Four Cute Kids

Out Grown

2010-01-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

We've out grown our blog....check out our new one here!!!!!

Cutest Cub Scouts

2010-01-09T10:27:00.005-07:00

Thursday, was Andrew's first Cub Scout meeting as a Wolf. He was SO excited and thinks it's pretty cool that he gets to go every week now with his dad. (Nathan is the Webelos leader and Cub Master.)

When he got home he was thrilled to show me that he had made me a recipe holder and to explain that he had made it with three different types of saws. I LOVE Andrew's enthusiasm in everything he does!!

NO WAY!!

2010-01-01T12:17:00.006-07:00

ALL of our kids LOVE to go sledding.....everyone except Benjamin. Every time we go sledding, we ask Benj if he wants to go and he always says, "No Way!", and so mom gets to stays home with him. Well, we all wanted to go on Andrew's birthday so Nathan told him that he could wear ski goggles (he loves goggles...so much that he wore his swimming goggles to go Christmas caroling last week) when we go sledding and he finally agreed to go. I love that we were actually able to capture on video him having SO much fun and then when asked if he wants to do it again, he says, "No Way!" So much personality!!!

It doesn't look like Spencer is having fun, but he really LOVES sledding so much that he doesn't even need a sled...he'll just go on his bum.

Andrew says, "It's Great to be Eight!!"

2010-01-01T11:51:00.004-07:00

Andrew had a GREAT birthday! He got to open presents as soon as everyone was awake. (Nathan found Andrew sitting on the stairs at 6am and made him go back to sleep on the couch until everyone else woke up.) He got a BSU football from Benjamin, a Rubix Cube from Spencer, a book from Sarah, a BSU sweatshirt from Nonnie & Grandpa, money and cards from Grandma & Grandpa, Mom & Dad and cousins that he put towards a NEW MOUNTAIN BIKE.

Here is Andrew "trying out" his new bike. He and dad shopped for the perfect bike a few days before his birthday but he didn't get it until his actual birthday.

We went sledding. Andrew is getting pretty good at snowboarding.

To finish out an awesome day, we ate pizza, had Oreo birthday cake and then watched G-Force. Happy Birthday Andrew!!!

At our Book of Mormon party we told the waiter that it was Andrew's birthday (close enough, right?!) so they sang to him and brought him a yummy dessert. He LOVED it!!!

Incredible Igloo

2009-12-30T15:49:00.006-07:00

Our neighbors, Josh and Melissa came over this morning and asked if our kids wanted to help them make an igloo. Everyone helped, but Sarah definitely stuck with the task the longest. They were all thrilled with the final product. It's SO big, that all the neighborhood kids who helped can fit in it. Thanks Josh and Melissa for a lot of fun and great memories.

The beginning....

...still at it...

...taking a hot cocoa break...

...the hard worker...

...almost done...

...a picture of the final product.

Sarah wants to sleep in it tonight. Anyone up for a 9 degree sleepover?????

Book of Mormon Party

2009-12-30T15:35:00.005-07:00

Sunday night we completed reading the Book of Mormon. So, to celebrate this amazing goal that we accomplished we went to Cafe Ole (kids eat free on Monday nights :) for dinner and to Powell's Sweet Shop afterwards. We always have Book of Mormon parties (usually during FHE) when we finish reading it, but this time it was EXTRA special because we read the WHOLE thing...not just the illustrated Book of Mormon stories....but the REAL thing!!! It's taken us almost 2 years and we have been reading a lot each day for the past two months so that could finish before the end of the year. Yep, we were pretty proud of ourselves and thought we all deserved to celebrate!!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T14:33:00.007-07:00

On Christmas Eve we acted out the story of baby Jesus. Everyone had very important parts to play.

They all got to open one gift....they got sleeping bags from Nonnie and Grandpa...THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

They got the cookies and milk ready for Santa and put reindeer food outside for the reindeer. Then, they all promptly went to bed...not sleep, just their bed. Sleep didn't come for awhile!!!!!

Early Christmas morning, four cute kids are ready to come downstairs to see if they have been good enough for Santa to have stopped at their house in the night.

Our dad took this picture before everyone came downstairs. He kept on saying that there was something he had no idea what it was. Santa had left four Zhu Zhu pets and a playground and no one at our house knew what they were until we started playing with them and looked them up online.

This is how our cute kids spent a lot of their Christmas day...just relaxing and enjoying all their "loot"!!

Santa completely spoiled them again this year. They must really be on the "NICE list"!!!

White Christmas??

2009-12-22T11:46:00.004-07:00

We woke up to snow on the ground this morning. The kids went outside and played for most of the morning making a snowman and fort. We LOVE the snow!!!! We just wonder if it will last until Christmas!?!?

Merry Christmas

2009-12-22T11:43:00.001-07:00

Our Four Cute Kids wish you all a Merry Christmas!!!

December Happenings

2009-12-22T11:07:00.008-07:00

December has been busy with many different "happenings". We will just post a few of them.

We went looking at Christmas lights. This is ONE house and it is SO amazing!!!!!! We thought it was funny that the house next door says "Ditto!" with an arrow pointing to this house.

We went and picked out a live tree for our front room. I had won a $50 gift certificate at a local nursery, so we got this tree for 87 cents. I LOVE a bargain!!!!!

We made candy cane reindeer for an advent activity.

This was a fun project that we did for one of our advent activities. Dad showed us how to make cardinal ornaments for our Christmas tree.

We went to Aunt Dee and Uncle Dave's home in Nampa for a Smith Family Christmas party. We love being able to see and spend time with our Great Grandma Smith. We also went to her home at the beginning of December to celebrate her 89th birthday!!!!

Benjamin and Spencer enjoying yummy treats at Spencer's school Christmas party. Sarah and Andrew had fun parties as well.

Andrew had a Christmas Music Program at school. He did a great job!

We went to our ward Christmas Breakfast and visited with friends and SANTA!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-12-03T22:14:00.003-07:00

We had a fun time with family on Thanksgiving! We ate LOTS of yummy food! We had a memorable program! We made FUN projects! We played ALL day with cousins!! We LOVED having Thanksgiving at the barn! Thank you to everyone who made it a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!

PS. Big bummer that Eliza's mom and dad were sick that day so she missed out on being in the picture!

Real Shepherds

2009-12-03T22:00:00.005-07:00

Our Grandpa Smith went to Jerusalem and Egypt and brought back some fun gifts for everyone. Here are a few pictures of what he brought us. It was interesting to see the videos of his travels and to eat food from Jerusalem! Thanks for thinking of us, Grandpa! We can't wait to wear our gifts when we act out Luke 2 on Christmas Eve.

Nathan is wearing real Egyptian clothing. Everyone else is wearing clothing from Jerusalem.

