The Official Name of Smith Baby #6

Today a great friend dropped off this basinet for me to use for the first few months after Norman Harold Thomas Smith III is born.  He actually isn't really the III, but I like how it looks when I write it and how it sounds when I read it. Norman is my paternal grandmother's maiden name.  Harold is my Opa's name, and the name of Ryan's much loved uncle, and Thomas is the name of Ryan's late, yet great Grandfather. I simply love this name, and am 99% positive that it will stick.  Back to my story. So a pal dropped this off at my home tonight. I thanked her for her thoughtfulness, and she went on to tell me that many neighbors have used this bassinet, have shared maternity clothes, baby toys, etc.  What a great neighborhood! (and yes, there a few homes for sale right here!) Her kindness did not surprise me, but has made me think about our Savior. He freely gave what He had, He helped those around Him, He observed and served. My friend reminds me of Him, as do many other pals in this area.  I can already picture Norman Harold Thomas Smith III resting peacefully in his new bed... and then his sister pulling him out of it to cuddle him.

All of the kids are really excited for this little man cub to leave my belly and enter the real world.

Tinsel Pig

Today was so insanely productive, it could only be called a legit Saturday.  I was able to help out at a funeral for a wonderful man in our ward/ congregation. While I was there, my husband and children, and our amazing home teacher and his family cleaned up our yard. I mean, they really took care of business.  We live on 1/3 acre, and have several huge, leaf dropping trees.  All of our leaves were bagged, all of the random rubbish and old, useless wood was hauled away, and one of our trees (a tree that has driven me nuts ever since we moved in) got a hair cut today.  Apparently, Ryan was too busy working to take some pics of the adventure, but the before and after, as seen by me in person, is remarkable.  Thanks so much.  I 'm excited to see where the Smith clan can do a good turn...

Of all the random, unnecessary holiday decorations that one could possess, this Tinsel Pig from Target is probably at the top of my list. It's big, like 18" tall.  I love pigs, and scarves and Christmas. It tastefully combines those three loves into one heck of a decoration.

Preston and Annie helped me put up our Christmas lights.

This is a pic of us right after we hung it all up.  No injuries to report (aka falling off the roof) thank Heaven.

Preston is double checking the lights to make sure they are connected.

Well done us! As you can see, it was even warm enough for a tank top (at least Preston thinks it still is.)

White Christmas

As an absolute Black Friday miracle, the high for today in Bountiful was around 66 degrees F, which means that today we tied the high of all time Utah for November 28.  The last time it hit this glorious temperature was in 1932. If this is a result of global warming, then just for today, I'm a fan of the unnatural chemicals that have made their way into the air.  It was lovely.  I am not dreaming of a white Christmas, and I don't want to Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow.

Our one gong black Friday purchase was this white Christmas tree. It is so fantastic all on it's own, I almost don't want to put any ornaments on it. I wonder if I can convince Ryan to keep it up all year...

Calvin helping his little brother climb the rock wall at our Rec Center.  What a great brother.

Tonight we gave Apollo Burger a shot, because I declared that if I didn't get french fries in my belly, I would not be able to survive the night.  The fries were fantastic, and I'm still here to post about it.

Calvin has a fascination with all things superhero.

He made this glove while we watched Harry Potter #2.

This is the other side of the glove.  Over his right side you can see Hermione's head.

Thanks to Give!

Today the Smith family dined with the Hunter clan in Orem, Utah. In exchange for 8 dozen rolls and some honey butter, we were able to eat at a truly wonderful feast with some amazing people.  Tonight, during our family prayer wrap up for the night, I asked each of my loved ones to share 1 thing they are truly grateful for.

Here is the list:

Cricket- our lovely dog
Our brains- "because they are amazing things that we need"
That Ryan Edward Smith is done with chemo/ radiation
Athena- Our Greek box turtle
Time- every second is a gift
Family- so many lovely relatives, too many miles in-between all of us
Our fish- Elvis and Angel, I'm so glad I'm not a fish.

