Excitingest Family Vacation Ever Part 2

The thing this post is going to prove more than anything else is that I am officially the worst photographer in the world. I didn't take any pictures... well, these. That's it. Yes, Brandon isn't happy with me. I guess I get a little burned out sometimes and I just want to enjoy myself without looking through the eye of the camera.

So, after Dayton we went to my mom & dad's in Bountiful for more pampering, spoiling, and fun. And now that I've waited so long to write this part, I can't remember as much detail, but I do remember that it was nice. Thanks, mom & dad for always being happy to have us come (or putting on a good show of being happy ;), and making beds and giving us whatever we ask for.

Monday morning we went to the Clark Planetarium to see the IMAX 3D show. Cooper especially loved it, and it was super cool. Even I couldn't stop myself from reaching out to grab something every once in awhile. ;) We also toured the conference center, and saw all the different colored lights they put on the organ pipes. It was cool. We did all of the other temple square, beehive house, etc. stuff, and it was really neat. I loved visiting with the missionaries there, and talking to sisters from all over the world.

We had a few not-so-fun moments, as you can see from the face of our second child in this photo, but overall it was a great trip. We got to swim in the motel pool, which was oh so exciting, and I discovered that my swim bottoms were transparent in the back. Yes, that is a fun discovery. I won't be wearing them again. We ate lots of good things, and especially enjoyed Cold Stone. I know there was so much more that we did, but my mind is completely blank right now... see, I waited too long to post this. Just know that it was truly the most exciting vacation e-vah.

I did do a photoshoot with Brandon's cousin's wife and daughters, so I wasn't a complete waste of a photographer. ;) They were so so cute, and I loved getting to know them better.

Back to School Extravaganza

I thought if I put a fancy name on my post it might make it seem more exciting than it really is. Let me know how that worked for you, okay?

Aubrey started HIGH SCHOOL. She's a sophomore. In the HIGH SCHOOL. That doesn't make me a mom of a high schooler though, because that would be OLD. She's not excited about school. I don't know why for sure... I'm thinking because she's too cool to be excited. She was also not excited about getting her picture taken. Or her hair. Or her outfit. Sigh... I believe we have an official teenager on our hands. Nothing to do but wait it out...

I made Tyler's friend Christian get into the first day of school picture too. Middle school boys... oh, what could be cuter? Tyler was kind of a little excited for school but not really.

Now you have to guess how Cooper felt about school... which picture shows his true feelings? If you guessed the frown... you're WRONG. He was the most excited about school. As I predicted, this didn't last long. Last night he said he didn't really want to go to school anymore. One day of excitement, that's all we got. Sigh... this is going to be a looooong year.

Well, enough about school. I didn't get the pictures of my boys in that last post about Idaho vacation (and there's more to the vacation, but obviously I haven't got around to posting about it yet). This was before haircuts for the boys, so try not to scream from fright when you see them.

I know... it's hard to tell if they're boys, or if they're wooly mammoths. I assure you, they are boys. Or wait... maybe they are wooly mammoths. I get confused sometimes. Which ones are messier? That's what they are... whichever is messier.

Aubrey took this photo of me, and I actually really like it. It's really hard to be the one having your picture taken... it's good for me to be on the awkward side of the camera every once in awhile... I learn a lot about how to be a photographer, seriously! And a little more about me me me: I'm still training for that crazy thing they call a marathon. I'll have to write more about it later, but it's been kind of an interesting journey. I'll be running the longest run I run before the actual marathon Saturday... 20 miles. Whew. Gulp. Huh. Help?

And... I've had some really fun sessions lately. I LOVED this session with a senior from Colorado. She was so cute, and it was one of those days when things just went really well.

Well... Aubrey just called. I have to go pick her up at the HIGH SCHOOL. It's weird that I have to pick kids up from high school when I'm NOT the MOTHER of a high schooler. I'm not old enough.

i heart faces... got to wear shades

Idaho Part of "the Vacation"

Yes, the Smith family went on "vacation" this last week, and let me tell you... it was BIG. When we go on vacation, we don't do the boring stuff everyone else does, like Hawaii, or Disneyland... no, we think bigger than that. We go to Dayton, Idaho, and Salt Lake City. Whoa! I know!

The first part of our trip was spent at the Smith Farm, and it was actually WONDERFUL. Seriously perfection. Imagine complete relaxation, steak, sourdough biscuits from heaven, and my favorite... rhubarb crunch. (There was pie for the less refined folks ;). I seriously love that stuff... way too much. We were fed SO well, and I hardly helped with a thing. (Mom kept saying we were on vacation... but I felt guilty anyway. ;)

I also got to run my 12 mile long run Saturday morning, and it was wonderful! I wish I could run every long run in the country. Seriously, only 2 cars passed me... oh, and a GLIDER PLANE with Brandon waving at me from it. That was a highlight for sure. He was supposed to run the last half with me, but decided to ride with a friend in his glider plane, and I don't blame him one bit. It looked like so much fun!  The kids had a blast playing, running around, riding the 4-wheeler, reading, relaxing and spending time with cousins who think my kids are super cool.  Brandon spent time with "old girl" (his truck), and was totally content.

