Jeff and Kari

Post-Christmas Festivities

2012-01-01T19:37:00.002-06:00

Rachel kicking back on the ski lift after only her 2nd day skiing

Jake taking in the views at Ski Apache outside Ruidoso, NM

The family that learned to ski together over 2 days in New Mexico

Post-ski scenic outlook on the way out of the canyon

Carlsbad Caverns - mouth of the natural entrance

A variety of speleothems - Carlsbad Caverns, NM

Kids playing with sparklers (Hannah was nursing bronchitis)

Jeff teaching the kids the fine art of lighting a firework

Christmas Festivities

2012-01-01T19:37:00.001-06:00

Game playing at the Smith house--brings out the Christmas spirit in everyone

Funniest part of Christmas - Ollie and Grandma taking jabs at each other

Luke 2 on Christmas Eve (in digital form)

Time to check the stockings after looking at Christmas lights


Everyone's excited about Mom buying matching pajamas

Opening presents with the McClanahans on Christmas morning

And done!

Pre-Christmas Festivities

2012-01-01T19:37:00.000-06:00

The kids getting ready to take in their first Nutcracker viewing

Kari and Rach feigning excitement (Kari for the pic and Rach for the show)

Crashing a burger bar with Aunt Christy and Cousin Mila

Tackling the annual tradition of decorating a gingerbread house

Checking out the Shrek on Ice exhibit at the Gaylord Hotel

Jonathan making a craft Kari designed for the branch Christmas party

Jake hitting up Santa for gifts at the branch Christmas party

Decorating the McClanahan tree with the cousins

Bring on Christmas!

Christmas Card - Behind The Music

2011-12-11T20:08:00.000-06:00

Presenting our Christmas Card picture for 2011. We are quickly coming to the realization that we are reaching a creative point in our pictures that we probably cannot sustain.

This is particularly exemplified in this year's card. The short of it--approximately 3 weeks of concept development/execution, two location changes, three photoshoots, and two editing sessions for the final product.

And the long version...

First of all, the concept itself. Jeff was very disappointed with himself this year. Every picture previously taken to this year Jeff came up with the concept himself. Despite starting the brainstorming weeks in advance, his ideas this year were lame. He finally came across a picture similar to our own on the internet site Flickr. The immediate appeal to Jeff was the complexity of the shot itself. However, the original picture had some limitations (ie distracting background elements, no color, etc) that Jeff thought he could improve on. Little did we know how long an endeavor it would soon turn into.

First off, the ornament itself. In order to make everyone somewhat visible we had to find a pretty large ornament that was also extremely reflective. As you can see from Rachel's finger in the picture, the ornament was pretty good size (8+ inches in diameter I'd say). It required an entire trip in to town by itself just to purchase the ornament.

Second, Jeff wanted nothing distracting in the background. This proved difficult as the ornament reflected >180 degrees of scenery. Luckily, we live in an area with plenty of farms around.

At least it seemed easy on the surface. But, Jeff wanted color--larger than life colors. The original area we picked out had a perfect little pine tree on it. The only problem was the grass itself. For those outside of Texas, we experienced a record drought and heat wave this summer. As a result, the majority of the grass in the area was an unflattering brown. We wanted green for Christmas! So the hunt continued. We found a neighboring irrigated field and commandeered it.

Our next hurdle was the weather. Our first attempt was frustrated by grey skies. Our second attempt produced some decent shots, but 20+ mph winds blurred the already grainy reflection. That and the fact that little Rachel couldn't keep her exposed finger out in the 30 degree weather for very long. We had to wait for another week or so for the weather to cooperate.

Lighting our faces was the next hurdle. Flash photography was out because you could see the flashes in the shot. We therefore had to shoot the picture at dusk when the setting sun would still light up our faces without casting shadows (hence the glowing faces and rim of sunlight around the ornament). We had a 10 minute window or so of cooperating light. Also, dusk was also the only way to get a frontlit picture with a super blue sky behind us.

Of course the most difficult element was wrangling the kids and dogs for those few minutes of vanishing light. While not as crisp a shot as Jeff originally wanted (he was wanting to have another crack at it), it was good enough for the masses.

And the final question? Where's the camera? It was mounted on a tripod in the field a few feet behind us. We were all standing about 2 feet from the ornament and Jeff was pushing a remote behind his back to fire the photos. It was tough to keep the boys' hair out of the frame, but after almost a hundred shots the only editing that was done was to crop the camera out and put grass back in its place.

So, there you have it. Definitely our most technical shot. Definitely our most labor intensive (as far as finding a location and then getting all the elements to cooperate in turn). Probably won't be topped--but then again Jeff has 11 months to start planning the next one...

Merry Christmas, but now the models are going on break!

2011 - Year in Review

2011-12-08T13:46:00.001-06:00

Well, it's that time of year. For most of you reading this, you have (or will shortly have) received our family Christmas card. Can you believe it? We actually got our card out early this year--such an accomplishment! However, we were forced to play the age old game of printing a family update. Some view an annual update as pretentious or boastful while others welcome the ritual recap. Last year we were of the former mindset and thus forewent the update. This year we were undecided and so took the middle road--we saved some trees and for those that really care what we are up to we give you a blog update (complete with ugly dog pics).

Our family highlights of the year are as follows:

First (and foremost) we hit Disney World over Spring Break. This was a first for our family. Most of us had never been to Florida or Disney World (or on an airplane for that matter)! Regardless of how cliche it may be, Disney really did make some great memories and I don't know how we'll top that vacation anytime soon.

This summer we were able to get together with some of Jeff's siblings down in San Antonio for a couple days as well.

Bomber (the first Smith family member) past away this summer on the hottest day of the hottest year in Texas. The grief felt by all was eased by the addition of Bunker (aka Bomber Jr) earlier this fall.

Hot on the tail of reading the Book of Mormon as a family last year, the kids repeated their success by finishing the New Testament.

We met a (semi-)celebrity favorite at our house--Alton Brown of the Food Network show "Good Eats"! He signed a copy of each of his books for each one of us.

And probably the biggest change of all this year was courtesy of Hannah. Hannah decided to go vegetarian at the start of the year. Despite all our doubts, she stuck with it and in turn dragged us all (some of us kicking and screaming) in. At this point, the boys plead for meat and savor the weekly bacon we have each Sunday with our traditional waffles.

As far as individual family member updates:

Rachel started first grade this year. As a result, we have three of the kids at same school for the first time ever. Rachel is definitely the family social butterfly--she will engage anyone at anytime about any topic. She is following after her older sister in degree of selectivity in her clothing. She learned how to tie her shoes this year, but still has not learned how to ride a bike without training wheels.

Jonathan got baptized this summer. He enjoyed having his cousins all come down and having his aunts and uncles participate. Jonathan loves riding his bike to school everyday--in fact, last year he and his brother were the lone riders and had to get special permission from the school to even allow it. This year they've recruited two more riders to their two-wheeled uprising. Jonathan is always trying to find someone to play outside.

Jacob decided to join Hannah this year in the eyeglasses club. It may be due (not really) to the fact he wears his eyes out reading so much every day. Or it might possibly be the ever growing taste for video games. Jacob continues to receive countless comments about his goldilocks and thus he allows his hair to grow in Samson-like fashion.

Hannah is trying to sever her ties to childhood. While only 11, she pines for the activities of teenage lore. It might have to do with the fact that she started middle school this year. Everyday is a new battle for the perfect outfit and the perfect hair. Shopping has become her vehicle to attain her goal of perfection (much to her mother's delight). Middle school has brought countless new clubs and opportunities for our ever distracted oldest.

Jeff continues to work as a solo family physician. Despite trying to rein in the scope of his practice, his time constraints continue to narrow. As a result, his time to find new hobbies has diminished and so rather than delving head first into new hobbies, he's skimming the surface of other family members' hobbies--like taking Hannah's vegetarianism to the extremes of raw/veganism and back. Or dabbling in Kari's running. Give him a month and he'll move on (or steal yours).

Kari continues to rule the roost. But with power comes great responsibility--mainly responsibilty for the animals (humanoid or not). She continues to pop into Jeff's office from time to time to keep the dust off her nursing scrubs. As far as what goes on behind the scenes at home--she likes to keep it underwraps.

Well, that's the latest for the year 2011. Here's to wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas this holiday season!

I STINK AT THIS

2011-09-11T21:02:00.000-05:00

So I'd like to do a "Back to School" post but seeing as I haven't done anything since March I've got a lot to catch up on. I'm going to try it in short but sweet picture posts. It may or may not be in order because I'm too old to remember when things happened, I do have a middle schooler you know.

Trip to the new dallas aquarium. It was small but had some neat exibits.

Fishing at a friends pond.


Jake is now done fishing.

We've discovered how much fun geocaching can be.

Hannah played the viola for one year. Just one.

At Fishcamp in Rockwall. They were catching fish left and right.

Lego land!!!!

This is Jonny's idea of heaven.

Lost a tooth.

Mesquite Roedo.

Jonathan got baptized.

Jonathan's birthday party.


Jeff and I got to take a trip to Cocoa Beach and visit the famous "Ron Jon Surf Shop".


They were really hungry.

This concludes our summer in pictures part one. I may or may not ever get part two up. We'll see.

WDW slideshow

2011-03-27T21:50:00.000-05:00

Walt Disney World

2011-03-27T20:14:00.000-05:00

It's a daunting task to try and highlight the events of the past week or so, but we'll try and hit the highlights.

So, we promised the kids probably two years running that we we would take them to Walt Disney World. We knew it'd be pricey and we wanted the kids to be old enough to enjoy it. Unfortunately, the only time we could get away this year was Spring Break (one of the busies times of year for Disney), but decided to do it anyways. The following short synopsis doesn't do justice to the amount of time spent planning this trip. For those planning a future trip or frustrated by past trips, we highly recommend the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It definitely made our potentially stressful trip a whole lot smoother. Hannah had it practically memorized and any time we had a question about dining options or rides, Hannah could step in with the needed information.

The family on their first flight together

So, the trip started with a flight. We knew we would save a lot driving, but we would arrive tired and depart even more tired. Besides, none of our kids (except Hannah as a baby) have flown and I think the kids were almost as excited about the flight as they were Disney World. We flew out on a Wednesday and arrived that evening. We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter--we highly recommend this hotel. We had no idea how spread out some of the hotels were at Disney and were glad that this hotel was pretty tightly compacted. Our first night there we took a boat ride down to Downtown Disney--a mess of shops and dining. Jonathan enjoyed the Lego store and all the kids enjoyed the massive toy store. We got snacks and headed back to the hotel so we could get an early start on the next day.

Rachel on the morning of our first day-already tired!

Day #1: Our first day was spent at Disney Hollywood Studios. The best way to tackle Disney is to to get there early and ride the popular rides first. As a result, Jeff took the 3 oldest kids to the Rock N' Rollercoaster. None of our kids have ridden a rollercoaster and they rode Disney's scariest first! It shook Jonny up a little, but unfortunately for us, turned them into adrenaline junkies the rest of the trip. The second ride was Tower of Terror which Kari and Rachel joined the group for and found it to be scarier than the roller coaster! We spent the rest of the day exploring the park and then had a New England clam bake dinner.

Day #2: Animal Kingdom. Part zoo, part amusement park. The kids' favorite ride was Expedition Everest--like Disney's Matterhorn ride on steroids. They rode it twice. One of the neater rides was the Kilimanjaro safari ride that took you on an African savannah safari. We felt the crowds a little bit this day and missed some shows as a result, but still had a good time. We ate an African buffet at Animal Kingdom lodge--a hotel with a African safari outside the rooms. That was pretty neat.

First in line at Magic Kingdom!

Day #3: Magic Kingdom. The park everyone waits for! By this point we had the Fast Pass system down. We got to the park early and racked up the rides for the first several hours. In fact, we had seen most of everything and actually went back to our hotel for a midday nap for the kids (and the adults)! Refueled, we returned that evening for some more rides, dining with Winnie the Pooh and friends, and fireworks! Favorite ride this day: Thunder Mountain Railroad--Rachel made us ride this ride 5 times total! The kids even road Space Mountain twice!

Jonny was picked by Cinderella to dance at one of our dinners!

Day #4: No parks. Our day of rest. I don't think the kids would have made another early morning. It was nice to just spend some time together as a family outside of the park this day.

Jeff and the kids in front of "Germany" at Epcot.

Day #5: Epcot. We should've done this park first. Being the most "educational" Disney park, by this point of our vacation the kids were looking for their next "coaster fix". As a result, Epcot was not as popular with the kids as it could've been. Favorite ride: Test Track--a car test simulator ride. This was the closest the kids could get to a coaster and were disappointed we only rode it twice. Jeff was excited to eat his pre-birthday dinner at the Biergarten--a German family buffet restaurant. Kari and the kids finally got to taste some of his mission food. I think the kids just tolerated it for Dad!

