Ever Ever After

ONE!

2011-07-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Ellie is ONE YEAR OLD today!

We can't believe it either but a whole year has passed and our little baby is growing up and is officially a toddler! Crazy! She has truly blessed our lives and those of our family as well. One of the things people comment most about her is how happy she is; it's so true! We have a happy and sweet little girl. Life is different but so much better now that she's in it. She loves to play, loves to read, loves to eat, and loves to sleep! She's very social and enjoys being out with other people and playing with her friends. She is all Daddy's girl too! He is her favorite person! She lights up when she hears him come home and loves stories and bedtime with him each night. She loves walking and practices every day and is taking more steps each time. She has a great appetite and is growing like crazy! Here are her stats to see how much she's grown!

Newborn: Weight 7 lbs 7 ounces Height 20.5 inches
12 Months: Weight 23 lbs 1 ounce Height 30.5 inches

Walking!

2011-07-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

After church today we went to my sister's for dinner. We were all sitting in the living room when Ellie stood up on her own and just decided to walk across the room! It was so surprising and fun and exciting and the camera was in the other room of course! We managed to get her 3rd attempt on camera!

Fourth of July

2011-07-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

Looking good on Sunday in her patriotic colors!

Every year our ward has a 4th of July breakfast followed by a neighborhood parade. This year we thought it would be fun to participate and try out Spencer's new bike trailer. Ellie sure looks like she enjoyed the ride!
But she doesn't look too sure about Uncle Sam....

Later in the afternoon we went to a BBQ at the Murray's to cool off! It's super hot and humid today! Ellie wore this swimmer for the first and last time today... sorry for the rolls hanging out... she needs an 18 month swimmer asap! She enjoys the pool more each time we take her swimming.

Since fireworks are now legal in Mesa we thought it would be fun to grab a few to light before Ellie had to go to bed. She really liked the sparklers and the strobe lights!

She loves when we say YAY and claps every time!
Happy Fourth of July!!!

Happy 30th Birthday!

2011-03-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

Can you tell who's older? I didn't think so! :)

sales clerk - Are you sisters?

me - Yes, we're twins.

clerk - Oh, but you're not identical right?

me - Yes, we're identical.

clerk - But you don't look like it.

my inner monologue - Seriously? We look the same!!!!

People look at us all the time when we go out together and we know we will soon be having this same conversation. It's still fun though to mess with people and cause them to take a second look.

It is so fun to have another half. We have many of the same interests and hobbies and love spending time together. I love my sister and the example she is as a mother. She is loving to all around her and especially to my little Ellie and I'm forever thankful for that. I had fun spending the day with you and I love my new shirt you made me!

Happy Birthday sis!

Today was so fun! I got to spend the day with my beautiful twin sister. We had a yummy sushi lunch and then went shopping!

Spencer got a group together for dinner and dessert last night. I love being able to hang out with friends and family. Tonight I was able to (easily) talk Spencer into going to sushi!

I have the best hubby, baby girl and sister!

Thank you for making 30 so special!

Ellie had a blast too and is feeling so much better!

Ellie did a little lip syncing for our special day!
Thank you to Caprice for the real singing!

Seven Months Old

2011-02-24T16:52:00.000-08:00

Ellie loves eating!!! Carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, prunes, peaches, apples, and bananas! She didn't care for peas but I don't like them either so that's fine with me! She loves grabbing the spoon while she's eating and making a big mess. But we've gotten cleaner with more practice. Thank goodness Grandma Smith gave us this plastic bib that we can spray off each time she eats!

Ellie still has NO teeth and NO sign of any coming soon. She is getting better and better at her army crawl and loves being mobile. She is getting really good at picking things up and grasping objects. She is a big fan of any and all jewlry! Even the smallest earings she will yank out of my ears.

RSV! Yuck! Sunday night Ellie started having a runny nose, sneezing and coughing. Things only got worse over the next few day so I took her in and they said she had RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). It's a very common virus that causes cold-like symptoms in children. It can be more serious for babies and some even need to be hospitalized. Thank goodness we have a tough little girl. She doesn't seem to be bothered with the horrible hacking couch or the runny nose. She does not like getting it sucked out but it getting better and holding still for mommy and daddy. To add to it she got an ear infection because of the congestion but has antibiotics to help her get rid of that. She's been able to sleep through the night still and is still playing and smiling! What more could we ask for?!

Ellie found new toys to play with in her room... she's tall enough to reach when daddy's holding her

Lights out!

Poor little red face... we hope you get well soon!

Susan's Run

2011-02-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

Today we went out to support our friend who lost her battle to cancer in 2008. Her family started a foundation in her name http://www.susanmturley.org/ to help raise money for young adults and their families going through cancer treatments. Their biggest fundraiser is Susan's Run held annually in Tempe, AZ. This was the 2nd run and it was a blast despite the threatening rain clouds.
Spencer took Ellie along for the 10k and placed 3rd in his age group with a time of 57:17:10!

Ellie decided to take a nap for the last 3 miles :)

Be Mine

2011-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

As a Valentine gift I had some pictures taken of Ellie when she turned 6 months. Here are a few of my favorites!

I love my sweet Ellie!

Thank you Whitney Dibble Photography for these amazing pictures!

http://whitneyphotography.blogspot.com

Craft Blog and Giveaway

2011-02-08T10:04:00.000-08:00

To all my gal pals that need cute hair things for your little girls

check out my sister's new blog

http://www.whos-itsandwhats-itsgalore.blogspot.com/

She does it all - burp cloths, hair clips, leg warmers, and picture boards and all of these can be made just the way you want!

Right now she's doing a giveaway to get her blog started!

Saturday with Family and Chocolate!

2011-02-05T22:00:00.000-08:00

Today Ellie's cousin Ariah turned 2! We met up with them at a play place out in Desert Ridge. Ellie loved going down the slide with auntie Bean and watching Eire' and Ariah climb the rock wall.

This evening the whole family got together for the Glendale Chocolate Affair. One of the fun things to do was take a tour of the Cerreta Candy Co.

As soon as you walked in your could smell the yummy chocolate!

Santa here was 500 pounds of chocolate!

tons and tons of sugar

and the biggest chocolate bars I've ever seen!

All I wanted was a chocolate covered strawberry but I was not going to pay $3 for one so my sisters and I shared a giant piece of chocolate covered cheesecake! Yummy!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Ellie!

2011-01-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe we've had Ellie for six months already. We have been having so much fun with her! She has a very happy personality and loves to see what's going on around her. Her biggest accomplishment is sitting up unassisted! She loves it too! She went from only sitting up for a few seconds to several minutes in just a day.

She has an adorable laugh but she holds them in for her favorite person, daddy! He gets more smiles and laughs than anyone. She just adores him!

Ellie is also talking a lot more and using words like mum, da and ba. We try to practice mama and dada to see whose name she'll say first. A not so fun thing she's learned is fake crying. It's pretty funny to look at but not a funny habit to keep. She does it when she's done with playing and wants to be held. She loves her playing in her exersaucer and bumbo and going on walks at the park.

This face is hilarious!!!!!

She seems to be ticklish on her feet especially when daddy rubs his scruffy face on them. She loves playing peek-a-boo and singing and dancing to mommy's made-up songs.

Cute little button nose, perfect lips and Smith chin!
What an adorable profile!

Mommy and Ellie

Ellie's Six Months Stats:

weight- 15 lbs 10.5 oz (50%)

length- 27 3/4 in (97%)

head- 17 in (75%)

Perfect in every way!

Rock and Roll... again!

2011-01-16T19:58:00.000-08:00

ROCK ON!

My sister Cristina and cousin Jen talked me into doing the PFC 1/2 Marathon again. These gals are speedy and run on a regular basis. Even if I ran every day I'd still be slow! It also would have helped if I trained. One day I'll learn from experiences like this and actually train... hopefully by November so I can beat my time in the Desert Grande Triathlon.

I made a goal of beating my 2 previous times (3:00 and 3:26) I kept up with the gals for 2 miles and waved good-bye from there. My music kept me company till mile 11 when my phone died. I was so relieved to see the finish line after almost 3 hours of jogging. I was ready to be done! And I did it... finished in 2:55:42! Time for ice and rest!

Cristina rocked an amazing 2:11 and Jenn 2:19! They are awesome!!

Glendale Glitter and Glow

2011-01-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

Family night in Glendale! My sisters and our families went to Glendale to enjoy some pretty twinkle lights and some hot air balloons.

The girls had fun on the rides and the tall bumpy slide!

I have some seriously cute nieces!!

Glitter

and Glow!

the Rasband clan

Guess who bought her that shirt?!

All six girls on our side of the family!

the Villella clan

They had all sorts of balloons - Spider Man, Bumble Bee and even this gigantic Polar Bear. Ellie's face would light up each time the flames when off on the balloons. We all had a ton of fun being together and looking at all the balloons.

Christmas part Two

2011-01-03T20:00:00.000-08:00

My sweet nieces were with their dad this Christmas so we were lucky enough to spend Christmas part Two with them when they got back home to AZ!

Ariana helped pick out Ellie's elf hat and got herself one to match.

Aren't these girls beautiful?! They were so excited for all their gifts under the tree but they decided to have dessert first and presents last - Caprice and Ariana "save the best for last" followed by a fist bump! They are hilarious!!!!

Thank you Trini! You really are AWESOME!

Do you remember those bitter beer face commercials... Ellie totally has a silly face! I think the flash right in her face was a bit too much LOL

The Rasbands

Thank you for letting us be a part of your fun family night!

