Chop Stix Baby

I've been a little obsessed with my new rice cooker...How I ever made rice without it?...I don't know. Anyway... We had a teriyaki meal the other night and Bridger wasn't satisfied eating with his hands. He tried to figure the chop sticks out, but I quickly realized the potential Poke-an-eye-out threat that they posed and reverted back to the eating with hands method.

...and they call the thing a Rodeo

Last weekend we went to the St. George Rodeo with our Friends the Haynes.

since we missed the Lehi round-up Rodeo this summer(A Smith family Tradition) we knew the year just wouldn't be complete without our fill of wranglers, bad hair dye jobs, belt buckles, and rhinestones. I actually get totally into it...I think that I was supposed to have been born a cowgirl!

YEEE HAA!

The Haynes
Olivia and Macey

Just what I need to read...EVERY day

"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

Last night Chad and I took B to the track at the local High school. We laughed at him as he started in a squatting position and then raised up to a stand, over and over. It's not yet a walk, he hasn't even attempted to take a step alone. He's just standing, and we think it's awesome!

Nothing special to anyone but us, but to us those moments were priceless.

I need to take time to enjoy every stage. To stop rushing to the future.

Why Do I Run?

The other day I was out running and a little girl yelled out to me from the safety of her doorstep..."Hey Lady, Your running in circles!"
How am I supposed to take that? Why did it discourage me? Well, I guess technically she's right. Most of the time I do run in a big circle. The streets in our neighborhood all form a kind of circle that I will run around over and over. But usually if your just running in circles your getting no where right? So I've been thinking a lot about it...Why do I run?
These definitely aren't the reasons why...

• I Don't LOVE to run. Some people get all euphoric and "in the zone" while they are running...rarely happens for me
• I'm slow
• I Hate the sound of my feet slapping on the pavement.
  

Maybe this is why I run...

• Sometimes it's the only 30 minutes I spend outside my house. When I go with friends, Sometimes it's the only 30 minutes of socializing I get in...Who doesn't need that?
• I LOVE a good sweat!
• When I know I'm going running that evening, I have no problem indulging in a nice mid-day bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup!



• When I run, I'm a better Wife and Mom. I'm more patient and I have more energy.
  

So After weighing my options, I decided that I Like running. Still not a LOVE thing for me, But the benefits outweigh the bad stuff. So if all my neighbors think I'm literally and figuratively "Running in Circles"?...You can meet at my house at 9pm most nights and try it for yourself!

Giddy-up Cowboy!

Last weekend we went up to Lehi for a few reasons...Chad met with a few professors at BYU to talk about graduate programs, the BYU vs UCLA game (of course...GOOOO Cougars!!), and because Chad's brother Rhett and his son Logan came into town from AZ. It was a fun filled weekend. We were able to get a lot of new insight on the never-ending dilemma of what to with our future and Chad's schooling, which is always a plus. For Chad, the highlight of the weekend was definitely watching BYU stomp on UCLA (59-0), The highlight for me was getting to see some friends from High school, and my friend Margret from work. Bridger's favorite was going on his first horse back ride!


Grandpa Smith and Bridger








Our cute nephew Logan

Bridger loves taking baths in the Sink at Grandma's house...but I think that will have to be over for him because he about flooded the whole bathroom with his splashing!

YIKES!

So today Chad and I were driving and he said...
"Maybe i should be a college track coach and farm on the side, or maybe teach high school History, be the weight lifting coach for the football team, and farm on the side."
Those of you who know me well would think...oh no...I bet Rachel unleashed her fury on him. But NO! I've come to a place (not quite sure how long this peaceful feeling will last) where I don't really care what he wants to be...we've been through (hypothetically that is) Law, Professional Bobsledder, Teaching, Medicine, Dentist, Physical therapy,...you name it...he's thought about being it! So all I said was..."well, whatever you want to do babe"...ya I didn't think i had that kind of support in me! ...is there some kind of wife award for this? Maybe someday we'll be out of school and into a profession...someday...

Starting Young

This is how our Dinner routine usually goes ...

When the food is ready and the table set, we put Bridger in his chair and quickly give him something to stuff into his mouth so we don't have to hear him yell for food. (he totally knows when it's time to eat and he's not very patient about it) We pray, Chad gets the things i forgot to put out like the ketchup or some other condiment he can't live without, and finally Chad and I start to eat. When we get to about our second bite, Bridger starts yelling and tries to coax us into giving him something off our plates. We give in and appease him. Third bite, He makes it known that he is not satisfied with whatever it was that we gave him and throws in on the ground. We scramble to give him something else so that we can enjoy OUR food. Mid fourth bite, he's still yelling and throwing so we decide to ignore him and try finish our dinner. I stuff as much food into my mouth as possible and then get Bridger out because his yelling drives me bonkers, and as I wash him up, Chad quickly wipes up the floor because as soon as Bridger is loose from his washing...he goes straight for all the food he had thrown on the floor earlier ("seconds"he was saving for later)

We've just accepted that we won't be able to savor our meals like we use to for a very long time!

Last night as Chad was wiping up the floor like usual, Bridger grabbed a hand towel and started helping out...he pushed the towel all around just like Chad. Then he turned around to strike this pose.

Yep, my little cleaner...Soon I'll have him dusting base boards and cleaning toilets!