The Ty Smith first annual family reunion

So, we have never really been a reunion people. This year my mom and dad took us to Island Park for a three day trip. It was great. The first night (Thursday) we were up at the Buffalo Inn campground, we ate pizza and had a good time. Mom, Dad, Troy, me, and the boys went up early. We took this opportunity to catch some frogs at the river bank. Mom and Troy were brave enough, but there was no way in heck I was gonna catch a FROG! Justin, Hailey and Jax came up later. Mom and I had spent all night Wednesday shopping and preparing. As usual, we had enough food for an army. But, better too much than not enough. We had something for everyone! Friday we went to Mesa Falls and then got ready to go to West Yellowstone. The hike was fun and just the right size. Tevan had to stop to "read" every sign. The boys had a great time looking at the falls and checking out the cabin. After arriving at West (where Jess and Carlie met us), mom and I took Daeson, Tevan, and Brookie to the Tea Party with Belle at the Playmill. They thought that was pretty neat. It was a fun experience for them. We love the Playmill and I can remember going every summer until I got married. This year we saw Beauty and the Beast. It was great! The boys did very well. I think all of the kids did great. Carson got a bit fussy, but what do you expect from a 1 year old? After that, we stopped by Troy's bro's place and chatted for a few minutes. Adalyn and Mieley were there hanging out, so the boys took that opportunity to play with them. We played games after getting the children to bed. Catch Phrase was the fave. Mom was so funny with and without her glassed. I think I heard the phrase, "Well the damn thing" more than I ever have. It was so funny! Saturday morning was a bit wet. We headed to Big Springs to feed the fish. This was really fun. The Johnny Sacks cabin was closed though. We wanted to go through it. We went back to the cabins and started Dutch ovening. It was mighty tasty!!! We sat around the fire and chatted. We tried to do this every night. Daeson and Tevan we dubbed the wood haulers (for the kindling) and Daeson was hauling some big sticks. I was shocked at some of the logs...rather trees he was hauling. They had a great time. I think Brookie joined in the nights they were there. It was so nice to be with mom and dad. I didn't mind being with the bros and sis in laws either :). Sunday morning we loaded everything up. My bros left, so it was mom and I again...oh, and Troy and dad :). We got ready to leave and our battery in the car was DEAD. We wanted to go to West again, but we headed home after a quick charge instead. We made it safe, but I was so sad to see everyone disperse. I wish we could spend a bit more time together. We missed Jaded like crazy, but he was in Missouri and Texas and could not make it. I sure miss him!!! We had a great time, THANKS a million, Mom and Dad! It was great! The pictures are all posted in reverse order. So the top is the last night, the bottom is the first.

I'm just sayin'

If you read on the back of your Bath and Body Works products, you will read : The finished product is not tested on animals. So, once you know the product will not harm or be fatal to an animal, you no longer test it on them? I'm just sayin....

Let the canning begin!

Last week, much to Troy's dismay, I was able to bottle 30 quarts of spaghetti sauce. Yummy! Tory does not like spaghetti, but I now have enough jars to eat one spaghetti meal a month for two and a half years!

Today I was able to bottle 15 half-pints of salsa. I have tried many recipe over the years and I finally found one that Troy loves...SPICY! It is warm! I guess that makes up for the spaghetti sauce! :)

I love that my garden is producing. I finally have peas (which the boys LOVE), I have tomatoes, jalapeños, Anaheim peppers, beets, carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, and I already harvested my radishes. I love this time of year. I love that my salsa only cost me .48 for the cilantro and 2.50 for extra tomatoes. Everything else came out of the garden. I love it!

