Smiths

family pictures

2011-11-15T19:14:00.001-08:00

getting family pictures taken is always a stressful time. moms... you know what i am talking about. first you have to find the photographer, decide on the location, and worst of all.....pick out the coordinating outfits. which, for me, requires a lot of thought: 'what do we have that will work?' 'what colors should we wear?' 'what do i need to go buy?' 'ok, i can do this... i am going to go shopping with the kids.' 'you know...i just need to find something that looks good on me and make everyone else work around that.' 'why does nothing i try on look good on me?!' and 'what will tyrell wear? (one thing i picked out for tyrell was a v-neck sweater, you would have thought i was asking him to wear a dress!) 'ok fine, we are just going to wear this because it isn't hideous and i am not going to worry about it any more!' :).

after all this is accomplished, the real fun begins as P-day arrives! when you must somehow get everyone clean, dressed, happy and simultaneously cooperative. quite the task indeed. but, i suppose, it's worth it in the end when you get pictures of cute smiling faces. never mind that your smile is perhaps a little less than genuine :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2011-10-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

yard

2011-10-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

i really wish i had an original picture of our front yard so you all could appreciate how it looks now, but here is an in progress before picture.

and here is an after picture. there is still more work to do but the grass is growing (it's patchy, but it's growing), and it's not looking half bad!

we live on a dirt road and it FINALLY got scraped! the boys sat outside for a long time watching the tractor, and the driver even stopped in front of our house and let carter get inside. living on a dirt road has it's perks :)

this and that

2011-10-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

max loves to dumpster dive. he is constantly pulling things out of the trash can. somethings are worse than others... empty wipes bag = ok, vegetable peelings and raw chicken packaging = NOT ok!

aren't these the cutest smiles you have ever seen?

we have an unfinished basement and it is GREAT for ridable toys!

we found this guy in our garage a month or so ago. they are pretty scary, ty and i both may have screamed a little :)

consistent parenting

2011-10-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

yesterday was one of those days. the kind where carter tested my patience to the N'th degree, and i could clearly see my mother-of-the-year award, slipping further and futher out of my reach. he screamed all through safeway, refused to obey almost everything asked of him, and later in the day cried about EVERYTHING! he was in and out of time-out all day, had a spanking or two, and even more threats hissed at him through clenched teeth.

as i went to bed last night, after i had expressed my frustrations to tyrell, i lied there wondering why i can't be a better mother? i lose my temper, i raise my voice, and sometimes...on the worst days, i consider my child's imminent demise :) i mean, where is the loving, calm, and wise, mother who will be praised by her adult children as a great teacher and disciple of Christ from the pulpit of the conference center? :)

it is at these low points, where one needs a little support and validation that not everything you do as a parent is in need of revision. and who better to buoy you up in your time of need, than the man who loves you no matter what. so in an attempt to fish out a compliment, i posed a question to tyrell:

"does it make you so sad that i am not a great mother?"

to which he so lovingly replied:

"no. it just makes me feel better about not being a great dad."

well folks, there you have it... at least here in the smith home we are all on the same page, providing consistently bad parenting :)

2011-09-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

ok so here are a few pictures of our summer adventures

summary

2011-08-18T09:54:00.001-07:00

i keep getting on here, ready to make our summer adventures public, but discouragement sets in and i can't decide where to start. my neglect has rendered me immobile. so, in an attempt to move forward, i will provide a short pictureless synopsis of our summer's happenings. after which, i will attempt to keep my updates more current :)

JUNE
-re-modeled our master closet
-max started crawling and pulling himself up
-we tore out most of our old landscaping (tons and tons of rock) made a circular drive, hauled in dirt for grass! lots and lots of shoveling and rock displacement.... killer
-re-roofed the house
-trips to the lake
-ty fixing cars
-boys being adorable and occasionally horrid :)
- i started working out in the mornings, loving it

JULY
-home to AZ:
*4th july in SJ, BBQ, fireworks, foot races at the park, beautiful weather lots of family
*pima to fix car (to no avail), play with friends, cousins and ty's parents
- carter learned to jump off side of pool, float with floaties, and 'swim' to the stairs all by himself
-trip to lake navajo with friends: awesome new lake, got sun burned, camped with both boys for the first time, minimal sleep, mosquitoes, good water, kids had tons of fun on the shore.
-ty went to scout camp
-ty fixing more cars
-ty had training in denver: the boys and i went to stay in the hotel with him for a few days, swimming, mall and more importantly escalators (carter's favorite), out to eat, pump it up (bouncy place, carter still a little too young), temple
- lake trips

AUGUST (so far)
-ty to emerald lake for back packing trip with high school friends
-the kids and i to my family reunion at the homestead: volleyball, treego, race (carter kept running over the finish line so people would cheer for him), games (carter LOVED being able to yell and cheer as loudly as he could, he was very enthusiastic), cousins, dancing (no one danced their heart out like carter) , dirt, carter in heaven!
-leveling and trenching for sprinkler system (moved more rocks...boo) grass on the horizon !!!!
-ty started work
-max top teeth in
-carter can now tell you how old he is "I'm two!" :)
- more lake trips

and there you have it!

GET IT!

2011-06-07T17:48:00.000-07:00

so we had a problem. a HUGE moth problem. for a few weeks, we were plagued with millions of moths (i think they were bad here in PW, but i believe our house was a little worse because we have 'butterfly' bushes, which apparently, also attracts moths). they were swarming near every door and had the audacity to dive-bomb your face every time you walked outside. the front door was barely usable at night, the garage was infested and the house was their next target. so i had to take action.

a bunch of them made it into the house and they got the fly swatter treatment after i couldn't stand the sound of their gross little bodies hitting the walls, the windows, or the lights!
i also had a personal bug man, carter, who is awesome at catching bugs. he came bringing me one once and so i started directing his talents to the moth problem. it's pretty cute because every time he sees a flying insect, he gasps and says "GET IT!", and then proceeds to hunt it down. he is kind of like a cat who catches and releases until he has maimed the poor thing, but i stopped feeling badly for them after there were 20 or so in my house. he puts the dead ones in the trash or throws the maimed ones outside, where i hope they inform their friends that anyone caught trespassing will be tortured :)

after my friends suggestion (from her bug man) of a bucket of soapy water only delivered three dead moths, we took a more 'ghost buster' style approach.... the shop vac. if you don't have one of these GET ONE! they are so useful and can be used for an array of projects, and if you were wondering, sucking up moths is one of them :)

i turned on the outside lights, luring them in with my warm light goodness, and then shop vac-ed them to their death. i stood out there for a good half hour sucking up hundreds of them. but the truth is... it didn't' even make a dent. they had a million more friends waiting for an open spot at the light.

but then, just as i was headed to the store for a bug zapper, they disappeared just as quickly as they appeared. odd... but i'm glad it's over:) perhaps i should go ahead and buy that zapper so i can be ready for them next time.

this doesn't even do it justice.

hurray!!!!

2011-05-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

well tyrell did it! he graduated on the 7th of may with his masters of business administration and we are so proud of him! he has been working full time and going to school full time for two years and at last, all that hard work has paid off! we are excited to have him around again and for our summer adventures. congratulations tyrell, we love you and are so proud!

2011-04-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

sometimes the cuteness is more than i can stand!!!!!

WANTED

2011-04-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

ok, so as previously mentioned, we went to pima for part of our spring break. and it was there, in pima, that carter had his first run-in with the law (probably just like his daddy).

at gma and gpa smith's the kids typically play in the front yard. this particular sunday morning was no different, the kids were playing outside as usual, with all the fun ride-able toys (carter's favorite). he was riding around on the big wheel and i was checking on him from time to time.

i checked on him and then proceeded to change max, get ready for church etc. after a while i went outside to check on him again, but he wasn't in the front yard. so i searched in the house, in the back yard and still no carter. i told tyrell that he was missing and we all started to look.

i couldn't see him up or down the street, i headed over to the church and looked around the lawn and around the back... but still no carter. i started heading toward the highway when some church goers, who saw that i was in search of something, asked me if i was looking for a little boy. i told them that i was, and they informed me that " the cops got him". he said it so casually i thought he was joking. so i quickly replied "it's about time they caught him. he causes a lot of trouble." i smiled, and he told me they took him up toward the tasty freeze. so all of a sudden i realize "oh, you're not joking." he reassured me that he wasn't and i started running that direction.

at this point i wasn't thinking clearly i guess i thought the police would be AT the tasty freeze, but it was sunday and i could see they were closed up ahead, and i started to wonder if i was going to have to go to the police station to pick him up. but then i spotted a cop car pull out from a side street and head down the highway. i tried to get their attention by waving my arms and yelling while i was running, but they did not see my charade. luckily they didn't go far. they stopped at a house just a little ways up (to see if the boy belonged to them) so i ran down and across the highway to let them know that HE'S MINE!

about the time i was in the middle of the highway, i saw tyrell round the corner in the 15 passenger van. he saw where i was going and we all met up with the police about the same time. the police man had a woman with him and carter was on her lap smiling at me from the window.

the cop said they saw him on the side of the highway on his big wheel (gma and gpa smith's house is only 100 yards or so from the highway). they were afraid he was going to get hit so they stopped and picked him up. he went willingly and they threw the big wheel in the back. the lady said she enjoyed holding him because he smelled so good. she told because he looked nice and clean she wasn't too worried about him (thank heaven he had had a bath that day :) they had been driving around the block to see if they could find who he belonged to. and even while she was expalining all of this to me, carter was back on the big wheel heading toward to street!

we reprimanded him, but i don't think he knew what was going on. we went back over the 'no, no' and 'yes,yes' areas of grandma's yard, but we sure kept a much closer eye on him the rest of the time.

this whole ordeal probably took place in minutes, but it was a little scary. thank heaven we were in a small town, he didn't get out onto the highway, and it was the police who picked him up and not some crazy! i am pretty sure he would have gotten in the car with anyone, and he wanders all the time.

so for the upcoming months.... we will be working on stranger danger and road safety!

hopefully this will be the only time i have to retrieve my son from the police :)

march

2011-04-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

in march we went home to AZ. we had a crazy trip which consisted of going to SJ, show low, mesa and pima. its was tyrells spring break and my good friend chuck was getting married so we headed home. we got to sj, i went with my mom and max to mesa for the wedding (which was great i have never seen a live sealing with children involved, it was touching), ty kept carter and helped his brother with their new house in showlow, then we met in globe and both went to pima ( which was the only time i took pictures). we had a fun time, riding tractor (carter didn't ride in the bucket he was more interested in sitting on grandpas lap and watching how to make the tractor work), four wheelers (we went out to red knolls and braved the wind), watching uncle flynts airplanes, crawdad fishing, and visiting with lots of friends and family. then we went back to sj for a few days. it was great to see everyone but these trips take it out of us!

in this picture i imagine they are using the buddy system to make sure it's safe to cross the street.

february

2011-04-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

so i am a few months behind so brief updates. February brought us a few snow storms, so ty had a great opportunity to shovel snow (a task he claims he really likes) and we got to take a trip to the mountains and use the chains. we made and decorated cookies for valentines day and carter is my best helper when i bake. he loves to put the ingredients in, and turn on the mixer, but most of all he likes cookie dough! and of course, our kids are adorable and we love their sweet little faces!

