The Smith Family

Toy Story on Ice

2012-01-20T16:04:00.008-07:00

A few months back a bunch of our friends bought tickets to all take our kids to Toy Story on Ice--it was AWESOME and the boys were in AWE!! The seats were pretty low so it kept their attention the full 2 hours! We were suppose to kidnap Daddy from work for a little bit to join us, but of course it was a busy week so he couldn't go so we kidnapped Poppie from his work instead:) I highly recommend the show if your looking for something to do...

The Army men were for sure the FAVORITE act
The effects/stunts even impressed me:)

Trey & Presley

Boston stood like this 80% of the time in awe
Those were all Jazzercise Barbies lol
See those slushies--50.00 for those 4--I am dead serious:)

Day Trip to Tucson

2012-01-16T20:33:00.006-07:00

The boys and I took a little mini trip down to Tucson for the day to see my PaPa that was in town from Carlsbad. We got to see some other family too while we were down there. We had a little down time at my aunt's and then we all went to lunch at the same restaurant we always go to--Casa Molina:)
Playing with his cousins football gear was a BIG highlight

The boys, my dad, & PaPa
With 3 of his 4 great grand-kids

Not bad for a Monday...

2012-01-09T14:51:00.004-07:00

Originally we were headed to The Farm at South Mountain for lunch today, but when we got there we found it was closed on Mondays lol so we decided just to drive and see where we ended up... Well we ended up at The Vig in Arcadia, which neither of us had ever been to. So I called from the parking lot to make sure it was kid friendly and it was so we went in, and I am SOOOO glad we did! The atmosphere, food, & drinks were all perfect--and the boys were perfectly behaved! From there we went to Chelsea's Kitchen where Mark ran in and bought us all a piece of red velvet cake that we shared in the car. As we all ate our piece of cake we drove around at looked at the INSANE mansions up on Camelback mountain... It was a delightful day!
*I did this with my iphone

Derby Luncheon

2012-01-07T18:32:00.004-07:00

Today was the 1st event of a few for my sister in law's upcoming wedding--her bridal shower which happen to be Kentucky Derby themed. It was SO MUCH FUN dressing up and wearing big fun hats--I LOVE a good party:) The atmosphere was perfect--it really is so exciting for me to watch and be a part of their upcoming wedding--Mark's family has been apart of my life now for 10 years so I truly am so excited to watch her and her fiance get married!!!! Here are a few pictures but I honestly didn't take that many so I will have to get some from MIL to show how cute the shower was:)
My sister, Grandma, Mom, & I
My 5 sisters on Mark's side and my Mother in Law
The BRIDE & I
Just the SISTERS
My Sister
My handsome husband sporting Malaysia's (our 5 month old niece)Derby hat lol

Trey Random Entry

2012-01-05T23:46:00.000-07:00

1st Day Back to School:
Well I have to say I am shocked we lasted this long, but today {the 1st day of 2nd semester} as I was picking you up from school I was greeted with "Did Trey do a lot of wrestling/football over Christmas Break" ME: as I ever so sweetly look down at you "Ummm yes I suppose he did" TEACHER: "Well he periodically was tackling the other students today" ME: I honestly don't even remember what I responded with but as soon as I got in the car and did my little speech to you--we rode straight to Honeybears {where Daddy then had a talk with you} in silence as I pondered the thought of how many teachers/principles meetings were in my future... Now somehow I have to figure out how to get you to understand when your allowed to tackle--which has been ok whenever your with any Uncles or Aunts for that matter--and when you CAN NOT:)

Last day of our "Staycation"

2012-01-02T17:54:00.003-07:00

We really have not done much of anything this past week even though Mark was off the whole time! We got quite a bit of organizing and cleaning {we are trying to somewhat get organized for our move while its so nice outside}but we didn't finish:) I am SO SAD he is going back to work tomorrow lol--we stayed up so late watching movies every night, and he cooked some amazing meals, and we went on a date night to The Sushi Room--it was perfect!! I am super excited for our real vacations coming up though too--so I suppose I will just start counting down the days for those:)
We decided to take the boys to the zoo today since it was so nice out, so enjoy all the pictures of the back of their heads lol...
At the new orangutan exhibit

Ever since they saw RIO the birds are now a favorite as well
The Lion
Then we also took Trey out to practice on his new bike for the 1st time

Poppie trying to teach him to pedal
Let's just say he doesn't get it yet lol but he is close

New Years Eve...

2011-12-31T22:03:00.004-07:00

This pretty much sums up our New Years Night:) Mac & Cheese dinner for the boys & then I built that little train track city and we played for quite awhile:) It was extremely laid back and after the boys went to bed by 8 Mark went and picked us up dinner and we ate in peace, drank champagne, and watched a movie all while being in pajamas--it was perfection! Honestly as I sit here and ponder about the upcoming year all I can think about is buying our new house & going on our little trip to NY in April:)--I CAN NOT wait to move and I think pinterest has made it worse than it would have been lol...seriously I have so many home projects because of pinterest that I want to start on, but I will try to live "in the moment" until we get those keys this year:) Happy New Years!!

The whole Smith Family!

2011-12-30T15:04:00.008-07:00

Here are our family pictures that we took with Mark's family. I am not sure why but whenever my Mother-in-law emails me pictures they come small so that's why their not huge--we are going to have to figure that out lol, but ENOY them!

Love this picture

MiMi & PaPa

My 5 sis-in-laws & I

Christmas Day!