Uncle Karl and his boys are wearing clothing from Jerusalem. Don't you think Uncle Karl looks like a REAL shepherd??

Birthday Boy Benjamin

2009-11-07T22:29:00.004-07:00

Friday was Benjamin's THIRD birthday!! He started his day opening presents....getting a basketball hoop, a sky ball, Mr. Potato Head and a Clone Wars book. We ended his birthday with having taco salad (he loves salads) and Birthday cake!! He had a great day and we can't believe how grown up he is!!
!

Any Guesses??

2009-11-07T22:26:00.002-07:00

Can you tell what's on Benjamin's Christmas Wish List?

This was Benj today in ToysRUs letting us all know what he wants for Christmas!!! LOVE IT!!!!!

Volunteering

2009-11-07T22:15:00.003-07:00

On behalf of the Idaho Food bank, Sarah volunteered with her teacher, Mrs. Brooks, and several of her classmates at Walmart today. Sarah has really gotten "into" the donation spirit. She has taken our wagon around the neighborhood to collect items, asked family members for donations and raided our pantry several times. At this point she has brought in the most canned goods of all the students in her classroom. We love her giving spirit!!!

Girl from India, Mummy, Stitch in Outer Space and Luke Skywalker

2009-11-01T16:57:00.003-07:00

Trick-or-treating!!

Yum, so much candy!!!

BSU Game

2009-11-01T16:21:00.004-07:00

Andrew was a SUPER lucky boy on Saturday as he was invited by Bishop and Sister Johnson to go to a BSU game with them and his friend, Collin. He had an AWESOME time and told us in great detail all about it when he got home. He was SO impressed with the band, the noise, the fog, the players, that they made a touchdown right away and when the kids came out of the helmet. Please go to Sister Johnson's blog and read about it from her point of view.

THANK YOU SO MUCH Bishop and Sister Johnson!!!!!!!!! It was a dream come true for Andrew!!!!!

Fall Soccer

2009-10-27T11:16:00.003-06:00

Nonnie and Grandpa have been asking for video of soccer games played this Fall. So, here it is....and it's a little long, so you might want to get a few snacks and settle in for some fun watching. Andrew scores 3 goals in this video. He had a great season and had a fun coach and team.

Spencer was very excited to play soccer this Fall as he has sat on the sidelines for several years watching Andrew play. Practices were okay, but actually playing in a game was a bit too scary for Spencer and so he stayed on the sidelines cheering his team on to victory!

Way to go, Soccer Boys!!!!!

Harvest Time

2009-10-13T10:01:00.007-06:00

For Family Home Evening we went to our garden and harvested our pumpkins and gourds. Compared to last year, our pumpkins didn't do as well, but we have enough for our family. Our gourds did fabulous! It's always so fun to harvest what we have grown!

Before our harvest.....

After our harvest.

I LOVE Fall time!!!!!

Adventures near Ashton

2009-10-12T21:08:00.006-06:00

Several weekends ago, we drove to Ashton for Nathan's Aunt Leona and Uncle Bruce's 50th Wedding Anniversary party! We had many adventures on our way to Ashton and while we were there.

On our way, we had a total blow out.

Our dad is AMAZING!!! He had it almost completely changed before AAA arrived!

This is what we did while we waited...throw rocks by the railroad tracks.

While we had our tire fixed we found a fun park in St. Anthony.

We were able to stay in a beautiful cabin in Island Park. We wish we could have spent many days exploring the area and relaxing in the cabin.

The cabin had Disney Channel!!!! What a treat for us!!!

I wish we would have taken pictures of the actual party. Nathan did the decorating and their cabin looked SO nice! We had such a wonderful weekend playing with all our cousins and hope we can do it again soon!!!

Girls Night Out

2009-09-21T09:59:00.002-06:00

Since the boys were going to have some fun camping out, Sarah and mom decided to have some fun of their own. We went to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Starlight Mountain Theater in Garden Valley with Nancy and Emily Hansen. We had SO much fun and LOVED the whole evening!! We hope to make it our tradition and go every year when the boys go on their campout!!

Father Son Campout

2009-09-21T09:22:00.004-06:00

A few weekends ago, Nathan took the boys to Greyback Gulch Campground for our ward's Father Son Campout. They brought hotdogs to roast and s'mores to make over the campfire. Andrew's favorite part of the campout was that they told ghost stories around the campfire until past midnight and that they (Andrew and Nathan) were some of the last to go to sleep. I heard that Spencer fell asleep in his camping chair and Benj put himself to sleep in the tent sometime around 8. They had a great time and luckily all had naps the next day!!

First Day of School 2009

2009-08-31T11:55:00.003-06:00

Yeah for the first day of school!! We are thrilled with our teachers and excited for a new year!!!!

Sarah with Mrs. Brooks

Andrew with Mr. Conant

Spencer with Mrs. Ramsey

Ready for the Season

2009-08-29T21:08:00.004-06:00

We went to R.C. Willey today to buy Sarah a mattress. We had no idea until we got there that they were having a Pre-Season BSU party. They had games for the kids to play (which they all won and got candy) and they got to have their picture taken in BSU style. We entered EVERY drawing possible to win tickets to a BSU game. I think they all look SO cute and ready to cheer on BSU!!!

Anyone else ready for Fall?

While We Were Away Our Dad Did Play

2009-08-25T08:30:00.006-06:00

And, what did our dad do while we were in Oregon?

He made new curtains for our dining room. The pictures are a bit bad, but wanted to give you an idea of what it looked like. It makes this room so much cozier!

He also painted the bonus room making it really feel like the boys room. He even moved Benj's bed in so ALL the boys are in one room.

Spencer's side of the room.

Andrew's side of the room.

If you'd like to come over and see them in person, you are invited over....just give me a little warning!!

Spencer's 5th Birthday

2009-08-25T08:07:00.005-06:00

We celebrated Spencer's birthday in Oregon. He opened presents in the morning, we went to see G-Force, ate pizza and had cake and ice cream in the evening and then went to a baseball game. Super Fun Day for the Spencer Boy!!!

Then, when we got home Spencer got to open his presents from mom and dad...

a new helmet and bike!!

Oregon Fun

2009-08-15T10:19:00.008-06:00

We went to Oregon and spent some time with Nonnie, Grandpa, Auntie Angie, Alexa and Sophie. We had SO much fun!!!!!

We went swimming.

We went to the High Desert Musuem.

We went to several baseball games. Everyone LOVED them!!!

We went to Lava Lands and drove to the top of Lava Butte.

We went on top of Pilot Butte.

We went to LOTS of different parks. They worked hard on their "fort"!

But, the highlight of the trip for me was a day trip to the beach. It felt so good to get our toes in the sand!!!

This picture was taken right before he fell in the waves.

And this was after he fell in the waves.

Can you tell it was COLD?!!

