Anna, Benson, & Riley Smith

Remodel Pics...FINALLY

2009-11-28T14:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, so even though this has been done for a while, I've been way slow on getting pics posted. It was a lot of work but so worth it!!

Ugly Kitchen Before:

Pretty Kitchen After:

Before

AfterBefore
After
Before
After

Its The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

2009-10-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

Riley went with his cousins to the "U Pick It" Farm to gather pumpkins. He rode the train and picked out his very own pumpkin (which is sitting on our porch now and he has to go give it a hug each morning before we leave the house). This morning I asked him where he wanted to go and he said "Punkin Patch!!" He's such a cutie!

Busy Bees

2009-09-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry...no pics on the work in the kitchen yet. The new floors, paint, and cabinets are all done but we still have about a week before the countertops will be installed. I'm not going to post any pictures until everything is done....but its going to be a makeover reveal worthy of HGTV! I LOVE LOVE LOVE what we have so far. This time of year usually slows down at work so we planned the kitchen remodel accordingly, but we've ended up having some of the busiest weeks of the year and its been some long days between the office and the house.
Maybe its just cause he's "at that age", but it seems all my stories about Riley these days revolve around him being in time-out. hmmm. Yesterday he had to sit in time-out for something (now I don't even remember what it was for). He knows the drill...you have to sit quietly for 2 minutes, then you have to say you're sorry for whatever you did wrong, and lastly give mommy kisses and hugs. Well he now tries to skip the 2 minutes and almost immediately starts into the apologies. So he was sitting there and looking at me with those big blue eyes and he says "I sorry Mommy, I mean it, I sorry!" He's just starting to really put sentences together and the way he said it made me laugh out loud. He's growing up way to fast!

Nail Polish Woes

2009-08-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

Just this morning I was thinking about how grateful I was that the past months have been pretty "toddler disaster mess" free. I guess I jinxed myself, because not one hour later I was cleaning out my office and I got a whiff of nail polish. I ran to the living room to find Riley happily watching sesame street while painting himself all over with my nail polish. Benson's recliner is COVERED in it but he miraculously missed the carpet. I'm pretty sure his clothes are done for. This was him sitting in time out. I said in my stern discipline voice "you sit there in time out for 2 minutes!!...oh, and let me take your picture"

Riley's 2nd Birthday Party

2009-08-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

Riley's Birthday - Rigby Lake

2009-08-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

During the day, we took a break from all the craziness and went to the lake for some fun.

Family Rodeo '09

2009-08-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

Lagoon Day

2009-06-21T20:27:00.001-07:00

We spent Saturday at Lagoon. The morning was perfect and Riley had a blast playing in Kiddie Land. I was a little worried about how he would feel about the rides (anyone remember the picture from the carousel last fall?) Anyway, he LOVED the rides and couldn't get enough. The hardest part was getting him to look at the camera.

It rained all afternoon. We were soaked and ready to call it quits so we took a break and went to Layton for dinner. The weather cleared a bit and we decided to try to hit a few more rides before the next storm. It ended up being a beautiful night and NO ONE was left in the park. We pretty much walked right onto the rides without any wait. In 2 hours we went on Wicked 4 times, Spider twice, Tidal Wave twice, the swing ride, the Rocket three times, and the Samurai once. (Anyone who has been to Lagoon on a Saturday knows that would be normally be impossible) I had such a headache from all the rollercoasters, but it was so fun!Yeah, that's me--screaming like a little girl.

Riley Reflections

2009-06-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day! Its either feast or famine around here. Anyway, as we're approaching his 2nd birthday, I thought I'd record some of the milestones Riley has reached in the past few weeks. After watching him pitch head first out of his crib one day, it was time to move to the "big boy bed". We put it in his room for about a week just so he could get used to it, and then one night prepared ourselves for the pending disaster. We went through our whole routine of pajamas, reading a book, saying prayers and then told him to crawl into bed. He got right up there, dropped his head on the pillow, cuddled up to Elmo and Cookie Monster, and didn't move. We shut the door and listened....not a peep. We checked on him later and he was in the exact same place we had left him. Its been almost a month now and he's been an angel! Not even one bad night. I would have never thought such a major transition like that could have gone so smoothly! Next up...POTTY TRAINING!
So Riley's new parlor trick is showing off how he can count to ten by himself. He always skips five for some reason, but gets progressively more excited at 6,7,8,9, and 10. I'm going to try to get it on video, but he always gets camera shy when I get it out.
Has anyone noticed that our child is ALWAYS wearing a hat? I thinks its because this winter I wouldn't let him play outside unless he had his hat on. Now, when its time to leave to house, he starts asking for it, and drama will ensue if he doesn't get it. I guess the advantages are that he doesn't sunburn his little head, and you can't see my messy haircut job (getting a 2 year old to sit still for a haircut is a mission impossible)

So our little one is growing up so fast and I am so grateful for the sweetheart that he is!

Fun at the Zoo

2009-06-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we were out strolling through the Farmer's Market and decided on a whim to go to the zoo. Riley was in sensory overload from the start. He would get so excited at every new exhibit. The little birds were just as exciting to him as the big tigers and lions. He's so much fun at this age!

