Ryan, Heidi, Boston and Carter

London

2011-01-10T22:38:00.001-08:00

Well to start off, I first have to apologize for not posting for so long. But this time I really have good reason! Second, I have to apologize for the gazillion pictures I have and the bazillion new posts. It might be super long and boring for you or you might enjoy them but just so you know in advance! And you'll have to click on OLDER POSTS to see everything!

Carter and I had the amazing opportunity to go on a trip with my family first to London to visit some family and then on to India for a wedding. Since Carter is still a lap child, his ticket was hardly anything compared to mine so we decided to take him and I'm so glad we did! He got a fever the night before we left and was sick and getting his molars for the first three days in London. But after that, he was happy and then in India he was SO much fun! I've broken up the trip into different posts.

So we'll start with London! While there, we saw as much as we possibly could. So we were go go go the whole time. But it was so worth it.

There are so many amazing buildings and so much history. This is St. Paul's Cathedral

Inside the London Tower

My dad was calling this the London Bridge so we all thought this was the real London Bridge. And thought it was so cool...but after walking through it we found out that it is in fact the Tower Bridge and the real London Bridge really has fallen down and I guess is somewhere in Arizona?...not quite sure on the whole story, but it was still a cool bridge:)

One of the buildings in the London Tower is filled with all the crowns and jewels that all the past kings and queens have worn. They wouldn't let us take pictures inside so this is the best we got. But that was awesome seeing all the beautiful crowned jewels!

Ashlie's new boyfriend....:) This was a manikin on an old warship...I guess I didn't get a picture of the actual ship.

Big Ben...

Ok so i'll have to get other pictures from my brother and sister and repost, but Westminster Abbey was a beautiful building also.

This was my favorite. The Windsor Palace is a working palace and it is where the queen comes on the weekends.

She was there the day we were there and this is where she was staying. Too bad she never came out!

This is the view from the palace.

One building of the palace. We got to walk around a part of the palace and it was really cool because they still use most every room in the palace for functions and invite all kinds of royalty. It was amazingly beautiful inside. My favorite thing inside the palace was the queen's doll house. I'm not sure which queen it was, but she had a doll house made of the exact replica of the castle. The rooms were just as they were. Even the beds, the chairs, the plates and silverware were even real gold. Then she had all her dolls and their beautiful dresses.

I just love all the architecture. It was so beautiful!

The gang on a bus:)

Buckingham Palace. They only give tours during certain times of the year, and we missed it so we just walked around the outside.

These are the light posts surrounding the palace.

I bet the street is gorgeous in the spring and summertime!

Hampton Court. This is an old palace where King Henry VII lived.

So they let you take pictures and more so have an experience there. So we all got dressed up in these AWESOME cloaks!

King Henry liked to entertain the people who came to visit. This was the first room they would walk in to. This room was solely made to impress his visitors. Everything on the walls is guns and swords. It really was amazing. The guide was telling us that every 25 years, they take every gun down and take it apart completely to clean it and then put them all back up. It is a huge job, but by doing that, they have been able to preserve the original guns which is what these are...

Cute street. We got in trouble for "trespassing" here. It was kind of funny cause the guard came up to us and asked why we were just standing on some random person's porch to take a picture. I had this cute idea to have everyone stand on a different staircase, so you can see Dustin walking to his, but we got in trouble before he got there lol.

Our last day in London we went to the natural history museum. That is one amazingly huge museum. Carter's favorite part was the dinosaur section. He had gotten over his fever by then too and was able to finally just have fun and see all the cool dinosaurs and animals and everything else they had there.

Me and Ashlie sat in front of these mirrors for seriously like a half hour just laughing at ourselves. People probably thought we were crazy but hey we were having fun!

Paris

2011-01-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

From London, Paris was only about a 2 and a half hour train ride. So we took the earliest train there and the latest train ride back to London. It was FREEZING that day!! So Sunitha, Carter and I ran to the Notre Dame and then ran over to the Eiffel Tower and then Hailie and Ashlie decided they were too cold also, so we went to a huge mall and stayed inside.

The Notre Dame is an amazingly beautiful building inside and out.

The art and the stainglass inside is breathtaking.

Inside the Notre Dame, if your wish you can light a candle and offer a prayer. You also had to pay to light a candle...

Just one of the doors on the side of the Notre Dame.

We were all bundled up!! I didn't realize how big the Eiffel Tower really is. This picture puts it in pretty good perspective I think. This is just the bottom of the Eiffel Tower.

I was walking through Costco the other day and walked past the art gallery. They had this exact picture from this exact angle selling! Maybe I should try and sale my beauty :)

Ok the background in this picture makes it look like it was a beautiful day outside. But it really was miserably cold! My dad's favorite thing to do with his grandkids! Carter someday will love this picture I think!

London and Paris were amazing! Thank you to Sunitha and David and their cute family for showing us around and letting us stay with you. I want to come back someday with Ryan and Boston in the springtime because I hear it is beautiful! We miss you guys already!

India!...Bridal Showers

2011-01-10T21:51:00.001-08:00

After London, we headed over to India for my cousin's wedding. They had already been celebrating before we got there with an engagement party. They day after we got there, we started with the bridal showers.

Bridal showers in India aren't quite like bridal showers in America. Yes she gets gifts, but that is not the main focus.

Bridal shower number 1

The bride sits with someone on her right and everyone takes a turn putting rice and oil on their heads and rubbing these spices and oils on their head, face, arms and legs. It's kind of funny because here in America we all envy darker and tanner skin. There in India, they all want to be lighter. So some believe that if you rub these spices on your skin for a week to 10 days before the wedding, it will make your skin lighter and you will be glowing. My family more so did it for the tradition. When I got married, we did this same shower for me. It was so much fun! Also by putting the rice on her head, you are giving her blessings and good luck with her marriage. This is only after the first couple of people.

Carter didn't know what to think at first. But here we are taking our turn. They always start with the eldest in the room and work their way down.

This is what they looked like after the last person!

Then after everybody has taken their turn, the bride will go shower and dress up in her pretty sari and jewlery and come recieve her gifts. Cute family.. Prasad, Reema, Shilpa (the bride), Nikitha, and Anitha

Bridal shower number 2 at Aunty Lucy's house. Taking my turn..

Aunty Prema got sneaky and after each person's turn, rubbed it on our faces... Oh and that is Heather, one of my cousins, sitting with Shilpa this time.

I tried to hide my face from Prema while she was trying to get me, but I obviously didn't win that fight. But it sure freaked Carter out! Poor little guy thought I was getting hurt...I'm glad he loves his mama:)

Heather, Prema,Shilpa, Lucy, Pushpa, Nadia

Bridal Shower number 3. This was just at our home and more of a spur of the moment thing to keep it going. We had already done a couple and they decided why not just do them everyday! But Shilpa was kind of tired of getting the spices rubbed all over her and having to clean it all off again (which I totally don't blame her!) so we only did the rice on her head this time. Eric had stopped in Delhi to visit his old mission area and my brother Travis who is there now and had just made it to Hyderabad. So he got in on the festivities too:)

Ashlie sitting next to Shilpa and taking her turn..

Mom handing over her gifts..

After being blessed...

Bridal shower number 4! By this point, it was just for fun:) Reema sat next to Shilpa this time and got smart and put her hood on so she wouldn't have to worry about getting all the rice out of her hair! Smart girl!

And after they got blessed...

Wedding Day

2011-01-10T21:31:00.001-08:00

The night before the wedding, they had a dowry ceremony. That is where the bride and groom's family come together and the groom's family gives the bride's family gifts. So they gave Shilpa and her mom pretty saris and then they gave bananas and a sweet to all of the guests that came. My brother and sister have pictures of the ceremony, so I will have to add them later.

Morning of the wedding! I did Shilpa's hair, so we had to start early on curling:)

All the girls watched Ashlie curl her long pretty hair and wanted it like that for the wedding, but they hadn't ever done it to their hair before, so Ashlie helped...

Nadia helping Shilpa with her jewelry

Nikki caught on and her and Reena helped Reema with her hair..

Finally ready! Shilpa designed this wedding dress and had it made just for her

My mom introduced Shilpa to the guests at the beginning of the wedding ceremony.

They sat up on this platform with these beautiful chairs..

Shilpa giving Venu his ring. Venu won't give her ring to her until the reception. But instead he ties a gold chain around her neck with a ring on it that she won't ever take off.

Bride's family

They feed each other the cake and they don't smash it in each other's face!

cousins!

This was kind of funny. It is tradition there that the groom's family invites the bride's family to their house after the wedding. So the groom's family was all piled into this car.

But then part of the tradition is that the girls on the bride's side of the family stand in front of the car and don't let them leave until the groom gives them some money. It usually is all fun and games and the groom gives each girl some money. Well this started all fun and games. They stood there for about an hour and half to two hours and the groom was not giving anything. Then the groom's family finally got out of the car and started to walk home. He still wasn't giving anything so finally the girls gave up and that ended the night. We went back to our rooms and packed up for the train ride home. At the end of the trip though, he ended up giving some money to all of us!

All in all though, it was a really beautiful wedding and lots of fun! Having to watch Carter the whole time, I didn't get all the pictures on my camera. There are some pictures I will be getting from my brother and sister.

Christmas Day

2011-01-10T20:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas day definitely was much different than Christmas day is here. Since my grandpa had passed away earlier this year, out of respect, they don't really celebrate anything for a whole year after the death.

But we still had a blast. We got up that morning and went to a breakfast buffet. And the had american food at the breakfast along with the indian food! So we had bacon, eggs, waffles, muffins, and pretty much anything we wanted. Carter was LOVING his chocolate donut!

These palm trees right outside of the hotel/restaurant were beautiful. We sent this picture to our family at home wishing them a Warm Merry Christmas!

My beautiful mom and her beautiful sisters Anitha and Raji

Nikitha, Chikki, Ash and me

After breakfast, we went home and had our mehendi put on our hands for the reception. Mehendi is basically the same thing as henna. All the girls got it done to be fancy and pretty for the wedding:) This girl was at our house from noon to about 8 and did 13 girl's hands front and back. She was amazing!

So there, it is tradition to have the bride somewhere in her mehendi hide the groom's initials in all of the intricate art. So in lei of missing my hubby, I had her write his name on my hand.

Waiting for the mehendi to dry. You have to leave it on for at least 3 hours before you peel it all off. The longer you keep it on, the darker the color gets. It also gets darker depending on your body temperature.

This is what it looks like after it is all peeled off. It is a really pretty dark maroon color. And it only lasted about 5 days before the color started to fade and after about a week to a week and a half it was completely gone.

Reception

2011-01-10T20:29:00.000-08:00

December 27 was the reception in Hyderabad. It was very similar to receptions here, just with an Indian twist I guess you could say.:)

To start off, Venu gave Shilpa her ring as a gift from him. They don't really have a "ring ceremony", they just exchange gifts.

My mom then introduced the couple to everyone at the reception and then her and her sister Raji escorted Shilpa and Venu over to the cake and instead of the bride and groom feeding each other, my mom and her sister fed the couple.

Chikki, Eric, Reema, Venu, Shilpa, Nikitha, Ashlie, Reena, Carter and me

Daniel family

Eric giving them blessings and good luck!

This little girl LOVED Carter. I'm not sure she spoke too much english, but all she wanted was to hold him and take a picture with him. It was so dang cute! He was the highlight of the night!

Uncle Prasad

Sirisha and Chikki

While we were dancing, Carter found this little girl and just giggled and loved her!

He kept trying to hug her but she didn't like it too much. It was funny but it was SO cute! Sorry about the bright light, but the guy who does the video camera has a HUGE spotlight on his camera so everytime he filmed you, you could hardly look at the camera cause it was so bright! They were filming this moment also...

Carter's favorite part of the night by far was the dancing. It was so funny cause I was feeding him his dinner and before he finished, the music turned on and he saw everyone gather in a group to dance and all he kept saying was dance! I don't think I've ever seen him climb out of his seat so fast, run over and just start bouncing up and down. It was hilarious! And he went all night long!!