2011-02-10T19:44:00.000-08:00

carter's 2

2011-02-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

carter turned two in january. we had cake on his actual birthday (sunday) and then on monday we had some friends over for dinner and more cake. i always take his shirt off so he can be free to get dirty...but he is the cleanest eater. i am grateful for this skill 364 days of the year, but it is no fun on his birthday:) this little guy is so FULL of gusto and we love him!! he gets SO excited about the littlest things and i can't help but smile! he loves anything with wheels, being chased and mauled, and 'helping' his mom and dad do chores and projects. he loves to 'talk' on the phone and jabbers all day long (i am sure one day he will speak english:) he is a good big brother and we are so glad he's ours. happy birthday CADO!!!

ok, so this was my first attempt at a decorative cake and also with fondant. it went.......as you can see...just ok. but for me, the truth is, this is pretty good. i am not skilled in the ways of arts and crafts but i thought i would give it a whirl. a few problems i had consisted of: frosting the cake too close to the oven and crock pot which lead to melted frosting, the cake was not cut well and was lumpy, the fondant was rolled too thin and did not cover up the lumpiness like i had hoped, and the longer the decorating frosting bag was in my hand... the uglier the cake got. but it's the thought that counts right?

and i couldn't help but post a few pictures of the cutest boys i know:)

ps

2011-01-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

and we got family pictures while we were all together!

pss. why am i having such a problem getting the words and pictures to look good on this blog. when i type them up they don't look like they do when they are published. what's the deal?

december

2011-01-18T14:48:00.000-08:00

catching up:

this christmas we were in SJ. the first time we have been at my parents house for christmas in the 3 years we have been married. it was a special christmas too because andrew came home from his mission just weeks before. it was so great to get to see him and have him around again.

christmas eve was where the festivities began. we had a delicious meal (thanks mom) and grandama lee joined us. then afterward the kids put on the christmas nativity. it was a four star performance as you can imagine...max was baby Jesus and 'no crying he made', mary took her part very seriously, joseph wasn't wearing pants, there were some disgruntled wise men and angles, and if this picture had sound, you would be able to hear carter screaming the whole time andrew read the account from the bible. classic:)

after the nativity and a few talents, santa showed up. carter was willing to take the present from this stranger, but not willing to sit on his lap.

we all got up early christmas morning and opened presents. carter got trucks and tools and he LOVES them.
true to tradition we all got together and had toast and gravy with breakfast steaks christmas morning. we got together with extended family, and as always it was great to see everyone!

the sunday after christmas andrew reported his mission and we blessed baby max. ty did a great job but forgot to mention the priesthood. so after sacrament meeting he had to go to the bishop's office and bless him again. except that time, he forgot to give him a name. but don't worry, the third time was the charm:)

and of all the christmas activities, i would say that just dance on the wii, was one of the funnest!

we left our camera in sj so unfortunatly the rest of the trip has no pictures. but we traveled all over az. first we went to mesa to see collette and steve (the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed a day at the park). we stayed with them and also got to see my grandpa smith in phoenix (who took us to lunch at chipotle....delicious). then we went down to tucson to see melanie and shawn (where tyrell and shawn had a very heated game of monopoly). then over to pima for the new year (thanks andy and michelle for feeding us, and luke and tianna for the new years party, and of course leroy and suzie for housing us and babysitting so we could play). i got to go up the mountain for the first time after it had snowed and it was a battle to see who could make it the furthest. tyrell claims he was the winner, but brian might tell a different story.

it was really great to see everyone and we are grateful to everyone for their hospitality. but it was a lot of traveling. our boys did pretty well considering the circumstances (ie sleeping at a new house every night). they liked seeing cousins and grandparents and we came away with only mild illnesses. so all in ,it was a very successful trip to az. and we even made it home in one piece.

novembers happenings

2011-01-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

well it has been a pretty busy few months for the smith family. starting with max's arrival on november 13th...four days early. i could not have been more grateful for not having to hold our those extra four days!! we went in at 9pm on the 12th and had max at 3:42 in the morning. this labor was much more layed back and relaxed since it seemed like we, and our nurse, were the only people in the hospital, and the epidural worked until the end. which i appreciated:)

he was 8 pounds even (just like carter) and 20 inches long. he is behaving normally and growing well. we couldn't decide/agree on a name until the last minute before we left the hospital, due to my lack of alternate names, tyrell got the names he wanted. we named him maxwell flynt smith. we will just call him max, and the name seems to fit him quite nicely! tyrell reasoning was that, max smith, would look great on the back of a football jersey. i can't bring myself to tell him that usually, only the last name makes it on the jersey. sorry ty:)

in regards to his ultra sound findings... we just need to keep an eye on him to make sure he continues to meet his milestones. so far he seems to be a perfectly healthy baby boy. we are so thankful to everyone for their prayers! he is two months now and smiles a lot, which shows off his dimple. he is pretty mellow and usually only complains when he is hungry. he is a great baby and we LOVE having him. tyrell is in love and, days after max was born, declared that he would like to have another one. WHAT!! for me.... it's just too soon to be discussing such matters.

my mom came the day he was born and stayed to help us for two weeks. which included the week of thanksgiving. so my dad and spencer drove up and we had thanksgiving at our house. we made 7 pies for 5 adults...it was delicious!

suzie came for the next two weeks, and was tons of help. during which time tyrell completed taking/giving all his finals, and was able to wrap up the semester with straight A's!

tyrell had four weeks off of work and we spent two of those weeks in az. the other two weeks, tyrell spent in the garage fixing this ?#$% car :) i vaguely remember him saying he had to change head gaskets, pull the motor, replace ball joints, and a lot of other terms that mean little to me:) at least i have a few terms to throw around if i need them.

naughty or nice

2010-12-13T14:30:00.001-08:00

carter smith

age: 23 months

presents or coal?

naughty: screaming and kicking EVERY SINGLE time his diaper is changed

nice: delivering dirty nappies to the proper waste receptical (saving his mother a trip)

naughty: escaping from the house, wandering down the street, and then running from his mother during her rescue attempt (this was done while mother was 9 months pregnant and barefoot... and of course, there were spectators)

nice: kneeling and folding his arms when it's time to say prayers

naughty: trying to sit on baby max while max is eating, because HE wants to be on his mother's lap

nice: willing to give max hugs and kisses

naughty: throwing food on the floor (this is often followed by him pointing and shaking his finger at the mess while saying 'no,no,no')

nice: running to get a towel after a spill and singing "clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere" while he wipes up the mess. he also gets the broom to clean up crums (which then becomes a bigger mess as he scatters it around in his attempt to "kee, up". it's the thought that counts)

naughty: yelling "no", "mine", and "let go" at his mother

nice: saying "please moma" when he wants something (we'll count this as nice even though the tone used is often identical to that of "no", "mine", and "let go" :)

naughty or nice?

it's going to be a close call this year :)

2010-12-13T13:37:00.000-08:00

are all two year olds this cooperative?

brothers

the boys all ready for church
an outing

welcome baby max!

2010-11-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

happy halloween!

2010-11-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

what's been going on

2010-10-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

TYRELL: well ty is sad as always, to see summer go. but he did get the chance to play on the lake a lot this summer and they finally called it quits in october. he and his friend have been working on their wake boarding skills and tyrell got pretty dang good at doing wake to wake 180's and such. he finally got all of the jet skis working and shortly there after, out of necessity(freeze warnings) had to winterize them. which is exciting because we might actually get to put the cars back in the garage soon. i think the look on his face in this picture expresses both of our frustration with these things :) although... now that they are all working... it might be a little harder to sell them come next summer. they are pretty fun (but don't get me wrong... if you or someone you know finds themselves in need of some jet skis, let us know:). i am always amazed at what tyrell can fix with little or no prior experience. school, teaching, and church callings are keeping tyrell REALLY busy and i know he can't wait to have a break.

CARTER: he is learning more words, and saying short phrases. he can say 'i love you' which is so cute, but when i tell him to say 'i love you mama', he ALWAYS says 'i wu-oo dada!" dada?... come on, i mean he is nice and all, but i am the one changing all the poopy diapers :)

he loves to wear our shoes and hats. he puts them on often and has kept my closet in a continual state of disarray. he has also learned some new skills like opening and unlocking doors. this has been going on for weeks now, but it reached a new level when he learned to open the front door. one day he escaped and this picture captures what i found. diaper, mom's shoes and dad's hat. everything one might need for a public appearance:)

and this may give you a glimpse of how cool he thinks he is:)

ME: and what have i been up to? well here is a picture of me at 35 weeks and the belly tells the tale. i am waiting, and not very patiently, for the arrival of baby boy smith. i am pretty anxious about him getting here! i just realized the other day that i am complaining a lot more this time around. "tyrell... i am so uncomfortable, my back hurts, my legs are restless, everyone is having their baby before me, time is going so slowly, my skin can't possibly stretch any more, i can't sleep...etc":) tyrell confirmed this realization, and i need to be grateful that all in all, i have had really good pregnancies. i know i am a little more anxious than normal because we have had some scares along the way. i just want the baby to be here safe, sound and healthy. only time will tell. three more weeks!!!

2010-09-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

if you can ride or drive it....he will come.

and i am pretty sure it's all his fault :)

the reunion

2010-08-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

we drove to az to see family during tyrell's two week break. here are a few recaps from the reunion.

one day it rained pretty hard and we decided it was time to corral all the kids to keep them out of the mud. we put on a movie via lap-top but the sound was not loud enough. so while it was being fixed, kristen was keeping the rioting at bay by reading them all a story.

a new game called 'washers' was introduced and the guys had fun playing. carter of course was always in the way and really excelled and picking up all the washers before, during and after each persons turn.

the boys (plus nicki and me) went shooting one afternoon (off homestead land of course :)

sat and talked around the camp fire.

'got acquainted' (as my grandma would say)

and of course tyrell set up his zip line, which involved him scaling up this tree (which was impressive). all the kids LOVED it.

ty even offered rides in the rain :)

we helped out at the chicken coop showing the kids chickens and letting them pet and feed them. ty looks a little more frightened than carter.

who is completely unaware that his face is TOO CLOSE to the beak.

it was our first reunion without our favorite grandma smith, and it just wasn't the same. she loved being at the homestead and of course being surrounded by family!! you are loved and missed!

the weeds

2010-08-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

our yard is in desperate need of WORK. so one day we spent 8 hours pulling weeds (i pulled the short ones and tyrell took care of the 5 feet, tree trunk thick ones). this is just one of about 5 truck loads we hauled out of our side yard. and the sad thing is.... there is so much more to do (sigh).

cuteness

2010-08-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

1. one of carter's new tv watching spots.

2. using dad's phone to make a few calls while he is on the move. he was just scooting around the house jabbering into the phone.

