first steps!

Had his first big boy haircut

July
Played out in the backyard during the hottest Corpus summer on record
Crawled around the beach

Gnawed on a few belts

Took some awesome YW to Girls Camp at Camp Karankawa

August
Ventured to the Houston Children's Museum before the craziness of the school year began

Started 2nd grade

September

Planted a new garden

October
Took a bay cruise

Dressed up for Halloween

November
Had fun with my new razorEnjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with friends

December
Dressed warm for the 8th coldest December on record
Celebrated the birth of our Savior

Got a new family member...Freddy...or Ginny...we still haven't decided

We had a great 2009!! We are blessed in so many ways, but as I looked through these pictures I thought about how blessed I am to have my little family - they are the joy of my life. I love the kind, supportive, hard-working husband I have and I love watching my two beautiful children change and grow and learn. Heavenly Father sure knew what He was doing when He designed the family unit. I am so grateful for them. Here's to another year full of good times and memory making!

How Does She Rate?!?!

2009-12-26T21:15:00.003-06:00

No, these are NOT my nails...

They're my girls!

How is it that my 7-year-old gets a full nail set before her 34-year-old mother? Answer: Some generous grandparents and an out-of-control nail-biting habit. We have been trying for months going into years now to help Kaylee break this habit, and since Grandma and Grandpa Wadley gave us some money for Kaylee's Christmas I thought, hmmm. Turns out, she loved the whole experience and I dread the day when they start to come off and she wants new ones...birthday money, anyone??!! I should have taken a before and after...her poor nails are down to nubs. So, this is just another of many tricks...hopefully this one will work! In the meantime, they do look so much better, if not a bit pageantesque for a 7-year-old. Enjoy the glam while you can little one! :)

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T20:37:00.005-06:00

Ode to Sparky

2009-12-14T11:53:00.004-06:00

I remember the day I first saw your cute little face.

You were under Rudy's sweatshirt waiting to take your place

In the Smith family, yes, little did you know!

Rudy played Santa that year with a Ho, Ho, Ho!!

He told us he got you from a customer at work

We were so excited, we almost went beserk!

You were so tiny, a cute little pup..

I couldn't wait to get home and just eat you up.

The puppy days were filled with the usual mess,

the cleaning, and yapping, and all-around stress.

It will get better, I said, just wait and see,

In a few months he'll be trained and be rid of the fleas.

A few months went by, then a few months more,

Cesar Milan and I bonded, yeah, really hardcore.

We made a little progress with the pee and the leash

Now if he'd only stop biting and chewing on everything...GEESH!

First it was the siding, then the grill knobs,

It finally came to a head after three sets of quads.

The dog at that point was banished permanantly outside

Where he liked to escape, yes he tried and he tried.

He was quite successful, I'll tell you why, you see

His mom (me) had to have a house built with pier and with beam. (But that's a whole nother story...I digress)

Rocks, bricks, cement were brought in by the ton,

But the sucker still got out and away he would run.

He liked his adventures, and I liked them too,

Cause when he came home he was too tired to chew.

We'd let him inside our room at night

At least then he'd be too tired to bite.

So threats were made, we came pretty close

To getting rid of the guy before our drywall was exposed.

Mostly it was me, I still wanted him around

You bond when you run together and feed him, I found.

He kept getting out, we tried really hard,

The temptation was too great compared to the monotony of our yard.

The street was too busy, he picked a bad time.

The sun was just setting and I can't find a rhyme.

We cried and we'll miss him even though he gave us grief.

Our time with him here in this house was too brief.

We're taking a break, no more pups for right now.

We've got plenty of strays who will eat up the chow.

So Sparky, when we see you again in the next life to come

We'll have a foundation and a door that doesn't succumb

To the South Texas weather changes. Won't that be grand?

Just wait for us boy, we'll meet you in the promised land!

Sparky Smith

November 2006 - Novemeber 2009

We'll miss you.

Crazy 8's

2009-12-04T21:25:00.004-06:00

8 TV Shows I Love:
1. American Idol
2. 24
3. Any weather updates (nerd alert!)
4. American Idol Reruns
5. Keeping Up Appearances
6. Oprah (if she's talking about something I'm interested in)
7. American Idol
8. 24

8 Movies I Love:
1. Steel Magnolias
2. Dead Poet Society
3. Nadia
4. The Sound of Music
5. The Unsinkable Molly Brown
6. Ever After
7. The Wedding Singer
8. Hairspray

8 Restaurants I Love:
1. Olive Garden (the oldie, but goodie)
2. Macaroni Grill (I go just for the bread)
3. Snoopys
4. Kiko's
5. Small Planet! (shoutout to the DeHarts)
6. TGIFridays
7. Bamboo Garden
8. Thai Cottage