2011

2011-01-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

It's a new day! A chance to start over and try to be better than you were the day before. A day when you make goals and look forward to the year ahead. I've been thinking a long time about what I want 2011 to be like. I had so many things I wanted to do that I had to categorize them: Personal, Physical, Spiritual and Financial. Each area has things I want to learn and areas I know I can grow in. I'm posting these to make myself accountable and also so that you can help encourage and support me over the next 12 months.

Personal:

-be kinder to my husband *I'm not a meanie I just want to be nicer and more patient

-do not gossip

-read 2 new books *for all who know me I'm not a reader so 2 is a good place to start, who knows I might end up reading 10!

-learn to sew *for now on a borrowed machine, I hope to have one this year!

-learn to make by Ellie fresh baby food

-plant a garden

Physical:

-do P90X for 90 days

-workout at least 3 days a week

-lose 10 pounds *just to be back to pre-baby weight

-do Susan's Run 10k Feb. 19th

-do Pat's Run 4.2 miles April 17th

-do Desert Grande Triathlon and beat my previous time

-eat less fast food

Spiritual:

-attend the temple at least once a month

-read the Ensign every month

-do visiting teaching every month

Financial:

-only spend what's in the budget

-save at least 10% a month

-learn to use coupons

That's a long list but pretty good stuff to work on and I'm excited to get started!

We took Ellie to the park to feed the ducks on New Year's Day. She liked playing with the bread and sucking on mom's fingers. It was a fun family day!

Christmas Day!

2010-12-29T21:19:00.001-08:00

With a smile like that it's like Christmas every day! We love how happy Ellie is when she wakes up... especially on Christmas morning!

We know she has no idea what's going on but it sure looked like she was having fun!

Attacking all the boxes around her.

She found it's pretty easy to get the paper off once she soaks through it.

A Crawl Ball! This will be tons of fun when she's mobile!

Ellie is very loved and received many sweet gifts from her family. Cute clothes, toys and books. She really liked her Christmas book too!

We had a wonderful day with our sweet Ellie; making memories we look forward to sharing with her as she gets older.

Ellie and Mommy

Ellie and Daddy

Merry Christmas to our little angel! You are the best gift we could have asked for!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve!

Tonight we had dinner with the Clarksons and Humbles and played games. It's fun that a lot of our friends have little babies or are expecting babies soon.

Spencer was even able to chat with his brother Andrew who is currently serving a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Yekaterinburg Russia. He is doing well and will be coming home in July 2011.

We copied my sister's tradition of having the kids open one present on Christmas Eve. They always get new pj's and I thought it would be a fun tradition to start for our little family.

mmmm wrapping paper! Everything goes right in her mouth these days!

Thanks mom and dad! I love them!

Time for bed!

Five Months Old

2010-12-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

Ellie loves her bath time! She kicks and splashes and gets us all wet in the process. She is a big fan of her naked time too... easier to get a hold of her feet!

Can't get enough of those toes!! It's almost impossible to change her diaper without her rolling over or eating her toes! And she has such a tight grip that it's like playing tug-of-war to get her feet back to put her diaper on.

Looking cute in her white Sunday dress!

She likes to be propped up so she's sitting up. She can really see what's going on and is very curious about her surroundings.

Picking out our Christmas tree.

She's able to hold herself up just a little bit before tumbling over.

Ellie the Elf

She had tons of fun shopping for gifts for her daddy and cousins.

She loves smiling! Smiling is her favorite!

Ellie has learned to recognize her pacifier and her bottle. When she sees them she gets very excited! She was even squealing as she attacked her pacifier but mellowed out as soon as the camera came out!

Ellie is so fun to see when she wakes up in the mornings! She wakes up so happy and smiley! Last weekend Spencer got her out of bed and she was very playful and happy. Spencer's trick is balancing her in his palm, not my favorite but she seems to like it and isn't afraid of it at all. She loves spending time with her daddy!

Trip to Utah

2010-12-23T21:51:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

We made the 14 hour drive to Utah to spend Thanksgiving with Spencer's family. Ellie was terrific on the drive up and back, only crying a couple times! She was very entertaining in the car; we love listening to her chatter.

We stayed with Spencer's cousin and her husband who are expecting their first baby in May 2011. They liked having a glimpse of what life with a baby will be like.

We also spent time playing games, visiting Spencer's aunt Maxine (who was hilarious), going to see the new Harry Potter movie (Ellie's second movie) and enjoying the beautiful winter weather and snow.

Our sweet Ellie turned 4 months old the day before Thanksgiving

Stats: weight 13 lbs 14.5 ounces (50-75%)

length 25 3/4 inches (95%)

head 16 1/2 (75%)

She's rolling over all the time from back to belly and even rolled over 3 times in a row (back-belly-back) showing off for her Grandma and Grandpa Smith. She loves to talk and is learning new pitches every day. She's still a fantastic sleeper and is loved by all her family.

I've always wanted to see the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake City and we finally got to!!

The temple is absolutely breathtaking. You can't help but think of the Saints that built it and all the sacrifices they made to build this House of the Lord. It's amazing!

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/saltlake

All bundled up... she's ready to check out the lights.
I was so proud of our little girl. She didn't complain about being out in the cold once!

Grandpa in heaven with two of his newest grand babies!

A special shirt from her auntie Trina!

"Ellie your smile is brighter than any Christmas Tree"

We agree and we love the cute shirt too - thanks Trina!

Spencer, Ellie, Corissa, Martha, Graig, Tyler, Casey, Taigan, Jacob, and Hilary Smith

Taigan's special day was Sunday. All his family gathered together for his blessing. Tyler gave him a beautiful blessing. He is such a sweet boy and will grow up to be such a good example to so many people.

New warm Sunday dress with red leggings... so cute!!

Lovin' Grandma Smith!

I fell in love with Tags! He was very sweet and peaceful and I loved holding and snuggling him since I knew I wouldn't see him for a long time! This is Taigan and his beautiful mama Casey.

Can you tell they are related?!

They are all SMITH!

Ellie adored him too! She would not stop looking at him!

Family Day

2010-12-04T13:01:00.001-08:00

We are so lucky to have all our family living so close together. Until now we all lived in the same state. Two weeks ago my brother moved to Arkansas to start his new career working for the University of Central Arkansas. We are so proud of him achieving his goals and will miss him dearly. To say good-bye we had a full day of family time starting out with a hike at South Mountain.
Ellie loves being outside and was a good sport on the hike.

the Rasbands

Watching everyone exercise is really exhausting so she napped with Grandma Lori.

Party time!

The Rasbands hosted a fun going away party for Christopher's family and friends.

I saw this onsie at Old Navy the night before the party and she just had to have it for her uncle Bucky!

too cute!!

I love my little brother!

Bucky and his girls Ariah and Eire'

Must be tough being loved my so many ladies!

We LOVE you BUCKY!

Gilbert Days 5k

2010-12-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

On 10/19 the gals and I ran the Gilbert Days 5k. It was so fun to do a run as a family!

Alexis (10) also ran with us!

Katrina and Alexis made a bet to see who would finish first between the two of them. Can you see who won the $10?! She did great! Her first 5k and she ran it in 33 minutes!

We all survived and had a great time! I'm sure there will be more family races in our future.

College Football Hall of Fame

2010-11-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

ASU vs Stanford

It's game time! We took Ellie to her first college football game. We went with our friends Ashlea and Brennan and their little girl Tess. We chose this game because at halftime Pat Tillman was being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.Game time! We made Ellie her very own 42 onsie!
Kick-off! Let's go Devils!TOUCHDOWN! Despite all the noise Ellie made sure she got her nap time in!

Pat's former ASU teammate accepted the award.

Thank you Pat for your service and sacrifice for our freedom. You will always be remembered as one of our heroes!

Ellie was so good during the game! She didn't even mind the fireworks!

ASU cutie pie!

Just chillin' enjoying the game!

Ashlea and Tess are Sun Devil gals too!

All packed up and ready to head home. ASU didn't win but they played a good game and we all had fun and were able to celebrate and honor Pat Tillman 42.

MEGAMIND

2010-11-12T15:51:00.001-08:00

Ellie went to her first movie today! We joke all the time that we have a little TV junkie on our hands but we really do. She loved watching the movie and was good for the whole thing!!
My nieces didn't have school so we all went to the movie.

They even stayed the night and if you couldn't tell they picked out Ellie's outfit!!

Stylin' in her new boots! Love her chunky legs!!!!

19th Annual Desert Grande Triathlon

2010-11-07T19:58:00.001-08:00

SWIM 4OO METERS

BIKE 10.3 MILES

RUN 3.0 MILES

GO! GO! GO!

Shortly after Ellie was born I decided that I wanted to do a triathlon to help get back into shape. Spencer was very supportive and even wanted to join me! Now most of you that know me know that I didn't get all the necessary training I needed but I didn't want to back down and still wanted to finish... even if I was the last one crossing the finish line. Well guess what?! I surpassed my goal and finished in great time!! It felt great to have finished and to have my sweetheart finish well too!

Swimming was first. Truth be told, I swam once for practice three days before the race. Crazy I know!
Time starts NOW! No turning back! I was so nervous and excited that the moment was finally here!
Done with the swim! 13:16
Now to hop on the bike.
Get on and go!

Finished the bike in 50:36

Run run run! It was so hard to transition from biking to running. It took about a mile to feel back to normal.

DONE! Ran in 39:23

When I was coming up to the finish line the announcer called out my name and said that this was my first triathlon. He also announced that there was a little girl, my Ellie, waiting for her mama to finish. I lost it and totally started crying! It was awesome!! (thanks Trina for having him do that for me)

Spencer's story:

Lined up! It's go time!