Yes, I'm still blogging....

2009-05-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend Highlights

Grammie treated all the grandkids to a birthday party at Build-A-Bear. Riley loved it for the first 2o minutes or so, but after an hour he was in meltdown mode...as you can see above.

We spent 4 days in McCall, Idaho at Benson's parent's condo. We went hiking, swimming, and just had an overall great time.
Grandma Jo likes to call him "Riley the Explorer" and being out in the wilderness really got him excited.

We couldn't keep Riley out of the water. He's quite the little swimmer and always wants to wade or splash whenever he gets the chance.

IN OLDER NEWS....

We've been crazy busy lately trying to get our new party supplies store open and running. Its been an adventure and a TON of work, but I'm really happy with how its turning out.

A FEW PICS FROM THE WEDDING...

This was the gym after we were done decorating for Amy's wedding. It turned out great and I've booked a few other weddings inspired by this picture so it was more than worth all the work!! :)

Just a pretty pic of Amy the bride!

Amy's Wedding Bouquet

2009-03-10T17:08:00.001-07:00

This is a pic of a bouquet Amy really likes for her wedding. Any comments?

Bowling Night

2009-02-19T21:32:00.001-08:00

We went to Rigby Bowl for mutual on Tuesday night. That place is old school! We had to keep score with pencil and paper and there weren't any little lights that lit up to tell you which pins you knocked down. We've become so lazy in our modern bowling culture! It was a blast and the girls did really well.

Mister Mischevious

2009-02-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

Another cheesy camera smile...and check out that hat!
Riley is my guitar hero!

Does he seem pretty proud of himself? Well he found a Sharpie marker in my bag and had a blast coloring on himself. When that got boring...

He turned his attention to my kitchen floor. This is just a small section of the overall damage. You can see the square in the middle where he sat and proceeded to spin in a circle, not missing a single square. Thankfully it came up with a magic eraser (those things are amazing!!) I'm so glad that my new hardwood floor is still sitting uninstalled in my living room and this old vinyl was his only victim!!

These posts are getting farther apart...

2009-02-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

This was at my cousin's wedding luncheon. Could he be any cuter? I was lucky to get him with a somewhat real smile since his camera smile makes him look like he's angry or in pain (example shown further down in this post)
Christmas...yeah I know its been over a month...anyway, if I was going to send a postcard showing what Christmas at the Smith house was like, this would be it...I know, we're sad, sad people.

Riley loved opening his gifts and playing with his cousins (or in this case, playing with his cousin's gifts)
He LOVES being outside. Even when its 20 degrees. His nose will turn pink and his fingers will get cold and he STILL yells at me when I make him come inside.
My first attempt at a diaper cake for my sister-in-law's baby shower. It was fun, but there's not many other people I love enough to spend 3 hours making another one, so it'll probably be my last, too.
Trust me, he's actually trying to smile for the camera. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get a normal picture of him again.

Photosynth Test

2008-12-11T14:35:00.001-08:00

This is a new beta software by microsoft called Photosynth. I took 50 pictures on a tripod of our showroom and then just uploaded to their free site. Its pretty darn cool!

Finally Getting Around to an Update

2008-12-08T12:38:00.001-08:00

This is supposed to be a slower time of year for me, but I feel like things have been non-stop! So I'm finally taking a few minutes to post some pictures from the past month.

Riley REALLY wants to go outside

Learning to play the piano

I got Riley out of the bath and set him down with his towel. I turned around and he was gone. I found him in the living room with the cereal from the kichen table enjoying the scenery out the back door.

He's full of surprises. I still don't know how he got up in there!

Riley likes to hide under the tablecloths in our showroom

This past weekend we went with my dad, Steven & Hannah to Glenn Beck's The Christmas Sweater show in Salt Lake.

Anyway, there's our update! Thanks!

Fall Fun

2008-11-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

We've been lucky enough to have some great weather through October and Riley has had so much fun playing outside in the leaves. He has taken a liking to playing with rocks and I have to keep a close eye so he doesn't put them in his mouth. Finally I decided to let him taste the stupid rock and then he would realize that they are icky and stop trying to eat them. The plan backfired. I guess he likes the taste of dirt cause he'd rather lick rocks than eat normal food.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Benson took Riley to his first trick-or-treating on the 4-wheeler. Boy, we're getting lazy. Riley couldn't believe people were just giving him candy and tried to eat each piece as it was put in his bucket.

He wasn't a really big fan of his horse. It just seemed to get in his way as he tried to get to the candy bowl.

Giddy-Up Cowboy!

Deconstruction

2008-10-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

I think it started when we all of the sudden started getting the DIY (do it yourself) network on satellite. Suddenly you start believing you can tackle any home improvement project, that it will only take 1 hour from start to finish, and it will look like it was done by a professional designer. So this past weekend I decided it was a good time to paint the family room and tear out some walls. No big deal right? Well, Benson is actually quite handy and things are going pretty smoothly. Here are the pictures of what it looked like before and after the demo. Hopefully it will all be finished this weekend and I'll post the finished project.

