BUSY BEE"S

So the last few months we have found ourselves very busy, and I myself find myself very sleepy most of the time, so sorry for no posting in several months but what can I can say =0). Heres what we have been up to!!
Bud has been running his butt off, literally signing up for all things competitive in the arena of running. He has always been a good runner but recently has uped his game by participating in events like half marathons and such in an effort to train for this years Saint George Marathon. We are so very proud of him and he has come so far in this race of his. I always enjoy standing at the finish line waiting for him to peak around the corner on last stretch of his races, its such a proud moment to see him accomplish his goals and look so darn sexy doing it.
Gabe is getting bigger by the day seems like and is so much like his daddy its unreal. He is patient, and sweet, and always my little cuddle bug. He just had his fourth birthday in Febuary, Toy story was the theme. We got rained out a bit but he still enjoyed himself. He moved the party from the back yard at my grandmas to the covered patio to seek shelter from the rain, and the poor bounce house, well it was a frigid saggy mess of the swimming pool by the time the storm ended. HE did however have plenty of time to bounce in it the day before his party, and the storm so he was happy. Next year I am thinking indoor party just to be safe.
We have big news!! alittle late but still just as big and getting bigger by the day.

WE ARE EXPECTING BABY #2

due to arrive mid August

We find out what we are having in just a few days, and I couldnt be more excited to finally get started on the nursery.

Heres how its been going.

• I am currently 19 wks pregnant
• have experienced alittle nausea, but never got morning sickness
• I crave fruit mostly and random combo's
• I have not gained weight yet but baby is growing fine, just look at my baby bump
• I dont like chocolate
• I get indigestion
• last heart rate of baby was 158 bpm, and he/she kicked the doppler
• I started feeling him/her this week.
• I am cold almost all of the time
• My sweet hubby gives me foot rubs and back rubs way more often than with the first pregnancy, thanks babe.
• And I have so far enjoyed every bit of this pregnancy just like I did with last, Its exciting and we three couldnt be happier about the new addition.

I find out what we are having on Monday April 4th and look forward to all the fun moments the next few months will bring us.

Six wonderful years and counting!!!

AUGUST 7TH 2010

Bud and I just celebrated our Sixth year, yes thats right SIXTH year of being married and boy have we had a wild ride.

Heres a recap of the best years of our lives:

* We met in highschool and were instantly best of friends.
* I was attracted to his ability to always make me laugh.
* He says he liked my boobs (such a guy).
* We parted ways while he persued the military and I went away to college only to reconnect and fall head over heals in a very short amount of time.
* I met and fell in love with his daughter in Feb/March of 2004.
* I moved all the way to California with no job to rent a room from my Uncle so I could be closer to him.
* He purposed to me the first time over the phone.
* Three days later we got married in Las Vegas Nevada at 11:30 at night with my closest friends and my mom there to see it.
* He purposed the second time four months after we got married on Christmas Eve and asked if I would still honor him with spending the rest of my life with him.
* We spent 10 months of our first year apart because he was gone in the Military.
* Our first apartment was a dump LOL.
* We made the hardest decision of our lives in 2006 when Bud decided to let his daughters step dad adopt her.
* We found out we were pregnant June of 2006 and were SOOO excited to meet our little boy Feb 13 2007 at 3:36am via C-section.
* We got our Cat Jack in May of 2008 and he has been the best buddy for Gabe.
* We have spent the last six 6 years with the same core group of friends whom we are so blessed to be friends with.
* Bud helped me through the hardest 6 months of my life in 2009, when the man who raised be was diagnosed and ultimatly succomed to lung cancer.
* We got Duke or beautifu boxer in July 2010 and he is such a great addition to our family.
* AND................ IN JULY OF 2010 WE DECIDED TO THROW CAUTION TO THE WIND AND SEE IF THE GOOD LORD BLESSES US WITH ANOTHER BEAUTFUL CHILD.. ( I will keep you updated)

So thats the brief update on what we have been doing for the last six years. I have been so very blessed with the life that we have been given together and look forward to all the years and memories to come with my best friend and the love of my life...

DISNEY LAND

2010

The perfect end to our Smitherman Family vacation was taking Gabe to Disney Land for the very first time. It was so memorable to see the look on his face with every new adventure we found. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Smitherman for making this part of the trip so fun for making it so great.

The primary reason we took Gabe to Disneyland was because when we started to potty train, I hung a picture of the Disneyland Castle in Gabes bathroom and told him " when you learn to pee and poop in the potty, I will take you to see Mickey Mouse's Castle." IT WORKED!! He is 100% potty trained now and it is great. Now its time to start working on baby Smitherman #2, woo hoo. I'll keep you posted on our progress. Gabe was so excited to see the Castle all he could talk about was he wanted to go inside, so the first thing we did was take Gabe inside the castle to see sleeping beauty.

This was the first ride Gabe wanted to go on, He was so amazed at the mini worlds of Disney.