On our way home from the beach we got to stop and visit with Great-Grandma Eileen. We were SO happy to see her!!!

Thank you Nonnie and Grandpa for a wonderful time and all your generosity!!!

Swim Lessons and Super Hero

2009-07-30T09:25:00.003-06:00

We love swim lessons with Cathy Taylor!!! She is such a great teacher and we love taking lessons with other fun people!!! The kids did great and had a SUPER time!!!

Benj loves being a Super Hero! This day he was part Power Ranger, Batman and....well, I guess Goggle Guy!!

Wheels

2009-07-28T08:21:00.004-06:00

At the library in Eagle, a few Saturday's ago they had all sorts of things with wheels. We had a really fun time doing all sorts of fun activities and learning new things. The kids all got new books from the library, lots of chocolate milk, snacks, and tons of stickers and stuff!

Benj loved this scooper. He could have "drove" all day!

Benj loves to "drive"!!

The older kids loved talking to McGruff. Benj was completely scared of him.

The kids made milk carton cars and raced them.

We learned what it would be like to take a ride in an ambulance.

Andrew the Fire Fighter.

Spencer the Fire Fighter.

Sarah the Fire Fighter.

All of us with St. Al's Little Pal.

Spencer and the scooper.

Spencer and Mom finally found some shade - it was SO hot!!

Taking a drive on the first fire engine of Boise.

Ice cream bars...a great ending to our fun, hot morning!

Sanders Reunion and Rexburg Temple

2009-07-28T08:07:00.006-06:00

We drove to Ashton, ID one weekend for Nathan's Grandma's family reunion. She had two siblings there and all of the original five siblings had kids there. It was fun to get to know new family members that we'd never met and the highlight for our family was getting to stay with Uncle Bruce and Aunt Leona at their lodge. The Lodge is SO nice and our kids had SO much fun that they were worn out by late afternoon! We got to go to church in Ashton and on our way home we stopped at the Rexburg temple so our kids could touch yet another temple. The temple is gorgeous and it was fun to show our kids where we had both lived and gone to school.

4th of July

2009-07-16T23:06:00.004-06:00

We drove to my parents for the weekend of the Fourth. We watched the Pet Parade, ate lots of yummy food and the cousins played and played and played. We got them all matching tyed dyed shirts from the Saturday's market downtown. Aren't they cute?!! We do have a funny story about our kids having glow sticks and snappers as their only fireworks...but, three of my parent's neighbors put on THE BEST FIREWORKS SHOW EVER so, I guess it was okay that we didn't anything else.

PS: We sure missed Eliza!!!!! Maybe next year?!

Sarah's Birthday

2009-07-16T21:06:00.003-06:00

Sarah turned 9 on July1st. She has had her eye on a cruiser bike and decided that if she earned part of the money and put all of her birthday money towards it then she would have enough to get it for her birthday. She also got a basket for her bike from Andrew, a helmet from mom and dad, movies from Spencer and shoes from Benjamin.
We went to the Ball's King Tut movie theater to watch one of her new movies, ate pizza and birthday cake. It was a good birthday!

A Day at Roaring Springs

2009-07-16T20:59:00.004-06:00

We spent 8 fun filled hours at Roaring Springs. We didn't take many pictures as we were having too much fun and forgot to. Dad, Sarah and Andrew were very brave and tried most of the scary rides. Andrew and Dad even did the Avalanche. Everyone loved the lazy river and the wave pool. So, so much fun was had!!!!

Colorado

2009-07-16T19:39:00.012-06:00

We had such an amazing trip to Colorado!! We loved all the fun things we did and loved being with our family!

Playing and eating at the park.

The grownups had a fun evening dining out at The Fort. We ate buffalo, quail, salmon and the most delicious desserts. It was a very memorable evening!!

We got to ride a train to the top of Pike's Peak. The elevation at the top is 14,110 ft. It was an amazing view!!!!

We spent a day at a Renaissance Fair in Larksburg, CO and we will all say that it was the highlight of our trip!!

Spencer loved all the fairies.

We watched two jousting competitions.

This was a fun ride that the kids went on. All of the rides were "man powered".

We all played many of the fun games...Jacob's ladder, throwing tomatos at a man and archery. We did several others and just forgot to take pictures.

Those who wanted...rode an elephant.

Sarah learning how to do crystal sticks.

We saw many interesting things. We really LOVED this fair and would do again if we ever get the chance again!!

On another day, the kids got to go horse back riding.

Our bishop has challenged our kids to touch a temple this year. Our hotel was close to the Denver temple, so on the way out of town we stopped and touched the temple.
Thanks mom and dad for such a wonderful vacation!!! We loved it all!!
The only bummer part of the trip was our cousins and aunt from Virginia weren't able to come due to airplane connection complications.

On Our Way

2009-07-16T18:29:00.003-06:00

On our way to Colorado, we stopped in Salt Lake to visit Temple Square. We had never been there with our kids and I'm so glad we saw some of the sights. We looked around in two of the visitor centers and had a tour of the Conference Center. We were super lucky to have Jayna, Ryan and Eliza drive up and meet us! We even had dinner and treats together after the tours.

Getting the Garden Going

2009-07-07T21:23:00.002-06:00

Just a "before" picture of our garden for the year. It's always so fun to see how much it grows. (Especially the weeds right now!)

Super Stars

2009-07-07T20:03:00.008-06:00

**WARNING: This blog contains bragging...and lots of it.**

Sarah had a great ending of her 3rd grade year! She was chosen AGAIN to be Citizen of the Week and she also received the President's Award for Educational Achievement because she did so well on her ISAT's. Not only is she super smart, but she loved taking tennis lessons! We are VERY proud of Sarah!

Andrew had a great 1st grade year! He did great on his report card and was the TOP walker/runner of his class for the school's Walking Club. He got to spend a whole school day at the YMCA swimming, rock climbling and having fun with other friends from his school. (I tried to get pictures from the PE teacher...still waiting.) He also had a great season in soccer...scoring at least one goal in every game. Way to go, Andrew!

Andrew with his class city, "Broadieville".

Spencer graduated from Preschool!!!! He had a great year with Miss Becky and did a super job on his part for the end of the year program! YEAH for Spencer!

Benjamin just keeps getting cuter and funnier!!

Nutty about Aunt Nip & Great Grandma

2009-05-25T22:23:00.004-06:00

On Sunday, we drove to Wendell and went to church with Great Grandma Smith and Aunt Nip. It was so fun to spend the day together. We ate dinner, played a game, looked at the garden, climbed trees and learned how to crack walnuts. We LOVE our Great Grandma Smith and Aunt Nip! Thanks for a super fun day!!!

1st Swim of the Season

2009-05-18T20:28:00.003-06:00

The pool opened last Friday...it was 96ish degrees today...of course we had to have our first swim of the season...Yahoo!!!

