Catherine’s next-to-last soccer game

This was a few weeks ago. Continuing a theme of April and May, it was cold and windy. She and her teammates played really well, though. She had a perfect assist.

Watching from the van, backed up to the edge of the field:

Mom has more pictures of Catherine and Spencer's soccer seasons.

Church talent show

The children’s group at church put on a talent show. There were about 35 performers there with family members cheering them on.

Emma did her gymnastics floor routine:

Catherine played “How Firm a Foundation”:

Next year Spencer wants to bring his portable soccer goal and score.

Fathers and sons campout

Every spring the dads and boys from church go camping together. It is much anticipated in our household, and this year the boys wanted to start packing two weeks in advance.

For dinner we roasted hot dogs and bratwurst:

The boys liked hanging out with their guys.

The best part was when it warmed up the next day and we went exploring.

David found a huge mound of red ants.

Taking this picture reminded me that this was my and Spencer’s fifth Fathers and Sons already!

More memories – the campsite was near to the one that Catherine and I went to when she was three. She had been begging to go camping, so I borrowed some gear and took her. We had a cozy night and then in the morning we threw rocks in the stream.

Catherine and Emma and I have already planned our “daddy daughter” campout for later in the summer. Photos coming soon!

Our budding Gymnast

Emma has needed her "own thing" (a la Jan Brady) and she decided gymnastics was it. She has loved going to our local rec center once a week. She also loves to practice her moves in all kinds of places.In April we got to watch some of her moves on the real aperati. She did great!It was the weekend the Sorenson cousins were staying with us. All the kids joined in the fun when she was done. You can check our more of their moves here.

Playing with the Sorenson cousins

Our kids loved having their Sorenson cousins stay with us for a few days. (See post below.) I was a little worried that they would get bored while Catherine and Emma were at school. Instead, Spencer gloried in the girls all to himself (well, and David) and they had a ball. He didn't want to leave for Kindergarten after lunch. The girls were having a good time with the dress-up clothes downstairs. A little while later Spencer ran upstairs saying, "I'm going to get my tie mom! Beth and I are getting married!" Here's the video. One day he'll probably be mad at me and wish I hadn't filmed him, but right now I think it's awesome. (I broke it into 3 short videos to make it easier to upload.)

Day with my nieces

On a great weekend in April, we got to have an “Uncle Michael sleepover” with Madeleine, Beth, and Mary at our house! Their mom and dad were enjoying a well deserved adult siblings vacation.

Beth and Emma really enjoyed sleeping in the guest room together on Thursday night. Friday morning the Smart girls had school, so the Sorensons played “wedding” with the boys. Amy has the photos of this and I’m sure will document it.

After lunch I got home early and took the girls on an outing. It was crummy weather so we combined two of our favorite indoor destinations.

First, the BYU Dinosaur Museum, now home to the world’s only complete Abdysaurus skull.

And what trip to Utah County would be complete without visiting the Bean “dead animal” Museum?

Saturday morning we had apple and chocolate chip pancakes, then all cheered on Catherine at her soccer game. Mary was especially proud.

When they tired of watching the game, Beth and Spencer played catch with the football.

Then we introduced them to one of our neighborhood parks. Catherine was very tired from her game, and Madeleine kindly kept her company in the van.

We finished off the great weekend at Emma’s gymnastics expo. When she wasn’t performing, Spencer talked me into giving him my phone and he joined with Beth again:

We loved having the nieces and look forward to having them many more times – with a nephew, too!

April Birthdays

I am woefully behind on family blogging, but I'm trying to get caught up! So today we share pictures from our April Birthday boys! This year David turned 4. FOUR! How did this happen? We officially no long have a toddler, let alone a baby in our house. After 10+ years of small, sometimes irrational people, it feels so strange to be at this stage.  Not that we don't still have irrational moments, but we sure can do fun stuff with the crowd we've got right now.  I think we're entering a golden age which we will try to thoroughly make the most of before we are in the throes of teenagedom.

 

 David had his first birthday party with friends, which was a hoot, but somehow I can't find the pictures.  Maybe I was so overwhelmed by the little crowd of 4-year-olds that I didn't manage to get one. Hmm.  We also celebrated with Udall family.  The Bowens came into town for a few days so we timed it with their visit. Before Norah came to Grandma's house, she remembered "The Funny Hat" from her last visit and wore it the first 8 hours straight of her visit.  Check out that sweaty head. Haha! Love that kid.

 

Our Spencer boy turned 6. The thing is, I vividly remember being six and getting my first bike too.  Spencer loved his new big-boy bike and figured out how to ride it that night.  We're still having starting and stopping issues because the bike is a little too big for him (and Catherine reminds me that it is bigger than hers - time to get her a new one too!)

 

 He also received a foam sword and was genuinely happy with life that morning.

This was the first year that Spencer's birthday fell on a Monday - the day of the week he was born. That brought back so many memories of that weekend. All the Smarts here for Lynn going into the MTC and Paul's graduation and being with them all at my parent's house Sunday night, feeling like I was going to explode.  By 2:30 am our 10lb baby was here - and then I knew why I felt the way I did.  That poor baby was so bruised from his delivery and so beefy, he looked like a prizefigher.  The nurses called him "Bruiser."

