Labor Day Weekend: Boating and braces.

        Another six weeks has gone by, so it is time for Talie and I to go to Wyoming to get our braces checked out. So this time, we decide to go over Labor Day weekend, and make a boating trip out of it. We all load into the suburban. Talie & Dallin bring friends, so there are actually 10 of us in our 8 seater. Jeremy and Kat are great sports!
        After many gas stops, food and potty breaks, after 8 hours, we make it to Boysen Reservoir, where we boat until dark on Friday, all day Saturday, and the boys start at 6:30 Monday morning before we have to head for home. The water is a little choppy Friday and Saturday, but Monday, it is glass. And, the best part is, nobody skis here, so it literally feels like your own personal reservoir.
         It was a lot of fun! There were many bruises, a cut lip, and sore necks, but all in all, everybody weathered well and had a blast!

 Although the little ones didn't want to inner tube a lot, they loved riding in the boat and singing and dancing to the music.

 These girls inner tubed a lot and loved riding on the back of the boat. They were great at making sure the rope was where it needed to be.

 The teenagers rode a lot. Sometimes it was fun . . .

 but sometimes I think it was more painful than fun.

Dallin and Jeremy were known for getting some good air.

 I love this picture of Dallin. It shows exactly how much he trusts whoever is driving.

 This time it must have been fun.

 Tanner was brave and went for a couple of rides.

 Mom remembered how it is done.

 Even the driver got some time to ski & slalom.

 I guess skiing is like riding a bicycle. The kids popped right up, after over 6 years of not skiing.

Dallin got to try wake boarding for the first time and rocked it.

                     It was a fun weekend!

The FIrst day of School Again

    I can't believe it's that time of year again already, for a new school year and everybody to be a whole grade older! The summer seemed way too short, and I wasn't ready to send them off to school yet.   
   This year, everybody had their first day of school on a different day. Poor Dallin got to start first as an 8th grader at Mesa Middle School. This is his second semester at Mesa.

He looks so handsome and grown up. I swear, it seems like just yesterday, he was yelling, "Mom, I need a wipe!"

  He started tackle football for the first time and loves to tackle! He's killer on defense and his dad loves to watch him play. He is 5'6", and keeps measuring daily. He's quickly catching up to Talie and will soon pass her by. Boy will he love that. It's funny to start to watch girls pay attention to him, and to catch him check out his muscles in the mirror.

   Talie started next, as a Sophomore in High School! She is slowly gaining DC (after her second semester) school pride.

Texting and riding. Hmm, not sure it's a smart idea to let her get her driving permit yet.

   She spends all the free time she can riding our neighbor's horse, Jazz. She loves it and is good at it! She is now 5'7" and getting more and more beautiful each day. And, yes, the boys notice her. Luckily she doesn't think they do. Let's just keep that up.

   Then these kiddos started school at Castle Rock Elementary School (yes, another new school).

Ashlynn is a fifth grader and has Mrs. DeGeorge for her teacher. So far she loves Castle Rock!

 

She still loves to play soccer, is taking piano lessons, plays pet shops, school, and is still amazing with the little ones! Every one loves Ashlynn. Especially Mom when she asks, "Mom, what can I do to help you?"

Peyton is a big first grader this year, going to all day school! He has Mrs. Simonoff.

  I love getting to see him every day at recess when I pick up Kennedi from kindergarten. He has been playing lots of sports, baseball, basketball and just made his first touchdown in Flag Football! It's definitely fun to watch him come out of his shell in social situations. On the other hand, at home, we wish we could shove him in a shell once in awhile to keep him quiet! He is a very energetic 7 year old boy who loves loud noises - coming from himself. Oh, he has also started reading the Book of Mormon again. The other day, after school, he went and pulled it out of his back pack. He'll be a great little missionary.

  And, here is my little Kennedi the big Kindergartener! She has Mrs. Humphrey, and she is definitely ready for school! She's already reading Junie B. Jones chapter books, loving gymnastics, and taking piano lessons from Mom. I'm  afraid that she will try to run the kindergarten classroom, though. The other day she told her teacher that she had to tell her friend, "Eyes on me, Shay." Because she wasn't listening to what Kennedi had to say.
  Oh, and when she found out that her teacher was drinking coffee, she  informed her that coffee was bad for her body.