Swam in 9:11! Nice work!

Off on the bike!

Bike done in 54:34

Run babe!!

He finished the 3 miles in 26:17!

We could not have done this without our fabulous and adorable CHEERLEADERS!!

Have your ever seen a cuter cheerleader?! I think not!

This one is a little scary!

Pom poms in hand and ready to cheer!

All the cheering wore her out!

Nice signs Lex!!

Outfit change!

Go Smiths!! Katrina had Ellie stay the night at her house so we could get the the tri early in the morning. It was harder on us than Ellie, she slept very well and was a good girl for her auntie! Thanks sis for all your help!!!

WE DID IT!

We are triathletes!!

Corissa's time - 1:43:15

Spencer's time - 1:21:02

The End...

until next year that is!

Meet the Flinstones!

2010-10-31T14:00:00.001-07:00

Flinstones. Meet the Flinstones.

They're the modern stone age family.

From the town of Bedrock,

They're a page right out of history.

Let's ride with the family down the street.

Through the courtesy of Fred's two feet.

When you're with the Flinstones

you'll have a yabba dabba doo time.

A dabba doo time.

You'll have a gay old time!

Fred, Wilma and Pebbles

My sister Katrina made all our costumes!
They were all perfect!!!

Happy to be home after a fun trunk or treat at church.

YABBA DABBA DOO!!!

Intel Rock Star Inside

2010-10-31T13:59:00.001-07:00

Intel invited 100 employees out for a day of fun at the Cardinals Stadium. The guys and gals were competing to win Cardinals game tickets. They could earn points in the following events:

punt catch

40 yard dash

20 yard shuffle

3 cone shuffle

football toss

math problem

We had a great time and Spencer did really well but was a few points shy of winning the tickets.

Punt catch

Don't hurt yourself!

The math problem was actually thrown out because all 100 people got it WRONG!

Getting ready for the 40 yard dash

Checking out the field

punt catch

football toss

Three Months Old

2010-10-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Daddy is her favorite person in the whole world!

She does her best thinking while she sucks her thumb.

Who doesn't love baby feet?!

Ellie's Three Month Update:

Weighs roughly 14 pounds

Puts herself to sleep at night

Sleeps 9-10 hours each night (once 11 hours)
Coos a lot and starting to giggle

Been in cloth diapers for a month and loving it

3 Road trips and slept for each one (2 Tucson, 1 Williams)

Getting better at tummy time but not rolling over yet

Overall a fantastic baby!!

2 Wonderful Years!

2010-10-16T23:34:00.000-07:00

I love you more and more every day! You are all I could have asked for in a best friend and more than I could have dreamed of in a husband!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

10.10.10

2010-10-10T21:57:00.001-07:00

We spent the weekend up in Williams with my mom and step-dad. It was so nice to enjoy the cooler weather and be able to bundle up Ellie. She loved it too! She was a chatter box the whole weekend! Since 10.10.10 was such a cool date we took some pics to remember it. Ellie is 11 weeks old!
Chillin' with Grandma Lori

Such a big girl!!!

Two Months

2010-09-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Love Peace Rock and Roll

Ellie is two months old today! She is getting more and more personality every day. She is such a happy girl and loves hanging out with her daddy! She is starting to interact with us and will talk back when we coo and talk to her.

She is amazing and we love seeing her grow!

Here is a video of Ellie chatting... don't miss the surprise ending!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60gQKkPHF4c

6, 7, 8

2010-09-23T22:52:00.001-07:00

6 weeks

Grandma and Grandpa Smith came to stay with us over Labor Day weekend. Ellie loved taking naps with Grandma and having Grandpa read and sing to her.

Mesa Arizona Temple

We took a drive to see the site for the new Gilbert Temple and then walked around the Mesa Temple grounds. Ellie was out! She enjoyed all the driving around we did.

She found her thumbs!! We weren't too excited about having a thumb sucker but she will pacify herself for about an hour in the mornings. This means more sleep for us and her! At about 6 weeks she started sleeping regularly through the night! Yeah! She'll sleep from 7-9 hours every night. We love it!

She's also filling out! Hello chubby bunny!

7 weeks

Sleeping babe... although she is awake more during the day it's so much easier to take pictures when she's asleep. She is quite the wiggle worm and it's hard to get pictures that aren't blurry. But sometimes I can catch her smiling! She smiles all the time!

8 weeks

Ellie loves being outside. It calms her right down if she's really fussy so we will be so thankful for cooler weather. It's still in the 100's but looking forward to the 80's and 90's soon!

Check out her lovely eyelashes! I adore them! She is so gosh darn cute!

Muah!

Ellie's Baby Blessing

2010-09-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

We blessed our sweet Ellie on September 5th, 2010. We were so happy to have so many friends and family attend and spend this special day with us! Ellie's dress is extra special... we had it made from my wedding dress! Isn't it beautiful?! A gal in our ward is an amazing seamstress and was excited to help us. She took the loops on the back to make the tie around the gown and used the beaded sleeves to make the sleeves on her dress. It's more beautiful than I imagined it could be! We are excited to use it for all the little girls that join our family. If we are lucky enough to have any boys we'll use more of the dress to make him a little suit!
Grandma Smith

We love our Ellie!!

Ellie Louise and Lindsay Louise - bffs
Lindsay came all the way from Indiana to meet Ellie! We love her so much and were so glad she made the long trip (and time away from her family) to be here for us.

the Smith family

Martha, Graig, Corissa, Spencer, Ellie, Jacob, Hilary

the Vasquez family

Ariah, Cristina, Christopher, Nova, Eire', Spencer, Ellie and Corissa

Daddy and his little princess

Spencer gave her a beautiful blessing. We feel so blessed to have this little girl in our home. We love you Ellie and will do all we can to teach you and give you good examples to follow.

Five Weeks!

2010-08-28T19:26:00.001-07:00

Ellie is 5 weeks old today!

This week has been a turning point for me and Ellie. We are getting into a routine and it's made a huge difference in our daily lives. We've made several outing this week just the two of us! That's a big deal to me! This week she has been starting to smile and make cooing sounds. She is so fun and so cute!!

Ellie's first month

2010-08-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that a whole month has gone by already. I was always so preoccupied by the actual labor and delivery that I didn't ever think about the day-to-day job of being a mom. I didn't expect it to be easy at all but no one ever tells you how hard it is. You are a brand new mom. You don't get enough sleep. Your baby is brand new and learning to live outside your belly. Nothing is as natural as you think it will be. No matter how happy you are, you still can cry for no reason. I've been on my knees a lot and Heavenly Father has helped me and given me so much strength. It's been amazing!!! I feel closer to my sweet baby each day. I fall in love with her every time I look at her sweet face. I love that I will be called mom for the rest of my life!!

Ellie and I are starting to find our groove so I've been able to catch up on blogging. I've been dieing to show off my little cutie pie!

Since Ellie decided to come out at 2:00am on Saturday we were able to take her home Sunday afternoon - she was only 2 days old!! Putting her in the car seat and walking to the car make it so real. They were letting us take her, keep her, she was ours! Spencer teased me a little because that was the first time I cried.

All buckled in and ready to go on her first car ride... we were going home.

She quickly snuggled in and fell asleep.

WELCOME HOME ELLIE!

3 days old - first sponge bath from mommy and daddy

Ellie loves sleeping. She especially loves cuddling with you and sleeping on your chest. She and her daddy are great nap buddies. Aren't they so cute?!

Ellie all ready for bed. The first few nights were rough because she was a night owl. She was always active in my tummy from 9-11pm and so she was when she came out. Thankfully she got over this quickly.

4 days old - another sponge bath. She looks like she'll have her daddy's cute curls and I couldn't resist fluffing out her hair. She was born with plenty of hair... in the back and only peach fuzz in the front. Poor thing looks like an old man but we think she's the cutest baby EVER!

All cozy and warm after her bath in her cute Pooh robe. Nap time again!

I was having a rough day so Spencer got Ellie all dressed up to cheer me up. It totally worked! She is all girl... and pink looks good on her!!

11 days old - cute little yellow cupcake!

First time meeting her cousins! Ellie has 5 cousins on my side that have been so excited to meet her.

Erie' and Ariah came to see her in the hospital. Erie' walked right in and sat down so she could hold her. Ariah loved staring at her and touching her.

Alexis is almost old enough to babysit.. woo hoo!

Ellie pooped while Ariana was holding her and they all thought it was so funny!

Caprice had to come check out the nasty poo and then Ellie fell asleep in her lap.

Ellie has some amazing cousins to look up to and learn from!

2 weeks old - our little lady bug

Our first couple weeks were the hardest. Each day seemed like forever. Now I wish I could go back and just soak them up. Ellie is an amazing little girl and really is growing up too fast!!

18 days old - love the curl on top, I can't wait till they are all over her cute head

20 days old - I decided to play with my sleeping baby. She really was out! I set her up on her Ellie pillow and took a couple shots. I got her pillow from a gal I found via blog stalking (don't judge... you all do it). I love it and even got a Smith pillow before we found out we were expecting. Check her out at http://www.bellamariedesigns.etsy.com/

When I moved her to her crib she woke up but gave me some cute faces!

She's probably wondering why she's naked and I kept hoping she didn't have to go pee!

3 weeks old - all dressed up for our first outing. It was Spencer's cousins birthday so we all went to dinner at Joe's BBQ. Ellie was so well behaved! We all had a great time. It felt good to be out with our friends and feel like normal people.

I LOVE kissing her!!

4 weeks old

29 days old - all dressed up for Church

30 days old - I know I love yellow but I think she will too, she looks so cute in it!

