one piece at a time

Jacob and I started a puzzle late Friday night.

It was an unspoken word that we weren't going to bed until it was finished.

We finished but paid for it the next morning. I think I'm getting too old too stay up doing stuff like this.

From 4lbs 2 oz to 42 pounds

Happy Birthday Katanya!

Like all my other children as they turn older, I can't believe my youngest is five.
Katanya came out a fighter and she is still one determined girl! She can hold her own with her other siblings but she still has a sweet & strong spirit. I can't imagine our family without her.
This year she celebrated her birthday over two days. Yesterday she opened her presents (a new bike and other toys) and picked out where we ate dinner. We ended up at Chuy's (with a little persuading) and she was delighted! They had yummy chicken nuggets, they sang to her, and she got a frozen push pop. Life couldn't be better! (Plus the adults ate good too! Way better than the McD's that she wanted.)
Then for today (we had planned on going to a outing with Jake's work but it would have ended up taking 10+ hours and we weren't comfortable leaving the kids alone for that long so we changed our plans) we went swimming, went shopping for puzzles (explanations with future posts) went on an evening bike ride and enjoyed chocolate cake....with sprinkles!
I hope this year is great for Anya. May her birthday wishes come true!

Then and Now

The tides have turned. I have gone from a Craigslist seller to a Craigslist buyer. This is my morning's great find.

A little color to an Idaho white boy

We made it to Austin on Monday, and early Tuesday we headed down to South Padre Island. This was our sixth trip. I'm so thankful that Betsy invited our family to join hers. If you want to see some pictures of our activities, click here to go to Betsy's blog. We all got a little too much sun on the first day but I like Jacob's statement the best.....

"Getting sunburned makes me look pudgy."
(I don't think he's pudgy, although on the other hand, I want to know how he got his sunburn in that odd pattern.)

To Do List

Last week, I had a whole list of "to dos" to do. I hope I saw everyone and if not I'm very sorry! It's hard to pack years worth of friends and people and day to day life into just a week. Here are a few of the things we did.
We finally got to meet and hold my brother's baby. Meet Korver Jhett Michael Smith. I'm so glad that someone else used four names too! His abundance of hair reminds me of how much Kirsten had as a baby.
We had an afternoon / evening with Jacob's side of the family. It wasn't long enough but it was fun to see everyone.
McKay met a cousin, Jason. Her Aunt Jamie had her son on Memorial Day but she had to wait til Friday to hold him. He's another adorable baby! Between the two newborns my kids were begging me (again) for another one.
My dad took the kids to their favorite fishing spot. McKay's big catch for the day got away, but we did get a picture to prove it.She was not happy when Kirsten wanted to hold her fish (and every other fish). In fact that is what caused the escape. Kirsten accidentally unhooked the fish and it started flopping and was released back into the fish pond.
Saturday afternoon, we finished going swimming at my mom's friends house. The pool was about 95 degrees and the kids enjoyed every minute.

Other things not pictured but happened during the week: McKay going to do baptisms for the dead for the first time, our own Memorial Day BBQ since the Smith family one was cancelled due to bad weather, Saturday night game night.

We will miss our family that was close by us.

Got milk?

As we were headed up to Kamas to go fishing with my dad, one of my kids asked, "Mom is that milk?" (And it wasn't the youngest.)

The protecting power of prayer

I don't know where the last two weeks went. School finished up one of them and the other was spent visiting family and friends. Jacob was very sweet to let me spend some quality time with my family while he packed out. He met me in Utah late Saturday night and after my brother's baby blessing on Sunday, we made our start for Texas. Since we got a late start (2 p.m.) we decided that we could drive through the night and make it there by afternoon on Monday. As we were driving I kept thinking, "I'm not taking this way home". Then I remembered its not a vacation and that we were only going one way this time. It still feels surreal.

Everything went smoothly until the last 20 miles. Jacob had been driving when I started to hear a different sound. We switched drivers and the noise got stronger and a little louder. I asked him about it and he said it was the bearings in our small tow along trailer and he would fix it later that night. I drove another 20 minutes at 80 mph and then brought up the noise again. I had thought it was coming from the muffler on the van so I pulled off the freeway. Jacob got out and inspected the trailer when he came to me and said, "pull off to the side very slowly and come look at this." I did and got out. The trailer tire looked like the picture.
All of the lug nuts were gone. Again very slowly we drove off the small space between the freeway and the access road and by then all the studs were gone. We were close to Betsy's and only 4 miles from a trailer store. Betsy picked me and the kids up, Nate brought out some tools and within 45 minutes Jacob was "home" too.

