Smart Family

STILL A BLOGGER

2011-02-22T08:45:00.001-08:00

I have been one lame mom. I feel like this is a journal for me and my family and I haven't posted something forever. There is not a week that goes by that I don't think about it. I am going to try and do better. Blogging is much more meaningful than Facebook(sorry FACEBOOK lovers). I love how Gavin can go back through our blog and see the changes in his life. I want the same thing for Taylor.

Our little PIRATE(Taylor)

We call her our little pirate because she only has one upper front tooth. It fully grew in before the other one. Taylor has just turned ONE! She has changed so much. It still amazes me the growth and development that happens in the first year. She isn't walking yet but standing up on her own. I don't know if she's even close to walking. A couple of weeks ago she learned how to go up and down the stairs. She loves our dog "Rocky"! In fact her first word was dog. She can say dog and dad. She LOVES her daddy and he loves her. I can tell already that they are going to have a good relationship. Travis loves to spend time with Taylor. Yesterday he took Taylor all day so I could go skiing with my family. He insisted that he took care of our little girl. What a good dad! She also loves her brother. Anytime he comes into the room her eyes light up. He definitely keeps her entertained.

Gavin is still such a fun little boy. His energy is unstoppable, there is not a dull moment. He still loves his trains, cars, airplanes and motorcycles. Just the other day he told me that dad's motorcycle was so cool and he can't wait to ride it this summer. He informed me that he's going to take it on rides all the time with dad. We'll have to see about that. In the last several months he has picked up how to whistle, blowing inside and out, thanks to "Grandma Jilly Bean". He is also proud of himself because he can skip. We have been taking him skiing frequently this winter and he loves to go over all the jumps. Supposedly he almost touched the moon on one jump. He loves going to AnnaLisa's preschool. He enjoys being around all of his friends. We are lucky to have found such a wonderful preschool. In January he stayed almost a week with Grandma Smart while I went to Denver to visit friends. There is no doubt that he had a BLAST. Grandma warned me that he was going to be spoiled and she was right. It was like Christmas all over again. Grandma made cookies, watched movies, swam in the hot tub, played with cousins, went to "OLD MCDONALDS"(aka McDonalds) and bought him new toys. When it was time for him to go home he didn't want to go. I don't blame him!

Family video by RC Aerial Cam

2010-09-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

This is a little video that Jonas and Ivan Marcinko took of us just up the road from Travis's work. They needed us riding our bikes for a commercial. They were kind enough to put together an awesome video of my family. I loved how it turned out! These two brothers are extremely talented. What makes them different than anyone else is they can take clips from the air with their nifty helicopters, hence the name RC Aerial Cam. . You have got to see it for yourself. www.rcaerialcam.com.

Thank YOU Jonas and Ivan for doing this for us. This is something I will cherish forever!

The Smart family from Jonas Marcinko on Vimeo.

The KIDDOS

2010-08-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures this spring and finally getting the chance to post them. I found this little farm with chickens, barns and awesome dandelions.... I hate dandelions but if someone else wants to grow them that's great!

The last two were taken a week ago.

Size 3 diapers.... HERE's WHY.

2010-07-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, July 4th, we were in sacrament meeting at church. I had just got done feeding Taylor. She was sound asleep and Travis was holding her. She was being such an angel...and so we thought.

Note: We have a small ward and building. Since we live in a resort town on holiday's our building is extremely full. Sometimes we even have a church authority presiding the meeting. On this particular July 4th we had a member of the seventy there.