3. dr. jekyll

(i think he looks A LOT like tyrell in this picture)

and mr. hyde.

i took this picture because i noticed a trend. in most pictures i take of carter, he looks like a rag-a-muffin, is in his pajamas, or modeling in his skivys. so after i got him ready for church i thought i would take a picture of him looking so handsome.

maybe we'll try again next week :)

clap your hands, stomp your feet, shout hurray

2010-07-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

carter's favorite song :)

the jet skis

2010-07-06T10:14:00.001-07:00

these FOUR... count them FOUR... jet skis are living in my garage and in my yard. and yes we are the proud co-owners of these four wonderful skis. it all happened when i was in AZ for a few weeks.

while i was there tyrell talked to me about his NEED for a stand up jet ski. i was iffy about the whole thing, but told him that if he really wanted one, and it was really that great of a deal, then he could do what he thought was best. his argument about the expenditure was that the money was not SPENT, but just TIED UP until we were able to sell them and of course... make money on them.

so that is how we acquired the two yellow jet skis. ty came to AZ for my grandma's funeral and kept asking me... 'so what would you say, if when you got home, there were a pair of jet skis in the garage?" this was of course not a good sign. remember, that this all started with the NEED for a STAND UP jet ski and when we got home, there were two SIT DOWN jet skis. his buddy brandon, with whom he went in on these skis with, talked him into the greater versatility of the sit downs (more kid and friend friendly). so this relationship between brandon and tyrell is a dangerous one, as 'mr. fix it' meets 'mr. wheel and deal'.

now these skis were purchased with the knowledge that only one of them worked well. the other ran ok, but needed some work. but after a few trips to the lake it became officially broken. to make a long story short... later there was the purchase of the two blue ones. these were of course too great a deal to pass up, and the new plan became to fix and sell the yellow ones, while we enjoyed and eventually sold the blue ones. this new pair was in the same condition.. one working, one not. but of course, soon the one working became ANOTHER broken one. there are four jet skis in my garage and only ONE of them works.

so instead of being out on the lake enjoying ourselves... tyrell can often be found in the garage taking engines apart; covered in grease, surrounded by a myriad of bolts and thing-a-ma-jigs, complaining that no one stocks the parts he needs, ordering parts on line, waiting for the mail, and since there is only one shop in pueblo who works on jet skis... planning to start up his own jet ski shop:)

carter doesn't seem to care that they don't run, as long as he gets to sit on them. and lately he decided that the fun factor can be increased exponentially if you stand up. a habit i am strongly discouraging.

the hopes and dreams of owning fun toys and enjoying the nearby lake are not working out as planned. but tyrell is of course unfazed, and glad to be able to learn about jet ski engines. he is just wishing for a more supportive and less heckling wife :)

(this is just a side note picture about the time he talked our neighbors into coming over and transferring the two working jet skis to the same trailer. no one has sued us for back injuries... yet :)

st. johns

2010-06-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

we were able to spend a few days in sj and carter had so much fun.

he played a lot out side: on the swings, with the hose, on the teeter-totter, in the sprinklers, with the dogs and cats, on the tramp, and down the slide.

carter is OBSESSED with anything with wheels and a motor. he wanted to sit on the motorcycle, the golf cart or the lawn mower the WHOLE time. he got to ride on them all and thought he was pretty awesome. anytime he heard the engine start up, he came running.

and of course, grandpa was more than willing to oblige.

water fun

2010-06-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

carter and i were in az for about two weeks and in that time, carter was able to have a lot of fun in the sun. we took he and morgan to play in this fountain, and for the first 10 minutes, he just stood there motionless watching the water go in and out. he was pretty fascinated with the mechanics of the whole thing.

and after an adequate time of examination, he decided he really loved it.

and dived in head first.

carter's warrior training

2010-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

family pictures

2010-04-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

here are more pictures of us than any of you care to see :)

a few activities

2010-04-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

1. GOING TO THE PARK:

since the weather is warming up i have been taking carter to the park. he loves the slides and the swings. but i think his favorite thing is throwing, gathering and walking in the gravel around the play ground.

2. FEEDING THE DUCKS:

we do this at the park also, but carter doesn't quite get the idea. he always eats the bread i give him and also gathers the bread i throw. this particular goose decided that he was going to take it right out of his hand if he had to.

3. FALLING:

carter falls ALL the time. and lately he has been falling on his face. this picture does not adequately show all the scrapes and bruises, but trust me there are plenty. he insists on walking/running full speed everywhere and if there is anything to trip on along the way (or even if there is not) he will find it. hopefully he will survive his childhood. (his nose is not dirty, those are old healing battle wounds)

4. SNAKE HUNTING:

we had seen a rattle snake around our house when we first bought it. so when tyrell spotted this poor snakes head peaking out from under our step, we were sure it was a rattle snake. but it wasn't until after the beheading, and his whole body revealed, that we realized he was just a bull snake. sorry little guy. i guess this is just one more lesson in avoiding the appearance of evil :)

snow

2010-03-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

so we took carter to the snow for his first sledding experience. the day we decided to go was a very foggy day here in pueblo, and it was even worse as we went up the mountain to rye, toward san isabel. but just before we got to the lake, we had made it above the clouds, and it was a beautiful sunny day. it had snowed the day before and we were the first ones out on the hills. there were ice fisherman on the lake and the chunks they had cut out were 2 feet thick.

carter of course had to be bundled up and he looked pretty cute in his warm clothes but i am sure inside he felt like the boy on 'the christmas story'.

ty took him on the sled

and since it was hard for him to walk in the snow, i assisted his exploration by hanging on to his hood. it provided the necessary stabilization since our gloves prevented us from holding hands.

but despite all our help during this new experience, he didn't seem all that excited about the snow.

so after a few cold face plants,

and a mild wreck on the sled,

he was begging us to go home.

perhaps next year he will have a little more fun :)

carter turned one

2010-02-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

carter turned one on january 16th (the same day as his great-grandmother lee's 90th birthday party). we celebrated with grandma katy and did a little cake afterward. he didn't dig in like i had hoped. instead, he carefully ran his fingertips through the frosting in a petting motion.

at his one year dr. appointment, he measured in at 29 inches and weighed about 24 pounds (now putting him in the 75% instead of the 90%).

he is so much fun and i can't believe all the things babies are able to learn in a year. i can't get enough of his laugh, his babbling, or his cheesy smiles. i love his wobbly walk and the sheer joy on his face as he gets around on his own two legs. i love to watch his concentration as he plays with his toys and figures out how they work or new things to do with them.

before i had kids, my dad would always tell me that, "you can't imagine the love you have for your own children." and it's true, i adore this kid and am SO proud when he learns even the littlest thing. and on the rare occasion, when he will rest his head on me while i rock him to sleep, all his misdeeds of the day are forgotten and my heart feels full.

ca'do, we love you... more than you know.

for the grandmothers

2010-02-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

carter is mobile and he loves it!

ps. thanks grandma smith for the truck!

"i've got rythm... i've got music..."

2010-01-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

carter loves to dance when he hears a good beat. the video is a little long (sorry i was too lazy to edit it) but if you think it's as cute as i do, (which i am sure no one does... except maybe my dad who made carter his own dance CD) you'll want to watch the whole thing:)

" get in my belly!!"

2009-11-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

we may need to start working on table manners before thanksgiving.

update

2009-11-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

so we just got the internet a few days ago and it's great to be reconnected with the world. as you all know, we have spent the last month fixing up our new house and we are finally in. we moved on halloween and want to thank everyone for their help in fixing up our house and also in moving us!!

it was carter's first halloween and as you can guess we were too busy with other things to think about dressing our kid up. but thanks to my friend trisha (who gave us a lion costume), carter was able to be a lion for halloween. ok, so really he was only a lion for about two seconds. he didn't care for his costume and since it was pretty big, i released him from the torture. but not before i got a few pictures.

we weren't able to finish everything before we moved in but it's a work in progress. we still have holes in some of the walls, flooring missing and a whole list of other projects, but we are not suffering. i am almost growing fond of the cardboard flooring in the hall :) when we moved in we didn't have any appliances in the kitchen because the floor was not finished. but by the end of the first week ty finished the kitchen floor and put in all the appliances. having the kitchen completed has made all the difference! we are loving our new house and it provides us with a continuous project, i guess that is the beauty of home ownership. the following posts have a million pictures of the house so sorry. i only post them because some have asked for them and most people who read this live very far away, so here you go.

oh and one last funny story. last night tyrell and i went to a baptism. carter was with us and because i had to play the piano, it was tyrell's job to take the baby out when he was fussy. and boy was he fussy. tyrell was outside with him nearly the entire baptism, during which, you could periodically hear carter crying. but it was when tyrell took carter into the bathroom to change him that it became embarrassing. the bathroom is of course, connected to the baptismal font, so when they were in there you could hear carter crying really well (carter does NOT like his diaper changed, so by the sound of things, he was putting up a good fight).

mean while, in the service...we were singing the closing song. at this point, i was trying not to smile too much while i was playing the piano. the song ended but the crying did not. it was then time for the closing prayer (and of course the silence made the crying that much more obvious and awkward), and to conclude the prayer, the missionary prayed "and bless the baby that he will be happy.... amen" . it was pretty funny and i could feel my face turn red as i tried not to laugh out loud.

before and after

2009-11-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

dining area

our bathroom

our bedroom

(which is hard to take pictures of but here is the south west corner from the doorway)

the kitchen

(which looked a lot bigger with out the fridge)

the front bathroom

2009-11-16T08:08:00.001-08:00

this is what it originally looked like. the floor is white linoleum covered by stick on square linoleum which was coming up and smelled like urine.

once we got that floor up we found the mold on the OSB

so tyrell had to cut a chunk of it out and replace it

the cement board down and ready for tile

tile in

the finished product

ready for visitors!

the front room

2009-11-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

the continued progression of the front room

it's still a work in progress but we are liking it so far

the tile

2009-10-19T07:52:00.001-07:00

it was always understood that when i married, it had to be to a handy man. i have five brothers and while some are more handy than others, lets just say handiness is lacking in my family. so when i met tyrell, i knew he would fit the bill.

he is handy alright, and it is really nice to have someone who can fix things (especially because i have a tendency to break things). after we bought the house and made the decision to fix it up, tyrell was sure he could do all the improvements himself. now the improvements we wanted to make, also included things he had never done before, and one of those things was tiling.

my mom was a lot of help and came up to get us started. she was here to tell us what supplies we would need and the basics of tiling. but unfortunately we had to send her back to AZ before we actually started.

so last friday we were finally in a position to lay tile. after tyrell had asked all the questions he thought he needed, he started mixing the thin set. i was not at the house when he started and when i arrived at the house he was a bit frantic. he was trying to mix the thin set in a 5 gallon bucket with an old piece of baseboard. he was stirring with all his might (because at this point the mixture was barely moist at all) and complaining that the ratio of thin-set to water on the bag was not correct. i read the instructions and asked if he has added the right amount of water. after realizing that he had only put half as much as it called for, we added the rest of the water (and a bit more) and the thin set was still pretty dry and lumpy.

(don't let the smile fool you... this was a real low point)

so as always, my mother was called ( because she is our point of reference) and we asked what consistency the thin -set should be. she told us it should be "cream of wheat-y". well this is a pretty relative reference and after talking to her we called my friend chuck. he told us it should be the consistency of peanut butter. so after we spoke to our food relating references, we took our lumpy thin- set and laid the cement board. (we were on a time crunch because you only have two hours of working time once you start mixing the thin-set)

anyway after a long process, with lots of questions, lots of... 'i don't knows', some yelling,

a few mild explitives,

and some referencing to the flooring book,

he was finally able to lay the first tile.

and after a whole days work... he was able to lay three tiles. learning is a long process.

upon my suggestion he went to the class they have at home depot the next day. he was able to ask all his questions and get a visual (non food related) idea of the correct consistency of thin set. i think that this next week laying tile should be a little easier.

thanks tyrell for being so talented!!

later: adventures in framing, drywall and electrical.

carter

2009-10-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

so carter has been drug to the hosue everyday and had some new experiences. he has been pretty good and i am sure has enjoyed:

1. playing in the middle of the construction zone in his exersaucer, while learning about framing and dry wall.

2. being strapped to a folding chair for lunch

3. playing in his pack and play with a paint stirring stick

4. and i think his all time favorite.... playing on a card board box with the new wood flooring.

even though he has had to endure working on the new house, (don't call CPS yet -well if you hadn't already due to the broken leg) we are still finding time to:

1. eat delicious meals at home. (and flash the new teeth) he loves feeding himself and is getting really good at it.