Big Thunder Mountain - a consensus favorite!

Day #6: Magic Kingdom-Round 2. Our last day of vacation and we had already visited this main attraction once. As a result we hit the few rides we had missed the first time and revisited our favorites. In all, the kids rode Space Mountain 5 times and Big Thunder Railroad 8 times! Not bad for Spring Break crowds! It was Jeff's birthday this day and Kari and the kids got him a Disney birthday button that he wore the whole day. Every Disney worker (and even some patrons) that saw him wished him a "Happy Birthday!" After the park, we caught a bus back to the airport and flew home. We hit our beds in Sulphur Springs at midnight only to sadly wake up for work and school the next day.

Rachel braving the front car of Space Mountain.

We loved our Disney vacation. We did have the sad realization that perhaps we had waited too long to take the kids--we thought Dumbo would be the popular ride and the characters would be a big hit, but the roller coasters won out! The kids are already pushing for Six Flags this summer!

Jeff's birthday has become a travel day as of late (we spent it travelling back from El Salvador last year). As a result, we celebrated it as a family this last Wednesday. Jeff's brother Kurt and his family were in town for their Spring Break so it was nice to see them as well.

Jeff and the kids making 35 wishes!

Countdown to the Magic...

2011-03-13T19:54:00.000-05:00

Spring Break has sprung upon us--where does the time go? It seems like just last weekend the basketball season started and now it's over and the next sport has started.

We're still in the midsst of basketball fever at our house. College basketball is definitely our favorite sport to watch. Kentucky had a decent season (it's funny how if they aren't top 10 in the county we think they're doing poorly). BYU has definitely captured our attention. Despite having the best team in decades, they still managed to unravel going into the post season. Although we love watching the NCAA tournament, our teams always tend to disappoint. Is it sad that Jeff is actually a little disappointed that our vacation will overlap the first round of tournament games (that's when all the excitement happens he says)?!

Which brings us to Disney World. We've promised the kids for the last two years that we would take them to Disney World. Rachel is 6 (and the rest aren't getting any younger) so we are finally making good on our promise. Unfortunately, Spring Break was the only time that really worked with our schedule. So, our "relaxing" vacation may be battling the masses. But, that's alright. The kids are excited about the multitude of firsts they will be experiencing--their first plane ride, their first Disney World trip, their first set of luggage, and their first freedom to eat whatever they want for a week a straight!

We'll keep you posted. While we're gone, keep track of BYU for us--you might even have time to learn how to "Jimmer" (terrible music but decent highlight reel). NPOY

2011-03-06T21:09:00.004-06:00

Here's a post for ya...You're driving me nuts! (This post is meant exclusively for Jeff.)

February 2011

2011-02-27T15:44:00.001-06:00

Falling behind on this thing again. Yet another whirlwind of a month this last month.

Recap.

The kids have been playing basketball. Much to their father's (and mother's for that matter) delight it seems that all the kids are progressing nicely in the sport. Poor little Rachel though--she can't get the ball up to the net. In fact, all her shots look like little passes.

Although, Jeff has only really seen them actually play once. Their first game he was on call. The next Saturday was cancelled due to snow. Then a medical conference and call again. The perks of fatherhood.

Although, it's not like little Rachel has had many chances to play. February has plagued Rachel with illness. First she had strep throat and had to miss one game. Then the next week she came down with chicken pox (and, yes, her dad vaccinated her). That was a fun five days home for Mom.

Apparently, the germs spread to our vehicles as well. After going back and forth with a repair shop for a couple weeks with brake issues, the Suburban's ball joint decided to go out--luckily after we had exited the freeway! The day we get that car back, Jeff's car goes out. The kids are taking these as signs that we need new cars--they want a "swagger wagon" like Uncle Brad and Aunt Karrie. For now, they will just have to be content with the video...

January

2011-02-06T18:19:00.001-06:00

It only took a year for the dogs to be BFFs

Well, our New Year's blog resolution has stood up about as well as our other resolutions.

Let's catch-up--shall we?

Well, Jeff's last living grandparent passed on 1/11/11. And one day later our youngest living child turned 6--time goes by so quickly.

Having missed his grandfather's funeral last summer due to Jake's finger surgery, he felt like he should pay tribute this time around. So, Jeff flew back to Utah for a quick visit for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. He enjoyed the quick trip seeing all the extended family--despite the circumstances. Jeff related at the funeral that his fondest memory was spending his Thanksgiving's away at college with Grandpa and Grandma Johnson. But perhaps an even better memory were those childhood memories of picking raspberries in her backyard or building a dam in their creek with his siblings in near zero snowmelt. Grandma Johnson will be missed.

The Kent Johnson girls

The Dee Johnson crew

Graveside Dedication

Unfortunately, the funeral and Rachel's birthday party were the same days. Which meant that Jeff missed a flurry of 12+ six year olds tearing up the house (we know he was heartbroken). You know the neat thing about Rachel--she doesn't mind having a birthday so close to Christmas. Despite racking up plenty of presents two weeks earlier, she took it in stride, and forced herself to tear open a dozen more. Jeff's most favorite recent memory of Rachel was having her curled up on his lap while watching the movie "Ratatoiulle" (does it bother anyone else that the entire movie is about cooking rodents?).

A portion of the monster burger that led to Jeff's illness during his stay in Utah

Rachel blowing out 6 candles

What else? Snowstorms a plenty. Sulphur Springs got hit with record hitting snow a couple weeks back--more than 6" in a single day. Not to be outdone,. we got another batch this last week. We think Kari may have had something to do with the last snow dump. Kari was asked to speak in our local Stake Conference to take place in Gilmer, TX (over an hour away). She spent several late nights preparing her talk. Two days prior to the event the snow came. Our little branch was told we could watch a broadcast of the conference at our building, but Kari would still have to come down to deliver her portion. Literally hours before the event, our Branch President made the trek down and declared the roads too unsafe. Kari was called and let off the hook--the only speaker at Stake Conference not to speak. Her topic was the "Scriptures", but apparently it should've been "The Power of Prayer"!

What do all kids do in snow? Eat it--check.

Make snow angels--check.

A new tradition? Kari's snow ice cream recipe for FHE.

Here's a clip of Jeff teaching the kids a few bad habits in the snow:

Is it really necessary?

2011-02-01T20:57:00.000-06:00

You know what bothers me? The way Jeff feels the need to put my picture first in the scroll across the top here. Just because I'm 6 mos older. He wants to do it with our Christmas stockings too. He's taller. He weighs more. So I ask "Is it really necessary?"

Christmas Reloaded

2011-01-09T21:11:00.000-06:00

Alright...3 posts in one day...that's what happens when it snows in Texas and they cancel church early. Things get done around the house.

Christmas was actually pretty low key this year. Usually we at the Smith house have a two day extravaganza that includes Christmas Eve with Jeff's extended family and then Christmas Day at the McClanahan homestead.

It all started with us scrambling to make it to Utah and as a result we didn't have a chance to get the usual Christmas decorations/traditions accomplished in time. As a result, we didn't even do our traditional gingerbread decorating until well after New Year's and Kari and Jonathan were still stringing pine boughs around the house the week of New Year's!

Jeff's siblings were all outside of Texas this year. As a result, it was just us and Grandpa and Grandma. In some ways, it made for a more intimate Christmas--playing games as a family and reflecting on our Savior.

Kari's mom had just been hospitalized the week before and was getting over a sinus infection. The majority of the cousins were away as well, so Christmas Day happened Christmas afternoon. Again, it was a day of playing games and eating.

Not much to say about New Year's. Jeff was on call and we barely saw him the entire weekend. He commented that it was fitting that at midnight on New Year's Eve he was in his car driving back from the hospital.

We had a chance to get down to the Dallas Temple yesterday. We were walking the grounds afterwards and ran into two freshmen from Lake Highlands high school that were working on a religion project for their social studies class. They were asking us about the temple and wanted a picture to symbolize it's meaning to us as Mormons. We explained that one of the ordinances that happens in the temple is marriage where husband and wife are sealed to each other for eternity. They had just missed a happy newlywed couple that had been posing for wedding pics outside, so they asked us to be in a pic with them. We snapped a pic of our own--the place where we were married for time and all eternity 11 years ago...

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-09T13:26:00.001-06:00

Well, it's 2011--a New Year! I guess one of our New Year's resolutions has to be to keep in touch with our friends and family better. We opted out of the traditional "update" with our Christmas card this year in hopes that our blog would keep those that want to know in the know. So, here's a new face to the blog and our verbal commitment that we will do better this year...

Sincerely,

Christmas Pics

2011-01-09T13:13:00.000-06:00

Utah Trip

2010-12-26T14:54:00.068-06:00

Well, I guess we should update the blog seeing as how we sent out Christmas cards without any letter recap.

It's hard to believe it's already been a week ago today that our saga began...

But to fully appreciate the insanity we need to go back three or four days before that. Jeff had schedule a week off from work to spend with the family. All year we had waffled back and forth as to what we were actually going to do with the time. It wasn't until 4 days before the trip, that Jeff announced "Why don't we go to Utah?"--and by "go" he meant drive 22+ hours. "We'll be making memories with the kids!", he says--words that would come to haunt the remainder of our trek!

It wouldn't have been as bad if 1)he had given more than a couple days notice and 2) if Kari hadn't just gotten off a 5 week fill-in stint as Jeff's receptionist at work!. So, on top of trying to clean a house that hadn't been touched in 5 weeks, we also were trying to pack and finish for Christmas (why Jeff hasn't been shot by now is still anybody's guess).

And despite looking at weather forecasts and predictions for the New Mexico route, Jeff decided as we were hopping in the car on the way out the door to let the GPS decide our fate. Later, we came to find out that the "faster" route through Kansas and Colorado would have only shaved TEN MINUTES off our drive. Jeff put our lives in the hands of a cheap electronic device and TEN saved minutes (in his defense he thought it would've been more like an hour or so)! Did he know the weather forecast through Colorado? Nope. "Minor details" was his reply.

Well, at least we were gonna break up the trip--see some sights and rest the weary kids and already exhausted drivers, right? Wrong again! Jeff was feeling "spry" and decided that they could make the whole thing in one trek (even though Jeff and Kari's longest proven road trip together had only amounted to 12 hours or so to El Paso before the two conked out).

Have we set this up enought yet? Long story short--After 14 or so hours of driving we hit the section of I 70 just west of Denver heading toward Pike's Peak. After an early breakfast, Jeff said he would at least get through the mountain section before turning the wheels back over to Kari (hey, she had put in a solid 3 hours at this point). Little did he know that he would not leave the captain's seat for the remainder of their journey--what he later dubbed "the scariest drive of my entire life". A few fleeting snowflakes soon turned into a downpouring of snow. Between the flashing lights of "chains only" and "Such-and-such ski canyon closed", Jeff literally uttered the words "If I can find a turn around we are at least heading back to Denver--if not Dallas". At first we had the somewhat comfort of being 4 cars behind the line of plows (although the fact that the 7% grade roads were still freezing and filling fast behind said plows did little to steady the nerve). Soon, however, the grade turned hell-bound and even the plows found a turn around to bail out (why didn't Jeff follow through with his idle threat?).

Two more gauntlents followed--an hour section west of Grand Junction and finally Price Canyon. Despite minor slips and spins through these three areas, only once did Jeff hit some ice that seriously caused him to think he was about to make a purchase on Suburban #3. Thankfully, he was able to keep the wheels on the road and avoid any major catastrophes.

Was it worth it? Well, we definitely "made some memories" on the drive! But, here are some other memories we made:

Surprising Aunt Christy

Surprising extended Johnson family members

Seeing the ramshackle house we brought our oldest daughter into the world in

Letting Bomber catch-up with Great Grandma Johnson

The boys playing in the snow

Eating at BYU's Creamery

Showing off our merchandise from the BYU bookstore

Visiting Matt and Nancy and their family

Visiting the new LDS conference center

Brothers posing with brothers

Visiting Temple Square

Visiting Jeff's mission companion Ryan

Saying our "goodbyes" to Uncle Chase and Aunt Christy

Yeah, definitely worth it...but, next time Kari says, "Let's do the 'memory making' in the summer"...THE END

Fall Slide Show - part 2

2010-11-20T22:00:00.000-06:00

Fall 2010 Slide Show

2010-10-17T20:28:00.000-05:00

This is more of Jeff's recent attempts to catalog the photos that pour across our computer each week. In fact, Hannah (at times) is becoming a budding photographer. The first 5 or so pictures are some of her shots. Here's a composite of our pictures that include fall sports; the first day of school; Kari's trip to Hawaii; Kari's birthday; the girl's attempt at following in their mother's footsteps as a drill team member; high school football; Jeff at Rachel's class' "Doctor Day"; a quick trip to Galveston; our visit to the Texas State Fair; and some random shots mixed in.