All the girl cousins after a fun night of lots and lots of dancing! :) Chikki, Nikitha, Reema, Ashlie, Heather, me, Reena and Nadia

Shilpa throwing the bouquet. I love Nikki in the picture! She is ready!

But Reema caught it! So when will it be Reema?

The family right before leaving for the night. The reception was beautiful. I didn't take any pictures of the food, but it was delicious like always. They had so many friends and family come support them and it was just a fun way to end the wedding festivities.

Random Pictures

2010-11-16T22:17:00.000-08:00

This is how we had to squeeze into the auto rickshaws everyday! Carter loved just sitting out on the balcony and watching the "vroom vrooms" in his words :)

This is a power pole that is directly across the street from my family's house.

One day while we were in Rajimundry, our driver took us around the village and Eric showed us around his old area. While driving down the street, we passed this truck that had two elephants in it! And yes they were live elephants! It was crazy!

On Christmas day, we went to a Hindu wedding of a relatives. It was amazing! Apparently, they plan their wedding time according to the stars. So that is why there's landed on Christmas day. The couple sits on this platform and their family sits around them in a tight circle. And then the hindu priests sit in front of them and chant these things. There is loud music playing the whole time. And then the guests could come up and bless them with the rice on their head. This marriage was an arranged marriage.

One of the nights, we all of the sudden heard these loud bomb like noises outside our door. So we ran out and saw this parade of people standing right in front of the house. It was some kind of hindu holiday and they all walk around without shoes and carry these candles while some people play the drums and others dance around in a circle.

And this parade went all the way down the street.

And they would dance and light fireworks (the big ones! You know..the kind that are illegal here) and make there way through the whole neighborhood. At the end of the parade line was their God that they were worshipping.

Think Christmas!

2010-11-02T21:56:00.001-07:00

Ok I found the BEST Christmas gift for you all!! So affordable and amazingly beautiful! Mitzi is an amazing photographer and has started selling pictures of temples that are just SO beautiful! Check out her website here...http://buyldstempleprints.blogspot.com/

Halloween

2010-10-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

Halloween this year was a lot of fun

Bella and Boston helping me with my costume. We love our Bella!

The finished product. I was pretty proud of my costume this year cause it was the first year I actually put some thought into it. Every other year I just throw something together last minute. The young men and young women put on a carnival for the primary kids and it was a total success. I was in charge of the donut eating contest. The kids loved all the activities and all the candy they got. The costumes were adorable too!

The annual family Halloween party. We had it up in Logan this year and had a blast like always! The kids loved the balloons on my costume. That's why a few are missing. They had too much fun playing with them and then a couple popped in their face!

Andersen family. The bubble bath was my favorite!

Krystle the fairy and Anna the beautiful princess warrior!

My amish husband and Mufasa! Thanks to my neighbor Carie for letting Boston borrow this costume. She made it for her son when he was 2 and he's 13 now but still had it. So when I mentioned to her that Boston wanted to be Mufasa from Lion King she said she had the perfect costume and it really was perfect! He was so darn cute!

Last year the Kendalls invited us to trick or treat at Lee's and it was so much fun we did it again this year and with the Abbotts too. We could hardly keep up with Boston and Hunter cause they were running through the store so fast! Aren't they adorable! And yes Boston is in flip flops because as we were finding shoes to leave, I found Carter in the bathroom playing with Boston's shoes in the toilet...yum huh...

My sweet little puppy! So then we headed over to the new library in South Ogden with the Housers. They had a really cute party going on with lots of activities. The kids didn't have much attention to do the crafts but they did fish and golf. Then we found a room that had these weird lookin pillow/chair things and that was the highlight of the day for them. I couldn't get a decent picture of them all because they were too busy running around! But they had fun and that was all that mattered!

The night before we went to my parent's trunk or treat and Boston loved that! I did too:) It was so nice to have all the cars so close together and get lots of candy in like a half hour! Boston got it this year so he was loving it. I wish I had a video of him saying trick or treat. He said it in the sweetest voice and then thanked every person that gave him candy. Love him! And Carter had a blast running up and down the parking lot until he tripped and fell. So on Halloween night we headed over to my parents and then to Ryan's parents. Boston loved handing out the candy to all the kids. He called himself the candyman! I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween! We sure did:) Oh and welcome home David Bailey!! He's been in Alaska for the past two years serving the Lord. He's home now and gave a wonderful talk today in church. I love the spirit fresh missionaries have when they come home. It's wonderful!

Pictures

2010-10-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

My friend Kaylee is awesome! She is one of the nicest people I know and is the best example to me of living a life of service. Service to her children, husband, friends, church and even people she doesn't know. She is talented in so many ways. She is very crafty, thrifty, a wonderful decorater, an amazing cook, makes awesome jewlery and most importantly a wonderful mother, wife and friend. One of her newest talents is photography. She recently got a new camera so I asked her to take my boys' birthday pictures. (even though their birthday was back in August...but better late than never right?) We did them on Monday and she got me all the pictures yesterday! I LOVE them! My boys were kind of crazy for her but she got some amazing pictures of them! There were so many to choose from but these are some of my favorites! Thanks Kaylee! You're the best!

We were only able to get a couple of pictures with the balloons before the wind took them away!

9.25.10

2010-09-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

It's running season!

Eric ran the Top of Utah Marathon and did awesome! He beat his last marathon time by 8 min!

When he was done running, we kept asking him how he felt and he said he felt great! We couldn't believe how good he was doing right after. He was happy and all smiles!

All the runners could get a 15 min massage and he surely didn't pass that one up!

This was a big race Dustin had in Murray. He came in 16th out of 3000 people! Way to go Dust! You totally deserve it!

Dustin is the SBO President at Weber High this year. So for the homecoming dance my parents were supposed to chaperone. My dad was out of town though, so my mom asked me to go with her. It was so much fun. The dress styles definitely have changed since I was in high school. I don't ever remember short prom dresses. I'm not sure how much I like them to be honest. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago I was there, but really it was 8 years ago!! I feel old! But we still had a blast:)

So any of you that know me at all, know that I am totally NOT a runner. But my friends called me up and told me they needed an extra teammate for the Dirty Dash. They said it was an obstacle course through mud. So I said what the heck, that sounds like fun. So I told them I would do it. Then I find out it's a 10k race/obstacle course through mud. So we trained for the 2 weeks we had to train before the race and man did it kick our butts! But we had SO much fun doing it! Here we are the HOT PINK LADIES. Dont we look good!!

I thought the race was going to be pretty flat and like just in a circle or something. But this muddy hill was the very start of it. And we ran up it. Probably we should have saved our energy, because pretty much the whole first half of the race was uphill. it was SO hard!

Most people didn't know what this race was when I told them about it. But it's a pretty popular race! People go all out and put on crazy costumes and just have fun doing it. So here is the crowd at the starting line.

This is how thick the mud was at the starting hill. And it was even thicker than this throughout the race.

Pulling each other through the mud hill, trying to keep from our shoes getting sucked into the mud and off our feet!

Climbing over these walls was only one of the obstacle courses. We had to run through an artificial snowmaker blowing water through it (we could hardly breathe), then we jumped over haybales, and climbed through tunnels.

This slide we went down was close to the end of the race. We had to cross little rivers, walk/attempt to run through a football field of mud, and run through tire holes. And at a few of the obstacles, there were people with big, high pressured hoses squirting you. At the wall, I got stuck on top and the guy was squirting the hose straight at me and he wasn't gonna stop until I got down!

This was the last thing we had to do. It was a big mud pool. Gross!

And here we are finally at the finish line! Jaisha, Kate, Me, Melanie, Nikki. Way to go girls! We did it! And even though it kicked my butt, I can't wait to do it again next year!

So my brother Dustin had a big, important race in Boise the same day. My family told me they were going up to watch him. I totally was fine with it because it really was an important race for him. College scouts were there looking at the kids and everything. (He did awesome by the way) So I wasn't expecting them to be there at all. So I get up there and as I'm getting ready to start the race, there they were! They said, we always watch Dustin run and since this is pretty much the first race I've done in all of my 25 years, they wanted to come watch me. I was so surprised and glad that they came to watch. Eric was kinda wishin he was doing it with me:). Thanks family!!! I love you all so much! You are always there for each and every one of us kids! Definitely the best family ever!!! And isn't my hubby the best? He came to see me also, instead of going to the BYU game. That's true love!

By the way...we've been loving the warm weather and on any given day, you can find these two boys doing this on the back porch. I love my boys!!

Our summer

2010-08-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

We have had a crazy summer as you may have guessed from the lack of posts. But it's not entirely my fault. The only working computer we have goes to work everyday with Ryan. But any how, here are a few pictures from our summer!

After Travis left on his mission, we decided to have one last outing with Boston's "other uncle" Jon. So we all went to the zoo and had a blast even though these animals ended up with Boston's football thanks to Dusty:) It was pretty funny!

Our next adventure was a family vacation to Disneyland. These two characters are Boston's favorite so he was in heaven!

And what's Disneyland without seeing Mickey?

After Disneyland we headed over to San Diego and met these cuties there.

We got to ride these around Mission Bay and it was a blast! They are so easy to maneuver around. While we were there Dan and Brit announced that they are having a baby in Feb! Congrats you guys! We love you!

Then in July, Ryan went to Lake Powell with this crazy bunch! The young ones can't go anymore so I stayed back and let Ryan go since this is his favorite trip of the year. And he had a blast!

While Ryan was in Lake Powell Boston started swimming lessons with his little friend Remy. It was so much fun (for me anyways) to get to hang out with Kaylee and her cute little family everyday for a couple of weeks. Boston on the other hand had his days of enjoyment in the water but most of the time wasn't exactly thrilled to be at lessons...see pictures below...you'll see what I mean. He would rather be at grandma's pool and doing whatever he wants! Selene and Carter were the spectators. Isn't Selene just angelic? I wouldn't be opposed to them being married one day:)

This picture cracks me up. This is usually how it was. Boston sitting in the water refusing to do what the rest of the class is doing and Remy (in the green) running around in her own little world.

Doesn't he look thrilled? For a while I thought I was wasting my money but by the end he actually did become a lot braver than I thought he would. He now will dunk his face under the water and actually laughs when he gets splashed and he even jumped off the diving board at his grandma's house. So all in all I think it was a success!

Then August came and we went to the fair and saw all the little goats and lambs and horses and cows. Boston and Carter loved seeing all the animals!

Then one weekend my family decided to go for a little overnight camping trip. So we drove up to Mantua to find that the campground was full. But thanks to Taron and Melanie for letting us use their property we were able to still camp. It probably was the funnest we've ever had camping. We brought up the kanacks and rode around the lake, then went back to the campsite and had dinner and played games and just had fun being with family!

This is Boston's last day being 2 and Carter's last day before turning 1! Aren't they just so dang cute?

The happy birthday boys!

All of the boys' fun gifts

Boston doesn't really know who Spiderman is, but one day we made mac and cheese and there was a picture of spiderman on the box and since then all he wanted was a spiderman birthday. So my artist husband drew the design with a toothpick and I colored it in. And we thought a number one cake was fitting for Carter. They turned out pretty cute huh?

This series of pictures cracks me up! Am I gonna get in trouble for touching the cake?

Oooh that's kinda squishy...

I'm still not getting in trouble?

This is kinda fun...

pretty much demolished! Way to go Carter! He wasn't scared at all. He loved every minute of it!

Boston and Carter enjoying all of their gifts.

I am the luckiest woman alive to be so privileged to be these two little boys' mom. I love them SO much and just can't imagine my life without them. It was kind of an emotional day for me because I feel like I just blinked and just like that Boston is 3 and Carter is 1. Where did all the time go? Thank you Boston and Carter for making my job as a mother so easy. I love you both so much and will forever and ever!

I hope they call me on a mission...

2010-05-17T22:44:00.000-07:00

March 17, Travis got his mission call to the India New Delhi Mission! It is hard to get into India as a missionary unless you have Indian blood in you, so we kind of all expected that he was going there but are still so so excited for him!

