The Smith Family Reunion

We were able to take a week vacation to Southern California for a Smith family reunion at the end of July. (Brandon's grandparents on his mothers side!) We started traveling Friday night and did not stop until we reached saint George at 5:00 in the morning. Brandon and I wanted to get some rest so we parked right outside the Temple and got about one hour of a break before the kids got up.

We also had a run in with an old Lady. Our little family had just finished our pop tart breakfast and began assembling ourselves for the next couple of hours to Las Vegas. All of a sudden someone was honking at us. I looked behind the van to see this elderly lady very upset. I told Brandon that she wanted our space, but that she will have to wait until we were ready. The Lady kept inching her way forward and staring us down. I finally decided to approach her. She rolled down her window and I said "I am sorry it is taking us a while, but we will be done soon." She then looked at at me and said "Do you think you could hurry it up?" I gulped down my sass pot attitude and found myself saying this "You know what? The Next time I see you in Heaven I will be sure to give you a BIG Hug." The lady then looked at me again with a sarcastic tone "Oh aren't you just sweet." I walked away and Brandon and I just got a good laugh out of it. How often do you find people attending the temple mad? 

Once we made it to Las Vegas we killed some time visiting the Hoover damn. All I can say is that it is huge, it was hot, but I loved the color of the water! It was a refreshing difference to the multiple shades of brown. 

 After an hour we decided it was time to head to the Hotel. We found great deal for the Excalibur online and were determined to have a good time. Well, the Excalibur was NOT worth the money even with a discount. The all you could eat salad bar was awful and the weather was HOT, HOT, HOT. Riley and Lorelei did not fair well and Riley got over heated and passed out for a couple of minutes until Brandon poured ice cold water on his head.

 (Can you believe this statue of Liberty is solidly made up of Jelly Bellies?!?!? I had to take picture seems how I am a big Jelly Belly fan!)

 

Sunday Morning we went Ihop for breakfast and continued our journey to California.We arrived at Mimi and Papa's house for some fun. We spent our nights at Uncle Kurt and Aunt Debbie Moorse's house. Over the course of three day's we had fun with Brandon' aunt's, uncle's, cousins, cousins spouses, and all of their children. I had so much fun meeting all of them and wishing I could spend time with them again. 

Riley really attached himself to Papa.

 

from left to right: Riley, Lorelei, Landon, Joel, Will, Ava and Grant. 

After three days the Henderson Clan broke off to spend a few days in Uncle Deans Beach house. We had a blast at the beach and playing in the back yard. The kids really enjoyed watching their movies on the indoor theater and spending time one with another. Friendships definitely were formed on this vacation. 

On our trek home we got to spend a night at my Aunt Laurie's house. It was fun to chat and catch up with her and see a couple of my cousins. On Sunday morning we headed out as they headed to church. Brandon and I decided that a detour was in order. We decided to tack on a couple of hours by driving through Zion's National park. It was definitely rock Heaven. Brandon loved getting a few souvenirs for himself and I had fun trying to capture the beauty around us.

By the end of the trip, we were exhausted and worn out. The whole week was packed with things here and there. We had some tears, frustrations, laughs, and booboo's, but came away with a lot of good memories.

America's Birthday Celebration!

This years fourth of July activities was kind of a dud this year. We have been having such intense fires and no rain to bring relief. We usually have a down poor on the 4th, but not this year. Unfortunately this caused a state wide ban on open fireworks and many shows in the state were cancelled as well. Instead we made the most of it by going to the neighborhood park party. The kids loved playing at the park and slurping up snow cones. Over all, our day was still fun and Brandon still got his Kentucky fried chicken. Here's to hoping next year will be moist so that my pyro side can come out. :p 

I am proud to be an American and thankful for the Fireman who are continually working hard to fight the fires here at home. Also for those still serving our country at home and over seas. I wouldn't be able to enjoy such a Holiday with out them! Thanks!

Crafts and fun Ramblings

 Lorelei is growing up so incredibly fast. She has already begun talking and says a lot of things clearly. Here are some of her favorites:

Puppies

Dog

mama

dada

wow

uh-oh

des (yes)

no

duck

 

Funny story about Riley. One evening during dinner,

Riley asked me "Mom, ice cream after dinner?,"

I replied, "we don't have any ice cream Riley."

