Smith Family: December 2010

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Star for a Day

Ella celebrated her birthday at Chuck E Cheeses yesterday, she enjoyed being the star of the day.

Unfortunately our car had broken down and Chris had to take it in to the shop so I was left to corral the kids on my own, but with the help of my older kids, I made it through with my sanity intact.

Ella's says her favorite things that day were blowing out the candles, going in the ticket blaster, eating the cake, playing with her friends, opening presents and giving her friends each a Webkins to take home. Good memories!

Snowman

57% of the Smiths

We haven't had a family photo for a while. I wanted to get one this holiday season but I don't think it's gonna happen... so today before church amidst all the rush, I decided to grab whoever I could get...

Chris was in church meetings, Sierra was still in the shower, and Solei refused to be in the scene, so she snapped the photo for us.

So, this is 57% of our family, wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Home on the Range - Sort Of

Here are some random photos of our new home and yard, taken in the fall. It's quite a different scene now with winter, but it was beautiful a few months ago. If you've never been to Michigan in the fall, you're missing out...

Here's the front...

A few shots of the backyard...lots of leaves to rake...

The dog's room...at least in the warmer months (it's a screened in porch)...

The trail at the edge of the yard, leading to a tree fort someone built...

View from the back door...

I feel spoiled having such a colorful view from the kitchen window...

And the kids are spoiled too... this playground came with the house...
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And Chris is spoiled too... the neighborhood is nestled in a golf course. Although we can't let the dogs run free on our walks anymore, the scenery is still beautiful..

Anyways, that's our new "home on the range"

ArtPrize 2010

A few weeks after we moved to town, ArtPrize came to town. It's supposedly the worlds biggest art prize competition, and takes place downtown every year. Anyone can enter if they can find a place to put their stuff, and it doesn't cost anything to walk around town and view the artwork. We took the kids a few times but still only saw a small portion of what was there... here are a few...

Life size kinetic elephants that bobbed their heads.

A zoo made of nails...

I wouldn't want to meet the bird that made this...

Unfortunately we didn't have a pen to sign the giant greeting card...

This one was supposed to symbolize the ten commandments somehow...I thought it looked a little creepy though...

A mom and her kids built a giant penny out of pennies...

There were a lot I didn't get photos of, like a dark room with mist and lights that you walk through... or a human disco ball... and someone had painted pianos and put them on the street corners for people to play... it was a jolly good time.

We also stopped at the Children's Museum and visited the Curious George exhibit...the kind of art the little kids like...

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Getaway

I'm afraid my blog is going to be out of order chronologically for a while till I get all my photos off the old computer and catch up to recent events, but for now here is something we did this summer...Just Chris and I...and his team...

Since they were the top zone in the company last year, Chris decided to reward everyone with a two day getaway at a local resort called Madden's. It was beautiful and a much needed break during a hectic time for us. Surrounded by lakes and chock-full of golf courses, this place was a little slice of heaven.

Of course, Chris had to set up some meetings to justify it as a work outing, so I had time on my hands to explore the lake in one of the kayaks, stroll through the nature walks and lounge on the beach.

And, there was plenty of golfing for Chris when meetings were over...

Let's hope it's another good year at work...

Friday, December 10, 2010

Quick Update

So I know I've been bad at posting...I'm still working on getting my photos back on the computer, but hopefully soon I will have more. Thought I'd write a quick update.

Anyways, things might be looking up for me, I went to the doctor a few days ago and he gave me a prescription that decreases the pain and inflammation. I have been trying my hardest to avoid medicating, but nothing was working and I just felt like I was wasting away, literally... so I'm giving in.

I will say, it's so nice to be able to move without constant pain, I had forgotten what that feels like! Anyways, I'm still a long way from normal, but I'm well enough now I can try to catch up on the housework, and it is desperately needed!

The kids are pretty much the same, doing well. Solei joined jazz band, Sierra is enjoying choir (though she might not admit it), Caden went to the dentist and probably needs oral surgery for a tooth that won't come in, Taron is learning French and likes to try it out on me, and Ella still enjoys being mom's big helper (sometimes).