Towards the end of the meeting Taylor started stirring. Travis could feel her fill her diaper so he decided to go out in the foyer. I thought he left because she started getting fussy. Gavin decided to follow Travis out. As I was sitting there enjoying the moment with no kids I started smelling something funny, like baby poop. Sure enough, I look down and there was runny nursing poop on the ground. My heart sank. I grabbed wipes and started frantically cleaning the ground. It felt like all 400 plus people in the congregation were watching me clean poop off the ground. Meanwhile Gavin runs back in and says "Mommy, Daddy needs bum changing equipment fast." I hand him the diapers and wipes and he runs back out. I finish cleaning up the ground and run out of the chapel to see the damage. I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EYES. It was like a crime seen but with runny poop. Travis was pacing the hallway trying to find a room. The bathrooms were full and all the rooms were being used by nursing mothers. (REMEMBER our church building is way small) I looked at him and started laughing. I was trying not to laugh but I couldn't control myself. He couldn't see how bad it was because he was holding Taylor across his body. He had no idea that he had a big pile of poop around his crotch area and down both of his legs dripping off his shoes. I was laughing so hard I was crying. We finally found a room and started cleaning things up. I cleaned Travis up the best I could. It looked like he wet his pants. He couldn't leave because he had to meet with the stake presidency right after church and we live 20 minutes from home. It is safe to say that we were through with church for the day. I packed up the kids and headed straight home.

The next day I took Travis's suit to the dry cleaners. Try to explain a big spot on the crotch of a man's suit. Let's just say it didn't go well. I tried to explain to her that we had an accident with our child. I think she thought I was full of crap. She looked at me real funny, didn't say a word while she marked the spot on the pants. I just turned around and walked out. I got into the car and was laughing so hard.

We're still shocked that this little girl could have so much poop in such a little body.

This picture was taken about 4 months old...

"Mom what are you doing with my hair?" 5 months old.

Prayers needed!!!

2010-07-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

My brother and sister-in-laws little 18 month nephew Gabe just passed away on the 12th. The causes are still unknown. My heart goes out to this

Little Family.

I can't imagine going through something like this.

Please put them in your thoughts and prayers!

You can visit them at

http://da.savillefamily.org/

I am sure they would love any encouraging words.

This is a reminder to me on how life is so fragile.

I truly am blessed that I have two beautiful children.

I hope that I can cherish each day like it was the last.

More hugs

More kisses

More time

More patience

More laughter

More play

More love.....

the list goes on.

This is a recent picture of little Gabe. What an adorable boy!

A cool dip

2010-05-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Gavin has been way excited for summer, just like the rest of us! Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been too great. It even snowed last weekend. Gavin keeps asking me when it's time to get the swimming pool out. The temperature today didn't get very warm, maybe 55 and it was cloudy, windy and rainy. Warm weather or not, he was anxious to get the pool out today so he took matters into his own hands.

He ran in the house and yelled,

"Mom, mom, I opened the little box house(aka the green house where we store all the summer toys) and the swimming pool's inside."

"Oh cool Gav" and then he ran back outside.

Ten minutes went by and he came running back inside, even more excited than before.

"MOM I got the swimming pool out and filled it up with water. Can I put my swim suit on and go swimming?"

I couldn't believe he pulled the pool out all by himself. His little eyes were bouncing with so much excitement, how could I resist?

It took two seconds to get his swimming trunks on and then he flew outside. I don't think he hesitated one bit to jump in. I was just standing outside taking pictures and I was cold. He started shivering but he didn't care he just kept playing. I was laughing so hard. He was in second heaven. It didn't last very long but he got what he wanted. I am sure he will think twice before he jumps into ice cold water again. I sure had fun watching.

ONE TOUGH LITTLE BOY.... the face makes up for the muscles and the 10,000 goose bumps!

AND... Can't forget our precious Taylor. Here she is a little over three months...cute smile, wild hair, and a chunky little body. Taylor did not care to swim today.

ONE AWESOME DAY!

2010-05-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

RED FISH LAKE

ROCKS, SAND AND DIRT

Beautiful DAY

GREAT FRIENDS

=HAPPY Boys

What more can a mom ask for?

(I won't mention that these were taken the first week in May. Just pretend

that it's January:)

I am a loser mom and forgot my camera.

These pictures were taken by my friend Davina.

Thanks Davina for being on top of things!

Taylor's Story

2010-05-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

This post has been neglected for 31/2 months. I finally decided it was time that I get it on my blog. Please don't think you have to read all this. I went into so much detail because I wanted to have it for journaling purposes.

My due date was February 8th. Gavin came about two weeks early so I confident that Taylor would be the same. When 38 weeks passed with no baby I became a little anxious. At 39 weeks I was having some good signs that she was ready to come. The next day (February 2nd) I had a Dr Appt.