That was over a month ago. Just this last week, we dropped him off at the MTC. It is SO bittersweet...It is so sad and so hard to say goodbye for 2 whole years, but at the same time we know this is where he needs to be and are so proud of his decision to commit 2 full years to the Lord's service.

Travis was supposed to be at the MTC at 1:00, but Dustin was in AP testing until noon. We weren't going to leave without Dustin, so we just waited and didn't get to the MTC till around 3. There was nobody else there so we kind of just took our time.

The tears started coming as soon as we pulled up and saw this sign! Then you see all the cute little missionaries walking in groups together, either to the temple or just in between classes. What an amazing spirit those missionaries have!

Travis loves these boys and it was hard for him to say goodbye to them. They both will be so different when he gets home. But what a great example he is to my boys!

You wouldn't be able to tell from the picture that we were sad...

Ok I have to admit, I was getting annoyed at Ryan snapping SO many pictures, but I am SO glad he did! Boston was so cute pulling Travis' luggage to the door. So we got to the door, hugged, cried, hugged again and cried some more as we said our goodbyes and watched him walk in the doors.

He was welcomed by a sweet sister.

Watching him through the window trying to see every last second with him...

This is what he was doing...(I know...we're pretty lame! But you cherish those moments!)

The last we saw of Elder Randall as he was escorted down the stairs to wherever they go from there...

Travis we are so proud of you and are praying for you each and every day. You will be so loved by the people of India. Just enjoy every minute of everyday and learn and teach as much as you can and we will see you in two years!!!

After we dropped him off, we stopped and ate at In-N-Out Burger...delish! This picture I thought was cute cause you can kind of see Carter's little snaggle tooth...just by it's lonesome! Such a cutie!

And keep scrolling down...there are quite a few new posts! They are in order so to start from the oldest go to the bottom.

My husband the graduate!

2010-05-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

Ryan did it! He graduated with a Bachelors in Technical Sales. It was a long road for him but he is done and has accomplished such an awesome goal!

Boston was so proud of his daddy too!

Ryan's brother Dan was able to walk with him also. So that was really cool. Way to go boys!

President Monson spoke at the graduation and he gave such a wonderful speech. He is such an inspiring man! After the graduation ceremony, Ryan was able to walk down on the floor where President Monson was. He was holding Boston and as he was walking towards the prophet, he caught eye of Boston and said "let me hold the boy!" So Ryan tried to hand Boston over to President Monson and Boston wouldn't go! He was too scared to let him hold him! It's funny now, but when Boston is old enough to understand what he did I'm sure he'll be disappointed! But how neat that Ryan was able to shake the prophet's hand and have a short conversation with him. They did get a picture with him, but not with my camera, so I'll post it once I get it. If you ask Boston about it now he'll say..."No...I didn't let the prophet hold me. I have to get older.." funny little boy!

Way to go sweetheart! You did and I am so proud of you!!!

Easter

2010-05-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks after we got back from Washington DC we headed out to good ol' AZ! It was a blast! And we couldn't be in Arizona and not visit our favorite friends!

We met up at a park and just let the kids play. When we get together, even if it has been a few months we just seem to pick up right where we left off and it never gets old! Carter and Miranda were playing so cute with each other. Miranda kept wanting to sit on top of or right in front of Carter. They were so cute!

And we were able to meet up with Hilary too! I'm so glad I got to meet baby Sophie! She is an absolute doll! And Hilary you are a beautiful mother! It has been such a long time since we've seen each other and I really was so glad we met up before her and her husband move really far away! Good luck with everything you guys!

Boston and Ian are best buddies. We really wish they lived closer so they could play more! But we are lucky that we get to visit them whenever we go out there! We love you! Oh and Ian I'm so sorry your stroller sank into the pond!

Coloring Easter eggs with Grandma!

Usually we spend Easter in Arizona but this year we decided to fly home Saturday so we could spend Easter with my family. It's been 4 years since we've been with my family on Easter! So it was fun being able to do Easter for our little family this year at home. The boys got pretty spoiled! It was so fun watching Boston look for his basket and see all the treats the Easter Bunny left behind.

Carter with his basket

Ryan with his basket of goodies!

Easter this year was very different. Coming home for Easter had to have been an inspiration at the time we were booking our tickets because the night we got home we received word that my mom's dad from India had passed away. So although Easter is such a great time of year to remember the resurrection of Christ, it was also very hard for our family. Thatha (that's Telegu for grandpa and that's what we always called him) was 86 years old and for the most part pretty healthy besides just old age setting in. He was sick for about 4 days before he passed so although he was getting older, it was kind of unexpected. All of my mom's family still lives in India so for her to be so far away was very hard for her. They do things a lot quicker in India than they do here so my mom wasn't able to go and be with her family while they buried her dad. They had his funeral service the next day and the flight to India is a 2 day flight so she wouldn't have been able to make it anyways. So that was hard for her also.

We have so many great memories of thatha while him and amamma lived with us here in the US while we were young. I am so grateful for those memories and the great man he was. I know he is with his sweetheart and he is happier where he is now. We love you and miss you thatha!

Washington DC

2010-05-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

In the middle of March we had the most amazing opportunity to go and visit Ryan's grandparents while on their mission in the Washington DC Temple mission. If you ever get the opportunity to travel to the nation's capitol do it! We had so much fun!

We were able to do a tour of the White House. It is so beautiful! We were able to see the Green Room, the Blue Room, the Red Room, and a couple dining rooms. We stood in the exact place the President stands when he gives his addresses. We weren't allowed to take any pictures so this is the best we got. We were told that while we were there the First Lady pulled up. So we saw her car but not her.

The missionaries! Elder and Sister Andersen meeting Carter for the first time.

What a small world. My dad's aunt Sally and uncle Ramone were serving in the same mission as Ryan's grandparents. So we were able to say hello and visit with them as well. Aunt Sally even took Carter out during sacrament so we could listen to Ryan's grandparents give their farewell talk.

Dan and Ryan trying to get Carter to crawl. They were bound and determined to get him to crawl for the first time on this trip. He took a few steps while we were there. But it was about a week later he really figured it out.

One night we drove around and saw as many memorials as we could. The Lincoln Memorial was my favorite. And they are all so beautiful at night! I was glad we did that even though it was raining!

The Washington Monument from a distance.

My favorite museum was the American History Museum. Here are Dorothy's actual red slippers from Wizard of Oz.

There was so much in this museum! But the boys really liked the war stuff.

We also did a tour of the Capitol. Also just so beautiful inside and so much to learn!

Funny boys...

Washington DC Temple. This is where Ryan's grandparents served everyday. It is a beautiful temple. And at night it is breathtaking.

Probably my most favorite thing out of all the things we saw was the Arlington Cemetery. We were able to watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. That was a really neat ceremony they do. But seeing the thousands and thousands of gravestones at this cemetery just brings things to perspective. There was such peace and honor felt here and really it was just beautiful as well.

I never saw this show, but Ryan, Dan and Brittany did see Real World DC. So we looked up the address to the house and found it. It was huge! We looked inside the windows and it was so cool! We saw a wall that everybody who lived in the house signed. So it was kind of cool to see the house.

Welcome home Grandma and Grandpa Andersen! They arrived home after a long road trip on May 1. They were so stinkin cute! Grandma was kind of in shock that first night but I think they have adjusted a little more. It is so nice to have them home but we are so proud of them for completing an 18 month mission. What examples you are to us! We love you!

SORRY!

2010-04-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

So I really do have a good reason for the no updates! My sweet husband is graduating this semester!!!! And so he hogs the computer for homework and I don't ever get it long enough to post an update! But we do have lots to post about so stay tuned...Washington DC, Travis' mission call...(to India!), Carter crawling, Arizona, and Easter weekend. Only a week or two left of school then he'll be done done done!! But in the mean time, enjoy a cute picture of the loves of my life! Hope you all are doing well!!

HELP!!!

2010-03-02T19:58:00.000-08:00

This is the face Carter makes every time I feed him his vegetables. He just keeps his mouth open and just lets it drip out of his mouth so that he wont swallow it. And with his carrots he gags so much that it usually makes him throw it up. I'm not quite sure how to get him to like them. He loves his rice cereal and if I mix a little bit of the vegetable into his rice cereal he doesn't notice it, but if I put too much in he wont eat it anymore...so what do I do?! I need your mommy advice! I don't remember Boston ever doing this. It seemed like he didn't like it for the first couple of days but then would eat it. Help!

2010-02-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't take too many pictures of our happenings this month. I know I really need to get better at updating! We did make it down to Arizona for my mother-in-law's birthday and while we were there we saw Shauna, Ian and Miranda. And we also got to see them when they came down to Utah to visit...see here We miss you guys! Thanks for the fun day! In other news, we've just been staying busy this month and I'm sure it won't slow down, but it has been good:)

I just thought this picture was funny. Boston took it but I saw it and just thought that Carter looks so big here! He is so much fun and we love him so much!

Carter was born with long hair as it was so at 5 months, he finally got a MUCH needed haircut. I just didn't want to cut his baby hair! But he definitely needed it and here is the proof!

And not only did he have long hair on top, but he had a long mullet in the back! I seriously could have put it into a ponytail if I wanted! Kinda gross I know but it was his baby hair and I just didn't want to cut it off! But Ryan finally did...

and here is his new haircut! Handsome huh! Ryan did a great job! He won't let me touch the boys' hair. I tell him that's ok but when we have a girl...cause I know we will someday:) that he won't be able to touch her hair:)

Carter has started eating rice cereal and squash. He loves the rice cereal, and is starting to like squash. But he is a much better eater so far than Boston was so I'm hoping in the future there won't be as many dinner fights:)

Boston is growing up way too fast. He is talking so well it just blows my mind. He is completely potty trained now. We had a pretty hard time with the poo poo but I think he's pretty much got that figured out now. After being on miralax twice a day for probably 3 weeks I think he figured out that it was just easier to go instead of hold it:)

After bathing the boys one morning, I opened up the blinds in Carter's room and found this on the car. Isn't Ryan so cute?! I love my husband and couldn't ask for anyone better!

And this video is too cute to not post. One day I could here giggling in the other room. I walked in to the front room to this....

...I really couldn't be too mad about the mess! I love my boys!!!

Our busy December...warning...picture overload!

2010-01-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

Wow it's only been just a couple of weeks, but we have been crazy busy, just like all the rest of you! For the Smith Christmas pary, we went to Fat Cats and bowled and ate! So much fun! I love getting together with everybody! Boston especially loved the bowling!

Then for Christmas this year my parents decided to take our family on a cruise! It was SO much fun! We went to Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico.

As soon as we found out we were going on a cruise, my husband decided to grow out his chest hair so he could do the hairy chest contest. But when it came down to it, he about chickened out until Dustin said he would do it too. It was so funny! My husband was definitely the hottest one out there! I did get video of his dancing, but he wouldn't let me put it on. He said I already embarrassed him with the last video I put on!

Chillin out watchin the hairy chest contest!

Boston was in heaven being with his grandparents, aunt, and uncles all day everyday. He idolizes them! Here he is copying Eric. Too cute!

Before the ship took sail, looking out over San Diego.

My dad taught Boston how to look into the binoculars, and that was his new favorite toy.

During one of the night shows, Santa came and Boston was so excited to sit on his lap. It was so cute!

On the top deck, the boat had a miniature golf course. Boston tried being a big boy like everyone else, and actually he started getting pretty good by the end. But he loved it!

Playing some mini golf!

Formal night. Aren't these handsome boys!

I wish I had more pictures of all the food we ate. This night was the lobster. A typical dinner for the boys consisted of 2-3 appetizers, 2-4 main courses and 2-3 desserts. Wow can you say weight gain!!!! The food was SO good! And that is not including the 24 hour pizza and ice cream, the sushi bar everyday, the room service, and breakfast and lunch! Holy cow! But hey, it's not everyday you can eat like that right?