Enjoy!

Catch Up

2010-10-03T22:05:00.000-05:00

I got blog guilt again. Jeff gives it to me. So now I'm going to play some catch up. Jeff posted a video of the Smith Family Reunion in August so I'm going to pick it up from there. Or maybe a little before. The last post before that was about Jake's broken finger (complicated by a lack of good parenting) so I want to let everyone know that he's fine now. It can bend all the way now even if he has to use his other hand to do it. If you get grossed out easily scroll past the next pics quick.

Just before they cut it off.

These are the pins that freaked Jake out, understandably

After they removed the cast, he saw that there were actually large pins sticking out of his finger and he freaked out. He wouldn't look at his own hand and forbid anyone from saying the "P" word (pin) till he was 12 years old. Twelve must be the magic age because he also wanted them to put the cast back on until he was 12 and then he would be ready to get it off. Didn't happen. The pins came out without much screaming and he spent the next hour peeling off all the dead skin on his hand. EWWWW!

The next month or so was spent swimming and playing.

At the end of July Hannah, Jake, and Jonny went to a week long, all day summer camp at the YMCA in Rockwall. They loved it! They learned archery, canoeing, shot BB guns, went swimming, went on field trips, and learned tons of games and silly songs. I highly recommend it. Rachel was too young so she went to a gymnastics camp. With the kids gone, I was free to shop. Whoo Hoo!

Then came the Smith reunion. A week filled with fun, sun, boating, swimming, and more cousins than the parents knew what to do with. Once the kids were down the adults stayed up way too late playing Rook, Monopoly and many other games.

Some fun in the sand.

We didn't want to wash a plate for each of them.

Our only unfortunate event during the summer involved Hannah. Right after our vacation, she was bit by a dog. It got her in two places right under her eye and right in the middle of her cheek. We were in Dallas and luckily Uncle Kurt travels with his ER bag. He and Jeff injected her with Lidocaine inside her mouth and then stitched her up in a bedroom. She actually did pretty well. The stitches came out before school but she still had steri-strips on the first day. If you look close at her face you can the scar under her left eye and the bandages on her cheek.

After all that, we headed back to Sulphur Springs for our last two weeks of summer before school started. They are all in school this year. That's right, you heard me, all of my kids are in public school all day. I know there are plenty of parents out there who dread the thought of school and and their little Tommy being away from them all day. Well, that's not me. My kids like to be doing things out of the house and they were all ready to be back in school and I'm happy to take them there. Even Rachel who told me not to walk her in on the first day "I can handle it myself mom". We are back into a routine now with the boys even riding their bikes to school. I love my quiet days especially when my afternoons and evening are so packed. Each week we have 4 baseball games, 2-4 baseball practices, 2 gymnastics practices, 3 piano lessons, 1 soccer practice, 1 soccer game, boy scouts and achievement days. Everything except the soccer game happens Mon-Thurs. So if you need me at all after school is out, too bad.

We were able to make one last trip down to the beach for some surf and swim before it got too cold a couple of weekends ago. It rained the whole time. So the surf was good but the swim was absent. Oh well. Let's all hope for a very short winter.

Oh yeah, I got to spend a week in Hawaii with a friend for an early birthday present. I have a great husband.

Isn't it soooooo pretty!

Smith Family Reunion Pics

2010-08-14T22:20:00.002-05:00

It's funny now...

2010-05-21T22:45:00.001-05:00

Some of you may know that Jake had surgery on his hand on Tuesday. If you don't know I'm not telling what happened because it may or may not make Jeff and I seem like bad parents and I'm not putting that in print. Anyway he ended up with 3 pins in his right index finger, an incredibly long cast for 4 weeks, and the ability to do nothing other than watch TV for the next 4 weeks.

The one bright spot I can see in all of this, is all the things he said while coming out of the anesthesia. At the time I just wanted him to calm down but the nurses thought it was pretty funny. So I'm just going to put a running list of his comments (which was kinda the way they were coming out anyway) starting with the very first thing he said before his eyes were really open...

"I am SOOOOOO hungry...why am I in this horrible place...I just want to go home...I don't want water, I don't want a Popsicle, I don't want juice, I want real food...get me out of here...mom why are you making me stay here...I just want to give up and die...why is this thing still squeezing my leg...when am I getting to eat...what is wrong with these pillows--why aren't they real...I just want my life back"

Jake: When do we get to go home
Mom: When you can stop crying and calm down
Jake: I am NOT crying, can't you see that
*All the while tears are running down his face

He's home now, eating solid foods, and enjoying being King of the Remote. He's got his life back.

Grandpa Johnson's Funeral

2010-05-19T22:48:00.000-05:00

My Grandpa Johnson died last week at the ripe ol' age of 90. I was unable to attend his funeral (due to reasons soon to be blogged), but my sister did a good job posting it. So, I stole her link...

http://chaseandchristy.blogspot.com/2010/05/funeral.html

It's hard to imagine Utah without him. He will be missed...

Ha Ha

2010-04-18T20:30:00.000-05:00

Sometimes my kids crack me up. Usually it's Jonathan with the comments but apparently Rach and Jacob have been in a mood lately.

Jonathan: Mom, I don't like the name you gave my chicken.
Mom: That's fine, you can change it. What would you like it to be?
Jonathan: I don't know yet. I have to "learn" him first.

Rachel: "God's plan was for a mess." (As I look over and her oatmeal is all over the place.)

Mom: How was your day Jacob?
Jacob: Why don't you get me a phone and I'll text you the answer.

Hannah: "How much are you going to pay me to babysit? "

Jeff: "Look, It's like the Goonies."

El Salvador

2010-03-24T09:07:00.006-05:00

Playa El Tunco (The "Pig" Beach) - Beach we stayed on--the big rock is supposed to look like a pig;

I'm (this is Jeff for a first in awhile) running out of places to "surf" on the internet. So, I'm coming back full circle to the blog. I decided last week was too much of an "adventure" (alas this was no "Candy Island"...but, I digress) to pass comment on.

So, several months ago my brother Brad and I started formulating a plan to try and put together a surf trip. We were going to do it over spring break, but stuff kept coming up (notice the lack of posts the last 2 months) and so we nixed it. The Friday before Spring Break we were looking up and down the coasts for a daytrip and I stumbled upon tickets to El Salvador. A couple hours later we had plane tickets purchased with no other plans in line. Anyways, too much stuff happened (funny now--not so funny when it was happening). Here's a list of things to learn from if you're planning a get-away (in no particular order).

The group on some steps at the San Andreas ruins

1. Bring someone who speaks the language. This one came back to bite us several times.

2. Make sure you have a lock on the dates of your hotel room--a bathroom door is a plus if 4 people are going to be shoved into one room.

3. Make sure your hotel safe has a back-up key prior to locking it. Brad & Karrie (+ our guide Amika running away) in front of some shop in Juayua

4. If you're 6'6", don't surf point breaks at low tide--your body will inevitably find the large, sharp rocks.

5. When they say don't drink the water, then that probably means avoid brushing your teeth with it or getting ice from any restaurant.

6. If you're scared of heights, don't choose a waterfall as a "scenic excursion".

The waterfalls outside of Juayua - Kari was in tears about crossing the small "ladder bridge" in the background behind her

7. Satellite TV in a third world country = a lot of channels you still can't watch or understand.

8. Bring a swimsuit to "scenic excursions" that involve water and make sure you understand what all is entailed in exploring an underwater cave through a mountain.

Asking Amika is this tunnel really only "1"00 meters...it was longer BTW and required swimming underwater in pitch black at one point...needless to say, the girls were not game

9. Always order the O.J. in Central America--it really is that good.

10. Surfboards will find a way to hurt you or someone close by.

11. Your passport is never "safe"--just ask the Japanese diplomat on our return flight.

12. Local surf contests at night make a good spectator sport.

Brad & I poking out of a side tunnel in the waterfall tunnels

13. Invest heavily in Imodium and sunscreen (and if you attract mosquitoes like I do--bug spray).

14. If you're going to take your wife to the 2nd most dangerous country in the Americas and just outside of the most dangerous city in said country, don't let her find out about any of that information until after she's already on the plane.

15. If you want your parents to watch your kids for 5 days, have your brother call your dad in the middle of the night to do it. Chances are he'll say "yes" and plans will be well underway before your mom finds out about the decision the following day.

16. Learn the foreign word for "locksmith"--just trust me.

17. You can't Skype if the promised Wi-Fi doesn't exist and the hotel computer's internet only works 1/2 the time.

The ruins at San Andreas...Kari wanted to run the steps but there was a fence

18. If you're 6'6", have your wife ask for the exit aisle on the long flights--sometimes you just get lucky.

19. If you own a hybrid car, know how to jump the battery and pray your brother has jumper cables.

20. If your GPS decides to crash and it's the only device with your hotel's info on it, you're kinda screwed.

21. Priceline will always get you the hotel that does not include the continental breakfast...always!

The crew at a scenic overlook with 5 volcanos in the background (2 or are still active)

22. Hot water would be nice to have for post-surf showers.

23. There are some big ants that come out at night in El Salvador.

24. If you have valuables in your hotel safe (say a nice digital camera with exposed lenses) and the key were to get lost and management says they will open it and you can leave the room and go about your business--DON'T LISTEN!

Brad shredding the inside break at Sunzal - our hotel's point break

All in all, it was good waves, good company, and an experience to tell stories from for a lifetime! Kari, Karrie, and Brad--what did I miss?

Christmas 2009

2010-01-08T16:10:00.005-06:00

I got Blog Guilt again. I couldn't even tell you the last time I wrote anything. Jeff's been posting pictures but that's about all. So now for the recap.

We had Christmas and it was so nice (although you couldn't tell by the look on Jonny's face in the first pic). We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Smith side and there may have been a little snow on the ground (I can't really remember). We had dinner, looked at lights and then opened presents. We played with the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents until the wee hours. (Ok 11:00 at night for us.)

I don't think Jonny wanted to listen to the Christmas
story before looking at lights and opening presents.

Ahhhhh, presents!

Next stop, Christmas with the McClanahan's. Now it's only a 15min drive between the houses but since it was icy I insisted we take it slow, real slow, like it was turned into a 30min drive. In my overreacting defense, I did fishtail on the ice once. We went right to bed so we could wake up bright and early to wonderful presents of toiletpaper. Yep, you read that right. Sweetie had rolled up one dollar bills end to end in rolls of TP so each kid had to go through the roll to get their present. Activity and gift all in one.

Unfortunately I have so much to catch up on posts will be short and sweet. Merry Christmas, two months late.

Christmas Decorating 2009

2009-12-08T20:40:00.005-06:00

That's My Boys!

2009-12-08T20:30:00.004-06:00

So, Jake had a repeat Student of the Month this year for the month of November. Now, Jonathan has his first year at Bowie Elementary and takes it for December. (I guess) Thankfully, their mother isn't as diligent as her boys and so November's sign overlapped for one day with December's sign and the boys got to pose for a shot together!

Thanksgiving 2009 + Ollie's Blessing + Jake's Baptism

2009-11-29T21:16:00.005-06:00

A jaunt to Galveston--surf and Milo's Birthday party

2009-11-29T21:01:00.003-06:00

This is just something extra to throw in--one night Jeff was doing P90x and the kids decided they wanted to get involved. For the boys, that meant stipping off their shirts!

A visit from the Reyes'

2009-11-29T20:44:00.001-06:00

Halloween 2009

2009-11-15T19:27:00.005-06:00

Jake's 8th Birthday

2009-11-15T18:48:00.007-06:00

Halloween Cookies

2009-10-18T15:28:00.002-05:00

Hannah as...SpongeBob?

2009-10-13T00:10:00.005-05:00

No, it's not for Halloween, it's for school. The entire 4th grade put on a show called "Lights, Camera, Action" and this was her part. The kids all sang the song and Hannah came running out and did some freestyle dancin'. She hammed it up pretty good and I think she really enjoyed it. However she did have a slight mishap after her solo. Back on the risers she was singing and dancing and fell right off the back. All of a sudden she was just gone. Luckily she didn't get hurt and she jumped right back on. She did however ask if she could transfer to another school.

Enough is Enough (and now there's more)

2009-10-12T22:54:00.006-05:00

A few of weeks ago we had had enough of the 2 straight weeks of rain. It was constant. It was still warm outside and all the kids wanted to do was go outside but it wouldn't stop. So I finally said go anyway. They rode bikes, ran around, and splashed in the puddles. We even decided to grill burgers for dinner. That's right I was standing in the rain grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. And after that we made s'mores. You heard me. We all stood around the grill in the pouring rain and roasted marshmallows, then ate them outside. The kids had a blast and asked if we could do it again the next night. That will teach Mother Nature to mess with me and my impending loss of sanity (I can only take so much running and screaing in the house). Of course now "She's" getting me back. A solid week of rain and it's too cold to go outside.