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. Cleaned house
2. Taught a piano lesson
3. Went to see Glenn Beck's Christmas Sweater
4. Paid bills
5. Made dinner
6. Made breakfast
7. Made lunch
8. Picked a HUGE zucchini out of the garden

8 Things I Look Forward to:
1. My family being together with no responsibilities (ok, very few responsibilities) over the Christmas break.
2. Going to Messiah with Kay tomorrow night.
3. Getting old with Shawn and going on long walks together every day.
4. Watching my kids' faces on Christmas morning.
5. Next summer's trip to Boise and Seaside to visit the fam.
6. Starting the annual aroma of Christmas tradition in my home tomorrow.
7. New Years! (second favorite holiday)
8. The glass of eggnog I'm about to indulge in as soon as I finish this post!

8 Things I Love About Winter:
1. That the weather is usually really nice here (present day is an exception).
2. Break from school routine around Christmas time.
3. All the goodies!
4. Getting together with family/friends to enjoy all the goodies! (and each other, of course :)
5. Going on jogs without dying in the heat.
6. The cold water that FINALLY comes out of my taps! (Funny story about that...when we fist moved to Baton Rouge from Idaho in August the water was warm when I would brush my teeth...I went to the landlady and told her there was something wrong with my water because it was coming out of the tap warm...she proceeded to tell me with her deep southern accent that I wouldn't get cold water until at least November...that's just how it was! I couldn't believe it!)
7. Christmas music!
8. The fact that I don't have to scrape icy windows once all winter long!

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. A new pair of glasses
2. A trip to the temple
3. A trip to the cannery
4. Dinner out with my schweety
5. An iphone
6. A cruise
7. A new diamond to replace the one that fell out of my wedding ring :(
8. A day of doing absolutely nothing (just one day...)

8 People I Tag:
You all know I don't do this...if you wanna do it, then do it! :)

Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T14:59:00.013-06:00

We had such a nice Thanksgiving this year. We got together with our friends the Villas, some of their family, and the DeHarts at their Deli. The day was perfect with beautiful weather, fabulous food, and wonderful company. We have so much to be thankful for here in our little corner of the world. I love this day that reminds me to give thanks. Here are a few highlights from our day:

Aaron loved his first Thanksgiving meal! (He was too young last year)
So did my girl :)

Rudy and little Rudy samplin the goods The guys shootin the breeze...
The gals shootin the breeze...

The fabulous cooks (I got away easy this year only being asked to bring corn, or KERN, as it's more popularly called...what's up with that Pats?!?! Well, Shawn did cook one of the turkeys I guess...give me more work next time girlfriend! :)
The cutie pies...
Ring around the rosies...

The Thanksgiving/Christmas dance...

Awww yeah...that's what it's all about baby!

The Harvest Has Begun!!

2009-11-21T18:28:00.003-06:00

Actually, we have been feasting on wonderful zucchini for about a month now, but the rest of the goods are just starting to be ready to harvest!
Happy Day!!

This One is for YOU MOM !! Enjoy !!

2009-11-20T13:50:00.001-06:00

New Look!

2009-11-16T14:31:00.005-06:00

I was not planning to do this...it just sort of happened when I tried out the new trimmers I bought in an effort to conserve money. (What? Me? Trying to conserve money??? :) So now I know how to do it and can trim his hair myself when it grows back...yay!! I didn't like it at first but I'm used to it now and think he still looks pretty handsome. Oh, and new shoes today too...his first pair of tennies!!

I didn't plan the pics this way, but it looks like his legs are that of a six year old with these two pics together!! LOL!!!

Halloween!

2009-11-04T09:02:00.007-06:00

If there is such a thing as Scrooge for Halloween, I would be it. I start grumbling in August every year thinking about the money I will spend on costumes/candy/decorations. I try really hard to bring up childhood memories of fun Halloween's (and I know I had them) and the excitement I always felt as a kid, but somehow those memories can't seem to overpower my general moodiness as I contemplate another year of scouring the stores for cheap costumes/candy/decoration.

(At this point all of you Halloween lovers can pick your jaws up off the floor).

Nevertheless, I stalwartly go about my yearly duty with a stop at the thrift store when I feel like if I leave it any longer my kids will have to resort to wearing a pillow case over their heads with circles cut out for the eyes. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you, just ask Charlie Brown and co.)

Kaylee, bless her little heart, has informed me months beforehand that she will be a cheerleader and has already put together her own costume (without any prompting from me) from items in her room (thank goodness she loves dressups).

So, the problem is Aaron. It is not a matter of WHAT he will be for Halloween (although I did have a moment of inspiration to dress him as a football player since Kaylee was a cheerleader), it is a matter of what the thrift store has available in his size. The standing rule is I absolutely will not pay over 5 bucks for a costume. (All jaws that were previously picked up may now drop again).