On the little boat riding into Catalina Island.

We rented golf carts and rode around the whole island. It was so much fun and it was such a beautiful island! Eric says it reminds him of an upscale Jamaica.

Looking from the top of the Island to our boat.

The cruise ship won't allow babies younger than six months to come on the boat. So we had to leave our sweet little Carter boy home. We sure missed him, but know he was in good hands! Thanks everyone who helped watch our baby.

The water was way too cold for most of us to get in, but Eric was brave enough to go snorkeling for a little bit. The rest of us were too chicken!

The whole crew!

Beautiful Catalina!

The next day we were in Ensenada Mexico. We took a bus ride down to the biggest blow hole in the world. It was pretty cool. Boston loved watching the water spray up.

Right next to the blow hole was a mexican flee market. Here are the boys with the gear they got.

Boston was scared of this guy! Thanks mom and dad for the most memorable Christmas vacation yet! We will always cherish the memories we make together!

After the cruise, me, Ryan , Boston and John all drove home so we could get home to our Carter and John could get home to his family for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas here is our Christmas tree.

Christmas this year was so much fun. Boston was so excited and happy! Carter got all of Boston's baby toys. It worked out perfect because Boston didn't remember any of them!

Boston was excited to get new clothes and candy and his uncle Nick's tonka trucks he had when he was a little boy.

Then we headed over to the Smiths. We got spoiled like always. While we were in Arizona shopping all day, we were in Buckle trying to find some cute jeans for Nick. Then Julie decided it would be fun for all of us to get new jeans for Christmas. It was pretty cute watching everyone try on their jeans. Here is everybody with our cute new jeans! Thanks Chuck and Julie for making this Christmas extra special like always!

Then we headed over to the Randall's house. Eric got the sexiest musks from Grandpa Randall. We always love opening grandpa's gifts! You can tell he puts a lot of thought into them. So this one was just funny!

Boston got spoiled like always.

Eric got Boston a matching poncho like all the other boys. So cute!

Travis and my cute boys!

This is usually how you can find Dustin if he's not out running...texting on his phone with the biggest smile on his face! Hilarious!

What a wonderful Christmas we had!

This is the only picture I got of our New Year. I made this yummy treat and boy was it yummy! It had all the goods in it!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas like we did and we hope that the new year brings much happiness to all of you! 2010 here we come!

Finally another post!

2009-12-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

Ryan had to go to California for work at the beginning of November and we got invited to come. So we went to Disneyland with the kids while the boys worked. It was so much fun. At first Boston was scared of some of the characters, but as they kept showing up, he started loving them. Goofy was kind enough to let us eat in his kitchen one morning for breakfast:)

This is my favorite ride...It's A Small World! I love it. It is so cute...and there's not a height limit so we can get on as a family! I love how it is all lit up at night too.

We were there for the first day of all the Christmas decorations. It is beautiful! Sleeping Beauty's Castle was just breathtaking. I love the firework show they do for Christmas and then at the end, it snows on Disneyland. So magical!

We have made it a tradition to get our kids a pair of Mickey ears with their name engraved on the back the first time they go to Disneyland. Carter still has to grow into his ears.

I just love this picture of Boston. It's A Small World was starting to put him to sleep I think.

Shauna and her cute family came to Utah for Thanksgiving. So we got all the kids together one day just like old times (but we are missing sweet Remy). From left to right...Carson, Jaylee, Ian, Boston and Braelyn. I can't believe how big they are getting. They are so stinkin cute. Boston sure does miss Ian though. There will be days that Boston comes up and tells me he wants Ian. My heart feels sad that we can't just call him up and play anymore, but I'm glad he hasn't forgotten him.

Later that night we let the hubbies take the kids and all of us girls went and saw New Moon. I was so excited because I hadn't been on a girls night out without kids for so long! Even though yes I miss my kids when I'm away from them, it really was so fun! While we waited in line, we watched Twilight on my laptop until the movie started. New Moon was just ok for me. But it was just fun being just the girls. We did have little Gavin with us and he was so funny. He decided he needed to relieve his tummy of some gas right during the quietest part of the movie! It was so funny because he is so teeny tiny, that people didn't know we had a baby with us! We couldn't stop laughing and people kept looking back at us! Too funny! Thanks girls for such a fun night of waiting in line and being the first in line, laughing, giggling, trying to listen to the laptop, the Weber State football team making fun of us, and my little sister being embarrassed of it all! Love you girls!

This year for Thanksgiving, we went to Arizona. What a blast that was. But I'm mad because I took hardly any pictures! So I need to get them from my mother in law. So I will have to post more pictures of our trip later. We had so much fun shopping, eating, relaxing, staying warm, and playing rook! Can't wait to do it again!

Yesterday we had our annual Christmas party. Everyone (except Shauna of course) was able to come this year! (But we are missing Jaisha and Andrea in the picture) It is so fun to get together and just chat and enjoy some yummy food. I made Chicken Parmesan and potatoes and everyone helped bring the rest of the meal. It was delicious!

This year we had a couple more added to the bunch! This is Treyden (Lauren's baby), Carter and Gavin (Karilynn's baby). Treyden and Carter are 3 days apart (down to the exact time even!) and Gavin is just a month younger. Aren't they so cute?!

While we were in Arizona, Boston and his cousin Jane would make little huts all the time. They were so funny. They would build a hut and call it their houseboat. I guess they just can't wait to get back to Lake Powell! So now Boston loves making his house boat. This is Boston's house boat.

This one he called his bed house...

Here he is driving his car.

And this one is his room. What a sweet, sweet boy he is.

The first video is what my Carter's been doing a lot of lately...and the second video is how my hubby gets him to do it...you'll wanna turn the music off for this one! He thought I was trying to snap a picture, but little did he know that I had it on video:-) Oh the things we do...or rather, say to get our babies to smile...He would die if he knew I had this on here! I love my boys!:)

to nap or not to nap?

2009-11-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

So I've been debating whether or not I should cut out Boston's nap during the day. You see here is the problem. My child is just like his dad. He can run all day long with little or no sleep and not let it affect him at all. Normally he takes a nap around 1:30 and sleeps for anywhere from an hour and a half to two or two and a half hours. Then he won't go to bed until anywhere between 9 and 10. But he is SO hard to get to sleep. We started a terrible habit of laying with him to go to sleep and now we have to do it every time. It gets annoying sometimes especially when it takes like an hour to get him to sleep. On the weekend, we usually don't get a nap in cause dad is around and Boston cherishes every moment he has with his daddy. So Sunday,with the time change, he hadn't taken a nap so I decided to put him down at 8 and he was out like a light in 5 minutes. So here's my question...do we keep a nap and struggle to put him to bed at night, or take the nap away and put him to sleep earlier? What do all you mommies do/suggest?

2009-11-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we went to a wedding reception down in Provo. The groom is a distant relative. But mostly we went down to see these guys. Sunitha (holding Carter) is my mom's cousin and these are her kids with mine. They live in California and so we hardly get to see them, so when they came for their nephew's wedding we couldn't miss the chance to see them all. Rachel, Aaron and Hailie are all getting so big and Boston was having so much fun with them. But Boston couldn't say Hailie's name. He has a friend in nursery named Kaylee so he kept calling her Kaylee. Then I would tell him to say H-H-Hailie. And Boston would say H-H-Kaylee. The kids got a kick out of him:)

We wished you guys lived closer! Love you guys!

Last week we had our annual Smith family Halloween party. Jill and Shawn came as the Swine Flu...hilarious!

Boston saw these guys and didn't dare come in the house until he realized it was Uncle Scott and Aunt Christy. Scott and Christy have adopted two adorable little boys and just put in hoping to adopt a little girl. Good Luck guys! You and your soon to be little girl are in our prayers!

Here are the three little munchkins. Carter, Gavin and Khloe. They are so stinkin cute!

For Halloween, we spent the night at my parents. Ryan's parents were out of town, but Boston had a blast trick-or-treating and getting candy. But we only did like 6 houses but it took forever cause he walks so slow! But he was lovin it!

I was looking through my pictures and found this one...this is how you can find Boston quite often...picking his nose. Such a funny kid!

Aren't these two the cutest pair you've ever seen!!! I love my boys!

MMM Whatcha Say

2009-10-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

This was too cute to not share! My brother Travis taught this song to Boston and now he just loves it. All he aks for is "Say mom Say?" It's hilarious!

Carter's Big Day

2009-10-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Today was Carter's big day. He was blessed by his daddy today and Ryan did such a wonderful job and gave him a beautiful blessing. And Carter was perfect. He didn't make a peep through the whole blessing.

One of my high school friends Chaz and his cute family is in our ward and he blessed his little girl also. After sacrament, we sat the two babies on the couch and they just cuddled up to each other. It was too cute! This is definitely a picture for their wedding video!

These are all the men who helped bless Carter today. What a great bunch of handsome men!

4 generations

Carter and Gavin are 10 days apart and already best of friends!

I was a little worried at first at how we were going to fit all of our families in our house. Our basement is unfinished and we just used it as a storage area. So my mom came over last week and helped me clean it all out and we brought tables and chairs down there and it ended up working out perfect!

My parents

Ryan's parents

My family minus Eric. He had to work right after. Love the outfit Dust! It was such a wonderful day. Thanks to all who came to support us! We love you all!

Here are some more random pictures...

Ryan has been working like a maniac to get our yard done. Him and my dad spent many many nights working as hard as they could to get this yard done. Thanks dad for offering so much of your help. We couldn't have gotten it done without you!

Here is our yard before the grass...

And here it is after the sod was all layed! On Saturday all the boys in both of our families came over and helped Ryan lay the sod so we would have a yard before the blessing. It turned out so good! Thank you thank you to everybody who helped! And thanks to Chuck for helping Ryan figure out what he was doing with the whole sprinkling system. Love you guys!

This is what Boston would do while Ryan was out working. I would open the window and he would talk Ryan's ears off. This way he wasn't in the way. But it was just cute cause Ryan would always look up and see this little head poking out.

The other day I had carter just sitting up on the couch by himself. He was doing just fine. Boston runs in the room and, being the sweet big brother he is, he started getting worried that Carter would fall over because I didn't have any pillows on the sides of him. So Boston got the two little pillows and put them on each side of Carter so he wouldn't fall. It was pretty funny because he was sqishing Carter with the pillows and Carter didn't seem to care one bit. So cute!

Carter has started responding to us more and smiling so much! He is getting so big already and it makes me sad. But I am so grateful he is in our family. He adds so much love and joy. I don't know what we would do without him.

And Boston too. He has so much energy and is so fun right now! We are sort of trying to potty train...sort of....I know I'm terrible! But now that the blessing is done and the yard I think I will have some time to concentrate better. I'm planning on potty training in a day...I've heard so much about it I thought we would give it a try...Wish me luck! Any advice from those that are done?....

I just can't get over how handsome my boys are! I am the luckiest woman alive to have these three boys in my life! They are the light of my life and the reason I live...for them. Thank you for making my job as a wife and mother so easy and rewarding. I love you three more than you will ever know!!!

What we've been up to lately

2009-09-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Carter is already a month old! Time flies when you're havin fun! Here's what we've been doin for the past month...

Since Boston's birthday (and now Carter's) was spent in the hospital, we had a little party for him so he could open his presents and have a birthday cake. It wasn't anything fancy we just needed the traditional picture!

10 days after Carter was born, Ryan's cousin Anna had her little boy. Here are the proud new grandmas! And Ryan's other cousin Krystle will be having her little girl in a couple of weeks. We can't wait to meet her!

Lately, Boston has loved reading books. It is so fun to sit and read books with him. He has always liked reading books, but it wasn't until recently that he's really tried to read them and understand what's going on in the book. He has to read one (or two or three or four) everytime before he falls asleep, and quite often this will happen. Its so dang cute!

On Labor Day we went and watched the fireworks at the Country Club with Ryan's family. It was a blast! They shoot the fireworks off so close to you that the ashes land on you!

