Thursday, March 31, 2011

To the Top

Half Dome
Day 5- Picture of somewhere I have been

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Drop you like a bad habit...

Day 4 - a habit you wish you didn't have

Where do I begin?? I guess if I could pick just one is that I tend to be a pessimist.  I always admire the people that can always look at a situation and always see the best and brightest outcome.  I, on the other hand,  always think it is going to turn out badly and am pleasantly surprised when it looks like things are going to turn out.  I think I have gotten better with age, but I definitely struggle with it and want it to go away.  No one likes a Debbie downer and I try really hard not to be.  You just can't change someone's stripes.  That is one of the reasons I married Sean.  He is the eternal optimist as well as his family. You can't be around them and feel the way that I have known my whole life.  So, I am on my way to get rid of this nasty habit.  Maybe when this life is over, I can have it be a strength.  But I doubt it.  Doww, did it again!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

I get by with a little help from my FRIENDS

MY BEST FRIEND AND ETERNAL COMPANION1 aka tv buddy & bike buddy

Friends who you laugh with nonstop!  Sisters in Law!  I am so lucky to have so many!


New Friends/Hiking Buddies  

Friend you feel like you have known forever even though you just met. 

Friend who you have known forever!  My brother Justin who was my first friend

Friends who have known you in the bad times but still love you in the end!

Friends who you just plain have fun with!


Day three of 30 day challenge:  Picture of your friends. 

Of course I couldn't pick just one and sadly I couldn't get pictures of all the friends I have had and the ones I am currently friends with now, that truly make my life more livable.  All I know is that the people I call friends have truly made such a difference in my life.  Each one has taught me and is currently teaching me something in life and about myself.  I just hope I can be just as good of a friend as they have been to me. 

Monday, March 28, 2011

Smithsonian


Day two of my 30 day challenge. 
The Meaning of my Blog Name

Well, I just removed recently my title to my blog to replace it with my family picture.  The title of my blog has been Smithsonian.  As you can see from this picture, the Smithsonian is a collection of museums that reside mostly in Washington DC.  Did you know that there is 19 facilities including a zoo that are all part of the Smithsonian?  I actually just learned that and I have had this blog name as long as I have had my blog. 
I am not the one that came up with my title. Sean is the brilliant one that came up with this name.  I thought it was fitting considering that this museum contains history on so many different levels.  It has loads of facts and stories on how things became to be.  I feel like it is only fitting that my blog be a record of the history of our little Smith Family. 
Family history is so important.  How many times have I gone back to a previous post to remember a certain date or something funny my daughter said.  I think about the pioneers and all the journals they kept.   If they did not, we wouldn't know half of what we know about the trials but most importantly their testimonies.  I have always been a scrapbooker.  The other night I was going through the scrapbooks from Junior High all the way through college.  I am so grateful I saw a need for that kind of record keeping at such a young age.  Although I don't have time to do all that now, but the blog keeps me thinking about my day to day happenings,  I know that this day in age, we are lucky to have things on the internet that keeps us documenting the days of our lives.  I hope the history I am keeping will be just as important to my ancestors as the Smithsonian is to the people who walk it's walls. 

Sunday, March 27, 2011

30 Day Challenge!

So, my sweet friend Natalie tagged me in a challenge that lasts 30 days.  I, like her have my reservations about how faithful I will be to doing it, but I have been struggling to blog lately, so this might be a good kick in the bottom to get me back on the bandwagon.  SO, the first challenge is to write 15 interesting facts about myself as well as get a picture of myself.






1. I eat the same thing every morning and the same thing for lunch.  An english muffin with peanut butter with a banana and a turkey sandwich with cucumber and tomato.  I say why mess with perfection.

2. I am a total speed demon.  I get antsy with slow drivers and I tend to be a weaver.  I get mad when Sean drives slow.  I've got places to go and people to see!

3.  When I had 2 little ones, I was called to be a seminary teacher.  It was the hardest and sweetest way to spend a year.  I learned so much in that short year about the gospel, my husband, the youth in my ward and myself and what I can and can't handle.


4.  I saved my brother's life from drowning when I was 4 years old.

5. My favorite calling in church was Relief Society teacher.  I love being able to dig in the scriptures and be able to learn from the sister's in my ward.  Very rewarding.

6.  I hated pizza when I was a kid.  Doesn't  make any sense considering it could be very well one of my four basic food groups now. 