The Day it all Happened:

9 A.M. I took Gavin to preschool. I think his preschool teacher was a little surprised I was still around with no baby.

9:30 A.M. I had a Dr. Appt. I decided to go ahead and strip my membranes. I don't know if I can suggest that to anyone, but I was desperate. I like the analogy the Dr. gives to his patients about stripping membranes. If you're close to the edge and someone gives you a little push, you might end up in the water. If you're not close to the edge, a little push will get you closer, but you probably won't end up in the water.

10:30 A.M. Grocery stop. Contractions start but nothing consistent.

10:45 A.M. All I could think about is that I needed to keep active. I went home and decided to go on a walk. I barely zipped up my coat, put on my hat and gloves and started out. I walked for a good hour around our neighborhood and down our bike path. I was laughing to myself because a couple of times I had some skinny, fit women jog pass me in their cute, tight jogging attire. I wonder what they thought of a huge pregnant lady waddling down the road? I had to stop a couple of times with some heavy contractions but still nothing consistent.

12:15 CONTRACTIONS START.... I had three heavy ones right in a row. I couldn't even finish making Gavin's PB&J. I think Gavin was concerned that he wasn't going to get feed that day. When I started to explaining to him that mommy was going to have a baby soon and he was going to be a big brother I started to get a little teary. I felt like the only way my contractions were coming is if I was moving around. I decided I needed to start cleaning.Vacuuming was the best solution, so I started vacuuming the stairs. I know Gavin thought I was a little crazy when I had to stop every two steps to breath through the pain. He kept asking me "mommy are you okay?"

3:15P.M. I called Labor and Delivery to give them a update. They told me before I go in make sure my contractions were five to seven minutes apart and at least 30 to 60 seconds long. At that point my contractions were only 10 minutes apart. I was disappointed because as soon as I hung up the phone I didn't get another contraction for fifteen minutes, soon enough they started up again. I kept cleaning and moving while Travis was timing them. I didn't want to step foot in the hospital until I knew I was in full labor. I worried that they would send me home. Travis was getting a little concerned because my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. I told him that he needed to start timing how long they last just to make sure. I went down stairs and started curling my hair and putting make-up on. I wanted to look presentable when our daughter came in the world, which really didn't help me much after deliver was over.

5:30 P.M. Travis put down is watch and said we are going in. I think I would have stayed around the house a couple hours longer. My Aunt Sonya came over to watch Gavin and we headed up to the hospital. Instead of crying through my contractions I started to laugh. Travis was wondering what was so funny. I told him it was either cry or laugh.

6:00 P.M. We were checked into the hospital. I was so worried that I was only going to be dilated to a 2 and they were going to send me home. When the nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 4 and fully effaced, I was so happy I started crying. She assured me that I was staying right there to have a baby.

7:30 P.M. Give me the epidural I have nothing to prove. All I could do is thank the anesthesiologist for relieving my pain. I have no doubt he is the most loved by all women who have babies.

9:30 P.M. Mom arrives. I decided that it would be neat to have her there. I was dilated to about a 9 or 10. I felt the need to push but they had me hold off for some reason I can't remember.

9:55 P.M. The Dr. looked at me and said, "you said it was going to be a boy right?" I thought he was serious and then he handed me our baby GIRL. TAYLOR ANN came into the world screaming and crying at the top of her lungs. She was ticked.

10:00 P.M. I was being completely ignored by both Travis and my mom. They were so busy looking at our baby girl they didn't even care about me. Actually I don't blame them one bit. All the post fixing stuff the Dr. has to do is no fun to sit there and watch. I did take a picture of Travis and my mom right in front of me watching my baby get all taken care of while I sat there.

We all fell in love with Taylor fast. My hospital stay was awesome. The rooms where so nice and I was treated so good by all the nursing staff. A big thanks goes out to my main two nurses Marty and Amy. They treated me like a queen!

Big brother with his little sister for the first time!

ONE OF MY FAVORITES...

LITTLE MISS PINK... After we got Taylor dressed and put her in the car seat Travis and I both started laughing because of all the pink. The car seat was recovered by my friend Beth. I picked out the material and she did the sewing. She did an amazing job. The nursers were very impressed when we left the hospital.

