ELDER SMART

Don't we look so nice, headed to Church....even got Calvin to go!!!!

Well this is for ELDER DEREK SMART..... after talking to him on Christmas, and he said he can look at our blog I though I better get on the ball and update it....after getting a little slack from him for not keeping him up to date.

So here it is a quick/loooong update!!!!

Lets see where to begin...... Addison turned FOUR in November and is loving preschool and DORA she is obsessed!! She got Dora Jammies and really has sleep in them ever since!!!! REALLY. She is so dang fun and has the cutest personality, always trying to make us all laugh and she does a good job at that!!! She is dancing and had a Christmas concert and did so good, she still looks so little up there with all the other kids but she did great!!

We had a busy NOVEMBER with Birthdays, Disney on Ice, Thanksgiving, Work and Play never a dull moment!!!I turned another year older.....had a great day but hate getting older although I still feel 21!!! That's a good thing right...to still feel young!!!
Got some fun things and some cute new clothes!!!!
We all had the SWINE flu just before THANKSGIVING and are so glad that is over...we all felt horrible for about 2 weeks!!! Now everyone is doing great and enjoying the holiday break.

We took a trip to VEGAS (2nd week of DEC.) for the NFR always fun, with Zach, Brooke, Steve and Ellery. We even got to meet the WORLD CHAMPION COWBOY!!! The HIGHLIGHT for me and BROOKE. We laughed a lot, had great food, good shopping, and loved every minute of it.....even the totally stupid movie we saw..."BROTHERS" so dumb don't waist your time.

Calvin has been traveling back and forth to WYOMING for work..we hate it but are very grateful that he has a job given the current economic situation!!!! He takes care of us no matter what it takes. It will be a long year for us all with him going back up there a lot but it's WORK!!!

Saige is loving school and hates to miss, I checked her out the other day to go to lunch and she CRIED yes she really cried because she wanted to stay at school and finish her work. Where did she come from I always loved going HOME!!! She is a great student and loves all of it, she really likes history and learning about countries, it is totally fascinating to her!!
The school had a cute sing along and she did great it was so cute and she seems so old. Dance is still one of her favorite things to do, and she is getting better every week, we love her teacher and the CHRISTMAS concert was great!!!

WE had a busy DECEMBER like everyone else, starting with Vegas then party after party, Calvin gone for 5 days, Dance recital, Angel Tree visits, Many visits to see Santa, Christmas programs at both Saige and Addies schools, Christmas parties at both Schools and trying to keep up on everything else....and not forgetting little CALI JO!!! She is a trooper and goes along with the flow very well. She is such a happy little girl and is such a goof ball. She loved Christmas but HATED SANTA, she was terrified of the BIG GUY!!! And still is sure it was NOT him that brought her presents...oh well she was still happy!!!

She still hates to go to NURSERY and still has another year!!! YIKES!! She is my great helper in the hall while I am doing my Primary stuff. She loves TINKER BELL and is sure she is the real TINKIE as she calls it, and that she can fly....hasn't attempted it YET!!!!

CHRISTMAS was like always with little kids WONDERFUL they love the excitement and preparations for SANTA'S big arrival. Calvin surprised us with a BIG WALL TENT set up on Christmas Eve for all us to sleep in....WHAT? Well it worked out great and of course the girls thought it was awesome and even heard SANTA'S bells outside the tent....Addie was ready to head for the house she thought he was coming into the tent!!! About 2:30 we ran out of wood so back into the house we went....it was a little colder than we thought!!!!! Christmas morning was filled with lots of excitement and presents and EVERYONE HAPPY!!!!!!
We love to spend time with family and laughing and joking!! Bridger always is the life of the party and will do anything this year was no different he willingly wore the ELF outfit the Brooke supplied and we all laughed until we cried....he fits the part all too well.

Well CONGRATS to those who are still reading with all the back and forth but we (I) wanted to get up to date....ENJOY the pics from some of our excitement the last little while!!!!!

CHRISTMAS MORNING check out the EXCITEMENT on their faces!!

After a long day this princess was done for, happy with her tent from Dawson and snuggled down for a long winters nap!!!

BRIDGEEEEE the ELF!!!

The cutest NATIVITY ever!!

Delivering LETTERS to Santa and visting the Angel Tree!!!

VISITING SANTA with Hesston and Sawyer!!

Dance recital, I feel bad that this is the only pictures I got but we did get it on video!!!

Addison and a Friend her same age...see doesn't she look little.