2011-12-25T23:41:00.029-07:00

Our Christmas day was filled with FAMILY, FOOD, GOOD HEALTH, & PRESENTS all in celebration of Jesus' birth--you really can't ask for more than that! The boys, Mark, & I were all spoiled more than we deserve, but I am pretty sure we stressed enough that it was Jesus' Birthday so Trey had a semi descent grasp of what the day was about--it also helps that the last 3 Sundays at church he has been learning about Jesus' birthday and learned a special birthday song! We started out doing presents from Santa with our little family--Trey 100% got into presents this year and didn't need help opening anything! Boston was easily side tracked with whatever was already open:) Trey specifically asked Santa for a red bike so of course that wish was granted--and of course to be fair Boston got a motorized ATV to keep up with his big brother. Thomas & Chuggington trains were a plenty as well! We then headed over to my Mom's for breakfast and more presents--GiGi & Poppie might have won with the favorite gift of a real big motorized train that you would set up around your Christmas tree--the boys would NOT leave it alone {which is kind of a bummer because I will probably put it away til Christmas next year} they had Uncle Arie playing it with them for hours. We then went and headed back to MiMi & PaPa's house for presents {somehow our timeline got disorganized this year so it wasn't efficient lol} Then we went back to my Mom's for Christmas dinner and to do presents with my Grandma!
It didn't take long for Trey to figure out to look for the corner and start:)

Santa knew a motorized 4 wheeler was needed to keep up with his brother

Trey you specifically asked Santa for a RED bike:)

Then it was off to GiGi's for breakfast and presents
Opening with Uncle Shaw

Poppie helping Boston

flannel shirts from Aunt Shayla & Uncle Arie--Mommy LOVED them:)--this was the only article of clothing they got lol
Helping get the Woody out of the box--Daddy wasn't fast enough
My brothers opening a present together like old times:)
Ohhhh the BIG train--Uncle Arie setting it up with the boys
PRESENTS at MiMi & PaPa's House

Daddy helping Boston
A present for MiMi--custom screen printed pillow on burlap--she LOVED it!!!

Present # 1--Time Square puzzle
Present #2--an apple, Present #3--toy Taxi, Present #4--toy airplane
Present #5--airline tickets to NYC with babysitting while we are gone!!!!

Shocked doesn't even describe it lol, but we are SO EXCITED--so a HUGE thanks to my In-Laws!!!!!
Boston & Aunt Sabriya
I needed another picture with the PRINCESS:)
Love these 3 together!

After dinner the clothes came off and presents with Great Grandma were done in Undies lol--luckily she bought them pajamas so those were put on
and she found Thomas pillow pets so those were a hit!

Aunt Shayla teaching them to make a tunnel with their legs lol
Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus

Twas the night before Christmas...

2011-12-24T23:39:00.001-07:00

Today we did our normal Christmas get together with The Smith side and attended Christmas Eve church service (which is my favorite service out of the whole year when it is candle light) I love how our church has the kids actually come into service not go to class. We possibly have the biggest family every year at the service lol. From church we headed to our annual secret gift exchange and to do stockings with the boys from MiMi & PaPa. After tons of laughing we headed home to put the boys to bed--which ended with putting cookies & milk out for Santa, and of course some Reindeer food--this was the 1st year we have done that so it was very fun! Then the elves got to work{wink}

Christmas Eve started out with some Reindeer Pancakes... They were so easy and so cute--got the idea from HERE.

Then the boys and I hung out and watched Santa Paws and The Polar Express while we waited for Daddy to come home before church. We also made our reindeer food to sprinkle over the lawn tonight and Jesus' birthday cake for tomorrow. {By the way I got a SUPER CUTE FREE printable for the reindeer food from Anders Ruff}

Before Christmas Eve church

In front of the tree at church

Somebody is OBSESSED with this baby girl--Mark steals her from me every time I have her!

Stockings from Mimi & Papa

I LOVE her too:)

Trey had her laughing
Reindeer Food Time

The unwrapped gifts are from Santa
Until tomorrow...

***I know these "magical" years are going to fly by so Trey & Boston we just want you to know how much we LOVE doing all these special things for you guys--I don't ever want it to end!!!! XOXO

A visit with Mrs. Claus

2011-12-22T13:50:00.001-07:00

Some moms from my church got together and took our kiddos to a story time led by Mrs. Claus. They also had a craft and a goody bag for each child--it was cute & fun!
Moving the candy cane in our advent calendar before we left

Boston doing the craft
This lady actually had a VERY good voice and sang carols with the kids as well

Christmas Party at School

2011-12-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

Trey's little get together at school today was so CUTE--and the parents were invited so I got to be apart of it which was fun:) The kids all wore their Christmas PJ'S and got to bring their pillows to watch a Christmas movie. They also all brought a wrapped book and did a present swap which was a HUGE hit. Then there were the cute little festive treats...I just LOVE Christmas, and I can not wait to LOVE it even more next year when we are hopefully in our Brand New Home--anyways that was a side note...
Balance the bean bag

They performed a couple Christmas songs for us:)
The game how they each got a gift

Of course he wanted to open it as soon as we got in the car

A little baking with the boys

2011-12-17T23:52:00.000-07:00

So these cookies were not for anyone but us so I let the boys go to town on how much they wanted to roll the dough, cut out shapes, and decorate... They had a BLAST--not a ton of pictures because this was a VERY messy hands on event:)

Train Open House

2011-12-16T23:09:00.001-07:00

So I saw on another friends blog that she went to this Train thing and I knew I had to find out the details to take my train obsessed boys! I am so glad I did--this guys backyard is INSANE--the entire thing is tracks and a little town for his trains!!! The last open house til next December is tonight if anyone is interested... We were there 1.5 hours and Trey still shed tears when we left lol.

The train getting filled with REAL Gasoline
Yes the trains go over that bridge

This was in the garage before they go thru the tunnel out to the backyard lol
These were just the ones not in use lol

Sledding, Snow, & Bearizona!

2011-12-12T19:58:00.009-07:00

Today when we woke a fresh layer of snow covered everything and it was so pretty!!! We got up and headed out to do some sledding with Trey & Layla. After we {FROZE} & had enough we went to our usual breakfast spot we go to every year, and then headed over to Bearizona. We had never done this before when we have gone so it was SUPER NEAT to see. You drive thru the 1st half and then there is a part where you get out and walk...I figured since it was snowing pretty good we would only do the drive part, but Mark did go take Trey into the outside part for a good 20 minutes so Trey thoroughly enjoyed that--all he wanted was to be outside in the snow...