In hindsight I probably should have taken her out of the white dress.

The s'mores were everybody's favorite.

I think he was trying to drink the water an his arm.

She's my poser.

I know he doesn't look it, but I swear he wanted to be there.

I don't know what she's doing.

They loved all the puddles.

Drenched but Happy!

twin baptisms

2009-09-30T19:44:00.004-05:00

Labor Day = Trip to Science Museum + Dreams of Fiji

2009-09-07T21:19:00.005-05:00

Gotta Love Kids

2009-08-24T22:50:00.003-05:00

Oh the things they say...

We went out to an all you can eat pizza buffet for dinner to celebrate the first day of school tonight. In the middle of dinner Jonathan looks over at the line and says "Somebody needs to glue that lady to her seat, she's going to eat all the pizza".

Rachel just discovered her pulse in her neck and is freaking out. She's screaming "my heart is in my neck mom, get it out, fix it ". No amount of explaining that it is supposed to feel like that or letting her feel mine is making her any calmer.

Back To School! Yea!!!

2009-08-23T20:05:00.004-05:00

We decided to take our back to school pics the night before to avoid the morning rush. We also decided to go and take our kids pictures at some place that we could go back to every year and see how they've grown. So we started thinking...what's this town known for? Then it hit us, Cows! Well we put everybody in their back to school outfits, did the girls hair, and drove to the dairy museum to take pictures with the 20ft cows. Enjoy. (I'm also in the process of adding captions to the earlier posts, we'll see how far I get.)

You may notice Hannah had to have a slight wardrobe change between shots. I am not looking forward to her teen years. She's already fussy about how she looks and her clothes.

I think the boys cared more about squishing all the crickets than getting their pictures taken.

Rachel's just really mad she doesn't get to start school with the other kids. She's got two more weeks to go. If you ask her what we're going to do with all the kids gone, she'll answer "shopping". I'm so proud of her.

I should probably add something sappy like "they're getting so big" or "I'm going to miss them so much". But after the last few weeks of nothing but yelling and fighting and complaints of "I'm bored" I just can't muster those feeling yet. I'll let you know in a week.

snippets of Aunt Steph's and Uncle Sim's big weekend

2009-08-19T20:14:00.010-05:00

I don't know if you can tell, but there is actually a little too much love going on here, in the form of crushing our heads. Under a little stress there mom?
I think Steph and I are bending down. I think we're actually taller than Daddy now. It's no fun getting old huh Daddy?
This is Steph, Sim, Sim's mom Lana, and his 2 year old little boy Austin.
It was really hot outside. I think this was the most G-rated picture of her dabbing her self off.
Steph and all the kids. Cute aren't they.
All the siblings. Me, Steph, Jack, and Terry. The boys made a (really) quick trip down. Didn't even get to spend one night.
Thanks for the help Abby. We couldn't have done it without you.

This is the church where they got married.
I'm talking, go figure.
They could not cut the cake fast enough.
Make that cakes.
Cousin shot.

Don't worry, they mushed each other good with the cake.
I love this picture. Would have been better without all the other people in the shot.
I tried to get daddy to dance with me but he'd had enough.

I love this. The pearls and manicure in contrast with the tats.

Isn't she cute!

Congratulations to Steph and Sim. I hope you have a wonderful life together.

recent pics

2009-08-08T20:24:00.006-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we went out to Cooper Lake and took a picnic and the sand toys. It's not the beach but the best we can do in under 3 hrs round trip.

Jeff took this picture of Jonathan while he was spinning on the merry-go-round. Notice the spinning green in the background. He was actually really worried Jeff was going to fall off, or worse, make him fall.
This is Jonny's pose. Jeff was trying to teach me how to do something with the camera and this is what I had to work with. He held this for about five minutes.
It's kinda hard to see, but Jake is shooting himself in the eye with a water gun. Filled with lake water and all. Gross.
Hannah spent some time rowing herself in a circle with only one oar. And she's supposed to be "gifted".
Random shot of Jonathan walking through the muddy lake. You'll notice Jeff and I aren't in any pictures. We're not fond of the whole mud between our toes feeling.

These are just shots Jeff took playing with some new toy on his camera. They were taken in our living room against a white wall. He was able to change the color himself. I keep joking that he is going to have to get his own studio soon. Not to mention some different subjects. I always end up getting volunteered either right before or right after I go running. Sweaty is not my best look.

Where is My Mind?...Way out in the Water

2009-08-02T21:12:00.006-05:00

Introducing Our Nephew - Ollie Stoke Smith

2009-08-02T21:07:00.000-05:00

102 weather fun

2009-07-09T21:30:00.003-05:00

The Remaining Moments of the Corn Snakes (@ our house anyway) & Fourth of July pics

2009-07-04T22:43:00.006-05:00

"Butters" - Hannah's snake

"Pearl" - Rachel's snake

"Ghosty" - Jacob's snake

"Fred (the Bloodred)" - Jonathan's snake

Fireworks at the Sulphur Springs Country Club

The kids with a front row seat for the event off the fairway

Jake showing the other kids how its done with a sparkler

Hannah showing us how to burn herself with a sparkler

Ahhh...Jonathan

2009-06-30T20:37:00.003-05:00

We were driving around late tonight and as we pulled into the driveway I told all the kids to go upstairs and get their pj's and I would be up in a minute to help them. Jonathan turns to me and says in all seriousness --"I don't need this thing you call 'help' ". He used air quotes and everything.

Costa Rica Pics (sorry no beach pics...too busy surfing)

2009-06-28T16:48:00.003-05:00

Great Wolf Lodge & Visit from the Reyes Family pics

2009-06-28T16:29:00.003-05:00

Blog Guilt

2009-06-28T15:29:00.002-05:00

I've got blog guilt. Did you know there was such a thing? I'm behind about 3-4 months and feel like I need to catch up before I go on. I can't blog about what happened yesterday cause I still need to write about what happened mid March. Jeff finally told me that nobody cares anymore about what happened in March and I need to just move on. So I'm going to take a middle approach and write one sentence about the things that have gone on. If someone really needs to know more I will be happy to elaborate.

1. We took a spring break trip to Galveston and spent our time watching Jeff and Brad surf in the super cold water.

2. Jeff's birthday was end of March, he turned 33.

3. More baseball/softball.

4. Hannah had her first sleepover birthday party and I had to threaten them all at 3:00 am to go to sleep or go home, and Hannah's favorite present was her own pre-paid credit card to use anywhere she wanted (what kind of children am I raising).

5. Rain, rain, and more rain.

6. Make-up baseball/softball games.

7. Field trips out the wazoo, is this where my tax dollars are going?

8. Hannah learns to roller skate and Jacob learns to bowl, during school hours (again with the tax dollar thing).

9. I screw up and hold Jonathan's b-day party on Memorial Day weekend and freak out when NONE of the 34 kids invited had RSVP's by the day before (I made some calls and found out there were kids coming--thank goodness).

10. More baseball/softball.

11.End of school awards Hannah: all A's and creative thinker award, yet no good behavior awards, sorry I passed on the motor mouth gene.

12. End of school awards Jacob: Student of the month, all A's, Best behavior in computer lab, perfect attendance, best all around in class, and most flexible (in all of 1st and 2nd grade, I'll take credit for that one too).

13. Jacob's baseball team wins the city championship--Go Cubs!

T-Ball Games

2009-05-23T16:01:00.004-05:00

I am waaayyy far behind in blogging. The last post I did was for Valentines so I'm going back to March which is when I think T-ball began. T-ball may be my new favorite sport (or I thought that at the time anyway). For most of the players on Jonny's team, including him, it was their first year to play and boy did it show in the first game. Most kids always hit the tee instead of the ball, and it's way cute to see all the dads standing out with their kids in the field. I especially love to see 6'6" Jeff in his shirt and tie standing next to 4' Jonathan with curls sticking out from under his cap. But the best things happen during play.

When the kids get up to bat, they get 3 pitches from the coach and then get to hit off the tee. When it's Jonathan's turn (he's 2nd in the order) he missed all the coach pitches but hit the first one off the tee and ran as fast as he could. Too bad he ran toward third base. Luckily that was his only "cute mistake" of the game. But there were plenty of others. These are my two favorites.

There is a coach standing at each base telling kids when to run and when to stop. Well one kid gets up to bat, hits the ball, and the first base coach starts yelling "run to me". (Apparently they learned after Jonny.) The kid starts running as fast as he could toward the coach, and I do mean toward the coach. He runs right to him and gives him a hug. "OUT" Now it's our turn to play in the field (not sure what that's actually called). The other team has gotten a couple of hits and has a kid on 2nd base. The next kid hits it and they all start to run. Our team gets the ball and the coaches yell "Tag him, tag him with the ball". So the kid throws the ball at him. NOT AN OUT!
Well the whole team has gotten much better and knows the basic rules by now. (Although I did see that throw the ball at a kid thing last week.)

random pics from april and march

2009-05-09T21:04:00.005-05:00

so, for those of you who don't know... we finally switched from a mac to a PC about a year or so ago... and it was the worst decision ever... our computer has been in and out of the shop (and by shop I mean mailed back and forth to the manufacturer) for the last 6 months or so...

so, we've finally loaded all our pics... and rather than wait for kari to blog... here's some random pics from our random visit/travels/occasions... enjoy

Can You Believe She Said That

2009-04-20T23:14:00.003-05:00

So I've been know to run. About 10 miles a day give or take. I've always thought that was pretty good. Well, we just had a new neighbor move in a few days ago. I finally got to meet her today. She's this very sweet older lady with thick all white hair whose in her 70's. I introduce myself and she says"Oh you're the one who likes to run" (small town, nothing's private). Apparently she likes to run marathons, outside. I say yeah but I like to run on a treadmill inside. Her response is "Yeah, you're a lightweight". I do not want to play keeping up with the Jones with her.

A Quick Word Of Advice...

2009-03-31T23:12:00.001-05:00

For those with kids younger than ours. Start playing sports with them early. Hannah played her first ever baseball game today (actually it was just a scrimmage). Unfortunately because of all the rain and a spring break vacation (which I will blog about later) she has only been able to make one practice ever, yesterday. Add that to the fact that I am not exactly "sportsy" and the fact that Jeff hasn't exactly been here that much in the past few years and she really hasn't been prepared very well. Given all that, she still seemed excited to play. She jumped out of the car first and headed to the field. I had to take some time to get the others out of the car. The rest of us make it to the field and settle down to watch. I little bit into the game, our neighbor who's little girl is on the other team, comes over to share something with me. While I was busy with the other kids Hannah was having some trouble...figuring out how to get onto the field. Apparently she wandered around for a few minutes and then had to go ask the neighbor lady for directions to the dugout. Lesson learned. Before we let Rachel hit her first ball, we show her where the entrance is.

On a side note, Jacob played his first spring game tonight too and got a hit his first time up to bat. For those of you who may not know, like me, a "hit" means he hit the ball and got on base. Go Jacob.

Father Knows Best...

2009-03-27T20:56:00.005-05:00

So, the evening begins with me (I'll be playing the Father in this story) trying to do the right thing and help the missionaries out with some splits. I figured it was better than watching another couple of hours of college basketball with my singular birthday present--a sackful of candy. Meanwhile, Kari (she's playing the part of the Mother) decides since Father isn't monopolizing the TV she will let the kids watch a movie and pop some popcorn on the stove top. So, she starts heating some oil in a stainless steel bowl.

Now let's take step back from the story. Granted, I wasn't present for the ensuing events. But let's go back to a kinder, simpler time one month ago...

The setting is Family Home Evening at the Smith Home. Hannah reads a story out of the Friend about a little girl putting together a 72 hour kit with the family. Father smirks over at Mother because Father has been trying to get this done for years much to the chagrin of Mother. Seeing a foothold (as he's in charge of the "activity"), he announces the activity will be starting the 72 hour kits and practicing a fire drill.

Skip forward one week to another Family Home Evening. This time it's the dessert portion. All of a sudden, Father announces "Fire Drill". The older kids spring from their seat, find their little 72 hour back packs, and go out front to the mail box. Little Rachel--with terror in her eyes--exclaims, "I don't want my buh-ssert (it's duh-ssert, Rach, duh-ssert) to buurrrnnn!"

One week later, the kids have got it down--all of the troops get to the mailbox in under a minute (dog included)! And no crying from Rachel this time!

Now let's jump back about 25 years. Setting Long Beach California sometime around the 4th of July. After young Father's mom leaves us kids alone at home to be babysat by some quality Nickelodean programming (Turkey TV anyone?!), Young Father turns to witness a nice grease fire coming from the electric french fryer. Interestingly enough, the carnage unleased on the house by the smoke led to our families first trip to the Big D to spend some time with the grandparents while the house was cleaned!