Here a few more pics of what we did!!

THE BEST PART WAS THIS SMILE!!

FAMILY VACATION 2010

We spent our annual family vacation in our favorite place, Oceanside California. With fun, sun, sand and surf we got spend 8 amazing days in the town we fell in love in. Many of you know that Bud was stationed at Camp Pendelton USMC base in Oceaside California and it has been our goal to one day return there to raise our family.

We started out at the beach on D1 &D2  and with a view like this who could blame us.

We watched in awe as the beautiful ships sailed the waters of pacific ocean, wishing only to be aboard one of the those boats for just a day.

  Bud and Gabe tried to catch sand crabs and have fun splashing in the water. Gabe loved the ocean and its nice to see that he enjoys it as much as me and dad do. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband because he is so patient and loves to teach our son things about nature and whatever he finds interesting.

BALBOA PARK~SAN DIEGO

We spent D3 at Balboa Park and Mission Beach. Gabe was super excited to see the dinosaur museum as Balboa Park but who knew it was so exspensive. I remember Balboa have alot more free museums for the kiddos. But despite the cost we had a good time looking at all the achitecture and ever amazing balboa gardens. Gabe enjoyed the fish in the coi pond more than anything I think, which goes to show the event he most inexspenive and seemingly boring activity can be boat loads of fun for a 3 year old.

UNFORTUNATLY MY CAMERA BATTERY DIED AND I WAS UNPREPARED. SO WE HAVE NO PICTURES OF ALL THE FUN STUFF WE DID AT MISSION BEACH.

SO HERE IS A LIST OF OUR ACTIVITES

*RODE BOATS

*BUMBPER CARS

*ROLLER COASTER

* BEER WAITING FOR THE BOYS

*ARCADE GAMES (I WON THE JACKPOT AND GOT HUNDREDS OF TICKETS)

SUNDAY - BIRCH AQUARIUM

Bud, Gabe and I branched off from the group and headed down to La Jolla to take Gabe to the Birch Aqarium. It wasnt as big as we he hoped but it was def fun. Gabe got to see all kinds of see life creatures that he otherwise would never get to see up close. We got to pet starfish, and sea cucumbers. Saw a GIANT octopus and lots of really fast sharks. ( According to Gabe)

 

MONDAY- FISHING ON OCEANSIDE PIER.

THIS IS THE DAY THAT FOREVER WILL BE REMEMBERED AS THE DAY THAT MY NORMALLY VERY CUTE AND SWEET LITTLE BOY DECIDED TO PUT HIS HAPPY EYES AWAY AND WEAR GRUMPY EYES FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE REST OF THE TRIP. IT PROVED TO BE A VERY CHALLENGING NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS WITH THIS LITTLE ATTITUDE MONTERS. BUT WE WOULD CHANGE HIM FOR THE WORLD.

WE DIDNT CATCH A SINGLE FISH ON THE PIER BUT WE HAD FUN TRYING.

MOST EVENTFUL AND FUNNY MOMENT:

GABE WHO IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING POTTY TRAINED DECIDED HE NEEDED TO GO POTTY, I RUSHED HIM TO THE BATHROOM ON THE PIER AND AS SOON AS HIS PANTS HIT HIS ANKLES HE PEE'D ALL OVER THE FLOOR OF THE BATHROOM. WITH NO SINK AND NO PAPER TOWELS TO CLEAN THE MESS I LAUGHED WITH TREMENDOUSE EMBARRASMENT AS WE EXITED THE NOW VERY FOUL BATHROOM.

TUESDAY-  MIDEAVIL TIMES

So Bud's brother decided to suprise Connie (His Wife) and take all of us to Mideavil Times for dinner on Monday night. We had a really hard time keeping a secret and also it proved very difficult to figure out an excuse for why would be driving and hour north with definite plan of what to do. She caught wise to us about 5 miles from our destination which was ok at least we made it that far. FOR ANYONE WHO HAS NOT EATEN THERE,  IT IS DEFINETLY WORTH THE MONEY.

WEDNESDAY- DISNEYLAND!!!!

(pics coming soon)

This is our little motor cycle man at the Clark County Fair and Rodeo two weekends ago. He had alot of fun riding the rides and seeing the bulls and cowboys.

The day after the rodeo Bud and I had to make the long journey to Carlsbad California, which is always so much fun. We left Gabe with Grandma and Grandpa Smitherman for the night and headed south to the beach.

Of course it was supposed to be for business, Bud had a job interview and test with the City of Carlsbad, but I couldnt pass up the chance to leave town with my hubby and go to our favorite place. 

We drove around and looked at Apartments and rental houses, visited our favorite places to hang out when Bud used to live there. Enjoyed Calima's and Harbor Fish and Chips, as well as walking the pier and the beach.