Are they not the CUTEST thing ever???

The Johnson's & us
Our own little marshmallow lol--

Albino Bison
These wolves were literally touching our car
Black bears playing
Trey getting smashed by Daddy with a snowball lol
Sleeping bear

Baby wolf
The snow storm made the drive home sooooo pretty!

Our "Polar" Tradition

2011-12-11T23:29:00.019-07:00

This was our 3rd year in a row going to The Polar Express, and I just LOVE this tradition we have started! I will totally take them every year til they are begging us not to lol! But right now the look on their faces during the whole ride is too magical not to see each year. Again Trey acted as if we really were going to the North Pole. He is actually talking this year so he had his list of what he wanted to tell Santa which was so cute to see!! Boston on the other hand HATED Santa so much that Trey took a picture with him alone and then we did a family shot so Boston would be in 1 lol {I am talking back arched convulsions so we could not even get a crying picture lol}. This year we went on the later train ride at 7:30 which was a little more crazy than the 6pm ride we have done in the past, but it was colder which seemed to make it even more real lol. We also realized by total coincidence that The Johnson Family booked their Polar tickets the same day and time so we met up for a bit for some photos of the kids. It really was a awesome weekend away with our family--we had so much fun together!
At the hotel before we left modeling their new Grinch PJ's--like Trey's scarf lol--he LOVES it lol
Mrs. Claus
Writing letters to Santa

Putting them in Santa's mailbox:)

Looking at the Christmas village with a train of course
Playing with their new trains before we boarded...

*These didn't scan in the best but you get the idea:)

Mrs. Claus' cookies

Following along with the story as it was read

Looking at The North Pole
See Santa on his sleigh...

Getting his BELIEVE bell from Santa
Santa was talking to Boston he but he was so backed into the corner he isn't in the pic lol
Trey kept saying "I can hear it" lol--

Video of Boston dancing to some of the Christmas carols

Family Photos 2011

2011-12-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

So I have had this "idea" in my head for awhile, and decided since I was not pregnant and didn't have a newborn to deal with this would be the year to try it out--I wanted to set up a king size wrought iron bed outside and read to the boys and have a pillow fight lol. Luckily I married the most amazing man ever who lets me ONLY use the creative side of my brain and not the logical (at least that is what he tells me lol)so he was down for my set up! Of course the day we had scheduled for months it started to rain on us as we drove to our {1st destination} so midway we turned around and had the photographer turn around to head out to another part of the valley to {location #2} well it just so happened that was Indian land which we did not find out til my bed was practically all set up and the Indian police showed up lol so I made a call to Ocotillo Golf course, which thankfully I give them enough business that they were down with being my {location #3} so down came the bed again and off to Ocotillo it was where Mark and the fabulous photographer re-put the bed together right on the course in front of a lake! Luckily we had just bought Rio the movie so this whole time the boys watched it 2x back to back lol and really didn't make a peep! I have to say that it was all worth it because I LOVE the pictures and can not wait to pick some and put them on canvas and hang them up in a cluster in our new house!!! So here are some of them, but there were just too many to pick from to put them all up--thanks again Radiant Photography--I am lucky enough to work with this amazing team on my weddings, and I just can not tell you how AMAZING their pictures are!!!
Love him!!!
{LOVE} this one of Trey and Mark
The boys reading The very Quiet Cricket
Pillow fight time

And {LOVE} this one of Bosty and Mark

Love his sweet face in this picture--he is still my baby lol
another favorite!
Reading Peter Pan--this is one of my FAVORITES!!!

feathers were EVERYWHERE lol

Zoo Lights

2011-11-27T23:06:00.000-07:00

Last minute we decided to head out Zoo Lights tonight, and I must say it was so relaxing with just the 4 of us. This was the 1st time in 4 years of going that I was not pregnant or did not have a baby in the moby wrap lol. Anyways the boys LOVED all the lights and the popcorn, and Trey kept asking to go see Santa so I am hoping that means he will like him when we do go see him!
Waiting to get on the merry go round--can you tell he was excited?

Daddy had wagon duty:)

North Pole Breakfast...

2011-11-25T10:20:00.008-07:00

I saw on a blog somewhere awhile back that someone had a breakfast for when their elf made their 1st appearance of the season, and I knew I had to do this with a few of my own twists! So this morning Charlie made his debut!! Not only did he make his 1st appearance, but he also had breakfast awaiting them on little Elf plates! There were snowman filled with milk to drink from topped with powdered donut heads (they for sure knew this was Charlie's doing because I have NEVER bought them donuts lol) Then there were even cake pops in the shape of Charlie's head perfectly tinted to match our tan elf:) Charlie had also wrote each of them note that sat waiting in their mailboxes since Charlie doesn't talk you know... He also brought a bigger plush version of himself for them to hold on to this season since everyone knows you can not touch your real elf or else he loses his magic:) All in all it was the perfect breakfast to start this holiday season--one in which I hope Charlie does every year{wink}
We read the book during breakfast...
The cute "mixed" elf cake pops :)
Their place settings
Where Charlie was perched for his debut!

The mailbox was a BIG highlight for Trey lol

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Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-24T23:33:00.018-07:00

The day started out like it normally does with Mark leaving in the middle of the night (midnight) to head out to go make turkeys--which means it was the little boys and I. So we watched the parade and made pumpkin pancakes, which were delightful! Then we waited til Daddy came home and got dressed for the day to go to our 1st dinner. First on the agenda was The Smith's--which had lots of friends and family and was SUPER fun! After spending the afternoon there we headed over to my Mom's. She went all out this year and had us eat outside at long tables--it was BEAUTIFUL with twinkle lights & candles everywhere!!
It was a wonderful day with lots of food & family! Then from there I convinced my dad to come stand in line with me at Toys R Us lol--we got there at 8-the doors opened at 9--we got in at 9:40, and I was home by 11:30! It was AWESOME--I saved so much money I will totally do it again next year!!!!

