Brother Clint is becoming a MAJOR!

Our brother-in-law Clint is getting a promotion in the Army to MAJOR!! We are so proud of him for so many reasons and this just shows that all of the hard work he does for our country is being recognized! Good job Clint and Patty!

August Birthdays

So August is a very busy month for birthdays, anniversaries, and the starting of school for many people in our family! So on Sunday we had a party for... Congrats for graduating High School for Claire, happy anniversary for Auntie Deb & Uncle Kev, and happy birthday to Emilee (27), Johanna (23), and Hailee (7). It was kind of funny because everyone was so tired and all we did was watch the Olympics and eat!!

Auntie Emma turns 27!!!

Much to my dear sister Emma's dismay, she is 27 years old! Of course whenever I remind her of that she comes back with, "you will always be older than me!" Yeah like 18 months is really all that much older that her! So how did the old lady celebrate? We went wine tasting! It was so much fun to just hang out at 4 wineries, have lunch, drink, and talk with 9 other moms and wives. It was a long day, but I know the birthday girl had a ton of fun. Her having fun is all that matters!

Our Staycation!

So much fun we had when daddy was home for 5 days!!! Since we bought the new car we decided to place it safe (I guess that is being responsible) and had a 'staycation' instead of going down to SD. We went to the Zoo, got a sitter for some 'mommy and daddy' time, played in the back, went for a bike ride to the new deli in the circle, took lots of naps, slept in and stayed up late, went down to second street, headed to Long Beach for some tourist adventures at the Queen Mary, Pine street, the Aquarium, had some down time in the hotel, walked and walked around until our feet hurt, and we ATE, ATE, & ATE!! We have decided that since the kids are so little the best type of vacations will be within California and SHORT! Next month, Laguna Beach....

Walking w/ Dinosaurs & Hailee

Last night Hailee Jean and I went to the Honda Center to watch, Walking with Dinosaurs! It was BoBo's and mine gift to Hailee for her 7th b-day and boy was it fun! We ate nachos, tacos, sour patch kids, drank soda and clapped a ton while watching the HUGE puppets work their magic! Here is a link for those that are interested in what we saw http://www.dinosaurlive.com/ . As Hailee puts it, "Auntie this was the best Dino play I have ever been to!"

Beach action!

We had so much FUN!!! Of course we were busy as usual, but Daddy actaully got to go with us to the beach! Flying kites, BBQ'ing, having fun and hanging out (out of the wind) is just what we needed! We can not wait for this weekend when Derek starts his vacation!

I LOVE MY HUSBAND!

I went and picked out a new car and Derek went and GOT IT!!!! Just one more reason why I LOVE him!

Birthday girl FUN!

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The Smith Cousins!!

On Sunday we went to have pictures taken of the kids. It was so much fun and they all did such a great job...well, Drew kept looking at the flash:) It did take much longer than the allotted 20 minutes, but the pictures were worth it!!

Having Fun!!!

We had a great time playing with all of the kiddo's! Suzie, Michelle, Saige, Hannah, Emma, Connor, Drew, Madison, Sara 2, & I all got together to let the little one's interact, had lunch, chatted mommy things and then heading off for home. It is so nice to have a group of family and friends that are able to get together and just HANG OUT in the middle of the week. Just put the courser at the bottom of each picture to see what I wrote:)

Our baby girl is ONE!!!!

I can not believe that she is already one!! I think the time has just flown by so dang quick!! She is just so funny and active. She loves her daddy, of course, and loves to so shopping with mommy. Every time we go anywhere she/we get compliments on how cute she is. So, to celebrate her turning 1 Derek got her her first rose and every year he will add one more. So here is a picture of her looking at her rose in the middle of the night. I still can not believe that we have one of each and they are healthy and so funny! Picks from her party will be coming soon:)

CHOO CHOO

We are official DORKS! Yes, we went to the train show at the convention center. There were many different types of people there, but we are happy to say that we fit into the group of 'people who have kids that love Thomas' group. Drew and Emma loved the show and the Lego train land/track was so big and unbelievable..so great. Yes, we go to things like this, but man is it fun to see our little man so interested in it. Right when we got home all Andrew wanted to do was hang out with his choochoo and watch Thomas movies. It was a great time.

Bella's Party!

We had so much fun at the park for Bella's b-day party! Derek did not have to work, so he was able to join us for some park fun. Of course, Becky and Chris threw a great party, the kids had fun, as you can see from the pics Drew loved the cupcakes, the mom's chatted it up, the Papa's BBQ'd up a storm, some horses stopped by, the kids built their own bears, we all got bags full of candy goodies, AND IT WAS GREAT WEATHER! Bella turns 3 and we all got to have fun!!!!

Our princess Emma M-A

Emma is the princess of the house & this picture sooo proves she loves her role! Most kids do not like to have hats, headbands, sunglasses, or hoods on their little heads, but Em does not seem to mind at all:) So when Drew found a princess hat set in a toy box outside WE HAD to put it on. She sat with the hat on for a moment and played with a ring that also came with it..then she was off. She ruled the sidewalk in her walker, joggers said "Hi little princess," and Ms Melissa and Mr. Al loved it as they drove by. Thanks Auntie Em for passing that darling hat down from Hailee to baby Emma.

Happy birthday Casey!!!

One of our friend's little girl, Casey, had her 1st birthday party!!! She shares her birthday with little Miss Bella Rose, but I think that Bella would be more than willing to share it with this cutie pie. I KNOW I ALWAYS TAKE PICTURES, BUTTTTT today I forgot my camera!!! Let me just say this, the food was great, the decorations were adorable and finished off with a cute pink boa for Casey, and the kids loved each other! Lori and I have known each other for many years now. We went to the same college, worked together, share some mutual friends, found out that we were both having girls on the same day, and had our kids the same month. Thanks Lori and Mike for thinking of us on Casey's first of many birthdays..see you next weekend for Emma's!