ONE WEEK LATER, FEBRUARY 9th

Mom Smart arrived to stay for a couple of days to help out. I felt a little bad that she was there because we were all doing so good, but we were excited for the company. She even brought Gavin a toy boat that he thinks is the coolest boat ever. Little did I know that it was a blessing that she was there.

That night Travis left for a church meeting and we were trying to get Gavin into bed. We were all upstairs reading books on Gavin's bed with Grandma. As we were finishing up I suddenly felt like I was peeing my pants. I realized that I couldn't control myself, so I ran into the bathroom. When I sat on the toilet and looked down, it wasn't pee it was blood. I told my mother-in-law that something wasn't right. I realized that I needed to stop the bleeding fast. I got off the toilet and sat on the ground. I could feel it literally pump out of me. I started getting really scared; I didn't have any control. I remember looking at mom and we both started wondering if we should call the ambulance, and quickly we both it agreed that it was necessary. I tried calling Travis on my cell phone and he wasn't answering. I wondered what was going to happen to me. How much blood is too much? I had several thoughts flash through my head. The blood just kept coming like a faucet. It was like I was sitting in a pool of water. During this time Gavin walked in the bathroom to see all the blood. I will never forget how worried he looked. He wasn't crying he just new that mommy needed help.

I finally got a hold of Travis and he rushed home. When he ran into the bathroom I felt so relieved. He just held my hand and told me that it was going to be okay and that he was sorry. It made me realize how much I really loved him and how lucky I was to have him in my life.

The paramedics arrived and got me on a stretcher. I couldn't believe that I had to be carried out of my house on a stretcher. As I was leaving I tried to tell Judy(mom) where the extra milk was for the baby. Luckily I had just pumped and had stored some extra in the freezer. I felt so bad that I was leaving her with a newborn.

I wasn't hurting at all until I got into the ambulance, that's when I started feeling contractions. I also started feeling dizzy. When I got into the emergency room that's when the pain really hit. I felt like I was in full on labor again. THIS IS GROSS, SORRY! I ended up pushing out a blood clot the size of a nerf football. To stop the bleeding the Doctor gave me a medicine like pitocin to get my uterus to start contracting.

I ended up loosing between 1200-1500 cc of blood. I was lucky to get into the ER fast. They had me stay a night at the hospital to watch me. The next morning I was so swollen and weak. The same nurse that I had the week before was my nurse that night, AMY. She was so surprised to see me back. She treated me so kind. I can't say enough good things about Amy. I couldn't nurse so I had to pump. Travis came to the hospital with the Taylor and had to bottle feed her all night.

My Dr. still doesn't know what exactly happened. How he explained it to me is after having a baby the uterus contracts back to normal, that's what stops the bleeding. Behind the uterus a reservoir of blood builds up. If you get an infection, tear or part of the placenta is left inside your body the reservoir of blood could break and cause you to start bleeding, it could be fatal. It usually happens right after birth or while you're in the hospital. It's rare to happen a week after birth. It was weird because I had NO SIGNS. I felt perfectly normal.

The next day was emotional roller coaster. I was so thrilled to get home to give my little boy a hug. When I walked in the house he ran up and gave me a big hug. I think I almost passed out from bending down too fast. I was also glad to put my arms around my mother-in-law too. I can't tell you how blessed and grateful I was that she was there that night. While I was in the ER Travis gave me a blessing. I don't remember what exactly was said but during the prayer I felt a peace. I knew that everything was going to be fine.

Having a baby is serious. It's not something to take lightly. I know now I will take extra precautions.

What do you think?

2010-04-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

I am trying to find the PERFECT picture to blow up and put on a canvas in Taylor's room. I thought for sure I was going to do a newborn picture. I came across this picture I took around 8 weeks old. I had to laugh because this was a random picture taken after my mom and I tried several times to get that perfect blessing dress picture. To be honest I am really not a fan of pictures in blessing dresses because the baby is so small and it's just hard to capture, BUT... I love this one.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Should I go with this one or choose a newborn picture? CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK TO NEWBORN PICS.