We know how bad this could have been. We could have lost the tire at a high speed, ruined the trailer, possibly have wrecked, or even stated a fire. We know that we were protected and blessed. We always start every road trip with a prayer and we have never had anything major happen. I'm grateful for the Lord's hand in everything.

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”

I'm not one that likes to say goodbyes. In fact, every time I think about saying goodbye to two of my closest friends or my family in Utah, I tear up. I know this move will be good for my family and it is a good start for Jacob's career but at the same time I'll be farther away and starting over. When we moved to Idaho in 2003, I cried the entire 4 hour drive up from Pleasant Grove. This was just saying goodbye to my family (for a couple weeks.) Little did I know then that with Jacob still working construction projects in Utah how much we would be down to visit. The first year we lived in Idaho, we spent more time in Utah than we did at home. Idaho has really been great to us. We have enjoyed living out in the country and raising our family there. We have had many different life experiences from starting new businesses, buying & remodeling a house, to graduating from college. Now it's time to move on.This is my closest friend, Lindsey. We have and take care of our own families but we are like sisters. I'm really going to miss her. She was my neighbor when we first moved here. It took a year for us to become friends (basically because my family traveled so much) but from there on, we were always involved with each other. Some how we always had kids around the same time too (without planning it.) We were just that in sync. I'm going to miss our late night Wal-Mart runs. It's always funner to go grocery shopping with a friend. Our "sneaky shopping" trips to Maurices. We both have an addiction for the clothes at that store. We taught primary together for 2 1/2 years. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. Midnight showing Twilight movies won't be the same without her. Lindsey is one of the least selfish people I know. I'm so grateful that she is my friend.

House Hunting

We arrived in Austin on Sunday for our week of looking for a house. Jacob and I got off the plane and the rental company gave us this cube. Jacob has driven it the entire time because I have no desire to drive it. The Kia Soul is small and powerless. Basically how we felt in this big city.

We decided to rent a house (I would love to buy but that won't be happening any time soon). What a difference renting a house in Utah / Idaho is to renting a house in Austin. Everything is done through Realtors and if you snooze you lose. Our picks of houses that we looked at on the Internet on Friday & Saturday were gone by Monday morning. We spent 10 hours on Monday looking at houses that were either extremely expensive or extremely dirty. By Monday night I was emotionally drained. I even cried.

Tuesday was a new day. By two in the afternoon we had an A, B, and C plan. Plus, A and C weren't listed in the MLS listings so we were sure to get something we liked. A was our dream home and a far shot but Plan A didn't want to rent since he was selling his house and wasn't in a hurry and didn't need the money so we snatched B up. I'm excited for our move. Our new house is in Round Rock and it's in a great neighborhood and really good school district. I hope the kids are as happy as we are.

So now it's Wednesday night and our next dilemma is that we aren't suppose to be home til Saturday. We have a lot of stuff to still get down at home and time is of the essence. Since Delta wants to charge us over $200 a piece to change our flight we are going to try flying standby. We could end up spending a really long day in the airport tomorrow.

I'm grateful that we could hang out with Betsy and her family during the day (in between our different realtor listings) and the evenings. I'm still trying to convince her just to stay down here but I don't think it will work. Hazel was my "adopted" child. She would sit on my lap, have me hold her, and tuck her in. It melted my heart because this trip I really missed my own children.

So it's off to bed and here's hoping (praying) we can get home tomorrow and I can give my own kids a hug and kiss.

Things I am going to miss....

Reality is setting in. For the last couple of weeks, I've realized how much I'm going to miss Idaho, even more, the people in Idaho. Many different things have passed through my mind but tonight I'm going to focus on just one of them. My dad. This past week he has been up here visiting me again. He usually spends about 3 weeks a year up here with me and my family. My kids love it. I love it.

He has his "rituals" that he does with my kids:

• Going to Barnes and Noble and buying them a book.
• Going to Big Judd's and getting the big hamburger.
• Making their "own" list and going grocery shopping.
• Feeding the ducks at the falls.
• Going to our annual "special place". (This year the weather didn't cooperate and we couldn't make it up there even though we tried.)
  

I really hope he can come out and visit me in Texas. (One doctor has cleared it.) I'm so grateful for our friendship.

Push, run, pose and snap!

Easter Sunday, we decided to get a new "feet" picture.
We climbed up the piles of dirt....
barefoot. And hitting the button to take the picture and running halfway up the hill barefoot didn't feel too good.
The clods and the rocks hurt. But then we decided....
to take some silhouette pictures and that was even harder.
We were barefoot and I was running completely up the dirt mountain, posing, in less than 10 seconds.
It hurt even more, but it was well worth it.