Well, let me tell you, the pickins were slim. As in, ONE, yes ONE costume that would fit my little guy (plenty of choices for little girls....grrrr...). It looked like it would fit (no size tag) so I decided for $2.72 I would make it fit, as there was no trying on clothes that day with a disgruntled kid in the cart.

Home we go, and after a wash and stretching of the fabric I decide it will do (barely).

Whew...costumes are taken care of.

Kaylee again saves the day by bringing home two lovely pumpkins she had drawn at school for decorations to add to the cute, crafty decorations she made with Sarah (who also saved the day) when we went to San Antonio. Decorations...check.

Now, for candy. Everytime I go to the store I see the isle. Every time I go to the store I avoid the isle. I finally have to walk the isle at Walmart to buy two bags for the ward halloween party...actually I make Kaylee walk it while I hide trying to find battery operated pumpkin lights (which they're out of....grrrrr..) Ouch, that was painful. Finally, the day before trick or treat I brave the isle at our local HEB....WHAT!!!! You want 3.99 for a teeny tiny bag of Twix's?!?!?!?! I love Halloween...I love Halloween...I love Halloween... I love Halloween...

Despite my general scrougeiness, I always end up begrudgingly admitting the money spent on cheap clothing and teeth rotting sugar is not so bad when I see and feel my kid's excitement. This year we had the ward party the night before, then went to two parties (a friend's from PTA and birthday party next door) on Halloween. Kaylee got to trick or treat at the birthday party down our street then I took her out to some friends in the ward later. Aaron hadn't taken a nap that day so he had fun at the parties and by 6:30 had had it. Daddy took him home to bed, watched football and handed out candy. Going out with Kaylee was my favorite part...she was so excited...fun to watch her those two days.

Oh, we also carved pumpkins the Monday before and they turned out great. I made pumpkin soup which was OK (wouldn't make it again) and tried a new recipe for a pumpkin roll that turned out fabulous!

OK, maybe the holiday is not so bad...maybe...I guess. :)

My girl helping out with the decorations...

Shawn's master pumpkin carving...

Kay with hers...

Ready for the ward party

Can't get enough candy!

Playin' games...

The three amigos...Bro. Pena, Bro. Morlett, Bro. Rangel...they kept Aaron fed and entertained most of the night. :)

Aaron with Christiana...his favorite buddy at church.

A Beautiful Sunset Cruise on the Bay

2009-10-24T12:53:00.007-05:00

Always wanted to do it and so glad we did - our city is beautiful!!

South Texas Jazz Festival

2009-10-24T12:14:00.003-05:00

Last Friday we took in some sights and sounds at the annual South Texas Jazz Festival. The weather was beautiful and it was just a fun night to walk around and hear some good jazz music.

Me and my girl

Ridin on the trolley
The infamous trolley that I stalked as we were leaving to get one more ride - mine and the kids favorite part!!

This was taken while we were waiting for the trolley - in the video Aaron shows off his fun bye-bye trick, although he's too busy to actually look at the camera... :)

It was a fun night!!

This Little Guy Has It Pretty Good...

2009-10-14T20:49:00.004-05:00

Veg time with sissy...

Cuddle time with mommy...
Story time with daddy...
More veg time with sissy...

Nap time whenever the body requires it...

Aww yeah...life is good. :)

General Conference Thoughts...

2009-10-05T17:35:00.001-05:00

I am grateful that I can listen, watch, and read General Conference in the next few months while my kids are asleep...

That is all.

:)

Birthday, Cute Kids and New Trick!

2009-09-16T13:13:00.003-05:00

So, last Sunday was Shawn's birthday and it was really nice. We got a sitter and went out to dinner on Saturday night to Texas Roadhouse. After stuffing ourselves with their heavenly rolls and cinnamon butter we rented a movie and it ended up being a great one - The Great Debates (or Debaters?) with Denzel Washington. Then on Sunday we had some friends over for a Texas BBQ - yummy fajitas, rice, beans and tortillas. Good food and good friends - what could be better than that on your birthday??! Oh, yes, a new itouch which didn't make it in time for the birthday but came the day after - he is loving it!

A random pic of my cute kids...Kaylee loves to take Aaron on the rocker for "song time" or "story time"...she is the BEST big sister ever!
Aaron's new trick :)

THIS IS WAY COOL!!

2009-09-11T09:39:00.001-05:00

First Day of School - Second Grade!

2009-08-24T09:00:00.006-05:00

I always approach this day with mixed feelings. It is always hard for me to drop my child off in an unfamiliar space for 7 hours leaving her in the care of someone I don't know. On the other hand, I am a creature of routine, and love the fall for that reason (even tho we really are in the middle of summer here temperature-wise...sigh). Luckily, Kaylee was pretty much born to go to school and is always super-excited to go, so that makes it a bit easier to deal with the first day. Still is hard though.