Catching Up

2009-05-18T20:01:00.007-06:00

Doing a little catching up on our Four Cute Kids....

Several weekends ago, Andrew wanted to camp outside SO badly. It was still cold enough that Nathan decided to set up our six man tent in the bonus room. It took up the entire room, but Andrew got his wish to "Camp Out"!

Spencer went on a fun field trip with his preschool to a farm. It was so fun to see so many baby animals! We had a great time!

Sarah and Andrew finished another season of Speed Stacking. They'd be happy to show anyone their great skills!!!

Cute kids with the Bronco. (Benj was terrified of him.)

Benj got a hold of the camera at one of Andrew's soccer games...love it!!!

For FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE

2009-04-21T22:04:00.000-06:00

Today, as we were deliciously enjoying our Ben & Jerry's ice cream cones, Andrew reminded us all that we had gotten the cones for FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE. (If you've seen Bedtime Stories, he said it just like Skeeter.) It made us all laugh and enjoy them even more!!! We LOVED that Ben & Jerry's had FREEEEEEEEEEEEE ice cream cones today and we only had to stand in line for 30 minutes to get them.

Standing in line. All the interesting people kept us entertained. Can you tell it was hot? When we got back in the car our thermostat said 90 degrees.

YUM!!! YUM!!!

The Good Life

2009-04-21T21:41:00.005-06:00

Last weekend was an example of our good life! Andrew had his first soccer game of the season and made the first goal of the game! He made several other goals and his whole team did great!
Then, we went to see the new Hannah Montana movie. Everyone LOVED it!
Next, Nathan went to Stake meetings while I got everyone fed and bathed for Sarah's piano recital. (Nathan met us there.) Sarah did a wonderful job on both piano pieces. She had them memorized and didn't make one mistake. I am always amazed with her confidence.
Then, we hurried home with a babysitter and off to the adult session of stake conference. Sunday was a great broadcast from Salt Lake and LOTS of time with our dad. What more could we ask for in a weekend...seeing our cute kids excel and hearing inspiring words from our leaders. The Good Life.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T20:00:00.012-06:00

We had an action packed Friday night and Saturday, full of fun activities! Then, on Sunday we were able to focus on the true meaning of Easter. We hope you all had a wonderful Easter!!

Cute kids and Dad dying Easter eggs.

The First Easter Hunt of the day. (At our house.)

The Second Easter Hunt of the day. (At the Ball's) Nathan was the only one with a camera and the older kids were hunting on the other side of the 30 acres.

The Third Easter Hunt of the day. (Our neighborhood hunt.)

Sarah doing the "Egg Toss". She and her friend, Shantel took second place!!

On Sunday, we went to church dressed in our new Easter clothes and had a nice Easter dinner with Nathan's parents.

Spring Break - Washington

2009-04-08T15:51:00.008-06:00

Our Dad met us in Bend for the weekend and drove us to Washington on Sunday. We LOVE staying at Glenwood (one of our Dad's properties) as it's just like staying at a nice hotel. We got to swim, watch Disney Channel and Mom didn't have to cook one meal!!!!!! Some of the highlights of Vancouver were....

Spending the day at the Portland Zoo with my college roommate, Danelle and her boys, Thomas and Henry. Thanks Dana for the treat to feed the birds!

Visiting my friend, Cindy Dunn in The Dalles. Her granddaughters were visiting from Seattle so we all went to a super fun park to play. It was also fun to see her business that she has in her home. Check out her beautiful cards and towels at French Notes.

Hiking and seeing Multnomah Falls.

Spending the day at the coast in Seaside, OR. We had lunch at Mo's and built a small sand castle.

We met a family, The Shirley's from Vancouver, who made the BIG AMAZING sand castle. We ended up watching Sat. afternoon conference at their home and then they drove us around looking at houses in their area. We feel SO blessed to have met such a generous and fun family!

Total amount of miles driven on our Spring Break trip: 2200 miles
Total amount of money spent: haven't added it up yet
Total amount of time spent together as a family: PRICELESS!!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who made our Spring Break one of the BEST ones yet!!

Spring Break - Oregon

2009-04-08T15:41:00.004-06:00

On Tuesday, we drove to Bend. It was nice to have cousins, grandparents and an aunt to share the long ride with! Mostly we just played with cousins during our week in Bend, but we did have several fun outings. We went to the movie Monsters vs. Alien, Powell's Sweet Shop and we went to the High Deseret Museum.

(Note to self: take more pictures when we go to Bend next time!)

Spring Break - Utah

2009-04-06T21:59:00.009-06:00

Spring Break 2009 for the Smith family began in Utah. We drove to Ogden on Friday and stayed with my brother Jon and his family. On Saturday, we played at the Treehouse Museum and had so much fun!

Then we met the WHOLE family (Nonnie, Grandpa, Angie, Alexa, Sophie, Jayna, Ryan and Eliza) at a park in Orem.

We all stayed at a hotel and swam in the pool (sorry no pictures) and were thrilled that Krispy Kreme was right next to the hotel.

Sunday was Eliza's blessing and a yummy dinner with Ryan's family. A very CUTE family!!!

A picture of all the CUTE COUSINS!!!

Monday was visiting with Eliza (and her parents) and driving back to Boise.

We think our new cousin is PRETTY CUTE!!!!

A First

2009-03-09T14:02:00.006-06:00

Last Tuesday, we has a "First" at our house. It was the very "FIRST" time we have ever had an early release day at our school!! So, what did we do to celebrate Sarah and Andrew getting out of school early for the day? We let everyone choose something they wanted to do. Benjamin wanted to play Wii (that wasn't a surprise), Sarah wanted to read out loud from "Bedtime Stories" (we have to read it before we can see it), Andrew wanted to watch The Biggest Loser (the kids and I are totally "into" the show) and Spencer wanted to make a cake. I had seen a fun idea on one of our favorite entertaining blogs "No Fuss Fabulous" and so we tried it! What a fun "First" for us!!

Before we cooked the cake.

We all thought it looked "tie dyed" after baking it.

We thought the rainbow cake turned out super cool!!

PS. I'm SO jealous. Nathan is in Dallas for a few days this week and actually gets to meet the famous Loralee who's amazing blog is No Fuss Fabulous!!!!

SPRING

2009-03-09T13:56:00.004-06:00

Spring makes the world a happy place,
You see a smile on every face.
Flowers come out and birds arrive,
Oh, isn't it grand to be alive?
~ Anonymous

A couple of weekends ago, Nathan planted two planters with primrose by our front door. I LOVE seeing them and just know that Spring is right around the corner!!

Wahooz for Love

2009-02-24T22:10:00.004-07:00

On Valentine's day we went to Wahooz. (Formally named Boondocks.) We had SO much fun!!!!!! Our favorites were playing miniature golf and playing in the arcade.