This was funny...I'm too cheap to buy the actual bubble bath. So normally when I give Boston a bath, I will pour a little of the baby wash in the water and kinda swish it around with my hand to make a few bubbles that eventually go away. Well this day, after Ryan was soaking in the tub because he was so sore from digging all the trenches for our yard the day before, I threw Boston in the tub with him and told him to quickly wash him down. Ryan asked me if we had any bubble bath and I told him no and that I just use the baby wash. So he poured some in and instead turned the jets on and this is what I walked into. It was so cute to see how hard Boston was laughing!

This is Boston all ready for church. This outfit is from India that my cousins sent for Boston. He loves it and he looks so dang cute in it!

I could not ask for two better boys than the two I have. They make my job as a mother so rewarding! Boston just absolutely loves Carter and is so sweet and cute to him. Every morning he wakes up and says good morning to him and every night when he says his prayers, he says "Father thank you daddy, carter, mommy, bossy, carter, daddy, carter" It's the cutest thing in the world! Thank you Boston and Carter for choosing me to be your mother. I love you both more than you'll ever know!

The best birthday present ever

2009-08-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

August 15th was Boston's birthday and this is what he got...

A new brother! That's right, Boston and his new little brother Carter share the same birthday.

And what a cute big brother Boston is to him. He just loves and kisses him all day long and it's so cute cause sometimes I will catch him just talking and giggling at him. I love it!

So what a crazy crazy day that was. Here we are just right before delivery. My whole pregnancy I said over and over again that I didn't want this baby to be born on Boston's birthday so that they could have their own special days. But apparently Carter had plans of his own!

The story for those that care to read....

So I woke up around 2 in the morning with contractions that were coming every 10 min. They were painful, but still somewhat tolerable and they stayed that way every 10 minutes until like 8 in the morning. We were about to go to the hospital when they started to slow down to about every 30 minutes. Since I didn't get any sleep that night, Ryan took Boston to the grocery store while I slept. I continued to have contractions every 30 minutes but the pain got worse and worse. Then they started coming about every 10 again after I made Boston's birthday cupcakes. Ryan would push on my back to help relieve the pain and it really did. But Boston would see Ryan and run over and touch my belly or back trying to copy his dad. He really was trying to help, but it was just bugging me. So we had my mom come get Boston and as soon as she got to the house, my contractions started coming like every 5 minutes and the pain by now was pretty unbearable. So we decided to get in the car and go to the hospital. Ryan was driving like 70 mph the whole way to the hospital cause by now my contractions were just one right after another. I was dying. We rushed to the emergency room and they wheeled me upstairs. When I finally got dressed and in a bed, the nurse checked me to see how dilated I was. She didn't say anything at first, and then when I asked her, she told me I couldn't freak out if she told me. I said ok and she told me I was at an 8. So I freaked out for a second. She had to talk me through every contraction and asked if I was planning on having an epidural. I asked her if it was too late and she said not if we do it right now. So they rushed me to my room and the anesthesiologist was there waiting for me. He got it in really fast and 15 minutes later I had finally got some pain relief. Now I could finally start enjoying the whole birthing experience. then about a half hour later, the Dr. came in and broke my water and about 20 min after that out sweet baby boy was born. From the time we got to the hospital to the time Carter was born was only two hours. It just happened all so fast!

The proud new daddy. Carter Jeffrey Smith was born August 15 at 4:44 in the afternoon weighing 6 lbs 12 oz and 19 1/2 in long.

Holding my little boy for the first time.

My mom and sister were in the delivery room with us when Carter was born.

First family picture.

Smith family

Randall family

My sister recently got a job as a CNA on the OB floor at the hospital. She wasn't working that day, but she was still able to give Carter his first bath. She did work one of the nights we were there though. It was nice because she took Carter to the nursery all night long so I could get some rest and I wasn't stressing because I knew who had him all night long. It was fun having her as my CNA that night!

Proud Grandma and Grandpa

I love this picture because of how wide-eyed Carter is.

Two days before, Boston came down with croup and got pretty sick. This was the only time he actually kept the mask on. It didn't last long. So we just tried to keep Boston away as much as possible until he wasn't contagious anymore. Thanks to all who helped watch him.

My friend Shauna told me this was the best thing she got for Ian when she had her baby. So I got this little baby for Boston and he was so cute with it. He loved feeding it the bottle. It was hilarious!

Proud daddy getting ready to go home. We had the hardest time naming little Carter. We could not think of a name forever! We finally named him as we were walking out of the hospital. But he definitely is a Carter! It fits him really well.

I absolutely LOVE my boys!

Two brothers just admiring each other

This was hilarious. The other day, Boston got into the floss and was trying to floss his teeth acting like a big boy. Well next thing I know he walks up to Carter and starts trying to floss Carter's teeth. I tried to explain to him that Carter doesn't have teeth yet, but I don't think he quite understood. What a good big brother!

I guess when Ryan was a little boy he had a rocking horse that he would ride for hours. So Boston got this cute rocking horse for his birthday with a basketball hoop to shoot hoops with his dad.

Carter

Boston

Do you think they look alike?

Randall Camping Trip- John Schmidt

2009-08-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

My family loves camping, but it seems like the past few summers we just haven't had the time to plan a trip. So this year we put it on the calendar and up to North Fork we went. We decided to stay close just in case we needed a hospital close. The first night we got there, it was so windy. You can't tell in the picture, but we had to hold our tents down so they wouldn't blow away. It was terrible! We contemplated going home actually. But we decided to wait till after dinner and then make a decision. I think a few of us said a little prayer that the wind would go away so we could have a fun little trip. Well after dinner, the wind was gone. We were all amazed cause really it was SO windy all day long. So we stayed and camped.

It was so much fun! I was a little worried though of how I would sleep in the tent. My parents are such thoughtful people. They actually went up that morning and pitched the tents to reserve our spot but they brought up a bed mattress for me to sleep on too! How sweet is that? That made all the difference! I don't think I would have slept at all the whole trip. Thanks mom and dad for thinking of me :)

So Friday morning, my sister gets up early to go to the bathroom. I hear her walk away, then a minute or so later, I hear someone running as fast as they can back to camp. Suddenly my sister jumps back in the tent and said there were moose on the way to the bathroom and she got freaked so she ran back. I couldn't stop laughing. It was hilarious. So I got up and we drove the car to the bathroom and sure enough, there were these two moose just right next to our camp sight! It was kinda cool, but it would be freaky if you just suddenly walked upon one!

All day Friday, Ryan's parents were kind enough to let us borrow their boat and we boated all day up at Pineview. It was a perfect boating day. I didn't think I would be able to stay on the boat the whole time because of the heat and bumps and stuff, but it never got too hot, and the water was actually really smooth. This is Eric jumping the wake. He got up there!

Dustin's first time jumping the wake.

My parents also rented a Sea Doo for the day. It was a blast. Eric took Boston on a ride and taught him how to push the button to make it go. It was so funny, cause Eric drove by and we all looked up and Eric had both of his hands in the air, and Boston was just driving the Sea Doo all by himself like he was a pro. It was so cute!

I was bound and determined to go into labor! My sister and I took the Sea Doo out for a little bit too. I didn't dare go too fast, but it was really fun!

Travis on the knee board. He loved this the most I think.

Here is our handsome boat driver! You did a great job honey!

My dad got really good on the knee board too. He learned how to do a 360 and he was pretty proud of himself! I didn't know you still had it in ya dad! Ha ha Just Kidding! You were great!

The whole family at the end of the day. We camped again on Friday night, and we did get rained on a little bit. But we all stayed dry in the tents. So it wasn't bad. We woke up on Saturday, packed up and headed home for the day.

Later that night, my parents had tickets to go to the John Schmidt concert up at Wolf Mountain. It was so fun! I love John Schmidt and could only wish that I could play the piano as well as he does. And he's just a nice, fun guy to watch. It was a charity concert and there were a ton of people there. Boston was loving dancing to all the music.

He plays so many good songs. One of my favorite is Love Story meets Viva La Vida. I have it playing on my playlist. It is such a neat arrangement that he did. But he said due to copyright, this may have been the last live performance they were able to do of that arrangement because Cold Play's record company said they didn't want them to use the song and that they would need personal permission from the band. Taylor Swift said it was fine to use her song, so it's too bad they can't get a hold of the band cause it really is an awesome arrangement.

After the concert, Dustin, Ashlie and Boston waited in line to get his autograph and a picture. What a fun night. Listening to John Schmidt makes me want to become a better piano player. His music is such feel good music, I love it.

So thanks mom and dad for planning such a fun weekend for the family! It was such a blast! We were hoping that by doing all that, I would be in labor by now! I am hurting a little more, a lot more uncomfortable and a few contractions, but nothing regular. So everybody send baby vibes my way so we can get this little guy here! Hopefully our next post will be about our new little baby!

Proud Mommy Moment

2009-08-05T07:03:00.000-07:00

Boston is such a cute little guy and last night he did probably the cutest thing he's ever done. And I just had to share...

We got him ready for bed and made his bottle. It was pretty late so he REALLY wanted it. Normally we would say prayers before we gave him the bottle but last night, he just wanted his bottle. So we gave him his bottle and Ryan and I knelt down next to him and said our family prayers while he drank his bottle. Well that was that and Ryan left the room and I stayed lying next to him while he finished his bottle. We always have to lay down next to him while he falls asleep or he won't go to sleep. We spoiled this little guy in the sleeping department way too much and now he doesn't fall asleep on his own and he always ends up in our bed at the end of the night. So those of you with little ones...teach them how to sleep early before it's too late! Anyways, so Boston finished drinking his bottle and we were laying there in silence for a good 5 minutes at least and suddenly he turns toward me and says, "prayer mom? prayer?" and then he gets up rolls over to his hands and knees like he's ready to say a prayer. So I asked him, "You want to say a prayer?" and he said yes so I proceeded to help him say a prayer and he rolled over when we were done and laid his head on the pillow and started to fall asleep again.

It kind of brought a tear to my eye just thinking of how much my little boy is growing. He is learning so much on a daily basis. Even just going to nursery once a week, he learns so many things in there. At first I thought how much does he really notice by us just going through the actions everyday. But he really does learn from everything we do. He's always saying things we say and doing things we do. I can't believe he is almost 2! I love you Boston!

2009-07-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

Oh dear where to begin? About a month ago Ryan gave Boston a much needed haircut. Here is before...

And here is after! Isn't he cute?

The weekend of the 4th Ryan had a Friday off so we took the day to go to the Hill Aerospace Museum. Boston loved all the planes and Ryan loved all the history. I loved watching my boys together. It was such a fun family day.

On the 4th, my family ran in the Cherry Days 5k. It was so fun to watch everyone including my hubby run in a race. I'm so proud of them all! Ryan really only trained twice like 3 days before and still came in at 34 min and that was walking the first mile. His knee was really hurting the day before so he wasn't sure if he was even gonna run it. So he started out walking with my mom and brother but after the first mile, he realized that old women were passing them walking and that did it for him. He ran the rest of the way and pushed through the pain. But he did it!

The beginning of July we had the yearly Randall Reunion. It was so fun! We camped up at Green Canyon.

One of the days we went on a hike. It was beautiful.

So sweet!

I love him!

Aunt ZoAnn even brought a cotton candy maker. That I think was a favorite among the kids and my husband :). He loves cotton candy!

The whole gang that was able to make it. ZoAnn and Dave you outdid yourselves this year! It was a blast! It's so fun to see family we don't get to see a lot and we missed the ones that weren't able to make it!

On our way home we stopped at my Grandma's grave. It's been about 4 years (I think) since she died of cancer and I truly miss her. What a wonderful woman she was. Ryan never met her because she died before we started dating. But I really do wish he could have known her. I know she is up there playing with our future children and that makes me smile. I love you Grandma and thanks for being such an example for me to follow after.

A couple weeks ago we had a BBQ with all these girls and our hubbies. It was alot of fun. I love these girls :)

Actually we had the BBQ becuase this girl, my bestest friend ever, moved with her hubby to go to school in AZ. I don't know why she didn't just let Nik go by himself :) j/k. You know I wish you guys the best of luck with school and everything else. But you will truly be missed.