Flash forward to today. Father's vision of flames is now mirrored in his young daughter Hannah's eyes as she spots the unattended stove top (Mother--big surprise--is chatting it up on the phone). According to Mother, huge flames (probably mere sparks) were spewing from the bowl of hot oil and apparently neccesitated the unleashing of a whole cannister of fire retardant powder (no... our countertop and stove tops are not white as the photo below might lead one to believe).Needless to say, the inspired drills of previous week pay off as the kids dash for the mailbox only to tell the entire neighborhood of Mother's folly.

No harm/no foul. Everyone is safe. Even the stove top appears realtively unscathed. We do however have a pleasant smell pervading the entire house. And that pleasant white powder is being tracked all over the house.

The only casualty was noted as Father was settling in later that night to watching the remaining minutes of basketball--his lone bag of birthday candy covered in fire extinguisher frosting! No justice...

Exibit B

2009-03-26T20:46:00.002-05:00

I thought I would just quickly post this picture as yet another example of what a terrible sleeping companion Jeff is. Always takes most of the bed.

If He Really Wants Me To...

2009-03-25T19:25:00.004-05:00

So Jeff has been telling me I need to blog again. Well I will. We had fun over spring break but I'm going to start with my husbands subconscious feelings that only surface when he sleeps.

It's well known throughout our family that he only sleeps well when his left knee is firmly planted in my back. Somehow I have gotten used to this and barley notice anymore. But his latest round of attacks are starting to get on my nerves. Last week I went to bed much later than him (I'm not all that big on the whole sleeping thing). Anyway, it's hard for him to fall asleep so I try my very best not to wake him. I listen at the door to make sure he's breathing heavily, he is. I tiptoe across the floor not making a sound. I ease into bed not even making it squeak. All of a sudden, he lifts up his head and says in a very loud, stern voice "Kari, What are you doing, I'm trying to sleep". Then he lays down his head and doesn't move again. Given that he doesn't remember a thing about it in the morning, I chalk it up to mere coincidence to what ever dream he is having.

Now it's two nights ago. I am suddenly woken up in the middle of the night with the weird sensation that my head is falling. I find my self without a pillow. I know I went to bed with one and I am not a tosser. I don't see it lying on the bed. I don't see on the floor next to me. Ah, there it is, on the floor on Jeff's side of the bed. How did that happen? I retrieve it, but wait. This isn't my pillow, it's Jeff's. He's sleeping on my pillow!!! Apparently he knocked his own pillow on the floor, and that sensation that my head was falling was actually him taking my pillow right out from under my head. Now, I don't get mad, I don't shove him over. I get his pillow and very carefully try to get my pillow back and slide his under his head. Does he appreciate this? No. Instead he sits up yells "STOP IT" and then goes back to sleep. Again remembering nothing the next morning.

So, let this be a notice to all. If I mysteriously die in my sleep. It may not have been an accident. And Jeff may or not may not remember anything in the morning.The picture isn't really related to the story, but cute all the same. I think this was our second night in our apartment in Provo a month after being married almost 10 years ago! Two seconds before I took this picture Bomers left "arm" was actually in the same position as Jeff's.

MARCH MADNESS e-vite!

2009-03-15T15:26:00.004-05:00

So, it's that time of year that we live for... the NCAA tournament! It's hard actually not having the luxury of a medical school Spring Break anymore to watch the first round of action. So much so that Jeff had to schedule a week off of work and make up some story about needing to attend a conference in Houston (okay, so there is a conference in Houston... but, we're still excited about watching the games).

Our immediate family always makes bracket picks and it has been pretty fun in the past. And we're still doing that this year (check your email). However, in addition, we've been using this blog and Facebook as a medium to catch-up with old friends, and so we're sending out a universal invite to all our friends and extended family to join our new bracket group (don't worry family--we're still doing the family-only bracket... in fact. we may pick two separate brackets just to up our chances of winning one of them!)

Feel free to join the fun!
http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joingroup
Group ID# 82121
password: sansuk (in memory of University of Kentucky not making the tournament for the first time in 17 years... good luck keeping your job Billy!)

May the best (or luckiest) person win!

Fine, I'll do it.

2009-03-14T18:05:00.003-05:00

So Jeff has been saying for a while now that I need to blog something so here goes. This is going to be a long one.

I'll start with the cutest (also it actually happened before Valentines Day). There's a mother's club in town that has several fundraisers a year. It's mostly bake sales and raffles and such, but each February they hold a Daddy Daughter Dance. My friend across the street belongs so she asked if Jeff would be interested. I wasn't really sure that he would so I said I'd have to get back to her. Well, in the meantime, Hannah gets wind of it and the choice is made. Jeff pretty much grumbled about it right up until he left (I guess he thought his dancing days were over) , but my sources say he had a good time. They made corsages for themselves and a lollipop boutinare for him. I was told he danced with one girl or the other all night long, including the chicken dance, the twist and many more. Rachel was in hog heaven, she didn't want to leave, but Hannah was tired and ready to go home early. Apparently there are candid shots out there somewhere but I haven't seen them yet. As soon as I get a picture of Jeff busting a move, you can be sure I'll post it. For now all I have is the professional shot taken. Note Jeff's shoes, his attempt to be young and hip.
Next, we have an update on the kids basketball. Jacob and Hannah did well all season. Not only did they enjoy it they are actually good. Hannah has even decided that she wants to go to a basketball camp this summer. Jacob has decided that this is how he is going to pay for college. Jonathan however never really took to the game. I think he was always waiting for someone to give him the ball nicely. Toward the end, you could even catch him hiding behind the other players so that he wouldn't have to touch the ball. Jacob was a little miffed at the ending ceremony. They didn't get trophies, they got backpacks. The disappointment was lessened though by the show. A guy from some sort of power squad came in and broke baseball bats with his hands and bent steel bars with his teeth. They're all excited to play baseball though which started two days later. Now I get to drive kids to 6 practices and 6 games a week, all at different locations.

Now a note on my husband the doctor. One Saturday night Jonny goes to bed feeling bad and a slight fever. The next day the fever's still there and he feels terrible. Jeff checks him out. Ears...fine. Lungs...clear. Throat...normal. Complaints from patient...sore, fever, achy, tired, and a third of his class out with the flu. Conclusion...we've been hit with the flu. No need for antibiotics, it's the flu. Great, just great. There are 5 other people in this house to go through. Jonny stays home from school on Monday. And Tuesday. And Wednesday. Still having a high fever, still same exam findings, still same complaints. Jeff decides it's time for an official flu test. It come back negative. Missed pneumonia? He gives him antibiotics. He's better in two days. How much was med school again?

More poo...? Ah it's that season again. We've begun the garden adventure for spring. Last Monday I went to WalMart and bought 40 bags of manure. (Technically Jeff calls it Humus--I just know the word manure is on the bag.) Then I piled it into the back of my car. Then it started raining. Was I going to lug it all out in the rain and put it in the yard to get soaking wet, NO. Was I going to pile it up in the garage and then not be able to fit my car in, NO. So there it sat, in the back of my car for 5 days. It didn't smell as bad as last time, but it's not exactly fresh. Not to mention the fact that it weighs down the back of the car to about 18 inches off the road, prompting every dad that helps get the kids out of the car for school to comment. Today in 40 degree weather, but no rain finally, we unloaded it and put it in the beds. I'm just counting my blessing I didn't have to help build anything this time. If you've ever read the book "The $64 Tomato", we're giving that guy some competition.

And last but not least, a sad note. The Kentucky Wildcats started off the SEC tournament with a win, but sadly in the next game lost to LSU. Where are the Cats of my past? For the first time in 17 years they will not be in the championship tournament. Will I be able to make due with the NIT? I guess I can but I'm not going to like it. Let's go ahead and start looking forward to a good recruiting time and a great season next year. I'm not going to say anything about the coaching yet.

Best Valentines Ever!!!!

2009-02-13T17:50:00.008-06:00

I know it's a little early to be making a Valentines post (I started this post several days ago) but Jeff and I actually started celebrating about two weeks ago. Now you might be thinking "Wow, did they go on a trip, or spend the night in a nice hotel, or was there jewelry involved, or maybe they just went to a great restaurant!" Well, my answer to all of this is...NO. Even better, and not quite so conventional. I'll start with Jeff's present, it's not near as cool as mine though (in my opinion).

If you read any of the Christmas blogs, Jeff has developed a fondness for Rock Band. So I was thinking I'd get it for him for his birthday but I found it on sale, and then it became a Valentines present. It's actually Guitar Hero, something about having the extra cymbal. All in all, its a pretty fun game. Each player can be a different level so the kids can play with him without feeling like they always lose. (By kids I mean me.) Apparently he has now finished the game and opened all the songs but not mastered every level. I'd say we play a little every day, but we do it as a family so it's OK right?

Now onto my present, the coolest thing in the world, or as others may say: One of the most deadly toxins in the world

That's right, BOTOX!!!! It's actually something I would have loved to have started getting about 5+ years ago, but being a med student and resident doesn't really leave any extra cash for reducing wrinkles so I had to wait. Well my time has finally come. Jeff took a course this summer in aesthetic medicine and wants to start doing this in his practice and he needed a few people to fine tune his technique and take pictures of for his portfolio. So, being the generous person that I am--I volunteered my face. And by face, I mean every part possible! He did my forehead, "crows feet", and between my eyes. All in all--25 shots. These next few pics would be my before and after shots. I am not that embarrassed to post the before cause the after are so much better.

I'm not THAT old. How could I possibly have that many wrinkles. Well two short weeks later and I'm paralyzed from the eyes up. OK it's not quite that drastic. I can actually move my eyebrows, but not enough to create any lines.

As soon as I realized how well this Botox stuff really works, I was ready for something more. I am going to have him fill in some of my left-over fine wrinkles with collagen. I'm not quite ready to have him plump up my lips (no matter how bad he needs to practice). But I won't say I never will. Is it sad to think I might look better in my 30's than I did in my 20's?

On To The Next Sport (My Favorite)

2009-02-08T21:04:00.005-06:00

I had to get a nod in for my team. Go Wildcats!!!

I signed up all the kids for basketball, and only Jacob asked for it, but it's a good life experience right. We'll take it kid by kid.

Jonathan agreed to do it cause I think he just likes to go along with things. There wasn't too much mumbling with the practices and with him being my most athletic child I had high hopes. The first game however he was just getting over being sick and didn't really seem into it. He's kinda sleepy/bored looking. The second game went much better but I think he's still trying to grasp the concept of catching the ball (it's not soccer) and guarding someone. But he seems to be enjoying it.

Next is Jacob. He asked to play because he wants a trophy in every sport. He does complain about the practices because he'd rather be home playing video games (if only there were a trophy involved in that). The games however are a different story. He's pretty good. I think he does well with a set of rules. Guard this man, after the other team scores go back across the line, throw the ball in here. In the last game he scored points, had assists, forced the other team out of bounds, and blocked shots. Lets hope his height advantage keeps up.

This is his "I'm Concentrating" face. I like my basketball players mean so I'm OK with it.

Then there's Hannah. I didn't even tell her I signed her up until right before practices started. Sure enough I heard nothing but complaints. Now she's not the most coordinated child but basketball seems to be her sport. Practices don't always go that well, if she's not directly involved she gets distracted. But I have never seen her try harder than she does in the games. She understands the concepts and actually runs down the court and gets in play. I'm hoping her height holds up too.

Footnote: Jeff tells me he's going to start deleting the shots he doesn't like because I always pick the badly lit ones to post.

Cover Models

2009-02-08T20:28:00.007-06:00

Well I'm way behind in the blogging world so I'm going to try and play catch up. A while ago I mentioned that we had some family pictures taken. Well they weren't for us exactly. The hospital puts out a monthly magazine (that goes out to about 10,000 people) and they wanted Jeff to write an article and wanted to include his family in the pictures. Well the girls and Jeff ended up on the front cover and Hannah thinks it's just great. She had to take a copy to school to show her teacher and friends.

I will say this is probably the best picture Hannah and Rachel have ever taken.

The boys and I made the family shot inside with the actual article. Those are not our vegetables or even our kitchen though I'd like to claim them.

The one downside I've experienced with being in a magazine is being recognized when I don't want to be. A couple of weeks ago our washing machine took it's final turn and while waiting for the repair guy and then a decision for a new one, I've been using the one local laundromat. I've been doing the wash just once a week so of course I go there wearing the worst of things so I can wash everything else. This last time Hannah had been sent home sick from school and she was with me. Sure enough some lady walks by sees Hannah and says "I know you from somewhere". Then she looks and me and says "Oh yeah, your the doctors wife, I saw you in the magazine." I'm sure the next question she wanted to ask was "Why are you dressed like that and in a laundromat?" Oh well, Even Jennifer Aniston gets caught without makeup sometimes.