Saige, she wore pajamas because her dance was the

"Night Before Christmas!!"

Kissing our CUTE snowman DADDY it was the best we could do when Calvin was gone to Wyoming.

VEGAS!!!

Look at that food!!!

I can't believe I am really putting this picture of me up!! YIKES!!!

MEETING TREVOR BRAZILE!!! What a cutie!!1

NERDS!!

The group, on the Vegas Strip!!

THANKSGIVING at my parents....

The WHOLE FAMILY!!!

MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
SWEET 16...with three kids!!

The SWEATSHIRT my husband gave me, too FUNNY!!!

Disney on ICE!!!!
Sid and Karen took us all to Disney on Ice so much FUN
Disneyland is NEXT!!!

Addison BIRTHDAY!!!

I am sure (I KNOW) I missed a lot but I will try to keep up better and hope that was good for you DEREK and hope to see you in a WEEK or so!!!

Grateful

Today I am grateful for many things in my LIFE.....

Health..our family has been blessed to have such great health and strong bodies and I feel most of the time we REALLY take it for granted.
Kids... although they are crazy, I LOVE them and they keep my young
Family.. without them, where would I be???
Home... a beautiful place we call home, and love every little piece, even when it is a mess and unorganized it is ours!!!!!
Husband... he keeps me normal..most of the time and puts things in perspective!!!
Food... enough to eat and share!!!
Friends...they listen to it ALL!!!
Bad days... crazy I know but they make me think.......it could be MUCH worse!!!
Forgiveness... without it, I would be in trouble!
Work... I am grateful Calvin has work, and I am able to stay home and be MOM although it is hard sometimes I would NOT change it!!

This is just a few things that I have been thinking a lot about, and today I am SO GRATEFUL for all the things in my life good and bad.

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

MEAN MOMS!!!

MEAN MOMS

Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:

I loved you enough to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room,a job that should have taken 15 minutes.

I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect..

I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart..But most of all,

I loved you enough to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it. Those were the most difficult battles of all.. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.

And someday when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.

Was your Mom mean? I know mine was.

We had the meanest mother in the whole world!

While other kids ate candy for breakfast,we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.

When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch,we had to eat sandwiches.

And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.

Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times.

You'd think we were convicts in a prison.

She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing with them.

She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work.

We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.

She always insisted on us telling the truth,the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough!

Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up They had to come up to the door so she could meet them.

While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.

Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.

Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.

I think that is what's wrong with the world today.

It just doesn't have enough mean moms!

DOUBLE TROUBLE

What every little girl must do.......just ONCE I hope!!!!

(Thats what I keep telling myself)

The tools

can you see where this is headed....

The Evidence

Yep it gets worse.....
The Crime

and NO Cali did not have bangs to begin with but she sure does now.

That was just ONE chunk gone, but more to be found..... Addison has a big section gone and Cali has another missing piece on the back but not as noticeable!!!!

The Punishment

What who gets in trouble anymore HAHA. I was laughing too hard until I tried to do their hair then the ANGRY came out in me, but like the girls said they were just trying to be like Aunt Brooke, and who can get mad at that!!!! So, on my to do list...

GET HAIR CUTS!!!! (real ones)

So the story is that Addison was the cutter and Cali was willing to be the client, then she turned the sizzors on herself. And they really did CLEAN UP the hair, but I like to call it hiding the evidence!!!

SO they really are

DOUBLE TROUBLE

and are in DOUBLE TROUBLE!!!

Busy week...

So this last week was busy with another trip to Wyoming, with still no luck. There was a lot of snow which made hiking very HARD for me even though we saw a HUGE deer, it was just way too far away to HUNT. I felt very bad that I was not successful but I could not hike anymore I was DONE!! Oh well maybe this weekend I will have better luck and warmer weather for the UTAH deer hunt!!!

Then it was home to go on FIELD TRIPS with the girls. Addisons class went to the pumpkin patch and Saige went to the ZOO. Both were way fun and the girls had a great time. I love to go with them, it gives me a chance to see them with their friends and how they are at school, SO FUN!!!

First Addie's class, Cali got to join in on the fun!!!
I just love this picture of her!!

Their favorite, some BIG SLIDES!!!

Pick'n PUMPKINS!!!

Look at how HUGE the SUNFLOWER are.

Then the NEXT day the ZOO!!!

Saige with some of her friends. I am sooo glad I am not first grade teacher!!! So grateful for her wonderful teacher!!!