2. enjoy taking baths

3. play before bed

4. and hang out with dad (look at those cheesy smiles)

he got his cast off on the 9th of october! free at last.

the house

2009-10-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

so that house we put a bid on a few posts ago, is now ours! well it has been for several weeks, and has been consuming our lives. we are remodeling a little, painting everything, and replacing all the flooring. so here are some pictures of the progression of the front room.

i think we are really going to like it when we are finished!

in here we painted, tore out the closet and added a half wall

couple quiz

2009-10-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

♥ What are your middle names? wayne (my grandpas name.. wayne smith) and mine is now lee
♥ How long have you been together? 22 months
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? well we met when we were 15ish in st. johns over the 24th, and then never saw each other until he asked me out in 2007. so if you count that, we could say about 11 years. if you don't, then it was sort of a blind date deal.
♥ Who asked who out? He asked me upon encouragement from my cousin (his sister-in-law). i was just another tally mark on his goal to go out with 100 girls. he claims he was doing this to follow the counsel of an apostle (you know create a dating pool). i personally think this may have been a bit excessive, and i think my number was somewhere in the 50's. once we decided we were 'together' he was glad he didn't have to add another 50 to his list.
♥ Who made the first move? He did but it took a long time. we were dating for a while (traveling back and forth from az to ca) and my dad asked me if he had kissed me yet. when i told him that he had not my dad asked, 'what is he... gay?". not your normal fatherly reaction perhaps, but apparently my dad thought it took too long.
♥ Did you go to the same school? Nope i was an ASU sun devil and he was a EA gilla monster/CSU-P thunder wolf
♥ Are you from the same home town? no, i am from st. johns and he is from pima
♥ Who is the smartest? i would say that it depends on the area of knowledge...
♥ Who majored in what? i majored in nursing and tyrell majored in automotive industry management
♥ Who is the most sensitive? depends on the time of the month (this is tyrell's answer)
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? we don't go out to eat much but we like johnny carinos.
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? from michigan to ithaca to palmyra, to kirtland, to colorado, to arizona. that was a really long drive but we also went to cancun last summer. it was great.
♥ Who has the worst temper? I do hands down. i have yet to see tyrell loose his.
♥ How many children do you want? four to five.
♥ Who does the cooking? If there is anything cooked in this house it is because i made it. tyrell hates to cook. a reality he did not reveal until after we were married.
♥ Who is more social? i would say we are tied.
♥ Who is the neat-freak? tyrell is a neater freak than i (although i would consider myself neat). he loves buying organizers and is still trying to teach me that everything has it's place. i'm not buying it :)
♥ Who is the most stubborn? again that would be me.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? tyrell i am not a morning person at all.
♥ Where was your first date? we climbed the locked fence to play raquetball in the outdoor racquetball courts. and don't worry i beat him :)
♥ Who has the bigger family? Me, his family has 5 kids and mine has 6.
♥ Do you get flowers often? i wouldn't say often, but i do for special occasions, anniversary or birthday.
♥ How do you spend the holidays? Well, we have been married for two christmas's and i have worked both of them. but not this year... from here on out we are spending holidays with our families!
♥ Who is more jealous? We aren't the jealous type
♥ How long did it take to get serious? 3 months i think
♥ Who eats more? i think i do
♥ What do you do for a living? tyrell teaches at the university and i am a stay at home mom taking a break from nursing (at the hospital not the feeding your baby kind)
♥ Who does/did the laundry? i do most of the laundry but tyrell helps out every now and again
♥ Who’s better with the computer? ty
♥ Who drives when you are together? ty
♥ What is "your" song? we don't have one.

it's broken?

2009-09-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

well it has already begun. carter at the age of seven months has broken his first bone. he was a victim of neglect, as his mother left him on the bed unattended, from which he fell off and broke his femur. and his parents, being the caring and loving parents that they are, didn't even take him to the doctor until 5 days later. in our defense, he didn't cry enough to evoke panic or serious concern in either of us or his maternal grandmother (she was here when it happened). he cried the first day (but not a 'i broke my leg' cry) and we discovered that he would not put weight on his left leg when held in the standing position. but as the day progressed he seemed to be doing much better and we decided to wait and see how he felt the next day. there was no redness, bruising, swelling, deformity, he could move his leg and all his joints, and i was not able to locate a particular point of pain as i squeezed up and down his leg. so we waited. his behavior was mostly normal (note that he was also teething and had a diaper rash at this time) but still no weight on the leg. so when the flamingo stance thing didn't go away, we went to the doctor. after an xray, the doctor came in and told me his femur was broken.... after i realized that he wasn't joking, i felt terrible. poor kid, we had been squeezing and moving that poor leg around for days trying to diagnose what was wrong. i know i am possibly the worst mother i know. i saw the xrays and it was a break all the way across his femur right above his knee. thank heaven it was above the growth plate and the doctors say he should heal normally and will have no future problems. the next day we went to an orthopedic doctor (who told us he had a bi-cortical buckle fracture) and they casted his poor chubby leg. he held perfectly still and just like before he didn't even cry.

so this is carter while his leg was broken, but before we knew. he was still moving all around on it when it was broken (another reason i thought that for sure it wasn't broken).

this is carter at lake powell the day after he got his cast. he was a great baby the whole time and he didn't seem to mind hanging out in the pack and play.

and this is carter after he wiggled out of his cast. thankfully it was the day we already had an appointment.

and this is carter with his new removable splint. after we went to the doctor they said it was healing great and he was already making new bone. his skin was really red behind his knee so they decided to put the splint on so i can take it off, bathe him, and put cream on his poor skin. i think he likes his few moments of freedom.

the cast has not slowed him down; he scoots, and rolls, and sits, gets on his hands and knees and shimmies all over the place. the cast doesn't seem to bother him and for that i am grateful. hopefully he will only need it for a few more weeks. we love you carter

arizona

2009-09-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

so right after we found a place to live in colorado, we threw our stuff in the rental and headed to az. i'll give you the abbreviated version.

we went to st. johns for the 24th of july celebration. it was tons of fun and we got to see a lot of family and friends. we stayed the following week also and even got to take a trip to lyman lake. it was cloudy and windy the whole time and we had 6 children under the age of 5 but we had a great time and no one drowned. so i would say it was a success.

then it was off to the valley for lake fun, visiting and shopping.
lyman was carters first lake experience. he did well and his second was at lake saguaro. it was also fun and tyrell even took carter for his first lake swim.

while we were in the valley i was able to find carter an adorable blessing outfit (it was a three piece suite). great grandma and grandpa smith were the first to see it.

then it was on to pima for a week and carter's baby blessing. we had lots of family and friends in town and it was a beautiful blessing. but because carter fell asleep, and it was REALLY hot, and everyone was getting ready to go home right after sacrament meeting, we only managed to get two pictures of the occasion. and then we lost our camera which is why the rest of the trip was not documented. (but don't worry it was later discovered at ty's parents in one of the chair cushions.)

and the big scrape on carters head was a mysterious cousin/chair accident from the day before.

we had fun in pima and from there went to lake powell. and of course that was a great time. carter did get a little chaffed, which caused some pain and crying but it was minimal and he didn't seem to mind staying under the canape the next day.

so we are now in pueblo, most of our things are out of boxes, and we are getting adjusted. it has been pretty easy since we have been here before and already know people.

our friends have taken us out on their boat several times and during one of those trips carter got his first sun burn. he didn't seem to mind too much.

we put a bid on a home here in pueblo and are waiting to hear if we got it or not. here's hoping. ty's job is proving more time consuming than he originally thought. mainly because there was not any material for him to work with. so he is basically starting from scratch the first week of school. he is keeping his head above water and thankfully he has said, even though it is horribly busy right now, he thinks he is really going to like this job. he is getting paid to learn. hopefully he will have things a little more together before he starts school himself in a few weeks. things are crazy around here but we are hanging in there. wish us luck!

moving across the country

2009-08-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

so tyrell found out he got the job in june and we moved the middle of july. it was short notice but everything worked out really well.

this is (well i guess i should say WAS) our adorable michigan house. we moved to michigan without a place to live and were so blessed to find this cute house. it was a great place to live and in a great neighborhood. we had a great landlord/neighbor, it was in a great ward, and it was 3 miles from work and stores. we enjoyed it. but all good things must come to an end.

this move was very similar to the last. we rented a penske truck. packed all our things in boxes. and had tons of help from the ward. thanks to everyone who helped us move we really appreciated it!!!

as moving day grew closer i got more and more sad to leave michigan. i just kept thinking of all the things i liked about it (the spring flowers, the green trees, the changing colors in the fall, our back yard, the squirrels, our friends etc.). we were just getting settled and comfortable, you know? and i was especially sad to leave our adolescent garden. it was just starting to develop and there were lots of small fruits and vegetables. too bad we would never get to harvest them. but our neighbor told me he would take care of it and enjoy it. i hope he did.

so this was our rig and it was pretty huge. tyrell did a great job driving us across the country and in traffic. it was a little stressful for him but we made it safely.

we all rode in the truck together which was nice. i think carter liked it because he could see us the whole time and we could play with him. the diesel was really loud (which made it necessary to turn the volume way up, so we could listen to our books on tape) and a really rough ride. so i was worried that perhaps between the two, carter might have a little hearing damage and shaking baby syndrome. luckily, he has not shown signs of either. he did really well and i am grateful that he is such a great traveler.

we drove the distance in two days. we stayed the first night in omaha nebraska and the next (thursday) at the beardsleys in pueblo co. it was nice to move where we knew people and it was great to have a place to stay. we house hunted the next day and found a place friday night. it was the last place of the day. we moved in the following monday and we were so grateful to again have help from our new ward. i was surprised but we had 8 men out to help at 8 on monday morning. it only took an hour to unload the truck. and unfortunatly our belongings looked a little weary from the journey. moving is not good for your furniture.

i am so grateful that we have been so blessed to find places to live so quickly. so we only have to be homeless for a few days. the only mishap was that my cell phone got left at the hotel in omaha; but don't worry, they mailed it to us.

ithaca, palmyra and kirtland

2009-08-18T07:45:00.001-07:00

so much has happened since the last post. i will catch you up in chunks at a time, starting with our last weekend in michigan.

the last weekend we were in michigan, we decided to take our chances with the weekend trip again, and visit palmyra and kirtland. we also decided to visit ithaca ny (the place where i had lived in the summer of 2002) while we were in the vacinity (a 1,000 mile trip in two days). so we drove to ithaca first thing saturday morning and for a few hours, enjoyed the beautiful scenery. i also enjoyed reminiscing and seeing places i remembered. the fingerlake region is soooo beautiful. i can't imagine how sad the saints were to leave such a pretty place.

that afternoon we headed to palmyra for the hill cumorah pageant. it was great and tyrell enjoyed it, but it was cut short by a rain storm. it had been raining most of the day but it had cleared up and the show started. about half way through, the clouds were rolling in and the lightening started. ty suggested that we head to the car before the rain fell. which was a great idea because we were only about 50 feet from our car when the down pour started, people started running for their cars and the pageant paused. so we rushed to get the baby and our stuff in the car. carter and i dived in the front while tyrell handled the stroller. and judging by all the screaming from the back, this was no simple task (because our trunk was really full). so we sat there and waited with everyone else to see if the rain would subside. when it didn't, they canceled the pageant and we headed to our camping site at the fairgrounds (as un-enchanting as it sounds but it was close and cheap so we didn't really care). we got there and figured out how to set up our new tent, and thankfully the rain had stopped. as i was looking around i realized that i didn't know where our suite case was. so i asked tyrell if he had put it somewhere and when it was no where to be found, i thought of a possible location.