The Question

2009-01-24T20:29:00.002-06:00

Jonny cracks me up daily but today I was reminded of something he said a while ago. He was looking at my engagement and wedding ring and asks in a completely serious tone: "If daddy gave you a ring when you got married, who did you marry before daddy to get the other ring?"

"Let Me See"

2009-01-14T19:07:00.004-06:00

If Jonny has his way there will be no more babies in this house. I was helping out a friend of mine who was sick by watching her little boy today. He's 6 months old and completely adorable. Not to mention pretty darn good for a kid who's used to mom all day. Well we have a fine day. Rachel likes him and has fun feeding him and playing with him. Then it's time to pick up the boys. First it's Jonathan. He gets in the car and is surprised to see a baby, I tell him I'm babysitting and he seems to accept it. A few moments later I look in the rearview mirror and he's got this disgusted look on his face. He says "Why is it looking at me?" I say he must like you and we keep going. A minute later and Rachel reaches over to hold his hand and Jonathan screams "Don't touch it Rachel, you'll get baby germs". We get home and everyone else thinks Samuel is great and Jonathan just ignores him, until.... it's time to change a poopy diaper. Now he says he wants to watch!

our youngest is 4?!

2009-01-13T21:00:00.004-06:00

Where is the time going? While Rachel still looks like a little kid to us, the years just seem to be getting faster. Despite promising her mother she would turn 3 for a second year in a row, Rachel reminded us all clearly yesterday she was four--in fact, she hopped up on our bed and showed Jeff that, in fact, her legs were longer this morning!Because she was the birthday girl, Rachel had the final say in her outfit for the day. Her special day revolved around favorite meals at favorite spots. To spare further fights over Jonathan's bicycle, Rachel received her own two wheel (really 4 wheel).
One nice thing about having the grandparents move closer, is they can drop in for birthday dinner and presents!
Well, we finally got our computer back and have 100s of pics loaded (of course, >50% are blurred with motion)... as you can see, we added some to old posts. Enjoy!

12 "events" of Christmas

2009-01-08T16:39:00.013-06:00

Well, Christy won't stop pestering us for pictures--and, no, Christy, we still don't have pictures. Hopefully, this blog will be littered with pictures in a week or so. So, we offer this little verbal recap of our holidays. We could have probably included some other "incidents", but we're trying not to blog too much about our extended family or we may lose all of our readers. So, without further ado, we present the 12 "events" of Christmas...

12. Mom and Dad's Move - Man, what a nightmare. The day before Christmas in the rainy weather with sketchy schedules. Thank goodness there were other Smiths in town to toe the line better than our clan. Brave to do given the timing and the hordes that descended upon it's new carpet. Just thinking about it makes us shudder....

11. Follow the Leader - Stripped of their wives (but bound by children) the Smith brothers entertained a small army of kids (who if they were smart should've banded together and made a break for the nearby swimming pool or skate park) at a local playground. The youngest of the crew soon started a game of Follow the Leader that soon had other kids following suit. Pretty cute, actually.10. The Chandelier - Despite Uncle Brad denting his skull multiple times on the low light system in our office (curse the Smith tall genes!) and telling us to raise it repeatedly; it wasn't until Jeff was stumbling around one night and clipped his own scalp that it finally got raised. Kari did not appreciate her husband waking her from a dead sleep (with blood streaming down his face onto her nice floors) and asking "Does my head need a staple?"9. Uncle Chip's Nose Ring - So, Chip posts this Facebook pic of himself with a nose ring--and by nose ring we're talking like "El Toro". And he walks off the plane with this thing in his face and has everyone thinking he's gone off the deep end. He keeps the charade up for at least a day if not longer before he pulls it out and reveals it's just a fake clip.
8. Giddyup! - The kids had fun riding Mickey and Lucy -- the White's horses. Now we know what they're gonna want under the tree next year!7. Sibling Santa Swap - It was a first for the sibling Santa swap--it was pretty entertaining. Pooping penguins, liquor flasks, microwave S'more machines... things every family needs!
6. Game Night - Previously mentioned in earlier posts--board games tend to take the Holiday spirit out of our family and flush it down the proverbial toilet. We won't recreate the memory--but Jeff still believes he can get the answer just based on how the question is read and all the teasing in the world won't change his mind.5. Missing Chicken Toes - An event that was witnessed by none except a few poor backyard animals (and apparently heard by our neighbor across the street). Short story--families leave for lunch and return to find each chicken missing at least one talon. Blood everywhere but clues were scant. The kids are still tracking the culprit...4. Fireworks - Roman candles were made to be lit and pointed at your favorite loved ones--just not the ones that are big enough to require a PVC pipe to launch! Our kids learned some bad habits to ring in the New Year...
3. Rock Band - it's tough to find a video game that draws the whole family in--okay, so the grandparents weren't so crazy about it... and maybe most of the wives...
2. Sulphur Springs State HS Football Champions - again, already been commented on... pretty amazing experience in and of itself--even more so watching the community get caught up in it. They finally had the "parade" for the team tonight. The boys really enjoyed giving the players hi-5s as they walked past--especially the star quarterback. It was a town party!1. Christmas itself - I think the quote of the holiday was Jonathan's. Santa got the kids a Wii and the kids hadn't even asked for it. Jonathan said, "That was nice... Santa didn't have to do that".
Christmas was nice and we really enjoyed seeing everyone. Happy New Year!

rock band stole our christmas...

2009-01-02T19:05:00.003-06:00

needless to say, if the video game Rock Band had existed in the early 90s, Jeff would have bypassed the hours of frustrating attempts to sync guitar riffs with CD recordings and just plugged in the XBOX. Not to mention the fact that if the real drums are half as fun to play in real life as they are on rock band, he would have skipped the guitar altogether. While Kari would have it sound as though Jeff spent his whole vacation playing the video game, the truth of the matter is Hannah, Jake and the cousins were the true rock junkies. And as a result, we have banned the songs "Eye of the Tiger" (Survivor), "Say it Ain't So" (Weezer), "Orange Crush" (REM) and "That's What You Get" (Paramore) for life--thank you, kiddos, for wrecking perfectly fine songs through overplay. If Kari's smart, we will continue to save Rock Band reunions for visits to Uncle Brad's.

Speaking of games--the holidays confirmed to us once again that the Smiths should not play board games together. The competitive virus is apparently spreading to the spouses as well--nobody's safe. Marriages were tested. Integrity was questioned. Eternal progressions were held in the balance. The game "Battle of the Sexes" will probably be on eBay by week's end.

The wives made out like bandits--shopping sprees, vampire movies, carb binges. The poor kids and fathers are still recovering. New Year's Eve held some redemption--pyromania was reexplored and young generations of Smiths were introduced to the seductive dangers of viewing their parents take pot shots at each other with Roman candles. Some things never change...

a tale of two cities

2008-12-22T18:41:00.006-06:00

What a weekend! We just returned from a whirlwind trip to San Antonio to attend the 4A division 2 state championship. For those of you who have never experienced small town Texas football up-close, you're missing out on some real community team spirit.

Jeff has been helping out as a team doc since he started residency. We lived in a small suburb of Waco named China Spring. Last year, they had a great team and went all the way to the championship 3A game. With his call schedule, Jeff was able to attend about 1/2 the games. However, he was unable to attend the championship game (Kari and the kids braved the cold to watch it) and they ended up losing to Celina.

This year, Jeff jumped right in with Sulphur Springs. Again, Jeff was able to attend about half the games. Sulphur Springs wasn't expected to go very deep in the playoffs, but miraculously made it to the semi-final game which Jeff was able to attend. Jokingly, he told one of the physical therapists "You know, I went last year with a team to the state game and every game of theirs I attended they won. So we should win today since I'm here". And, sure enough, Sulphur Springs won in spite of the other team being picked the heavy favorite.

Well, then the story was out and we were pretty much guilted into going to San Antonio (who wants to be labeled the doctor that jinxed another team into losing a championship!). So, we snagged Jeff's sister and brother-in-law and went down to San Antonio--and apparently half of Sulphur Springs did as well! We had a hotel on the River Walk and we wandered around the night before the game and the whole town was blue (Sulphur Springs) and purple (the opposing teams colors). Hannah almost sparked a riot when she was inspired by all the blue to yell "Go Wildcats!" A drunken group of men chimed in "Go Wildcats!" which in turn sparked an opposing "Go Broncos!" Even the next morning, the Alamo and downtown was nothing but familar faces. We couldn't go 15 minutes without running into people we knew from back home.

To make the whole story even more interesting, there's a back story: Jeff's last year at China Spring he was joined by one of his fellow third year residents as a team doc--John Redman. John went on to join a family practice in his hometown of Dayton, TX. What's the significance? Well, the opposing team happened to be the Dayton Broncos. So, not only had John and Jeff followed the championship run of 3A China Spring, but they were facing off a year later as team docs of the opposing teams of division 4A. To add to the drama, neither Sulphur Springs nor Dayton have ever been to a championship game before. They met before the game to catch-up and take pics of the historic moment (their residency program already wants to run a story on their paring in the alumni letter).

And did the game disappoint? Not at all--highest scoring game in Texas HS state history! Final score was 69-49 with Sulphur Springs pulling out victorious (told you Jeff had some luck thing going)! It was a tiring, but very exciting weekend. Pics to follow (as soon as the holidays are over and the home computer starts behaving again). Merry Christmas to all!

all i want for christmas...

2008-12-12T22:36:00.004-06:00

Christmas craziness is in full swing. It seems like every night this week has been spent doing some sort of Christmas activity. The kids had a church Christmas party on Wednesday night. Jake brought home is own gift from it--his two front teeth! Kari and I aren't big fans of pulling teeth (I keep telling everyone "I'm not a dentist!") and Jake has been begging us to have his loose tooth pulled for weeks. So, this past week it has been hanging on by a thread and Kari mentioned it to one of the women up at church and she's like "Hey, I used to teach Kindergarten and I've pulled a million teeth". And a quick yank later, Jake was less one tooth. He was so excited he started wiggling and working on his other front tooth. Before the end of the party, they were both gone. So, now we get to listen to Jake try and speak. He can't say an "S" to save his life. Kari got him on video that night trying to sing "All I want for christmas..."--it's pretty funny and as soon as we find our video cable we'll post it on here for all to hear.

Santa made a pre-Christmas visit to our house this week as well (in an SUV no less--some excuse about his reindeer being holed up at the airport). So, we shot our Christmas pic--not the greatest shot photography-wise, but the annual "kitsch-iness" still shines through. We thought about posting it now, but wanted it to be a surprise for the card. We'll post it at some point (I know, I know...we're all talk)...

more artificial merriment

2008-12-06T19:57:00.004-06:00

So, our pre-lit Christmas tree has been limping along for a number of years. We got it at some unnamed after-Christmas sale at some unnamed MegaloMart. We could probably count the number of years we've had it by the number of light strands that are no longer working (one strand per year comes to approximately...2o years I think). Anyways, being the procrastinators that we are has forced us into hunting for fake trees at pre-Christmas peak prices! Needless, to say we settled for a temporary fix to put the kids' minds at ease that yes, Santa will have a fake evergreen target for his present dump at our house this year.
Even Bomber got into the act. Speaking of Bomber, the old mutt ain't what he used to be. The bounce in his step has been replaced with arthritis. Our cold clothes closet (his usual roost of choice) has now become his nemesis and so at about 5 am every morning he comes hobbling out and tap-tap-taps across our wood floors from one side of the bed to the other looking for a place to jump up. So, his Christmas list this year includes Doggy Steps (as seen on TV!) to let his arthritic body snuggle up close to our arthritic bodies!

snow sledding in sulphur springs...alright more like ice

2008-12-06T19:43:00.004-06:00

Well, at least we can alleviate some of the guilt we feel of raising in kids in a state with little to no winter to speak of--or at least cloud their fragile memories with artificial holiday merriment.

Our little township brought in a little hill (okay, so it was a metal slope on a carney trailer of sorts) with snow (okay, so it was bags of ice that had been blown onto said slope) into the town square last night. We stood in line for 30 minutes of 30 degree weather for 3 seconds of tubing (and by tubes we mean half-inflated water park tubes bumping down the ice). Jonathan and Rachel were kinda scared going up the steps, but afterwards they were all grins and giggles.

Excuse the photography--it doesn't do it justice (or maybe it does).

Thanksgiving 2008--the best of times/worst of times (for bones that is)

2008-11-30T15:11:00.008-06:00

Well, another Thanksgiving come and gone... and, unfortunately for me (Jeff)--underappreciated. This whole food/bet thing is killing me--I may actually go a whole year without pumpkin pie now! Even in my feeble efforts to pick out the healthier fare, some stuffing-eaters had the audacity to wag their fingers at me saying my meager portion of potatos already put me off the wagon. My answer to that is "Let he without pie cast the first stone (and be sure and aim for my carb-starved brain)".