Cousins

Boston's outfit was washed and dried before we even made it to our 2nd destination lol

My moms set up was Beautiful!!!!!
The boys admiring her village--its their favorite!

Aunt Shayla
Our place settings

Feast at School

2011-11-22T14:42:00.007-07:00

Today at school Trey had a mini Thanksgiving feast fun day-complete with pilgrim hats/bonnets! They were the cutest things ever!!! I know they cooked, ate, and made hand print turkey place mats other than that I don't get much detail out of him:)

I LOVE that he runs to me lol as everyone else walks...

Field Trip at School

2011-11-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

Trey had his 1st field trip today with school--they went to the Farm to pick veggies. {They are currently learning about produce at school} I am so glad I am able to go to these things!! They went on a hay ride to get a tour of the farm, saw some animals, rode a train, and picked vegetables right out of the ground! The other classes went as well so we had quite the group!
On the hay ride with his 2 best girls

The 3 Tuesday Thursday classes together

Heading out to pick some veggies
Getting a one on one lesson from the farmer on how to pick a radish

Guess who went to the dentist?

2011-11-14T15:26:00.006-07:00

I knew Trey needed to go have his teeth cleaned, but I have been dreading it--so when I saw this awesome deal on groupon I figured that was my kick in the butt to get it done! So Trey and I headed over to the pediatric dentist for X-rays, a cleaning, and fluoride treatment. He did awesome with the x-rays involving everything but his molars. Then he did really well when the dentist came in and looked, but he did not like the actual cleaning at all--that is when the tears came, but he had NO cavities so this MaMa was happy! After he was done he got a balloon and a toy so all was well!

X-Rays

He liked when the chair moved up and down lol

Before the cleaning...
Getting his picture taken for the "No Cavity Wall of Fame"

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Halloween Night!

2011-10-31T23:25:00.000-07:00

For Halloween this year we spent the evening with good friends at The Locke's home! They make chili and cornbread and the kids ran around all crazy:) I made pumpkin whoopie pies this year with cream cheese middles and they were YUMMY!!! Can I just say that I love my whoopie pie pan lol? Anyways its always quite comical hanging out with this group of friends since they each have 2 girls and we have the only boys--lets just say there was NOT a lack of princesses:) Trey could actually say Trick or Treat this year which was fun and he totally got what the point was, but was a tad lazy lol he wanted back in the wagon in between each house --Boston soon caught on too on what to do to get some candy! I must say my little pirates were so freaking cute I LOVED it!!!! I CAN NOT wait til Halloween next year--I am assuming we will be in our new home by then so I can DECORATE lol!!!!
Do you know how long this Woody took me lol??
Carmel apples and pumpkin carving
Gigi handed out Thomas trains & DVD's when the boys said Trick or Treat lol

and Great-Grandma had premade Halloween bags full of treats!!!

Captain Hook

Yes we stuck Peter Pan in the tree lol

Tinkerbell

Boston & Ellison relaxing after trick or treating
Love Love Love these girls--missing Courtney though:(
Dinner Time--Josh's chili was AMAZING!!!
Molly was the cutest elephant ever!

this was the laziness I was talking about lol
The 1st Trick or Treat ever!!
Bert taking Trey in the mini haunted house for candy lol

and Boston chasing a naked girl up the stairs--going to have to nip that in the butt lol!

Fall Festival at School

2011-10-27T15:14:00.002-07:00

Trey's class had a little harvest festival at preschool today--the kids got to wear their costumes, play games, do a craft, and eat yummy treats!! I got assigned cupcakes ,and of course I already had 100 things pinned on pinterest so I made Brains in a Jar (cupcakes) and they were so fun to make and tasted AMAZING, and I heard the kids LOVED them!

Captain Hook & a VERY cute butterfly
*I didn't let him take his HOOK to school for safety reasons lol
Goofy eyes at school--Trey's class
Trey & Trey
Best friends
Presley the kitty cat

Halloween Party

2011-10-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

Our playgroup had their annual Halloween Party today-it kind of got off to the wrong start when I got over half way there and realized I forgot their costumes lol and had to turn around, but it ended up fine. We have gone to this every year since Trey was born so it really is so fun to see all the same kids grow up together and now all the siblings. Trey is quite into pirates right now which means Boston also is into pirates--Jake and the Never land Pirates is a HUGE show for us so I was not shocked when this was what Trey wanted to be--so Trey is Captain Hook and Boston is Peter Pan:) Of course I had to make a matching themed dessert to share so I made cupcakes with crocodiles on them from the Peter Pan movie. I LOVE how excited Trey gets with every little thing--he thinks anything I bake is literally the greatest thing in the world and I LOVE it!!! I am not going to lie it was a rough long day and I just did not have the energy to take lots of pictures so here is to hoping I get more on Halloween:)

The whole gang!

My attempt at the crocodile from Peter Pan :)

Its so funny because these 2 stay pretty close together the whole time

Chili, Pumpkins, & Pig Races

2011-10-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

I knew I wanted to take the boys to Schnepf Farms this year to at least try it out because I have never been to their fall Chili nights, and I am so glad we did go!!!! We also invited the family to tag along with us which always makes for a fun time. Trey has been watching Charlie Brown's Halloween every night which has a pumpkin patch in it so he has been asking to go to a pumpkin patch 50-100 times a day, which made me even more excited to take him:) If it has to do with FALL I feel like we did it tonight--there was a hay maze, S'mores, hay rides, pumpkins, bon fires, pumpkin launching, live music, & a spooky train ride! We had so much fun and the boys LOVED it! Trey went on his 1st roller coaster and LOVED it--he rode it 3 times! He was also dying to go on the train ride--well little did we know that it was a HAUNTED TRAIN RIDE that lasted 12 minutes lol--Trey sat in the middle of Mark and I so we did almost a perfect job shielding him from all the scary men that popped out lol, but he didn't seem to mind at all:)

Sword fighting with the corn stalks

They found corn!

Yes that is my son peeing in the patch--don't ask...

