Dad Love

I asked the kids why they love their dad:

Maggie: I love daddy because he takes me on rides down the canyon.

Cash: I love daddy because he makes me smoothies.

Oscar: Dowwwwn (the only word Oscar knows besides "no" and "mama").

Aw, we love our little ankle-biters!

We went up the canyon to roast hot dogs

Father's Day Breakfast: sticky, gooey, yummy rolls (recipe here).

Happy Father's Day, Ben- we love you!

visual aids

Time: 1700 hours
Location: Riverwoods, Provo, Utah
Date: May 23rd
Event: a walk, indicating that the weather was warm as was the general mood
Warning: lots of pictures to follow... {click on any of the following photos to enlarge- might i suggest you click on the kissing pic? Oooo-la-la}

Nephews

Meet my 3 new nephews... aren't they adorable???

From left to right: Augustus, Wesley & Zane- good job sisters, they are so cute and make me ridiculously baby hungry!

What is my favorite holiday, you ask???

Thanksgiving. Hands down.

Happy Halloween!

Comedy Sportz party: Lady and the Tramp

Hallow's Eve:

Little Animals:

Enjoying the Loot:

Ahhh-Oooo!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Thoughts

I'm sick. I've got a horrible chest cold that feels like fiery explosions in my chest every time I cough. Explosions that fling shrapnel into the fleshy insides of my lungs. Not fun. It should be illegal to get sick on the eve of your anniversary, don't you think? Ben and I dropped off the kids with their aunt and uncle anyway and headed up to Salt Lake for a delicious dinner, some shopping, and a movie. On the way home we stopped by the drugstore so I could stock up on some Vicks, Sudafed, and saline spray. Romantic, no? Today my evening of "reckless abandon" is giving me the gift of hoarseness, sore muscles from head to toe, and an extremely clouded mind (ergo this post probably makes no sense). I've been forcing glasses of Airborne down my family's throats. And I've been drinking my fair share of tea, hot lemon juice with honey, orange juice and just plain water. Also the t.v. has been on pretty much all day. Dora, Diego, and lots of Disney. Although 'Map' is starting to wear thin on my patience and so I think the play-dough is soon to be making an appearance at the kitchen table.

Ben and I have successfully navigated our way through 7 years of marriage. We have 3 beautiful, healthy, exuberant children. We have a cozy, comfortable home. We're still in love. And so, even though today I feel like wrapping myself up cocoon style in a thick, heavy quilt and jamming three sets of ear plugs in my ears, I have to say that my life is pretty sweet. Sweet and mentholated...but mostly sweet. Except for that hint of yucky that is wafting from the general direction of Oscar's pants (and actually it must be more than a hint because I can smell it through the Vicks). So I'm off to correct that.

Happy Anniversary, Ben. I love you.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

My brother Jonathan is no longer highly eligible. Sorry ladies.

And now I have a great new sister in law to boot! The party to celebrate their union was a blast.

I loved all the hydrangeas. So lovely.

Maggie and Cash loved the music.

Almost 7 years of wedded bliss for my love and me...

Jonathan was the last of the Rick Smith clan to get hitched... so now my parents are officially:

Don't they look ecstatic?

Stonebriar

Stonebriar is the name of my grandmother's farm just outside of Silverton, Oregon. As a kid we would go every year during the summer to visit my grandparents. We swam in the creek, picked blackberries, played with cousins, pulled each other around in the handcart, played with dogs, ate lots of home made cobblers, cookies, cake, and such. We would always have a bon fire where we roasted hot dogs and made s'mores and had a talent show of sorts. Now that I'm grown and have kids of my own, Stonebriar is a place that pretty much drips with nostalgia for me. Seriously. Disneyland doesn't hold a candle...

Walking down the lane to my grandmother's house:

How cute is that? No seriously, look again:

{click on picture to enlarge}

Yeah, I'm probably framing that one.

After those classy shots we get to my grandma's house and then I can't get my kids to take one single decent picture with Grandma GG. (GG stands for Great-Grandma)





Oh well. Here are yet more pictures and (to entice those of you who don't care one red cent about my vacation pics) a link to a delicious donut recipe!






Okay, okay, here's the part about the donuts already. Chill.

My sisters {Ashley and Sarah} and I made these donuts (recipe here) and also made a glaze to go over them, although my favorite way to eat them was dipped in cinnamon and sugar. Delish. That whole platter lasted all of 30 seconds, I think.

And lastly, but not leastly, a small montage of the family reunion fireside:



There you go folks. The second installment of my vacation! Part three coming soon! Hey, don't roll your eyes... the next post is the wedding post! Yay!

OR, will there be drama involved as this picture might suggest:

{Cue the suspenseful music}. Tune in next time to see how it all turns out!

Beachy

Hello, all! We've finally returned home from our vacation to Oregon and California for family reunions, weddings, and fun with the family. We started out driving to Lincoln City, Oregon to spend a few days at the family beach house. This is a yearly trip and we love it. The Oregon Coast is so beautiful. See?

We love going for walks on the beach and finding fun things in the tide pools.

Next up, family reunion at Stonebriar and my little brother's wedding!