Actually, it was a pretty eventful holiday. It all started with a dichotomy of Turkey Bowls. Dad, claiming to warm-up for the Sulphur Springs game, decided to play some football with G3/G4 that morning. Long story short, something about an end zone pass and inner ear problem left Dad's collar bone snapped like a turkey wishbone and pointing over his shoulder (does this really surprise anyone?). So, he spent most of Thanksgiving in a daze of anti-inflammatories and ice packs. Meanwhile, in Sulphur Springs, I'm throwing up some numbers of a lifetime--3 touchdown receptions, 1 touchdown pass, 1 defensive interception. The play of the game was an over-the-shoulder, no-look reception from the branch president with my arms out-stretched and defender crawling up my back (uphill, in the snow, etc...) for a 30 yard TD. So, the old men trounced the young men (and, yes, I'm included in the old men now). Unfortunately, my legs still haven't fully recovered from cutting and chasing kids half my age.

Kari and I hosted the actual dinner portion of Thanksgiving. We were planning on 11, but were delightfully surprised with 16 guests (my parents; Kari's parents; Kar's sister Steph with two of her kids; and then Brad's fam)! We brined and roasted a nice bird--albeit a little pink in some parts, nevertheless, not bad for being a little out of practice. We were sprawled out all over the kitchen/dining room and even had Jake and Jonathan eating off the floor with the dogs (alright, so we put the dogs outside)!

Black Friday was pretty uneventful. Brad, Karrie and Milo spent the night on Thursday. We lounged until late afternoon and then drove into Dallas. Mom and Dad watched the kids while we did a little shopping. And by shopping, I mean we spent an hour at Ikea to pick up a single mirror. And then Brad and I watched our wives pick at purses for another couple of hours. But, at least it was shopping without kids (it could've been a lot worse)!

Saturday was more of the same except throwing the kids into the shopping mix to pick out Christmas presents. I took Jake to the video game section and we played PS3. It's nice having a boy his age for those kind of necessary diversions.

Well, it's back to the grind tomorrow... I'm sure it'd be easier to stomach if I had some pie...

slacking author has her blog tagged by bored husband

2008-11-24T12:22:00.003-06:00

Yeah, so Kari had great expectations for this thing, but she's having a hard enough time rolling out of bed at 5:45 AM to run... meanwhile, I (the sidekick) am sitting up at work going crazy with nothing to do, but surf the net and dream of working.

I know she has a list of things to blog about over the past few weeks, so I'll just wing it:

1) Hannah made her stage debut a couple of weeks ago. For those of you who don't know, Hannah's aspiration in life right now is to be a popstar. I don't know where this idea started, but I'm blaming Miley Cyrus and the whole Disney media. Anyways, apparently each grade does a little muscial skit (on a rotating monthly basis) for the Parent-Teacher meetings. So, Hannah decides to audition for one of the lead parts. And granted, we as parents are pretty biased, but she lands one of duet parts! So, little did I know it was scheduled for Veteran's Day. But, they had this huge American propaganda-themed little musical complete with some rapping about America and Hannah's country-twanged "Living in the heart-in the heart of America". Hannah has always had this terrible stage-fright (I know... it's gonna be a tough road to popstardom)--and she looked a little shaky at first--but, she did pretty well. So, who knows what her next hit will be?

2) Jacob is gunning to be #1 at school. So, I come home from work one day and little Jake's got some news--he's the Bowie elementary "Star Student of the Month". Apparently, only two 1st graders all year get this honor. He had his picture taken for the paper. And, they gave us a sign to stick in our front yard for the next month. Hannah's best friend across the street was also "Star Student" for her grade. So, we have dueling "Star Student" placards in our yards. Jake's gonna be scary bright too--the kid has never had less than 100% on anything--ever! Can you imagine? We're talking homework, spelling tests, math problems. The kids infallible. He's probably batting a thousand on his score card in heaven, too! Now, if only some of his perfection would spill into his sports game...

3) Last week our garage got pillaged. I was messing around in the garage and had left my car in the driveway. I was going inside to get my keys to pull it in and Kari distracted me with something (it's always smoke and mirrors with her). So, that was the first slip up. Then Kari, actually let her OCD nightly ritual of checking every door in the house lapse (which is pretty fun to mess with... there's nothing better than waiting until she's crawled into bed and about to doze off and saying, "Did you check the back door? I don't remember you checking it?" She'll be like "Of course, I did..." and then you can just count it down 5-4-3-2... "Dang it, Jeff... why did you have to say anything" as she goes marching off to check all the doors again) and didn't check the garage door. So, it got left up all night. Which really hasn't been a big deal. In the 7 years of living in Lubbock and Waco we've had one kids scooter snagged (and it was sitting out in the middle of the driveway for half a day). But, then as the day progressed Kari started noting stuff that was missing out of her car. First, it was her purse (which kinda made me smile because I've been saying for years "Why do you leave your purse in the car?"), but then she started in on the list... my whole CD case (all 100+ grunge CDs that get pulled out every once in awhile when I like to reminesce). But, at least I still had our... awh, nuts--the iPod too? My sunglasses (I had a pair in each car because I'm too lazy to move them back and forth).

The kicker is the teenagers (how, did I know it was teenagers? Who else would steal sunglasses, iPod, and CDs) went on a shopping spree in Fort Worth. They were spending $500 a pop at these mini-marts. So, I started calling them. I was talking to one manager and I was like, "Did someone just buy $500 of stuff at your store?" "Yeah." "Who was it?" "Some teenagers." (that's really how I know) "And you let them buy $500 of stuff on a debit card?" "They said it was their dad's" "So, out of curiousity, what'd they buy?" "Clothes and food" So, in case you're looking for another store besides WalMart to blow $500 on quality clothes and food--apparently, Mike at some Deli Mart in Ft. Worth is your man. He'll hook you up no questions asked!

4) I think that's it for now... Kari and I have a bet going. I'm doing this terrible meal plan that is no-salt, no-sugar, (no-flavor) and it's kicking my tail. Kari's trying to lose weight to go shopping with Christy at Christmas. So, I bet her I could stick with this plan longer than she could continue to lose weight. Luckily, she reminded me of the bet last week during a moment of weakness when I was craving a sugar-fix (I had forgotten the bet and thought I was just going through some phase again). Now I'm dedicated just to do it (read: stubborn husband). Who cares about whatever health benefit it's supposed to have--I need to kick the Smith ice cream addiction and I'll stick it to her while I'm at it! So, if either one of us is grumpy over the next two months it's because she's losing sleep to exercise and I'm eating cardboard. Happy Holidays for us!

Jeff's Creative Budgeting

2008-11-17T22:03:00.003-06:00

So Jeff and I have been working on staying on a budget to get all those school loans paid off. OK, so it's really Jeff and I'm being drug along kicking and screaming. Well he's been working out lately and drinking some shakes and taking some vitamin supplements. Tonight I had to run to walmart and he asked me to pick up some more creatine powder. When I got home I asked him if it should go under food or misc in the budget to which he replied "Just put it under HOME SECURITY". If you know Jeff at all you know how funny this truly is.

We've Got Waaaayyyy Too Much Candy

2008-11-14T23:07:00.003-06:00

First of all, we finally carved our pumpkins. It's been warm and they tend to rot if you do it too early. Everyone picked their patterns and Jeff and I started scooping. Hannah actually carved hers by herself (the cat) and Jeff ended up doing most of Jacob's (the skull). Then we put them all out and Jeff took pictures. He's really good with the camera.

Halloween came and went and we still have a huge bowl of candy. Granted it's not the best stuff that's left, but I've had four kids going through it for two weeks now. The candy actually started coming a few days before Halloween at the branch party. There is a couple in the branch that love this holiday. They have some land and they really go to town decorating. Thing's hanging from trees, lights, huge cutouts and the house is completely decorated inside too. The craziest thing was that they drained their in-ground pool and constructed a haunted pirate ship. the main mast was probably 12 feet tall. The kids had a blast looking at everything and then there was the trunk-or-treat of course. Jeff really got into it this year and created a huge painted bat to put across the back of our car. He cut the mouth out and kids had to stick their hand in to get candy. It was a hit. We did this once while in Lubbock and apparently I made him throw it away upon moving. I wont' make that mistake again. I forgot to get a picture that night so I'll have to post one later.

On the actual big day we got the kids dressed and went over to a friends house for a party and trick-or-treating. There were several kids and we all had fun.

Rachel went as "The blue princess" (Cinderella), Hannah was an Asian Princess,
Jake was Ben 10 (of course) and Jonathan was Optimus Prime.
The little pink princess was Rachel's good friend Ella.

Jacob always has the same smile in every picture.

See how Hannah's standing next to the cute tennis player, we're keeping an eye on that.

The Garden

2008-11-14T22:55:00.005-06:00

It's been way too long since I've posted so now I'm playing catch up. I'll start with the garden. It was coming along beautifully. Everything was green and just about to start producing. I say was because all of a sudden we had a cold snap. For one, just one night it got down to freezing. Now I brought in the chicks and rabbits (not a fun task) but I didn't think about covering up the garden. I didn't even get a picture of it pre-freeze. I will say that the weather got warmer and things started to come back. We've harvested squash, zucchini, green beans, and tons of lettuce. But I'm not sure if there's enough warm weather left for everything else to make it. On an ironic note, the couple of things that do survive the cold weather, broccoli and peas, the chickens destroyed. Oh well. Anyone want to come over for some salad???

You Just Wait...

2008-10-29T11:47:00.003-05:00

Sneak in a post will you? And make me the cause of your political inactivity? I've got plenty more pictures of you from your childhood and I'm not afraid to show them to the world.

Civic duties sabotaged! Et tu, wifee...

2008-10-29T11:13:00.002-05:00

Yeah, so I'll sneak in a post on my wife here...

So, all along with this election Kari keeps telling me "Oh, just tell me who to vote for... I can't keep up with this"... and who can blame her? I mean this election seems like it's been going on for years.

So, anyways after a long day of work, then running to a pumpkin patch for some not-so candid shots, then to soccer practice, back to the hospital, then exercise and finally crash on the couch, Kari goes "Oh by the way, I went and early voted today. They say the lines here on election day are crazy long." Don't get me wrong, I was excited to see my wife rock-the-vote. A little surprised because I've never let on to whom I'd vote for (probably cuz I'm on the fence and it's not like Texas is a swing state) and so was a little relieved that my possible bad choice wouldn't be doubled by her vote.

Then she adds "Yeah, and I didn't see your name on the voter registration list. There were a couple of Jeffreys..." I'm like "Yeah, right." I'm the one who responsibly changed my driver's license address within one week of moving to Sulphur Springs. Miss McLennan County sitting across from me wanted to wait until her braces were off so she could get a new mug shot on her license--and still hasn't changed her address. And I know I checked the voter registration box. And then she adds "Yeah, and come to think of it, your voter registration card never came in the mail'. Now, I'm thinking to myself "And you're bringing this up 7 days before the election because why?".

And of course 7 days turns out to be a critical number (come to find out). Sure enough, after an internet search today, I find out I am registered in Waco and to get a ballot mailed to me, they have to receive a form SEVEN days before voting. So, I went through the motions of faxing and hoping they'll still mail it anyways.

But, here I sit... castrated of my civic duties (you think I'm gonna drive 3 hours to vote) by my own helpmate... 6 days before voting. Well, at least I can spend the next 4 years stating "Well, I never voted for so-so"!

Nothin' Like Hay Down Your Pants

2008-10-28T18:17:00.010-05:00

In a last minute decision we took the kids to the local pumpkin patch. It's only open until 6 so Jeff took off work a little early and away we went. It took about 15 minutes to get there but it was really cute. I guess it's used quite a bit for school field trips. There are different stations to play at and several places set up to take pictures.

The kids favorite part was a large maze made out of hay, and here's where the hay down my pants comes in. Hannah had been here the week before with her class so she made a bee-line for the maze and the others followed. By the time we all got there she had climbed on top of the hay (over my head but not Jeff's) and was following the maze that way. Jacob decided that looked cool so he joined her. Jeff, Jonathan, and Rachel head to the middle of the maze and (I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea) I climbed on top to take pictures.

Everything was great until it was time to get down. I try to half slide, half jump down and end up with a backside covered in hay which somehow makes its way down my pants. Have you ever had hay in your pants? Really not that pleasant. I don't know where that saying "take a roll in the hay" came from, but who would do that? At least the pictures came out good.

Before leaving the maze Hannah and Jacob have to jump every gap in the bales.They did pretty good until they tried to jump over the entrance. It's at least 3 feet and neither one makes it and they both end up sliding down the hay and landing bottom first.