Spencer hit it in the guys mouth so fire came out the top. It scared Spencer and traumatized Benjamin.

Miniature golf was by far my favorite. It was SO fun to watch ALL four cute kids get so into it!!

We got a lot of great stuff from all the tickets we won!

We all LOVED our experience at Wahooz!

Passions

2009-02-11T20:11:00.003-07:00

Spencer LOVES playing Little Pet Shop. He asks EVERYONE to play with him...ALL DAY LONG. When he asked me for the 10th time today if I would play with him I asked if we could together set up the houses and pets and then he could take pictures of his Little Pet Shops so I could blog about them. This way we could both fulfill our passions for the day since I LOVE to blog!!!

I think Spencer did a great job with the camera!!

Can't blame him...wanted to join him

2009-02-11T20:06:00.003-07:00

For some silly reason, I have everyone's swimming suit in a drawer in my room. I have no idea why, but Benjamin opened that drawer today, pulled out his suit and started jumping up and down, screaming and laughing. I asked if he wanted to put it on and get in the bathtub. He spent a LONG time swimming in the bathtub today...and I can't say I blame him...as I'd love to have joined him.

Act of Kindness

2009-02-11T19:57:00.003-07:00

We had about an inch of snow today. When Spencer came home from preschool (carpool) I noticed that our sidewalk and steps had been shoveled. It was very obvious because the shoveling stopped at the line of our house on BOTH sides. In one direction to my right, not one other sidewalk was shoveled and to my left only one sidewalk was shoveled in front of a house. I knew it had to be Jay. He was out later with his dogs and I asked if he had done a random act of kindness for me today. He told me it was him and that he would do it any other time it snowed. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors!!

I looked out several times today just to look at my shoveled sidewalk...it truly made my heart happy!!!!

Mii & Colors

2009-02-04T20:32:00.005-07:00

Tonight, when I was reading Benjamin the book, The M&M's Counting Book he started pointing out the orange M&M and then pointing to himself. He got really excited and kept pointing to the orange M&M and then himself. Then, I finally got it. I said, "On the Wii, your shirt is orange isn't it." "You're orange, right Benj?" He got even more excited because I understood. Then we would turn the page and he would find the orange M&M and point to it and to himself and get SUPER excited!!! I kept saying, "Orange, Benjamin, that's the color orange." I'm not sure who is more excited that Benjamin knows the color orange...me or him!!! I never thought he might learn his colors from the Wii.

Milestone

2009-02-01T21:43:00.003-07:00

So, we were feeling brave on Saturday and we decided to take our kids to a movie. I don't usually like going because I never get to sit and watch the whole movie. Someone usually has to use the bathroom (no matter how many times I've asked if they need to go before the movie starts) or Benjamin needs to be taken to the back of the theater because he just can't sit for that long. However, yesterday we went to see Bolt at the dollar theater and WE DID IT!!!!! We all sat and watched the WHOLE movie!!! I really liked the movie, but I think I liked it even more because of the milestone we passed in our family. I feel like celebrating...maybe, we'll go see another movie! Any suggestions???

Oh, What Do You Do in the Wintertime?

2009-01-28T18:42:00.006-07:00

Oh, What do you do in the Wintertime when all the world is cold and gray?

Do you play your Nintendo DS?

Or play the Wii?

Or watch lots of movies?

Is that what you do?
So, do we!!!

Okay, so that's not all we've done this past month...but, it sure seems like we've done more than we normally do. The kids have been playing school, Magic Tree House, Star Wars and house. They've also been taking LOTS of baths.

I'm not sure why, but I think it might be because we are wishing we could put on our bathing suits and go for a swim. We are all wishing for some warmer weather and bluer skies soon!!
(Benj has "boy cream" on him. The boys call shaving cream..."boy cream".)

Lovin' from the Oven

2009-01-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for Valentine ideas and when I saw this one, I just had to share the idea! I L-O-V-E love Valentine's day!! Can't wait to make these for my cute kids.

Go to this website for the recipe and instructions!

Cute New Cousin

2009-01-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

It just dawned on me that we haven't posted pictures of our NEWEST CUTEST COUSIN!!! Eliza Jane Steed was born on January 2. We have loved seeing her on webcam and can't wait to give her real loves and kisses!!!!! We think she is pretty cute!!!

Boyz 2 Men

2009-01-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house last night so Grandma could cut all the boy's hair. It seems when they get their haircut they look so much older. They certainly aren't quite men yet, but they all look grownup to me! Thank you Grandma!!! We really appreciate you!!

Today

2009-01-12T16:11:00.001-07:00

Today, I put this in our yard...

and then I put a lot of these in my body.

Do you see the correlation?

Zoo Lights

2009-01-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

The Portland Zoo has an AMAZING display of lights during the holidays. If you ever get to go...we highly recommend going!!!!! It was fun to see the animals, too!!!

I couldn't get the best pictures of the lights! It really was AWESOME!!

A baby elephant.

A polar bear who wouldn't stop dancing.

A very serious monkey.

Cute Sarah!

Cute Spencer!

Cute Andrew!

Cute Benjamin!

We rode the train to see more lights! It was SO cold but SO fun!!!

Andrew's Birthday

2009-01-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

We decided to travel to Vancouver to spend the week of New Years with Nathan. This meant that Andrew celebrated his birthday there. The highlights of his birthday were opening presents from family, going to the Zoo to see "Zoo Lights", a very special birthday celebration from our hostess in the Buffet Dining Room and watching the Disney Channel until very late!!!! Happy 7th Birthday Andrew and Happy New Year!!

A very happy Andrew with WILD hair!!!

The Zoo Lights were AWESOME!!!

Francis had served us dinner in the Buffet Dining Room for a couple of days and when she found out that it would be Andrew's birthday she told him that she would have a few surprises for him on his birthday. Andrew looked forward to dinner ALL day! When we got to the dining room she had set out birthday napkins at all of our places, had a balloon for him and brought special birthday cupcakes for the whole family! The entire dining room sang "Happy Birthday" to Andrew. Andrew LOVED all the attention and felt very celebrated!! Thank you, Francis!!!!

Christmas

2009-01-12T14:24:00.000-07:00

We had a very quiet, but wonderful Christmas!! We didn't get many pictures of Christmas so instead here is a video for your enjoyment! Merry Christmas!!!

No comments please on how lovely I look Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T22:35:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve. We had Teddi and LaRon over for dinner and we opened presents from our Smith cousins (thank you!!) and then we acted out Luke 2. (Pictures coming soon.) Next, we frosted cookies for Santa and put oats and water out for the reindeer. So very excited for Santa't arrival!!