Superman and Princess

2010-04-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

Life is a little different with two kids. I am still trying to adjust in doing multiple things at once and fitting everything in. I really love to blog about my family but blogging has been put on hold until I get things figured out. I know most of you are saying two is nothing just wait until three or four.

Taylor has been a fairly easy baby. She reminds me of Gavin in many ways. She seems to just go a long with the flow. She definitely likes to eat. She is already weighing over 11 pounds, probably close to 12 now. She weighed 11 pounds at 9 weeks, which put her in the 60th percentile in weight. Tomorrow she will be 3 months old. Her little rolls on her legs are so cute. She is smiling a lot and starting to giggle. She still has a ton of hair. I swear her hair has grown longer. Gavin's hair got thinner has he grew, I am sure she will do the same. Sleeping is doing awesome! She started sleeping basically through the night at about 2 months old. She will go to bed at 9:30 and wake up between 4 and 6:00. There has been a couple of nights she has slept until 7 AM. The poor little girl spits up a lot though, Gavin did the same thing. He didn't really stop spitting up until he was 9 months old. As long as her diaper is changed, burped, and feed she is a happy baby. Gavin still loves his little sister. I have said it before and I will say it again he is such a good brother!

Gavin is in love with his SUPERMAN costume. He is completely outgrown it and it has several holes but it's totally worth seeing him do his superman moves around the house. He loved me taking pictures of him in it. I am surprised he doesn't want to wear it to bed but he has SUPERMAN pajamas that makes up for not wearing his costume. Little boys are the greatest! I am in love with both our little super hero and now our little princess.

Chilling with daddy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!

2010-03-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

A shout out to my dad today. It's his birthday. We love him so much. He is such a great Grandpa and Father. He does so much for our family. He has so much fun with his grand kids. Gavin adores him; he takes him skiing, boating, camping and to basketball games. He also likes to teach Gavin bad habits. Just the other day I caught the two of them burping to each other at the dinner table. I couldn't say much because Gavin was laughing his head off and it was so cute. My dad was just has fun growing up. I've had so many fun memories with him. He would do anything for his kids.

I tried really hard to post a cute video of Gavin singing happy birthday to my dad but it didn't work. I will try again and see if I can get it to upload. SORRY DAD.

I LOVE YOU DAD... Thanks for always being there for me!

Here are a few pictures of Grandpa and Gavin

Grandpa making Gavin laugh

Little blessing

2010-03-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

Taylor has been such a blessing in our home. I can't believe she is one month old! We love her more and more each day. Gavin is such a sweet big brother. He loves his sister and hasn't shown any signs of being jealous. He loves giving her hugs and kisses, maybe a little too much. He keeps me on top of things when her diaper needs to be changed or she is hungry. One morning I found a toy sitting right by her head ready for her to play with. It's funny because he likes to call her Honey and Sweetie. He calls her Honey more than Taylor. When I try to correct him he just says "no, I want to call her Honey." I wonder where he picks up on the different names?:) I don't think we are going to have to worry about the boys when she gets to be a teenager. I think Gavin is going to be one protective big brother.

I took these the first week she was home, with the help of my mom. I haven't posted them yet because I had some complications after the first week. It took me awhile to get back to normal but I am doing much better now. More to come!

Gavin was ready and willing to take a picture with his sister.

Our Newest addition

2010-02-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

WELCOMING.....

TAYLOR ANN SMART
Born February 2nd at 9:55 P.M.
7IBS 8OZ
20 Inches

We have already fallen in love with our new little girl. She is so precious. I can't wait for the rest of the family to meet her. The delivery went very smooth, no problems. We were released from the hospital today. We have been so blessed with a healthy baby girl. Gavin wanted to take her home yesterday. So far he has adjusted well. I am sure time will tell:) LOVE YOU ALL!! Here are a couple of pictures I took today. I will post more from the hospital soon.

P.S She has just has much hair as when Gavin was born, except she has blonde highlights. The nurses thought that was so awesome.

Let it Snow!

