the smith's

A girl's Best Friend....

2012-01-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

I just love this picture of Kate and Sam..... friends forever!!!

Pioneer Christmas 2011

2012-01-23T13:29:00.000-08:00

Another late post....... my cousin Caitlin got married right before Christmas this year so we went up to Utah early for that. It was also "A Pioneer Christmas" for the Lange fam....... good times, right? Yes. So our trip was filled with all sorts of pioneerish activities like: illegaly chopping down our own christmas tree, stringing popcorn and cranberries for it, pulling taffy, making hand carts and "treking" downstairs to the basement to watch 17 Miracles, walking to church, lots of dutch- ovening, (mostly by the master- my dad) stacking wood, making stockings and quilts..... I know there is more....... we also went ice skating and sledding- although we had to drive a while to find some fake stuff because there was NO snow the entire trip! The only bad thing about this whole trip was that Rach and Cam weren't with us.... they had to go to the Phillipines...... whatever!! ;) j/k!! They GOT to go there because Cam's parents are serving a mission there!! Awesome, right?? They had lots of fun- but were missed at home!! I love being with my family. Wish I lived closer to them. Any of them for that matter!! It was a really fun trip and also really helped put things into perspective about what is important in our lives. Thanks mom and dad for hosting another BOMB christmas!!! LOVe you!!
p.s. thanks again jess for letting me steal some of these pics from you!!!

This was it for the snow department...... chinsey!!

impressive, right?

stud muffin!

Caitlin- the beautiful bride! and her sisters and mom. Where's Colton?? Sorry buddy!!

Stu balls- love that you are soo crafty!! ;)

Grandpa Marv came down and hung out with us- love him!!!

We had to drive out to Midway to find this little ice patch....

Look at this HOT MAMA!!!

Jess took some family pictures....

Christmas eve gang.

Olivia and her trumpet. All she wanted for Christmas was a trumpet. Santa pulled thru....

Couldn't find Papa for this one....

oh here he is!! Just suiting up for our nice walk to church- Pioneer STYLE!!

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-23T12:36:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics of our Thanksgiving..... a lot late!! It was a great Smith family weekend! Susan and Todd & Dani drove all the way from Utah for the weekend. We had lots and lots of fun just hanging out and catching up on everything!! The kids were loving all the cousin time- kate even got to have her first sleepover!! Grandma Sue had the 3 oldest girls sleep with her in her bedroom at Scott & Jill's..... kate was in heaven!! We also went to Prescott to watch the Christmas light parade- and to get in some chilly weather!! mmmm! Love my family!!!

BOO! happy HAlloWEENIE!!!!

2011-10-31T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here's pics of the kids in their costumes...... more pics to come of all the parties!

Meet Jessie, Woody, and alien.

Its FINALLY cooling down!!!

2011-10-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

We are loving the cooler weather lately! It means we get to be outside instead of cooped up with the a/c running all day long! Its even stormed- and you know what that means!! Party in the streets!!

Kate & Charlie's MOVEMENT class!!

2011-10-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

Wildlife Zoo!!

2011-10-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

San Diego

2011-10-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

We went to San Diego at the beginning of October for my friend Kathryn's wedding. It was perfect because we got to stay with my sister and the kids got to hang out with their cousins too!! Jess & Tony were so nice and watched the kids while we went to the wedding- it was really fun to just be with Adam and also Kitty Kat was one of the most beautiful brides I've ever seen!! Jess and her mad skillz got some great pics of the kids and she also took family pics for us which I LOVED...... we had a really fun time as always!! I heart SD.

COme on ride the train- woot woot! and RiDE iT!!!!

2011-10-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Ken is such a ladies man!!! no wonder he's the ULTIMATE boyfriend!! haha

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

2011-09-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

33..... ouch!! haha j/k I LOVE YOU.

Schmutz's in da House!!

2011-09-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

My sister Rach & her man Cam got married over Labor Day weekend.... whhooo!!! Everything about it was fabulous! They are the happiest, cutest pair EVER. I stole some of these pics from my grandma and S.I.L. Em so I could document all the beauty..... enjoy!

JACK: 6 months

2011-09-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

My good and TOTALLY talented photographer friend Michelle took 6 month pictures of Jack and I am in LOVE with them!! Thank YOU Michelle!!! Go check out her website at jasperandjosephine.com!
Now that Jack is 7 months, I just want to remind you all what Jack looked like a month ago..... =)

Friends & Randomness

2011-08-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

We've got some really great friends here in AZ.....

