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Family pics

My heck, as much as I am on the computer you would think my blog would be updated! I am too busy reading everyone elses, I guess! This fall my wonderful sister Betsy took our family pictures. We haven't had them done since Brayden was a baby. A little baby. We're talking like just a couple of months old so I figured it was time to get some again! It was such a good day for them too! It was a little overcast (which is perfect if you are a squinter like me) and just a little cool. The next day the temps dropped and it was so cold! Our timing was perfect.
Betsy took us to some spots by her new place in Meridian which were absolutley gorgeous! I fell in love with the rock wall with the windows! She doesn't give herself enough credit, but she is so good! I will let her practice on my family any time! Thanks for the great pics Bets!

This was at the end, and Bryson has had enough!

Brayden is so difficult to photograph, because he gets stubborn and won't smile, I was so glad that he did. Even if his fingers are STILL in his mouth!

Bryson did not like being held on to !

Brayden is doing his best Dr Evil impression!

Brayden is doing what Clayton and I would both like to be doing! I hate getting my picture taken!

I love the coloring of everything in this one. Brayden and his blasted finger again! I am glad Courtni likes getting her picture taken, it makes it easier for her to stay focused on the camera while we try to position the boys

Seriously, she is so gorgeous! I love her so much!

I tell you, these kids are my life! Seriously, I am such a proud Mama!

1st one and everyone is smiling. Well, I am not sure if Bryson is smiling or wondering what crazy aunt Betsy is doing making those faces!

Brayden's 1st preschool fieldtrip

Brayden started preschool a couple of weeks ago. Some of the moms in my new ward do a coop and I am so glad that they let me join even though very few of them even know me yet. He is doing pretty well, once I actually get him there! Well, on Wednesday the group of us (10 in all) went to Petco. I had never been there. (Don't really have a need to when you don't have a pet!) Apparently they do group tours where they get the animals out and let you pet them and they tell you a little about each animal. It was pretty neat. Brayden wouldn't actually touch any of the animals, but he did get close to them and looked at them. Hey, I will take any improvement I can get! I couldn't resist taking some pics. Brayden said his favorite part was the cat (I guess he doesn't get to see enough of those wandering the street around our house)! I was surprised, I thought for sure it would be the snakes and lizards!

He did really well, but he is a typical 4 year old and got distracted from all the animal talk. I guess spinning around the pole is more exciting then listening to how big all the lizards will get!

Brayden's fav part... the cats name was marmalade

Bryson getting ready to pet the baby boa

Our new home!!!!!!

Hey everyone! So I kind of disappeared for the summer, sorry about that! We had to move to a house that we thought we were only going to be in for a month so we didn't hook up the internet. Well, our month turned in to four! It was a really long summer with no ac and miserable kids who wanted their stuff unpacked! I was to stubborn to do it though, cause I figured as soon as I did one of our home offers would actually get accepted and then I would have to pack it all up again!

Well, we finally got into our new home! I am so happy I can't even begin to express it. We are so lucky to be able to get in on a great buying market and find a home at a reasonable price. Courtni started 1st grade and gets to go with her cousin Ashlee. She is so happy about that and they seem to be loving seeing each other every day!

Brayden just started preschool with a group from the ward. He has only gone once so far but he didn't cry! That is a big accomplishment for him (he has been pretty attached to me since I was hit by a car this summer.)!

Bryson turned one and is a handful! My mom jokes that he is as bad as twins. At least I think she is joking. He really keeps me on my toes. He loves to jump off anything he can. I'm pretty sure he is going to be my first one to break a bone. I don't know where he gets all of his energy!

I guess I should explain about getting hit since I referenced that earlier. On July 3rd the kids and I were going to Albertsons to get stuff for the 4th. We were crossing the parking lot and the kids had just stepped up on the sidewalk when a little old man ran into me with the back of his car. He wasn't going very fast I am sure since he was trying to park, but it was fast enough to cause some damage! He threw me into the wall of the store where I was luckily able to keep myself from falling with Bryson in my arms. I was hurt but all I could think about was my kids and how close he had come to hitting them. I still get sick to my stomach when I think about it because he got me in the hip which happens to be head level for them. We were so lucky that I was the one hit! The guy apparently didn't know that he hit me and tried to go in the store to get his groceries. Luckily for me there were two nice old ladies who helped us out. One went in and caught him and the other stood with me and held Bryson. I have been suffering from a lot of neck pain but mostly some terrible migraines from the whole thing. My chiropractor is awesome and has been doing some acupuncture for the headaches. I am now a believer! That has helped so much! I'm not in bed several times a week because of the headaches anymore!

