Little Suit

Norman looked like Dapper Dan today at church, all fancy in this darling one-piece faux suit with a faux white shirt and a faux red tie.  I know I'm biased, but mercy, he's just simply adorable and I love to see his happy little toothless smile.  Super glad I get to be a mm!

Getting ready for his presidential address.

Trying to figure out some important business question.

He's just waiting for a more inconvenient time to spit up.

Ryan couldn't resist scooping him up. Norman loves his daddy.

Finally Sunny

We had a very mild winter here, and for that I am truly grateful. In exchange, I think the weather decided to hold off on giving us sunny, lovely weather, until today.  This fine Saturday was absolutely gorgeous. It was an outside weather kind of a day. Calvin and the youth of our church walked to the temple. Ryan and I and the rest of our crew finished cleaning out our storage area. Owen had his final soccer game. And Simon lost the other half of his baby tooth (he lost the first half a couple of weeks ago. Weird. All in all, it was a lovely, productive, fabulous Saturday.

The white dot on his arm chair is half of a baby tooth. No blood, just a handsome smile.

What a great soccer year.

This was Norman's first visit to the library.  As you can see, he loves it!

How very organized! Not pictured are all the other walls in the room, or the loft area. Rest assured, they are all organized as well.

RYan and I saw this movie last night on our hot date.It was so wonderful; both because it was written well, and also because it brought back wonderful memories of running cross country, the greatest sport on earth.

*** This post is for Saturday, May 30th, 2015***

Most Helpful

Apparently, there was an awards ceremony at the Elementary School today.  If my sources are correct, then Owen Smith, my handsome first grader, was awarded the "most helpful student" at the school's assembly this morning. How I wish I had been there to cheer!  Annie said that she cheered super loud when his name was called, and that he was so excited he looked a little bit red.  I think that is such a lovely award. Well done, Owen!

It was Annie's turn for our lunch out away from school.   

She opted for CHinese

Our fortunes.

 

ANnie and Simon tried out for high school musicale today.  I'm sure they were fab, eve though Moms can't be there for the audition.

A small git from the Preppercon, for being the MC at the Food Storage Coockoff,

Trying to clean out our garage... this will be a two day project.

Happy Heart Attack

After a long and lovely church meeting, I came home to a bedroom door that had been heart attacked by Annie and Owen.  Annie is always in engaged in a project of some kind (sometimes kind hearted, occasionally mischievous) and Owen is a very willing Robin to her Batman.  Speaking of medical terms, like heart attacks, lets talk chemo.

Ryan had an appointment at the Huntsman Cancer Center, and we finally get to close a chapter in the Colon Cancer Saga.  It was officially declared and decided that Ryan Edward Smith is done with his chemo.  He fought his way through three long months of preventative chemotherapy treatment.  After putting on a brave face with red swollen hands and feet, exhaustion, blisters, peeling, cracking, hot and cold spells, nausea, dizziness and occasional (but sincere) outbursts of declarations of his love for me and our children, he can now hop off the chemo train.  Outlook: Excellent.  He now has just one more surgery (in about a month) to hook everything back up, and then we will hop onto white horses and ride into the sunset.  I am married to a champion.  How grateful I am to be able to look back on the adventure that the last 9 months have been,  and to know that there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel (and that it is not an oncoming train.)  How hard it is to face the unknown with courage, and how gracefully my husband has done just that. To quote a Book of Mormon prophet: "and now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come."  How did Ryan tackle colon cancer, without falling to pieces? His testimony of the Lord who "knoweth all things."... and Ryan's belief in the council found in Proverbs to "Trust in the  Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path." True that.  Many thanks to our family and friends for your support, love, and prayers.  We are definitely approaching the finish line of this race.

Partners in crime. Red shirts, smiles, thumbs up.

Cymbals!

Calvin had a percussion concert tonight. It was epic. I knew we were in for a treat when he grabbed the cymbals. What a great show!

Holding cymbals, ready to rock it!

Now that's a lot of people.

Father and sons.

Happy Daddy, milky white sleeping baby.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today we: had breakfast burritos, visited the grave site of my Oma, had lunch at a burger place, picked up a library book that Simon left at a baptism, played at the Dinosaur Museum, had dinner with a Veteran (nurse in the Army during Vietnam), had FHE where we shared memories of those who passed on, and ate sticky toffee pudding for dessert. Mmmmm.

My Grandmother's headstone. She is Dutch so we made a dutch hat and shoes.

In defense of the cameraman, it was so insanely bright that it was almost impossible to see anything, even a hand in front of the lens.

Family sharing a moment of silence and a prayer.

Off to the dinosaur museum!

Simon got all chatty with this random visitor from Taiwan.

They bonded over building a dinosaur.

Annie, trying to pose like the human in this exhibit.

8 and up

Yesterday my cousin's wife was baptized as a new member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. What a joyful event this was: loads of family, good food ,and the Holy Ghost giving us all warm fuzzies.  My 7 year old was asking me about baptism, specifically how old people need to be to be baptized. By the time you're eight, you are able to really know the dif between right and wrong.

Owen hanging out with Dad.

Oern'd trsm lody, buy yhr kids really likrd the mommacyion

Burger Battle

Mission: Locate what restaurant in the salt lake area has the winningest burger.  Just a  few different criteria made it to the judging form:  toppings, bun, the patty itself, and fries.  All were judged fairly and thoroughly.  Mercy, what a fun night. Tasty...

The only pic that was taken, proving that we at least hit one of the four restaurants.

Trying out food is way more fun with friends.  What fun!

