Update and New Posts!

Hey everybody!!! Man, I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since my last post! This summer is flyin by and I just can't keep up! But I will try harder..... Anyway, I have about 6 new posts following this, so if you're really bored and want to know what we've been up to these past 2 months, read on!

We have been enjoying our summer, filled with exciting things and relaxing as much as we can. Shawn's still busy at work. He's enjoying Kiddie Kandids, which is great! He seems to keep busy working on the cars and doing new things to them. I'm just amazed at what he knows about "car stuff" and I'm grateful that he knows that kind of stuff!

Kason is doing great! He constantly goes around the house pointing to things and telling us what color it is. I'm so proud of his accomplishments thus far! Our next big hurdle will be potty training and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that! He loves to sing and I think it's the cutest thing in the world!!!

I'm still able to be at home with Kason - which I LOVE and am so grateful I can do that! I am also still watching my nephew, Mason, every day. I have also started running with some ladies in my ward! If you know me, I've never been one to go running or do BIG physical stuff! But, since January, I've really been watching what I eat and have been exercising a lot more. I've actually lost 50 pounds since January and I'm feeling great! Anyway, a couple weeks ago, I started running with a lady in my ward who is training for a half marathon. There are 5 of us that run together now and it's fun, but a huge challenge for me. I'm not going to run in the marathon, but it's still a great way for me to get in shape and lose the weight that I want to lose.

So there you go! A small update on where we are at. I hope you are all doing great!

Smith Reunion

The Smith Reunion this year was Friday, July 17th - Sunday, July 19th. We actually didn't go on Friday, but we met up with everybody on Saturday.

We went bowling! Aren't those shoes so cute! I didn't know they made them so small hahaha!
We had a yummy dinner and fun "chats" with everybody!

There was a fishing pond for the kids!

We ended the night at my Uncle's house for the "Draper Days" fireworks. What was so cool about these fireworks was that my uncle lives right across the street from the field where they were lighting off the fireworks. So you could feel the "booms" in your stomach and the firworks were just amazing being so close!

On Sunday, we went up to my Grandparents cabin. It was so nice to get out of the heat and enjoy the mountain air! It was a fun, but busy weekend!

Shawn's Birthday

Shawn turned 28 on July 15th! He is never good at making decisions (haha love you babe!), so it was up to me on what we were going to do on his "big day." I called some of his siblings and we met at Applebees for dinner. There were 11 of us all together, and it was a lot of fun! Then we came back to our house for cake and ice cream.
I hope you're day was fun, Shawn! Kason and I love you so much!!!

My Family

My Brother's family was in town a couple weeks ago (they live in Oregon). We were only able to see them for about 7 hours and we took full advantage of it! It was so great to see them (I hadn't seen them since November!) even if it was for a little while! Since we were all together, we had to get a family photo, minus my parents.Isn't he just SOOOO cute?!?!

Jake and Jordan

Megan (Spencer's daughter, from Oregon)

Jordan, Sophie, Megan, and Kason (all the cousins on my side)

My fabulous family!

Shawn's Grandma

On June 26th, Shawn's Grandma passed away. She died the day before her birthday and would have been 95 years old!!! She was such an amazing woman! A couple months after I first met Shawn (5 years ago), he took me down to where he's from (Enterprise, UT) and I met his Grandma for the first time. I was amazed that she was still driving and sending out e-mails! She was the most sweetest person and had so much love to give. On her funeral program, it listed her posterity and it had OVER 100 people on there! This one is of Josh and Kason - the OLDEST grandchild, and the YOUNGEST grandchild!

All of Shawn's siblings and parents!

We love you, Grandma!!!

Christmas Carol Train

On June 16th, Disney's Christmas Carol Train was at the Union Train Station here in Ogden, My sis-in-law, Beth and I decided it would be fun to take all the kids to see it. Basically it was a train that was promoting the movie that's coming to theatre's in November. If you watch the Disney channel, you'll see ads for it. Anyway, we got there when it opened (9am) and probably stood in line for about 45 minutes (which wasn't too bad cause I heard people were standing in line for 2-3 hrs!!!). Here's a picture of the train:
They had carolers out singing Christmas songs! It was kinda fun - got you in the spirit hahaha!

Some fun picture moments in front of the train:

Kason, EJ, Skyler, and Terryn

Me and Kason

Beth, Skyler, and Terryn

Here is a cool painting of Jim Carrey, who plays Mr. Scrooge in the movie:

Some really cool costumes displayed in the train:

They also had some neat books and papers on display from Charles Dickens:

I thought it was a pretty neat train, but the little kids were wondering when we were going to RIDE the train! I think it was a little too old for them, but I think they had fun anyway! At the end of the tour, we got to "morph" our faces into a character from the movie and if I can figure out how to get them on here, I will soon!

Terry Reunion and My Birthday

Every year near the 24th of July, Shawn's extended family has a reunion. It's always held on a Saturday. This year, we drove down Friday morning (the 24th) and came home Monday (the 27th). Here's a rundown of what we did:

Friday:
* Traveled to Enterprise, Utah
* Spent the evening with Shawn's immediate family at Shawn's parent's house. We had hot dogs and hamburgers, then celebrated my nephew - Isaac, niece - Lucie, and my birthday with cake and ice cream. The kids had fun playing hot potato, wrestling with Uncle Paul, or just sitting and watching all the craziness going on! Later that night we let off fireworks, which is always fun!

Saturday:

* Shawn's HUGE extended family reunion. Shawn's Dad has 10 siblings (so 11 total) so you can probably imagine that there are a ton of people there! They have a big ranch down in Enterprise and it's always so fun to go there.

* Of course I forgot my camera, but they had mud tug-o-war (CRAZY!!!) - NO, I didn't play hahaha! They also had a fishing pond for the little kids, and sno cones.

* At about 3:00pm they had dinner of supper yummy beef and turkey, dutch oven potatoes, and then all the families either bring salads or desserts. Tooooo much food, but oh so yummy!!!!

* Then after dinner, they do a raffle and auction to raise money for the up-keep of the ranch. People bring items to donate for the raffle and auction. For the raffle you buy tickets and put them in the cups of items you want. If they call your ticket, you get that item. The auction is just that - people bid on items, like quilts and bigger things. I won a super neat coat hanger that has a picture of the ranch on it - YAY!!!

Sunday:

* MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

* We went up to the Ranch again for a yummy breakfast.

* Spent the afternoon realaxing at Shawn's parent's house.

* Went to Mesquite, Nevada to the Eureka Casino and ate at their yummy buffet!

Monday:

* Drove home!

It was a super fun weekend! Ate WAY too much and didn't get enough sleep, but isn't that what family reunions are all about?!?!