PaPa and the boys

an attempted shot of the cousins

The new little family
All who were able to make it out to Schnepf with us

I had to fight my mom off the whole night to hold her:)

Trey LOVED the rides!
Trey was so excited for his train ride
Love his face:)

Boston eating dinner by Sabriya

Soccer season continues...

2011-10-15T20:56:00.004-07:00

Soccer season is still going which means 1 practice and 1 game a week. Trey absolutely LOVES it (he asks every morning if he gets to go to soccer) now you would not exactly think he loves it being that he is not very interested in kicking the ball, but he is VERY interested in running up and down the field with the rest of the kids chasing the ball. I can not figure out if he is intimidated because he is the youngest or what--now he has had a few "rough housing incidents" but I think that just comes from him wanting to play football... Anyways he always has the best little cheering section--this past weekend Aunt Shayla drove all the way over from Verrado (50 minutes) to see his game:)
Aunt Shayla

I know he is mine but I think he is so CUTE lol

Mark actually coached their practice and game this week...

THE TUNNEL
I would have to say the end of the game is a highlight lol--I mean there is the parent tunnel and the treat--what's not to love???

Decorating pumpkins with friends

2011-10-12T19:27:00.003-07:00

Every year our play group gets together and lets the kids paint/color/put stickers on pumpkins--this year I had 2 little boys who were into it!!! I feel like I have not been able to see them nearly as much as I used to with my wedding schedule and Trey's preschool. I made the same AMAZING Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins that I made last year and of course they were a hit!!! The recipe I found here on one of my friends blogs--try them they are so easy and taste wonderful!

Of course they smile for the blurry phone pics lol

Kim & Caden

Childrens Museum

2011-10-11T16:40:00.002-07:00

We headed over to Children's Museum today with The Nolans today-- {Thanks for MiMi & PaPa for such an awesome gift!!!}. Hallie and I were out numbered 4 to 2 lol so it was CRAZY, but the kids all love it there!!! Needless to say we all WANTED a nap after:) While we were there we ran into another friend from high school so that was fun for the kids.

Blue Hair
Painting the castle
I have not let him do this before so we will see if this is really "washable " paint when i do laundry:)
The race track is probably Trey's FAVORITE

Trey making a stir fry

Boston & Blake in the "grocery store" shopping

*Video after we got home Trey was playing with his football men and I thought it was so cute!

Halloween Pj's--Now & Then...

2011-09-28T13:48:00.008-07:00

I could not help myself yesterday when I saw that Walmart's Halloween PJ's ($7.00 each people)were almost sold out--of course I had to get Trey & Boston's sizes!! So that night of course Trey wanted to wear them so I decided to get their pictures in them just like we did last year... Things have been SO INCREDIBLY hectic around here that it felt good to just play around with candy corn:) Wedding season is here which means non-stop all day I get calls and emails plus I have a wedding every weekend til Thanksgiving, and on top of that we are in a "transition phase" with buying a house--meaning it did not work out for us to find a house and go from our home to that one so we are staying with family! {Did I mention that neither Mark or I has ever moved back in with someone since we both left the house 10 years ago after high school} Let me say that I fully acknowledge that God is teaching me a lesson here--that lesson being--I am not in control--that being said my normal organization freakish scheduled behavior is out the window for the time being... so it kind of puts me in a tid bit of a stressed out mood lol. Plus I am super annoyed that this all had to go down right before the holidays--you all know how I like to decorate for the holidays and now EVERYTHING we own besides clothes and toys is in a pod storage thing, and I just WANT some Halloween decor out--but there is always a plus side and that would be how much money we get to save in the mean time so I won't complain too much:) Plus I am pretty sure of all the problems out there this is pretty insignificant so I will just be thankful for our health, and be excited to be in our new home for the holidays next year!
Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

Love these Then & Now pictures:)

Halloween 2010

Iowa Day 3

2011-09-15T08:19:00.006-07:00

On our last day we made all the same rounds to say good bye with an additional stop at Mark's Great-Aunt's house so the boys (Great Great Aunt) which was probably the funniest thing I've experienced in awhile lol--she has some sort of memory issue, but was the sweetest lady:) She introduced herself to me 3 times in 15 minutes and thought I was my father in laws wife--not sure how that works when she knew (my Mark) was his son lol, but we played along because there was sense making her more confused lol. She even proceeded to ask (my Mark) if he had a girlfriend lol I was dying because I wanted to be like "yes I am right here" but Mark just said that he did:)
Another funny thing that made me laugh was Mark's Grandma was obsessed with my Pony Tail--everyone knows I like bigger hair well she LOVED "my bump" in the front and asked if I would show her her how to do it to her hair:) *That story was for my friends that always ask how I get "my bump" lol
We were sent off with yet another HUGE meal from Mark's Grandma (when I say huge I mean like she put 4 dinner rolls just on my plate alone lol)& the boys played outside to wear off some energy before we had to fly... The weather was so nice--the high today was 51!!!!
So sweatshirts and Starbucks were a must:) I have to say that the good byes with Mark's Grandpa were the hardest to watch since his Grandpa was so emotional--I think h liked the chaos they brought to his room:) We already went and printed the 4 Generation picture and put it on his bed stand so at least he has that to look at too!
On the front porch at Mark's Grandmas house

Trey with Aven which I think is his 3rd cousin?

All the cousins in my boys age range were BOYS:)
Saying goodbye to Great Grandpa

More goodbyes...

Iowa Day 2

2011-09-13T20:38:00.016-07:00

This whole 2 hour time difference thing is hard to get used to right away--our hotel had breakfast til 9 well we got up at 7 so that was 9 here so we missed that lol--so after grabbing some food we went over to Mark's Grandma's house and Trey made himself right at home like he has been going there his whole life:) We did some more visiting then headed to the nursing home where Mark's Grandpa has been staying. (honestly I am going to start praying daily I never have to go to one of those!!) Anyways his Grandpa was VERY excited to see everyone and to learn that he was going to be moved to an assisted living home rather a nursing home. It was so neat to see that he still had part of our wedding invitation up in his room. After spending a good 1.5 hours there we got him checked out and went back to Mark's Grandma's for a HUGE lunch:) This is when I MADE the SMITH boys pose for me for LOTS of pictures-and finally I got one of ALL of them looking!