I am not bottling peaches or pears for the first time in 10 years, but I still have PLENTY. I am, however, going to bottle chicken soup. I can then use it for noodle soup, chicken and dumplings, or chicken pot pie. Oh the joys of comfort food!! I want to do about 40 jars of this. I am also going to bottle beef stew, mandarin sauce, and chunked chicken. I have a ton of jars to fill, thanks to Gram Tom and Nicole! I am excited to start bottling my homegrown food and to build up my storage even more. I would like to try some new things this year...if anyone has a great recipe or ideas, let me know! As long as it does not contain beans, I am willing to try it! I would love to find a beanless chili recipe. Troy is allergic to beans and lentils of all types and it makes it hard to get a great chili!

Party in the rain!

We had a family get-together for Jess' bday. Unfortunately, it decided to RAIN. It poured and it was COLD. I had to keep the boys warm by taking them into the bathroom and running the hand dryer!!! I was running a bit late as I had to pick Troy up from his hiking trip. I only took two pictures and one of them I will probably be in trouble for. Believe it or not, she really had a hair do like this in the early 80's! Okay, maybe more styled... I love you, mom!

Alaska Basin, a get-a-way for Troy boy

Troy, Uncle Scott, cousins Josh and Dillon went on a backpacking trip through Alaska Basin to Jenny's lake. They left Friday and got home Sunday afternoon. They had a great time. Troy has caught the hiking fever...too bad it is so late in the year!!! Oh, the pictures are posted out of order, and I am not sure what day is what. I am sure if you would like to know more, Troy would LOVE to spend hours talking about it!!!! They had to tie their bags up so the bears did not bother them. They packed all they needed in their packs. Troy's weighed in over 50 pounds. Lucky him!

Busy, busy!

Troy left Friday afternoon to go on a backpacking trip. He went with Uncle Scott, Scott's son Dylan, and Cousin Josh. They started at Alaska Basin, went thru Hurricane Pass and finished at Jenny's Lake. He is on his way home as I type. Tevan has not slept the last two nights and therefore I have not slept the last two nights.

Friday we helped cousin Holly with her landscaping...or tried. I wasn't the best of help, I am sure. But it was fun and the kids played. She treated us to pizza. It was delicious and fun! Thanks, Holly!

Saturday we picked up our basket, whice was great this week! It had 1 canteloupe, 6 peaches, 7 ears of corn, a bag of 8 grapefruit, 7 bananas, 4 tomatoes, 1 head of green leaf lettuce, 1 container champagne grapes (tiny, tiny grapes), 3 mangoes, 2 red peppers, and 2 hothouse cucumbers. I think that is all...I will have to check. I love BB and I love that the service makes it so affordable to eat all the fruit and vegetables we want! After we picked up our baskets, we headed to McD's and to the family reunion. We stopped at Aunt Hailey's to pick up Grandma Cindy and had a quick visit. Then to McCammon for the East/Barrell reunion. It was great. I met a lot of people I didn't know. I learned about our family and I bought some fun things from the auction. The kids had a great time in the blow-up bounce house, fish pond, sack races, and horseshoes. There was a park they played in and one little cousin, Cambree, that Daeson instantly clicked with. There were little dogs that the kids played with, too. We stopped at Gram Tom's on the way home to pick up canning jars and to take a bath. Tevan fussed most of the way home, but Daeson was asleep before we hit Chubbuck to drop off Gramma Cindy at Justin's. The drive home finally got peaceful about Shelly area...then to be disrupted as I pulled into my neighborhood. Sigh. I got things ready for Jesse's birthday party, then about 2 a.m. I finally dosed off to sleep. Daeson was up bright and early this morning. That kid, I tell you!