MISHAP #1. "tyrell, when you were loading the stroller into the trunk as we were frantically trying to get out of the rain, did you take out the suitcase?" he gave me a look and said "i'll be right back." so after we had a good laugh, he headed out to the pageant parking lot (which was actually a grass field) to look for our suitcase. he had taken it out to put the stroller in and in his haste had forgotten to put the suit case back in. so i sat imagining the site of an empty field with a lone red suitcase in the middle, and mourning over it's poor soaked contents. luckily for us, someone had spotted this unlikely item and taken it to security, so it was easily found and luckily the clothes inside were not wet!!!

the next morning we went to church then to the smith farm and the sacred grove. carter was having a hard time because he was not sleeping very well so because i had been there before, ty went and saw the sites and i stayed in the car with sleeping carter.

we then headed home by way of kirtland ohio. we were able to do the tour of the kirtland temple and we enjoyed learning both about the history of the temple and a little about the church of christ (who own the temple). we were only there an hour or so until we needed to head home. all in all it was a great trip, but a bit rushed. we were glad we did it and took advantage of the relative nearness of the church sites before we moved back west.

next post.... the move

the day trip--- our nemesis

2009-06-30T18:58:00.001-07:00

since we are leaving, tyrell and i have been trying to see a little more of michigan before we go. we got some suggestions and decided to go to pinckney state park. we packed up and headed out, ready for some beautiful scenery, picnicking and swimming. we got to our destination and drove around the area. it was really pretty and there were many small lakes connected by rivers. there were also a lot of pretty lake houses in the area (we were a bit jealous). near the state park was the town of hell.

we visited hell and discovered that the town only consists of a store, a bar/restaurant, a halloween themed souvenir shop, and lots of signs for picture taking. apparently naming your town something funny is enough to draw a crowd.

but what would a trip with the smiths be like with out a little mishap. i mean come on, our misfortune is what makes this blog worth reading right?

when we first moved to michigan we had several incidents which involved locking the keys in the car. since this time, we have developed a system. tyrell often forgets to lock the doors, so when i get out and see that he has not locked them, i ask if he has the keys. if he says yes, then i go ahead and lock the doors. on this day the routine was the same. we had everything out and ready to go, tyrell changed into his swimming suite, the baby was in the stroller, we had our lunch, our towels, and our sunscreen. so as usual, i asked tyrell if he had the keys, he said that he did, so i locked and shut the doors. the sound of the door closing must have jarred his memory, because a second later, he realized that they were in the shorts out of which he had just changed. and of course the cell phones were in the car as well. we headed toward the shore and set up camp anyway and had something to eat. ty then went to get some help from the store. and to yet again make a long story short: ty found a hanger and tried the ole' unlock the car with the hanger trick but to no avail, we waited in the parking lot for hours for the wrecker to show up, wrecker never came, hiked to the ranger station for help, discovered that the wrecker was never called, rangers called wrecker, waited some more, wrecker arrived, got us in and charged a pretty penny (and of course this was the worst part for tyrell:). once we were in, we just decided to head home, annoyed and sunburned. we didn't even get to swim.... sad.

"i think i'm getting the black lung pop"--zoolander

2009-06-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

a big week

2009-06-18T11:49:00.001-07:00

1. wagons west!

we had an eventful week last week which started out with the official letter offering tyrell a teaching position at CSU-Pueblo. many of you knew that ty had applied for the position in december (at the suggestion of one of the career ladies at CSU-P), but we had given up on them since there was no news six months later. so we planned on staying in michigan for another year. just about the time we had settled into the idea of staying, we heard from them and ty is so excited. we are grateful for this opportunity and ty really looks forward to teaching (and having the summers off). we are also very excited about being closer to home.

2. new do

i cut 9 inches off my hair, and i love it. sorry no exciting pictures

3. the great lakes

ty got a ford fusion for the week and we decided to take a trip to lake erie. it is amazing how big these lakes are. it looks just like the ocean, waves, beach and all. it was cloudy and a bit cold, but it was great to get out and see the lake and sterling state park. there are a million parks here and we haven't been to many. hopefully we will be able to see some before we leave.

and from the look on carter's face he was very excited to be there:)

4. birthday party

last saturday was ty's 27th birthday. the neighbors told me about a golf course that lets you golf for free on your birthday. so ty, john, and our neighbor rich went out (i came along to take pictures and drive the cart, i am really good at it). it was a beautiful course and although their golfing was not 'up to par' it was fun, and best of all, it was FREE.

then that evening we had a party. we invited the ward and the neighbors. we had food (thanks to all who contributed) and ty set up the zip line. the kids absolutely LOVED it. lots of people came and it turned out to be really fun.

the best was when our neighbor came over with a case of beer (for himself) and a bottle of wine as a gift. he handed the bottle to ty and said, "mark told us that you don't drink so we brought you some wine." :) ty thanked them and told them we would put it up on the shelf next to the bottle the other neighbors gave us when we moved here. they were very thoughtful and we are truly grateful for our nice neighbors!!

the missionaries gave ty a great gag gift. they bought him a jousting outfit which included: a foam hockey helmet, a shield with the dragon form of maleficent (from sleeping beauty) on it, a stick horse, and a broom handle with two cardboard arrows taped to the end (to be used as a jousting stick). it was hilarious, and at the suggestion of our neighbor, ty strapped on his gear and the harness and the kids pulled him up the zip line. he rode down shield up and jousting stick ready.

but the highlight of tyrell's birthday was when our neighbor offered to let us ride his harley. the weather was beautiful, they watched carter for us, and it was a great ride. thanks rich!

i got ty an air compressor but as you can imagine it was not the one he wanted. well at least i tried. thanks ty for being born.... i love you!

a little car trouble

2009-06-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

so as previously mentioned, priscilla was in an accident. she got banged up pretty badly, but lucky for us, tyrell knows how to fix things.

he and our friend john worked on it and slowly but surely, got everything bent back into shape. thanks a lot john for all your help!! and once tyrell found all the parts...

he put her back together again. she looks as good as new. and my king of cheap (thank you heather) wants me to add, that his car fixing skills turned this $4,500 budget buster into a $360 repair (hopefully this is a big enough savings to make the smith family christmas letter:).

in the mean time.... we also had a problem with the truck. it had had starter trouble since it nearly left us stranded on our honey moon (i have since discovered that car trouble on the honey moon is a smith boy tradition). but this trouble was few and very far between. there were just a few times in the last year that it wouldn't start, and each time, ty would quickly have us back on our way.

but then it started to do it more and more often after priscilla got hit. it was our only vehicle, and for a while there, i had to push start it every where i went. i was getting really good at doing it by myself. i learned to always park on a slant. and there were several times where a good samaritan detected my need for help and gave me a push. so after a week or so, (which had allowed me ample time to accumulate a long list of hilarious/embarrassing pushing the truck all over detroit stories. and to learn a valuable lesson on push starting, according to tyrell) ty finally got in there to fix the problem he thought would be quick and easy. but to make a long story short after buying new tools, lifting the engine, and lowering the front axel he was able to replace the starter.

so for a while there we had gone from 3 working vehicles to 0 working vehicles in a matter of months. but thanks to ty, we are all back up and running:)

new tricks

2009-06-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

here is our cute young 'dog' learning new tricks. and as you can tell from our cheers, we were much more excited than he was. it is amazing how such a simple thing can be so fun. i love our little man!

the burbs

2009-06-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

as reliably as the ground hog announces spring, in michigan, the shirtless men doing yard work announce the arrival of summer. while i do not always appreciate this partially dis-robbed scenery, i do enjoy that summer brings people out of their houses. and in our neighborhood, that means that you get to see and visit with the friendly neighbors frequently.

we sent ty up another tree with a chain saw (this time per my request) to trim a few branches off the trees in our front yard. they needed to be cleaned up. so ty busted out the tall ladder that swayed back and forth every time he ascended to a higher rung, and he began trimming. but it didn't take long for this spectacle to draw a crowd. now i don't know if it is the hum of power tools that draw the neighbor hood men over, but every time tyrell is out working on something, our neighbors come over to investigate. they initially come out and assess the situation, and then before you know it, they are offering their services, their tools, a reference to a buddy they know who does these sorts of things etc. it was no different with the tree. they brought out their chain saws and clippers and started cutting the fallen branches so they could be taken to the back yard.

as ty was up there we had people stop as they were driving by, walking by, and people coming out of their houses to watch the branches come down. nothing like afternoon entertainment at the neighbors. and most fortunately no one fell or was dismembered:) we like living on parker street, thanks to all our nice neighbors.

the cutest!

2009-06-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

carter is four and a half months now. at his doctors office a few weeks ago, he was in the 90th% for weight, 75th% for height, and barely scrapping the 50th% for head circumference. so i have a little fat kid with a tiny head... and he is the cutest thing i have ever seen.

at least we think so:)

green thumb

2009-05-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

so we got into the spirit of spring/early summer and decided to try our green thumbs. we bought flowers to plant along with fruits and vegetables. so for family home evening a few weeks ago we put the plants in the ground. and as you can imagine, tyrell had a great time using the rodda tiller. you would not believe how wonderful the soil is here. for the garden we just took the grass off and tilled it up and it was rich dark soil with plenty of worms. we planted begonias, coleus, and a hydrangea in the front, along with the pansies i got from church on mothers day.

the garden has 8 tomato plants, 6 cucumbers (we lost two) 4 lettuce, 4 green bell peppers, 4 yellow bell peppers, 4 red bell peppers, and 4 green chilies. and i am pretty sure that is too many vegetables for a 10'x3' piece of ground. in a smaller spot we have watermelon and strawberries. we also have a raspberry bush that has not yet found a home. carter came out to join us and was an adorable spectator throughout the whole thing. lets just pray that they all survive!

spring

2009-05-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

so spring in michigan is beautiful. there were blossoms and tulips everywhere. when i went to az last month it was winter and when we got home, spring had sprung. all the blossoms and tulips are gone now, but there are so many beautiful flowers and every one's yards are full of pansies, iris, lilacs, and begonias. (there are many more types of flowers but those listed have exhausted my floral vocabulary). anyway, it's green and beautiful. it's amazing what rain can do.

a few tid bits

2009-05-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

after contemplating a good while on what he should do with this new object...

suddenly it was so clear :)

tyrell got in an accident last night. he was on his way to test for his ASE certifications (mechanic certification), a dog was in the road, the guy in front of him slammed on his brakes, and ty plowed into the back of an old pick up truck. but it turned out pretty well as far as accidents go. no one got hurt, the dog survived :), ty didn't get a ticket, nothing happened to the truck he hit, and turns out the guy in the truck was also on his way to the ASE testing. so he gave ty a ride and ty felt good about the majority of his test. so i guess the poor toyota is the only casualty. my poor little car (Priscilla)!!!! too bad he wasn't in the already dented truck :(

turns out that this month... binkies are out and thumbs are all the rage :)

carter has a little trouble with volume control. he has learned that he can scream and he must love the sound of his new voice, because he lies there and hollers all day.