On the Aaron front, he did the cutest thing yesterday. I was cleaning in the dining room and I heard him walking through the kitchen making his "uh" sound. I turn around and he walks up to me with his book open, stops right in front of me, and holds it up for me to read. SO CUTE! The best part was the book was "Are You My Mother?"! He loves that one. I love to read to my kids, and love that they love it.

Our Trip to Houston

2009-08-12T21:38:00.009-05:00

We took a much-needed couple of days out of town with the kids to the Children's Museum in Houston. It is FABULOUS!! We got to Houston early Monday afternoon, and made a quick stop at Marshalls after I realized I had left Shawn's swim trunks at home. What was supposed to be a quick stop ended up being a way to kill time as we waited for the thunderstorm (yes, those lucky suckers get rain 4 hours away in Houston) to quit, the power to come back on in the store, and the hotel to open for check-in. As always, Kaylee made the most of the time we had to kill....

and Aaron joined in the fun right along with her....

Shawn found the whole scene mildy amusing.....OK, maybe not.....

We got checked into the fancy, schmnansy 4 star hotel where they don't let you lift a finger to wipe the sweat of your forehead, and headed to the pool. It felt SO good - we loved it. Dinner was at the nearby mall, which, may I say, was quite a treat. It was a REAL mall, with a REAL food court, and layer upon layer of stores in so many levels you could (and we did) easily get lost in. The best part was an ice-skating rink right next to the food court. After dinner and walking and Aaron's diaper blowout (a whole nother story of which I will spare you all the gory details - suffice it to say I hadn't packed an extra outfit...) Kaylee and I dropped Aaron and Shawn back at the hotel and headed back to skate for a few hours. It was so fun! Kaylee did amazingly well for her first time skating and kept at it in spite of the falls. We spent Tuesday at the Children's Museum. I would HIGHLY recommend it if you have kids and are ever in the Houston area. We spent 6 hours there and easily could have spent 6 more. They have activitives for kids of all ages. It was so much fun to watch the kids having fun - that was Shawn and I's favorite part about the trip. Here are some highlights...

Girls Camp!

2009-08-12T21:22:00.010-05:00

So, a few weeks ago I decided that I hadn't had enough of the Texas summer heat, and in order to get the full experience, I needed to spend some more time in the great outdoors....as in 5 brutally hot, national-weather-service-issuing-heat-advisories hot days AND nights in the good 'ol Texas countryside. The trip started out somewhat on the sleepy side after spending the day and night before putting together 20 foil dinner meals, shopping for food for 20 for the week (thankfully we only had to do 3 meals on our own), and tying up other odds and ends. Emphasis on the TYING part...here is our trusty YW Pres. the next morning after realizing the ropes to tie down the stuff to the trailer were somewhere packed INSIDE the stuff in the trailer...lucky for her (and us) she has some amazing connections in the friends department - thanks Tynan!

Off we went with our girls, gear, and camp flag in tow - doesn't it look great? (OK Jen - that made up for the ropes... :)

The heat in general was much more bearable than I thought it would be, thanks to a nice, hot breeze that was there pretty much the whole time we were, an air-conditioned lodge where we had most of the meals/classes, and a fabulous pool that had nice cool water. OK, so maybe I wasn't roughing it completely, but I would give props to anyone sleeping in a tent for a week in the middle of a Texas summer.

The girls had a blast. We had 8 girls go from our ward - Bonnie, the triplets (Adriana, Briana, Christiana), Jasmin, Heather, Aynsley, and Victoria. The stake kept them BUSY! As you can see, they loved singing....OK, Bonnie loved singing - the rest of them put up with it.

And then there was Lori who REALLY loved singing...

My bud and supply queen Sarah teachin her class...

Christiana waiting to find out her truth or dare...

the CC 1st ward babes...

some serious and dramatic business about to happen....the zip line!

Sis. Sagers makin jam with some of the gals

our campsite group - 1st ward and Sinton

scripture/devotional time

As sarcastic as I was in the beginning, I really did enjoy my time with these girls and leaders at camp - as always, girls camp is the best part of YW, and I'm so glad I got to go this year! Midnight pranks that will live on in the history of CC Stake forever (thanks to Jen), the best gosh-darn seminary movie EVER made (again thanks to Jen), being fed meals for 5 days that I DIDN'T MAKE or plan or cut up for kids (thanks to Beeville sisters), 8 wonderful YW and 4 more from Sinton who got along and helped the whole week, and more gut busting laughs and tears in one week than normally happen in one year made this week one to remember.

