Military Ball

Had to share this picture of Brittany and Steve going to the Military Ball!! They look so gorgeous!! Can't wait to see them this next week.

Steve is HOME!!

We had to wait for over three hours till the soldiers came in but it was worth it! We are so glad to have him home and safe. Brinley took right to him - no hesitation at all. Steve was sure glad. They had all sorts of stuff set up for the waiting families - pizza, drinks, jumping tent and a video of the soldiers getting off the plane. It was still a long time though. Check out some of these pictures.

Steven is coming home!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve is out of Afghanistan and on his way home. We hope to see him sometime this weekend. We are so proud of him. He is definitely our hero.

Arizona in May!!!

We got to go to Phoenix for Brandon's graduation and visit with Grandma Walker, Aunt Doris, Aunt Virginia and Uncle Mike. They are all looking great and expecting lots of company for grandma's birthday next week. Check out the five generation picture!

The next day was Brandon's graduation from ASU with his MBA and Master's of Health Sector Mgmt! We are so proud of him and Andrea and all they have accomplished and now they are moving to Utah to start his new job. Hurray - They will be back in Utah and grandma will get to see Jocelyn even more.

We really are alive and well!!

I know it has been forever since I have blogged and life has been busy. Some great things and some really sad thing. I thought I would put up a bunch of pictures from the past few months to show how our family is growing soooo fast!!



We had everyone together for Christmas except Steve, and he was able to call on Christmas day and talk to everyone and even listen while Ian and Brinley opened their presents. We really miss him but are sooo proud of him and how he is serving our country. The kids had a gingerbread house contest and you can see a few of the finished results. We could not pick a winner. For Christmas Eve dinner we had prime rib and salmon (Andrea fixed the salmon) and it was all yummy.



On December 20 Miss Mady turned two and we had a LARGE party for her at their home. I can't believe how quickly they grow.



Most of these pictures are from the luncheon for Dad's funeral or during the days around it. I don't know how people without the gospel can make it through such sad times and the loss of someone so close but I know how greatful I am for my knowledge and the comfort it brings. It was wonderful having Steve home for the funeral and the two weeks following it. We got to spend lots of time together and even gave Steve and Brit a couple of days by themselves. We are so grateful for all of our family support, both local and from Missouri!!! You guys are what helps us get through it. We love and miss you all. I will try to do better about posting more often.

Summer Break

Brandon and Andrea came to Utah for their break between Brandon's internship and classes starting back up this week. It was really fun to see them. Andrea and I went to a cooking class and had a great time then came home and tried the recipe for the family the next night. The guys and Becky went golfing a couple of times and other than that we mostly just hung out here at the house. Everyone took Thursday off and we had a back yard barbeque and played games.



The little girls got along great. Jocelyn has been crawling up a storm and now she has decided she may be ready to walk soon. She was fascinated with Jax and Mo but didn't let them stop her from "walking" around the room. By the end of the visit she was pretty much running pushing that walker around.



I had to include all of these pictures to show that we don't lock Mady up but she thinks it is great fun to climb in the dogs cage and just hang out. It is pretty funny but Jax isn't sure he likes to share!



Aren't they both getting so big?!? Mady is 20 months old and Jocelyn will be 10 months old on September 3. We missed having Brittany here with Ian and Brinley but we did get to go to dinner with them on Saturday and visit for a bit. Ian is 5 1/2 and Brinley is already almost 6 months! Time goes by so quickly.

Steve is doing well. He talks to Brit almost every day and we get to talk to him every week or so. He sounds good. He says he is bored right now but that is just fine with me. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. His birthday is Wednesday, Sept. 2.

First Day of School!!!

Ian is starting kindergarten!! I can't believe it is time already but he sure is ready and excited. Brittany and the kids came to Utah for the weekend so we got to see them and all Ian could talk about was starting school. Sure makes me feel old. Check out the Spiderman backpack - I think it is as big as Ian!

Hawaii 2009

We were able to go to Hawaii again this year and I really love it. My favorite place in the world is sitting on the beach and watching the ocean. It really doesn't even have to be warm - but that does make it more fun.

