Summer Recap

Yes, we are alive! What can I say other than my lack of blogging is due to nothing more than pure laziness!! Although, after a few failed attempts at trying to blog, I have concluded that I must've somehow offended the blogging Gods & are now being punished. Why you ask? 1) Good intentions of posting were replaced by falling asleep on the couch 2) Camera is in the car and too tired to go get it. 3)Can't log onto Blogger 4)Spent 40 mins typing out a post, couldn't get it to post, AND it didn't save arrgggg... 5) Tried again today & the bar at the top of the page to sign im wasn't there. I'm just glad that everyone else has kept up with theirs so I have something to read while I'm up at night :)

So here I am again with another feeble attempt. Camera is out of car, pix are downloaded, I'm obviously logged in, and not asleep on the couch. This is a good start. On with the highlights of the past 2 months:

We started our backyard project the first of July with a 46' long & at least 15'tall retaining wall made of the precast cement blocks, which look like huge legos stacked together by a remote control crane. Now instead of rolling down the hill which was our back yard, my kids can now just fall straight down off the wall! We hauled in 2 tons of fill dirt, and bless their heart, Troy and Nick backfilled it all by hand. I did make a pretty good dent in one of the dirt piles myself I must add. Last week we poured a little extension onto our patio which will be nice to have a bit more room to bbq & enjoy the yard. A big shout out to Travis Robinson for forming and helping to finish the cement. He is AWESOME! Guess that will teach him to ask if there is anything we need next time he comes home teaching (he helped us with tile last year). The next step is stinky mulch & sod. We've gotten a few bids on vinyl fencing (OUCH!) that will have to be next spring's project.

1st block laid

                                                       view of finished wall amid bushes from below

The 24th of July was fun to have all my family together in Beaver. We did the parade, park, bbq, horse races, fireworks, & lots of good visiting. My sister brought her 'trike' for us to try out. Have you ever tried one of these? It's hard to do (ok, so I'm just REALLY out of shape!)

Caroline on the trike

August began with our annual Smith family campout up on Beaver mtn. We had it at Tushar Lake campground, where my parents have been the hosts every summer almost 20 years since it opened. We all enjoyed canoeing, shooting, fishing, playing games, & eating lots! Nick & Paige came since they are basically family,& my sister's nanny & husband also came which added to the fun. Since this weekend fell in between Troy & Tanner's b.day's we celebrated them up there. I made a camping cake which turned out quite cute if I do say so. G.pa Webb & G.ma Kaye also came up from Cedar to have lunch and party with us. Aside from a few incidents and 'time outs' the kids all played and got along well. Camrie did great and slept thru both nights.

Braxton started a.m. Kindergarten at Sunset Elementary. His teacher is Ms. Callahan. He is doing well and likes it. Country Kids daycare takes him to school & picks him up, then we pick him up from the daycare after work which is such a sweet deal. I've enjoyed walking him to school on my days off.

Ms. Callahan

Tanner is just, well he's 2! Need I say more? He truly is our 'Tanner the tornado', why bother cleaning on my day off? He really is the funniest little guy ever. I could sit & watch him run back & forth all day, & laugh while he jabbers the cutest things. He loves to say "Ah, man" when things don't go his way, & had a great time playing peek-a-boo with his hand under my skirt in church a few weeks ago

Miss Becky                                        Bowling w/ dad

 

                                                                                                

 Camrie & Miss Ashley

The unfortunate day arrived on August 10th, that I had to return to work. You'd think by the 3rd time it wouldn't be that big of a deal? Not this time! I couldn't do it and took an extra week off without any PTO left and suffered greatly when the paycheck came and was only $125.00! But it was worth it! We love the DRMC Child Development Center!! Camrie's teachers in her 'Roly Poly' class literally pryed her out of my arms reassuring me that she (and myself) would be just fine. All the teachers there are great and love her Tanner so much. I did go down to visit them the other day while we didn't have any afternoon patients. Camrie was asleep...no big deal. Tanner was fine til he realized that I wasn't there to take him home. He cried the hugest tears & was so mad at me, he woudn't have anything to do with me when I tried to love him & say bye. Lesson learned: endure the long boring afternoons with my co-workers, forget the kids!

Troy's bad elbow has resurfaced a few times since the first bout of bursitis in May & was getting worse (thanks to shoveling 2 tons of dirt) so a month ago he had surgery to remove the damaged bursa. He wore a splint for 2 weeks that covered all but 4 inches of his right arm. He got along ok, but was entertaining to watch him do things left-handed. Ever tried putting deodarant under your left armpit with your left hand???

getting the drain taken out of his elbow

Camrie is now 3 1/2 months and is so much fun. She truly is the light of our lives, & her brother's little princess. Her smile is infectious & almost a bit mischievious at times and her giggles make us giggle right back. She's getting a little chubb but nowhere near as chubby as Tanner at her age. His Kankles were spilling over his socks at 2.5 months:) She has also discovered her hands, & has began to lose her cute hair that I could spike up for her bows.

We've had a fun, busy summer and can't wait for fall and cooler temps. Fall is my favorite season, for so many reasons, one of which includes FOOTBALL!! yes, once again we are bleeding red loud & proud at our house (go utes!. Hopefully we can make it up to a game this year.

I think i've covered most of our happenings for the last month or so. Sorry to be so detailed & long winded, but those who know me, know that's just the way I am. Hopefully I have repented & appeased the blogging gods & this post will go through!! Bed time. So where is the icon to download my picures, it's gone!! I beter start repenting more... pix to follow, maybe another day!

My little fish!