 

 Spencer wanted an "Army Guy" birthday party.

 

Sunday dinner with Grandma, Poppy and the Cannons.

A new HotWheels race track. Our first. We've hit the big time.

 

Happy Birthday, Bruiser.

Mothers Day: Photographic proof that motherhood changes a person

I posted this recently on another blog, but wanted to share it here too.  I love you Mom!

The first time I went to Disneyland I was around 4.  For some brave reason, my mom took me on the old Rockets ride, which I don't even understand today because she's afraid of heights.  Somehow she missed the part about putting the smallest person in front (they must not have had that sign back then), so she put me behind her. When the ride got going, she panicked that I was going to fall to my death. So using her own mother-bear will-power, along with some centrifugal force, she pinned me to the back of the seat.  After some discomfort I yelled, "Mommy, mommy, I'm a squished hot dog!" (Still no idea why I chose the hot dog metaphor.)

This line became a catch phrase for our family.  (And was used in perfectly-timed moments such as when Laura watched the vendor hot dog she was just eating get run over by a golf cart when she dropped it on the ground in Central Park.)

We used to tease my mom mercilessly about that rocket incident.

Well, fast forward to February, 2010.  We took our own kids to Disneyland for the first time.  (I hadn't been myself since my high school choir trip when I was 18 years old.) We had those magical Disney moments of riding on Dumbo's back and laughing at the campy boat drivers on the Jungle Cruise. And then for some reason, we decided to take everyone on Splash Mountain. As soon as the ride got going, I wondered what I had done!  Why had I brought my babies on this wild ride?! I had Spencer with me and Michael was behind me with David. The whole climb I kept saying to Michael, "Hold on to him. Are you holding on to him? Are you holding tightly onto him? Is he going to go flying out of the ride? Are you sure you're holding him tight?"  Then we hit the big dip - the part where they snap your picture and I screamed, terrified for my babies, and I clutched Spence as tight as I could.

It wasn't until later that night I realized, I was now the one squishing the hot dogs.

When I got home, I dug out the picture of that last trip to Disneyland when I was 18, in that same place, on that same ride.

Fast forward 18 years. This is how I had changed.  What motherhood had done to me.

 

So to my mom: I'm sorry we teased you so much about protecting me from imminent danger on a Disneyland Rocket.  I totally get it now.

To all you other moms who suddenly have fear where before you had none: You are not alone.

To all of you who have also felt like squished hot-dogs in your own lives: Thank Heaven for a mother who loves you.

And to all moms everywhere, thank you, on behalf of us 'hot-dogs' and Happy Mother's Day.

April Vistors

The first week of April we had some fun visitors!  We were so excited that they came to stay with us. Firs was Grandma Rosie from Maryland! She came and spent two nights with us.

 

The kids loved having Grandma here and enjoyed showing her all of their bedrooms, tricks, and stuff. We also enjoyed showing her our new neighborhood.  And in return she did lots of nice things for us - including Happy Meals and the playground at McDonalds with the boys. Super exotic. And perfect because it was a blizzard outside.

 

Even practicing the piano is more fun with Grandma.

Grandma had to leave Friday morning. Friday afternoon our old friend Hubert Wiggins III (second from right) arrived from New York City via Toledo where he currently works as a TV news reporter. Hubbie was one of Michael's mission companions in England. Besides hanging out with us he came to attend our mission reunion.  It was his first time coming back to Utah since he finished at BYU and made the famous cross-country trek with Michael in April of 1997.

Some of the amazing sisters I knew from my mission too.  All of these girls are Europeans (l to r: Hungary, Serbia, & two from Austria) who have married Americans and now live here.  All are amazing women.  I tear-up every time I see Lydja Marich Fairbanks (blonde in the middle.) I met her the first night I arrived in England and we shared a room together.  She spoke hardly any English, but shyly shared her pictures from home with me.  We never served together as missionaries.  I saw her two more times during my 18 months in England. Both times we shared a room again in the mission home because we had been called to train new missionaries.  Each time I was amazed by how much she had changed, how her English had improved, and what confidence she had gained.  A truly amazing woman.  Then we shared a room one last time, the last night before we left England.  Being with her each time was like a measuring stick of my own personal growth as a person and a missionary. Those were special times.

 

And speaking of missions and the UK we had some other very special visitors who were also in town for Conference Weekend.  This is Tanya.  I met Tanya when I was a missionary on the Isle of Man.  She became a very dear friend while I was there.  A few years after I went home she contacted me to tell me she had been baptized and joined the LDS church. We saw her for the first time since then a year and a half ago when we were in England. This was her first trip to Utah and it was GREAT to have her here!   She has had some-Job-like trials, but her faith is amazing. She's one of my heroes.

 

She came with her friend Joan, also from the Isle of Man.  Great ladies! They came to Easter dinner at my parents' house and thoroughly entertained my kids with their accents, personal knowledge of Thomas the Tank Engine (did you know he's from the Isle of Man? Really, the Isle of Sodor is based on the Isle of Man) and cats with no tails.  We loved it!

Any one else want to come visit? We love it!