But what makes me even more sad is that these two won't get to play anymore. Boston will miss Ian so much! It makes me sad to even think about it.

July 19th was my dad's birthday. One more year and you'll be 50! We love you dad and are so grateful for everything you do for our little family. You're the best dad anyone could ever ask for! I hope your day was great!

Later that night we went to the Weber State fireworks. They were really good this year! Boston loved them too. He kept saying every firework was yellow. Dunno why. He's just a funny kid!

So then bright and early the next morning we headed off to Lake Powell! Here's the whole crew trying to wake up before the long drive!

Once we got there, unloaded everything to the boat and drove through the channel, the boys always take charge in anchoring the boat good and tight. It's kinda cute to watch them all work!

This year we had the perfect spot. It was the first time we drilled into the sand stone. It was nice cause we had a little beach for the kids to play in shallow water. Boston became a little fish. He was lovin the water!

Boston loved running up the rock as far as he could too. Luckily Ryan wasn't out on the the boat this time so he chased after him :)

Boston and Jakey showin off their big muscles.

Grandma and Jen with the kids on the tube. I didn't want to go into labor in Lake Powell, so I didn't really go out on the boats except for one slow boat ride and one slow jet ski ride. So I don't have any pictures of my Ry surfing! He got good this year too. By the end of the trip he could do a 360. I hear it was pretty impressive:) Love you babe!

The sunsets were amazing!

Boston learned how to fish for the first time. Didn't catch anything, but he loved holding the pole.

One night Jacque and grandma decided to have a spa night and wash everyone's hair in the hot tub. Here's my little family getting the treatment! That really was fun!

The end of a trip is always sad. We missed you Grandma and Grandpa and David but know you are out doing the right thing in spreading the gospel! Here is the whole crew saying goodbye to the warm water, yummy food, and fun fun times.

Lake Powell was a blast but I don't know that I would do it again being 35 weeks pregnant for the fact that I couldn't do any of the fun boating and other water sports. But that's ok. Us three pregos just hung out together the whole time and waded in the shallow water with Boston and the other little ones. Next year there will be 3 more additions!

So yep I'm 36 weeks now. Next week I'll be full term, so I say bring on the labor! I'm totally ready and Ryan is just as ready as I am. We are trying to get organized and figure out a name for this little one. We are having a hard time thinking of a name we both agree on. So if you have any suggestions please send them our way!
UPDATE:
I went to the dr today (Thursday) and he said everything looked good to go! I'm far enough along that if I went into labor, he wouldn't stop me. The baby is over 6 lbs now and I am dilated to a 2+! Yay! We are so ready for this baby! Even Boston can't wait to meet him!

Until next time...

LONG POST...TONS OF PICTURES!

2009-06-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy ( I know I always say that, but it's so true!) So here is what we have been doing lately!

My little brother Travis graduated this year. Way to go Trav! We are so proud of you!

Travis and his best friend Jon. These two are inseparable!

It was a great day. I was pregnant with Boston at the last graduation in our family, so it was kind of like deja vu! I bet it feels good to be all done Trav! Next step...start school and prepare for you mission! Way to go we are so proud of you!

on June 5th Ryan's brother Dan was married to Brittany Rose in the Salt Lake Temple. What a neat experience that was to witness. We are so proud of you two! Here we are waiting for them to come out!

The cousins waiting

Boston and Jane. They are so dang cute together. Boston just follows her around and wants to do whatever his cousins are doing. These two are about 14 months apart and Boston just loves her!

Daniel and Brittany Smith for the first time!

As soon as they came out of the temple Boston jumped out of my arms and yelled Dan Dan! And ran to his uncle Dan. It was pretty darn cute!

Yes it was raining for their pictures. But I think it all turned out ok. The pictures will be beautiful regardless. Besides it's what took place that day in the temple that matters the most.

The whole Smith side of the family.

Ryan, Nick, Dan and Dave

Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids.

The girls.

Our little family at the reception.

The two most handsome boys ever! Isn't Boston's little tux SO cute? I love these two!

Brittany actually met Dan because she is one of my sister's friends and Ryan set her up with Dan. So it was fitting that my sister caught the bouquet! But she's not dating anyone so if any of you know of any cute guys for her let me know!

You two are a beautiful couple and we wish you the best of luck with what's to come in your life together!

For my birthday, Ryan surprised me with a trip to Disneyland. What a fun present! We left the day after the wedding and stayed for a week. Our friends Nick, Sheena and their baby were with us for a few days. It was such a blast!

Boston loved Autumn. He kept calling her Aulo, but eventually got her name down. Isn't she cute?

Boston loved the carousel. We rode it over and over and over again.

We went to the beach one day. The water was way too cold to get in, but the boys had a blast playing in the sand.

This was Boston's other favorite ride. The car would go in circles around the track and whip you around the corners. Boston would just laugh. It was so funny. We would get off and he would say again again!

My cute boys!

He loved Dumbo too. He calls him Numbo.

And in Toon Town he loved driving all the cars. He didn't want to let any of the other kids have a turn and he would cry if we took him away. It was pretty funny. It was so much fun to go on vacation with just our little family. We haven't been somewhere just us since our honeymoon. So it was great. And we wanted to do a trip before I got too huge (although I am pretty big :->) and before Boston turned 2 so we didn't have to buy him a plane ticket. Thanks honey for the surprise and thanks to Chuck and Julie for the awesome accomodations!

So we got home from Disneyland on Friday and Boston and I headed to Bear Lake with my family to their condo to celebrate my mom's birthday. Happy 50th mom! We went to the Minnetonka Caves on Monday and I wasn't sure how I would handle 888 stairs but you better believe I did every single one of them! It wasn't that bad cause we would stop with the tour guide every few minutes.

Ryan couldn't come because he had to work after missing a whole week but we missed him. Mom I hope you had a wonderful birthday! You are the best mom, grandma, wife and mother-in-law any of us could ever ask for! We love you!

And as far as baby news goes, here I am at 30 wks. I know it's a terrible picture of me! This was taken at Bear Lake after just lounging around.

We had an appointment yesterday and here is our little guy. Isn't he so cute? He's really starting to fill out. Before he kind of looked like a little skeleton still but he is getting chubby cheeks now and he's really looking like a baby I think.

He weighs 3lbs 6 oz and the Dr says everything looks great! What a relief to hear. I love getting ultrasounds done every time just so I know everything is going well. He is moving around a lot and Boston loves to sing songs and gives loves to his 'broder'. We don't have a name picked out yet so we could really use any suggestions that any of you might have!

Here is just a cute video of Boston being Boston. He's a funny kid! The other one won't upload so I'll try it again later.

2009-05-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

I know this is kinda late but on April 29 Ryan and I had our 3 year anniversary! I can't believe it! It has gone by so fast yet it feels like we've known and loved each other for eternity!

I'm so glad that I am married to my best friend. I could never ask for a better husband or father. Ryan means everything to me and I honestly would be completely lost without him. I was going through all of our wedding pictures and looking back, it was the most perfect day in every single way. The flowers were beautiful, the sun was shining, and we got to share our special day with everyone that we love.

Everything about the day was just perfect! Here are a few pictures from our reception. But the pictures don't do any justice to what it really was like. Everything was so colorful and there were so many people that showed up to support us and with the perfect weather and the flowers blooming it was just perfect and I wish we could do it all over again!

I just want to tell Ryan thank you for taking me to the temple so we could be sealed for all time and eternity. That is the most special thing you could ever ever give me and I am so glad that I get to spend the rest of my life and forever with you! Thank you for being my best friend and loving me the way you do.

And thank you for giving me this little guy! I often think of what our life would be like without Boston, and I just can't! Our life would be so different! Look at how far we've come and now he gets to be a big brother. I'm so excited! He will be so cute!

Love you babe! On another note, it has been track season and we have been loving it! Here are my cute boys watching Dustin at his region meet.

He didn't qualify for state, but he is working hard at it. He broke his PR many times this year and I think he will do awesome next year!

I don't have any pictures of my brother-in-law Nick but he runs for South Junior High and it has been so fun watching him too! Nick is a sprinter and he is awesome!

Dustin ran the 5k during the Ogden Marathon and came in 4th overall and 2nd in his age group. How awesome especially considering there were around 1000 people in the 5k!

My sister-in-law Jen ran the whole marathon and did SO awesome! We are all so proud of her! Here she is with Boston because she qualified for the Boston Marathon with a time of 3:37! What an accomplishment! Hopefully next year we'll all be going to Boston to watch her run! Good job Jen! We love you!

Also we had a great Mother's Day! It is so fun to get treated like royalty all day long! Thanks Ryan and Boston for making me feel like a queen! And I want to tell my mom how special she is to me and how grateful I am that Heavenly Father sent me to you. I have learned so much from you and you are such a great example to me of what a mother should be. I only hope that one day I can give my children what you gave to me! Love you mom!

And I can't forget my sweet mother-in-law. What an awesome lady. Thank you Julie for being such a great example as well for me to follow after. Thank you for raising Ryan the way you did. I know he couldn't have done it without you. I'm so glad I have you in my life and I want you to know that I look up to you in so many ways. Love you so much!

Full of surprises!

2009-04-28T13:05:00.001-07:00

Surprise! It's really a boy! Sorry this picture is kinda fuzzy, I had to take a picture of the ultrasound. We had our big ultrasound two weeks ago and before we started, the tech asked what the sex of the baby was. We said we were told girl last time. So she starts looking and she tells us that this baby has a skinny bumb and that skinny bumbs usually belong to little boys. Well she keeps looking and I could swear I was seeing something between those little legs so I asked her and she said, "yep! There sure is!" At that moment, all of Ryan's worries went away! His basketball team is getting started! At the last ultrasound, the umbilical cord was between his little legs so we never really got a clear shot. But the dr. looked and looked and couldn't find anything and he thought he saw the 3 lines indicating a girl. But with a picture like this one, I don't think there's any going back. It was kinda funny being told boy at 12 wks, girl at 16 wks and then boy again. I'm sure we'll get our little girl someday...now my only stress is thinking of a name! If you have any suggetions, let us know!

We had a great Easter. Every year since we've been married, we have spent Easter in Arizona with my in-laws. It's always such a blast! It rained a couple of the days we were there, but we did get a few nice days too. They have such beautiful homes and are in a really beautiful area right on the golf course too. The boys loved that!

Before church, the kids ran around the house with their little baskets getting all the candy they could. Ryan hid a chocolate egg in a vent on the wall. When the girls saw that, they couldn't believe it. They thought the Easter Bunny for sure came through the vent. The looks on their faces was priceless!

After church, the kids got to go on a little hunt again finding their gift basket that grandma and grandpa hid for them. Boston got this baseball mit and glove and he just thought it was a hat for his head. It was hilarious.

He also got this really cute outfit. He looks adorable in his little crocks that go with it too.

We hope you all had a great Easter! We sure did. Coming home from vacation is always a bummer, but this little guy keeps us going! He is so fun and we just can't believe how much he learns and grows every single day. He is the joy of our lives and we can't wait for little brother too!

Boston and daddy had a little Jazz party yesterday, hoping they would be able to continue on. Too bad they didn't make it. Oh well, maybe better luck next year!

Wow time flies!

2009-04-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

Ok ok I know I've really been terrible at blogging. I totally didn't realize that my last post was clear back in January! Oops! Sorry to everyone! We got all moved into the house and unpacked and everything. Since I was pretty sick at the first of the pregnancy I was just not in the mood to decorate or anything. So now that I am feeling better, we are working on making the house beautiful! It sure has been fun owning our own place though.

At the beginning of February Boston got sick with RSV. Man that was a rough week or so. Poor little guy didn't want to eat or drink anything, slept all day, was having a hard time breathing and had high fevers for a while. I hate it when he gets sick because he just is so little and seems so helpless and just looks at me with those eyes like 'mommy do something!' It melts my heart. I hope we don't ever have to go through that again. It was awful.