BTW, if you ever do make it up to Camp Karankawa, be sure to watch out for those nasty havalinas...

Our Friday Night

2009-07-24T20:30:00.005-05:00

This post will be of special interest to you if you have a family where the husband is Bishop, the wife plays piano for everyone and their dog, and the kids are 7 and under.

An investigating couple who are being baptized this Sunday scheduled their wedding for tonight and asked Shawn to marry them. Sure, no problem. I met Amy on Sunday - really nice gal - asked if I could play piano for the wedding. Sure, no problem.

So off we go with kids in tow to the church tonight dressed in our Sunday best. We get to the church early so Shawn can get ready while I feed Aaron his dinner. Kaylee is watching all the picture taking and the pretty dresses. So far, so good. Time comes for me to start playing. Problem - do not recognize anyone to leave baby with besides Sis. Oliva who has her hands full trying to get all the photos taken. Where is Sister Brown when you need her? Seriously, I always have so much help with Aaron at church, it doesn't occur to me that perhaps I will not know anyone there (all non-member family members). Shawn takes Aaron and away I go. I play for 5 minutes or so and Kaylee comes wandering in by the piano with Aaron. Shawn follows after a few minutes and tells Kaylee to take Aaron to the nursery and play with him (I can smell trouble already). So out they go and Shawn disappears. Everything is smooth for another 5 minutes. Then the screaming starts. The groom is standing up at the front, they are about to start the processional (which we're not supposed to do anyway in the church but that's another story) and no sign of Shawn. I continue to faithfully plunk out Pachebels Canon in D, although as the screams continue it takes on a faster tempo. Up march the little girls, the bridesmaid, etc. and Shawn jumps in line just before the bride comes in. He gets them situated, gives me the nod to stop, and I walk as fast as I can around the hall and out the door to the lobby where my little girl sits holding on to her howling brother for dear life. She sees me - the face crumbles and the lips start to quiver. I send her into the wedding and take Aaron into the mothers room to try and calm him. I notice little white specks on his chin, but don't think much of it. He is calm after a few minutes and we head into the wedding where the couple got no postlude music, thank you very much.

Here's what happened WHILE I was playing. Aaron had gotten a piece of chalk in his mouth and when Shawn went out to check on them, he saw Aaron walking down the hall FOAMING AT THE MOUTH! He gets the chalk out, much to baby's distress - he was perfectly happy with the chalk - which produces the wail. All of this happened as the processional that wasn't supposed to happen was happening. Oh, and Kaylee wants me to tell you that Aaron bit her finger when she tried to get the chalk out.

So, what is the moral of this story, you ask? Well, it's simple. If you ever find yourself in the situation of the first and second paragraphs, you either say "no, sorry, I can't play if my husband is performing the ceremony because I need to watch the kids" (duh), or another acceptable alternative would be "sure, we can both help you as long as you make sure there is someone there we can trust to watch the kids" (preferably over the age of 12).

Have a great weekend, my family and friends. :)

I can't get enough of these kids!

2009-07-21T15:42:00.005-05:00

I know, I know, it seems like that's pretty much all I post about these days, but when they're as cute as this I just can't help myself. Check this out...

Kaylee can make him laugh longer and harder than Shawn or I - believe it or not he was laughing even harder before I found the camera - I LOVE IT!!

Aaron has this fascination with buckles and belts. He loves to manuever them around and try and figure out how they work. This is how we find him often around the house.

I promise we don't encourage bulimia.

Blogging Mishaps...

2009-07-19T09:24:00.002-05:00

I am SLOWLY learning the ins and outs of blogging. After spending a good part of the day yesterday trying to change my template, I have lost my blogroll. After spending a good part of this morning remeding this, I am certain there are blogging buddies I have left off the current list who used to be a part of the previous list. If you are one of those buddies, please leave me a comment and let me know your address so I can add it to my list...sigh.

I am open to comments on how not to lose widget info when switching templates. I need to research this, but in the meantime if any of you blogger wizzes care to leave the info in non-blogger wizzes terminology, I would be very grateful. I am switching templates from outside sources because all the blogger ones are so boring, and html is a foreign language to me. Whenever I go to switch and copy and paste the new template in, it invariably says that one or more of my widgets are about to be deleted....WHHHHYYYYY????

I will master this one of these days.... :)

This Happens WAY too fast!!

2009-07-11T08:40:00.004-05:00

The first one taken July 7, the second one July 10. I want it to last longer!!!

4th of July and a great week!

2009-07-06T20:56:00.008-05:00

We had a lot of fun this past week. Shawn's parents were in town, and in many ways it was a repeat of when my parents were here - out to eat, games, aquarium, beach, out to eat, games, fireworks, out to eat, games... you get the picture. Here are some highlights...

