Backyard Camping

We've been meaning to take the kids camping for a while, but it hasn't happened, it's too hot, too cold Cameron has to work, we have to wake up early.. we have a million excuses. on Memorial day we put all excuses aside and set up the tent in the back yard, The kids were so excited they could hardly stand it.

Cameron made a fire in his little barbecuer and the kids roasted marshmallows on metal hangers, unhinged and sanitized of course.   

once it got dark we tried catching fireflies but the mosquitoes were better at catching us so we retreated to the tent where the kids played with their flashlights and the parents lamented the lack of airflow on a humid night.

Grant had an especially difficult time settling down so finally at 10pm I took him inside to sleep in the house, he walked to the kitchen and tried making himself comfortable on the kitchen floor, before long I was able to convince him to sleep on the living room floor but it did take some persuasion.

Katelyn soon followed us in and insisted on being my cuddle buddy in my bed.  and cuddle she did, as I tried to move away and have some space she cuddled even closer. I came close to falling off the bed a few times,  now i know what my sisters felt like, they did not enjoy sharing a bed with me because I tended to do the exact same thing and they were either left squished against the wall or hanging off the side of the bed.

Dallin slept great out in the tent, Cameron on the other hand didn't get much sleep to speak of but he stuck it out and made it until morning.  what a trooper!

Mother's Day

This mother's day was a bit different then mother's days in the past.  Cameron and the children picked me wild flowers from a near by field.  I had forgotten about wildflowers, Florida doesn't have wild flowers at least not south west Florida.  the day started out a bit rough, I got up early to make some last minute preparations for our special mother's day lunch for the RS sisters. It was a lunch/ visiting teaching conference. The kids soon woke up crying wanting their breakfast, I went to work getting each one what they wanted, Grant needed the blue bowl, Dallin had to settle for the blue spoon and Katelyn was content with the yellow bowl but only if she could have the yellow spoon too, which of course was dirty,  nothing a little soap and water can't fix.  as soon as everything calmed down Cameron came out of the room apologizing because he had forgotten it was mother's day.    The rest of the day was busy.  during Sunday school my presidency set up the lunch and served up each plate, we planned for 65 sisters and we had close to that many.

Randi, on the left in blue is my 2nd councilor, and Sarah, across from her in black and white is my sectary, Donna, below on the right, in blue is my 1st councilor. I would be completely dysfunctional without them.  they are the best!

The 3 blonds in this picture make up most of the primary presidency,  they are fantastic.

doesn't it look like they are having fun?  and who wouldn't getting to eat an amazing lunch instead of teaching or going to class. while the guy take over the responsibilities of nursery and primary.

ok so these aren't the most flattering of pictures, it was a quick snap and not very well thought out, I'll do better next time.

so much to do, so little time...

I'm in a quandrey.  yesterday I read about one of my friends who is doing this thing where she takes a picture everyday for a year.  That inspired me.  I love photography and it's something I think I could be good at if I spent more time doing it,  this is contray to the believe of my children who think I already spend pletny of time behind the camera I would just like to remind them that I wouldn't need to spend so much time if my subjects were more cooperative.
I've also just finished reading an email of another friend who wants to join the NaNoWriMo which involves writeing a 50,000 word novel in one month, the month of November to be exact.  this also intregues me because I've been thinking of writing a book for some time now and why not do it now?  I was thinking of writing something more along the lines of a parenting book or how to get through cancer treatments with a smile on your face, but I could somehow work that into a novel right?
I also want to finish Dallin's and Grant's baby books before they are teenagers, Katelyn was born during my scrapbooking days so she has an adorable scrapbook but the boys weren't so lucky so they will have to settle  with a photo book.
I'm also starting this thing with the family where we study different cultures around the world and every month we will find out fun facts and make food from that country and celebrate any holidays they may have. I'm really excited about this, and I think it's something my kids will really enjoy too.
we also had a lesson about family history today and I would like to spend more time doing that.
so with so many fun things to do, what do I choose? Anyone who knows me, knows I will probably choose all of them, I will think, analize, make lists and plan and then actually do none of them, not because I don't want to but because that's just too much to add to my already full life...

All is Well

my Surgery went well,  I feel more sore and tired then I remember feeling last time but over all I feel ok.  my actual surgery didn't start until 4pm and I was starving!  you have to have an empty stomach for the anesthesia you're not suppose to eat past midnight the night before which is fine when you have surgery at 7am, you almost don't even notice.  but when you're surgery isn't until 4pm, that's another story.

it took me a while to wake up from the anesthesia,  it always does,  When I was finally taken up to my room, Cameron was so sweet and had gotten me food from Whataburger because he knew how hunger I was but I couldn't eat,  I tried but it made me feel sick. so he ate both his and mine... what a sacrificer.

