Football

Just a few pictures of our guy playin ball.

I like this picture becuase this kids dad played basketball with Rob at C of I.

"He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said" Matthew 28:6

We had a very blessed Easter. I fought with whether or not to host it again because I had to sing that morning and wasn't sure if I would be able to pull it off. After much thought and offers of help from my precious family and friends we decided it was worth it to keep the tradition alive. This was our 6Th year hosting and as usual we had a great time.

The celebration started with church on Saturday night. It was an awesome service! Towards the end there was a cardboard testimony, like this one, to Healer. What a testament to the grace of our Savior! Our God is so good!

Sunday morning we got done with church and I raced home to get things together only to find that Rob had picked up the house all by himself. What a HUGE help that was. I really didn't have much to do so I just hung out till everyone showed up.

We had about a jillion eggs to hide so the mommies and daddies got busy with that. Please pay no attention to the yard. We are putting in a garden and taking out the swing set, that's why it's sitting in the grass. We also put in an underground electric fence for the dogs so they will stay on the side of the house and we can finally have our grass...well actually the whole yard back.

Then it was time for the kiddos to attack the backyard.

I love this picture of the boys. This is the one reason I was indecisive about a garden. The kids always have so much fun in the sandbox.

It seems that every time all the brothers get together the bikes come out. This time was no different. Matt and Austin had this hair brained idea. The funny part was it actually worked.

After laughing hysterically at the two of them we sat on the front lawn talking til it got cold. It was a perfect day.

$25 Albertsons Gift Card

Want a chance to win? Go to Discount Queens and leave a comment. Good Luck!

Newspaper subscriptions

An FYI for anyone interested in subscribing to the Statesman. They are running a special online where you can get the daily paper for only $2 a week. We have been paying $1 a week just for Sundays and Holidays so this is a great deal. Just go here and down to package selection to sign up.

Part 2

I was very excited to visit a ghost own while in St. George. I love history, not in books but when it comes to life and i can actually see where things happened. I think that's why I loved Boston so much. Anyway I had been reading about one such town that was touted as having "homes, churches, specialty shops, a brothel and even a Chinatown" and I couldn't wait to get there and have a look around at all that history. Sadly it was not to be. The "town" consisted of the bank and this

Talk about disappointed! We couldn't even tell where anything used to be. There were a couple silver chutes that had pieces of them left but no homes, no Chinatown and definitely no brothel. What a rip off. We did get out and walk around for a while and were told that anything we find on the grounds we could keep. I found about eight handmade pottery cups that I am going to use as planters and Rob found an old mountain dew can. We drove around and look at the cemeteries which was fascinating too. Most of the tombstones were from the 1870s. Crazy. We found an abandoned mine too. It was blocked off so we couldn't see in more than 50 feet or so but standing at the opening it's not hard to imagine what it was like when it was bustling with workers mining silver. This is one of the chutes. I'm assuming it has to be about 150 years old. It reminded me of this scene in The Mask of Zorro.

Another much anticipated activity was Zion National Park. I hesitate to even show pictures because they aren't even a smidgen as pretty as seeing it in person. There is an ehike that has some great pictures of the park. We saw some people doing what they are in picture number 12. Never in a million years could I do that. Just looking at the pictures gives me vertigo. We did do two hikes, the Riverside Walk and the Emerald Pools hike. The Riverside was a nice walk on a paved path. It leads to the world famous Narrows. Never heard of them? I hadn't either until we got there. Apparently people travel from all over the world to hike them though. It was cold so we didn't go any further up into the canyon but what a cool trip that would be. Our second hike was a little more work. The Emerald Pools, which by the way are not emerald green, was quite a hike. There is a lower, middle and upper pool. Once you pass the lower pool it is climbing, climbing and more climbing. Mostly on small boulders and sand. Then the upper pool was a nasty rust color. I could've done with seeing a picture but we had a good time. I somehow misplaced all the pictures from the second part of this hike so I will post a few and once I figure out where they've gone I will post the rest.

It is amazing how being in a place like Zion makes you feel so small. And it shows how big God is. This is only a fraction of what he did and it is breathtaking. I thought of this song while looking through the pictures.

After we left here we headed to another ghost town called Grafton. This one was better than the first in that it actually had buildings standing. These building are being restored so they look very nice.

This was the church/school.

This is a house on one side of the street...

...and directly across is this "little house on the prairie" house.

I can't imagine what life was like living in a place like this.

I love that on the tombstone it says he was killed by Indians.