Valentine's Day was great. I got everything I wanted! I woke up to this! Isn't my husband so sweet and thoughtful? I told him I just wanted to take a bath in our new fabulous bath tub with rose petals in it cause I never have and it always looked fun! So he decorated the whole bathroom and had some music playing and while I was taking a relaxing bath him and Boston brought me drinks and little treats. It was so sweet of him! I am the luckiest girl alive to have these two boys in my life! Thank you Ryan for loving me the way you do!

Ryan and his brothers play in a golf tournament in Arizona every year for work. And every year we make a trip out of it and the whole family packs up and goes with them. It was so nice to be in such nice warm weather. We swam and shopped and went on walks on the golf course. It was beautiful!

Then we had to come home and dress in our rain coats. Yuck. There were a few warm days that got my hopes up and it's just been yucky since then. So we can't wait to go back to Arizona!

So since we've been home, we've just stayed in the house as much as possible for fear of getting Boston sick again. We are ready for spring and summer!

Boston and his friends are getting so big! They are all walking and talking like crazy! And all of them but Remy on the left end are going to have another baby in the family sometime this year!

Yes here we all are. Pretty funny huh! Lindsey should be having a little girl any day now, Shauna is having a girl the end of May, and Melanie is due in September and hasn't found out what she's having yet.

And what are we having you ask? Well this time it's a............GIRL! We are so excited! When I was 12 weeks the dr. told us he thought he saw some boy parts, but at the next apt he told us it was a cheerleader instead! So we've been in shock for awhile cause we've just been preparing for a boy! Boston is getting excited. He loves to talk and sing songs and give kisses to his sister in my belly. I don't think he fully understands yet, but he loves to play with babies and loves to play with his farmer boy doll. He's gonna be such a cute big brother. Ryan though is a little nervous about having a girl. He says there's just different worries that come with having a girl rather than a boy who can defend and protect himself better than a girl can. Isn't he such a good dad? I know that he's a little nervous too because he's so used to Boston he's just not quite sure what to do with a girl! We have all summer to prepare him! Bring it on though. We want the warm!

I promise I'll do better on keeping up this time! We hope all is going well with you all!

We are still alive!

2009-01-29T14:36:00.000-08:00

Yes...we are still alive! We have been so busy we just haven't had time to update our blog. First of all we had an awesome Christmas. Probably the best yet since our marriage! Boston got spoiled with so many toys and me and Ryan got spoiled as well. Actually for Christmas this year, we bought a house! Yay! I am so so excited and it has been so fun getting into our own place and it's a house that we totally love and the best part is that it's ours! Unpacking has been going...but kind of slowly because....well this is the other exciting news...also on Christmas we found out we're having another baby! We are so excited that Boston will get to be a big brother! I'm only about 10 weeks along right now and right in the middle of the dreaded first trimester. I've been really nauseous and all the time so that's why the unpacking has been going slow. Our camera is still somewhere in a box, I'm just not exactly sure where. So as soon as I find it, I will post pictures.

Another great thing that has kept Ryan busy is that him and his brother and friend have started a Durable Medical Equipment business called 1st Stride Medical. They mostly do wheelchairs but also do other medical equipment as well. He has been so busy getting that started and going around to dr.'s offices selling, keeping on top of school, and staying busy at his regular job at Get Away Today. I love him! He works so hard for our family because he loves us so much!

Boston has been just growing and growing. He is so much fun right now! He talks and talks and wants to always do what we are doing and loves to be in the middle of everything. He doesn't like his vegetable as much as anything that has sugar in it. But what little kid does right? Next month he gets to go in nursery and I and SO excited for that! He's just at that age where its just hard in church right now. He is learning so much, he amazes us everyday. What a sweet little boy he is and he is going to be such a fun big brother!

So now that we are somewhat settled in, I will try my best to keep on top of the posts. We hope you are all doing well!

This November

2008-12-04T22:38:00.000-08:00

Wow! November flew by! I can't believe it's already December! Ok well where do I start? Thanksgiving was great! It's tradition to go to dinner and a movie the night before with the Smiths. It's great because even though we didn't spend Thanksgiving day with them, we still felt like we celebrated the holiday with most of the family. We went to Garcia's and then headed over to the Megaplex to watch Bolt.

It was a really cute show. Boston actually sat on our lap and really watched about half the show. Minus the glasses. Of course he wouldn't keep them on. I kinda felt bad that it was all blurry for him though! But then he had a blast playing with all the chairs. It was a cute show, but I expected there to be more jumpy out of the screen stuff.

The next day we drove down to Idaho and had an amazing dinner! I love turkey dinner! It's always so nice to get together with family and spend time with them especially when you don't get to see them very often. We got to meet my new little cousin Grant and he is just adorable and looks just like his daddy James just like his big brother did. I am telling you I have never seen a baby that is so identical looking to their dad! It's pretty cute. Yes I had my camera but sadly didn't take very many pictures. Except of this....

We had Boston Baked Beans for dinner too! Sadie is only about a week younger than Boston and she's so strong! She was pushing Boston around the whole house in this pot, it was hilarious!

This last week my sweet mother-in-law decided the girls needed to go on a shopping trip and boy did we shop! We went to Scottsdale, AZ and shopped till we dropped! It was a blast! We stayed in the cutest hotel ever called the Royal Palms. It was beautiful! It used to be a mansion someone lived in and now it is a hotel. The weather was awesome...75-80 the whole time. The malls there are just huge! I felt like we didn't even put a dent in any of the malls we went to. We went to the spa one night for massages that were wonderful! And we shopped some more and had great food! I was so sad I forgot my camera cause it seriously was hilarious how many shopping bags we had. They filled the floor in our hotel room! We ate at this cute place called the Pink Taco. Perfect for a girls trip! And yes they actually have a pink taco on a pink tortilla with pink onions too. Unfortunately they ran out of the pink tortillas but it was pretty good! But we will definitely be going back just to see what the Pink Taco really looks like! It was so fun shopping and just being with the girls. I left Boston home with Ryan and was really nervous about it because I haven't left him for that long ever! He did so good and Ryan had a blast with him too. Thanks Chuck and Julie for a fun early Christmas gift!

Boston is doing so well! I can't believe he is 15 months! At his appointment these were his numbers:

weight: 19 lbs 3 oz...below the 5th percentile

height: 31 in...50th percentile

head circumference:19 in...75-90th percentile! He has lots of brains!

I just can't believe how much he is learning right now. He has about 12 or thirteen words he says...hi, bye, hey, momma, dadda, bubbo (for his blanket, I'm not quite sure how he came up with it), uh-oh, no, b-ray (his nickname my brothers call him), owie, ball, more and we are working on please and thank you right now.

I couldn't help but post this picture of Jaylee and Boston. Ever since they were little little, they've always been such cute little friends. Well now that they've both learned how to kiss, they always give kisses whenever they see each other. This time I was trying to get them to kiss for the picture and Boston was too into playing with the steering wheel, but Jaylee was totally into it! So cute! This I'm saving for their wedding video!

Oh and he's such a great dancer! It's so cute...any time he hears music he can't help but jam out to it! He's so cute and we just love him so much!

Going Private

2008-11-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

We have been hearing a lot about creepy people and the creepy things they can do with blogs. We love our little Boston too much to even think that anything could happen to him. So mainly to protect him, we have decided to make our blog private. I know there are a lot of you out there who don't have blogs that still read ours, and I think it's great cause I must admit we do love showing Boston off! So please leave your email addresses for me too or email me at heidismith06@yahoo.com! I'll try and leave a comment on everyone's blog to leave me their email! And I am moderating the comments so that your email won't be shown to the public. Thanks everyone and we love you all!

Late Pictures!

2008-11-11T14:05:00.001-08:00

Black Island Farms

So this was forever ago on Halloween, but I am just getting around to it now. We went back to the pumpkin patch with my sister in law and her cute girls and her friend Holly and her cute boys. They all had such a blast! There was so much for them to do it was the perfect activity!

We were going to try and get cute pictures, but they of course didn't want to just sit and smile all together, so we just got cute pictures of them doing all the fun activities

For Halloween night we decided to switch up our costumes. Ryan dressed up as a gothic rocker person. Boston got a costume from both of his grandmas and this horse costume was from my mom. And I dressed up as a Mexican girl.

We sure had a fun night. We started at my parents and saw everyone's costumes. Mom and Dad, we'll work on your costumes for next year! Ha ha...just kidding! We took Boston trick or treating just to like 5 houses around their neighborhood. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do. But it was cute. Then we headed up to Ryan's parents and hung out there for a little while with his family. Holidays are always fun because we always spend them with the whole family...on both sides! Hopefully everyone else had a great one too!

High School Tag

2008-11-05T16:04:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged twice for this one so I guess I better do it...

1. Did you date someone from your school? seriously? The only boyfriend I had was in 9th grade for like 3 months I "was going out" with Tyson Pippin. But in high school I hung out and dated lots of guys but no one serious.

2. What kind of car did you drive? '98 white geo prizm. But I totaled it...oops!

3. What was the most embarrassing moment of High School? It's too embarrassing to tell!

4. Were you a party animal? No.

5. Were you considered a flirt? I guess I flirted

6. Were you in a band, orchestra, or choir? I was in band all through Junior High and I played the flute, but not in high school.

7. Were you a nerd? I don't feel like I was a nerd, but maybe others thought I was

8. Were you on any varsity teams? I was a cheerleader

9. Did you get suspended/expelled?NO

10. Can you still sing the fight song? Most of it!

11. Who were your favorite teachers? Margo...she was great! And I liked Mrs. Wilder

12. Where did you sit during lunch? Mostly my friends and I would eat in the lunch room together.

13. What was your school's full name? Weber High School

14. School Mascot? Warriors

15. Did you go to Homecoming and with who? Yes, my Junior year I went with Andy Coleman and my Senior year I went with Brad Coleman

16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Although yes, my life is much better now, I would do it again! I loved high school!

17. What do you remember most about graduation? I remember being sad that I probably wasn't going to see alot of these people again!

18. Where did you go Senior Skip day? We went swimming at my friend Andrea's Grandma's house.

19. Were you in any clubs? I was in Student Council one year and I think I was in HOSA maybe?

20. Who was your prom date? My Junior year I went with Erik Westbrook and my Senior year I went with Chuck Pulver.

21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Yes! It would be fun see everyone and their cute little families!

22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? I would have taken as many concurrent enrollment classes that would have given me credit for in college and just got myself way ahead.

I tag Krystle, Melanie B, and Alyssa

Smith Halloween party :) and saying goodbye :(

2008-10-28T21:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had the annual Smith Halloween party. The costumes were great as always! John McCain, Barack Obama, and 2 Hilary Clintons showed up! Wow! Those really were the best costumes!

Here are most of the little cousins. We love it when we can all get together and this is always one of the funnest parties of the year!

Indiana Jones (Ryan's dad), Baby (Ryan's mom), Nerdy Nick and John McCain (Dan who fit the part perfectly!)

Me and Anna the Indian Princesses!

And yes my hubby was one of the Hilarys!

Here is Jen and Dave's adorable little family. I helped Jen make the tutus for the girls' costumes. I think they turned out so cute! But they could wear anything and always be just as cute as can be!

And here is my little puppy dog!

Doesn't he make the perfect little pooch?

Sorry this is blurry but I had to act fast to get this pic of his cute little tail poking out. He's just so cute I can't get enough of him!

After we all arrived, Jacque and Jaycee sang a song they learned in school and then Andrew with the help of his family sang a cute Halloween song too. Then we turned on Ghost Busters and we all had to "Bust" out our dance moves! It was pretty funny! Then we ate yummy Olive Garden...always a favorite! After dinner we played glow in the dark Bingo and watched a family video of our Halloween party a few years ago. What a fun night we had!

