The Smith Clan

My sweet little Ashton is 6 today! He had a hard time waiting till after church to open all his presents. We had family over for cake and ice cream, and he finally got to open his presents. Ashton is such an awesome kid and we are so thankful to have him in our family. He surely keeps us on our toes. We love you so much Atrain!! The pics are from Aarons phone so they are not the best, but you get the idea. After we all ate cake, the leftovers kinda fell apart, all over the counter! Oh well, cake tastes good no matter what the condition.

Ashton is well into his first soccer season. He is awesome. I love to watch his focus and his determination when he is in the game. He is the top scorer for his team! I think we have found his new passion. Thanks for the pics Nicole.

So I am a little late getting these up, but my motto better late than never! I forgot to get a picture of Dallin so this pic isn't really his first day of school. They are all growing so fast. Taylor is 13 and in 8th grade. Dallin, 11 in the 6th grade. Emma, 8 in 3rd grade. Ashton, 5 in kindergarten. Brayden is 2 and gets to stay home with mom still, but he wanted to be like the big kids and get his picture taken. I am excited for another year to start. I love seeing my kids grow and learn new things. Dallin is playing the trumpet this year and Taylor is playing the piano for the band. Here's to another great year!

We have 4 new kittens. They are now almost 4 weeks old and soo cute! Mom is being a great mommy to her babies and they are growing so big. There is a black one, an orange one, and 2 white ones. The kids are trying to talk me into keeping the white girl, NO WAY! We are enjoying them now, but they will soon be gone, hooray!

Today is our 14th wedding anniversary! Wow, time flies when your having fun. I am more in love with my hubby now than I ever thought possible. He is my best friend, my support, and my cheerleader. (no he doesn't have a uniform)
I love you babe!
Happy Anniversary

You are a beautiful person, inside and out. I am so proud of the person that you are becoming and the choices you are making. We love you!

Our first vacation of the summer began on Saturday morning. We made the 7 hour drive up to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore and everything else there is to see. We got to our cabin/house early enough that we decided to head over to Mt Rushmore that night to see the nightly lighting ceremony. It was beautiful! It really made us realize that those 4 presidents had a huge impact on our country. On the way we drove by Crazy Horse but decided to not pay the admission fee because we could see it from the road. We spent the next 2 days touring the sights and enjoying our cabin in the woods. It was really a great trip with little fighting amongst the kids.


This is the best shot I could get of Crazy Horse. They are not done with it so basically only his face is done.



The sun was directly to the left of the faces which didn't make for very good pictures, and Ashton was in a "Mood" and refused to look at the camera.

Yes, it has finally happened. All those hard months of caring for our chickens, and the reward is here. This morning I checked the nesting box, aka the egg box, and found a beautiful brown egg. The only down side was that it had been smashed to smithereens! I don't know if she pecked it and broke it or if it broke when she laid it. So I am anxiously awaiting the next egg, so I can actually taste the difference between store and fresh eggs. The yolk was a bright orangish color, which is the big difference in appearance for fresh eggs. I am so excited for the rest of the girls to start laying. They should start laying more frequently in the next few weeks.

So now we are almost into the third week of summer vacation. We have a few things planned for this summer. In 2 weeks we are going to Mt. Rushmore. Neither Aaron or I have ever been so we are heading up there for 4 days. Then in July, I am taking the kids, along with my mom, to Iowa to see my brother, and then down to Nauvoo to see the pageant. We went to Nauvoo alot when we were in Davenport, but we moved right before the temple was done so I am excited to see it. The 3 little kids haven't been to Nauvoo so I am also excited for them to see the church history. Then by the time we get home from that trip, school will be only 2 weeks away from starting. I am having a great summer so far and I can't wait to make some more great memories with my kids.

Before the big kids were out of school, I went up to Rexburg with Ashton and Brayden, for my new nieces blessing. I was antsy to get out of town so it was a perfect excuse. I hate posts with no pictures, but sorry, I forgot to take any. We had a great time hanging out and visiting with family. Even better, is that Alma and Nicole have moved here now, so I get to enjoy Jagger and Vienna even more, oh and Alma and Nicole too!!