My favorite is that all of the above mentioned are things that won't be on sale tomorrow for Black Friday. Especially not our brains. Not listed, but infinitely important is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that He lives, that we can return to our Heavenly parents.

The table was massive and filled with totally delicious food.  

Thanksgiving was delightful and in keeping with the holiday tradition...

I over-ate and enjoyed every bite of it!

The pies were fabulous! I wasn't sure which one to try, so I sampled each one. Not pictured was the coconut cream pie, which was also mighty tasty.

This was what remained of the rolls, my contribution.  As far as Thanksgiving goodies go, it is way better to have leftovers, than to have rightunders.

One of my friend's sisters even planned a service project for the day.

Its a ring that has different shapes and colors, all designed to be used as a teaching tool for refugees entering Utah, that don't speak any English.  It covers the basics of color and shape. It was an impressive lesson of the reality that there are countless ways to help others. All it takes is a little creativity, and inspiration. "First observe, then serve." Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Thanksgiving Eve

This morning my daughter was getting dressed in my room with me. While she snagged my makeup and put some on (she applied it with more skill than I ever can... and she's 9), she commented on how great it would be if we had matching outfits; how much fun it would be to wear identical clothes.  What was so wonderful about this simple and sweet experience is the knowledge that in a few years, there is no way that she will want to be my twinner.  I need to find something matching soon before the window closes!

Best sight ever. Pens and pencils, readily available and easy to locate is almost priceless!

Preston and I are painting Annie's room.

Please, no comments about the pregnant woman painting.

The window was open... and I am invincible. 

Ryan got us tickets to the Utah game.  We killed the other team.

This illustrates what Simon does at a basketball game. 

My one and only assignment for Thanksgiving is the rolls (about 100, which is fine.) But at about 9:30pm, I went to put something away in my pantry and remembered that I have almost no flour in the house.  Its one thing to take care of the epic meal of Thanksgiving and to have a few things fail, but when you only have one assignment, it should be executed with perfection. So glad the grocery store was open. Crisis averted! Of course, Annie helped with the rolls. I'm thankful for her helping hands.

Workers Comp.

Today was  the special fifth grade field trip, known as the Junior Achievement  Business City.  The kids basically get the chance to work like adults for the day. They have jobs, receive paychecks, get to shop using checkbooks, cash and a debit card, they were also to keep track of time, make sales, do presentations, and all in about a 5 hour experience.  For a group of about 100 kids, 30 parent volunteers were needed, but I'm so glad I got to be one of them. I was assigned to help with a the store Smith's Marketplace. My Simon was assigned to the Worker Compensation, where he went to businesses and did a presentation on proper stretching. It was a totally random assignment, and Simon was great at it! I"m super glad that he got to participate, What a guy!

All of the items that the kids purchased had been donated by local businesses. Simon purchased this nerd basketball hoop. Pretty cool.

Workers' Comp doing a presentation.

Simon explaining the proper way to sit.

A little view of the area.

Oddly enough, Ms. Utah was there to congratulate and hand out some random awards. Weird, but the crown was cool.

I broke down and went to the rec center to exercise.  

This is my "I don't want to exercise, and am massively out of shape, but somethings' gotta give and since I'm eating for two... maybe I should give working out a shot" face.  Look how happy I am.

Monday Gone Thursday

One of the things that I love most about the area that we live in, bountiful Utah, is that Thanksgiving break actually starts on Tuesday afternoon, giving us a 5day weekend.  That means that today,though technically was a manic Monday, actually felt like a Thursday. I am super excited about this week.  I have great hopes that our time will be well spent pigging out, painting Annie's bedroom (all of her stuff is in my bedroom with the hopes that I will be motivated to get her room painted sooner than later; I think her plan will work.) We will get our yard ready for winter (thanks to some kind friends who have volunteered to join in the clean up fun) and hopefully we will count our blessings.  I love Monday Thursday!

Rran made spiderman pancakes for breakfast today.

It was an epic hit, and I doubt that I will ever bother to make pancakes ever again.

I had lunch today with him at a greek restaurant. It was fabulous. I love hummus!

Annie did our family night lesson on helping others.  