2010-01-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

We have accumulated about two and half feet of snow in the last week. It's been much needed moisture for our area. Plus, what can I say, it's good for the skiing. I would of loved to join Travis last week to ski the light, fresh, silky smooth, uncut POWDER. Oh how I wish I could of made just one tinny run, JUST ONE! I should of gone, maybe that would of put me into labor :) Honestly, I've been okay missing a year of skiing. It's been fun watching Gavin progress. I usually hike up the runs at Dollar and take pictures of Gavin skiing down. Saturday he started skiing all by himself. His coordination and strength has made a huge improvement from last year. Instead of turning, he likes to go straight down the hill. Gavin loves going FAST and going off little jumps.

This is our driveway... we haven't invested in a snow blower yet. I am pretty sure we are the only ones in the area without a snow blower. By the end of the week Travis was ready to go buy one.

Like I said, Gavin loves going off these little jumps down the run. It doesn't look like much of a jump, but it is for a three year old.

I love it when dad throws snow in my face!!!

In the "Hunt" family there is no such thing as just one ski outfit. Now my child has two outfits, an Obermeyer and Burton. While we were in Pocatello over New Years we didn't bother to pack Gavin's winter clothing. Grandpa took matters into his own hands and bought Gavin a one piece. At first we thought it was kind of nerdy. But now we are convinced that one pieces are the way to go. They are so easy to take on and off.

Did I mention Gavin loves to ride the chairlift. This is our friends Davina and her little boy Owen, next to Gavin and Travis.

Gavin's Happenings

2009-12-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

I love having a three year old. He is so much fun. Travis and I enjoy every minute with him. I definitely noticed some changes in the last couple of months.

He has become eager to know about the things around him more than ever. He is very inquisitive about words and pictures in his books. "What does that mean mom? How come they are doing that?" His little brain just starts turning with all sorts of questions that are sometimes hard to answer. I wonder if he understand what I am saying. He might get a little frustrated with me sometimes. Let's face it some things are just hard to explain to a three year old.

Another thing he is doing lately is making sure we respond to him right away. If we don't reply to his questions immediately it's "you need to talk to me mom, or speak to me mom." We can't even shake our head or respond with an "yep or nope". He wants us to answer with exact and proper words. Travis and I just laugh. It's actually really cute. It makes us aware of the importance of taking a minute and paying attention to him.

We have Gavin in preschool and he seems to be doing really well. I wasn't sure that I wanted to put him in preschool this young but I have no regrets. I felt like he needed some interaction with other kids his age. He has a wonderful teacher, Mrs. AnnaLisa. She is so good to Gavin and does so many fun things. He is always bringing home little crafts. I feel really lucky to have found her. I have noticed a difference on the way he plays around other kids. He seems to be sharing better and becoming a little more patient with friends. For the first couple of months I was getting a little frustrated because he was hitting his classmates. I think he is finally realizing that he can't get away with it. He loves his friends and enjoys going to school. I will post some pictures of his class. They all are so cute!

He still loves playing with his trains. I thought by now he would be tired of them but no. He will sit down and play trains for hours as long as we are there with him. He is constantly asking us if we will go play trains with him. Another thing that he hasn't got tired of is the Polar Express movie. Thankfully it's Christmas and we have an excuse to watch it.

Gavin is a big time procrastinator when we put him to bed at night. It can get a little frustrating at times. This is our routine:

-Listen to him complain about having to go to bed

-Change into pajamas, they have to be ones that he choses

-go potty

-brush teeth

-Drink of water

-Read 2-3 books

-Drink of water

-Family Prayer(which he refuses to say and has for months now)

-tuck him in with TWO BLUE BLANKETS, Clifford the DOG, A baby bear(this bear is definitely not a baby, he's a big bear)

-Another drink of water...must be refilled or colder or whatever.

-Once we are downstairs he wants us to come back upstairs for something like...a drink of water or to cover him up again. FYI...he never pees the bed at night, but in the morning that boy really has to go...Ha Ha.

I promise we are not push-overs. I feel like we are fairly strict. I don't know where it got out of hand. I think it's a combination of a couple of things. One, he is the only child and two, he is the only child!

Some of the most rewarding moments of being a mom to Gavin...