The next morning Cameron brought the kids to the hospital to visit and they were pretty concerned to see my IV, in fact they didn't want to come anywhere near me.  they had a great time making my bed go up and down and once I got off it they enjoyed climbing up and making themselves go up and down. as long as I wasn't too close to them. They are also a bit grossed out by my drain... but let's be honest, who isn't? They gave me a different kind of drain that's much bigger and has extra long tubing so I have to be careful it doesn't get caught on anything.    

I am at home now, resting and recovering,  I truly appreciate how wonderful everyone has been to me and my family,  I feel so blessed to have so many people concerned for me and ready to jump in and help whenever possible.  Thank you so much!

Mastectomy Round II

I'm gearing up for my second mastectomy, why you might ask? because it reduces my risk of getting breast cancer on the right side by like 95% and I would like to see my kids grow up.  plus I would love to have more kids and I can't imagine how awful it would be to get pregnant and then find out I have breast cancer again.  so tonight I find myself making last minute babysitting arrangements with a knot in my stomach,  I know everything will be fine but I can't help having a few unsettled nerves before my surgery on Friday.  I don't remember my first mastectomy being too bad but I haven't decided if that's because I was so drugged up on pain killers that I just don't remember or if its because it was so soon after I finished chemotherapy that my brain cells hadn't recovered yet and there is a laps in my memory   or if nothing seems that bad when you've been thought what I've been through. or if it really wasn't that bad... it's hard to say. I guess I'll find out. 

Our First Texas Rodeo

Katelyn's Preschool had field trip to the Rodeo,  I volunteered to help supervise... I don't think what I did could be classified as help though, Dallin, Grant and Reagan made sure I was too busy to pay much attention to    anything else going on.

 Dallin and Grants Favorite part was watching the cowboys and cowgirls ride around the rink before the show started.

and this would be why we don't have more pictures of this great event.

Who needs to go Potty?

Grant has been training "Big Ruff Ruff" to go potty.  Really, anything that can be carried to the bathroom is considered potty trainable at our house.
Grant for the most part has stopped having accidents but if ever we catch him doing the potty dance, you know the one, where they wiggle and squirm because they obviously need to go but wont, we always suggest that perhaps his best friend Ruff Ruff needs to go and without hesitation he runs to the potty, helps Ruff Ruff do his business tells him good job as he tosses him aside and  grabs the next victim until they've all had a turn then Grant says, "Grant's turn," he goes and there are smiles all around... Thank goodness Ruff Ruff needs to go so often...

Meet Reagan

I know what you're thinking, "I don't remember Elisabeth mentioning that she was having a baby... where have I been," I get that a lot.    

well if it makes you feel better, she's not actually mine, but I get to hang out with her during the day while her mom saves lives... or whatever anesthesia  residents do. As a teacher, her dad is also saving lives, one high school student at a time.

Katelyn loves having a little baby in the house unfortunately most days Reagan is gone before Katelyn comes home on the bus, but on those rare occasions when Reagan is still around Katelyn loves feeding and playing with her.  

Dallin has proven himself over and over again as a "big Brother"  he especially loves it when Reagan has tummy time,  he gets right down there with her making faces and keeping her content.   

It's a bit harder then I thought to take care of another child but now that we have been doing it for 3 weeks it's gotten easier... and harder, but not because of Reagan, harder because 2 weeks ago I was called as the Relief Society President... What!  someone has a lot of confidence in my abilities... personally, I'm still in shock.

in a fit of creative that come when the TV is finally turned off Dallin decided to make a bed out of the under-bed storage bin left under Grant's crib, Katelyn came home from school and LOVED it!  Grant wasn't about to be left out of the fun and due to my random spurts of organization frenzies we happened to have 3 empty bins  just for such an occasion.  

in case you are wondering Grant is the only one who actually fits in the bin but when I suggested that they might not be comfortable sleeping in their "beds" because they were too small they showed me that yes indeed if they slept curled up in their sides they could fit.  so we let them sleep in their new "beds"

and sleep they did... funny kids.

A New Favorite Pastime

on a windy day in December, the kids discovered the thrill of watching the leaves race by our house while remaining in the comfort of our home.  Does life get more entertaining then that?

The Grass is Always Greener...

Katelyn's first official Christmas break had a bit of a rough start, she spent the first 3 days laying on the couch drifting in and out of consciousness.  Ear infections. when at last we took her to the doctor to get some antibiotics her first comment upon stepping outdoors was, mom, why did our grass turn to hay?

an eye opener for someone who has spent a lot of time in Florida, where the grass never turn brown, or yellow for that matter.

Mischief

When a  two year old lives in your house and you find yourself with time to sit down and read without urgent   tugging accompanied by a jumble of incohearent words, you know something is afoot. and even if you would like to embrace those quite moments of solitude something in the back of your mind is flashing red warning lights and it's usually best to go check on said two-year-old...

 before flour is spread throughout the entire house and beyond.

It could have been worse... much, much worse.