At the end of the night we had to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Andersen since we probably won't see them before they leave for their mission on monday. It was sad. Grandma especially was really emotional and Grandpa, he tried to laugh it off, but I saw some tears as he walked out the door. Sunday was their farewell. They both gave really great talks and we know that they will be such great missionaries in the Washington DC Temple. We will miss them dearly but are so grateful that they are being such great examples to us and all the rest of their family and friends. Ryan and I can't wait until we can one day follow in their footsteps. They are such strong people and will touch the hearts of many! We love you both and wish you the best of luck!

It's Fall Time!

2008-10-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

Ok I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a while. We've been kind of bummed that our warm weather is gone and the cold is now upon us. We have been busy doing lots of fun things. Last sunday Ryan's cousin spoke in church because he left for his mission on Wednesday to Alaska. It was kind of sad to say our goodbyes, but he is such a strong person and will be an awesome missionary! Good Luck David! We love you! This coming sunday is Ryan's grandparent's farewell. Wow two weeks in a row, I don't know if we can handle this! They are going to the Washington DC Temple mission. What a perfect call for them! They leave Nov.3 and I think it's starting to set in a little bit. It came so fast considering they had to wait 4 weeks to get their call! That was torture especially for them. I'll try and take some pictures since I forgot at David's farewell.

Boston sure has been a funny little dude lately. He cracks us up everyday. Lately he has been hiding, getting himself stuck, and just getting into mischief.

Don't mind my messy closet, but this was too funny. I was in the other room and all of the sudden it got really quiet. I called Boston's name and he didn't answer. So I walked into my bedroom and called his name again and he just pops his head out of the closet and says "eh?" and gives me the biggest cheeser ever. I laughed so hard. He was just busy sorting through my shoes.

And I don't know why, but he loves to go behind this tree in the corner of our front room and either pull the leaves off the tree or bring his toys back there. It's pretty funny too.

Then when he does go and get in these weird hiding places, he usually gets stuck trying to get out. I just laugh but he gives me this look like-mom why are you laughing? I'm stuck here!

And now he is tall enough that he can reach up and pull things off the counter or table. I walked into this the other day and couldn't help but take a picture and laugh. He sure is a cute little guy and we sure do love him!

Last week we got together for dinner with the girls. It sure was fun seeing everyone again!

After dinner, we went over to the Solomon Center with Mel and pretended we were single cause my sister told me it was the young single adult activity and they had rented the whole place out and so the activities were free! And yes we're poor so when Ashlie invited us to come we decided why not, it would be fun! Shhh...don't tell....but really they never asked, so we never had to lie! So ifly was all booked so we decided to do a game of bowling. But then we kind of did feel bad because a few guys came up to us all to try and meet us and all and then it was kind of awkward telling them that we were married cause then they were embarrassed! But at least we know we still got the skills! haha jk! Ashlie and her friends were bowling with us and it was funny cause the guys were kind of weirdos and so Ashlie told them "we're all just married friends!" So they thought she was married too and then they didn't bug her again! It was a pretty funny situation!

They gave us a cup full of tokens to play the arcades and we just did games to get tickets so we could trade them in for prizes.

And we had to get friendship rings! Best Friends Forever! We thought we were pretty funny! It was just like old times with everyone and really I had a blast! Love you girls! And Jess and Lauren we missed you!

Yesterday, we took the babies to the cutest pumpkin patch ever! I've never been but will definitely be going back. There is so much to do!

There were these fun slides. We sent the babies down the little one by themselves on their tummies. Boston wasn't a huge fan of the slides. Probably cause when we went down the big ones I screamed and it scared him! I would way rather be thrown up in the air and have people catch me then start up high and have to make myself go down! But really it wasn't that bad!

Boston was picked to defy all odds and pick which pig would be the quickest and win the race. His pig got beat by just a hair! Darn it. It was pretty funny though! Boston wasn't quite sure what to think of real pigs! He had only seen them in a book!

At the end of all the festivities we went on a hayride and were able to pick out a pumpkin to take home!

There were so many places for cute pictures! We are going back next week with Boston's cousins and are dressing them up in their Halloween costumes. So stay tuned for lots more cute pictures! Oh and I forgot to mention that Boston has finally been sleeping through the night! Yay! He figured it out about 3 weeks ago and I didn't really have to do anything! It's like it just clicked and ever since, he's slept all night long! It is so nice to actually feel rested in the morning! But look at that little face...how could I ever be upset with that cuteness!

Ryan has been busy working hard at school and starting up a business with his brother and his best friend Nick Harris. They've been putting a lot of time into it and hopefully it will all pay off in the end! They are hard workers and I am so proud of them! This has been one of Ryan's dreams for a long time...to be a business owner. And he's finally doing it! I love you babe!

So this has been us lately. I'll be better at updating my posts more often! I hope you all are enjoying the Fall season!

Love you all!

FREE handbags!

2008-10-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

Ok so I've seen this a couple times and thought I would post it too. Handbag planet is giving away a FREE handbag every hour on the day of their launch. Who doesn't love FREE stuff? I sure do! Check it out here!

26

2008-10-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

26 reasons why I love Ryan...

1. He is such a great husband in every way

2. He is the best and cutest dad to Boston in the world

3. He works so hard to keep us all happy

4. He makes me feel like a princess

5. He took me to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity

6. He makes me laugh everyday

7. He makes Boston light up and smile everyday when he walks in the door from work

8. He is romantic

9. He holds the priesthood worthily

10. He wants only the best for me and Boston

11. He has the biggest heart ever

12. He loves his family more than anything in the world

13. He loves to have fun

14. He is always up for watching a chick flick with me

15. He is always so worried about Boston even with the littlest possible things

16. He loves playing the drums

17. He is smokin HOT!

18. He is good at everything he does

19. He does the funniest things in his sleep

20. He is such a softy with Boston

21. He makes me feel beautiful

22. He is very patient

23. He has a way of making friends with everybody

24. He will surprise me with a little gift every once in a while "just because"

25. He gets along with my family so well

26. He loves me unconditionally and I get to be with him, just us, together forever!

Happy 26th birthday Ry Ry! I hope your day was special! Thanks for everything you do for me and little boo. We love you so so much and are so grateful you belong to us!

Random...

2008-09-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

So...sorry for the lack of posts lately! We haven't been up to a whole lot lately. Our summer was great and we went on so many fun vacations! But it has been kind of nice to just be at home and do what we do I guess you could say. These are just some cute pictures of Boston I have taken lately. I know basically every post is about him, but he is our life and he makes us laugh everyday and he brings so much joy to our family. So I can't help but share that joy and laughter with all of you!

One day he woke up in the middle of his nap and was still tired, but he didn't want to be in his crib, and he didn't want me to hold him either. So I layed him on the couch and he rolled over to this position and slept like this on the edge of the couch for 2 hours! I was laughing, it was so dang cute!

Last week, Ryan's dad took him and his brothers to a NY Yankees game so we got to spend the weekend with my parents and Ryan's mom. We had a blast! On Saturday it was raining so hard! So I took Boston outside and let him run around in the rain. I thought he would like it more than he did, but it was cute.

And I saw these cute little footprints, and couldn't help but take a picture!

Cute moment with grandpa and little Boo!

We went to the treehouse on Wednesday with the babies and Boston and Ian were wearing the same shirt. It was cute! Don't they look so big?

I can't believe I haven't posted anything about Boston walking! He walks like a champ! At first he kind of waddled like a penguin, and he still waddles a little bit, but is very steady. So here is a little video of him walking. Enjoy!

Favorite things for my baby tag!

2008-09-26T20:45:00.001-07:00

I was tagged by Amy to tell my favorite things that I can't live without for Boston. Here they are...

1. Onesie Church shirts. When Boston was born, I found church shirts that were onesies at Walmart.com and I love them! Since they are onesies, they always stay tucked in and they just look sharp. But I haven't been able to find them for older sizes. If anyone knows of any let me know!

2. When I was still breast feeding, I couldn't live without my nursing cover. It was hard for me to manage keeping the blanket up and not let it fall down or let Boston pull it off. I wasn't about to pay $30 for one cause I'm cheap so I made one for like 5 bucks!

3. Also when he was younger, we had a toy zebra that hung from his car seat and when you pulled it down it would vibrate. That helped a ton when he was crying in his car seat!

4. His friends. Boston has learned so much from his other baby friends. I'm so glad we get together every week because Boston loves them!

5. His hooded towel. I love that it keeps his head warm and I can just wrap him up and snuggle him right after his bath!

6. A car mirror. I love to be able to see him while I am driving. And when he use to cry really hard in his car seat, I liked to be able to see that he wasn't turning blue or anything.

7. Gerber sippy cup. My friends told me in the beginning, don't get any other sippy cup. This one works the best. But me, being the cheapo, tried all the other cheaper ones first, and he hated them! It was just hard for him to suck on them. So I gave in and got the Gerber one and have loved it. If I would have listened in the first place, I would have actually saved money! Oops! You can get them at Walmart.

8. Mervyns. Mervyns has been the only store that actually has quite a bit of boy clothes that are really cute and decently priced...that I have found anyways. I'm so sick of walking into a store that is all girl stuff and way back in the back corner is a little shelf of boy stuff. It's really frustrating and just makes me want a girl really bad!

9. Parent's Choice bottles. These bottles are inexpensive at Walmart and don't have BPA so I don't have to worry about whether or not I am poisoning my child!

10. My husband! I would not be able to raise Boston by myself. Ryan is the best dad in the world and without him, we would be nothing! When I worry so much about everything, he is always there to remind me to relax and just live a little. Thanks honey! I love you!

Now I tag...Hilary Cook, Kaylee, Shauna and Lindsey!

TAG!

2008-09-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Ally to tell 6 facts about myself...here they are...

1. There are 2 people in my life that I am absolutely IN LOVE with! Bet you can't guess who they are!...yep! Ryan and Boston! I live my life for these two! I could not ask for a better husband or son. I love being a wife and I love being a mother! I don't think there is any other job in the world that is as rewarding as being a mom.

2. I like to cook. Now if you ask my friends they might beg to differ. I really do like to cook and especially bake, but I don't love to do dishes. Neither does my husband. And when you don't have a dishwasher, you tend to be more careful about what you cook...or don't cook so that you don't have as many dishes to do. So maybe once I get into a kitchen that has more space and a dishwasher, Ryan will get more home cooked meals.

3. I wrote a song for a piano solo. I love music. Not just listening to the radio and stuff, but more so playing the piano. I also play the flute. I grew up playing the piano my whole life and now that I don't have one in my home, I realize how much I really miss sitting down and playing the piano for hours just to relax. And when I wrote the song, it kind of happened as a mistake. I was just kind of messing around and realized what I was playing actually sounded really good! Then a neighbor helped me get it all onto paper and now I can say I wrote a song!

4. I hate scary movies! Ever since I've been married, I can't watch them! When I'm home alone especially at night, I always freak myself out with weird scenarios. So if I watch scary movies, that just wouldn't help anything!

5. I am addicted to chapstick and lotion. Without them I go crazy! When I was younger, I always said if I were stranded on an island and could only take two things with me, it would be chapstick and lotion!

6. I just learned how to dive a couple months ago. I know I know! It kind of sounds pathetic, but when I was learning when I was young, I would always belly flop and it scared me to do it again. Then I went swimming for one of our "girls days" and they made me be brave and try it. I did it good! And it's really not hard! I was proud of myself!

Now I tag...Kathleen, Melanie Barber, Melanie Jones, and Melissa!

Boston's One Year Old Pictures!

2008-09-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

I know these are a little bit late, but my dear friend Shauna took Boston's one year old pictures. She is starting a photography business and she is dang good at it! She is going to be starting a blog for her photography. For more information click here. There were so many to choose from but these are just a few of my favorites. Thanks Shauna!

Isn't my baby the most beautiful thing you've ever seen! :)

MEMORIES!

2008-09-04T22:08:00.000-07:00

Well we haven't done anything extremely exciting lately so I don't have tons of pics to show, so I thought this would be a good time to do the memory post that everyone has already done. I thought it was cute!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're laying the game and I'll come to you blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on you blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.