That is a little bit of an update since last time, I just wanted to post some pics of our new home. We've had a lot of people ask for them.

the boys' room.

the kitchen

Courtni's room. Its hard to get the whole thing because of the way the wall angles when you walk in her door.

the office is actually a little loft at the top of the stairs that worked out well. I just realized that I didn't get a pic of the living room or our room! Gosh, here I thought I was doing so good. I plan on painting in the next couple of months anyway so I will definitley do it then since I will probably forget again!

courtni's artwork

If there is one thing my little Courtni loves to do, it is draw. She can sit for hours and color, draw, paint, anything crafty and artistic. I can see her being one of those women that I wish I was someday and be able to make the most beautiful crafts to display around her home. I love to watch what she comes up with when she is given just a simple white sheet of paper. She is so patient and has been trying to perfect her coloring skills so that she doesn't go outside the lines. I don't think I even knew that you weren't supposed to go out of the lines when I was her age, let alone care that I was! It is amazing how patient she is when she is coloring. This little girl who can't seem to sit still long enough to brush her hair literally sits for hours when she has something she is drawing or coloring.

It is so funny to see the difference between her and Brayden; she loves to color and do crafts, Brayden would rather play the wii. She takes her time and picks her colors carefully, Brayden colors everything the same color just to get it done! Brayden just doesn't have the patience to sit around and color, he needs the action of making Shrek beat someone up on his wii game. (I hope that isn't going to backfire on me someday!) Me, I just love to see them happy and watch their little personalities form. Not that I am going to let Brayden play the wii all day (much to his dismay), but it is nice to be able to know what they enjoy. Unfortunatley, the Easter Bunny didn't think that one through when he brought a new box of crayons for Courtni and Brayden. Oops, can't win them all I guess!

Anyway, I just thought I would post this one picture Courtni drew me the other day because it makes me laugh every time I see it. She lost two teeth on Easter this year leaving her with 5 1/2 holes in her mouth. (The one is only 1/2 because the tooth has begun to grow in). So that night she drew a picture of herself and taped a piece of floss to the mouth. You can't see it, but it is there and is part of the humor of the whole thing to me. Next to it she wrote, "Yor dodr Courtni pullng owt hr tooth" translation: "your daughter Courtni pulling out her tooth". What can I say, she is good at art, but hasn't quite grasped the spelling thing yet;)!

Growing like a weed!

I have a few minutes alone, aahh, sigh of relief! Don't get me wrong, there is nothing better than spending time with my kids, but as the saying goes, "silence is golden"! Clayton and I had a date (does it count as a date if you don't actually leave the house and you still have a ten month old with you?) and took the opportunity to catch up on Lost so that we can join the rest of the world and watch it tonight! WooHoo! So, he went to get the kids and took Bryson leaving me with a few minutes of silence.
I got the cutest picture of Bryson yesterday. He has been sitting on his knees a lot lately and I wanted to capture it. I didn't think he would notice me, but he looked up at just the right moment and flashed one of his adorable grins at me! His new favorite game is pulling all the toys from his toy box and then leaving them. Just like his big brother and sister! He is getting so big! I can't believe that he is 10 months old already, where did it go? I think I forgot how fast they look like big kids, you know? I swear he shouldn't look this grown up already!

Hey everyone! I just thought I would let you in on my friend Sarah's blog giveaway. You probobly have either seen or heard about her recently because she was in the Statesman and also on Channel 2 news. She is a couponer and gets the best deals! She has a blog that she just started a little over a month ago and it has just exploded! The ideas and things she has posted have really helped me because I just recently became addicted to the couponing game. I am no where near where she is, but I would love to save the money that she does. Anyway, check out her giveaway if you have been thinking about trying to save a little money with the economy like it is, you can't do too much! Its not something you have to devote a lot of time to, every little bit helps! Anyway, I have her button on my screen, it is the "thrifty mom" one under my sites I like.