2 of my friends and I all had our babies within weeks of each other. Dav on the far right is 4 months older..... cute boys!! Actually now that I think about it- all of our kids are the same ages- so here are pics according to age. =)

The old crew

The middle crew

LOVE this pic. Charlie is taking the pic and apparently would rather be taking pics of his g.f....

Kate drew this picture of Sam....she's got natural talent!!

Gracie girl and Jack..... so cute!

California

2011-08-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

In July I took the kids and we drove home to California to make a surprise appearance at Rachel's bridal shower!! I cant usually pull off surprises like that- especially with my fam but I did and it was funny!! So glad I did it, I would have been bummed to have missed the PARTAY!!! Thanks Gma & Gpa for letting us stay with you- even though we didnt even ask first!!! While we were home, we hung out with my good & long time friend Lorraine and her cute kids Warren & Vincent. We went to the beach and then had us some Cafe Rio after..... it was such a fun and crazy time with all of our 5 kids between the 2 of us. Boy have times changed!! Love that girl and wish we lived closer to each other!!!

Sisters and mommy!

Jamie, Jess, me

Mom with the kids

my mom is soo pretty.... trying to help out a mad Chuckie

Grandma & Grandpa Anderson with some of the great grandkids!

Love these two!

We built a pit and then the kids spent a while trying to jump over/in it....

Kate, Charlie, Vincent, WArren

I know its a little close and a little nasty but its all I got!

St. George Trip

2011-08-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

Back in June all of my family met up in St. George for a little ronde-voo (sp). We did it last year too. It was really fun!! We all got to stay together in my dad's cousins house (minus stu and em sniff sniff) We went to Zion, went fishing, ate yummy food, and just hung out. Good times all around. Cant wait for next year!!

CaMPinG

2011-08-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

We went camping this past weekend and it was so fun!

Right behind our campsite was this huge meadow that the kids were exploring in the whole time.

Gracie girl.

Ava showing off her dangling tooth..... which she pulled out herself later that night!!

Foil dinners & campfire songs!!

Some of us had to set up camp in the dark.... good times!

Adam and his axe...... deep thoughts.

Cute group shot...... notice the beast behind the children. That would be Scott's new ride- 40 ft of awesomeness!!! and a toilet! ha!

Ava is a lover of all creatures big and small..... gotta love this face!

We went to a lake nearby to let the kids swim- it was beautiful!

The dog whisperer in action.

Should we jump? Yes! and they did.

Party time, EXCELLENT!!

2011-08-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

We just finished a big birthday week at our house!! Kate turned 5 and Charlie turned 3. All kate wanted for her birthday was to go to Chuckie Cheese.... and since Charlie wants everything Kate wants thats what they got (actually it was Peter Piper but its all the same). We'll see how many years I can get away with the joint party.... 2 for 1- niiiicce! We had the party on Char's actual birthday and then on Kate's birthday we went to a hotel and swam and then went out to lunch. They had sooo much fun with friends and family- and it kind of felt like christmas with all the gifts they got from everyone! Thanks!!

sweet talkin Ken.... courtesy of Auntie Jill and the kids! ha kind of creepy, not gonna lie! =)

Ava was the present opener-uper helper!! love her!

Kate & lils

For those that might be wondering, Charlie asked for the cake to be pink..... its his favorite color.

It was Tina Sparkles birthday that week as well, so we got to party with her and her new $$Gucci$$ sunglasses...... sunglass envy? i think yes. money aint a thang, girl!

T & Kate. 4 eva

The birthday aftermath.....

Thomebody lost their 1st TOOTH!!!

2011-07-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

...and the tooth fairy definitely delivered!!! 1 dollar bill and some change.... this girl is on cloud 9!!!!

Happy 4th of JULY!!!

2011-07-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

Dress UP!!

2011-07-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

Kate & Lilly always play dress up..... todays picks were extra fancy so I thought they deserved a post!! Here's to being fancy!!

The Ray's visit to Hell..... thats what it felt like, at least! ha!

2011-07-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

The Ray's came out to visit on the hottest week of the year....112 dees grees!!! OUCH! Luckily we had a/c, popsicles, and the kiddie pool to keep sane! The kids had to play outside at like 6 am before it got too hot and then all we wanted to do was stay inside.. and eat...alot. Kate & Kylie= BFFE..... from the moment they said hello- those two remind me so much of me and Jamie as little girls...makes me sad we dont live close to each other! We are soooo glad they came though- despite el caliente ayayay!! Thanks for the good times, good laughs, & good memories Matt & Jamie!! We miss you guys!