As always, the kids had a blast at the beach. We went after dinner...a perfect time because the heat of the day is past and the temperature is perfect. Aaron has become very comfortable with the beach, and crawls around like he owns the place. He heads right out into the water and will stop only when he gets a mouthful of it! It's interesting how he went from being scared of it to so aggressive after just a few visits!

This was taken just when the sun went below the horizon.

And this only a couple of minutes later.

The 4th of July was...you guessed it...HOT! We broke a record here by about 7 degrees and the temp you felt outside was 112. Eh. So we hibernated inside all day and about 4 or so I decided to get the baby pool out and the kids got in and splashed around for a bit. They loved it! Speaking of how fast kids change, I can't believe how different Kaylee is with the sprinkler this year - last year she wouldn't go near it and this year she gets right in the middle of it and wants it in her face! What a difference a year makes!

Then this little guy had some serious business to attend to once swim/bubble time was over!

After the sun went down we headed over to Cole Park. Kaylee had fun on the swings while we waited for the fireworks, and Shawn had fun with the new camera...

My Texas cutie...

And to top it all off - the fireworks, of course! They were way far away - we couldn't even hear the boom! It turned out for the best with Aaron though - he was happily oblivious to the whole thing and kept himself entertained crawling all over the blanket and his sister.

Somehow Larry and Dorothy avoided the pics this time...here's a couple of them on an earlier visit to Corpus. They just got a mission call to the Bulgaria Sofia mission - leaving in October for a year and a half. Larry got us all set up with some high tech computer program so we can talk to them over there for FREE... :) We're excited to hear all your stories you guys! Love you and thanks for a fun week!

Aaron is walking like crazy now - is venturing farther and farther by himself. I'll post another video soon. I am working the next couple of weeks at an opera camp at A&M and then girls camp here I come - YIKES!! Shawn just started teaching a music appreciation class for Summer II session today. Busy month, but fun month. Life is good. :)

Look what my little guy got today!!

2009-06-29T18:27:00.002-05:00

His first big boy haircut!!! Now, I had trimmed it already a few times, but I looked at him today, and the hair was completely taking over his head, so I decided it was time. He was so good - sat on my lap and played with a comb the whole time. They gave him a little certificate (in the picture below) with a little lock of hair for a keepsake. I wasn't sure if he was even old enough for something like this, because I never had to worry about it with Kaylee - I just had fun with the pigtails and barrettes, but the poor boy needed something different than the mushroom bowl cut. When I took him to the chair, the lady plopped down the little kids seat on the big chair and I said, uhhhh, do you have anything to buckle him in, cause he won't sit still on that! She said I could hold him on my lap, so that's what we did and got hair all over ourselves in the process. I wish I would have had my camera there cause he looked so cute in the little cloth thing the put around your neck - he couldn't figure out where his arms had gone! What a man!

Check this out!!

2009-06-26T15:55:00.005-05:00

Look at what's been happening at out house during the last few months... :)

My little Tweedle

2009-06-17T12:37:00.006-05:00

Kaylee was in a dance production of Alice in Wonderland - Through the Looking Glass a few weeks ago. She had been working so hard for it. We practiced her lines and songs every day after school and she went to extra practices every Friday and Saturday for 3 months. She had a great time, made some great friends, and did an awesome job in the play. Way to go Kay!

Ms. Alexis - Kaylee's dance teacher
Ms. Jilissa - studio owner
Kaylee and Natasha

Kaylee and Annika The fam

Mrs. Baker - Kaylee's 1st grade teacher

Goings on...

2009-06-17T12:12:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful visit this past week and a half with my mom and dad. They brought us some furniture and other goodies from home they had saved for us. Here are a few highlights from the visit...

Aaron's first time crawling on the sand on Padre - he's not in a bathing suit because we were only going to go for a quick foot dip in the gulf - that turned into 45 minutes of water-lovin'! My parents couldn't believe the warm gulf water temps - that's because they normally vacation in Seaside, Oregon where the water is still freezing in August!

Snoopy's - a favorite gathering with out-of-towners. My mom and dad can't get enough of this place - I lost track of the number of times they went - was it 3 or 4??? Needless to say, they LOVE fish and chips. :)

My favorite little girl checkin the water for dead fish and tadpoles.
This picture is my favorite - my mom played beauty shop every day with Kaylee and sometimes my dad and I were special guests. Kaylee was Gabriella (the shops customer), my mom was Betty (the shop owner) and Sharpay (another customer). I was Taylor (another customer), and Grandpa was Stanley the workman. Well, on this particular day, Stanley invited Taylor to a dance for a date, so Taylor got all dressed up with Stanley and off they went. My mom has the worlds best imagination, and those two spent hour upon hour in the beauty shop. They had all sorts of things for sale, from dresses, to shoes, necklaces, bracelets, crowns, and headbands. I scored with a cinderella music box for I think 10 cents! Anyway, I will have my work cut out for me keeping up with my mom on this one - thanks mom for giving Kay some great memories!