And to end part two...any mother can tell it's been a long day when she turns around and sees this.

Spring Break Part 1

My whole family decided to head down to St. George Utah for spring break this year. None of us had ever been and we had no idea what to expect but we were all ready for an adventure. We left bright and early Saturday morning not too excited about our nine hour drive. Emily and Taylor left the night before with my parents so only having Austin made travelling a lot quicker. Not so many potty breaks :o) We actually made it all the way down with only one stop and in the nine hours we planned. When we got here everyone was dying of hunger so we cleaned a little bit of road grime off of ourselves and headed to dinner. Day one was just about over and we were ready to start day two.

This could get really long so I think I will just highlight the things we did every day so as not to bore anyone to tears.

Sunday

*Dad woke up with chest pain. My brother and mom take him to hospital and thank the Lord he was OK.

*Mom is fighting off bronchitis and losing. Not a great way to start a vacation.

*Our condo was right on the desert edge which meant that the kids could literally walk down a small hill and be amongst the cactus and dirt. They were in love!

*We were all about exploring while we were there. Lots of canyons and hills to examine up close. The first two days that's exactly what we did. Lots of bouldering, hiking and believe me, no stone was left unturned.

*Our first time out we hiked a canyon and had the most fun. The kids were like monkeys climbing up and over the rocks. Taylor was crawling under a huge boulder and found a geocache. He was thrilled!

We had been climbing for quite a while, all wanting to make it to the end of the canyon, when the narrow canyon opened up into this valley. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was absolutely beautiful. We enjoyed it just long enough to get pictures. It was getting dark, it was starting to sprinkle and we still had at least an hour walk back. Good thing our kids are tough.

*I also have to mention that every time we went hiking we brought home rocks for our yard. Not just little rocks but large flat rocks to go around the fire pit we are building. By the end of the week our pile was slightly ridiculous.

Saturday

We had such a great day. Taylor had a game at 9:00 and of course he had an early game on picture day so we had to be there at 8. And it was coooold. And windy. I love watching him play but he has had a hard time this year. He is so sensitive and if the coach yells at him at all he takes it personally and loses it. The poor kid was crying on the sidelines because the coach yelled at him to get the ball down the field. We are trying to get it through his head that if he's going to play sports he's going to get yelled at but it's not working yet. It was just the three of us so we took him to Krisy Kreme afterwards to cheer him up. It worked. We were there for almost an hour eating, drinking coffee, talking and watching them make doughnuts. I don't know why it's so fascinating. Afterward we went home and it was finally warming up enough to get out in the yard. When we pulled up our neighbor had rented a thatcher so Rob took it for a spin in the front yard. Next Rob put in an electric fence for the dogs so they stay on the side of the house and maybe we can have out yard back. I assisted with that project and did a few other piddly things like pull weeds. It wasn't a whole lot of stuff but I could sure tell a difference when we were done. Our next project is the garden. I am so excited to get going on it. After we were done in the yard we headed to church, came home to watch Mr Bond and then were off to dreamland. It was a good day.

healthified nachos

I got this recipe from the current issue of Rachael Ray magazine. I got an amazing deal on a subscription a couple months ago and have not been disappointed. I tweaked the recipe a little to suit our tastes. The real recipe is here, my version is as follows. I don't measure a lot when I cook, I just throw stuff in, so there may not be a lot of quantities here.

Not your mama's nachos
10-12 corn tortillas
olive oil
salt and pepper
onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cans cannellini beans
1 can black beans
cheddar cheese
salsa (recipe below)
guacamole (recipe below)
sour cream

Oven to 375. Brush both sides of tortillas with olive oil then stack and quarter. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until crisp and brown. In a large skillet cook onion and garlic in olive oil until lightly brown. Stir in beans that have been drained and rinsed and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. When chips come out sprinkle with cheese and top with beans, salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

Salsa
2 cans diced tomatoes (or fresh is you can find good ones)
onion
garlic
cilantro
jalapeno
lime juice
salt and pepper

I don't like chunky salsa so i throw mine in a blender but you can leave it as chunky as you want. Just put as much of everything as you like and mix it up. So easy.

Guacamole
1-2 avocados
lime juice (prevents avocados from browning)
salt
salsa

Peel avocados and smash in a bowl. Add a couple squirts of lime juice, salt and salsa. Stir and serve.

Goodbye for now

We are heading out of town tomorrow. St George Utah. My parents, my brother and his family and us. 11 people in all. For a whole week. We are planning to visit Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and a few things in between. Be back in a week.