7.  My alter ego's name is COCO.

8.  I have had 40 hairstyles since the age of 12.  I guess I was supposed to be a hairstylist by my uncontrollable need to change my look.

9.  I won a contest when I was in 4th grade.  I drew a face of a pumpkin that they judged and as a prize I got a HUGE pumpkin to carve.

10.  I cry at almost every wedding scene in every movie or TV show.  It is a weakness.

11.   I had a Kimberly doll when I was a kid.  I loved her but she looked nothing like me.  She was blonde.

12.  When I go running on the levy by my house, I love the smell of laundry that permeates the air.  It gives the drive to keep on going.

13.  Love, Love, Love GAMES!  Anytime, any place.  I want to play games!! Favorite of the moment is Monopoly Deal.  Only because I can beat Sean at it.  Of course, he hates it.  

14.  On my 18th birthday, I pierced my belly button.  I had it all the way through to my 21st birthday when I went on a mission where it got infected and had to be taken out.  Coincidence?? I think not!

15.  I have smelly, itchy feet.

That was more challenging than I thought it would be.  So, let the 30 day challenge begin!

Sun, where art thou??

Tis once a sweet day where bike rides was an everyday fortune

Where parks were not filled with water and we can swing with pure delight!

remember there was a bike trail where water now resides!

Vitamin D, how we miss thee!! Please make your way back soon!!

Having my cake and eating it two...

Happy Birthday to ME!!  This is pretty cool!



Getting ready for dinner.  Cafe Rio BABY!











I love Chocolate!!

I got so much I am overwhelmed!

My first new bike!  Can't wait for this rain to quit, so I can go for a spin!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Rewards



The kids have been working really hard to earn a DS and an American Girl doll.  While they are toiling at their daily chores and to do lists, we treat them weekly to ice cream.  They look foward to it always! 

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Kid's Gone Wild

I was hesitant if I should blog about this, but I felt that it was necessary to do so just for record keeping sake. I want my kids to know what happens when they are left to their own devices for a couple of hours.
This morning I wanted to sleep. I had to get up every day this week for something and today I had the opportunity to just lay in my bed with no where to go, well at least for a couple of hours. My children have a really bad habit of waking up before they should. Like six o clock which to me us obscene. Especially if you don't have to go anywhere! I feel the real reason they wake up early is so they can take Sean or I's phone and watch Netflix on it for a good hour before we even know it is missing. So, the night before I decided to hide all the phones, computer and playstation, so they could not watch anything in hopes they would just go back to sleep out of sheer boredom. Well, that is not how it panned out unfortunately.
Elijah was the first to sneak around the room. When I opened my eyes, I saw him sneaking around trying to find Sean's phone. I told him to go back to sleep. He scurried out of the room empty handed. Not even a couple of minutes later to find Jules doing the same. Relentless!! So, my patience was already spent, my voice got louder to get out of our room and back to bed. Lyla woke up 20 minutes later and they were all playing together nicely in thier room, which made me rest with ease. Sean left around nine to go to meetings and I still stayed in bed in hopes I can rest for my Sabbath day. Well, I must have dozed off pretty soundly to only wake up to Elijah saying Lyla got into the cereal and was making a mess, I didn't take him seriously at this time because the bed felt way to good. I could clean it up when I got up. Well, I finally got out of bed at 10:30 to see what layed in store for me. I stopped in mid step to find a rice crispy trail all the way to my room to the kitchen. When I got to the kitchen, I saw Lyla on the counter with red all over her face and the counter. It was medicine that she had gotten into. How she opened it, I am still scratching my head on that one. When I grabbed her and took her off the counter, I looked in the family room to see a mountain of Rice Krispies in four spots. It was like the room threw up Rice Crispies. I wanted to throw up myself to know that I have neglected my children to this extreme and now I am going to pay the dues. It took me 1 hour to clean up the damage and on an empty stomach from fasting, was not the way I wanted to spend my sabbath day. I know that I had only myself to blame. It was a hard pill to swallow.
The up side?? Knowing that my kids would not starve if left by themselves. They would probably be able to stay alive for quite a while.
If you are wondering if Lyla overdosed on the medicine, there was more on her face and the counter than I think went inside. Messy Red Triamanic!
Lesson learned. Kimberly was very humbled!!