Famous Spencer

2008-12-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

So, on Tuesday evening we decided to make a fun project that I had seen on a fun website. The website is created by Nathan's boss's daughter-in-law and I just love it. We had to make a few adjustments due to what we had on hand, but the outcome was cute and the kids had a great time making it. We took a picture and sent it to Nathan's boss and then I left a comment on the website telling her how much we enjoyed her idea. Well, now Spencer is posted on the website and we want everyone to check him out on No Fuss Fabulous!!

We LOVE Santa!

2008-12-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, we decided to go say goodbye to Santa one last time before he returned to the North Pole to prepare for his big night. As you can see...We LOVE Santa!!

(Benj has this silly smile right now. He looks like he's not happy, but he really is!)

More Sledding

2008-12-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun sledding on Monday that we decided to do it again on Tuesday. This time though we called our friends, The Ball's and asked if we could do it at their house. For the past three winters, we have gone sledding at the Ball's and know that it is SUPER fun for everyone!! Being pulled behind a golf cart around 30 acres with six inches of snow...even Benjamin LOVED it!!

The BEST Christmas Present

2008-12-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

I received the BEST Christmas present a little early...Nathan couldn't fly into PDX this morning...so, he GETS to work from home this whole week! What a wonderful present!!! A dream come true!!! We feel so blessed!! He took a little break and went sledding with us. Everyone loved it, but Benj. Oh well, maybe next year.

I didn't take one pictures of Andrew because he spent his time learning how to "snowboard". I'll have to post a video of him. He's doing really well!!

Spencer's Preschool Program

2008-12-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

Today was Spencer's Preschool Christmas Program. He sang songs, played instruments and had a speaking part. He did GREAT!!!!! I was so pleased! He also got to see Santa. It was a wonderful preschool program - we love Miss Becky!!!

Sarah's Biography

2008-12-18T22:00:00.001-07:00

Sarah presented her class biography today. The assignment was given more than a month ago. She had to chose a famous person and then read several biography books on that person. Then, she was to find important facts about that person and write the facts on index cards. She then needed to take those facts and make them sound as if she was the famous person. She was to gather props, make a poster and a costume to look like this person. She chose Laura Ingalls Wilder. She did an AMAZING job giving her presentation as she was very confident, spoke clear and looked up often from her notes. Her teacher was proud of her and I was especially proud of her!!!! Way to go, Sarah!!

THE Christmas Photo

2008-12-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is our family Christmas photo. I'm so happy that we got one picture where no one has tears in their eyes and everyone has pants on. YEAH!!! Thanks again, Dawna!!! We really appreciate you!!!

Santa and Reindeer

2008-12-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

Just posting a few pictures of the kids getting to see Santa this past weekend and a short and cold visit to see Santa's reindeer. We didn't do "THE" picture with Santa at this time because we wanted Benjamin to have time to warm up to him. When he sees a picture of Santa, Benj says, "Ho, HO, Ho". I love it!! We hope you are all having a wonderful Holiday Season!!!

(Benj is asleep in the car.)

Catching Up

2008-12-08T22:29:00.001-07:00

Wow, do I have some catching up to do. So, here it goes.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week. I loved having my family here and the cousins couldn't get enough of playing together. I took NO pictures during our fun filled week and I thought my sister, Jayna did a great job describing our Thanksgiving, so if you want to read about it, please click here.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we got together with Nathan's family to have an Indian dinner and to watch the videos they took while Nathan and his Dad were in India. Nathan's dad got all the grandkids turbans and saris, so the cousins had fun dressing up in them. They had some very interesting experiences and I will try to post some pictures soon of Nathan's trip. (Here is just one of him at the Taj Mahal.)

I LOVE December for so many reasons. I especially love what we do with our advent calendar.

Every day, up until December 25 we do something together as a family. Some of the fun activities we have done so far are...opening a new ornament to put on our Christmas tree,

going to Sarah's piano recital,

(I didn't get Sarah introducing herself and saying that she would be playing, Grumpy Old Troll and Classic Dance.), listening to a storyteller tell the story of "How the Grinch stole Christmas", making reindeer candy canes, picking out a live Christmas tree, going to Powell's Sweet Shop

and decorating a gingerbread house.

Stay tuned for more fun times with our four cute kids!!

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-08T21:26:00.001-07:00

My very good friend, Dawna took pictures of our family for our Christmas card. We had some very sad boys that didn't want to have pants on for pictures and who wouldn't be without their blankie. Dispite so much sadness, Dawna was able to get a picture of our family that I am happy to put on our Christmas card. Thank you so much, Dawna!!! (I'm not showing "the one" yet - just the sad ones and maybe a few happy ones.)

Turkey Trot

2008-11-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, our neighborhood school had a Turkey Trot. Sarah and Andrew ran the mile with their dad and friends. I was so proud of them for running/jogging/walking it!!! Afterwards we had a yummy pancake breakfast.

Spencer and Benjamin cheered from the very COLD sidelines!!

Look Mom, No Cavities

2008-11-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

The three oldest of our cute kids went to the dentist this past week and all of them can say, "Look Mom, No cavities!!" YEAH!!!!! Way to go, cute kids!!! Mom couldn't be happier!!!

We are Thankful

2008-11-16T18:30:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we had a Family Home Evening on being Thankful. We made a poster and all wrote down a few things we were thankful for. I told my cute kids that they could add on to the list whenever they thought of something they were thankful for. Here is our list.

We are thankful for...

family home evening
Dad
my teacher and school
my home
church
piano teacher
webkinz
blue blankie
Heavenly Father
mom and dad (Spencer has learned how to write mom and dad so we are meantioned MANY times :)
Jesus
Bishop
sheepy
my food
cousins
praying
books
my family
Nonnie & Grandpa
Grandma & Grandpa
snuggle bunny
friends
neighbors
India

Disney On Ice

2008-11-08T21:08:00.001-07:00

We had a FABULOUS time at Disney on Ice. We LOVED every minute of it. I wish I could have videoed Benjamin. He stood most of the show and jumped up and down, yelled, clapped his hands and oohed and ahhed. He was almost as fun to watch as the actual performance. Of course, all our cute kids thought it was the BEST, but it was especially fun to Benjamin see Mickey Mouse (and all his friends) for the first time. I can't wait to go to Disneyland again!!!

The pictures didn't turn out that great so here is one of us!!

(They all wanted to wear their matching Mickey shirts - aren't they cute!!)

Birthday Boy Benjamin II

2008-11-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures to show you what he did on his birthday.
Before we could even sing to him...he had sampled his cake...can you see where?

And then he blew...

and blew...

and blew...

and blew. He wasn't really interested in the cake as soon as the candles were lit. All he wanted to do was blow them out again and again and again and again.