Easter Egg Hunt Idaho Style

We opted out of the school and cities Easter Egg Hunt this year and did our own. It's always nice when you have acres and acres of property. So Jacob went out and hid them behind the dirt piles.Then the kids went looking.
The kids were so excited. They looked along the piles, the trucks and equipment.
They looked in the open fields.
Some were easy....
And some were a little more hidden.
But after an hour of looking for their own 30 or so eggs...(I forgot to count the eggs that were color coded for each kid so they got the same amount and same yummy goods)
Jacob had to go through and help them find them all, sort of.

Afternoon and Evening Celebrations

McKay spent her birthday at school. I know, I'm a mean mom but with as many sick days as she had, and it being ISAT time, she had to go. After school she came home and opened her presents. Any guesses on the big one?
McKay took up playing the violin over 3 years ago. Since then she has grown and needed a full size violin. I love her passion to play and hope she continues. This year they bumped her up to the eighth grade orchestra and she is now a first chair violin.
She is surely a loved girl!
McKay is not a fan of cakes or cookies. This year she just asked for sherbet ice cream. I did brownies solely for the purpose of the candles.

We finished the night off with Ticket to Ride (one of her favorites) and TV. I told her that she could stay up as late as she wanted. It's now 1 am and she is slowly winding down. Here's to sleeping in in the morning.

12 Years Today....Happy Birthday McKay!

12 Years ago, McKay made me a mother, a rather young mother. Married at 18, pregnant at 19, and a mother just before I turned 20. Who ever would have guessed? She was sent to me with a reason and purpose.
I've always said this little girl is my angel. She saved me. In my rather sidewards ways, just holding her and realizing that this perfect baby was sent from my Heavenly Father made me realize how much I wanted the gospel back in my life. I wanted her to be mine forever and not just in this lifetime.
I'm so grateful that she is my daughter. You always want your kids to be better than what you are / were and I know for McKay that the sky is the limit!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart.
Love you.
P.S. Can you believe that in another 12 years, this could be a possibility?

Soap Wars & Weighing Pennies

It was "Science Fair Project" time again last week. The kids had fun doing their projects and finding their conclusions.
Kirsten decided to do "Soap Wars." Which soap lasted the longest in the showers. We tested this by her washing her hands for five minutes and then I washed my hands for five minutes with nine different soaps. My hands smelled nauseating afterward. My conclusion was Ivory was the worst smelling of them all. Kirsten didn't place in the 60 entries of 3rd graders but I'm proud with the work that she did.
This was Cruz's first entry. He decided to see what his weight equaled in pennies. It turned out to be $73.50. He placed first in his Kindergarten level.

Anticipated, Completed, Now What?

When Jacob talked about starting school, in August of 2008, it seemed like him graduating was so far away. He was correct in saying "Three years is going to come and go whether I keep working for myself or whether I go back and get a degree." I'm so glad he chose to get a degree with the way the economy has turned out.April 9th was the big day. We went to Commencement and then watched him walk in his Convocation. He graduated with Magna Cum Laude Honors. (Top 5 percent in his graduating class.)
This is the first graduating class in Electrical Engineering from BYU-Idaho.

Now a family event always calls for a family party! We love it when family comes and visits.
Grandma Kerksiek, Maddy, and Hannah came up for the weekend, along with....

My sister and her family.
And of course, it's never complete without a whole group family picture!

Upcoming countdowns (#1)

Who thought this day would ever come? I can't believe it has been almost 3 years since he started. Jacob is graduating! I know it's a shocker but I'm proud of what he has done and what he has shown the kids. It's never too late to take control and accomplish your goals. So the countdown: one week and Jacob will be down with school. One week until graduation. One more week of projects and labs and not getting home before midnight. One more week and hopefully I can have a life with my husband again. I'm looking forward to what the future brings.

Graduation is Saturday, April 9 @ 8:30 a.m. for all those who can come. Everyone is welcome.

Competitive and just a little Motivated

I may have a competitive bone in my body....or two or three or four. Okay, I like a good challenge. The past two weeks, McKay had been doing my workouts with me as part of her health homework. It was fun to have someone to do it with me and to push as well as the other way too. Sadly, it was over on the 24th. I had to bribe her to do it with me on the 25th.
So at the beginning of this week, I challenged her to beat me in running a mile. Luckily, McKay is just as competitive as me (I think that's a good thing.) Every night we take turns and set the bar for the other person.
McKay run a mile in 8:19 last semester at the end of P.E. Tonight has been her best this week.
So far, I've been able to keep ahead of her time. I know that she will eventually catch up and then kick my butt.
This was my best tonight too. I think it's been my best since high school. I'm curious how fast I can get this if we keep this up. I also want to gradually increase the distance in the "race."

P.S. Even though it's super super yummy, and is now my favorite snack, I don't recommend running after eating half a bowl of fruit salsa before running.