Clearly he is feeling the remorse.

Dallin's many identies

Dallin has become quite the chameleon he is constantly changing into some kind of costume depending on his mood.  his current favorite...

Black G.I. Joe guy meets Safety hat Construction Man.

But he's also content to be a "inga" turtle, or a fire fighter. as long as it involves head gear...

a photo opt

Why is it that I don't have better pictures of my kids...  oh wait now I remember...

This was the result of a planned photo opportunity.  yes even the thought of taking pictures after church on Sunday can cause meltdowns.

were we suppose to take the pictures before or after lunch?  I can never remember...

Why?

now you might be asking yourself, "why did she take a picture of her trash can, or perhaps its a picture of her neighbors car, a rake? maybe the flag hiding behind the tree?"

it's the trash can, and I'll show you why,

I'm not sure how this all started but I think it involves raking the yard and piles of leaves, and turned into some kind of "less then appealing" game of peek-a-boo.

brr it's g g g gold!

It's gotten cold here in Texas it's been all the way down in the 60's which for Dallin our native Floridan, is basically freezing

 the other day Dallin said "Brrr mom it's gold"  g g g Cold starts with G that's why I don't like the cold.

makes perfect sense....

Christmas Card 2009

For those of you who are wondering What happened to our Christmas Card this year, wonder no more.  This year the problem was our picture, I know there's always an excuse right?  we were running out of time before Christmas so we dressed everyone in red, green, white and pink (of course) to take our family Christmas card picture... this was the best one we got and I wanted something a little better so we took this one...

Which was at least outside but I was planning to get a professional one soon and now I realize that it's just not going to happen,  so here's our letter, sorry to all of you who didn't get a personal one, they are actually all typed out and waiting for the perfect picture.... it may be a while so enjoy this in the mean time.

We had a few snow flurries in Temple, Texas the other day so we decided to get in the spirit and write a christmas card.  There have been a lot of changes in the Smith family this year:

Cameron graduated from medical school in May.  He was matched in Radiology at Scott and White Hospital in Temple and we moved in June. It's December now and he hasn't actually done any radiology but he can order Tylenol with the best of them.  He is doing his intern year which will follow with 4 years of radiology.

We bought our first home and planted our first garden.  Cameron is amassing an arsenal of yard tools and equipment.  Elisabeth was able to get painting the house out of her system quickly, and the kids are able to jump, run and play the keyboard as loud as they can without having the big black guy from downstairs pound on the ceiling.  Can you beat that?

We also bought our first used van this year.  It worked great.....for about 23 hours.  It died while driving to church on Sunday.  That was a great day... hot, sunny, everyone dressed up, and a distressed 4 year old Katelyn and two boys that couldn't walk all of a sudden.  We got the van fixed real quick..... unfortunately it broke down the following week, and the week after that and a few more times for good measure.   I'm not sure we're supposed to know the town tow truck driver so well.  The good news is we haven't had problems for a while as long as you ignore the check engine light.

Elisabeth is cancer free and discovering all the great things she can do with curly hair.  She loves it…all 6 inches of it.  For a few weeks it was competing with some serious fros, but it was no match for Cameron’s hair cutting/styling abilities.  Other than hair, Elisabeth has been doing well… sewing, blogging (cameronandelisabeth.blogspot.com) , cooking, cleaning, exercising, hazardous waste disposaling (thank you Grant)...

Grant is 2 and dang cute.  As not to make the other kids look bad he occasionally leaves poop lying about.  Apart from the bathroom issues he is a joy. He enjoys mimicking everything he hears and he gets louder each time he repeats it. He believes he can have anything he wants if he attaches “peas” to the end of his request with a tummy rub.(his own personal sign language for the word please) At times he is a bit mischievous and Elisabeth can always tell he’s up to something when he says, “shoo mommy, shoo shoo,” as he waves his hand to shoo her away.

Dallin has become a rambunctious 3 year old who is the self designated class clown of the preschool Elisabeth teaches with a few other moms.  He prefers to end every sentence with “bob” and especially likes “ju ju bo bob” and then he and every young child within earshot bursts into hysterics. It’s very charming.  At the same time he has become very contemplative.  When is he thinking of something he taps his temple with his fore finger and says, “Hmm, hmmm, I’m thinking” then he rubs his chin and hmms a little more.  We’re trying to decide if he has ever told us what he is thinking of.

Katelyn is 5 and has started an official preschool and is doing very well.  She loves learning and being in the school environment.  She has only recently stopped waking up at 5am every morning in anticipation of riding the bus.  Katelyn now eats the meatballs in spaghettios, wants to marry Dallin, is beginning to pray to Santa Claus, and continues to cry if  you so much as look at her while holding a hair brush.

We hope all is well with you and wish you a Merry Christmas!

Love,

Cameron, Elisabeth, Katelyn, Dallin, and Grant Smith