We spent 7 days on Kauai and then 3 days in Waikiki on Oahu. Much different. The north shore of Kauai is so quiet and peaceful. Waikiki is a big city with LOTS of people but they were both fun. We spent the last day while we were waiting to get on the red eye home driving around the island. We went by the Hawaii temple and BYU Hawaii. I couldn't resist some of the scenic shots. Hawaii is so beautiful.
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Ian and Brinley!!

I love being a grandma!!! These are a few pictures I forgot I had. They are from when Brittany was here with Ian and Brinley. So Steve, I hope you like these - I will send you some copies in your next package.



Ian has been sporting a mohawk which everyone was trying to get him to cut off so he decided to get it cut when Grandma was getting ready to cut Grandpa's hair!! Isn't he cute?! The picture of him with his new transformer is the payoff (who says bribery doesn't work?).



Check out the picture of Brinley and the big cup. She was trying so hard to figure out how to grab that I couldn't resist snapping a picture. She is getting soooo big. I can't believe she is already 41/2 months old - and Ian starts kindergarten on August 13! Things change so fast.

4th of July in Mesa

Ok, so it has been a month since my last blog and we have been really busy so I figured it was time to update. We spent the 4th of July weekend in Mesa with Brandon, Andrea and Jocelyn. It was 107 there so I was not excited about going outside much. Luckily they have good air conditioning. You can't survive without it there. We went to the park (for some reason these are the only pictures I got) one night and Joc loved it!! Even Jeff and Brandon got into it on the swings. We went to Wicked for the Saturday Matinee and it was wonderful!! If you haven't seen it and get a chance it is WORTH it!! We had a barbeque that night with the friends that watched Jocelyn while we were at the play and ended up not going to fireworks, it was still over 100 degrees at dark and noone was too excited about getting into big crowds in the heat.

We always have so much fun with Brandon and Andrea. We are really proud of all they are doing and love spending time with them.

Update on Steve

Steve was able to call Jeff yesterday for Father's Day, of course it was during church but we do have to set our priorities!! He sounds good and says they are getting settled and into a routine. He got his first package we sent and said it only took about 10 days to get so that was good. He loved the card Ian sent for Father's Day with a recorded message and said he had already watched the two movies Brit and Ali picked out. His unit has seen action already but he doesn't talk about that much with me. For now he is safe and well and always in our thoughts and prayers. It was one of the best parts of Father's Day for Jeff - he got to see or talk to every one of his kids!! You really learn not to take that for granted when they are away like this.

Love to you all. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!!!

Write a Soldier!!

Hey, I just wanted to invite all of you to keep in touch with Steve. He is now in Afghanistan and would love to hear from everyone. He is pretty isolated so a card or letter or even an occasional package would be wonderful. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Doc Smith
ACO 112 INF
FOB Ramrod
APO AE 09355

Senior Trip - Cruise Time

So Ali and three of her friends decided to go on a Mexican cruise for their senior trip. Then they found out they need chaperones so another mom (Sue Hoffman) and I went as chaperones. We left Monday out of Long Beach and went to Catalina the next morning. We took a power raft tour around the island and saw Bald Eagles, Blue Heron nests and little ones, lots of scenery and then got out into the middle of a pod of dolphins!! That was a blast! They swam and jumped around us for almost an hour. It made the whole trip worth it.



That nigt was formal night. Everyone cleaned up very nice. We talked a couple of lone boys into taking a picture with all six of us and then, of course, we had to take one of them with the girls. They ended up running into each other often throughout the whole cruise. There were actually a LOT of kids on this cruise on their senior trips.

When we got back to our cabin we had a letter saying that now that the swine flu danger was past, the Mexican government was going to make us dock in port the next day instead of bypassing Ensenada as we had originally planned. We were there from 9am until 10pm. We really weren't excited about taking four 18-year-old girls into Mexica so we took a tour of the blow hole and let the girls do their shopping in the open air market leading up to it. They got their fill and nobody minded not going into downtown. We got back on the ship and did ship activities for the rest of the day. (and ate a LOT!!)