1 month bath time!

Ellie had a great check-up with Dr. Smith today. He told us she's growing and developing perfectly. She weighed in at 10 pounds and 3 ounces and she grew to 22 1/2 inches!

Happy one month sweetie!

Ellie has arrived! 7.24.10

2010-08-23T15:44:00.001-07:00

Ellie's Birth Story

Thursday morning I woke up and went to a session at the Mesa Temple. I felt tired but I thought it was just an early morning and lots of sitting and standing. After the Temple I went to visit my friend Lauren who just had a baby 6 days earlier. Little Henry was precious and the whole time I held him Ellie was kicking my belly (I think she wanted to be the one in my arms) I called my mom and told her about the cramps I had been having all day. They didn't hurt, they just felt like menstrual cramps, low and not regular at all. She told me they were indeed contractions!! I knew something would happen soon so I needed to finish the nursery. Spencer helped me hang some picture frames and her ELLIE letters above her crib. We finished packing the hospital bag and finally went to bed at 11:30pm! Yikes! Little did I know that I should have gone to sleep sooner. At my usual midnight potty break something was different. Contractions began at 1:30am! I laid back in bed and the contractions started to get stronger so we started to time them. We wanted to wait and labor at home as long as possible. Around 7:00am I got up and showered and ready to go. Contractions were about 6 minutes apart so we headed to the hospital at 8:30am. In triage we found out that I was only dilated to a 1. We couldn't be admitted unless we were in active labor. We walked around for a little bit but didn't feel well so I laid back down. The contractions slowed way down and were now 10 minutes apart, still very painful but I still wasn't dilating. At 11:30 am we were sent back home. I cried and cried. I was hurting and really wanted something to happen. Being home was tough. I lasted only a couple more hours before I called the triage nurses again. I didn't think I could take the pain anymore. The contractions were random, sometimes 4 min and sometimes 6 min apart. We decided to go back to the hospital at 3:30pm. Much to our dismay I was only dilated to a 1.5. I was so afraid of being sent home again. They decided to give me Demerol to help calm me down. It worked! I was able to rest between contractions. I was so tired and being able to relax really felt good. After a few hours I was dilated to a 5 and was able to get admited!! Woo hoo! By 7:00pm I was a 6 and was able to get my epidural! Thank goodness for medicine!!!! I was happy and pain free. This slowed things down so I was also put on Pitocin. We were making slow progress but we could see on the monitors that the contractions were getting stronger.

At 1:00am I was finally dilated to a 10! Time to start pushing!! I told my nurse that I was terrified of pushing and that I didn't think I could handle it. She was very nice and told me exactly what to do and when. It also helped to have Spencer by my side. He was so supportive all day!

Every push was exciting, we were getting closer and closer to meeting our little girl. I couldn't help but smile each time I pushed. It was so much better than I could have imagined. After 50 minutes of pushing there was a baby! Our baby girl had arrived!! Spencer was able to cut her ambilical cord.

She was quickly cleaned off and soon let out her first cry. It was the best sound ever!

20 1/2 inches long
7 pounds 7 ounces

Daddy was the first one to hold Ellie. She quickly melted his heart!!

My first time holding my little girl

It's amazing... we're parents!

Ellie was wide awake and happy!

Don't you just love that face and those big blue eyes!!

Pure joy!

We couldn't stop smiling!

We were all tired after a 24.5 hour labor!

The happy SMITH family!

Maternity Photo Shoot

2010-07-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

We just love Justine Miller! She has been our photographer for our engagement, wedding, family sessions and now we get to see her amazing talent once again with our maternity photo shoot and soon Ellie's shoot!! We can hardly wait!!

Only SIX days till our due date!!

Feel free to post your guesses about her arrival date and weight :) let's see who's closest!!

Counting down

2010-06-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Time has been flying by. Each day gets us closer and closer to being able to hold out little girl. We are so thankful for a healthy and happy pregnancy. Ellie moves all the time and her kicks are getting stronger as she's been getting bigger. It's exciting to countdown for our upcoming life changing events...
the biggest two being:

9 days - Corissa has left of work

25 days - till Ellie's due date

We had our 37 week appointment this week and everything was good! Ellie is healthy and her heartbeat was 160 to 140.

This will be the last of post with belly shots... the next pics of chubby cheeks and feet will be on a cute little baby!

Happy Birthday Spencer!

2010-06-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we celbrated Spencer's 32nd birthday!

It was a nice quiet day with french toast for breakfast, good day at church then yummy dinner and friends over for dessert!

Spencer is a wonderful husband, friend, and daddy in training. I love him so much and I hope he had a fabulous birthday.

I love you honey!

Family Tree

2010-06-21T08:29:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Father's Day! We had a great day celebrating and thinking about our sweet little girl on the way. We already love our little Ellie so much and we are excited to become her parents.

Family is where it all begins.

Spencer got a "family" tree for Father's Day. We are adding a new leaf to our tiny family!

Happy Father's Day to all dads-to-be, dads,

step-dads, and grandpas!

Shower the ones you love with love

2010-06-16T21:35:00.001-07:00

Corissa's younger sister Cristina was born to be an event planner. Cristina has been calling dibs on planning Corissa's baby shower since she and Spencer were married. She finally got her chance and she did an amazing job with help from Grandma Lori, Nicole, and Angelica. These lovely ladies all helped make this an unforgetable day!This was the fabulous red velvet cake made by Corissa's cousin Stephanie. Not only is it super cute but it was absolutely delicious!

Yummy yummy food!!
Check out the diaper wreath too! Cute and useful.. nice!

There was a scrapbook table set-up for guests to design their own pages. Now Corissa just has to fill them in with pictures of lil Ellie!

Corissa and Cristina
- thank you Bean for the best baby shower ever!! XOXO
Corissa's mom Lori

Corissa and Julie

Gal pals - Lori, Angelica, Nicole and Erin

Corissa's favorite pregnant chic Ashlea

Baby Tess is due in September so Ellie will already have a bff!

Best buddies - Nicole and Corissa

More gal pals - Katee, Krystal and Jenna

Opening presents was so fun!

Ellie will be one well dressed little gal!

THANK YOU

to all who came for your love and support!!

Babymoon

2010-06-11T22:17:00.001-07:00

We decided to take a babymoon to California to enjoy the cooler weather, go to Sea World and just relax! It was fabulous and we both had a great time together. We did have one small hiccup - we lost all our pictures from the trip. To this day we aren't sure what happened but Spencer did some searching and found a site that would allow us to recover everything on our SD card and no cost... Hooray! Now we have pictures to post!

The Shamu show was really cool. We were brave/crazy enough to sit in the soak zone but got lucky and didn't end up needing the Shamu poncho we bought. We thought about trying to sell it to other tourists at a discount rate but neither us of were brave enough to offer haha!

The whole time we were in Hawaii we wanted to find a place to crack open your own oysters and keep the pearl. We had a couple chances but passed them up thinking the next one would be better. Needless to say we left Hawaii with no pearl. Spencer was determined not to let that happen again. Corissa picked out the oyster and turns out it was a good choice!

The pearl is beautiful. They drill a hole in it so now we have to find a jeweler who will mount it for us.

Since this was our babymoon we needed to take a belly pick.

This is Corissa at 30 weeks

Back to the sea animals... CREEPY eels... yuck!

Pretty star fish

We were allowed to pick them up.. it was funny to feel them start to suck on your hand.

Corissa holding a sea snail

Dori!

We found Nemo!

The shark exhibit was really cool. Too dark for pictures but here we are in front of a shark jaw!

The sea lions show was the most entertaining. The animals and cast were really funny. The skits was called Sea Lions Live and they did parts of shows like Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, CSI and SNL. So so funny!

Check out that Walrus! HUGE!!
Corissa loved this fluffy penguin. He was just chilling posing for the camera.

We saw the polar bear for about 5 seconds and managed to get one picture. He was not being sociable at all.

After Sea World we met Spencer's brother Jacob for dinner at La Pizzeria Arrivederci. It was delicious! Corissa's current craving was pizza so we had pizza at different places 3 of the 4 nights we were there.

Before we headed back home we did some more sight seeing. The Mormon Battalion history center was just remodeled to we went to take a tour. They dressed Spencer up in the gear that the Mormon soldiers had.. he's such a good sport.

Light house at Point Loma

Last but not least we shopped. We stopped by the Hotel Del Coronado. It was so pretty. We found some cute stuff for Ellie, some yummy fudge, and a shirt and some jewelry for Corissa.

Time to head home.

We had a great time together just being able to enjoy each other. We are beyond excited for Ellie to join our family but having one last trip without her was nice too :)

Growing bump!

2010-05-13T22:52:00.001-07:00

So many changes... so little time. Corissa is now in her third trimester and still feeling great. Our little Ellie is an active girl! She likes to stretch out in mommy's tummy and stay that way for a little while. Last week she wore mommy out with all her moving, kicking and stretching. Mommy loves every second of it!!28 weeks
30 weeks

Nursery

2010-05-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

Corissa has had an idea of what she wanted our little girl's nursery to look like for a while now and with the help of her parents this past week Ellie's room is just about ready for her arrival. (not that we want her to come early, but we are more prepared now than we were before) We have 3 bedrooms - our room, a guest room and a computer/storage room. With Ellie on the way we needed to consolidate the guest and computer room for her to have her very own nursery. It took a lot of cleaning, organizing, storage bins, labels, and a trip to Goodwill to get the rooms ready but we finished just in time. Corissa's parents came down and spent 2 and 1/2 days (their days off work) with us to work on the room.