Spring is coming and She

Can you feel it?

She...

...does what she wants.

...doesn't mind being the Guinea pig for her brother's inventions.
(yes, that is my Mother's Day swing that a certain dog destroyed. i just haven't been able to part with it yet.)

...just had to have her hair curly.

...wanted her friends to watch a movie with her.

...is my baby, my princess, my girl.

...is emily, ems, sissy, emmers, princess grace, sister, emily gracey, sis.

...sweet, stubborn, giving, going non stop, mischievious, not afraid of much, a tom boy.

...is all ours.

March 10

First of all I'm cold. I'm tired of being cold. I've been cold since October. Isn't that long enough?

Taylor had his first football game on Saturday. They won 32-6. He's not quite as aggressive as he's been in the past so we'll see how he does this season. It's entertaining to watch. And cold. 8:30 on a Saturday morning is a little much when the wind is blowing and it's freezing.

The prospectors gathered at the hot springs again last Saturday for some digging. I went more for the warm water. The gold is just a perk. That many hours in water is taking a toll on my skin though. Itchy itchy.

I found some summer music. Love her voice. And this one with Jason Mraz. Lovin it.

Rob tried his hand at barbecuing salmon on Sunday. I don't like salmon but it wasn't terrible. If he did the same thing with a fish I liked I might actually enjoy it.

Bunko was yesterday. I didn't win. Again. I love going though. I probably say it every month but it's true. We have lots of laughs and get some girl talk in while we carpool. Love my carpooling girls.

I got some really great news Sunday. One of my very best friends is moving back here after a looooong two years in Arizona. We have been friends for 21 years. Wow! That's a long time. We parted ways for a while but came back like we'd only been away for a week. I am thrilled! Ecstatic! Overjoyed! She'll be here by the summer and I can hardly wait!

Lately

I got some fabulous deals at Dillard's. Their winter stuff was on clearance for 70% off and it was an extra 40% off of that. Total steals. I got two bags stuffed full for $99. Not bad.

Rob and I went to a Stampede game. His boss rented a box and had the evening catered. Good food, meeting Rob's co-workers, some time spent with TJ and Aubrey that we don't often get and...oh yeah...a basketball game.

I also snagged some great deals at Walgreens. I was telling Rob about them and started laughing because it's so ridiculous. So here's the deal:
8 bars Dove soap
1 Axe shampoo
1 Colgate Max toothpaste
1 bottle Migraine medicine
2 jars green olives(yum!)
6 packages peeps
total-$34.89
minus coupons for
$2.02
$1.66
$4.80
total-$26.41
minus rebates of
$5.99
$2.99
total-$17.43
minus register rewards for soap and toothpaste
$10.00
$3.50
total-$3.93
minus rest of gift card from last round of rebates
$2.77
my grand out of pocket total was $1.16. For almost $35 worth of stuff. Crazy. I've also been snagging some great deals at Albertsons. I don't know why but I get such a kick out of this. I added a new link to the left for coupons and deals. She is local so everything she talks about is relevant to me. Makes it nice to have someone do all the hard stuff.

25 Random Things

I posted this on Facebook but thought I would jot it down here too.

1. I've never broken a bone.
2. 'I love a rainy night' by Eddie Rabbit reminds me of my grandma.
3. My first concert was The Steve Miller Band.
4. My second was MC Hammer.
5. I have a fear of drowning, although I'm not scared of water.
6. The first cassette I ever bought was Wham! Make it big.
7. I love butter.
8. I've owned three cars in my life. GMC Jimmy, Honda Accord and Ford Expedition.
9. My first job was at the KOA Kampground.
10. I love music. All kinds.
11. I love driving in the rain.
12. I've swam in the Pacific ocean, Atlantic ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Sea of Cortez and the South China Sea.
13. I'm still bitter that my mom didn't let my aunt take me to see Michael Jackson when I was seven.
14. I just had my wisom teeth out. I'm 32.
15. The farthest from home I've been is Manila, Philippines.
16. I've been to Machu Picchu.
17. If I was rich I would travel all the time.
18. I wish I knew someone famous.
19. I've never been pulled over.
20. One of my best friends in high school wrecked my parents car and we told them that someone hit us in the Albertsons parking lot while we were inside.
21. I'm not competetive unless someone talks smack. Then it's on. Only I don't show it.
22. I didn't go camping til I was 21 years old.
23. I'm a roller coaster junkie.
24. I got a possession of alcohol ticket in high school even though I hadn't been drinking. Guilty by association.
25. There is rarely a time when the radio isn't on in my car.