Chris's company is being sold to a company called Bimbo ("Beembo"), which is based out of Mexico. We don't know what it means for sure, but within a year we should know what the future holds a little better. We may have to brush up on our Spanish skills.

Well, that's about it for now, not much time with the holidays and all, but I wanted to post something.

The Mind of a Child...

When Solei was a toddler, she found some bark that was lying at the base of a tree and said in disgust, “Ooooooh! Tree poo-poo!”

When the girls were little, we were taking a walk with the dog who was bombarding Sierra with her friendly but slobbery kisses. Frustrated, our sweet little Sierra yelled out “NO KINA, I'M NOT YOUR ICE CREAM CONE!”

Telling Ella how to crawl, Caden explained “But I’m four, so I crawl standing up.”

I was sitting with Caden one day and I told him that the couch used to be a cow (it is leather), and I said (half jokingly) “did you know that cows turn into couches?” To which he replied, “No they don’t, they turn into pies!”

Watching the Tabernacle choir sing during conference, Solei (who was 8 yrs old at the time) said that they should sing “Do as I’m Doing” (with all the motions, I’m sure).

We put in an underground fence for the dog and Caden (age 5) saw us burying the wire. We then put up little white flags to mark where it was. A few days later he went outside and turned on the hose. When I saw him, I asked him to turn off the water. He looked at me questioningly and asked, “Until when? Until the fence grows?” He thought it needed watering!

Taron (2) looked at the varicose veins on grandmas legs and said, “owy... lightning!”

When Caden was 5, he would ask if he could go play with his friend in the morning, and I would sometimes reply, "No, it's too early". Well one day he finally asked me "can we not play on 'too early's? Can we play on 'one early'?"

Sierra told me one night that when she was little, she used to think the word “couch” came from the word “cow”, and that our couch had a cow inside (partially true since it is leather). She would try to sit down carefully so it would not run away. She thought the wood parts inside were it’s bones and the black pegs on the bottom were the feet.

Sometimes Taron (age 2) would find dog poop and say “Eew! Dog poop!” and then proceed to stomp on it as if it were a bug.

Caden (age 5) and I were talking about the sounds letters make and he asked if I knew what the sleepy letter was. I replied that I didn’t and he said, “It’s the Z... when you go to sleep then the Z’s come out of your head. And there’s a big round white thing too but it’s invisible. Maybe he had been reading too many comic books...

Sierra (age 8) made a Halloween card for her friend and wrote ENSTINE (meaning Einstein) on it, I thought it was an odd thing to put on a Halloween card so I asked if she knew who Einstein was and she said "Isn't he the guy who made Frankenstein?"

Caden (age 5) asked if it was a ghost who said the sacrament prayer because he couldn’t see anyone at the podium but he could hear the voice.

When Taron was 2 he would always respond to an “I love you” with “Much”.

Taron (3) woke up one morning, started to play and when I asked him if he wanted a pancake, he said, “Oh yeah, I was supposed to be hungry!”

Dad was singing “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam” and Taron said “Jesus likes sunbeans, they’re delicious!”

I was teaching Taron (5) how to read, and came upon the word "loose". I told him, "the two O's say "oo" and the E is silent. Slowly and deliberately, he sounded it out........"Loooosssilent".

Caden had been learning to tell time in school and was asking me about the big hand vs. the little hand on the clock. Apparently Taron was listening somewhat because he held up his right hand and asked "is this the big hand?"

Ella (4) came up to me with some of my reading glasses and said "Mom, when I put glasses on, I still don't know how to read!"

At a restaurant, Ella was impatiently waiting for her food and, looking for the waitress, she asked "when is the human coming back?"

One morning I said, "Ella, come look! There's a wild turkey in the backyard!"
Ella (excitedly): "Can we kill it?!?"
What kind of daughter am I raising???

Ella mistook another guy for Chris and was about to follow him to his car, but soon realized her mistake and said, "I was about to follow the 'not dad'".

Smith Family