Great Aunt Caroline
Great Aunt Sherry

I LOVE this picture of him watching Trey
Outside the nursing home

The PERFECT 4 generation picture!

BOYS
Aunt Sherry with me--she used to live in AZ and I always LOVED her!
My father in law learning to can home made relish (here they call it chow chow) And my friends who can you should have seen these jars they were amazing and I bet older than me:)
Sitting on Great Grandma's porch

So Trey is OBSESSED with train tracks whenever we are driving he wants to find some--well PaPa is a sucker and drove to some multiple times a day and even pulled over and let Trey play on them--clearly he is way more fun than Mark or I lol

Milk break--and yes I know I need to ween the bottle so no comments:)

Iowa Day 1

2011-09-12T19:31:00.007-07:00

We flew out to Iowa today with Mark's dad to go see all of Mark's extended family, but most importantly get the 4 generation picture of Big Mark's dad, Big Mark, {my} Mark, Trey, & Boston. All of Mark's extended family had never met the boys yet and we had not seen a lot of them in forever (like since our wedding 6 1/2 years ago) Our flight went pretty perfect--Trey watched a movie the whole time and Boston slept most of the time. It has been such a nice time--literally we were not in the state 45 minutes when we served an amazing huge meal! Then tons of family just coming over and saying all while we got to be OUTSIDE in amazing nice weather! (I want to know why every house in AZ does not have a front porch--I WANT one!!) The boys LOVED running around with tons of cousins outside with big huge green trees everywhere--literally Trey wanted to take his shoes off and feel the thick green grass lol.
*Sorry pics are out of order blogger mixes them all up now and I can not figure out how to change it
On the plane watching Toys Story:)
2nd & 3rd Cousins--don't know how that all the titles work lol
Trey playing on the back porch
HUGE basket of home made fried chicken
I think this would be Treys Great Uncle
Mark's Grandma so the boys Great-Grandma

4 generations:)
It was so funny we told Trey this is your Grandma and he had no problem just calling her that lol after like 2 minutes

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1st Soccer Game

2011-09-10T13:10:00.009-07:00

Today Trey had his 1st soccer game, and it was one of the funniest things I've been to in a long time! He did AWESOME with listening and staying on the field and not running off and running and following the ball, but he hasn't quite got the courage to go in a steal the ball away from the other kids or to kick while running lol...It could be that he is a foot shorter than most of them lol, but we are going to work on that! Normally Trey does not really tell me feelings in words but as soon as we got in the car he said "I had fun playing soccer" so I know he LOVED it!!!
*Win #1
Huddle before the game

Teague, Kaitlin, Clover, Owen, Harrison, Trey, & Noah

Soccer Season

2011-09-02T20:22:00.001-07:00

Well it's official I am a soccer mom minus the whole mini van thing (no offense to any of you who rock the mini van, but it's just not my style lol) Trey started his first team sport where there is practices and a game once a week! His team is the RAPIDS but all the kids say rabbits lol) and their colors are baby blue and white. My 1st sport I ever did was soccer thru the YMCA at 3 years old too with my dad as my coach so it only seemed right that my dad was his coach too--Trey actually gets double the fun and Mark's dad is coaching with my dad lol! Right now his team is doing 2 practices a week and the 1st game is 1 week from tomorrow! Trey is the youngest one on the team--there are 2 kids who will be 5 this month lol so I would say his biggest hurdle to get over is his attention span lol but as long as there is lots of action and they are all playing he is good--minus the whole "shoving" other kid thing lol which we are working on teaching him that he is not in football.

Goooo Rabbits as they say lol

Meet Malaysia!

2011-08-23T22:03:00.006-07:00

This post is a little late because Malaysia (my sister in law's baby) is already going to be 5 weeks tomorrow, but since she was so tiny at birth the boys could not be around her right away... Today I got to babysit her for a couple hours and Trey was in heaven!!!! He is obsessed with her--asking to hold or feed her every 5 minutes! He is actually very sweet and gentle with her and I LOVE watching him! Boston on the other hand--I don't even let him by her yet lol--she needs to put a few pounds on first! Anyways it was really weird to have a baby in the house--when Trey was Boston's age right now I was 3 weeks away from giving birth--I have no clue how I did that with a 19 month old lol! Even though I got NOTHING done around the house because I held her the ENTIRE time I loved it and had so much fun!
Meeting her for the 1st time after she was born...

Such a good cousin--he actually sat and fed her half the bottle:)

You have to listen closely but in one video he is saying "I love you" and in the other "its ok" lol

Presley's Birthday Party!

2011-08-21T20:09:00.005-07:00

I know I have totally been slacking on the blogging lately, but wedding season is here and is taking up all my free time lol! Anyways I had a wedding EARLY this morning (9am ceremony so a VERY freaking early set up lol) and then after that it was off to Presley's birthday party which was BEYOND ADORABLE--I love having creative friends lol!!!! It was a ice cream theme and everything was so cute & frilly & pink!!!
My bestest friend!
Mark fulfilling his token "black guy" quota lol--I'm pretty sure this pic will be framed in the house
All the yummy desserts!

Presley modeling her new fur coat from my mom lol since my mom has no other little girls to buy for it had to be extra girly!
Bubba with his Pree
Miss Presley Kate--look at her necklace!!

*Side note I have had like 50 people ask where Trey's birthday party pics are--they are coming but there is a magazine that is looking to publish the party in our city and I am waiting on the final rules ect. on when I can release them:)

School Update...