Tevan slept in until about 8:45 a.m. and we rushed to get to church. We were 15 minutes late (not uncommon) and enjoyed a shortened sacrament meeting. I had time to reflect today. It was nice that the boys actually cooperated and they were pretty good. I found out today in Primary that we have a lot of blank spots to fill and I am so disappointed that so many people will NOT accept callings! It is so aggravating! Our piano player has to get surgery tomorrow and has asked many to fill in...I guess I better learn to play by next week! ;) We decided as a presidency that we will use CD's and the kids will be okay. We will miss her, she is very talented and very patient with us! I hope she heals quickly, I will miss chatting with her on Sundays when things are calm! Troy just called and I have to run to Rexburg to get him...I just got done making 3 cheesecakes, a jello poke cake, and my ChubbyHubbyCake. I need to put the sauce on the bbq beef and get it finished. I also need to pack the car and get the kid's pjs ready...Sunday is NOT a day of rest to most of us. I wish it were, but our lives just keep getting busier! Never slowing down, just busier. I must be off...I hope to have some pictures soon. It is so much more fun to look at pictures than to read the blog!

The sewer project and date night

So, remember when I told you that we had a company come out and tell us we needed to get our sewer replaced? Well, today we decided to do it. Advanced quoted us 4200, a local plumber quoted 1900, and a close friend quoted 700. Needless to say, we went with the latter. Dave was very diligent and hard working...he was here for about 14 hours, and is coming back tomorrow. Here's the kicker: THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG!!! There was no tree branches growing into the joint, there was no back-up. The joint was a bit off, so Dave lined it up and re-joined it since the 10 ft hole was already there. I just feel so taken by the first bidder. I also feel very bad that Dave spent some long, grueling hours at our house. The good? At least I can have peace of mind that our sewer is in tip top shape and there should be no repairs in the next few years. Also, if we decide to sell ever, we can honestly say we have seen our sewer lines and they look great!

Tonight Troy and I went out. First to Sportsman's, then we grabbed a pizza for the kids. Troy then took me shopping to Ross. I found four pairs of jeans, a shirt, and a cute sweater/shawl thing. I am very excited. Yesterday we went to Maurice's and we were there an hour. I found one shirt...and a super cute pair of jeans, but I could not justify spending 80 bucks on ONE pair of jeans!! After shopping, we went to Buddy's with our friends, Jaimen and Kara. It was...okay. It was not as great as Carino's and the menu size is TINY! I remember going to Buddy's as a kid in Pocatello, but I remember it being WAY better than this. Oh well. We headed over to DQ for a treat. DQ now offers a MINI Blizzard! I was excited about that...the smalls are just too big sometimes! They were out of coconut so I could not get the Hawaiian, so I settled for Banana Creme Pie. It was tasty I must say! Our sitter had the kids asleep when we got home...YEAH! Now, it is time for bed...I will sleep like a log. I am so tired and I have a big day tomorrow!

Eat Pray Love

Tonight was girl's night out. I am trying to do this once a month, or twice if we are lucky! Tonight we saw Eat Love Pray. I really enjoyed it. I thought the scenery was great and I liked the story line about finding ourselves again. Sometimes I feel like I am not the same person that I was ten, or even five, years ago. I think it is so important for us to rediscover our selves and stay true to who we are. I realize that we mature and, hopefully, gain knowledge as we get older. However, I often wonder when I changes so drastically. When did I loose a love and passion for life? When did I become this person that I am? I know a lot of people did not like this movie, but I enjoyed it. I could relate to her as she was on the road to rediscovery. I would recommend it, but I do know there are several who would not. Maybe rent it and decide for yourselves if you like it or not. :) Thanks to Laura, Ashley, and Sarah who came tonight! I enjoyed the conversation and the company!!!

Splash Park fun!

Today we wandered to Taco Time and then the Splash Park with our cousins. After, we rode the carousel, visited a cute craft store, and then to Florence's Chocolate. After, we visited the BYU-I bookstore where I found the boys cute shirts. I figure that is where I graduated so the boys need to have a cute shirt. As we were going in to the bookstore, we saw a bat on the side of the building. It was neat and the kids loved it. When we came out, the bat was gone and there was no trace. It was strange to be on campus, not as a student, wearing shorts, flip-flops, and having my kids with me. Sometimes I yearn for the college life again. It seems so very long ago... sigh! Thanks, Holly, for the fun time today! It was great!