Spencer and Flour

2008-11-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

So, Spencer has this thing about flour. He LOVES it!! One time while I was baking, I spilled a bunch on the floor. He came running in the kitchen and said, "Sank you, mommy." Then he started licking it off the floor. (Not for long, though.) Today, I was putting 25 pounds of flour in another container and as soon as he saw it, he said, "Oh Mommy, can I have some?" I think flour by itself is SO disgusting, but not Spencer. He LOVES it!!

Birthday Boy Benjamin

2008-11-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Today is Benjamin's 2nd Birthday. His siblings helped him open presents early this morning. He got a Mickey Mouse ball, bat and mit, a Nick Jr. movie and Buzz Lightyear Color Wonder coloring book. He also got tickets to see Disney On Ice for the whole family. We will go see it tomorrow (we got tickets for tonight, but the ice wasn't ready and so they rescheduled us for Sunday, but I was able to exchange for Friday night) and will eat cake and ice cream tonight. I wanted to post this so hopefully Nathan can see it as he is on a trip in India. I'll post the cake pictures later.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENJ!!!!!
We love you!!!!

"The Best Night of my Life"

2008-11-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

All night long, on Halloween, Andrew would say, "This is the Best Night of my Life"!!! If I think about it from his point of view, going to homes of people we don't know, ringing their doorbell and saying three words (Trick or Treat) and then they give you candy. Why wouldn't you think that was the BEST!!!!!

Our kids had a GREAT time Trick or Treating.

Sarah sorting all her candy. I remember doing the same thing with my candy.

Andrew trying to hug his candy because he LOVES it so much!!

Spencer is thrilled that he got TWO candy lipglosses.

Benjamin RAN from house to house - he rarely wanted to ride in the wagon. He would either admire or be scared of the decorations at each house. Maybe he will take after Nathan???

Can you tell which candy is Benjamin's favorite?

Carv'in Pumpkins

2008-10-27T17:10:00.000-06:00

Since our Saturday was so jam packed we decided to carve our pumpkins for our Family Home Evening activity on Sunday evening. We had a fun time and it was the first time Sarah had carved her very own pumpkin all by herself.

Going Private

2008-10-27T16:26:00.000-06:00

Just letting you know that soon our blog will be going private (and I'll tell you all why after I do). So, if you want to keep reading about our four cute kids...just email me or leave me a comment and I'll include you in our going private adventure!!! Thanks for reading!!

Jam Packed

2008-10-27T15:43:00.000-06:00

We had a jam packed weekend. Nathan got home Friday evening and we spent the evening catching up on all the happenings of the week. Saturday morning we got dressed up to go to Boo at the Zoo which was fun, but SO very crowded. We got to see the new giraffes and lions - very cool!! Just in case you're wondering...Sarah is a vet, Andrew is Indiana Jones, Spencer is Luke Skywalker, and Jamin is Thomas (because that's all he would put on.).

Then we hurried home to be ready for our next adventure. With the help of some friends, we put on the Hidden Springs Halloween party. It was tons of fun with lots of games, crafts, cake walk and parade. I didn't get any photos, but here is one of Jamin with fangs that someone won at the party.

Then, to finish off a very busy day.....we all went to see....HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3!!!!!!!

We all LOVED it!!!!!! Yes, even all the BOYS in the family loved it!!!

Yummy Ideas

2008-10-17T13:46:00.000-06:00

“To nurture and feed your family physically is as much an honor as to nurture and feed them spiritually. A young mother will build faith and character in the next generation one family prayer at a time, one scripture study session, one book read aloud, one song, one family meal after another. She is involved in a great work.”

Julie B. Beck.

Check out this fun website with fun and yummy ideas for this month.

www.whatscookintew.blogspot.com

I hope to try the pumpkin pie squares and I love the witch's brooms!!! Enjoy!

'Cause We're the Best of Friends

2008-10-16T13:38:00.000-06:00

Last night after putting all the kids to bed, I went in to rock Benj to sleep. While I was in his room, I could hear Andrew looking all over the house for me, but not wanting to wake Benj, I waited a few minutes. When I went looking for Andrew I found him in Sarah's room crying because he was scared. Sarah was hugging him and asking him questions about why he was scared. I loved that when he couldn't find me, he went right to Sarah for comfort. I loved that Sarah would be so kind and loving to him when he truly needed it.

This morning I was upstairs getting ready for the day, when I came downstairs I found Benj eating breakfast. I asked if he was eating Spencer's breakfast and Spencer told me that he had gotten Benj a plate, put a waffle on it and gave him syrup. I was so impressed that Spencer had made breakfast for Benj without being asked.

It is my hope that our kids will always feel that their siblings are their Best Friends!!

So Sweet

2008-10-14T11:57:00.000-06:00

I just started taking care of a little one on Tues. and Wed. She needs it to be quiet and to be rocked to go to sleep which is a bit tricky with Benjamin. So, today I put him up to the counter with his lunch before taking her upstairs to put her to sleep. I heard him holler several times, but waited a bit longer because I wanted to make sure she was asleep before putting her down. Then, when I came downstairs.....this is what I found. Bless his heart. He must get this from his dad who can sleep anywhere at anytime! (I promise that from the time he "hollered" downstairs until I found him was no longer than 3 or 4 minutes. I looked at my watch because I felt so bad for leaving him. Please don't turn me in to H and W!)

Harvest Fun

2008-10-14T11:51:00.000-06:00

We went to Farwest Nursery on Satuday to their Harvest Festival. We went last year and knew we would have a fun time. They let you color pumpkins (and take them home), have super fun games for the kids to play, face painting, a scavenger hunt, a hay ride, a bouncy house and then they send you home with lots of fun treats!! We loved it despite the very cold weather!! Happy Fall!!!

Sarah is a Star!!

2008-10-13T11:38:00.001-06:00

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Breakin

2008-10-10T17:36:00.001-06:00

The boys have been busy working on something new. Let us know what you think.

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Pick'in Pumpkins

2008-10-06T09:16:00.000-06:00

We have loved having a garden this summer. When we planted the garden, we knew we wanted to have LOTS of pumpkins so we planted 8 pumpkin plants. Since Nonnie and Grandpa were in town, we went on Friday evening to harvest our pumpkins. We were THRILLED to harvest 54 pumpkins. Thank goodness we had the Whitings "Gator" to transport all of our pumpkins. What will we do with 54 pumpkins (actually, there are at least 10-15 more green pumpkins in the garden)?? We put them all around the front of our house and we think it looks absolutely festive!

Weekend in Ogden

2008-10-06T08:32:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, we drove to Ogden for my nephew's baptism. We had such a fun weekend!!! We played with cousins, ate, went to Palmer's baptism, ate, went to the Treehouse Children's Museum, swam at the hotel, played with cousins and ate some more!! We loved being with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins!!! Thanks Jon and Heidi for being great hostesses!