I've Learned From You...

2008-09-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

Okay...My AMAZING mom is at the half-way point in her battle against the big bad cancer, and the next 6 weeks is going to be alot harder than the first (which is almost impossible to imagine). Its more than a little discouraging for her to think about what's ahead and she's been praying for strength in whatever ways it may come. So my inspirational thought is a line I heard from a song the other day and it immediately made me think of her.
" I've learned from you that STRENGTH IS SOMETHING YOU CHOOSE."
Just think about it for a minute.
The strength to fight the emotional battle when the physical one is taking all you have, the strength to see things from an eternal perspective, the strength to keep smiling despite all the reasons to cry, the strength to believe that it is all for a reason. I am amazed and inspired by strength that my mom continually shows in the face of all the overwhelming trials. I am so blessed to have her as a mother and a friend and I am so grateful that, despite the total crapiness of the whole chemo thing, we will have many more years together because of it.
I love you, Mom.

First and Last Political Post

2008-09-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

Okay...I've purposefully stayed away from talking about politics on my blog. Honestly, I'm depressed about the two canidates that this country's voters have put up for nomination and the future of this country in either of their hands. So when I got this email last week I had to cheer...I want a canidate who thinks like this:

Bill Cosby says:
I HAVE DECIDED TO BECOME A WRITE-IN CANDIDATE.

HERE IS MY PLATFORM:

(1) 'Press 1 for English' is immediately banned. English is the official language; speak it or wait at the border until you can.

(2) We will immediately go into a two year isolationist posture to straighten out the country's attitude. NO imports, no exports.
We will use the WalMart policy, 'If we ain't got it, you don't need it.'

(3) When imports are allowed, there will be a 100% import tax on it.

(4) All retired military personnel will be required to man one of our many observation towers on the southern border. (six month tour) They will be under strict orders not to fire on SOUTHBOUND aliens.

(5) Social security will immediately return to its original state. If you didn't put nuttin in, you ain't gettin nuttin out. The president nor any other politician will not be able to touch it.

(6) Welfare - Checks will be handed out on Fridays at the end of the 40 hour school week and the successful completion of urinalysis and a passing grade.

(7) Professional Athletes --Steroids - The FIRST time you check positive you're banned for life.

(8) Crime - We will adopt the Turkish method, the first time you steal, you lose your right hand. There is no more life sentences. If convicted, you will be put to death by the same method you chose for your victim; gun, knife, strangulation, etc.

(9) One export will be allowed; Wheat, The world needs to eat. A bushel of wheat will be the exact price of a barrel of oil.

(10) All foreign aid using American taxpayer money wil l immediately cease, and the saved money will pay off the national debt and ultimately lower taxes. When disasters occur around the world, we'll ask the American people if they want to donate to a disaster fund, and each citizen can make the decision whether it's a worthy cause.

(11) The Pledge of Allegiance will be said every day at school and every day in Congress.

(12) The National Anthem will be played at all appropriate ceremonies, sporting events, outings, etc.

Sorry if I stepped on anyone's toes but a vote for me will get you better than what you have, and better than what you're gonna get. Thanks for listening, and remember to write in my name on the ballot in November. Bill Cosby
God Bless America !!!!!!!!!!!

My New Toy!

2008-09-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, since some of you asked...Here's the top ten reasons I love my new
Canon PowerShot G91. Killer 3" LCD viewer screen ( I think its bigger than my parent's first TV!)
2. Compact size is easy to slip into my purse when I don't want to haul around the bulky SLR and lenses.
3. Dial ISO right on top for quick film speed changes without all the menus.
4. Face Detection and Image Stabilization software make quick shots really easy.
5. Option for adding a flash attachment.
6. Rechargeable Lithium Ion battery just plugs into the wall (no expensive AA battery changes)
7. Even though its a point-and-shoot, I can attach a wide angle or telephoto lens
8. Cool color settings like Vibrant, Sepia, and Black and White
9. 12.1 megapixels turn out some TIGHT pics!
10. I like shiny new things. :)

Photo Shoot

2008-09-07T20:31:00.001-07:00

I bought a new camera and i wanted to practice with the different settings so Amy and her friend Erin agreed to come be models for me. We went downtown Idaho Falls and spent the morning just messing around but I got a few cool shots.

Ticket to Fun!

2008-09-03T22:22:00.000-07:00

Its fair time again! We decided that tonight was going to be our only chance to get to this year's state fair so we packed up after work and headed out. We enjoyed to usual fair food (corn dogs and tiger ears!) and visited the many fun booths. Riley LOVED the petting zoo...but he DIDN'T love the carosel...benson took this cool pic

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

We went to Island Park on Friday night and spent Saturday just playing around in the dirt

Riley LOVES riding around in the ranger but both times we took him out he fell asleep :) The weekend forecast was calling for cold and rain so we came home on Saturday night.

Monday was spent indoors cleaning since it pretty much rained all day, but that evening we went to my parents for baby Samantha's blessing. Here is Grandma Jo and all her grandkids.

Riley always seems to find someone to play with

Cutie pie Samantha in her blessing dress

Family Pic