Catching up

It feels like I haven't done anything I enjoy doing for months now! Every time I turn around I have a sick kid, or I am sick! Well, for now anyway, my family seems to be on the mend so I can take a breath and try to catch up on my blog for the moment.
As I said before, I haven't really been able to do anything, so there really isn't much to share. Unless you want the gory details of who threw up when. Anyone? I didn't think so! I will say that this has been a hard winter on our family as far as illness goes and we have spent the majority of it cooped up in our house so we don't infect anyone else with whatever we have at the moment.
Poor little Courtni got a double ear infection last week, and while at the time that seemed pretty minor compared to Bryson throwing up everything he ate for a week, it proved to be a pretty big deal when her ear drum ruptured. Poor little thing! I knew she was miserable and had her take a nap. I was glad that she was at least asleep for it because it hurts like crazy! Now she has an excuse for ignoring us when we tell her to do something because she can't hear! Luckily she isn't old enough to have thought of that one!
I am so thankful that we made it to church today! I feel like we have become inactive because we have missed so much basically since I got pregnant with Bryson. So, since he is almost one, we have missed a lot of church. Some weeks the thought of getting us all ready seems impossible! I love the way I feel after I do make it though and truly feel like I can make it for another week. Courtni gave the article of faith today and it is so nice to see my little ones learning the values that I hold so dear and getting up there to share it. I was so proud of her!
Bryson has taken a couple of steps on his own. I can't believe it. He will be 10 months this week, wow it has flown. If he keeps up this pace he will be the first of ours to walk by 1 year old! He loves it and isn't afraid of falling, just goes for it whether you are ready to catch him or not! Unfortunatley I think he gets his temper from me. Don't tell Clayton that I admit that though! ;) If he gets mad he throws himself back no matter where he is. Then, when he smacks his head on the floor gets even more upset and cries like you did it to him! My mom says that I used to hold my breath when I was around his age and I passed out once from it. I keep waiting for him to do the same, considering the tantrums that he already throws.
Brayden is growing like a weed. I took him to get his hair cut yesterday because I couldn't stand the shagginess anymore. I usually take him to a friend of mine, but she hadn't called me back yet so I just took him to a great clips. He sat there like a little pro and didn't move at all. I was relieved that he didn't throw a fit. I guess clamming up in front of strangers can be a good thing when you need them to hold still! When the hairdresser got done cutting his hair she asked him if he liked it and he shook his head no. The hairdresser next to us thought that was the funniest thing. Leave it to Brayden! He did admit later that he thought he looked good. I don't know why he can't admit to things around people, silly boy!
So that about sums up what is going on in the Smith home! I hope that spring gets here soon so all of these nasty viruses will go away for another year!

Happy Valentine's day to the most amazing man in the world!

Since it is Valentine's day I thought that I would talk about the man I love. Clayton is the most amazing man in the whole world. He is such a sweet, giving guy who would give you the shirt off his back if it was needed without thinking twice. He treats me like a queen and never gets the credit he deserves for everything he does! I am so lucky to have him and to have the chance to be with him forever. On the 17th we will have our 8th anniversary. I can hardly believe that it has been that long! Even though he makes fun of me, I still can't believe that we are married. How did I luck out and get someone so wonderful? I could not ask for a better husband, daddy, soulmate. He truly completes me!

I wish that there was something that I could do for him to let him know just what he means to me, but there is no way to express love that deep. He is my strength and keeps me going when I want to give up. I can truly say that if I didn't have him in my life that I would not be here today. Thank you honey, and happy Valentines day.

"How did that car get under my bus?"

Hey there all, I just wanted to tell you a funny story about Courtni. On Monday morning, Courtni's bus got in a little accident on the way to school. Of course, not being on the bus with her I didn't know this until the bus co. called to tell me after she was already safe and sound in her class. I felt awful, here was my little kindergartener all alone and probobly scared out of her mind about the loud, horrible experience on the bus.
I was going to go down to the school just so I could see her and make sure she was ok. I admit, that was mostly for my state of mind because I was going crazy! I stopped and thought about it first and decided that if that had been me in kindergarten I would have seen my mom at the school and instantly fell apart. So, being the brainy person that I am, I decided to call the school so I could talk to her, hear her voice, and get a feel of if she needed me. I underestimate my daughter. She is so much stronger then I ever was, and that is a great thing (most of the time). She was so embarrassed that I would call her to the office to talk to her on the phone. (She is embarrassed of me already, I can't wait for high school!)
I had found out from the bus co that the bus and the car behind it were both stopped, but the car behind that didn't and pushed the poor car in the middle into the bus. No big deal they told me. Courtni couldn't tell me a whole lot when she got home from school. All she knew was there was a loud crash and then a kid fell into the seat next to her. She didn't really even realize what happened just heard a loud bang and then the bus driver made them all get on another bus.
We were watching the noon news because my mom said they were going to have the wreck on there, and they showed the bus with a car under it. Ok, not totally under it, but the front window was pretty well crushed and it was pinned pretty good. Not exactly "no big deal" to me when I saw the pictures, I kind of started to over react. Those of you who know me well know that I have a tendancy to do that! I was getting upset that they had played it down when it obviously was more then they had said it was. Courtni was looking at the tv and turned to me all confused. She asked, "Mommy how did that car get under my bus?" I couldn't help but smile, Here I was all concerned about the "trama" my little girl had been through and she didn't even know what had happened! I explained to her that was the loud thump and what threw the kid into her seat with her. That car under her bus is what made her have to get on another bus. I don't know what she thought was happening. Her bus driver just decided to call it a day and park in the middle of the street?
It obviously was ok. Luckily for the high schoolers in the cars, there were only minor injuries. Lucky for us, the only injury around here was Courtni's pride when she got called to the office to talk to her mom!