Highlights of the museum were: Sarah being a princess in a play, Andrew playing chess with Uncle Ryan, Spencer driving a fire truck and getting lost only twice and Benjamin loving every minute. Hopefully we'll get more pictures from Grandpa Bruce.

This was a photo taken on our way home...it shows you just how much fun we had!!!

Apple Picking

2008-09-24T12:19:00.000-06:00

I was out for a whole week with a kidney infection...but, now I'm back!! Then our camera wasn't cooperative the next week.

We went apple and pear picking last Sunday afternoon. We have our own apple trees in the orchard right outside our neighborhood, but we were able to pick apples and pears from other trees as well. The kids LOVED it and kept eating as many apples as they could. We are planning on making apple crisp and will definitely have to eat some with caramel. Yum, Yum!!

Just can't eat enough of those apples!

Nathan stayed home with sleeping Jamin.

Remembering 9/11 and a Day Off for Dad

2008-09-11T20:38:00.000-06:00

Nathan has accrued so much vacation time that if he doesn't start taking time off he will lose it. He went to school with the kids this morning to volunteer and this is a little of his day with them. This is his account of the day.
"The principal at our kids' school started the day talking about why we as Americans should take time to remember important dates in our nation's history. Many of the students were not even born on 9/11/01, so he briefly reviewed why today is so significant. Later that morning, all three first grade classes walked to our neighborhood fire station with flags they had colored in class. The flags were mounted on wood stakes so they stuck them in the grass around the flag pole. They also made a thank you note for all the fire fighters who selflessly serve our community."
As a family we went to the fire station after school to take a few pictures of Andrew and some of his first grade friends.

He also had lunch with Andrew and helped in Sarah's classroom. Then he spent the afternoon with Spencer. We LOVED having "time off" with our dad!!!

It's the Little Things

2008-09-10T20:54:00.000-06:00

Tonight when it was time to get Spencer out of the bathtub, he said, "Mom, want to hear me talk Spanish under the water?" Sure enough, in between the bubbles I could hear, "uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco." It was THE cutest thing and I had him "perform" it for Nathan and then for Sarah and Andrew. We all laughed and clapped our hands for him!!! After two sessions of swim lessons this summer and four days in preschool it seems we have an underwater bilinquist. Some days, it's the little things that make my day!

What do you do with all your zucchini???

2008-09-07T21:26:00.000-06:00

I heard about a great recipe today and had to try it. It was "delish" and so I will share it...just in case you are wondering what you are going to do with all your zucchini!!!

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. sugar (that's one and one half cup of sugar - i can't make it look right)
2 t. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 c. shredded zucchini

Mix the first three ingredients. Mix the next four ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture. Fold in the zucchini. It will seem a little dry but just keep folding. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes in a greased 9 X 13 pan. Top with chocolate icing after cooling.

Chocolate Icing

6 T. cocoa
1/4 c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
enough milk for the consistency you like

Mix together.

We really liked this recipe and will definitely make it again. We used a different icing so I'm not sure about this one, but included it anyway. I'd have included a picture of the brownies but we ate it before I thought about it - oh well. Enjoy!!!

I'd LOVE for anyone to share any other wonderful zucchini recipes - Please!!!

Lunch with the Seniors

2008-09-06T13:36:00.000-06:00

We were privileged to have Nathan's Seniors come for lunch today. They got here around 11ish and left around 1:30. Our cute kids made their salads and Nathan made yummy soup to eat from a bread bowl. Then we had fresh fruit and gingerbread for dessert. The kids showed off their skills at cup stacking and Wii and Sarah played several songs on the piano. All of the Seniors told us that they had a wonderful time and that the food was delicious. We all hope to do it again soon!!

Delicious

2008-09-04T12:58:00.000-06:00

I often refer to my cute kids as being "delicious", because they are SO good I could just eat them. Today as I was making my favorite healthy cookies from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook and Benjamin was enjoying his chocolate pudding, I couldn't help but think that he looked exceptionally "delicious"!!!! I think he is just so cute even if he is a little messy!!!!

I love this last picture - he loves to look at the pictures after they have been taken and he's trying to "say", let me see now how cute I am!!!

Happy day for Spencer

2008-09-03T12:14:00.000-06:00

Spencer is thrilled to be the third cute Smith kid to attend Miss Becky's preschool. Today was his first day and he was SO excited to go! Our whole family LOVES Miss Becky and we couldn't be happier for Spencer to get to spend the year with her. Doesn't he look so grownup!

Our Favorites Weekend

2008-09-01T19:57:00.000-06:00

Earlier in the week, I had several friends ask what we were doing for the long weekend. I was feeling a little sorry for myself because other than going to Twin Falls for the day, we hadn't been on ANY trips all summer. So, I decided that we would have a "Favorites Weekend" and do all of our favorite things. We started the "favorites weekend" right after school with making snow cones and then going to the pool. I also thought this might be our hottest day of the weekend and I was right. Dad met us at home with pizza and TWO Friday Night Movies. We watched Hannah Montana's Concert and the new Ariel movie. We love Friday night movies!! Benjamin LOVED the concert as much as Sarah and stood in front of the TV most of the show with his microphone singing with Hannah. Maybe his nickname "Jamin" will payoff someday.

Saturday morning we played prize Disney Bingo and got some really fun prizes. (We learned how to play prize bingo at Nathan's work. Every time you get a Bingo you get to pick a wrapped gift and open it in front of everyone - all the old people ohh and ahh so our kids do that as well.) Then we got ready to go to the movies. We all drove to the Dollar Theater on the other side of town and Sarah and Mom went and saw Kit Kittredge. Sarah and Mom LOVED the movie!!!! Then it was Dad, Andrew and Spencer's turn to see a movie and they saw Kung Fu Panda. They also LOVED the movie and came home to show us their karate moves that they learned. (Poor Benj, got to do errands and take a nap in the car.)
On Sunday, we went to church and then had a little quiet time. We love having friends over for a meal on Sunday, but before we could invite someone over, we were invited over to some friends house for dinner and to celebrate their youngest's first birthday. Fun, Fun!!! My friend, Kaye made THE BEST deep dish pizza I've ever had and she so sweetly game me the recipe....so, if anyone is interested...maybe I'll post it...wait...I'll ask Kaye first if it's okay. She also let our kids have 3 cupcakes each...yes, she is a favorite for them and me since she shared her recipe.
Monday consisted of several favorites for everyone. Nathan loves to work in our garden and our yard, so he did a little work in both. I love to bake so I made whole wheat bread and chicken noodle soup (it was a total soup day as it was cool and breezy - perfect September weather). The kids played with each other, went on a hike with Nathan and then we all went to the zoo.

It was a very busy weekend full of our very favorite things, but our very favorite part was being together!!!!