Aug 24, 2013

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!

Aug 20, 2013

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!




Aug 19, 2013

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.