BEFORE

Spencer had great foresight and had the whole house painted in a very pretty tan color. This has been great but not what we wanted in the baby's room.
The closest has never had doors... until now.

Testing the paint... looks like we got it right on our first try!
Apple Tree (green) and Moon Dance (yellow)

Time for primer!
Corissa's brother Christopher also came to get in on the fun and work on his newest niece's room.
Moon Dance looks good Rob!

So does the Apple Tree!

The room is ready for chair rail. Corissa got the idea from their friends house where they did chair rail high up and used it as a border instead of the usual chair rail height.

The chair rail turned out great!

Finally closet doors!

Here's a before and after shot.

They even made time to paint the guest bathroom.

It looks so nice and fresh!

BIG

THANK YOU TO LORI & ROB O'LEARY

and CHRISTOPHER too!!!!

We really appreciate all the work you did for us!

Ellie has a happy place to grow, sleep and play!

Still growing... and growing...

2010-04-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

Ellie has been quite the little kickboxer lately in mommy's belly. Corissa said that yesterday she felt like Ellie was about to kick so hard that her belly button was going to pop out! Mommy and daddy love to feel Ellie moving and can't help but stop everything just to see her or feel her one more time. Her heart rate was up to 170 today at the doctor's visit. She was really working hard in there. Ellie measured in at 1 pound and 6 ounces (give or take). Mom and baby are both doing well and both are continuing to grow.

What's in a name?

2010-03-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Now that we know we are having a baby girl we can start the name game. We both tossed out some names we liked but now it's time to get serious and pick one. Who knew this would be so difficult?! It's a lot of pressure.... this kids got to live with this name forever, or at least until she's 18 and can change it to Princess Consuela Banana Hammock (Friends reference for all those who don't get it). Corissa's number one pick was shot down by Spencer but with no real alternatives. That means it's back the think pad or at least back to Corissa's sticky notes with names. Then we found it... ELLIE It means noble, exalted, sun ray, and shining light. It's perfect for our little girl!! Now for a middle name. This one's easy. We both wanted a name that meant something to us and so Corissa suggested using the middle name of her best friend Lindsay who is also the one who introduced her to the Gospel. Done! LOUISE We loved the way the names sounded together and Corissa even cried when she pictured holding our baby girl and calling her

ELLIE LOUISE

We love it!!

For our 22 week update - Ellie is kicking up a storm and Spencer was able to feel her for the first time today. It's fun to watch Corissa's belly move! She has a hard time sitting still and not giggling while Ellie moves around. Corissa felt her for the first time a few weeks ago at church but the past two days have been really fun and active. Corissa is feeling great and her belly has really popped out. We'll take a profile shot of the bump at our next doctor's appointment.

The results are in...

2010-03-01T11:28:00.001-08:00

We found out this morning that we are We are so excited!
Corissa is happy she gets to play with headbands and tutus and

Spencer is loving the idea of having daddy's little girl!!

Sweethearts Weekend

2010-02-26T17:55:00.000-08:00

Corissa's mom and step-dad hosted us at their home for the weekend and then on Monday we drove up to the Grand Canyon for some sight seeing. It was a sunny beautiful day but still only in the 40's. We packed a lunch and ate along the south rim and went for a little hike down Bright Angel Trail. We also went to the Hermit's Rest and saw the Abyss along the way. It was an amazing cliff that was beautifully covered in snow. Then we went to the Watchtower look out and saw the beginning of the Colorado as it enters the Canyon.

We both took Tuesday off work to make it a nice four day weekend and on our way home took the scenic drive from Flagstaff to Sedona and we stopped at Slide Rock along the way.

Greer cabin trip

2010-02-23T20:46:00.000-08:00

Our friends invited us up to Greer to hang out in their family's cabin and you can't pass up a chance like this. The cabin is amazing and the snow was awesome too! We headed for a huge hill for some sledding (videos below) and played lots of games, ate tons of yummy food and just relaxed! Thank you to the Clarkson's for the invite!

cute snow bunnies!

Becca and Caleb

Krystal and Steve playing in the snow

Spencer heading down the hill face first!
Yes... he's crazy... everyone but Corissa tried it.

16 Week Peek

2010-02-01T20:34:00.000-08:00

Today we went in for our second ultrasound

to checkout how baby is doing! Everything is looking great and our baby is growing so fast! Baby Smith is 5 ounces and the heart rate is 150. We were able to see great shots of the spine, arms, legs and face

(Dad says it looked like Skeletor).

Even though you can sometimes see the sex of the baby starting at 15 weeks, Baby Smith was insistent on keeping their legs crossed... must be a sign that it will be a girl.
We will know better at our next appointment four weeks from now.

Rock 'n' Roll

2010-01-17T18:21:00.001-08:00

Corissa and her coworker signed up to do the Half Marathon. Suzanne wanted to work off her baby weight and Corissa wanted to stay in shape while pregnant. We had fun on our training walks but there's nothing like being in a crowd of people to keep us going.
This is Corissa, Suzanne and Anne (Suz's friend)
We knew they weren't running the whole course so we ended up in corral 20! Way in the back. This is us waiting at the start line.
This is the sea of people we were behind waiting to get to the start line.

Woo hoo! Mile 7!

More than half way done!

So close... Mile 12 on the Mill Avenue bridge!

We did it!!!!

DONE!

Finished in 3:26:16

Not bad for 14 weeks pregnant!

Spencer came to cheer us on at the Finish Line.

Sneak Peak

2010-01-05T21:00:00.001-08:00

Look who we saw today!

Here's our first picture of baby Smith aka our little Peanut!

Baby is doing well and looking good too. We were very excited for our first ultrasound and it was amazing! We were able to see baby S moving all around and moving arms and legs, even though Corissa won't feel any movements for a few more weeks. The best part was when we saw the heart beating at 160 beats per minute. The ultrasound tech also let us listen to the beat and it was incredible. Mommy cried and Dad was happy to see all the moving and kicking. Baby S is currently 2 inches from head to bum and weighs about half an ounce.

2010

2010-01-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

Post coming soon....

Home Improvement

2009-12-29T21:39:00.000-08:00

We are letting you know we plan
on expanding our house two more feet

We're Pregnant!

Friday, November 13th was the happy day

we found out we are expecting!
Currently 11 weeks and due July 25th!

Turkey Day 2009

2009-11-27T20:53:00.001-08:00

This year we both ran in the Mesa Turkey Trot!

It was a warm day for a run and we enjoyed getting out and

burning the calories we'd later be adding on at dinner!

Spencer finished in 53 min 16 sec

and I finished in 1 hr 18 min 18 sec.

After the run we headed down to Tucson

to spend time with my side of the family.

We also celebrated our Grandmother's 91st birthday!
My cousin Stephanie made her fabulous present cake.

This Vasquez side of the family - 2009 Thanksgiving

Me and my favorite brother

Arizona State Fair

2009-11-09T21:47:00.001-08:00

On Saturday night we and some friends went to the Arizona State Fair! The Fair is always fun to people watch, pet the animals, eat everything deep fried and enjoy the rides! Now I know the food is far from healthy but the gobs of grease just taste better at the fair. We enjoyed a ginormous polish dog and a pile of piggly fries. mmmmm

We had fun watching the smash derby!

Steve and Jenna had a mystery guest pop-up in their picture LOL

These are the cars at the Smash Derby. This was seriously one of the funniest things to ever watch. They paint their cars just to crash them into everyone else. Some even caught on FIRE!

Check out the cute Wallaby! and it's BABY in the pouch!
So tiny and so cute!!

me and the goat!
It was trying to eat my purse but was super friendly.

What a face! I LOVE LOVE LOVE piggies and want one so bad!

baby chicks!

The Grand Wheel

It was a fun ride looking at the lights of the Fair

and sneaking some kisses up high in the sky!

Fall Fun

2009-10-31T23:31:00.000-07:00

For family home evening we carved pumpkins! It was so fun. This was my first time ever carving my very own pumkin. It was messy. It smelt kind of funny. But it was so so fun.

Our friends Krystal and Steve Humble came over to carve with us. Steve's was a death star from Star Wars and Krystal's was a cute jack-o-lantern.

I was having a creativity block so I just carved and S for my favorite name Smith :) and I was blown away with Spencer's talent and creativity. You can tell he's a big Simpson's fan by his carving of Crusty the Clown.

Ward Trunk or Treat

This weekend was our ward's annual trunk or treat and chili cook off. I was amazed by the competitiveness of some ward members and also by their fabulous chili cooking skills. We had over 20 kinds of chili and soup to chose from! No one went hungry. Some families had fun decorating their trunks and themselves for the treating part of the evening.

Carnes and Huish family

super cute trick or treaters

the Bailey family...

brother Bailey is not in costume, he just got off work!

brother Johnson looking very dapper

sister Johnson the Maleficent and her adorable little Glinda

taco, burrito, what's coming out of your speedo!

wouldn't it have been so funny if we cheered... but we didn't

at least we looked cute!

Jack even came out to support the missionaries

brother and sister Lopez looking good!

Contest Time!

2009-10-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

Please help us win a canvas photo to decorate our house!
All you have to do is post a comment on our blog post from Justine Miller Photography! Easy huh!! Hurry and post... you only have until October 31st!!
http://justinemillerphotography.com/blog/2009/08/family-love-arizona-family-photographer-justine-miller/

Amazing!

2009-10-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

This past year has been amazing!

We've had so much fun.

We've grown so much closer together.

We've learned so much from each other.

We've traveled.

We've loved so much!

We can't wait for the years to come.

Happy Anniversary My Love!

I love you always and forever!