Standing by "HER" animal, every kid had to find a certain animal and write down information about that animal and take a picture. Saige's was a Wallaby but it was a little camera shy.

The Baby ELEPHANT was so dang CUTE!!!

Then me and Calvin took off again on Saturday to see Rodney Carrington in Wendover!! There we a lot of us that went and we LAUGHED so hard, a little wild but way funny. It was great we love to spend time with good FRIENDS and FAMILY!!! That could never get old. The kids spent the night with Grandma PAM and Grandpa JIM, they decided to have all the GRANDKIDS (13 to be exact) sleep over in a BIG TENT outside. They (the kids) had way too much fun and love spending time with cousins however I think the Grandparents were glad to see us get home!! Really I think they had fun too but it was a lot of work and keeping everyone happy is a hard JOB!!! Thank Mom and Dad we really enjoyed our quick little trip.

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!

Our

HOUSE is FOR SALE!!!!!

So please pass the word around if anyone knows of someone looking. It is listed on KSL so check it out for all the info!!!
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=475&ad=8137999&cat=279

Yes I am crazy nervous, this is a BIG DEAL for me but could not be more excited at the same time. We are wanting to move to SALEM to have a little more room and be closer to property where our horses are and hopefully someday build there but for now we are just looking to BUY!!


Wish us luck !!! If life wasn't crazy already, but I think the FUN is just beginning.

MY Wyoming HUNT!!

YES for those who don't know I will hunt and do LIKE/LOVE it, I love the time I get to spend with Family or my HUSBAND!!! I like the hunting aspect and the thrill of shooting a GUN, maybe I am not the best shot but I still enjoy it.

So a little history about 2 months ago I get a letter from "Wyoming Wildlife" wondering what the heck it was I open it to see a miracle, I drew a tag to hunt deer and I didn't even put myself in to HUNT deer, a true MIRACLE right, how could they have picked me at random, totally awesome.......HAHA my wonderful HUSBAND put me it which is fine and come to find out he has put me into draw SEVERAL other hunts!!!!
Calvin was VERY excited and ME a little nervous because I have heard from my brothers how HARD of a hunt it can be. Well we started preparing early with trips to CABELAS to get outfitted $$$$$ and more trips to CABELAS, ordering boots, wearing boots to break them in, getting horses ready, food, tents etc...Calvin wanted everything to be perfect and me to be warm, fed and HAPPY. ( So I would go back)

So fast forward to September 14th everything is set girls taken care of, we are loaded and on the road!! Well we arrived at our destination about 6 hours after we started. Our plan was to pack our camp in about 6 miles to camp there, BUT it was pouring rain so we thought we would hold off. The hunt started Tuesday morning so we were up early to saddle horses and take off IN THE DARK!!! So we could be ready to hunt at DAYLIGHT, well I was a little nervous plus it was way foggy because of all the rain. Well it was about a 1-1 1/2 hour horse ride in...then another 45 min HIKE straight up the mountain to PEAK at ABOUT 10,000 FEET. Yes we did this EVERY day for four days and ended up just staying in the Horse trailer the whole time, which was fine with me, it was a sturdy wall between me and the BEARS!!!

So you would think this story after all our riding, hiking, no sleep would have payed off WELL NO... not because of no deer but the HUNTER needs a LITTLE or A LOT of target practicing. I will PROUDLY admit that I shot SIX time and MISSED every time plus passed one up (not big enough! HAHA).

We had a great time just me, my HUBBY and nature doesn't get any better. He did have everything perfect plenty of food and comfort. We had planned on staying until Sunday unless we got something earlier. HOWEVER, I didn't realize how hard it would be for me not to talk to the girls, we had no cell service and that was the worst part, just not being able to make sure all was OK. I knew they were in good hands but would love to have talked to them. So other than that we had a GREAT time and will be going back to GET THE BIG ONE!!! Wish me luck and maybe a little better aim.

ME and CALVIN!!

Our sleeping quarters!!

Scenery it was beautiful and warm.

This picture is not a mistake this is me on my horse riding in the darkness. Can't you see me OH wait it is way to DARKKK!!!

Me being SILLY and BORED!!

We did A LOT of this....

and this!!

I totally forgot a picture of our lovely RIDES, three of them

Rooster the horse, Pete the horse and Snowball the mule!!

Couldn't of done it without them!!

Maybe next time I will get a picture!!

The bottom line is...

TAG = $300.00

Getting outfitted with new gear = $800.00

Spending an amazing week with CALVIN = PRICELESS!!!!