Out of the blue he comes up and gives me a hug and says "I love you mommy".

The other day I was laying in his bedroom playing with him. The baby started moving and kicking a ton. Gavin was able to feel the baby move. I have tried to get him to feel her before but haven't been too successful. It was a moment in time that I will never forget. He had the cutest expressions on his face every time she kicked. I told him that she was saying hi and that she loved him. He would lean down and say "I love you too baby sister". This went on for at least 5-10 minutes.

For family home evening one night we were teaching him about the Spirit of our Heavenly Father. We would pat our chest to help him learn where we feel the Spirit. The next day in the car he started to pat his chest. He told me"oh no mommy I can't find Jesus or Heavenly Father, Oh no where are they". Then a minute later he said "Oh there they are mommy, I found Jesus" while patting his chest.

Missing Summer!

2009-12-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

It has been SOOOOOOOOOO cold here lately. I think the high today is 10 and the low is -7. It has definitely helped me from not swelling up like a balloon during pregnancy. I am not holding my breath, since I have two months left there is definitely time to swell. Anyways, there are so many pictures that I didn't post during the summer. For most of the summer months I was pregnancy sick. Even the thought of sitting down at the computer made me sick... weird huh? That is my lame excuse.

I want to make sure I blog some of the fun things we did over the summer. We had many visitors and went on some fun trips.

JUNE

What can I say I love hanging out with the Myers. I think Gavin would have to agree. In June we took a little road trip to visit them and then Kassiah followed us back home.

Kassiah and I found this cool place to take pictures. The kids loved being up so high.

July

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time. Gavin and Tanner(cousins) are in Grandma and Grandpa's back yard playing in the little swim pool. When I look at this picture it reminds me of all the fun times I had with my cousins. I miss being a kid. Time goes by so fast. I keep telling Gavin not to grow up anymore. He responds and says "mommy I am growing, I am getting really big".

In July we took our annual trip to Palisades. Unfortunately, I didn't get very many pictures. This year it rained most of the time. We still had a blast. This is Riley going down a little hill on her 4-wheel. If it looks like she's crying, she isn't. She was having a blast! Gavin was just getting over being sick and was in a really bad mood. He didn't want to have anything to do with this activity.

AuGuST

We were booked every single weekend in August. If you would like to have me pencil you in on our calendar for next year hurry quick slots are going fast.

Amy Herbert came a weekend with her kids. We miss them so much. It was so nice of them to make the drive up to see us. While they were here we celebrated Avery's 4th birthday, took some picture of the kids, and went to the river. Travis and I still miss dropping by the Herbert's house unexpected. It was so easy to hang out and talk while our kids played. One day we will be closer again.

SORRY I couldn't resist all these cute pictures!

This is a trip we took to Island Park with the Myers. We rented a cabin right along the lake. It was so awesome. Having a cabin with showers, hot tub, beds, two TV's, kitchen, and many other amenities was so nice. I highly recommend this to anyone. There are so many cool pictures of this trip. I decided to post one of my favorite.

I had to beg and plead everyone to do this picture. At the time it was freezing COLD! Kassiah and I were in a canoe. She was frantically paddling to get the boat at a perfect angle and I was trying to maneuver around in a little canoe to take the perfect shot without flipping us over. It turned out pretty good considering there were waves moving us all around and everyone was freezing! Luckily there was a hot tub close by. Everyone seemed to survive and they all still love me just the same. Thanks Travis and Daniel for being such good sports and posing so well.

We love spending time with our two nieces. It's been nice to make this one of our traditions during the summer. They are growing up way too fast. One of these days they won't want to come see us anymore. We did some of the same stuff as last year. One of the things we enjoy doing is floating down the river. I am glad this year they didn't meet any strange ladies in the locker room at the YMCA.

SePtEmBer

We took Gavin and Riley to the Blackfoot Fair. If only I could put into words how thrilled and excited Gavin was to go on the rides. We thought he had died and gone to heaven. He still can't stop talking about them. He was too short for some of them but him and Riley somehow snuck on. His absolute favorite was going on the 4-wheelers. I don't think we are going to be able to avoid the carnival rides next year.