Our waiters were great. They made dinner a lot of fun. I think the girls had a good time even though it did get a bit stressful with four of them sharing a cabin with only ONE outlet!! Kind of funny sometimes. We got to the airport at 10:30 am Friday and our flight wasn't until 6:10 pm. Long day but we are home and slept in late this morning and I even have my laundry about half done. It was really weird not having Jeff on the cruise. I don't know if I would do that again but it was still fun.

Air Show

So on Saturday, June 6, we had the opportunity to go to the airshow at Hill Air Force Base here in northern Utah. It was AWESOME!! The weather was supposed to be rainy and we were afraid they would cancel but it turned out perfect. A little overcast and about 70 degrees with a light breeze! Anyone who has stayed out for something like that from 10 in the morning until 5 in the evening knows how important that can be.

Anyway, Ian had a blast checking out all the planes and climbing in quite a few. He even got to play with a few big guns!! His daddy would have loved it too!!

The little girls (Mady and Brinley) enjoyed the planes until they got too noisy. The Thunderbirds scared them a bit but eventually they just slept through it all. It really was great fun.

June in Smithfield

We actually had a few nice days of weather and the grandkids loved playing out in Grandma's backyard. Mady was learning to blow bubbles and insisted on doing it herself - she got more out of her mouth after drinking the bubbles than off of the wand!! Oh well, what can you do?

Graduation 2009

Well, she did it!! Ali is officially no longer a high school student. We had a great time with lots of family and lots of friends. I am putting up a few pictures now - no way can I put them all up.
Thank you to all of you for your love and support of her throughout the years. We are so proud of the woman she has become.



Aren't grandkids fun! And so is trying to get them to all look in the same direction!

quick note from Ali

Hi this is ALI, your all time favorite original Smith Female! Just wanted to tell everyone hello, and give you a quick update. Today was MY LAST DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL! haha, i'm kind of okay with that.. tomorrow the Sky View senior class is going to Lagoon for the day, then Monday we've got some fun traditions we're going to keep up, plus I will officially check out of SV. Tuesday is the day. I get to wear an awesome see-through white gown and an uncomfortable cap haha, but i got cute shoes!! And just fyi I will be one of a select few wearing an honors band...Not to brag, but i am proud of that accomplishment. Just want to tell everyone thank you so much for all the support and love you've given me through the years. I have no idea where or who I would be without my amazing family! Thank you :) I will try to take some awesome pictures for everyone. LOTS OF LOVE! -Ali

Springtime in Smithfield

Mady loves playing in our backyard. She runs off so much energy it wears her out. I love the picture of her hugging Jax. He is so patient with her hugs and kisses. It is pretty funny to watch. The cat isn't quite so excited when he sees her coming!!

Senior Prom 2009

Prom started off with a day date. Ali and Quaid went fishing and had a Subway picnic. Luckily they only caught one fish and didn't have to clean it!!



Once Ali got back from fishing it was time to get ready for the formal night. After a shower (to get rid of the fish smell) it was off to her work for one of the stylists to fix her hair. It turned out really pretty.



Dinner was at Quaid's house - he and his mom fixed up a really nice table with flowers and a menu for the evening then it was off to the country club for the dance. She looked like a princess and they had a really good time with all of their friends.

Second Marathon - Are you crazy?!?

Well, he did it! Jeff ran in his second marathon Saturday here in Ogden. We got up at 3:00 am to fix him some pancakes and drive down to Ogden for the race. I got to sleep in the car for another hour or so until closer to race time. At least in this one closer to home there were quite a few friends and neighbors who were also running so it was fun to see them all come in. 26.2 miles sure seems like a long way to run. He cut 23 minutes off his last time - still not good enough for him but I think it's great! He says he is going to stick to half-marathons from now on but I will believe it when I see it. Brandon is already talking to him about doing the one in Phoenix again next January. We shall see.

He was so sore and stiff that there was no way he could help Kevin and Becky move so we watched Mady to help them out!! Poor grandpa!