Family Time

2009-09-30T08:30:00.001-07:00

My brother and his fiancé are moving to Conway, Arkansas! We all decided this is the perfect time to get some great family pictures done. Bucky loves his sisters and his nieces so this will be great keepsakes for him while he is away in Arkansas.

Aren't my nieces the cutest?!

the whole family

Bucky and his girls!

We took the opportinuty to have some shots of us too!

I love his silly face!!!

Justine Miller has once again done an amazing job!! We just love her work and I believe her camera is magic!

Science Center

2009-09-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

Intel was awesome enough to give us 4 FREE passes to the Arizona Science Center. We took our friend Marilyn and her two cute little boys along to check it out. It has been forever since I’ve been so I was way excited.

They have everything – bed of nails,

tug of war,

floating balls, you name it!

The best part was the featured exhibit – LEGOS!

The theme was castles. They have life size men in armor,

cool castles

and even a big red dragon

and it's baby.

The boys couldn’t resist picking its nose!

We had a blast!

Havasupai

2009-09-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

We went for our annual Havasupai trip in July and had a blast! This year Graig, Andrew and Jacob (Spencer’s dad and brothers) all came with us.We began with dinner and Big Earl’s in Carefree before leaving the valley. It’s so yummy!!!

Andrew, Graig, Spencer, Corissa on the hike in

Isn't it beautiful!

Mooney Falls is still awesome as well but also lost the play pools and the rope swing at the bottom. It’s kind of cool now that you can walk so far and get so close to the falls.

Tunnel you hike down to get to Mooney

We ventured out to check out Beaver Falls and played in the water along the way. Since Beaver is at the end of the fall chain, it had a ton of sediment drained into it so there is NO cliff jumping anymore. The hike through the green valley is so cool though that we still a great time!

Beaver Falls

Andrew and dad is the green valley

cool green rock showerHavasu Falls

Havasu Falls lost all the play pools at the bottom but is still an amazing sight to see as you turn the corner and head down the steep hill of red sand. The mist is so refreshing! The water level is lower so there are different cliffs to jump off.

Check out Graig! Hard to believe he’s 63!!!

former.... Navajo Falls

We were sad to see our favorite falls – Navajo Falls – all dried up and filled with sediment. Sad sad sad. It hard to believe we’ve jumped off these cliffs and that the whole wall used to be covered in water… sad sad sad.

There was a terrible flood last year that completely changed the scenery and all the falls. There is a new fall now that you will see just off the trail as you leave the village and head to the campground. It’s called Rock Falls. Oh and don’t pay any attention to the “no jumping” sign – hey, if the locals were doing it so can we!

Happy 1st Anniversary Rasbands!

2009-08-23T23:00:00.001-07:00

Happy One Year Anniversary Katrina and Jay!

Since paper is the traditional one year anniversary gift we thought we'd give them a nice picture of the Albuquerque Temple. And not just any picture, a special one just for them!

http://www.culturalhall.com/ has several pieces and temples to choose from and you can even personalize it like the one we ordered for the Rasband family.

VoTe! Now till Aug 20th!

2009-07-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

One of our Tillman Scholars at ASU - Nikki Lewis -

is vying for a scholarship at this moment.

She needs your vote!

Nikki is a wonderful person

and after watching her video at this link

http://www.lifehappens.org/vote

you will find out why

When you have a moment, watch the video and vote for Nikki.

It is simple (no need to register - just type in 003 and enter next to Nikki's video) and you can

vote as many times as you'd like.

Thanks for taking the time to help out Nikki!

Do you speak Russian?

2009-07-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

Today Andrew reports to the MTC!

He was called to the Yekaterinburg Russia Mission.

A little boy asked Andrew if he could speak Russian and he replied no net yet and the little boy told him he better learn so he could speak to the people! Little kids are awesome!

We were able to spend some time with Andrew this weekend and he is a great young man and will be an amazing missionary and representative of Jesus Christ. We know he will be blessed by this decision to serve and we are so excited to hear all about Russia!

We love you Andrew!

Happy Anniversary! July 2, 2009

2009-07-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

You both are an amazing example of love and happiness.

We look to you as an example to follow and hope we are as happy and in love as you both are 32 years later!

Happpy Birthday Spencer!

2009-06-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

Babe you are the best thing to ever happen to me. I am so blessed to have you in my life and to have you as my eternal sweetheart.

You amaze me every day!

Here are 31 things I love about you-

I LOVE…

Your smile

How kind you are to everyone you meet

Your amazing bright blue eyes

Your laugh… especially when I make you laugh! Usually you’re laughing at something funny on the Office or the Simpsons… still cute laughs!

How much you love our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ

Watching you teach the kids in Primary and how your voice would change when you talked to them

When you get glossy eyes in Church because something touches your heart

Your big hugs

Your fantastic cooking skills

How patient you are with me

When you tell me I’m beautiful first thing in the morning (the time I’m farthest from feeling even a tiny bit cute!)

That you put up with me

Your fabulous kisses

When you fold laundry for me

Your voice… I love listening to you sing in church

How great you are with my nieces! You are going to be an amazing daddy!

Reading the Twilight books with you… even though you finished before me

How you try to make me happy every day

How you teach me by example to be more Christ-like

Going on bike rides together

How you are always honest… (even though sometimes you’re brutally honest)

How you giggle in my ear when someone is taking our picture to make sure you’re smiling

Going on road trips with you

Cuddling on the couch and watching movies with you

When you wear cologne just for me

How just by being you- I want to be a better person

That you kiss me and say goodbye at least 5 times every morning

Saying prayers together

Going to the Temple with you

How you’ve changed my world forever

That you want to be with me

I wish you a very happy birthday my love!

June 18, 2009

2009-06-26T09:43:00.003-07:00

Lunch with the girls!

What a nice surprise it was to have Bean call me and ask if she and the girls could come see me! We had a yummy lunch at Qdoba and Eire’ was in true form when she asked if she could have hot sauce in her soup. She is hilarious! She has hot sauce on just about everything… just like her mama! She also turned into a picture model! She even posed herself with the flower!

legs this chunky are only cute on babies

I love these sweet girls.

Eire’(4 ½ years), Ariah (4 ½ months)

June 13, 2009

2009-06-26T09:43:00.001-07:00

Marilyn’s baptism!!

We met Marilyn about a month ago. The missionaries asked us if we would sit in on her lessons. Of course we said YES! Our first lesson with her we could tell she was special. She is a young mother who wants the best things for her family. She knew the Gospel would not only save her but her two little boys and her marriage too. Marilyn committed herself to change her lifestyle and set a baptism date. We continued attending the lessons with her and felt like we became quick friends. We were honored when she asked us to participate in her baptism and confirmation. It was a beautiful day. The room was packed with her friends and family who were all there to support her and her decision. Marilyn was already glowing and beaming with excitement for what was to come. She was ready for this day. She is a sweet sweet girl and we love getting to know her and her two cute little boys, Zane and Bryson.

The missionaries are amazing too. Elders Christensen and Moore are fabulous teachers who have been prepared for this special and important time in Marilyn’s life.

Elder Christensen, Marilyn and Elder Moore

June 9, 2009

2009-06-26T09:42:00.004-07:00

Take a hike

There was just something about the day… all I wanted to do was go hiking. I convinced Spencer and Hunter to go with me for company and so they could get a workout too! It was a nice cool and breezy evening with an amazing sunset.

the boys - Spencer and HunterSun starting to set
Awesome sunset! Nice pic Spencer!

And big shout out to Cristina and Nova on their
4 year anniversary! Love you guys!

June 6, 2009

2009-06-26T09:42:00.003-07:00

Provo Canyon
On our way out of town we took a short walk up to Provo Canyon. It was so green and pretty. There were cool falls from the snow run-off.

Jacob, Casey, Tyler, their niece Jane, Spencer

June 5, 2009

2009-06-26T09:42:00.001-07:00

Wedding day Friday

We took a road trip up to Utah for the weekend to go to a couple weddings. Friday morning we went to the Bountiful Temple for Spencer’s cousin Becca’s wedding to her husband Jon. The sealer performed a beautiful ceremony and gave the couple a great start for their new life together. We walked around the grounds for a little bit with Tyler and Casey and enjoyed the sweet Spirit on the Temple grounds.

Bountiful Temple

Jon and Becca Frazier

the Smith fam - Andrew, Dad, Mom, Jacob, Casey, Tyler and us

Casey and Tyler Smith

us at Bountiful - I love the stained glass

Then we headed down to the Draper Temple for our friends Steve and Jenna’s wedding. The Draper Temple is brand new and totally beautiful. It’s tucked back in the mountains and is the stone is a gorgeous grey color. It started to get cloudy as we pulled up. During the sealing we could hear the thunder and down pour of rain outside. It was a cool sound. The sealing was amazing and once again a fabulous reminder to us of the covenants we’ve made and how powerful and important temple marriages are.

Draper Temple

Jenna and Steve Murray

Us at Draper
BEFORE the wind

Us at Draper
AFTER the wind

May 31, 2009

2009-06-26T09:41:00.005-07:00

No more primary?
Spencer and I got a call on Sunday to come in to meet with Bishop. We couldn’t for the life of us figure out what the meeting was for. We were only in Primary for 5 months and none of the kids were baptized yet… so they couldn’t be releasing us. Maybe they just needed help with something. We went in and they asked how our class was doing… they told us how well our class has been since we were called, but then they said, you’re doing such a great job now we need to move you. We were shocked! We will miss our sweet class. We have learned a lot about how to teach children, a lot about patience, and how to make church and bible stories fun. We had a great class and those kids will be amazing adults someday!