2011-08-21T20:00:00.001-07:00

Pre-School so far has gone AWESOME!! Still no tears and I absolutely LOVE that I get random pictures from his teacher of him at school!!! He is still pretty quiet at school but this past Thursday did start talking more Miss Stacey said. (He has been 4 times now) I still think it is the cutest thing ever when I see him walk away form the car with his little back pack on--ok I possibly still want to cry too:)
Fine motor skills--hammering
"Spooning" the marbles and counting
The 5 senses

Boston's gym class

2011-08-15T12:10:00.005-07:00

Today Boston went to a gym class for the 1st time and he had a great time--it's so funny to think back to when Trey and I went to this same class and how opposite they are. Boston is more clingy to me and does not wander too far off which is actually nice compared to chasing Trey all over the gym lol. The pics are not very good because Boston was moving so much and they were done with my phone but at least he will know what he was doing in his toddler years:)

Boston LOVED the jumping part!
Boston's friend Rylie is in the class too--love her mini leotard!

1st Day of Preschool

2011-08-09T14:25:00.002-07:00

So the day came for Trey to start preschool... He was so excited to go back and see Miss Stasty as he calls her and to wear his new back pack. I was excited and sad all at the same time lol. It was so weird to not get out of the car and even walk him in(she comes out and meets you at your car) and to see him walk inside without me, and then to look in my backseat and only see 1 face and head home. This is going to take some getting used to! I didn't cry, but my eyes sure did well up, but I contained myself lol. The report after school was that he was QUIET lol, but he listened very well--he also likes to "wander" lol, but there were no tears the whole day!! Of course I had to send a little treat for him and his new 4 classmates so I made the cutest chocolate dipped pretzel sticks and made them into crayons!

Getting ready to walk in
How cool is it that she took some pics during the day and emailed the parents???
Trey S. & Trey C. lol
Coming out...
Boston was thrilled to get him back in the car:)
Back to school treats
Presley goes to the same school but the class after so we snagged a picture in between my pick up and her drop off!

Back to School Treat

2011-08-08T10:36:00.004-07:00

Here are the directions for the "pretzel crayons"...

Here is the link for crayon wrappers...

Here is the link for free tags I tied on...

Sleep Over...

2011-08-07T08:48:00.001-07:00

Kristin & Preston had a free resort stay and dinner at Ruth Chris for Preston's work so we took Presley for the night... They don't have a ton of family here and how could they pass that offer up??? We have never had anyone spend the night and Presley had never spent the night other that her NaNa's so I was a little nervous, but all the kids went down GREAT--and other than my kids sleep in and she does not lol all went well!!!
Winding down after baths
Getting ready to read "The Very Quiet Cricket"
and knocked out:)--pretty sure this whole sleeping together thing won't last much longer but for now I LOVE the innocence!

Trey's Preschool Open House!

2011-08-04T13:03:00.002-07:00

Yes my baby boy is starting preschool next week--now as sad as this makes me I absolutely LOVE his teacher!! She is like Snow White--she has the sweetest temperament & softest voice with a southern accent (not that snow white has a southern accent:) and I just LOVE her so I don't mind sharing him with her! He will only go Tues. Thurs. for 2 1/2 hours this year so it is the perfect amount to get him socializing and learning. It is Montessori based and the class sizes are only 5 so there is a lot of 1 on 1!!!! Yes I am in love with it ok--plus he has been on the waiting list for almost 2 years lol! Anyways we got to go meet the 4 other kids and their parents today and show Trey the class room ect. Now lets see if I contain myself next Tuesday when I drop him off...
*Oh and did I mention that she is so popular there is already a wait list for Boston's class for Fall 2013 so we put him on it!

Miss Stacey showing them their class frog lol
Trey LOVED it there--he cried when we left so hopefully he will be great next week!
Of course MiMi & GiGi came to meet her too--especially since I am sure they will have to pick him up sometimes with my weddings

Boston trying out the reading corner

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DaDa

2011-08-02T22:08:00.003-07:00

It's so funny to me because EVERY evening its like the boys have a timer that goes off and they go wait by the courtyard doors in the kitchen to watch for Mark... On this particular evening Trey was with Mark but Boston still went to do it on his own

Thomas Birthday Party!

2011-07-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Of course your birthday party was THOMAS--a stranger could of guessed that after spending 5 minutes with you. Now I was not thrilled with this theme, but by the end I LOVED it!! Your Daddy and I thought of some pretty neat things to spruce it up--for example we served "Full Steam Ahead Steamy Sippers" that actually steamed from dry ice--this was a HUGE hit with you and your friends! Your cake was HUGE and had Thomas on it (note the story with the cake further down lol), your cupcakes had Thomas's face on them, and you had cake pops that actually looked like James, Percy, & Thomas!!! Mommy, Aunt Shayla, & Emily also made a 3.5 ft. tall Thomas front and back and stuck them to the ends of the table where you and your friends ate so it looked like you guys were eating inside the Thomas train. Everyone got a fun birthday hat & special cookie pop! There was polka dot balloons, a huge sign above the desserts that read "Trey & Friends", & just seeing you in your Thomas wonderland made all of it worth it!!! I know some people ask why do all of this and my question to you is Why Not???--you only live once plus its something I thoroughly enjoy doing almost like a stress reliever, and I LOVE that you and Boston will seriously have the BEST birthday memories and hopefully they find creative wives who will do the same lol for your kids.
Anyways you had 14 friends join you at Aspire gym to play--we are so lucky to have so many great friends for you from our high school friends kids, church, & our play group--it was actually hard only being able to choose that many but there was max. occupancy. I think you guys all had a blast jumping in the pit, the bounce house, the trampolines, & the bars.
*Originally your cake was this AWESOME 3d Thomas, but with the random humidity and extreme heat it started not looking very well after its car ride--lucky for us the bakery had a wedding cake for the next day that they dismantled just for you Trey lol. It really was the only thing they could do with only having 1 1/2 before the party. So the HUGE bottom tier from some girls wedding cake became your new Thomas cake...lucky for us you didn't seem to mind!

The treats--marshmallow pops, cookie pops, jello slices, cake pops, cake, cupcakes, & gumballs!

Train cake pops

Full Steam Ahead "Steamy Sippers"--a little dry ice can really be the COOLEST thing ever!

Modern Cupcake made the most amazing blue velvet cupcakes!!!