Braxton has just finished his first 2 week session of swimming lessons at the SHAC. He loved it and looked forward to going every day. He would ask at least 10 times before bed, if we were so proud of how well he did at the skills his class learned & practiced that day. He will go to another session after he comes back from staying with this dad for 2 weeks.

Happy 4th of July

We celebrated the 4th in Beaver with my family. The day begins around 6 a.m. with about 30 mins (although it seems to go on, and on...)of dinamite blasts that can be heard all over town. This is Beaver's way of saying good morning & happy 4th of July. I'm sure that any newcomers, would think we were under attack for sure! I've gotten pretty good at hearing a few booms, closing the bedroom window & going back to sleep. This also happens on the 24th of July. This year we decorated Braxton's bike so he could ride it in the children's parade which he thought was so fun. We hung out at the park for a bit and watched while Braxton & Tanner both won footraces for their age groups. Afterwards, we headed back to g.ma Smith's for lunch and time to relax. Later that evening we headed down to Greenville for a BBQ with more family. Greenville probably has more cows than residents, but they sure can put on an awesome patriotic program and some incredible fireworks. I am so proud to be and American, I can't imagine life any other way! We truly are blessed to have the freedoms that we do, and such brave soldiers fighting in our behalf.

Tanner in all his coolness :)


Dad & Camrie watching the parade & getting burps out


Braxton riding in the parade


Braxton and his ride


Me & my kids with my G.ma Fern Williams- the best cookie maker ever!!



Troy also made a small jump across the street from g.ma's house for Braxton to ride his bike over. Braxton thinks he's pretty hot stuff now he can go over a jump (even if it's only 6 inches high)

The contruction


Braxton approaching the jump


Tanner catches air on his trike


Random pix- taken on our way home. I love this area of dirt next to the freeway by Harrisburg

Relay for Life

The Relay for Life has become an event I look forward to each year. About 7 years ago, me, my mom, and sisters had a team at the St. George relay where my mom participated as a cancer survivor from lung cancer. We had so much fun we did it the next year and included our husbands, that was my 1st year as a cancer survivor myself. I try to do the survivor lap each year even if I'm not part of a team. This year Troy & I walked at the St. George relay in April, and then I went to Beaver June 26th and walked in the survivor lap with my 3 kids, & my mom, who was also part of the committee (you did a great job mom!)Braxton loved letting his balloon go at the end of the survivor lap & going back for breakfast in the morning. This is the first time Braxton has walked with me, & I feel it is only appropriate that he does since I was 20 wks pregnant with him when I found out about my cancer and had my thyroid removed, I feel he 'survived' with me! I can't believe it's been 6 years already time does fly. My mom & I talk a lot about how it doesn't matter what kind of cancer,the amount, or lack of treatment one goes through (mom didn't have any, I had one) the word 'cancer' means the same to all of us. We both feel guilty at times b/c there are those who endure such sicknes, and pain, and neither one of us had to go through that, yet it's still the same. The relay usually goes for 24 hours and a person from each team has to be on the track at all times, even in the rain! There is entertainment & fun through out the night & of course tons of food! If you have never participated in a relay it really is a blast!

Some Star Wars characters were also there to help fight cancer


Mom giving a little talk at the survivor reception


Mom & my boys

Lots of catching up to do....

Wow! Where does time go? It's been a busy summer and I really need to catch up, so if long, detailed, boring posts aren't your thing, then you probably should stop reading now...
June 15th, Troy's oldest brother JD, and his wife Kathy from Texas were in Cedar visiting his dad, so we went up for a hot dog and smore roast up Cedar mtn at G.pa Webb & G.ma Kaye's cabin. Troy's brother Gary, his niece Annie & daugher Gracie also joined us It was a cool day but lots of fun to visit and enjoy the mtns. This was Camrie's first 'outing' & I didn't even get one picture of her since she stayed inside most of the time (bad mom!)Tanner loved playing on the swings, and running around showing off, until he face planted it into the dirt!

Tanner & G.pa Webb


It's all fun & games until...


G.ma Kaye & Tanner


JD (wheelchair), Kathy, & Gary


G.pa Webb, Annie, & Gracie

Our sweet baby Camrie

Yesterday we took Camrie to get her first pictures taken. She was actually awake the whole time and did really well. None of her cute outfits and sundresses fit yet so we opted for all the naked pictures. They all turned out so cute, I love her pouty lips!! She is changing so much every day, yesterday was her actual due date, it's hard to believe 3 weeks has already been and gone.

36 weeks and almost there!!

The week started out with a Monday late night trip to Labor & Delivery after throwing up a few times and not feeling so great. We thought we'd make sure everything was ok, so we got all hooked up and sure enough nice, steady contractions a minute or so apart. I got the usual look of confusion from the nurse when she asked if I could feel them and I said "Nope!" They monitored me for about an hour and called my Dr. who graciously let me go home and follow up with him the next day if I was still sick. He figured it was the throwing up and being a little dehydrated that caused the contractions. I had an NST appointment at the Perinatolgist the next morning and the contractions had stopped, but baby's heartrate was higher than they liked so I drank some water & it came back down. I still didn't feel great so we went to see Dr. Lunt. He said anytime this week baby Camrie should make her debut. I knew this would happen just when he said I could go back to work!! Oh well how can one argue with 4 months of staying home and still getting a paycheck?? Braxton is so excited & told his teacher on Tues that if he wasn't at pre-school on Wed that meant that his baby sister was here. Well, I let him stay home with me today and teacher Kim was shocked to see me at pre-school graduation tonight still pregnant. A big shout out to Nick and Paige who have been so great to watch the boys while we have run into the hospital. We are so thankful to have them as friends and neighbors - as always, we "owe them big-time!"