We even had a fun photo shoot in the gorgeous fields... isn't this one fabulous? I love it! Ahhhh, how I love the farm. Thank you so much for making the first couple of days of our vacation perfection, Mom & Dad! We loved our time with you so much.

I'll blog more of our super fabulous HUGE vacation when I get around to the photos...

Cute, Huh?

Sometimes I really really wish I could have another baby. Other times, like when I'm spending an entire day trying to get my kids to clean their rooms... I'm okay with just three.

I'm Alive! But Just Barely...

I don't know what's up with this blogging thing, but it just doesn't happen as much anymore. I'm thinking that most people don't even care, so it's not a big deal if I go a long time without sharing some random tidbits. But, since it has been so long, this might be long... I do promise to put lots of pictures on, and try not to be too boring.

I stupidly thought that I'd have time to relax this summer, but alas... I should have known better. I think the word "relax" is no longer a word that applies to me. I guess when you're training for a marathon, photography sessions pick up, and all the rest of the stuff hasn't gone away, it doesn't get easier.

So, in recent news, Hannah had her third beautiful baby girl... June Lydia. It has been so much fun to live close enough to see how much she changes almost every day. I got to do a newborn photo session recently with June, and she was so cute and easy to photograph. It has also been fun living close enough to have Molly & Annie come over when they went to the hospital for June to be born, and when Hannah has doctor visits out in Roosevelt. They're at such a fun age... I miss my kids being little.

I've also lucked out getting to visit with Brandon's mom and some of the sisters as they've come out to help Hannah. I love those girls, and am so glad that they consider me a daughter and a sister and a friend. And... what can be more fun than two 35 year old women and their kids blowing on arms and legs to make fanny burping sounds? (The fanny burp is a nod to Stuart ;) We were laughing hysterically, and I'm pretty sure I had tears. The best was when Cassie convinced the kids that I was pretending to blow on my leg to cover up a "real one". When I said, "yeah, my lips weren't even touching my leg", they totally believed us. Which scares me a little bit... that they'd believe I could actually toot that long and loud. ;)

The fun week continued when my dad and mom came out for a visit since they had a break from working at the temple. Mom helped me and Aubrey go through all of our clothes and clean out our drawers, which was no small feat. We had a fun time though, especially Aubrey and I attempting to get both of us in the same pair of pants at once. We went to the car show, the boring fair, the temple, Golden Corral, and my favorite, Walmart. (Did you hear the sarcasm dripping from that??) I loved having them here! I really appreciated Dad running the last 4 miles of my 16 miler this weekend, and Mom coming with me on one of my photoshoots.

Speaking of photoshoots... I got to do one for this gorgeous singer and violinist, and I even got to make cd covers for her. How cool is that? It was so much fun! You have to let me know what you think of the cd covers, and which one you like best. I'll post more as we go.

In case anyone is wondering (and if you're my facebook friend, you're not wondering ;) how my marathon training is going, it's going great! So far so good... and even though running for over 2 1/2 hours isn't the most fun thing in the world, I am loving the sense of accomplishment each week as I reach  new milestones in distance. (And enjoying my time with Brandon... he loves me enough to run up to 8 miles of my long runs with me). I've had times of feeling so worn down and exhausted, with all the running (127 miles in July) and teaching at the gym, that I don't know how I'm possibly going to make it through this training. Then a couple of days later, I'll feel great, and have all the energy in the world. It's strange, but amazing. I'll make it through. :)

The kids have been themselves, which means I love them to pieces, and they're driving me insane. They grow up shockingly fast, and I still can't understand how all of a sudden Aubrey is so tall and grown up, Tyler is almost as tall as I am, and grown up, and Cooper is growing out of all of his pants and asking to wear deodorant. Last Sunday Aubrey asked me to help her with the back of her hair. After I told her she'd have to take off her high heels if she wanted me to be able to help her, I realized she didn't have high heels on. Sigh.

Anyone have any life advice for me about not feeling hurt when others do hurtful things? Most of the time I'm good with everything, try to give others the benefit of the doubt, and figure they didn't mean it, but sometimes when I'm trying to go to sleep I can't stop thinking about it.

Well, enough of that. I'm bored with myself now, so I'm going to stop. Not without one parting photo though...

Happy Birthday, Jake! ;)

Oh! p.s. Read "The Help"... excellent book. Don't watch "Stranger than Fiction"... dumb movie.