2009-05-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

carter and i got back from our two week visit in AZ last weekend. it was carter's 'coming out' and he was able to meet so many friends and family. it was two weeks full of grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and cousins galore. i was mortified about flying with carter but he did really well. there was just one incident on the flight from detroit to phoenix. from the time we boarded to the time we took off he was screaming bloody murder. and when he gets like that, only sleep will calm his rage. so everyone is trying to board, rolling their eyes as they realize they are near the screaming baby, the flight attendant was trying to walk with him but nothing was helping. so people shuffled seats and a very nice woman named jan volunteered to sit with us and help me. i was very grateful to her and for her moral support (truly an answer to my prayers). we got the middle seat next to us vacant and once the plane tool off, carter fell asleep and was an angel the rest of the way. it worked out well because he was able to clear the area and we got more room and nice neighbors. and on the flight home everyone complimented me on how good my baby was. thank heaven!!! thanks to everyone who traveled and took time out to visit us and to all who fed and transported us!! we really appreciate it. poor tyrell was home alone for two weeks. when we got home he had the house sparkling and flowers waiting. he was really glad to see us and we were glad to see him too. next time we'll bring him along to have some AZ fun!

we got robbed

2009-04-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

carter had his first easter! we colored eggs on saturday and went to the park to play catch and hit softballs. we hit grounders and fly balls for the other to field, for as long as carter would sit quietly in his stroller (not that long). but after ward i told tyrell that i could not believe how slow i had become (this reality was manifested by my inability to get under any fly balls that were not hit directly to me). he confirmed that "yep, you are pretty slow." well, i suppose this honest statement should be motivation to stop eating the moose tracks and rice crispy treats and start getting some strength and stamina back.

on sunday, the easter bunny found us and we also went to our friends house for easter dinner. i had the assignment to make salad and a dessert. so i made the salad and decided to make chocolate covered brownies for dessert. i made the brownies and once they were done baking, i needed them to cool. since it was 40 degrees outside, i decided to put it out on the ledge by our front door. when i went back to check on them, i found that i was being robbed. and i caught them red handed. i opened the door, he paused with a piece of brownie in his mouth, we made eye contact, and he and his little feathered accomplice ran for it. well... at least i got a good look at him, and i think i could pick him out of a line-up if i had to. i suppose it is just another lesson learned the hard way; squirrels can not be trusted. so much for easter brownies.

carter has been working on a few skills lately. his piano lessons with mom are coming along nicely. and most importantly, his circus routine with dad is nearing perfection. watch out barnum and bailey.

2009-04-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

Several down- a few more to go!
I've done the items in bold
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars-out on ben's land (at least that is whose i thought it was) by lyman lake with the scary abandoned house.
3. Played in a band - i was always the last chair in middle school, i played the claironet and saxophone, all my friends played the trumpet
4. Visited Hawaii- my favorite vacation ever, Gina and i had a great time
5. Watched a meteor shower- at lake powell, atop a house boat, with my then adorable boyfriend, tyrell.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo- several, all of which have been emotioanlly scaring, and i have since sworn to never do it again.
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning- luckily... no
17. Been to the Statue of Liberty- well i stood on the shore to see it.. we didn't have time to go in.
18. Grown your own vegetables- indirectly with my family and this year we are going to have a garden in our back yard
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on a train- when we went to spain
21. Had a pillow fight- ammon used to always smash the pillow into the bottom of the pillow case, so that it was hard and hurt when he hit you. jerk :)
22. Hitch hiked- that is how gina and i got around oahu... it was awesome and we didn't even get killed
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill- i like to call it a personal day
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping- in ithaca NY... lindy made me do it...
27. Run a Marathon- no thank you
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - only at Gany Ranch
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run- well i don't think it was my hit that made the home run. it was the series of errors by the other team... but i'll take it.
32. Been on a cruise - no but i almost did once
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person- they were beautiful, but the trip was a disaster (reference previous blogs for details)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors- uh, my grandpa was born in nutrioso and i have been there... does that count?
35. Seen an Amish community- we went to intercourse
36. Taught yourself a new language- pig latin?
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - i took a class for about 2 weeks; didn't love it. i suppose we only ever climbed in the gym, perhaps it is more fun outside.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke-only in front of lisa steadman.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing- in the cook islands and mexico
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud - four wheeling after a good rain was so much fun
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business- no but my husband would love to do this... i think it is scary
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies- if i did i am pretty sure all the thin mints would have never made it for sale
62. Gone whale watching- well we saw some whales while we were deep sea fishing
63. Got flowers for no reason- but not nearly enough :)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Tied a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone - i am going to count my teeth
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - chris hower might still have my claw marks on his chest
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car- i am pretty sure tyrell will never let this happen :)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating- i couldn't bring myself to actually cut off the chicken's head but i did de-feather and gut it. it's the same with the fish, my dad has to hit them over the head with his pliers and then i can clean them. i would rather just be an accomplice.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - i saved carter from a basketball heading toward his face...
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee- in the middle school lunch room.
100. Visited Italy

not exactly a sound sleeper

2009-04-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

the chase

2009-03-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

the other day i was putting carter down for his morning nap. he had fallen asleep in my arms and i was extending my sweet lullaby and swaying to ensure true slumber before i put him down. that is when i heard the garbage truck. the garbage comes on tuesday mornings and when i heard it i knew i had to act fast. tyrell will usually put it out on tuesday mornings as he is heading to work (the neighbor's trash on the street reminds him that today is the day). but i knew he had failed this tuesday because he was running late.

so i quickly put the baby down, put on a shirt and headed to the back door. i grabbed the trash can and ran to the street. it was at this point that i had to quickly evaluate the situation. was the truck coming or going? are the neighbors cans emptied? ok, it's going and yes they are, the truck has already past my house. ok, should i... take the trash can to the back yard because it is too late? do i yell? do i run? and that is when i knew what to do. i was not going to be the victim of trash over flow. so i yelled 'hey' to catch their attention and started running toward them with my trash can... in my pajamas and bare feet. i am sure this provided the garbage men with a good laugh. they were very nice and rewarded my charade by taking my trash and sent me home with an empty can.

it was almost as bad as the time i chased the mail lady waving my netflix video in the air. she was wearing head phones so i had to yell a lot more and chase her a lot further. she didn't seem to like the idea and ensured me that she would be down my side of the street in a minute. woops!

i suppose it is my sj upbringing (where the garbage man never leaves his truck and the mail is delivered to a box), which has left me unable to properly interact. i am sure all future service workers will be warned of the crazy lady on parker street.

2009-03-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

i am pleased to announce.... that my adorable baby boy slept 8 hours straight last night! this is the third time in the last three weeks he has done this and i felt it was worthy of public praise (in hopes that such positive feedback and recognition will encourage the lad to make it a habit:).

he has also accomplished a few other things i thought i should mention.

he has finally realized how entertaining/funny his mother is, and at last, all my ridiculous voices, songs, faces, and dances are finally reaping a reward....smiles. tyrell's outlandish antics are also beginning to consistently provide our child with moments of visible happiness. a friend told me about a study she had read somewhere which claimed, that babies smiles activate the same area of the brain in mothers that methanphetamines do. i can believe this as i find carter's smiles both fulfilling and addicting!

at six weeks old, carter, in a fit of rage, managed to roll himself over... twice!! i would not have believed it if i had not seen it with my own eyes. it is amazing what a melt down can motivate a child to do. i have not seen this accomplishment since but i fear that once he begins moving around i am going to be in trouble.

chicago

2009-03-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

this last weekend we met my parents in chicago. we left at 2:30am to get to chicago so that we would miss the st. patrick's day parade traffic. it was rough but i managed to stay awake the whole time.

it was our first road trip with carter... he did pretty well. and i did pretty well also i might add, as i ventured into the world of feeding carter in public. i nursed him in every major tourist attraction in chicago. it was a bit embarrassing but oh well, the poor kid has to eat.

1.we went to the top of sears tower but only to the 99th floor because the 103rd skydeck was closed. notice that carter is wrapped in a blanket. this is due to the fact that he managed to go through six outfits in two days. in this picture he had soiled himself but we did not have a place or the time to change him. (the blanket is serving as protection) good thing i packed so many clothes for him. he was a mess.

tyrell packed him around the city in the front baby carrier thing and it worked out really well. we just put him in the warm little suite with his hat and he looked adorable. tyrell also loved all the smiles he got from all the passers by who stopped to admire his adorable cargo.

a cute pair!

2.the shed aquarium was fun and the best thing we did was get a wheelchair. originally we thought we would just get it for my dad because he has been having back problems, but everyone ended up benefiting. my mom said i should use it to nurse. so she pushed me around to look at the fish and carter ate. a little awkward, but it was great that i didn't have to hull up in a corner and miss out on everything because the baby needed to eat. dad got his needed rest and mom got some QT with sleeping baby carter. the aquarium was crawling with other screaming children so we fit right in.

3.the field museum was great and carter is apparently already bored by history. we went to the special pirate exhibit and saw some neat stuff. and in the few hours we spent there we only scratched the surface of that huge place.

4.we ate chicago style pizza and hot dogs so we could say we had the full experience. and after eating his hot dog, tyrell claimed that he likes it better with just plain ketchup... he would:)

5.we met up with my cousin tammy and her husband jan for dinner. it was good to see them. thanks for traveling to see us.

6.my parents and tyrell went to the show, jersey boys, and really enjoyed it. i stayed at the hotel with carter... we took a nap. oh the sacrifices a mother must make:)

all in all we had a great time and were glad to get out of the house and have an adventure. it was really great to get to see my parents as well and for them to see carter. next trip... i am going to brave traveling to az by myself. i hope we survive.

ps.

this is a picture of carter on his first day of church (6weeks old). he looked so cute in his little vest.

my neighbor/landlord bought us a jogging stroller!!! i am so excited about it. he is really nice and said it is carter's present for "being born". or perhaps he got a look at me and thought this would help us both:) i took it out for it's maiden voyage yesterday (because it was a warm 50 degrees) and it is great. we are going to really like it. thanks mark!

carter smiles

2009-03-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

tyrell can not get enough of carter's smiles. they are adorable that is for sure. and do you see what i mean lindy... it will be love at first sight. make sure you show lauren how handsome and jovial her future husband is :)

they're in

2009-03-06T05:30:00.000-08:00

we got family pictures last week and they turned out pretty cute. here are a few. carter did alright at first and then he decided (after i scared him accidentally) that he really hated everything about it. the bright lights, the being naked, it was all a little too much stimulation for the little guy. we were able to get some, 'not crying' shots but the picture of us kissing him is a better indication of how he really felt about the whole thing.

we are doing alright here just getting a little more anxious to move home. but things are looking up; it is 55 degrees outside and i can't wait to take carter out for a walk in this beautiful weather. after living with temperatures in the teens, 50's is a real warm front.

i got some dental work done yesterday and it has been a while since i have been numb. i forgot how much i hate that feeling. but i suppose it would be much worse without the beauty of local anesthetic.

carter is sleeping a little more. four times this week he has managed to sleep for six hours straight!! thank heaven. he is smiling a little more and seems to be focusing on things better.

next weekend we get to go to chicago and see my parents!! hurray, i can't wait for them to see how much carter has changed in 7 weeks. he is getting cuter every day!

