Keep scrolling!

I just posted a ton of pics and they date back to August, so keep scrolling down. Leave comment, too, if you desire. I am glad I am almost caught up. I still have to post our new addition...two fun and shy hermit crabs. Pictures are coming soon...or whenever I get to it! I have been so stinking busy I cannot keep up with school, life, cooking, cleaning, organizing and church assignments. Sheesh, I need to relax and take a break. Well, I guess considering how much blogging I just did, I probably can consider that a break. I still had to take care of the kids and cook while it was all uploading. I am trying to get caught up on laundry, too. Only three more batches, until tomorrow! Ha, it never ends! Oh, Troy, Kara, Jaimen and I went to see You Again. If anyone is thinking about going, it is very good. It was only PG, too. So, if you have any daughters or teenage sons, they would probably enjoy it. We also saw Scott Pilgrim VS the World a few weeks ago. It is terrible...unless you like that kind of thing, then you will love it. I put it right there with Monty Python movies. Troy loved it. He wants to buy it. He tells everyone how fabulous it is. Obviously we do not share the same taste in movies...or much of anything for a matter of fact. But, opposites attract, right?

Answering machine problems

I am sorry if you have called in the last few months and left a message. I did not call you back because we have not been getting all our messages...and the messages we do get, they appear erased. So, I am so sorry that you have not been called back. I do not hate you...I just had no idea I was supposed to call. For those lucky enough to have been called back, I am glad we got the message...eventually!

Green and pink wedding cake

I delivered this cake this morning. It was a scary cake to make. Last night about 10 pm I finally figured out the flowers. It was also scary to transport. I sat in the back of the car holding it while Troy drove the 10 miles. I felt every bump and the string work would fall off sporadically. I was able to fix it and it turned out okay. It was raspberry filled white cake and the flowers are fondant. The sizes are 16, 12, and 8 inch rounds. I was excited it came together. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous. I did not actually see anyone in the wedding party, but one of the guests told me it was loved and that everyone was talking about how great it was. That always makes me feel good!

Daeson's first day of KINDERGARTEN!!!

Daeson was so excited to go to school. I was a bit nervous because the school appeared unfinished just last Thursday, but here we are. It was very exciting for him. It is 10 miles there, 10 miles back so we drive an insane 200 miles each week to take him to this Montessori. We are excited to be apart of this beautiful school and wonderful method of learning. It is wonderful that everyday he gets to learn and meet new friends. He chose Transformer pancakes for his breakfast. He was thrilled that they looked kind of like the real thing! (They looked horrible but he thought it was great.) I am proud of him for being a child who wants to learn. His teacher is Miss Baugh and he seems to really like her.

Warning...updates coming soon!

Today is Daeson's first day of school...but I promise when I finally get updated there will be a TON you have all been dying to see :)! Okay, just the Grandmas are dying to see these cute children of mine, but I hope the rest of you enjoy it, too! I finally got my part of the primary program done and emailed, Troy's bithday party done, and Daeson is headed to school today. I did pick up 6 dozen corn from Aunt Linda yesterday, so I guess I have a bit of shucking to do, but I will send Troy out to do that (I am allergic to the silky stuff in corn). I have a cake at the end of the week, but I have already been shopping for that. So, today I might just get some blogging done...finally!

Happy 32nd, Troy!

Today Troy turned 32. I know, he is an old man!! I hope he had a fun day. He took it off for once and we tried to make it a good one. I took him to the SankeBite for lunch and it was delicious. We walked around downtown for a bit then hurried home so we could go to the ribbon cutting for Daeson's new school. When we got back, we sat around and waited for people to show up. I was ready a half hour early!!!!! I could not believe it, I am usually running behind! We had a good turn out, thank you to everyone who came. Peggy made it back from her sales trip...even with missing a flight! I was glad she could be there as well as everyone else. We had Bret, Holly, girls, Adam, Kla, girls, (just kidding...they were camping, thanks for reminding me, KLA!) Richard, Peggy, Heidi, Kaden, Grandma Grover, Jaedyn, us, Dave, Dustin, Laura, kids, amd last but definitely not least, Jaimen and Kara. I was sad that no one from my fam came, but that is how the cookie crumbles. Troy told me I wear my heart on my sleeve because I try too hard to make it to family things. That might be changing. But we had a great time. Troy got a GC to Texas Roadhouse, Smart-wool socks, money, three polos, a cologne set and I am sure things that I did not get a chance to see and write down. He also got a lot of very nice cards and heartfelt messages in them. Thanks to everyone!!!! happy Birthday, Babe! We love you very much~

Where do we live?