Wow I have been busy. Busy doing a whole lot of nothing. It's funny how I really don't do much day in and day out, yet I am always going, going, going! The kids got out of school the end of May. They all had a great year and I am so proud of them. Dallin graduated from elementary school and will be going to middle school next year. Two kids in middle school, I'm old! He is very excited right now, but I'm sure when the time comes for school to start he will be nervous. Ashton finished preschool and will be going into kindergarten in the fall. My how time flies.

Dallin with his best buddies

Dallin receiving his certificate, sorry for the blurry pic

Ashton and Brayden at the Zoo, love the smile Brady!

Beautiful peacock at the zoo

The boys on the train

I chopped Brayden's hair off! I have trimmed his hair a couple times, but never this drastic. I feel like it is the last part of his babyhood. It was always looking so shaggy and frizzy. Now he looks like a little boy! He even can get the little mohawk thing going, it seems to do it naturally because of the way his hair is on his crown.

Emma has been asking me for a few weeks to get her hair cut. So today we did it! About 2 years ago, we also cut her hair short and donated it to Locks of Love and she was ready to do it again. Sorry the first pictures are small, I forgot my camera so we had to use Aaron's cell phone.

BEFORE


DURING
She cut off about 11 inches!


AFTER



I love her hair short and it will be great for summer. We will send her hair in to Locks of Love again, maybe this time I won't take 6 months to send it off! Now about the time she hits 5th grade it should be long again and she will probably want to keep it long for middle school??

Happy Birthday Dallin!

You are such an awesome kid! You have the best sense of humor and you are so kind and caring to all those around you. You are the best big brother Ashton and Brayden could have. I am so proud of you for all your accomplishments in school and church. We love you Dallin, Happy Birthday!

Sorry Brayden about the bum shot but I love that little tooshie!!!!

I have started the next dreaded step in Braydens young life, potty training. I tried to do it while the big kids were on spring break but after 3 days of that I decided it would be better to do it after they went back to school. So this past week the challenge began. You would think that I've done this 4 other times piece of cake right! I am so lazy this time! All my other kids were trained within a week of their 2nd birthday. I didn't think he would ever get it, however, I am pleased to say he is doing awesome. He has been in big boy undies for 5 days now and has only had 3 accidents. We are even going out and about in his undies. It just finally clicked in his head. He is even taking his naps in underwear and has had no accidents. I am still too afraid to cut out the diapers at night, but he has been dry for the last 2 mornings! I would say he is about 90% potty trained, the last 10% being #2 in the potty, still working on that! Way to go Brayden! My baby is not a baby anymore

This picture is one of my favorites of Aaron and I when we went on our cruise for my 29th birthday. Fast forward 3 years and I am celebrating my 32nd birthday today. I still don't feel that old. I remember when I was first married(at 18, such a baby!) thinking 30 seemed so far away and OLD. I don't have big plans, just a regular day for the most part.

I am grateful for my family and everyone in my life that brings me joy and friendship! I have a wonderful family that loves and cares for me. And I have great friends that think of me often. I love having Girls Night Out to be able to rejuvenate myself and be a better mom and wife, thanks Girls!!

So with nothing else to say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Today Emma turned 8! She had a fun filled day. We went to Mushashi's for lunch. It is a japanese tepanyaki grill, our favorite. Then we went to see a movie, but soon realized it was just way to busy. So we decided to go home and buy a movie from the tv. They watched Kitt Kittridge and played around. We then got pizza for dinner, did presents, and then cake. She got to have her cousin spend the night. She had a great day! Saturday is her baptism. Anyone is welcome to come and support Emma in this wonderful day. It starts at 10:00 am at the Meadowland Stake Center. Emma is such an awesome person. She has a contagious laugh, and a very strong, determined spirit. We love her so much. Happy Birthday Emma. I will post pics on Saturday after the baptism.

They are so big already! They are all doing well still and we are hoping to move them to the coop this weekend. We tried to do it today but the wind was so cold we decided to wait a few more days.




We made this coop from scrap wood we both had lying around. We only spent about $11 on the whole thing. We didn't have much of a plan when we started, but I think it turned out pretty nice. We nail gunned some nails into a 2x4 and buried it in the ground so if any predators try to dig, they will get poked with 3 in. nails. The chickens have their own door to come in and out of each day so they stay safe inside the coop. So far, so good. I'll let you know when they start laying eggs!! Can't wait!