Spencer was called to be in the Young Men’s Presidency and I was called to be the ward activities leader! Fun!! Spencer gets to help out and help motivate the young men and I get to plan the events… sounds like the perfect callings for us. So stay tuned for posts from camping trips, high adventure activities and all the ward events we’ll be part of now!

May 28, 2009

2009-06-26T09:41:00.003-07:00

Bike trip in Prescott
Spencer and some of his work buddies took a half day off work to go bike riding in Prescott. Here are some of the pics Spencer took with the NEW camera! He was excited to be the first one to try it out!

Here is where we got some BIG air ...

... all six inches of it!

May 27, 2009

2009-06-26T09:41:00.001-07:00

New Camera

Both of our cameras decided to crap out on us so we were camera-less for a few months… pretty annoying because we missed out on some fun pics of our bike trip, Ariana’s kindergarten graduation and a fun weekend up in Williams with the family. But no more! Spencer had a list of specs he wanted and we found the perfect camera at Costco… who doesn’t love Costco?!

We love our new toy!!

May 25, 2009

2009-06-26T09:40:00.005-07:00

Bike Ride

We both had the day off for Memorial Day so we decided to hit the road for a little bike adventure. We wanted to go some place out of the valley but also somewhere that wouldn’t be crowded with all the other peeps that had the day off. I looked online and found some biking trails east of Mesa in the Superstition Wilderness. We packed a lunch, put the bikes in the truck and we were off. Its nice spending quality time together and sharing hobbies. Spencer is a much better mountain biker than I am but he is very patient with me and helps me remember what gears I should be in and when to change them. He also reminds me not to be afraid… but I’m not quite there yet. We went up some pretty awesome hills (on the road but still very steep). There were saguaro cacti everywhere and they were all blooming. It was beautiful to see. We didn’t have a camera but the next best thing was Spencer's iPhone!

What a fun day!

May 2, 2009

2009-06-26T09:39:00.001-07:00

Sealings are beautiful and we were able to attend a very special one for my sister and her husband Jay. They were married in August last year and were now able to receive the blessings of a Temple marriage. The sealer had some great advice for the couple but it was also a great reminder for all in the room. We were so glad we were able to be part of this very special day.

The sealing was in the Albuquerque New Mexico Temple since that’s where Jay is from. It is a small and beautiful temple just on the outskirts of town close to the mountains. The clouds stared coming in making the sky a beautiful grey. The day was lovely.

April 25th

2009-05-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

Spencer and I headed up to San Jose a few weeks ago for Pat’s Run. The run is at Leland High School, Pat’s old stomping grounds. It is beautiful there and the race course was nice too. Spencer was determined to beat his time from Tempe just a week prior. He was in the Clydesdale category (no he was not riding a horse in the race... it’s for the guys who are 225lbs-274lbs). Spencer took FIRST PLACE with an amazing 29:18 time (that’s a 6:59 pace)!

Way to go Spencer!!

Rounding the corner...

He's almost to the Finish Line!

Runners run a 4.2 mile course and

finish on the 42-yard line of the football field!

Pat's Run is a celebration of the life and legacy of Pat Tillman.

Miss San Jose passed out the awards.

The Proposal

2009-05-08T09:40:00.001-07:00

Last night Spencer and I went to a special advance screening of The Proposal! It was so fun to know we were seeing a movie tons of other people have to wait till June to go see.

The movie was a cute romantic comedy starring the beautiful Sandra Bullock and the funny and cute Ryan Reynolds. Her character Margaret Tate is facing deportation back to Canada and instead bribes her assistant Andrew Paxton to marry her. You’ll have to watch it to see how it turns out… but I promise you will laugh out loud through most if it.

The film comes out June 19th!

P.S. I promise more updates are coming soon!!

Happy 8th Birthday Caprice!

2009-04-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

The first word that comes to mind when I think of Caprice is LOVE! She loves everyone... big, small, short, tall, she loves them all. (even goth people she passes in the store) Caprice has a big heart, fabulous voice, beautiful smile (it's finally filling in), and a sweet spirit and testimony. Check it out for yourself at http://katrinarasband.blogspot.com/2009/03/caprice-knows.html

We love you Caprice and wish you a very happy birthday!

My wonderful husband!

2009-03-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

My fantastic, loving, amazing, pretty much perfect hubby totally spoils me! I had a fabulous birthday!! Saturday night he invited some friends to celebrate with us at one of my favorite places - Postinos in Phoenix! Then we went bowling where I somehow got a 146! Crazy!
On Monday (actual bday) I got to pick what I wanted for dinner and dessert. I love Spencer’s beef stroganoff with Italian sausage and for dessert he made me date crumble. So yummy! I was stuffed. He also surprised me with tickets to see WICKED! He knows that I’ve been wanting to see it forever and now I get to thanks to him! Woo Hoo!

Thank you baby!!!

July 14th! Only 136 days away but who's counting!

Happy Happy Birthday!

2009-03-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday sis! I want you to know how much I love you and love having you in my life. You are an amazing woman, daughter, sister, mother, wife and FRIEND! You have been by my side since the beginning and still are there today. We don’t always agree, we don’t always have the same taste, but we always find a way to stick together. I look up to you in so many ways! I watch you as a mother and hope that I’m half as good as you. I watch you in your callings and hope I try as hard as you to fulfill my duties. I can’t wait to be there for you as you continue to make righteous choices for yourself and your family. You are amazing, beautiful, loving, giving, and all around AWESOME and I love you forever!

Riley Twins

2009-02-26T09:08:00.001-08:00

Hunter and Haynes Riley are two of my new favorite people(maybe I'm just partial to twins but these two are great!!). Hunter came into my life in late September when he began his internship with the Pat Tillman Foundation. He quickly became part of the foundation family and our hearts. He is a hard worker, super fun, a great background singer (when we listen to music in the office), and most of all a great friend. Haynes came into town last week to help get them ready for their BIG road trip they are starting. Hunter's last day of his internship was yesterday and they are on the road. They plan to visit as many National Parks as they can and along the way pick up 300 pounds of trash to help clean up our parks! Pretty cool huh?! This is the kind of guys they are! They are always willing to help and this is how they can have fun while doing it.

They packed everything in the truck and were off! All they way from the Grand Canyon toVegas to LA, up the coast to Oregon and Washington, over to Whistler and Banff then back! Huner is graduating in April so they'll be back in Arkansas and taveling around the south.

This is the first pic from the trip

Have fun you guys!!
Keep up with their blogs at
http://goldrushof09.blogspot.com/
AND
http://reducereuserecycleread.blogspot.com/

Griffin!! 2/22/09

2009-02-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful sister-in-law and brother had their second baby on Sunday night. Griffin Schvaneveldt Smith was born 2/22/09 at 8:41 pm. He was 8 pounds and 11 ounces and 20 inches long! Big boy! Kierstin and Griffin did great and now are relaxing at home with family. Kierstin doesn't mind all the help and Mesha is still trying to figure out who else cries besides her!

Mommy and baby

He looks a lot like his big sister!!

What a cutie! We can't wait to see you all and give baby Griffin tons of kisses!! Love you all!!

Happy 9th Birthday Alexis!

2009-02-23T08:55:00.000-08:00

My oldest niece turns NINE today! I can't believe it! I still remember waiting in the hospital lobby eating Marie Calendar's pie waiting for her to be born!! Alexis you are beautiful, smart, loving, a great big sister, and I can't wait for you to be my lil babysitter! I love your smile and sweet giggle. You light up a room when you aren't busy pretending to be shy and everyone can't help but love you! You have a great fashion sense and always look goooood!

This is a pic of all the girls at the wedding.
Ariana, Alexis and Caprice

We love you Alexis!!

24

2009-02-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

Today my little sister Cristina turns 24! She's not too excited about it but at least she'll always be younger then me!

Cristina AKA Bean is a caring wife and loving mother of two beautiful little girls, Eire'(4) and Ariah(17 days). She is fun, spunky, loving and the biggest Friends fan I've ever known. I love being around her, her smile is contagious. She is a great example of a mother and I can't wait to have play dates with her and her little ones.

I love you Bean!

Better late than never

2009-02-19T19:57:00.000-08:00

After our honeymoon in Mexico we went to Spokane, WA! I had a city tour with my fabulous in-laws, ate at some yummy places, and we had an open house for all Spencer's WA peeps.

Martha packed us a picnic lunch and we hung out on a bench by the Spokane River. It was a beautiful place for lunch and a walk.

Graig and Martha

This was the second time I've seen real Fall!
When leaves change colors... so different from AZ!

oh, aren't we cute?!

Feeding the Spokane wildlife sugar cookies.

He was not afraid of people... he wanted that cookie!

City Spokane... even though it looks like Spookn!

Big boys and big toys!

Spencer remembers climbing to the topwith his friends when they were young trouble makers. On the very top the artist engraved his insightful outlook on the world. If you want to know you'll have climb it yourself!!

My cute new family!

Can't get enough kisses!!

Then the Smiths took me to the Japanese Gardens. More beautiful colored leaves!! Check out the awesome reflection!!

Spokane Temple

so pretty!!

Pay it forward

2009-02-18T08:47:00.001-08:00

This is how it works..... the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. when and what will be a surprise. BUT, in order for you to leave a comment on my blog, you have to post this on your blog first. (that means that sometime during this year you will send a gift to 3 people as well.) Get it? So, the first 3 people to comment on this post will be the lucky ones!
Good luck! :)

I love you!