They all then take turns climbing up a hay tower, and roping hay bulls. The only complaining (mostly from Jacob) came because I wanted to take pictures of everything and they just wanted to play. At the end they all got to pick out a pumpkin to carve. It's been so warm here we've had to wait until the last minute so the pumpkins don't rot.

Jeff is a much better photographer than I am. He takes all the cool shots.

He Did It!!!!!!!

2008-10-26T21:10:00.005-05:00

So Jacob's been playing ball for about 5 weeks now and although he has hit a few foul balls, he's never actually hit the ball in play. Until now! He hit it and ran. Now he didn't make it all the way to first base without getting out but his hit got a run in. I was so happy for him I teared up. So did my friend sitting next to me. And Jeff jumped up to go congratulate him in the dugout. But even all of our excitement was nothing compared to the dugout. His entire team was cheering him and congratulating him. The coach said it made his season. You'd of thought he just won the world series.

While that was definitely the best thing of the week, we had a pretty fun week in general. Jonathan's team won their soccer game again this weekend, 5-2. Jeff's really done a great job and the kids play very well. The season's almost over but I think Jeff's planning on coaching again next season so hopefully they'll be able to pick up right where they left off.

As some of you know Jeff had a short stint as a child model once upon a time. (From what I understand he was paid to take some pictures in some guys basement.) Well on Wednesday he got back to his roots and took us with him. The hospital has a monthly magazine and they are spotlighting the new doctors in town and their families. They asked him to write an article on childhood obesity and wanted to take pictures of him with his family cooking in the kitchen. Everything in the media is so fabricated these days. Now if they wanted a picture of him getting out an ice cream scoop to fix his nightly nine-o-clock snack, that I could get on board with. But cutting up vegetables with Hannah (the cover), I can't really support. Oh well, I get to be on the inside with all the kids.

I'm guessing this was an action shot. How cute was he!!!!!!!

Jonathan Nugget (part 2)

2008-10-21T21:38:00.002-05:00

We are having a family picture taken tomorrow and we were discussing what we were going to wear. It will be a winter theme and Hannah was whining because I wouldn't let her wear a coat. Well she keeps whining and I finally say that I am not going to let her be in the picture and I would get the little girl across the street (Emma) to play Hannah in the picture. Jonathan, without missing a beat says...

"Emma will have to learn to whine alot like Hannah"

Rachel (AKA "The Princess")

2008-10-21T21:00:00.003-05:00

And boy oh boy is she. This was a particularly fussy week for Rachel. Each morning after she dressed I was assaulted by much whining claiming... "My hair is UUUGGGLLLYYY, you have to fix it, make it pretty. Mind you she only actually goes places twice a week. If I run out of time and she has to get into the car without her hair done, I am treated to this chant over and over again until it can be remedied. In addition to her hair being perfect, she has decided she needs the perfect outfit and matching accessories everyday. She is especially fond four bracelets that she even sleeps and bathes in. She has also developed a new found love of bows. This pink one is her favorite.

Speaking of Rachel's hair. The other night Jeff and I were sitting on the couch and she came to sit with us. Jeff makes a causal comment about how her hair has gotten pretty long and it might be time for a hair cut. The next morning she comes down after brushing her teeth with a new section of bangs. In disbelief I asked her if she had cut her hair. She replied "Yes, daddy said it was getting long". Can we really blame her that much? All in all she didn't do that much damage. It looks kind of like she has those side swept bangs. It could have been much worse. Don't most kids cut much closer to the scalp?

She really didn't want to have her picture taken with messed up hair.

The brightest spot in Rachel's week was that her picture was in the paper. Mind you it wasn't on the first page like Jonathan, he was learning how to wash his hands and all. She was in the center of page 11, before sports. What, you might ask could have put yet another one of my kids in the local paper? Why we went to the library for story time of course!

Little Nuggets Of Wisdom From Jonathan

2008-10-19T22:06:00.003-05:00

1: I was pretending to be dead....Jonathan says

"You're not really dead mom or you'd have X's for eyes."

2: We're sitting at the baseball game and a foul ball goes over the fence and into the
stands...Jonathan says

"That's why everyone should bring a glove."

3: I jokingly (in a mad tone) say to Jonathan that I thought he'd promised not to get any
bigger. In a very serious (just as mad tone) Jonathan says

"I've been trying."

Can't argue with that logic. On a side note Jonathan's team won their soccer game this week 6-5.

Happy Birthday

2008-10-19T21:33:00.005-05:00

Jacob turned seven today! I can't believe it. I remember when he was a chubby little baby content and quiet as can be sitting in his bouncer. Now he's this loud, rambunctious, always wrestling with his brother, and constantly wanting to eat, boy.

I feel like we've been celebrating Jacob's birthday for days. On Friday my parents came up to bring me some much needed Ben 10 party supplies that could only be found in Dallas (THANKS SO MUCH) and took us out to dinner for Jake's birthday. We got to go to my favorite diner (MMMM fried egg on a burger) and he got to pick all the songs on the juke box and got ice cream. The next morning was the party. It was a Ben 10 theme and I think he had a pretty good time.

We had an alien training course, a pin the alien on the watch game, and of course they all took home stink-fly eggs as a prize. Then grandma and grandpa came up for the soccer and baseball game. Then they took us out to Chilis to celebrate. We finally made it home and had even more cake and ice cream. Now it's Sunday and his actual birthday. This afternoon it was time once again for cake and presents. I must say, his Ben 10 toy collection is well stocked.

I probably should mention the lovely color of Jake's left eye. That would be his first baseball injury sustained last Tuesday and slowly turning a nice shade of green. Way to be a boy!

She gets Her Dance Moves From Jeff (or Elaine)

2008-10-19T21:18:00.005-05:00

Hannah has tried soccer and swimming and gymnastics and now were on to dance. If you knew me in high school, this was my thing. I'm not sure if it's going to be hers. Her goal in life right now is to be a "pop star". Thanks alot Hannah Montana. She is taking piano and can sing pretty well, so now she's working on the moves. We'll see how this all pans out. She tried out last week for a solo in the third grade musical. She's pretty confident she going to get, but didn't we all think we were great at that age? The primary program at church is next weekend and she is definitely the loudest, and as primary chorister I appreciate it. Maybe one day you can all say you knew her when. At least she doesn't mind having her picture taken, she actually asks for it daily.

On a side note: Is it wrong of me to covet my own daughters body. She walks around in these skinny jeans with her hair all straight and all I can think is man I wish I could wear that.

The Oldest First.

2008-10-19T21:12:00.002-05:00

Well it's been too long since I've posted so I'm just going to go child by child. Jeff's first. He's really pretty boring. I will say that his garden is coming along fabulously. We've got too much lettuce to eat and in a few weeks we're going to be up to our ears in squash. I would like to say it's mostly do to the compost.

Sports Anyone?

2008-10-06T21:59:00.004-05:00

Well, Fall is here and so starts soccer and fall ball. We started to sign up both boys for soccer but Jacob insisted that he wanted to play baseball and nothing else. So now I am not only a soccer mom but a baseball mom. Apparently here in the town of Sulphur Springs that is the sport of choice anyway.

Jonathan is playing soccer and seems to be enjoying it. Jeff is his coach and I even helped out at the first practice. Can you imagine that?!? They're a bunch of cute little 5 year olds who have way too much energy. Energy they don't always want to spend actually playing soccer. At our first game it was pretty hot so we brought a bunch of rags soaked in cool water to put on their heads or necks or whatever to keep cool. That in itself turned into a fun game. Then of course there are the smashed cups that used to hold water. But all in all it's fun for everyone.

Jacob is playing baseball for the first time ever. As in he has never played t-ball or anything. I'm surprised they let us move here. Baseball is a pretty big thing around here. I heard a rumor that some parents even hire personal coaches for their kids. Goodness know I'm way to cheep for that. So we get Jake a bat and glove and send him to his first practice. They put him somewhere in the infield give him a ball and have him throw it. They quickly realize this might not be the right place. They start working with him on batting and throwing and he's coming along quite nicely. If nothing else he's got that little quirk baseball players are known for down pat (see pic below).

I will say one thing, the coaches of any children's team have definitely learned the art of patience. Jacob's coaches are quick to praise and always encouraging. And Jeff has been more positive in the face of turmoil than I have ever seen him. Thanks for all you do guys!!!

Another Year Older

2008-09-24T22:12:00.003-05:00

It was my birthday today, again. When will it end?!? I haven't quite grasp hold of the whole "The Thirties are the new Twenties" concept yet. I was not this tired and wrinkly in my twenties. Oh well, until I'm ready to go under the knife I guess I'll deal with it. I had a great birthday. I got to go out to eat for lunch and dinner. Nothing like good greasy food to make you feel better, until you get home that is. If you're ever in town you gotta go by the Broadway Diner and try the Stagecoach Burger. It's your basic large, greasy, bacon cheeseburger but with one extra topping...a fried egg. You read that right, a fried egg. Nothin' Better. After dinner we came home played outside with the neighbors and then had cake. Mmmmmm....cake. Now I may have to be rolled to bed, but it was all worth it. I'll worry about my cholesterol tomorrow.

Where did the camera come from?

Top Ten Ways You Know You're In A Small Town

2008-09-24T21:35:00.005-05:00

10: You can't take more than two bites of your lunch at the local sandwich shop without someone
stopping to say hi.

9: You can't complain about a neighbor to a random person without them knowing them
personally (open mouth, insert foot).

8: The crime report each day consists of four people being detained for being under the
influence, one is always from Arkansas.

7: You need a family tree mapped out for the local church.

6: There are only 3 food stands at the county fair, and no fried twinkies.

5: Everyone you see on Monday, wonders why they didn't see you at the Stew Cook-Off on
Saturday.

4: You don't have to worry about traffic on Friday night because everyone, I mean everyone
(including myself) is at the high school football game. (By the way, ESPN covered one of our
games on Sept 11th and I was on TV)

3: The ONLY place in town to buy socks and underwear is Wal-Mart.

2: Every gas station in town is named Joe-Bob's and I actually know Joe Bob, (really I do, he's
super nice).

1: Your son makes the front page of the local newspaper for learning to wash his hands.

Jonathan's class had some high schoolers come in to teach proper hand washing techniques and the paper was there to take pictures. Apparently this was the biggest thing going on that day so it made the front page. That's him in the bottom left corner with the dark shirt. When I picked him up from school and told him there was a picture of him on the front of the newspaper his only response was "AGAIN". We've already been in the paper for Jeff's grand opening and evidently the fame of it all is getting to Jonathan. When will those paps leave him alone.

All kidding aside, we really love it here and encourage all of you to move.

Ah...farm life.

2008-09-09T22:09:00.001-05:00

Well, we had our first farm fatality yesterday. Jacob's chicken, Nugget, got sick last week. He kept falling asleep standing up and bobbing his head around. Then he started getting "foamy eyes". Then he started making weird noises in his sleep. So Jeff reads up on chicken illnesses and everything says just kill it. Well, neither Jeff nor I could do it so I head to the local feed store to pick up some OTC general antibiotics. We isolate the bird and give him meds for a few days but it just didn't seem to be working. Yesterday morning, before school, Hannah and Rachel go out to check on the animals and Rachel comes back in yelling "the chick is dead, the chick is dead". Yep, it was. So after I get everyone to school I get a trash bag, scoop up the chicken, put it in the trash (don't worry trash day was today), and I'm done. But wait, I'm not. Jeff calls to say we should probably take a picture of the bird with the date so we can get a replacement. Did I mention I had already thrown it away. You guessed it, I exhumed the body, and boy was it stiff. I started to post the picture but thought it might be too much. Luckily the kids took it well. We told them "that's farm livin".
So.... You were a good bird Nugget, Thanks for the memories.

Lesson Learned

2008-09-02T22:59:00.004-05:00

Don't you just hate it when your kids are smarter than you. Well, it happened to me this morning. We've been getting the after effects of the hurricane and therefore alot of rain. Last night Jeff and I had to put tarps over the bunnies and chickens to keep them somewhat dry. This morning Jacob offered to go out before school and check on everything. He comes back in a minute later and says the hurricane opened Sundae's cage and he was gone. I start freaking out and spend the next 10 minutes searching our small backyard to no avail. I come back in and announce that the bunny is gone forever. The kids are sad and asking what to do. I say "nothing he's gone and we're not going to find him". They're still upset so I half-heartedly say "maybe you should all say a prayer to find him". So my four kids gather together in the dining room and Hannah says a prayer on behalf of them all. I, being the terrible mother I am, am trying to finish up packing lunches. After the prayer, everyone gets up to finish getting ready for school. Not 30 seconds later, our neighbor rings the doorbell and says our bunny is out front. I'm lucky my kids have such faith.