Date night

To start off our night the guys surprised us with dinner at Tucano's. We went to one in Albuquerque when Rob's cousin got married but that was five years ago and I didn't remember it very well. Oh my goodness. So good. I stuffed myself. Stuffed. I haven't eaten that much meat in a long time.

After they rolled us out the door we headed to our much anticipated concert. Rob did an excellent job at getting our tickets. The venue was set up so basically there wasn't a bad seat in the house. The stage was a big square and we were smack dab in the center of it. Awesome. Only about five or six rows from the front point of the stage.

First up was Jessica Simpson. She is...something else. She has always bothered me for some reason. I've never been a fan so I wasn't super excited to see her. I thought maybe after seeing her I would feel differently about her. I don't. I could be really catty and pick her apart for you but I will be nice and just do it in my head as I type ;o)

Next was the main event. THE Rascal Flatts. I have been a huge fan since they first started. I even wanted to see them when they came to the fair but Rob didn't like them back then. The show starts and let me tell you they do not disappoint. These guys know how to entertain. I don't know how long the show was but it wasn't nearly long enough. I could've listened to them sing all night. But all to soon it was over and now the real fun starts. Getting out of the parking lot.

Richie drove. For those of you that know him that is all I need to say. For those that don't...let me explain. Smith boys have no patience when it come to driving so sitting in a parking lot without moving for 10 minutes was really getting on his nerves. Rob was throwing out all sorts of scenarios to egg him on. He had finally had enough and went on the wrong side of the road to get out of the parking lot. First off we got repeatedly honked at by some snotty girls driving their mama's Mercedes, which was fun. We laughed and Rich continued to inch his way in front of her. Then Steph pipes up, "don't go the wrong way" and that was all he needed. So we proceed to drive down the wrong side of the lane to get to the street which could have worked if A) there hadn't been a cop directing traffic and B)...well there is no b. It's hard to get out when he is making you wait and giving you dirty looks and everyone else is going. Including the car full of girls that has all their windows down and are laughing and yelling as they go by us. Oh no you didn't! Game on. We got out a couple cars after them and Richie's mission in life was to pass them again and cut them off. It was going to be tricky but he would find a way. He always does. They turn to get on the freeway and he has his chance. No one is coming so he speeds around her directly to the fast lane and we all roll our windows down and laugh at them as we speed by. So there you have it. Our night in a nutshell.

Becoming a habit

It seems like there isn't a lot going on during our weeks and then the weekend comes and we are busy busy. This weekend was no different.

Thursday Rob had two of his wisdom teeth pulled. It took literally five minutes. A far cry from mine. We spent most of Thursday and Friday watching The Office while he healed up a little.

Saturday we hung out here then went to church. Afterwards we did the usual...dinner and games. This week we changed it up a little and played Canasta. Yeah, that was fun. Rob and Matt argued, Matt said we played wrong, and Rodger didn't add up his points one round because it was that bad. But it was all worth it. Why? Cause I won ;o)

Sunday Rich had the idea that we should go to the hot springs for the day. We went up to Kirkham hot springs but here were tons of people there. We headed back down the road to Pine Flats but it was snowy, the road was closed and it would've been a long walk. Not to mention that both he and Rykon had on nothing but sandals. So we worked our way even closer to home and found another spot that #1 no one was at and #2 there was no snow. Perfect! This place has an actual cement pool but there was another rock and sand pool farther down so we chose that one. The guys hopped right in but I was a little chicken because I knew that if I got in I would eventually have to get out. It didn't take long for me to get cold and get in. We soaked for a little while when some guys showed up and said they dug that hole yesterday while they were digging for gold. They set up shop down river a little ways and we didn't think much about it. A while later Matt starts digging around in the sand and looking through it and you'll never guess what he found. Yep. Gold. Rich and Rykon decided to take off not long after that but we couldn't. We had gold to find. So there we sat in the water for several hours. Matt and I dug and sifted and Rob used a bobby pin to pick it up.

For all of the work we put in...the bruise on my shin, feeling like i rode a bike all day from sitting on rocks, the pruned hands and wrecked nails...I thought we would've had more. Guess we have to go back. Splitting this three ways won't amount to much. We will also have better tools next time. A bobby pin and a Pringles lid only works for so long.