She was filling in the answers for hangman: Helping Others, It was a lovely reminder of the reason for the season. 

For the Beauty

When on my girls trip, I was lucky enough to find a never been used before hot wax melting kit thing, used as a manicure pamper tool. In prep for a family reunion last year, I borrowed one from a dear friend, and the whole family (sons and my daughter) got in on the wax hands action. I knew they would all love it, and paying only 20% of the normal price is something that I love!  SO, what's the deal with wax hands? you might ask. Basically, its just fun. The wax is warm, it dries on your hands, and then you can peel it off a few minutes later, just like I did back in kindergarten when I would rub elmers glue on my hands, wait for it to dry, then peel it off. I don't remember why I did it, or what I ddi with that dried sheet of glue afterwards, but I remember it being pretty fun.  All in all, it was so wonderful to spend time today with my littles; cooking, reading, laughing, eating, church-going, praying, and wax hands-ing.

Owen is warming his hands in the wax, Annie has the wax hands, covered in baggies, warming in mittens. 

Annie wanted the full spa treatment, so I did nail painting after ward. Red on the feet with gold glitter. Pink glitter on her hands. Love it. Love her.

One Day More

The last day of our women's trip was spent in relaxation and hanging out: leisurely breakfast at the hotel, catching a chick flick in our room (of course we called to extend our checkout time to finish the show) window shopping at a posh, fabulous Christmas Boutique, lunner (lunch and dinner in the late afternoon) more Goodwill shopping (can't get enough of that place, plus, we just kept running into it) and lastly dinner at ColdStone Creamery. It was such a wonderful weekend. I wish that I lived so much closer to these wonderful women, but then I have to remind myself that this trip was not a sampling of what every weekend would be like, rather it was a delightful weekend, that certainly needs to be an annual tradition.

Our hotel room had a beautiful view of the desert and a golf course. It was too bright to take a great pic.

Robin and Hillary in the Christmas shop.

Lesely pretending to eat a giant carrot ornament. Who doesn't have one of those? They're all the rage this year.

Mom in the gingerbread tree area.

Goodwill meets the Love Boat.  There are even sequence on the padded shoulders of this dress.

Last bite out for ice-cream.  Three of the four of us ordered chocolate peanut butter ice-cream.  And it was worth every calorie.  The trip was amazing but I am glad to be home safe and sound. 

MockingJay - The Capitol

The theme for our girls trip today was "The Capitol." I know that in the movies, the life of those in the Capitol is frowned upon, but we sure thought it was loads of fun getting manicures and pedicures, going to a chocolate factory, shopping (at Goodwill, trying to find some random, frivolous "Capitol Costumes") catching MockingJay, and then some Italian Dinner.  What a fabulous day.  I miss Bountiful, but am certainly enjoying my time with the women on this side of my family.

Getting Nails done. I love the massage chairs.

I'm the red nails with the turquoise sandal. 

We went to this darling chocolate factory.  They gave out several free samples. Tasty and fun.

Headshot at the Mocking Jay premier.

We all look exceptionally fancy... even sillier is that this particular film doesn't show any of the smashing Capitol attire, since it's all about the uprising. Oh well. It was still frivolous fun.

Ten points for the Goodwill being able to provide a maternity outfit.

Holman Women's Trip in Scottsdale!

This is a "Women's" trip, because if it were a girls trip, my darling daughter and nieces would be here too.  The weather is fab, the company is great, and the food (which we have made) has been delightful.

Bright and early at the airport.

Inside the cupcake shop called the Sweet Tooth Fairy. The shop was delightful.

I wasn't sold on the cupcakes.

We checked into our hotel and then headed off to a Thanksgiving themed cooking class. 

Wowsers, we can cook!

Mom and Hillary.

Lesely making friends with the chicken, as a whole turkey would have taken too long to cook.

Robin introducing the chickens to the oven.

We are making stuffing, with chorizo, it was a little dry.

The recipe wasn't fab, but the rest of the meal was fantastic.

What a great kickoff to our weekend!

Family Rocks!