Poor Kennedi swells up when she gets bit by mosquitoes. She woke up to go to school, looked in the mirror and was worried to go to school. She said, "Mom I look like a nerd." And said, "What if they laugh at me?"

    Kennedi's super bright and is at that age where she says the funniest things. The other day, we went to pick peas from our neighbor's garden, and they gave us a zucchini. She ran home, excitedly telling Dad about the bikini our neighbors gave us.
   We went to the playground at their new school before it started, and found a beehive in it, so I tried to knock it down. We get home and she tells Benson that there was a big behind at the park.

And, I get to stay home with this little guy. Tanner is 2 and has a funny, happy little personality. He adores Daddy, but will be my little buddy when Benson is not around. He loves riding in the car - I think because he has to, throwing rocks at Koda, jumping on the tramp and going for four wheeler rides. 

  He always takes my cover off of my phone case, and yesterday when I saw that he did it again, I said, "Tanner, am I going to have to get you in trouble!" To which he replied, "No, I'm a child of God."

I definitely have loved being home with these kiddos and watching them grow, I'm grateful to have a couple more years before they are all gone to school all day. I think I'll miss my little buddies, but then again, I may find that I quite like it.

Welcome to the Smith home, Elders!

    So yesterday, we got a text saying, "can you house the missionaries tomorrow?" Hmmm, we had offered to house the missionaries, and the bishop had said we were approved. But, other than that, and a half finished housing application ( which pretty much read,  Do you have teenagers of the opposite gender in the home: yes, do you have small children: yes, does the husband travel frequently: yes) nothing more formal was done. Apparently, it didn't matter in the end, because Benson and the big kids went and picked up the companionship and all of their belongings up, loaded it into the truck and now they living are upstairs. This is our first set, Elder Bedwell and Elder Mannasseh.
    Dallin is super excited. He gets up a little early so that he has time to play basketball with them at 6:40 in the morning. But he was disappointed to realize that they just couldn't hang around and shoot hoops with him in the evenings.Welcome Elders!

Happy 11th!!

    Ashlynn turned 11! One more year until she is in YW's. Which seems strange, as I think of my  chubby little toddler that I thought would always be 3. Ashlynn is a little peace maker in our home. She loves to play school with Peyton, Kennedi and Tanner, and they adore her. She is very nurturing and runs to everyone's needs, whether it's for a band aid, to make cookies for them, or to distract them from their tears. She just innately knows how to comfort people. Sometimes, I think she's better at my job than I am.
    Ashlynn also has the ability to see what needs to be done and jumps right in. She is a natural athlete, but soccer remains her passion. She continues to take piano lessons, but is not thrilled about them. She is an old soul, and often seems older than 11. She helped make the decision to go to a new school, Castle Rock Elementary School, this fall and is loving it. She'll come home and analyze the routines, organization, and staff of the school, and explain why she likes it. She left a lot of great friends and an amazing soccer team in Highlands Ranch, but has been a rock through this move, with all of it's changes. Sometimes I look at her and think, you are amazing.
    She is always the one to follow job charts and recommend different reward systems. She also reads her scriptures regularly and keeps a scripture journal. She is definitely not perfect, but I love her and know our family would not be the same without her. I love you, Ashlynn.

Oh, and how could I forget, she's obviously a lot of fun. She came up with P & K stories, to tell P & K every night before bed, and they are a hit!

Cabelas on a Monday night

     A Cabelas just opened up about 20 minutes from our house, so we decided to all go and check it for FHE. We walk in and it is amazing! A crazy amount of dead stuffed animals on the walls, and a huge aquarium. Who needs to pay to go to the zoo?:).
   

 We walked around, tried on hats, played with pop guns, shopped a bit, and picked up treats for the drive home. I think it was a success!

This is the hoodie Talie picked out for her Bday;)

And yes, Tanner does support gun rights laws.