Some other highlights that didn't make the camera...

Kaylee and dad had a special time with the card games Uno and Sequence - many fun hours were spent there.
Shawn and I had the bright idea to take my dad to a Hawks game for Father's Day - didn't turn out quite as planned. I had a coupon (suprised??) and it ended up being seats on the berm (sp?) - the grassy section where you can't see the ball - but that wasn't the best part - dad wanted to buy us some food - we got 3 teeny little mugs of lemonade for $12 and teeny little tube steaks (hotdogs) for $3.25 A PIECE! On top of that, they only took cash and after pooling all our cash we were still .75 short. The salesman took pity on our poor souls and let us off the hook. What a RIP-OFF! Needless to say - a run to the border (Taco Bell) was in order on the drive home...
We found some nice country land out in Portland while trying to find some friends of my parents neighbors - the GPS didn't recognize the address because it was too new - I doubt my parents will think about buying a GPS anytime soon after that nightmare. :)
Shawn and I got to get away for a few days while my parents watched the kids - it was so nice, but photographically undocumented (did you like that one?!) because we didn't take my parents camera and mine got ruined when a water bottle spilled in my purse on Kaylee's last day of school. Soooo...we went to San Antonio to the temple and Wicked (both were awesome), then drove to Fredericksburg the next day and spent a night there in the cutest little B&B. Had some fabulous banana crepes the next morning (I am salivating thinking about them). We walked up and down main street for a few hours the next day before driving home and got to eat at a nice German restaurant. We had heard wonderful things about that town and we weren't disappointed - it was great and we'll definitely go back again.
We didn't quite get our fill of Pinochle and Run-em (Hearts), but had many fun late nights with mom and dad playing!
Mom and dad celebrated their 38th anniversary while they were here with....drumroll....a trip to Snoopys!
Thanks mom and dad for a great visit - you guys are awesome and WE LOVE YOU!

I have a ONE YEAR OLD!

2009-06-17T11:40:00.004-05:00

We celebrated Aaron's first birthday yesterday with Grandma and Grandpa Wadley. He knew he was the center of attention, but like all one-year-olds, had no clue beyond that. Kaylee helped blow out the candle and open presents. It was my kind of birthday party - good eats, good company, and little to no chaos. Then we went for a short ride around the block in Aaron's new car seat that faces forward - yay! He loved seeing the world from a whole new vantage point. There are many things I love about Aaron but the one thing I will pick for his birthday is his easy-going personality. I love that it takes very little to get him to smile or laugh. As my mom says, he is such a happy baby, and we are blessed to have him in our family. Happy Birthday Aaron!

I have a SECOND GRADER!!!

2009-05-28T15:21:00.002-05:00

Well, with 4 more days of school left, the school principal, Mrs. Thomas, officially presented the second grade class of 2009-2010 yesterday at Kaylee's awards assembly! It was awesome! (and long...) Kaylee got all A's for the whole year, as well as recognition in music and reading. (I wonder why...she takes after mom and dad! except for the all A's part... :)
Way to go Kay! We're so proud of you!!

Memorial Day Fun in the Sun!

2009-05-28T14:53:00.004-05:00

We went out to a really neat condo in Port Aransas with our friends the Olivas - had great food and great fun. It was Aaron's first time in the swimming pool - he was a little nervous for about 5 minutes and was loving life after that. The water temp was perfect and there was a walkway from the pool that took you right out to the beach on the Gulf! It was so awesome! Thanks Gabe and Jen for a great timeThis one is for you Jen - right back at you for the nasty bowling pic :)

Out of the mouth of babes...

2009-05-14T15:22:00.004-05:00

Kaylee: Momma, Aaron is bundles of joy to me.

Me: He is bundles of joy to me too.

Kaylee: I just love him.

She must have read my last post.

5 minutes later in the middle of a big hug:

Kaylee: I just can't stand loving you.

Me: Why not?

Kaylee: I just love you too much.

Swine Flu Vacation!

2009-05-08T09:07:00.000-05:00

Here's what we did...

Aaron's first time at the beach - he wasn't too keen on it at first, but started enjoying himself after a little while.

Another reason why I love being home...while everyone else was scrambling for last minute child care arrangements, I hopped in the car with my two little bundles of joy and headed out to Padre Island. Sadly, the vacation was cut short by a week, but we had fun while it lasted. Hurray for beaches and unexpected vacations!

Elder Bednar ROCKS!