2009-02-24T07:29:00.000-08:00

8 THINGS ABOUT ME
Here are the rules:
1)POST RULES ON YOUR BLOG
2)ANSWER THE SIX "8" ITEMS(They're not in any particular order)
3)LET EACH PERSON KNOW BY LEAVING THEM A COMMENT

8 FAVORITE TV SHOWS -
1. Lost
2. I Love Lucy
3. Ugly Betty
4. Pushing Daisies
5. Everybody loves Raymond
6. 30 Rock
7. The Office
8.America's funnies home videos- people do the dardest things

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY
1. Made tyrell breakfast and packed him a lunch - not an everyday occurance but he got lucky
2. cleaned my house - much needed
3. watched the rest of Hello Dolly - i have been in to musicals lately
4. talked on the phone with my mother about our trip to chicago!!! hurray
5. nearly loved my child to death- - -i had to put him down before i squeezed and kissed him to death, he's just so darn cute i can hardly stand it
6. danced around the house with carter in my arms singing my own versions of songs from various musicals.... it's probably best he will not remember this :)
7. went out to eat with tyrell and carter- we went to On the Boarder and it was not that great... but an outing anyway and a meal i did not have to prepare
8. spoke to tyrell through carter. for instance...."carter say, 'daddy i need my diaper changed'." or "tell daddy to be more gentle with you in your car seat." let's just be honest, we are pretty annoying with the baby talk :)

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO
1. tyrell getting home--- he is the only adult i see these days since we are hiding from RSV
2. carter's smiles
3. a hot shower
4. playing sports again--- which had better be soon, i miss them so
5. seeing friends and family
6. summer--- can't wait to go to the lake!!
7. the family pictures we are going to take on friday
8. naps

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
i love dinning out
1. the bamboo club - thai spicy shrimp and the BC berries for dessert
2. oreganos - pablo picasso salad, kick butt cheesy bread, and a chocolate chip pizzookie for dessert
3. rosas - fish tacos and salsa verde
4. johnny carinos - the pasta with chicken, and sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms,artichoke hearts
5. venezias pizza - two slices with spinich and artichoke hearts
6. el camino - a classic- el camino special
7. in and out- favorite fast food hamburger
8. costa vida - the shredded beef salad bowl thing with the delicious salad dressing

too bad only one of these restaurants is in michigan and my husband dislikes going out to eat. but he takes me out every now and again because he knows i like it.

8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST
1. for carter to sleep through the night
2. more patience
3. our very own house
4. to live close to family-- well closer any way
5. new teeth
6. to be in shape again---unfortunatly this requires me to do exercise, and it's way to freezing to do anything outside. perhaps a good jane fonda video is on order
7. that my family will be close and strong in the gospel
8. and a house boat at lake powell :)

8 PEOPLE I TAG
1. whom ever feels so inclined
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

job opening

2009-02-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

WANTED: night shift nanny.

hours: 10:00pm to 7:00am

pay: satisfaction that you have saved the sanity of two very grateful parents :)

we have an adorable little 5 week old baby named carter. we are looking for someone who can help feed, change, bounce, walk, and lovingly converse with our child at night. duties will include putting baby to sleep, waking up and delivering him to feeding source (yours truly) when he is hungry, retrieving him from the milk fest, changing diapers, calming the screaming child (the tranquil baby previously mentioned on this blog, has officially left the building), and lulling him back to sleep. any interested persons please contact jordan or tyrell. all applications will be considered. previous experience preferred. recently lost nanny suzie, need help ASAP :)

thanks grandma suzie for all your help!!!

we love you carter even in the middle of the night!

he hold up his head so good

he looks so adorable in his polar bear suite

so cute unconscience

yawn!

cheeks!

inappropriate

2009-01-29T08:23:00.000-08:00

WARNING: any of you who do not wish to hear about the urinary and gastrointestinal tracts of carter tyrell smith, or any who would think less of me for discussing such topics publicly, please do not continue reading. tune in next time for a much more appropriate topic.

i have been blessed to have spent a lot of time with both my maternal and paternal grandparents. we grew up in the same town as grandma and grandpa lee, and were able to visit grandma and grandpa smith (yes i too have grandparents smith, not to be confused with tyrell's grandma and grandpa smith, or my in-laws) very frequently. i really feel like this has been a blessing in my life. grandma smith has a few sayings that i will always remember. she used to call us 'polly-waags', (for those of you who do not know what this is... it is a tad pole), and she also used to say that she was going to 'trade us off on a new model' (or trade us off to the indians, but for the sake of political correctness-not that political correctness has ever meant anything to my family- we shall stick with 'new model'). this phrase was used to tease more than threaten and i was thinking about it last night.

i have only been a mother for 13 days and already i have a complaint. let us preface my complaint with the recognition that carter is a great baby. he only really cries when he is hungry or wet, and even then it is more of a complaining grunt than an actual cry. he sleeps pretty well and is content to just hang out while he is awake. i am grateful for all of these things, but there is a problem.

as discussed in the previous post (which probably indicates that this subject has been discussed too frequently) i mentioned that tyrell lives in constant fear of the baby urinating on him. while i was poking fun at tyrell's concern, i now know that it is a legitimate fear. and due to my failure to provide carter with some healthy respect, he has felt it necessary to teach me a lesson.

it happens at the 3-4 o'clock am feeding. things go as usual, we nurse on one side, burp and then change the diaper. once i have peeled away all his layers and get ready to change the diaper, i stop to make sure everything is in place. diaper open and ready... check, wipes open and ready... check, and then we begin. it is at this point, the point where i am done cleaning him and ready to put on the new diaper that he puts his plan into play. first, he begins with a nice urinary water works display (i am always impressed with the distance) and then, just because he can, he also finds it necessary to move his bowels... everywhere. it inevitable gets all over him, me, and his clothes and a bio hazard wipe down and outfit change are in order. even i pull out the bleach to clean up the code brown (or in his case yellow).

i have had the privilege of experiencing this not once, or twice, but have thrice been the victim of carter's evil ploy. now, i can only hope this is not an indication of his future potty training days, if the kid can not even figure out the basic principles of the diaper, then we are going to have huge problems with the toilet. i mean really, how many minutes of the day are spent un-diapered? 5 minutes maybe, perhaps 10 on a bath day? how is it possible that he is able to time these episodes during those five minutes?

now perhaps this discussion is inappropriate but i submit that it is carter's behavior that is inappropriate, you be the judge. so last night, in the wee hours of the morning, i remembered my grandmother's famous phrase, and thought that perhaps this was the appropriate time to 'trade him off on a new model' :)

he came!!

2009-01-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

carter tyrell smith was born january 16th at 7:35pm eastern time, on one of the coldest days in years (-11 degrees, -20 to -30's with the wind chill). he weighed 8 lbs and was 21 inches long. ten fingers and ten toes... he's perfect!

this is a picture of me on his due date, january 14th. still pregnant as you can see and getting a little anxious. my mom had come into town early because she really wanted to be here for the delivery. so we sat around and waited for baby boy smith to arrive. in our spare time, we made him the most adorable crib set! (thanks you mom for walking me through it and thank you ami for letting us borrow your sewing machine) it turned out really cute and i love it. i quit working monday january 12 and started getting the last few things ready for our new arrival.

i started having contractions the night of the 14th and they were nothing like i imagined they would be. they were close together for a while there but had worn off by morning. now, i thought, that a contraction would hurt all over my stomach but that was not the case. it was all lower back and lower abdominal pain... strange. my doctor told me that once i was having contractions that were 4 minutes apart, that hurt so badly i wanted to cry, then i should stay home for one hour and then go to the hospital. i continued to have contractions all day the 15th but they were irregular. but on the 16th i finally started to get closer together and finally i met criteria. so i called tyrell to come and get me and we headed to the hospital (tyrell did not want to miss out on the driving me to the hospital part.) my worst fear was that they would sent me home because i was not far enough along, but i was and they kept me, we checked in around 11:00am. hurray, the time has come. i sat in triage for a little while and then they moved us to the delivery room, and i got my epidural at 3cm. it was a beautiful thing, and although putting in it was not all that great, it gave me tons of relief and all i wanted to do was sleep. so we just hung out and things were peaceful. then things got painful really quickly. i started feeling the contractions again and tons of pressure. so i called the nurse in and told her that i wanted to push and was feeling contractions again. they checked me and i was at 8cm. and once they got everyone in there they started having me push. turns out carter was facing the wrong way, with his face forward, and that was why i was having pain. the epidural was no longer working and when i pushed, his heart rate dropped. they had me on all fours pushing to try to turn him around, which was really more comfortable for me, but lets be honest... it hurt. so because the cord was around his shoulder, he kept decelerating. but my pushes were very effective and they told me they were going to use the forceps to help get him out more quickly so his heart rate wouldn't continue to be stressed. they made me lay on my back, they pulled out the salad tongs, and helped pull him out of there. they were not that great of a time let me tell you, again the epidural was not working so i could feel more than i wanted to . but i did not have to push too long and he made it into this world just fine. my mother was in there and has since stated that she does NOT want to go through this with me again. i suppose it was not as enchanting as she thought it might be :)

he came out crying and with his eyes wide open.
(even though in this picture they are closed, the erythromycin really made his eyes red)

here is the quintessential picture of the new little family, where the mother looks like she has been hit my a truck, the baby looks ticked to be on the outside, and the dad is so happy that his part in all of this took place 9 months ago.

this picture captured the historic moment when tyrell broke his streak of never having changed a diaper. it was pretty funny to watch, but he is getting better. we learned about little boys and their tendency to pee when the diaper is off the hard way. he got me once and really gave one of the nurses a run for her money. tyrell is hilarious because he lives in constant fear that the baby will urinate on him, and is always on the defense. he is also always ready with the bleach to clean the changing pad if any waste gets on it. i fear one of these days i will find him bleaching the baby:)

he was born on friday and we brought him home sunday morning in all the snow. my mom had bought these beautiful flowers for us when we arrived home. thanks mom

so here are some picture of out cute little man. thank you everyone for your phone calls and good wishes. we are doing great. i am getting around really well and feeling great. carter is a great nurser even though that particular thing is much more painful than i thought it would be. he sleeps well and is the best baby.he is very content to just sit and look around and for that i am truly grateful! knock on wood.

such an adorable outfit. and a cute face if i don't say so myself :)

he has the skinniest little chicken legs! my mom has been the biggest help and we are so grateful she has been around to help us figure things out! she and my dad left today and we will miss them. tyrell's mom will be coming out soon and we look forward to having her here... carter loves his grandmas.

and my favorite are the smiles he gives after he eats. smiles or gas i don't really care it is adorable.

my dad came out as well to see the baby and get my mom. we drove to belle isle just to show them around and we found this cool ice thing. they are making it with a sprinkler on the top of this thing and it makes a really cool formation.