This week we have the Rascal Flatts concert, Kiki for a couple days, a worship team party and a Stampede game. Bring it on.

Really? Nothing?

Yep. It's true. Not a whole lot going on around here. We had a nice relaxing Valentine's weekend that went something like this...

Friday night was Married Life Live. It's a couple night that our church puts on every year. This year it was a western theme. What a fun night hanging with friends. Afterward we went with the Harrington's, the Duggan's, and the Brownell's to the Cheesecake Factory for dessert. We laughed and talked till closing time. So fun!

Saturday was valentine's day and Rob surprised me with tickets to Rascal Flatts. They are one of my favorite groups and I've wanted to see them for years but we just never have. Well now we are. And we get to share the evening with Rich and Steph. Yeehaw! We celebrated the evening by going to church then over to Rodger and Terry's for some pizza and Mexican Train. Love. That. Game.

Matt loaned us seasons 1, 2 and 3 of The Office. I've caught a few episodes over the years but haven't seen much of it. Hello! Hilarious. Rob and I watched the first season Saturday morning and he wasn't much into it. I watched the first five episodes of season 2 yesterday and was laughing out loud, he watched the sixth one with me and we were both laughing out loud. I think he's coming around.

Tonight I am going to see Twilight with my mom and aunt. Can't wait.

Saturday night

two prime rib dinners
plus

one blast from the past youth staff retreat video circa 2001

plus

too many walks down memory lane that had me laughing so hard i didn't know if my cheeks could take another minute

plus

one game of mad gab that hat dozens tee chess

plus

four hours of sardine tag that didn't end til 5 am

plus

six am bedtime

equals

two tired but happy former you staff leaders who had an amazing night with great old friends.

November 2001

January 2009

This week

I am still healing from my teeth. They don't hurt but there is a constant, dull ache going on. I will be happy when that stops.

My mom took me to Costco and bought me some things. I am so thankful for my parents.

I got to go to coffee with Chrisanna. Two hours to talk with just her. It's been a long time since we did that.

I am making bibs and a couple purses.

We are having a youth staff reunion overnighter. It is going to be a blast!

I have a sick boy. He has managed to miss only one day of school but between him and Em there has been a lot of coughing and sneezing going on.

I am working my way through Eclipse. I am seriously addicted to these books. It's pretty lame when I am trying to think of little things to do around the house so it looks like I actually did something but don't take a lot of time so I can read more. I'm sure Rob will be glad when I am done with them so I don't have my face in a book all the time.

Real quick

Just a little update quick before I have to get a few things done around here.

**My wisdom teeth went great. My happy pill was more effective than I thought it would be. I don't remember most of it, thank you Lord, and the things I was aware of didn't have me uneasy, again thanks to the pill. I had no idea that they drilled a hole in each my teeth to help get them out or that I had stitches. I kept saying that Rob was messing with me and then he would prove me wrong. So all in all it was a good experience. Thanks for the prayers.

**I have to brag on Rob for a minute. He was so good taking care of everything while I was down. He managed to get ALL of the laundry done and put away(which was no small task), he took care of all my needs, took care of the kids and the house and didn't complain once. I am so grateful for a husband who can perform his Mr. Mom duties with ease.

**While I was down I got sucked into the Twilight series. I never planned on reading it but my aunt said I had to. I was in no hurry to start but once I did it was over. I read all 500+ pages in one day. I couldn't put it down. I read the second one over the last couple days and have 3 and 4 ready to start immediately. If you love to read then you have to get these books. You will not be disappointed.

T minus 24 hours

till my wisdom teeth are out.

any prayers would be appreciated.

Long time no blog

It's been a while since I've been on here. This past week and a half has been a little crazy. Terry is making some things to put on Etsy so we have been deciding what to make, she has been sewing, and I have been taking pictures and getting the account set up.

We celebrated the birthday of a friend Friday night. We started with dinner at Sakana Japanese Steak House where I got my first, and last, taste of sushi. Yuck. Steph got us a private room complete with rice paper doors and a table that sits low to the floor. Super fun. After dinner we went to the Ram for dessert and didn't leave until 12:45. We had a ball.

In true Japanese style there were no shoes allowed.

The rest of the weekend was packed with the launch of our new church name, Bridgepoint church.

And with that I am out of things to say. I had all kinds of things I wanted to post about but as I sit here now, staring at the screen that I started writing on three days ago, they have all gone out of my brain. Maybe when I get some down time I will be able to clear my head.