Georgia & Jack...

Look at all those kids!! aaahh!

Look Alike??

2011-06-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Can you tell who is who??? Jack or Charlie.... Charlie or Jack??

ST. LOUIS FAMILY REUNION 2011

2011-06-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

Details of our trip coming soon!!!

Kate Graduated from Pre School!!!

2011-05-18T12:12:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day Tea Party

2011-05-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

I got invited to a tea party at Kate's school for Mother's Day!! It was soo much fun- we made a crown and a bracelet together that I got to keep, and kate painted my face and then I painted hers. She served me lunch and then all the kids sang us a song. Then we listened to a story and made paper airplanes. It was soo much fun to just be with Kate and spend some girl time together!! Love you, Kate!!

Easter 2011

2011-05-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

This year we had Easter at our house with friends. It was such a fun and relaxing day- good food and lots of candy! I'm realizing I only take pics of the kids- never the adults- so once again, here are pics of just the kids!!!

Catching Up

2011-05-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a few random pics of the kids from the last little while.

Ku Ku Kuleto's stopped by for a visit...

2011-03-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

Jess, Tony, and the boys came last weekend for a visit- we had soo much fun! I warned them it would probably be boring and uneventful but thats apparantly what they wanted! They wanted to meet baby Jack and chill. And thats what we did. The kids played soo good together- as always. And we were able to just hang out and talk and eat. The weather was so nice- so we got to be outside and the kids rode bikes, went to the park, and ran through the sprinklers. Tony went to work with Adam on Friday and LOVED it- enough to quit the doctor thing? probably not that much =) but they had a lot of fun- Tony actually wore his uniform all day!! soo silky!! haha So I stole all of these pictures from Jess and I realized that, once again, Bones isn't in ANY of them!!! nuts! That seems to happen alot. Its because she is busy behind the camera working her magic!! We had a photoshoot with Jack and I love all of the pics.... Jess you really do have serious skillz!! Thanks guys for coming- come back soon!! We miss you!!

Grandma Sue, we Love You!!

2011-02-25T12:50:00.000-08:00

So right after my mom left, Adam's mom Susan came to help out for about a week.... we feel soo lucky to have such great family and FABULOUS Grandma's!!! The kids loved having their Grandma's all to themselves and were spoiled rotten by both!! It was so nice having you here Susan- THANK you sooo sooo soo much for all of your help- and company!!! We love you!!!

Kate is DYNAMITE!!

2011-02-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

Kate is playing on her first soccer team this year called Dynamite!! I'm not going to lie- its been a tough season for Miss Kate..... she just didn't really want to play. The times she did play, she looked like she was having fun but that was probably due to the accessive bribes we were giving her if she did! =) whooops! Could be that she and Lilly are the only girls on the team or maybe her mother wanted her to play soccer more than she did- but we gave it a shot and maybe we'll wait till she's older to try it again!! All these pictures were taken by the talented Michelle Gifford, thanks for letting me steal them from you!!

Baby Jack

2011-02-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

Introducing: Jack Turley Smith

8 lbs. 11 oz. and 21 1/2" long

We are so happy baby Jack is here and everyone is healthy!! I couldn't have gotten through this week without you mom, thank you for coming and doing everything for us. I don't know how I am going to function without you. I'm depressed just thinking about it...... I love you!!

more pics to come......

Christmas 2010

2011-01-31T08:11:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving at our casa

2010-11-30T07:06:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we stayed home and had turkey dinner at our house!! That was a first! It was only us and Greg & Jamie's fam so it wasn't soo overwhelming- it was actually the turkey that was scaring me.... and Adam took over on that one! Everything turned out great- good times, good friends, good food! We started out the day watching Adam & Greg do the YMCA sprint triathlon.... it was freezing!! They were like naturals out there and pretty sure they are hooked!! It was their first one and they are already planning for #2!! I think both did better than they thought they would do too. Way to go, boys!!! Then we came back to our house and got all the food ready and ate our hearts out!!! I love food!

These guys were FROZEN the whole time....

Adam and Ham & Cheese rippin through the course

push it!!

This face says it all!! Greg did awesome- even on a mountain bike!

Shredding it in the water- nice form babe!!

Greg the fish.