2009-02-17T08:33:00.001-08:00

Spencer and I had a wonderful Valentine Day and long weekend! Spencer let me sleep in on Saturday and came in to wake me up with a beautiful red rose on my pillow. It had 11 friends in a lovely vase in the kitchen! So pretty!

Then we went for a nice afternoon bike ride on my NEW BIKE! I've been wanting a bike for some time and my sweetie looked and looked and found me an awesome Gary Fisher Mountain bike. I love it... even though I felt a little sore after the ride... I'll be getting more comfy riding shorts for sure!

Later we went to throw some pottery! Spencer is very good... and has surprising finesse when it comes to pottery.

He made me a pretty flower pot!!

Spencer in action!

Spencer's flower pot

My attempt at a bowl... but mine didn't make it. We tried to take it off too early and it got messed up. Oh well, at least I'll get a pretty pot in a couple weeks and maybe even attempt another bowl.

For the rest of the weekend we enjoyed some of Spencer's new gifts. He got a cool new grill set and that came in very handy when he cooked our steak dinner on Saturday night. We also enjoyed watching his new DVD set - Planet Earth. I totally recommend this to all nature lovers out there! This documentary series takes you to places you can't even imagine! Beyond cool!

More baby pics!

2009-02-08T21:08:00.000-08:00

My little sister had her 2nd beautiful baby girl on Thursday. Mom did fabulous and baby Ariah is a little doll who looks just like her big sister Eire'. It's crazy how much they look alike!!

Day ONE

Cute mommy and baby

Uncle Spencer getting practice with little ones!

Ariah got lots of kisses!
Kisses from Ariana...
and lots more from mommy!

Day TWO
BIG sister and LITTLE sister

more kisses!

Eire' loves holding her sister!

But she needed to rest with mom for a little bit.

oops... got a little too loud when Ariah was sleeping... got sent to the corner! too funny not to take a picture!

What a little peanut!

but soon she'll be bigger than her froggie!

Day FOUR

Uncle Spencer snuggling with Ariah.... ahhhh so cute!! Eire' is hilarious and wanted to get in on the picture action!

Ariah Haileigh is here!

2009-02-05T08:45:00.001-08:00

Ariah Haileigh Villella is here!

Weighing in at 7 pounds 1 ounce and 19 inches long!

Mom and baby are doing great...
Daddy is super proud...
and Eire' is a BIG sister!

Go Cards!

2009-01-20T09:06:00.001-08:00

GO CARDS!!

Isn't he the best?! Kurt Warner (AKA Grey Beard) did it! He got the Cards to the Super Bowl! First time ever for the Red Birds and we Cards fans couldn't be happier!!

My favorite things...

2009-01-14T08:50:00.001-08:00

I have lots of favorite things and this is the newest item to be added to my list. I found this gal through blog stalking (don't judge...we all do it! lol) and I just love this idea. She started making these charms because she found some in a store and didn't want to pay their crazy prices! She decided to make her own and now she does it for others too! I've already had her make THREE, one for me and two for gifts.

Mine has our initials and our wedding date.

This one is for my little sis who is expecting her 2nd baby girl on Feb 5th! I had both girls names and their birthstones made for her.

The other one I had made was for my best friend Colie and it had bf and love on the charms and she LOVES it and wears it every day. These are great gifts for yourself or others.

Check out Chelsea's blog at

http://sayitwithcharms.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!!

Baby Countdown

2009-01-11T19:52:00.001-08:00

BABIES! BABIES! BABIES!

We are so excited for February to get here because we have two babies due to join our family!

Ariah Haileigh Villella will be here in only 24 days... Feb 5th! Bean is so cute with her round belly. It takes up half of her tiny little body! Eire' is so excited to be a BIG sister!

Griffin Schvaneveldt Smith will be here in just 41 days... due on Feb 22nd!! We really hope we can make a trip to see Kierstin and Griffin soon! You look great sis!!

Love you gals!!

Go Suns!

2009-01-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night we went to the Suns game against the Indiana Pacers. We were ready for a good game since the Suns were on a winning streak but not so much. It was tough to watch until the last 5 minutes. The Suns rallied back to tie the game... please note that they weren't within 7 points of the Pacers all night... so they tied the game with 0.9 seconds left and it was Pacers ball. We were ready for a chance to come back in OT BUT just then the Pacers scored a 3 pointer to end the game! Win or lose it was a fun date!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T20:41:00.001-08:00

2008 was great and we are ready for an even better 2009!

To celebrate we went to dinner at the Salt Cellar. This is a really cool place that really is a cellar. All there is above ground is a parking lot and the door to get it. Once you go in, you go straight downstairs to the dining room. I know it's strange to have a seafood restaurant in the desert but they ship in their food daily. Pretty cool huh?! For starters we enjoyed raw oysters, escargot in mushroom tops. Spencer ordered steak and lobster and I had scallops with king crab and baby shrimp cream sauce. For dessert we had a white chocolate mouse layer cake.... everything was SO YUMMY! After dinner we played games with friends and then headed home to watch the ball drop.

Last year we went on a hike so we decided to make it our New Year's Day tradition. First we stopped by my sister's new house to help move them in and clean. They've been waiting for a few months now for this house and we are so happy they have their own place for their family. Then we headed up to Carefree to have some lunch at Big Earl's greasy eats (the new year's diet starts tomorrow LOL) then out to our trail hike. It was a beautiful day, 70 degrees and just awesome to be outside! We love this trail, so many saguaros and it's very quiet and peaceful.

We are so thankful to have each other!

We wish you all a very happy new year!

The Hap-Hap Happiest Christmas Ever!

2008-12-26T08:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2008

Our first Christmas as the Smith's!

We loved every minute of it! It always goes by too fast but having a day with each other was wonderful! We are thankful to have each other and look forward to many many more Christmas' together!

Happy Birthday Lindsay!

2008-12-22T21:20:00.001-08:00

Sunday was my sweet Lindsay's birthday so here is her late shout out!
Lindsay has been a very dear friend to me for eight years now (in Jan)! I can't believe how time flies! We began our friendship by playing at WAMU when we had no customers. She is also the one who introduced me to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have played and cried a lot together... we've been Siamese twins for Halloween, shared my first Thanksgiving and Christmas together, been the best and worst roomies ever, but all in all, the very best of friends. She has always been there for me when I needed her, lifted me up and helped me become who I am. I will forever be grateful to her for her wonderful example she has set for me and will love her for all eternity.
Check out her beautiful family and amazing life!

http://lindsaybangart.blogspot.com/

Thank you for being by my side on my special day!
I love you Lindsay!

Kiss Kiss

2008-12-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

Saturday was so fun! My best friend came over to play and be crafty. We made our own version of mistletoe. You’ll have to use your creative mind, it’s a ball of kisses... get it? Mistletoe! It also looks sort of like a medieval battle mace, but it’s WAY cuter!

First we went to Michael’s to get our supplies: foam ball, ribbon, paint, and brushes. WARNING! Do not go to Michael’s unless you have hours to wander and look at everything they have on sale and all the cute Christmas decorations! We were there way too long. Then we went to Target, another danger zone full of fun stuff, to get the kisses. We each used three small bags, this is because we picked out only the red ones.

Step 1: Paint the foam ball red.

Step 2: Hot glue the ribbon in two directions.

Make sure you leave enough at the end to use to hang the finished product.

Step 3: Hot glue the kisses all over.

Step 4: Hang it and find someone to kiss! MUAH!

Thank you Collie for a fabulous fun day!

Mesa Arizona Temple Lights

2008-12-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving weekend we visited the Mesa Temple to see the amazing light display. They have thousands and thousands of beautiful lights all over the grounds. We enjoyed our hot apple cider and I bundled up in a blanket as we strolled around. The Temple has a magnificent spirit and the sweet spirit of Christmas adds to the warm fuzzy feelings you get when you are there. I have a special place in my heart for the Temple and I encourage you ALL to go see the lights. If you need a ride or just want some company I’ll go anytime! The lights are only here through December 31st so you better go see them soon!

Here are some pictures to get you excited to go!
http://www.christmastemplelights.com/

Mesa Arizona Temple

I love my cute husband!!!

Spencer, Corissa, Kierstin, Mesha, Sterling and Jacob

Tree hunting

2008-12-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

Monday night for family home evening Spencer and I went tree hunting for the perfect Christmas tree. We started at the nearby tree lot where there were almost too many to choose from! They were very pretty but too big for our living room. Off to Lowe's. It was dark and there were only about eight trees in the whole lot. We were a little worried till we saw it! We found our tree! We checked out and loaded it in the truck. It needed a little more trimming once we got it inside but quickly it was up and decorated. It smells wonderful and feels like Christmas!

I Know

2008-12-07T22:19:00.000-08:00

I know that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me and loves me. I know that He sent His beloved son, Jesus Christ, to earth to teach the people His gospel, perform many great miracles and ultimately give Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. I know that Jesus Christ was resurrected and now reigns with our Heavenly Father. I know that if I live worthily that I can have the companionship of the Holy Spirit at all times to confirm righteous choices, give comfort and testify of Truth. I know that I this life is my opportunity to be tested and tried to show my faith and also to learn and grow. I know that I can, with my loving husband, return to live with my Heavenly Father once again. I know that families are forever. I know that Spencer and I can have a forever family and that our marriage will continue to the next life. I know that the Plan of Happiness is for all of us to enjoy. It will give us strength and hope for whatever the future may hold. I know that my Father in Heaven hears and answers my prayers and I have felt His sweet spirit wrap me in comfort and give me peace.
I am so grateful for the knowledge I have and for the testimony that helps me and keeps me strong in difficult times and for the hope, peace and joy it gives me.