Jello Slices

Cookie Pop favors
The "after" cake lol can you tell it was a bottom of a wedding cake?
Friends!!!
Miss Katrina

Enjoying his "steamy sipper"

Layla waiting for cake

GiGi

MiMi

This was the original AWESOME cake that "died"

MiMi & Trey
Presley & Trey getting ready to slide
Aunt Shanel playing with Boston

After the party our families came over and did presents

Your T-H-R-E-E!

2011-07-29T20:01:00.002-07:00

I am still trying to figure out how this happened... Trey you are are 3 years old, and hilarious!!!! You make Daddy and I laugh everyday by the things you say or the faces you make. You have the biggest personality which we LOVE (most of the time lol) I don't mean to sound so cliche but I seriously can not imagine my life without you--the minute they put you on my chest my life seriously changed forever! Anyways I will move on lol --Last night I hung up the special birthday banner so when you woke up it was there and I LOVE how much you LOVE that thing! Your kitchen/grill was all set up for when you woke up and you played with it all morning--then you went to go spend some alone time with MiMi, and boy did she have the set up for you!!! As soon as we turned on her street we could see all the balloons in front of the house and then you noticed there were toys tied to them all!! They led you all the way to the front door where there was then more inside!!! (thank you so much to MiMi for creating such special memories--they mean so much!!!) Then it was back to the house to wait for some deliveries for your birthday party the next day but you did not seem to mind because you had your kitchen to get back to:) Then after Daddy came home we went to Peter Piper for dinner and games with Aunt Shamesha & Uncle Reggie. With a little help from Daddy & Reggie you had 884 tickets by then end of the night lol. I would say you had a fun filled day, but you can NOT wait for your Thomas Birthday tomorrow...
Walking into the room after waking up

Went straight to grilling

Toys Toys Toys

Trey & MiMi
This was the favorite

Trey Baking Cupcakes in underwear

2011-07-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

Trey LOVES helping in the kitchen no matter who is cooking or what it is--so when I get the stuff out for baking Trey immediately goes to get a chair from our table and slides it over... I LOVE this video of him!!!

Life Changing!

2011-07-24T19:55:00.003-07:00

Ok so you are probably thinking something serious happened lol, but this is still AMAZING for me! We finally NAILED DOWN the Thomas track!!!! (Like literally nailed it to the train table lol) I know some of you are thinking why would you do that now you can't change the track (we actually could take the nails out if we wanted), or that crap is so expensive why would you do that and the answer is because I am SO TIRED of Boston ruining the track and Trey crying for me to fix it 150 times a day, and having all the track pieces around my house!! Now I can sit there and use the time to play with the track with him. It is AMAZING and it has never got so much use. So thank you Brown Family for the fabulous idea!!!

Trey was so excited and could NOT wait for it to be done!
Sorry pics are so bad they are from my phone...

Grandma's Birthday Weekend

2011-07-22T16:43:00.005-07:00

This past week we have had family in town to celebrate my Grandma's birthday. It was so fun seeing them this week since there was no wedding or anything everyone just got to relax and hang out.
Trey thinking it is his birthday lol
Grandma and the boys

They both actually smiled!!
Grand-daughters

Mad Hatter Madness!

2011-07-21T21:18:00.005-07:00

Where have I been??? I know I have been slacking on the blog and cleaning my house for that matter, but Sassy Soirees has been keeping me BUSY!!!! I actually did a wedding this month (that's a 1st because who in their right mind gets married in July in AZ???) and I got hired last minute (16 days prior to event) to plan a baby shower start to finish!! So here is a link to see some pics from the shower Sassy Soirees Blog... and I promise I will start doing some blogging again--I even cleaned all my toilets today so progress is being made :)

Childrens Museum

2011-07-08T14:34:00.010-07:00

I have been wanting to take the boys to this museum for awhile now, and since I have been working so much during the days I figured today was the perfect day to get them out of the house. I called my mom to make sure she could come too because there is no way I was attempting this place alone--that was a good call lol!!! Both boys absolutely LOVED it there and we will for sure be going back!!! It was so hands on for both Trey & Boston & I LOVE all the imaginative play that it stimulates for their little brains.
climbing up this weird tree house
a bath tub was in the tree house lol

Sand over weird neon glowing lights

you shoved balls in these weird tubes and they suctioned them thru the tubes and spit them back out
noodle maze
Pretend grocery store play

working at a ice cream store

There was a room full of balls--both boys FAVORITE of course!
making oven brick pizza's with GiGi

Isn't he cute in his apron?

Taking his bike thru the "car wash" lol
then he hitched a ride on this random kid's bike lol

4th of July!

2011-07-04T23:25:00.011-07:00

Well unfortunately we were here in AZ for the 4th this year--I LOVE the 4th in San Diego it's so much more fun with the beach, the water, the cook outs, the cooler weather, and a million other reasons, but we made the most of it and the lovely monsoon actually made for amazing weather for watching the fireworks. I actually did not get very festive with the food/desserts this year because I booked a last minute baby shower this week that is in 2 weeks and it's quite elaborate so all my crafting and planning has gone toward that! We had The Stillman's over to BBQ and swim and then went to the park down the street which actually has a HUGE turnout for fireworks. The kids had so much fun literally swimming the whole afternoon away, and my Mom joined us for fireworks which is always nice! So it was a pretty nice day and as long as the kids have sweet memories and our little family is starting to form traditions I can't ask for much more...
Trey lounging
My Bosty Boo

He liked lunch
Jaggar & Boston
Pres did NOT love the slide so I am glad I got her on the 1st time down:)

Love this picture!
kisses for Daddy

Pres & Jag's PaPa

Football to pass some time

GiGi making Boston crack up

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Lil' Life Group!

2011-06-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

This summer our church added a "lil" life group for Trey's age group. They do a Bible story, matching craft, lunch, and then free time. The moms stay so that means there are little siblings around so Boston got to get in on some of the fun too! Todays story was on everyone being unique and that everyone is perfect the way they are:)