Adam did a faboosh job on the turkey- he found this yummy rub that he put on Bertha and she tasted m m good! see below pic

Please excuse the nasty glass..... hopefully you can see the dogs through it! Sam & Lionus wishing they were inside partaking of all the goodness.

We had some little indians in the house- they did some dancing to x-mas music

Here's Bertha!! We were so proud of our first turkey!! It wasn't even as hard as we thought either!

After all that eating, time for naps!!! standard.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Happy belated Halloweenie!!

2010-11-09T12:35:00.001-08:00

I'm so backed up....... blogging, that is!

2010-11-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

Happy 32nd Birthday,babe!!!

2010-09-23T12:54:00.001-07:00

Adam turned the big 3 -2 on Monday.... old fart!!! haha we joke how we are getting so old- but don't really feel it! we're just young at heart! =) So for this anti-climatic birthday party I made him what he asked for, which was a bombaliciously juicy burger.... (which of course I delivered) haha! and finished off the night at DQ for our most favorite treat- the Butterfinger Blizzard!!! We hope you had a great birthday babe! You are such a great dad and hubby and we appreciate how hard you work so we can have such a nice life!! The longer we are together, the more I love you!!

Camping Getaway

2010-09-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

We just got back from camping- about 2 hours away from our house. I'm not exactly sure where we were- I just know it was 30 degrees cooler than home and beautiful!!! We had a lot of fun with family and friends!!
We were the first to get there, so we staked out a spot and hung out for a couple of hours.

Took a few nature walks...

Gathered fire wood....

and got REALLY dirty... REALLY fast!!!

All the kids were obsessed with flashlights and couldn't wait for it to get dark.

The first night we ate yummy foil dinners made by Scott himself, which is a must for camping and had shmores and dough boys for dessert.... delish!!

We woke bright and early, thanks to the sun and some children

and had a gourmet breakfast by Eldon....

Kate & Charlie both slept like rocks- even though it was 40 degrees at night.

Morning nature walks...

Group shot

Kate and Rae Rae singing songs together and walking around the campsite.... cute

Char & Olivia up to no good...

me, Jamie, & Quincy

hug a tree!

the boys- cant stop talking about work.....

Kate & her BF's..... this girl is an animal lover at heart!!

playing in Sam's kennel

There was a meadow in the back of our campsite- it was soo pretty!

Potty break- Kate was afraid of the bathrooms so she opted for a rock

uuuhh, is that an ax??

Campfire kids!!

All work and a little play!!

2010-08-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

My dad came out to visit last week and it was awesome!! The kids were in heaven- LOVING papa and wanted to spend every second with him. As you can see below, my dad spent a day as Mr. Copperstar in training, and I think he LOVEd being a locksmith!!! =) Yes! We also were hard at work developing my dads name and logo for his new business- which you will see at the end. Now the fun part was really just hanging out with us!!! Thats fun, right? haha The boys went on bike rides, we went shopping, ate ice cream, shot pigeons (they were the dirty ones), and made balloon hats! Thanks dad for coming and for a great couple of days!!!

Kate's 1st Day of Pre School!!!

2010-08-18T08:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Kate & Charlie!!

2010-08-16T08:23:00.001-07:00

Stuart & Emily.... sittin in a tree.......

2010-08-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

San Juan Capistrano: 2010

2010-07-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

2nd Annual 4th of July Weekend Extravaganza in Prescott, AZ!!!

2010-07-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Lately

2010-06-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Swim class

2010-06-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Kate took swim lessons with her two friends Lilly and Miah at the Rec. Center! She had a lot of fun- not sure how much she learned but she had a lot of fun!! Kate loves the water!! Poor Charlie loves the water too, and had to suffer watching his big sister on the sidelines.... sorry Charlie!

Kate's Graduation Party!

2010-05-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

Kate & 4 of her friends just finished school... joy school, that is!! We had a little graduation swim party/ picnic for the girls. They sang songs they learned at school and all got certificates! Congrats to Kate, Halle, Caysja, Mia, & LeiLani!!

Catching up....

2010-05-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we met up with the Hardings for a quickie weekend in Palm Springs! It was pretty spectacular! We basically ate, swam, chilled... ate, swam, chilled the whole weekend! The kids couldn't get enough of the pool/hot tub.... it was such a relaxing weekend. We did have a very nice visitor when we first arrived at the house we were staying at.... as you will see below. He's the 4ft. red thing in the trash can. nice!! Anyways, it was so fun to hang out with these guys before they moved off to Utah.... good luck with that!!
And for an added bonus, on our way out we met up with Jess Bones- who was also in P.S. that weekend with her friend Teri. It was so fun to see her and chat it up for a little bit! Love you, girl!!