I can ramble if I want to...its my blog!

I don't know what it is today, but something has me extra emotional! Probobly not the best day to blog, but I couldn't resist! I just feel so very blessed today to be a Mommy and I am so lucky to have the 3 cuties that I do in my life not to mention their hot daddy! I know that I have so much work to do to become the mom that I want to be. I love them so much, I truly wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my little family, I live and breathe for them! I don't know how I ever survived before I had them in my life, it seems like a lifetime ago!

Courtni just had her 6th birthday and that is so hard to believe! It has gone so fast. I admit that sometimes her strong willed personality is a challenge for me, but she is my baby girl and I would give my life for her! Although some days I question how we are going to make it through teenagehood if she is as stubborn as she is now, but I have no doubt that her strength will be a much needed attribute as she tries to survive through all of the horrible things that make up our world today.

Anyway, I guess I am just meloncholy because she is getting so grown up and needs me less and less every day, so that is probobly why I am so emotional. I am so proud of her and the little lady she is growing into!

Surprise, Courtni!

A picture of all 14 kids we had here. Yeah, I must be crazy, it was a lot of kids!

I feel like my posts are almost always about Bryson. Sometimes I get worried that people will think he is my favorite, he is just so little that everything he does is new and exciting and ends up being posted for all to see. Anyway, don't anyone get too shocked or anything but this one isn't about Bryson! It is all about my beautiful little girl, Courtni who will turn 6 next Saturday. I can't believe that she is already 6, time flies (which, I also seem to talk a lot about!).

For her party she had decided to do a High School Musical theme since she is obsessed over the movies right now. We had it all planned and then she mentioned to me that it would be fun to have a surprise party like her cousin Tori did a couple of years ago. That got me thinking that it would be fun and I instantly decided that we could pull it off even if she did already know that she was getting a party. So I told her that it was going to be on the 31st so she could help hand out invitations and all the fun stuff but it was really for today! I filled out all the invitations while she was in bed so that she wouldn't see the date and catch me. Pretty sneaky, eh?

Clayton took her out so that we could get it all set up and then I hid all 12 of the other party goers in the toy room when they got to our house. She was so surprised! She had on this ridiculously large happy birthday hat that they had picked up while they were out. She threw open the front door and announced "here I am!" so that she could show off her hat. Then she noticed people there that weren't supposed to be (my cousins and sister Betsy). She tried to pull the hat off but not before everyone came out and yelled surprise. I have never seen her blush like she did today! She was so embarrassed! It was so cute. She told me later that she didn't want anyone to see her hat that was why she was so embarrassed. How do kindergarteners know about being embarrassed about their appearance? It seems like that shouldn't happen until they are older!

I was so glad to be able to pull it off and caught her with a big grin several times throughout the afternoon. It is moments like that where you know your child feels loved and special that make it all so worth it!

Here she is trying to get the hat off before she is seen. Too late!

Bryson standing

I can't believe that my little, bitty baby is growing up so fast! Ok, so he was never really little bitty, he has always been huge, but still! Bryson has begun to pull himself up already. He will be 8 months old on Monday. That is so hard to believe! I love all of their stages but right now this on is my favorite. It is so funny when he gets himself part way up and then can't figure out what to do to get the rest of the way up. This morning he pulled himself up on one of the kitchen chairs and his legs were out too far so he just stood there looking around for a way down. I love that even though he was stuck, he was still so proud of himself that he had a huge smile on his face! I can't get him to hold still anymore, he is too busy and soon he will be into everything. I guess it is already time for some serious baby proofing!

I can't believe that it has been so long since I have blogged. I have been fighting a vertigo spell that I just can't seem to get to go away and typing has been the last thing on my mind. I hope you all had a great Holiday and New Year. I know that we did and now we are jumping right in to Courtni's birthday in just a little over a week. So hard to believe that 6 years ago I was pregnant with her and had no idea what to expect! Six years ago I was still able to sleep through the night and could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted to. It is funny how drastically a little baby can change your life and all the silly little things you found importand just really aren't anymore. I wouldn't change a thing (well except maybe the sleeping part haha!) I can't imagine my life without my kids and hubby! They are truly my everything and I am so lucky to have them in my life.