MISSING

Missing Winter Box

Box thought to have been in an easily accessible place of the storage unit has gone missing!

Contents of box- all warm clothing including coats, gloves, scarfs, sweaters, and thermals belonging to the Smith family.

Box is cardboard and large. May have the words "Winter (Poop) Stuff" written on the outside in black marker. (could it be that some winter loving activist group found out that I hate winter and viewed the act of calling winter "poop" a winter hate crime and took my box as punishment?)

The Smith Family is desperate to locate this box, any information leading to the finding of this box will be greatly appreciated.

Reward- general public will not have to see us wearing large and smelly farm work coats any longer than we have to!

Fall Fun and a Hair Cut

We've been playing in the leaves a ton this past few weeks so I thought I better take some photos. Plus...I needed some proof that Bridger REALLY needed a hair cut!

I had been stewing over (yes stewing... also known as mulling or debating over) whether or not to cut his hair for a while now and then one day I couldn't handle the mop his mop head any longer. I've always cut his hair, but I let it get too out of control so I needed to turn him over to the experts.

This picture says it all about what he thought about the experience, but overall it wasn't so bad. I didn't have to hold him down and there were no tears.

Here he is checking himself out in the mirror. He looks so much older now, but oh it is nice to not have to dry it after a bath!

Halloween

(Bridger as Thomas the Train, Nieces Laynie & Sophie as BYU cheerleaders, and my lil sister Hannah as a clown)

This Halloween we went to my Mom's neighborhood where they pass out king size candy bars...score! As much as I tried to avoid it...I couldn't deny Bridger the privilege of being his favorite thing in the world right now...Thomas!

The House

We are so excited to be building our first house!...Thanks to a very generous builder-brother-in-law who is giving us a great deal, and very low interest rates...it is happening. Here is a photo I took a few weeks ago. It now has a roof, plumbing, electricity, and a driveway!!! Our favorite part is the view and the quiet neighborhood with lots of kids...is that possible?...quiet road, maybe not quiet kids. Anywho...it's coming along nicely and we should be in by December!

Lost Passy

Maybe it was divine intervention, but we lost the last passy last night. After looking for it for a while, we decided Bridger's passy days were over. It was time. We told him that his passy went "Bye Bye" and he seemed to understand. He slept just fine! ...except he woke up a little earlier than normal- asking for it. I told him it was gone and he's been pretty good about it so far this morning. I think we might have a rough nap time today and maybe a little bit of a rough night time, but I feel so relieved that we are doing this now...no more passy!!! ...no more passy when he's loud in sacrament meeting, or when he's grumpy in the car, or EVER! ...am I ready for this? I have to be!

Bridger Turned Two...two months ago

Today I had a minute to go back and look at some old photos...everyone says it, but WOW- Time flies! I can't believe my baby is already two! I feel like I just brought him home from the hospital last week. I have to say that Bridger has been a joy to raise and have in our family from the start! He's got such a fun personality and I love getting to see the person he is becoming!

Since his Birthday was on a Sunday, we had some family over for some dessert...I opted out on the cake and made a strawberry chocolate cream puff dessert instead. Bridger didn't seem to mind!

Then to celebrate later we went to the Zoo with family and friends.... It was way hot and a lot of the animals were hiding out, but it was still a good time!

my brother Tim and B checking out the lions

Bridger Loved the zoo, but he really just wanted to tear open all the toys he raked in! It's a good thing we had a wagon to haul them around in!

Earl, Bridger, Easton, and Chad seeing how they measure up to the gorillas.

Grandma Smith pushing b around on his birthday throne.

Thanks to everyone who helped make Bridger's day special! Our goals for the year are to...Lose the passy, Lose the diapers, and learn a ton of new things.

Love you Bridger!

The Move

This post is intended to update me to the present and attempt to fill in some things I've yet to post about since our move to northern Utah. So I am calling this ...

The Move- the good, the bad, and the ugly

The Good- I have to say that this is the biggest category thankfully!

• being close to family! I was WAY under-rating that one.
• getting back to our country roots...the Farm, bridger gets to explore nature, room to roam, the cows & horses, ect. (see photos)
• Our HOUSE!!!! is coming along nicely. We should be in by Dec 1st at the latest so get ready to come visit! I'll soon be posting pictures of the framed wood which will be our home.
• Being able to let Bridger play outside at noon without overheating!
• Trendy Tikes- is going so well! My neckties are being sold in a boutique in Pleasant Grove called "Bliss Boutique" and were featured on the show "Good Things Utah" last Tuesday. It was pretty cool seeing my stuff on TV and getting to watch the live taping!
• Chad is loving school and is doing really well! He's over a big research project for weight loss in the city of Magna, is training the Swim Team for Judge Memorial High, and recently taught a class on American football to about 45 Japanese students...all the while keeping up with his ph.d classes, and finishing his master's thesis...whew!
• and the best news...I'm Pregnant! due in April, I'm about 11 weeks!

The Bad-

• I'm sick...barfing, nauseous, depressed because I'm always barfing...you know...
• Chad is so busy with school, we don't get to see him much(as was expected)
• We are not social anymore...I stay close to the barf bowl, Chad stays close to his books, and so we don't get out much
• we miss all our southern Utah friends
• WINTER IS COMING!