Annie likes to set up "baby spas" for Norman, what fun!

Back to School

Ryan got a letter today from the Royal Mail of Scotland, which is always exciting.  It was a letter from Edinburgh Napier University, welcoming him to their doctoral program. He will be in the program for 2 1/2 years, working with his good friend and a colleague that he worked with when our family lived in Scotland. The letter also contained his student ID card, which "can be used to help get student discounts at shops, pubs, cinemas, etc." We Mormons are always on the hunt for pub discounts.

Ryan is finally home from his trip to Canada.  He brought home some maple syrup (10 points to Ryan.) He's holding up his new student ID card.

The whole family (minus sleeping Norman) crowded on the bed to watch him open up his 

Royal Mail.

Snuck Owen out of school for lunch today. I listed every restaurant I could think of... but Owen still chose the Golden Arches. At least they serve salads. Owen opted for the cheeseburger happy meal.

We bought these cool shoes as well.  The laces are such a vibrant shade of blue that they make me happy.

Owen and mom pic.

Calvin got two baby teeth pulled today, so that his permanent teeth would grow in properly (they were starting to grow around the baby teeth, all wonky like.) He was brave, and was rewarded with a trip to the video store and a chocolate peanut butter banana shake... and ibuprofen. 

The Expert

Annie's class is finishing up the year with presentations called "I'm the expert of ______". Annie has wanted so badly to bring Norman in to class to show her teacher and her friends so she decided to declare herself a baby expert.  In truth, she is absolutely wonderful with her little brother, and her presentation went very well today.  After going through the essentials of a diaper bag, she showed the class how to wrap a baby like a burrito, and finished up with any baby questions from the class. She loves Norman Harold Thomas Smith very much, and even though he can't speak yet, it's easy to see that he loves her too. 

This was taken right after her presentation with some friends.  Norman was such good baby during the presentation: no tears, he was awake, and he didn't try to run away.

Not loving this photo shoot very much. It's amazing to me that he is already growing out of clothes.

Babies love posing with ninja's when they are two months old.  So darling.

Amnesia at the Taping

SO in all the times I've done t.v. demonstrations, I have yet to forget something so very basic as my own website... until today.  If you like the idea of me floundering on television, then feel free to watch Studio 5 tomorrow, 11:00am... but don't call to tell me that it was actually fine (it wasn't: I was there) or that it was terrible (I know... I was there.) If you want to see how a trifle is made, then tune in.  The truth is, I had a great time during the segment, I had just had trouble landing the plane at the end... resulting in a metaphorical plane crash on the runway.  Good times.

All of Norman's sibling wanted to join him for his Dr. visit.

What a pig! I was hoping for 8 but he is a 10 pound person.  Well done, son!

Hanging out in the Pediatricians room.

Annie, Simon and Owen are finishing up swim lessons (last day is Weds.) 

I always have fun watching them swim and entertaining Norm.

Calvin is in a class that needed to make a company logo and t-shirt. Pretty Cool~

Mormon Temples

A dear friend of mine went to the temple, the Bountiful Utah temple to be specific, for the very first time this week. The missionaries that she has been working with were able to join us.  It was a wonderful visit. Temples are mentioned throughout the Holy Bible, and Mormons believe that they still have a role in our worship here and now. I remember my maiden voyage to the Mesa Arizona temple when I was 12 years old.  All Mormon temples have a few things in common: they are clean, they are peaceful, they are reverent, and therein people learn about God about His plan, which only makes me eager to learn even more about everything.

Ann. She thought these particular flowers were lovely.

Ann and I in front of the Bountiful Temple.

Elder Willford and Elder Gillies (which is pretty hysterical that we call these men Elders, given the reality that they are either in their late teens or early twenties... but that's just what we call the male missionaries in our church) and Ann and I.

We grabbed some Mexican food afterward to celebrate the big day.

Lost and Found: The Miracle of the Turtle

Over a month ago, our family took a little vacation in Northern Arizona. While we were away, a lovely pal kindly agreed to watch our beloved Athena Xena (box turtle.) Unfortunately, whilst we were gone, Athena, and some helpful cousins, decided to take a little walk. Believe it or not, turtles can be fast and what was going to be a short stay, turned into an extended holiday.  My dear friend felt terrible about our missing pet, and kindly provided an alternate turtle.  All seemed to be resolved, except that both of our sweet daughters spent the next 5 weeks praying for the safety and swift return of Athena Xena.  My friend and I were pretty confidant that Athena had either walked away (never to be found) or had gone to meet her maker, especially since it snowed a few times.  Well due to some lovely weather, and an inspired walk outside at just the right time, Ms. Athena Xena is now safe and home. The power of prayer!!!!

Athena and Jules getting to know each other.

The fate of Jules is still TBD.

She could stay with us, go to our friend who bought her, or she might even find a new home.

Our friend is still thinking this one over...

Hot Date

I am bound and determined to maximize the last days of school to my advantage. I am on a mission to check my kids out of school to take them to lunch before school ends, but I want to take them out one at a time.  It was Calvin's turn today, and it was so absolutely lovely. We got some Mexican food, did some shopping and we finished our son/mom date with a haircut.  I love spending time with my Calvin, and I am positive that, although it was a close race, he would rather eat lunch with me than practice percussion in the class that he missed.

mmmm. Tacos.

Normans first selfie.  He's so tricky.  Its a little blurry, but with practice...

Now I know what a cheesecake chimichanga covered in ice-cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce tastes like: heaven.  Good idea, Calvin.