Today I was asking the boys where we lived. I knew Daeson knows, but I thought it is high time to have Tevan start learning these things. They have on their BYU-I shirts, and this is the conversation we had:

Tevan: "I-O".

Me: "So where do we live?"

Tevan: "WalMart!!!"

I guess I spend too much time there! I know Troy feels like he lives there...he is in there about 12-15 hours each week delivering! We go in to say hi often and to stock up on necessities. What would we do without WalMart?

Tevan's first day of Preschool!

Tevan's day finally came! He potty-trained for this day and was absolutely thrilled when we told him it was the day. He requested pancakes and French toast for breakfast....so that is exactly what he got. He has it 9-11 am and does very well with getting ready. Miss Janet is wonderful and he is having a blast!

Craters of the Moon

We decided to take the boys to the Craters of the Moon today. It was great. I had never been there before. The kids thought the caves were amazing and they wanted to do everything possible. They even earned their Junior badges. What a cool thing to do! It was a beautiful day and we could not have asked for it to be more perfect! I also would like to thank the gas station lasies for letting Troy in the girls bathroom to help me give the boy's "baths" in the sink. They just laughed. Oh, and what do you think of my little plumber? I was hiking behind and thought Tevan's bum was extra cute!

Canning season

I have a ton of pics and a lot to catch up on, but it will have to wait until my two boxes of peaches are canned. I just finished 16 quarts of chicken soup (for use in noodle soup, pot pie or chicken and dumplings), 3 quarts chunked chicken, and 30ish quarts of beef stew. I also did 20ish half-pints salsa and 30 quarts spaghetti sauce. I still want to do corn, peach jam, peach chutney and some more chicken. I am very experimental this year. It has been very fun and adventurous. I love trying new things. I will tell you the one thing I will never bottle...or eat for that matter: mincemeat. Do you know what is in that???

Handsome devils

I think my boys are adorable. Monsters at times, and sometimes very hard to handle, but adorable nonetheless. They could use a haircut...it grows so fast! This is right before church. SO DANG CUTE!

Chicken, beef stew and chicken soup base

I know, lame to take pics of the food I bottle, but I am so excited this year. I have canned up a storm and I am so pleased with the results. The chicken soup base is new this year, and I am not sure what I think of it. It was a lot of work and the jars do not look very full. I did use two that did not seal to make chicken noodle soup. It was pretty tasty...luckily I had a zillion noodles to fill the pot :). I am currently finished with canning. We did pickled okra at my mother in laws Sunday (9-26-10) , so we will see how it turned out!

Slippin' and a slidin'

Today I set up the slip and slide {gasp}, I know. Here is the story: I broke my leg on the first day of sixth grade on a make shift tarp slip and slide. I will never forget that day...no one believed me that it was broken. We lived in Denver and my mom was scared to drive because we had just moved there. Justin, my older brother, thought he could tell mom how to get to the hospital. My dad was doing a rotation in Commerce City and was not available for chauffeur duties. I tried to tell my mom that we were headed down the wrong road, but Justin insisted that it was the right way. To make a long story short, my mom ended up backing up the on ramp to a very busy highway. It was so scary for her to have to do that. I am sure lugging four kids...one in a lot of pain...to the hospital was not fun. At all. But, after the two hour wait in the emergency room and the x-ray, we found that indeed it was broken. A spiral break in my right leg was the diagnosis. I missed the next few days of school and had to hobble along the other six weeks. I hated it. The only good thing about it was after the six weeks of having my leg in a cast while it was very hot, I got to start shaving my legs. The hair had grown so long and there was a ton of dead skin. Gross, huh?

So, for me to let my kids play on the slip and slide they go from Uncle Todd and Aunt Danielle was a huge feat. I am proud of my kids for not breaking any bones, and I am super glad they had a BLAST! They have played on it before with Troy, but this was my first time allowing them to do so. They loved it and kept saying how awesome I was for letting them! Extra points are always a good thing!

Just because...

I love flowers! However, one day I made the comment to Troy that they die so it seemed silly to spend money on them. (I think I might have been sick that day). Today Troy and Daeson surprised me with beautiful roses. Daeson even spent some of his money on them. They told me they loved all the canning that I do and that they are glad that I cook for them! How sweet!

The FUN house

Tevan: Mom, you want play house? Ruff, Ruff? (on all fours and barking like a dog)

Mom: I play house every day, Tev.

Daeson: No, we mean the FUN house!

I guess playing the real house isn't glamorous enough for pretend play. Obviously it is not fun.

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.