Bud went Monday to take his test, and I went and toured some apartments and the church we would go to if we end up being able to move down. The church was amazing and the preschool was so cute and definitely a place I would be comfortable taking Gabe. I could tell they would really take good care of him, and teach him great values as well as a love of Jesus. 

We will find out in the next few weeks if an offer comes in, I'll keep you posted!!

So we here at the Smitherman household have had a very busy couple of months, and I have not been good at posting so here's a quick update. We spent Buds 26th birthday enjoying some good old fashion "redneck" fun down at Nascar in Las Vegas. My inlaws, Dalton and Carolyn, our little boy Gabe, our friends Lee and Steve and of course Bud and I had a good time tail gating and enjoying some brewskies at the race although it was very cold and windy.

About a month ago Bud and I went to go see Alice in Wonderland which was amazing and very fun to see however when we came out of the movie we were greeted by a nice surprise.

But after more than a month of fighting insurance and dealing the father of the 16 year old girl who hit and ran our vehicle, buds baby is good as new.

Easter was so much fun for Gabe, now that he is the age that he is its a real treat to watch him on such fun holidays. He woke up Easter morning and the Easter bunny had left a trail of eggs down the stairs to a hidden Easter Basket. With every step her took he would make the funniest noise expressing his surprise and dis belief with every step.

We had Easter service at Tuahcan Amphitheater, and I couldn't imagine a more beautiful place to celebrate the resurrection of our lord and savior than Tuahcan. It is simply amazing and if you have ever been there you would probably agree. It truly shows how much our lord loves us, he created gorgeous places like this for us 

.

to enjoy and worship him.

Gabe's Birthday Bash

So its official, my baby boy turned 3 on Feb 13th 2010. We had his party at Highland Park in Washington and it could not have been a better day for him. He had lots of friends and family come to the party and the weather was so beautiful. 70 degrees and sunny, gotta love Saint George weather. Gabe's friends Logan, Michael, Lillian, and Bracken we so cute and they all really enjoyed themselves.

This year we did things alittle different and I went all "Suzy Homemaker" and baked 50 cupcakes, and this amazing spiderman face. I know, I know your totally blown away by my talent. It was actually really cute because when I was done doing it, I held Gabe up to see my masterpiece and he said, "Mommy, It's beautiful, I love it". And that is all that matters so laugh all you want.

Me and my very good and dependable friend Charlie baked and frosted all of the cupcakes on Friday night, it took a total of 5 hrs of continuous baking and frosting to accomplish this amazing feet. 

Uncle "Johnny Rock" was able to come into town from California this weekend, as well and Aunt Taryn and Mackenzie which was a real treat for Gabe, He really enjoys when they come to visit.

Uncle Dennis and Aunt Sherri and their granddaughter Trynity came from Phoenix Arizona as well this weekend so it ended up being a great party with lots of family in town.

Nana was amazing and such a trooper, he back has been really hurting since Papa passed in November. They think that lifting him those last few days caused her De generative disk disease to really speed up. She wasnt sure if  would be able to come, but as usual she was there and smiling the whole time. I love how close Gabe is to all of his family. WE are truly blessed to have such amazing family that we can count on.

 

We got Gabe a Spiderman Pinata which was lots of fun, somehow I managed to cram 2 five pound bags of candy into the poor guy which made him really heavy. The plastic thing that you tie the rope to broke through because of the weight and that is why in the picture with Uncle John he is tying the rope around spidermans neck. It was the only way for the kiddo's to keep trying to break it open because it fell the ground still intact.

Eventually after much perseverance on the kid's part they eventually got  every last piece of candy out of spiderman.

Luckily I came prepared with lots of shopping bags for the Kiddo's to load up there candy in so everyone got plenty. I am sure that there parents were super stoaked that each of them got at least a pound of candy to go home with.

Our good friend Lee, the manager of a local pizza store here in Saint George, was amazing as usual he came to party bearing every child's favorite food. PIZZA and one of the pizza's had a special message for Gabe. If you look closely its say's Happy Birthday Gabe. It was really thoughtful of him make a special one just for Gabe, not to mention the 8 pizza's he he provided for the party for FREE.

Yay for free pizza!!

And lastly before we enjoyed our cupcakes and Rootbeer floats and sent every one home we opened presents, presents and more presents. Gabe got so many new toys and clothes that it took two cars to take it all home. I am not sure Gabe needed that much stuff, but he sure has enjoyed each and every presents he got. His favorite present being a golf club set from Kaley, Bernie and Logan Buhler. It was so difficult to keep his attention on opening presents after he saw that, he ended up heading up the grass with Logan to play golf as I finished opening all of his presents.

In case anyone is wondering, Bud was the cameraman for most of the party so I dont have any pictures of him yet. Troy took many great pictures of the birthday party so I am sure we will have some fun one's of Daddy real soon.

So after a very long and eventful day full of family, friends and good times we headed off to my friend Troy's photography studio to get family photo's done.

Look for our family photo's in just a few days.!!