Riley: "then a cookie?"

Me: "We don't have any cookies."

Riley: "Then what?"

Gotta love the innocence of little kids.

 

Riley and his craft project. He fell in love with the Spaceship bird house and painted it multiple colors. The small bird house was Lorelei's, but she was more interested in painting herself.

Obviously my posts are out of order due to all the events in our life. I can't seem to keep things straight. Just remember "don't judge me because I sin differently than you".

 Before my brother came home we spent the weekend with the Henderson side. We got to play with Grammy, Grandpa, Kyle, Alicia and Jason. I'm bummed that I did not get pictures of their mock Easter hunt, but I am so loving the few that I got of Jason and Riley. Cousin's are just too much fun! (some one better have a girl soon so loli does not feel left out.)

Grammy Shelley gave them all a balloon. It turned out be a huge hit until one was demolished. Then it was like the Armageddon.

Riley and Jason jamming.

Not many smiles, but hey, they are looking.

Alex's return part 2!

Gram and Aunt Dorothy made it to Alex's home coming. They weren't able to be there at the airport, but they did make it for Alex's talk! These two have been storm troupers when it comes to family events lately. They truly make you feel special and important. They have been there for our family and I sure appreciate and love them. Thank you!

Gram being patient with great grand kids.

Gram losing patience with great grand kids. They just won't pose...

Dad plucking something from my aunt Dorothy's nose.  Sibling love.

Riley with Uncle Alex before he went on a mission

Riley with Uncle Alex after his mission

All of us round the table, decked out with yummy Austrian food!

My Brother is Home!

Wow, things have been so crazy for us this year. I will catch you up with the past few months starting with my brother's return from Knoxville Tennessee! :) He came home on April 19th. Luckily Brandon, Riley, Lorelei and I were there to great him. We had balloons, a sign and his favorite cake! He still seemed like the good ol' Alex to me, but at the same time he knew a lot more about the Gospel. I love my brother's quirky personality and the sweet spirit he has. I hope that never goes away! :)

My mom was really excited to see my brother. So was he.

Mindy made this incredibly yummy moist cake. 

It

 was full of peanut butter and chocolaty goodness!

Riley loved clinging to Uncle Alex. Not to mention the fun he had playing Nerf guns with him.

Welcome Home Elder Alex. Thank you for serving and sacrificing two years of your life to share the Gospel with others!

The multiple job Mom!

The other day I was talking to A friend, who is a single mom. I found out the number of jobs she does within in the home and out of the home. All I can say is kudos to her. Then I thought to myself, "hey I could do something like that." Well now I am watching the two cutest little girls. Yeah, we have our moments, but they totally fit in and I treat them like they were my own.

I also started up my art again and have been practicing portraits. I am currently working on some consignment pieces for a lady in my ward. This is the first time EVER in my life that I have achieved this goal. When she first asked me if I could draw her girls I told her that I couldn't. Drawing faces and people has never come to me easily. My first instinct has always been a cringe when an art teacher assigned any assignments dealing with a self portait, or a model. This time I went home mulled it over in my head and took it as a challenge. I searched her facebook for the cutest picture of one her daughters and this is what came out of me.

The image above is from my Camera so the coloring is off. I had Brandon scan it for me, but it was too high of resolution for any free programs like blogger and facebook.
Over all, I have totally learned to have an appreciation for what stay at home mom's do and single mothers. It's not easy raising children and trying to keep food on their plates. Being my own employer is great, but juggling 3 different full time jobs at once is kind of hard. My next stop in life hopefully will be in an art gallery. I just need to tap more into my political side for that one to come true. I guess only time can tell:p

Riley's day to shine!

Riley's Birthday was so much fun! He really got into the spirit of things this time around. He even requested a Caillou Birthday party. Unfortunately you can't find Caillou in the birthday section... so, I had to get creative. Everything was in Caillou colors with star balloon's and a handmade birthday sign. He even got a new Caillou figurine on his handpicked ice cream cake. Luckily Riley was pleased and excited for all of the new little things he got. He loves techie devices, Super hero's, music, reading books, and tackling his little sister. All in all he is all boy and we love him for it!