The Ugly-

• me...white, chubby, always in sweats
• Chad's work farm work pants...see photo below
• WINTER IS COMING!

Good Things Utah! The cast, me, and the two models wearing my ties!

The Ugly- Check out those work pants!! "Floods a comin!"

Bridger and his friend the caterpillar...who was almost squashed to death so we had to let him go.

Spin Class Victory!

When it comes to the kitchen, laundry, grocery shopping, or any other domestic talent... It's safe to say that I know more than Chad, but when it comes to the Gym or exercising- it is his domain and he is the expert. I admitted it... Chad knows WAY more than I do on the entire subject, always has and I suspect always will (or at least he always should because he is getting his PHD in it at the moment)

Well today I convinced Chad to attend his very first spin class after a few years of nagging. He's always rolling his eyes at my "classes", but after hearing me say what a butt kicker spin is, and after I told him that other guys go to it, he caved in a gave it a whirl. On our way there early this morning I mentioned to him that I'd help him get his bike set up correctly before we started class so he'd have a more comfortable ride. He looked at me with an annoyed expression and said..."I know how to fit myself to a bike"...har har har...

So we got to the class and we set up our bikes, I watched Chad fidget with his bike (knowing that it wasn't set up right) and then get on. Our instructor, Mike, asked if anyone was new to spin, Chad reluctantly raised his hand and I could tell he was just cringing as he came and had him dis-mount his bike so he could fit it properly. It was such a great "I Told You So" moment for me and the only "trust me...I know what I'm doing" moment that I've ever had at the Gym and probably ever will have!

Sweet victory!

Lake Powell Trip

We went to Lake Powell with Chad's Brothers and Sisters for about a week in July and had a blast! The weather was great, the water was awesome, and most important...I got up on the wakeboard! It's pretty much my favorite place now.

Here's Chad trying to master surfing behind the boat

All the grandkids in Navajo canyon

Thomas the Train

I'm not a big fan of "Character Clothes"...you know you aren't either. But when your kid is obsessed with something, you've got to give in and bite the tacky character clothes bullet. they are only kids once right?

Chad's Mom brought these home the other day and it was love at first sight for bridger!
He LOVES his new jamies...he won't take them off. After a huge fit I was able to peel them off his body...but he insisted that they remained attached to him somehow, so we resorted to tying the top around his shoulders like a sweater. Today I took him to the store like that, and I now have a new appreciation for my Mom. She had to deal with my My little Pony, Rainbow Bright, and Barbie phases. Thanks for letting me dress like a nerd Mom!

Shananagans

Bridger has a best buddy named Kalen. I've never seen two kids their age play so well together.

Last week we had Kalen over to play and things got really quiet...always a bad sign. I went down the hall to Bridger's room and these were the Shananagans they were into...

They found the bottle of lotion...oh they were having a good ole time.

All I know is that they both had really soft and moisturized right cheeks after that!

Is there some sort of obsesssive toy car disorder I should be aware of?

We went north to visit my family last weekend and while we were there my little brother Tim was so kind to pass down a load of matchbox cars to Bridger.

I had no idea he'd love them this much...I'm talking hours of entertainment. He wants to sleep with them and they are the first thing he asks for in the morning.

He loves to line them up in perfect rows and he gets all stressed out if one rolls forward out of ranks.

I even have a hard time getting him to eat. He can't stop playing long enough! The other day I gave in and let him eat his lunch at the coffee table with his cars, I loaded the dishwasher, and when I came to check on him..he had rolled his cars through his yogurt. So...we gave all the cars a bath on the porch.

Florida Trip

We had been wanting to get out to Florida to see our friends Barb & John for a while and we finally made it! We hopped on a plane along with our friends Kayla and Jeff and their three babies and flew to Florida for a week in May. Between the three couples we have 6 children under the age of 3 so when we weren't breaking up fights, changing diapers, or feeding kids...We were having a great time!

We got to go to the Miami Zoo!

Bridger loved the snakes and lizards

Chad in aww of the fish!

feeding Giraffes

The Gang- we looked like a stroller parade walking around the zoo!

Swimming at Barbs

Cru, Bridger, Ty

Building a sand castle at the Beach

The Highlights of the trip were...Getting to spend time with my best friends, seeing our boys play, going out with Chad on my Birthday, the Beach, the Zoo, and Barbs cooking!

The Lowlights of the trip were...Barb getting sick on her birthday, everyone but me getting sick, the rainstorms keeping us from going to the beach more, and traveling home just to un-pack!

Brian Regan At Tuachan

Bridger LOVED picking up Family from the Airport!

Chad's brother Jason is a pilot so he and his family flew in from California for the show!

Chad really wanted in this photo.

Out to eat with cousins at 25 Main...Yum

(Chad's family minus the sister in Kentucky)

Whenever we get together with Chad's Family we pop in a Brian Regan DVD and laugh our heads off. I've never been into comedy but this guy is hilarious, so when we found out he was coming to Tuachan this spring, we sent word out and everyone wanted to come. We had a great weekend!

I never knew I could laugh that hard...it was a workout! My face hurt from laughing so long. I think my jaw muscle is nice and toned now.