December

2008-12-17T06:27:00.000-08:00

tyrell sang, 'grandma got run over by a reindeer' for our christmas party and it turned out to be really cute. the kids all loved it and they really added to the performance when they shouted out answers/comments along the way (one kid yelled "no way, for reals?" when ty told them that his grandma got run over by a reindeer ). tyrell also forgot the words a few times but he recovered nicely, it really fit in perfectly, and added to every one's entertainment. just keep smiling is his motto. the adults loved it too and keep telling me how much they enjoyed it.

we got a christmas tree and it is all set up in the front room. we are really enjoying it and i am glad we have a tree and lights up outside to help us enjoy the holiday season (even though i have to work on christmas AGAIN this year). it is still in need of a tree topper, but it's still pretty. it was our one year anniversary on monday, and tyrell got me the best present. he got me a gift card to this nice spa in town that does prenatal massages! no doubt this idea was sparked by my constant request for him to rub my aching back. i am really excited. i got him a less perfect, but wanted, weight set. it was not the one he wanted so we took it back... hopefully we can find what he wants.

tyrell thinks it is my job to spread holiday cheer through baked goods, and he asked me if i was going to make something for our neighbors. i hadn't really thought about it, but decided that i should. so i made sugar cookies, fudge and carmel popcorn. it turned out pretty good and i realized that my kitchen is way to small for such a project. but we delivered our chinese take out packages and hopefully everyone enjoyed the extra calories.

it snowed all night last night and now we have a few inches of snow on the ground. i have already been a victim of the slippery roads and it's only the first big snow storm, not a good sign. i went to enrichment to sew curtains, but really i just ended up making myself a wreath and watching others make curtains (there were limited sewing machines). but on my way home i slid on the snow as i was rounding a corner and hit a curb. it wasn't all that bad but tyrell told me i am not allowed to do that any more. i am just glad it was only a curb. our neighbor said the free way was like bumper cars. tyrell has given me a few pointers on driving in the snow and hopefully i will remember them when these skills are needed.

i am 36 weeks today (the start of month 9) and our little guy is officially considered full term from here on out. i am still working and plan on working until the 10th of January or so. i told my mom this plan and she was hoping that it wouldn't make me go into labor early. i told her that it should be safe for him to come out any time now, but she was not concerned about that, she just didn't want him to come before she got here :). tyrell also agrees that he ought to 'cook' a little longer. and i suppose we are not quite ready for him anyway. he doesn't have a name, the crib is not set up, i don't have a hospital bag ready, the adorable blanket my mother made has not yet arrived and i have not even picked out fabric for the curtains and crib skirt i was planning on making (and have really no idea how to make, but it can't be all that hard right?).

perhaps baby boy smith got a look at his room and is waiting until we get our stuff moved out and his stuff moved in before he will make an appearance.

my birthday

2008-11-12T07:05:00.001-08:00

here are some more pictures of the pretty leaves i took while i was roller blading around the henry ford estate. and i submit that the site of a pregnant woman on roller blades is a bit ridiculous. but don't worry, i only fell once. thankfully, i have over come my childhood tendency to fall on my head, thanks to the lessons my mother gave me on how God gave me arms/hands so i could protect my face, and was able to put my hands down and saved us both:) the leaves are all about gone now, but they really were pretty. the red ones are at the church, and the trees there really have brilliant color (our camera does not do it justice). they look like they are on fire. and yes, that is SNOW! it snowed on monday, the start of our long winter... heaven help me.

last week was my birthday. i worked... boo, but it was a pretty good day. tyrell made me breakfast, dropped me off at work and picked me up in his new fancy car (he finally got to trial a car from work and we sat and played with all the new features of the lincoln). but the whole way home he kept saying, "i tried to be a good husband." and when i asked why he was saying that, he would just repeat, "i tried to be a good husband." so when we got home the house smelled a little funny (well funnier than it usually does). i asked what it was. he then told me that he was trying to have dinner ready when i got home and a cake made (a kind gesture seeing that tyrell hates to cook), but there was a mishap. we listen to the radio in the kitchen and while it usually lives on top of the fridge, it had been sitting on the stove for a week or so on the back burner (i would not recommend this). so when he was trying to heat up the front burner, he accidentally turned the wrong dial and turned on the back burner. i only wish that i could have been there when he realized he was cooking the radio (due to the large amount of smoke produced by burning plastic), picked it up in a state of panic, ran around the house with it in his hands, yelling, trying to decide what he should do with it :) hilarious. so here is the damage, but hey, it still works.

tyrell was still able to make me dinner and a beautiful german chocolate cake with homemade frosting and everything. thanks ty!

2008-11-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

due to the requests of amber, i will update the blog. i went home to az without tyrell to get together with some old room mates of mine. it was really fun and i was so glad to spend time with close friends. it was also great because i came in a little early and left a little late, and was able to see lots of family. i was able to see my brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, grandparents, cousins, old friends, eat at some of my favorite restaurants, and go shopping. i had a great weekend. i didn't do that great at taking pictures though. sorry.

this was the first time that tyrell and i have been apart for more than a 12 hour shift, and over all i think tyrell got a much better nights sleep with out me tossing and turning all night long. but i know that he missed me. so much in fact that the night i flew in he didn't come to pick me up from the airport. i had a layover in denver and with the time change and everything, i would be getting home around midnight. he told me that he was going to go to sleep and would come and get me when i called. i told him to be sure and wake up when i called. he agreed that he would. so when i landed in the detroit airport, i called him, but there was no answer. so i called again and again hoping the constant sound of his phone would arouse him from his slumber. but after 30 minutes and 34 calls, there was still nothing. so i pulled out some cash from the atm and hailed a cab home. i got home and knocked on the door in the middle of the night. tyrell said he hopped out of bed, checked his phone, saw the 34 missed calls from his poor little wife, and knew he was in trouble. so i keep reminding him of the time he forgot his poor pregnant wife at the airport, in the middle of the night, in one of the most dangerous cities in america. he keeps claiming i was not forgotten, he just didn't wake up. i guess he was just enjoying his last good nights sleep with out me :)

fall here has been really pretty. there are a lot of trees over the roads and it is so pretty to see all the many yellows and reds. i also like all the leaves on the ground, and of course the resident squirrels gathering for the long winter. it is getting colder though and we had to turn on the heater; only to realize that it does not work all that great. it takes a while to heat up the house and then has to work very hard to keep it warm. so let's just say that the space heater follows us around to every room. we are going to have to figure something out for when it gets really cold

and i am home all day with the little one.

halloween was a big deal around our neighborhood. people really went all out decorating their houses. i really enjoyed all the decorations and can't wait to see what they come up with for christmas. we were a little less festive than many, but we did managed to carve two pumpkins for the occasion. as you can tell from the picture tyrell worked really hard on cutting out his bat (we used stencils), only to look a bit confused when he was finished because it didn't look quite right. turns out he carved it upside down. so his pumpkin turned out great it just needed to be flipped over to make it recognizable. it was funny. we went to a halloween party a family in our ward had. tyrell was going to make home made root beer for it but was unable to find root beer flavoring. so he just ended up buying root beer and dry ice. it smoked anyway and the kids loved it. it made for great slushy root beer too.

i am now 30 weeks (7 months) pregnant and my belly is catching all the crumbs that don't quite make it in my mouth. now i have to wonder if i am more messy than usual, or if i had always dropped this many crumbs, just that before, they were able to make it to the ground with little notice? i got my rhogam shot today and everything appears to be right on track. we are grateful to have had no complications this far. hopefully i won't go into labor when we come to visit for thanksgiving. even though my family has been trying to get me to come to az to deliver, i don't think this would be a wise choice. sorry girls :)

baby bump 6 months

2008-09-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

so here is the latest development in my belly and he sure is moving around in there. it was really funny because the first time tyrell felt him move, he jerked his hand back and was trying to get away from me. freaked him out a little bit. i laughed really hard and now when he feels him moving, he just looks perplexed about what on earth he is doing in there. here are some sonogram pictures. one where he is getting ready to sock me one, and appears to have a very muscular right arm. and the other is his best impression of an alien. hopefully he is cuter than that when he comes out :)

TIMBER!

2008-09-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

tyrell is always willing to help. so when a member of our ward said they had a tree in their back yard that needed to be cut down, tyrell was the first volunteer. and the thought of dropping a tree in the middle of a suburban neighbor hood with fences, and houses, and garages, and power lines everywhere, did not phase him. so he rounded up the defenseless missionaries and a friend to help him. i came along to document. to make a long story short, they discussed what would happen for a while and this is the brilliant plan they came up with. tyrell would use his ascending gear to get up to a particular fork in the tree and cut the branches above the fork. he strapped on his gear, and oh, did i forget to mention that he would be doing this with a chain saw attached to him.
step 1: strap on gear
step 2: attach chain saw
step 3: climb rickety ladder to rickety roof top

step 4: ascend to top of tree with chain saw

it sounded fool proof. and don't worry tyrell watched a video on you tube about how NOT to cut down a tree, so he had all the knowledge he needed.

(he is about 30 feet off the ground)

this was the original plan, and thanks to the good lord in heaven, tyrell was able to do this without harm. but after he got up there it was determined that this was not the best idea for actually chopping the tree down. so once tyrell remembered how to work his gear and get down, they came up with plan 2.

step 1: leave rope tied to tree (the rope ty tied while he was up there in plan one)

step 2: put rickety ladder against rickety tree

step 3: climb ladder with chain saw in hand

step 3: cut tree at fork.

tyrell said this was the scariest part and it was the plan that eventually ended up working. they used a series of ropes, some tied to tyrell's truck and others held by the again defenseless missionaries, to pull the tree the rest of the way down. it was a miracle, but the first tree branch fell right where they wanted it to, in the 10 foot wide space between the power line and the garage. this process took a while so only part of the tree was cut down. so stay tuned for more paul bunyon adventures with tyrell.

slow

2008-09-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

well life is slow around here. i partly blame my pregnancy seeing that i am not supposed to do all the things that i used to like to do (ie. play sports) and partly that i don't know anyone who i would just call up to do something with.

my days off consist of getting up to make tyrell breakfast and pack lunch. (he does the same for me when i work because i leave first). we are getting really great at waking up 20 minutes before it is time to leave and managing to get showered, dressed, eat breakfast, pack lunch and out the door. a true skill. then once tyrell is out the door i head to the computer to explore what my family and friends have been up to via (thought you would like this word choice flynt) different inter net modalities (ie. facebook, blogs, and myspace). after a few good hours of looking at all the blogs only to discover that there is nothing new since yesterday (seeing that other people have busy lives), i begin to look into more productive things like cleaning, running the errands that need to be run, laundry, going for a walk, shopping, reading, showering (yes, showering is now an activity worth listing) and perhaps a phone call or two. once the clock strikes nine i figure i am safe to call back to az, people should be up at six right? ok, so my dad is really the only person i know who is always up that early, but by eleven you are all game for a call.

i have been working hard on making this picture collage of family pictures on my wall and it is not going well. i repeat, not going well. i just don't have the vision for interior decorating like my mother. tyrell thinks i am trying too hard, and perhaps i will just wait for momma daryl to get here and help me. deciding what to make for dinner and making dinner takes up the late afternoon and then tyrell gets home. when he gets home i am glad to have someone around to talk to and enjoy the slow evening with.

it was funny because the other day tyrell and i went into our back yard set up some chairs and just sat there waiting for the squirrels to come and eat the crackers we had set out for them. the squirrels didn't fall for it but the weather was nice. sometimes he takes me out to see the new jump he has made on his rc track, we watch episodes of the office, read and go to bed. all in a days work. now you busy mothers of small children are perhaps thinking slow sounds good, and once the baby arrives, perhaps i will as well.

i am grateful for my job that keeps me running like a crazy person for at least 3 days of the week.

we went to the old car festival last saturday at greenfield village that was fun and it was cool to see all the really old cars. people dress up and sit with and show their cars, tyrell likes to know about the engines and i like the ones with the pretty colors.

i taught sharing time for the first time last sunday and it was pretty rough. it's hard to teach to a group of 3-11 year olds all at the same time. i guess i can only get better.

life is much slower than tyrell and i are used to, but we are happy. and i will try to enjoy this time remembering that there is plenty of crazy busy life ahead of us.

getting old

2008-09-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

tyrell went on a motorcycle trip with some guys from work while i was working this last saturday. they had a lot of fun!

tyrell has completed his RC car ramp in our back yard and is very excited. isn't it pretty?

i could not be more happy because i am now the proud owner of a vacuum. now you are wondering what i have been using all this time... and i am glad to say, 'good bye shop vac.' the best part was that tyrell got it up and running and vacuumed the floors and used the attachment to clean the window ledges. i love him.

but i fear this excitement over a vacuum, and the fact that i feel it is worthy of a post, has just confirmed that i am old and married.