2009-05-04T14:25:00.000-05:00

I listened to his talk from the CES fireside last night and LOVED IT! Here are some of my favorite points...

the great principle of happiness consists in having a body
the body and the spirit together constitute our reality and identity
when the body and spirit are together we can experience a fullness of joy; when they are separated we cannot
the adversary's method of attack is to get us both to misuse and minimize our bodies
one of the ways we misuse our bodies is by worshipping the false idol of body language
he spent most of the talk giving examples of how we minimize our bodies, which is the most subtle and diabolical of Satan's attacks
sometimes we neglect eternal relationships for digital distractions that have no lasting value
he talked about mind and spirit-numbing online games, and then argued that video-gaming and computer-mediated communication can minimize the importance of our physical bodies
technology can be used to replicate reality, augment reality, and create virtual reality
a high degree of fidelity (or similarity between reality and a representation of reality) contributes to the effectiveness of the technological experience
this simulation can be constructive if the fidelity is high and the purposes of the technology is good
the simulation or model can lead to spiritual impairment and danger if the fidelity is high and the purposes are bad
he raised an apostolic voice of warning (that was a "hey there, wake up and pay attention all of you who got lost during the fidelity bit) of the impact of some types of cyberspace interactions on our souls
the adversary can disconnect us gradually and physically from things as they really are
he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state
here's an exact quote: "Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, earbugs, twittering, online social networking and potentially addicting uses of the internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person to person communication. Beware of digital displays and data in many forms of computer-related interaction that can displace the full range of physical attraction and experience"
another quote: "Now brothers and sisters, please understand, I am not suggesting all technology is bad - it is not. Nor am I saying we should not use it's many capabilities in appropriate ways to learn, to communicate, to lift and brighten lives, and to build the church - of course we should. But I am raising a warning voice that we should not squander and damage authentic relationships by obsessing over contrived ones."
another one: "Lucifer will encourage you to misuse and to minimize the importance of your physical body. He will attempt to substitute the monotony of virtual repitition for the infinite variety of God's creations and convince us we are merely mortal things to be acted upon, instead of eternal souls blessed with moral agency to act for ourselves. Deviously he entices embodied spirits to forfeit the blessings and learning experiences according to the flesh that are made possible through the Father's plan of happiness and the Atonement of the Only Begotten Son."
one more: "Initially the investment of time may seem relatively harmless - rationalized as a few minutes of needed relief from a hectic daily schedule. But important opportunities are missed for developing interpersonal skills, for laughing and crying together, and for creating a rich, enduring bond of emotional intimacy. Progressively, seemingly innocent entertainment can become a form of pernicious enslavement. To feel the warmth of a hug from an eternal companion, or to see the sincerity in the eyes of another person as testimony is shared - all of theses things experienced as they really are, through the instrument of our physical body, could be sacrificed for a high-fidelity fantasy that has no lasting value. If you and I are not vigilant, we could become past feeling, as Laman and Lemuel did, long ago."
Towards the end he asked 2 questions: 1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?" 2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?

This was a powerful talk. I felt the truth of what he was speaking about so deeply. What a timely message for the times we live in!!

What to do....

2009-05-03T07:57:00.000-05:00

Well, we are faced with a tough decision and need your input! Here's the question: should we, or should we not get rid of the dog? Sparky has been trying our patience big-time lately. Let me give you a bit of background. We got Sparky (a miniature schnauzer) about two and a half years ago from a dear friend for Christmas. He was about 6 weeks old then, which makes him about 2 and a half now. Sparky has never made it past the teething phase. (By the way, if any dog experts out there know how long the teething phase really lasts, the info would be much appreciated.) By this, I mean he bites everything he can lay his teeth into, with a particular preference for leather. After going through 3 sets of scriptures, some siding on the back of our house, an area of grass in the backyard, and countless stuffed animals and books of Kaylee's, we are wondering if anything can be done - if so, we haven't figured out what it is yet, and are quickly losing patience. Sparky is an "outside" dog, meaning he stays outside during the day and sleeps in our room at night. We don't feel comfortable with him inside the house, unless it's at night and we're watching a movie - then he'll usually sleep on one of the couches. If we leave him to his own devices inside the house he will immediately find something to chew on - it's like having another baby inside the house. We would like him to be inside the house more, but don't know how to train him to not chew up everything in sight, short of following him around 24/7 and that's impossible with 2 kids and a household to manage.

SO, we have read, listened, and watched several bits of advice, and are trying to figure out if we are not doing it right, have not been doing it long enough and consistently, or if the dog is just daft. We want a dog who feels like part of the family, but it doesn't feel that way right now. We need to figure out how to get from pest and budget drainer to man's best friend. Cesar Milan, where are you when I need you??!!

Great video...

2009-04-30T11:22:00.000-05:00