Notice the hand in hair.... precious

WoWZaS!!!

2010-04-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Cami invited us to her friend/ old boss's house to swim the other day at THE most BEAuTIfUL & aMAzInG house I have EVER seen! Seriously I have never seen anything like it. You definitely dont feel like your in the desert, more like heaven =). Everything, down to the trash cans are perfect and so tastefully designed. The landscaping is probably my most favorite part about it, it makes me happy! And it makes me think of my mom and how much she would love it too! Anyways, the kids had a blast playing so ThAnKS Cam for the invite!!! Any time, girl!! Any time!

Wild Weekend with Olivia & E......+ 2

2010-04-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

E came out to AZ for some business last weekend... her bro & sis in- law (the Redd's) flew her down to watch 2 of their kids while they went house hunting in Iowa. Lucky for the both of us, they live down the street from me!! So that meant partaay!! We basically hung out all weekend and tried to have lots of fun with the kids. It was so fun to have Olivia around since my kids dont get to see her much- lots of cousin LOvIN!! And it made me realize how much I miss my family!! All the kids got along really good and we had lots of fun!! Miss you, E!

HOpPY EaSTeR!!!

2010-04-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter this year. The Easter Bunny came, watched conference, and then went to Scott & Jill's for an Easter party!! We had lots of delicious food, and an easter egg hunt with all of the kids. We feel soo lucky to live close to family!! Thanks guys!

Jill made this faboosh easter cake- which tasted as good as it looked! Way to take it to the next level, Jill!! The kids especially loved it!!

Here are the kids getting ready to start the easter egg hunt...

Kate- in her scandalous princess dress- sharing her eggs with Olivia...

Here's the 3 littlest of the group- looking very happy to be taking this picture!!

A group shot of the older kids- minus Harry. He's still hunting...
Easter egg Shmeester egg hunt..... Charlie was sooooo over it! He'd rather be exploring, as usual!
The GOLDEN egg hunt..... $40 bucks and here was the secret spot.... tricky!!!
To end the night, Jill attempted to tell the Easter Story to all of the sugar & chocolate crazed kids.... at least she had one captivated member of the audience. Anderson didn't take his eyes off her the entire time!!!

Kate & her Bob.

2010-04-02T15:10:00.001-07:00

meeeeooow!

2010-03-26T14:49:00.001-07:00

We were outside coloring. Kate goes inside. Kate comes back outside looking like this. I said, "Kate! Why did you do that"?? She said, "Mom! I'm a kitty. meeeoow! Kitty's have lots of hair, you know!"

Friends

2010-03-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

We feel soo lucky to have such great neighbors surrounding us- and great friends that live 3 doors down..... its kind of what I always wished for my kids!! So sad we have to leave in a few months! Anyways. The Glenn kids, Lilly and Lola were over the other day and having so much fun playing I thought I would try and capture the moments!! Lola is the sweetest thing I know. She was just rubbing Charlie's head, and giving him hugs all day! Maybe she has a thing for Char.... or maybe she is just the sweetest thing I know!!!

Viva Las Vegas VisIToRs!!!!!

2010-03-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

Our good friends from Vegas- the Hardings- came to visit!! It was a really fun and really short visit... we wished they could have stayed at least another day! The kids had so much fun with each other and we always enjoy good conversation with them! Its so nice to have true friends who you can just pick up where you left off- even though you don't see each other very often. Good times!! I guess I didn't get any pics of the act, but Lola LOVEd Sam. She would nuzzle her face anywhere she could to be close to him.... it was the cutest, funniest thing!! Come back any time, guys!!!

DiSnEY LaND.... cest la vie!!!!!!

2010-03-17T12:36:00.001-07:00

While we were in California, my bestie & cousin Jamie says to me, Cest la Vie... lets go to Disneyland!!! I was supposed to go with my friends from AZ at the end of April, but the offer was too good to pass up. Matt (Jamie's husband...and the children's new godfather hehe) said he would watch Charlie and Parker if we went. WHAT??!! Who does that!! Anyways... because of him we had an awesome time- with no strollers and no babies!!! It was so fun to just be with Kate and go on all the rides together!! Thanks Jamie for being so spontaneous and WiLD!!! Good times! p.s. after looking at all these pics I realized Kate isn't smiling in any of them... I promise she had fun!! Those who know kate... know that's just Kate!!