LAST DAY OF BEING REALLY WARM. I filled up the swimming pool and Gavin and I just sat out in the heat enjoying the warm day. I sure do miss summer!

3 Years old riding a two wheeler

2009-11-23T10:11:00.000-08:00

ALL BECAUSE OF THIS BIKE...

Gavin is doing this....

I don't think my son is the most talented or gifted on earth, nor do I think he will be in the X Games or Olympics just because he can ride a bike at the age of three, but we're so amazed non-the-less. This may sound like an info-mercial, but I truly believe he learned how to ride a two wheel bike because he started off with a Specialized hotwalk bike (NO PEDALS). I posted some pictures of his old bike back in March of 2009, click here to check it out. Gavin has a couple of other buddies that are riding a two wheeler at the age of three because they started with his same bike. It is the new up and coming thing! No more training wheels! Training wheels are so 1990's LOL. Getting the glider bike for Gavin was so much more rewarding and well worth the money. We are going to pass it down to our nephew Tanner, then our little girl. Right now, Gavin has a friend who is thoroughly enjoying it. He learned how to balance and was coasting with his feet up in no time and best of all he had had a blast. Gavin received a pedal bike for his birthday on June 23rd. The very first time we took him out he was balancing and pedaling, no problem. Gavin is timid so he got scared when he realized what he was doing and completely stopped. The same thing happened when he started walking, go figure. Travis and I would take him out frequently at night and try to get him to start pedaling again. On one particular night, around the first of September, his brain just clicked and he took off pedaling...fast. Travis and I were running after him down the street. We knew he could do it but we were still shocked. We couldn't believe our little boy was riding a two wheel bike. If there was ever a time that I should have had my camera, it is was that night. He couldn't stop riding around, he loved it. This fall has been so enjoyable to cruise around on our bikes as a family. It is funny how people just stop and stare at this little dude riding a bike. What can I say it makes me proud! Last month, he also participated in his first bike race.

This is the very first time we took Gavin out to try out his new bike. Gavin is in full concentration while dad explains to him how to ride a bike.

A little help from Grandpa goes along ways!

THE RACE

Owen in Gavin waiting for the big start. The little girl on the left was giving Gavin the evil eye. She didn't like her competition standing too close to her.

AND THEY ARE OFF....

I have to say the start of the race was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. There were about 50 kids (five and under) standing all together. Most of them, including Gavin, didn't have a clue what was going on. When they said GO... they all took off. I was trying to take a picture of it but this over sensitive mom started crying. Maybe it was the fact that there were so many kids racing, or it was his first bike race, or he was so small, or it was just PLAIN CUTE! I really think it's a pregnancy thing. I love how Gavin is sticking his tongue out.

Hey, we didn't practice going through the dirt and grass. Thankfully daddy was there to help.

Owen had to turn around and wait for Gavin. He didn't want to finish without his friend. THANKS OWEN!

Travis's 100 MILE BIKE RACE

Our nieces and nephews made all these really cute posters to cheer Travis on. We waited up on Gelena Pass for him. It started snowing and blowing. I don't think we were prepared for it to be so cold. Travis appreciated the encouragement.

This is a picture of him going back down Galena. I don't know why he was so happy? He still had several miles left to go and it was way cold. I was really proud of him. He did an awesome job! I think he wants to do three century races next year.

Family pictures 2009

2009-10-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

These pictures are taken by my sister-in-law Julie. She did such a fabulous job! They were here a couple of weekends back and I took some pictures of her family and she used my camera to take some of us. She wants to learn more about photography and has been taking some classes. I told her she would do a great job. She did more than great, she did AWESOME! We usually get the tripod out and take some ourselves. They don't turn out half as good as getting them done by a professional.

THANK YOU JULIE... I can't tell you enough how much these pictures mean to me.

Travis and I never get a picture together. I really love this one! He was teasing me about my belly being too big to give me a hug.

A couple of pregnancy pictures. These make me laugh because Gavin didn't want to have anything to do with mom and baby.

These last two are the only ones that I can take credit for. Travis looks like he is having so much fun in the background. I have to say that I am proud of him because he really has a hard time with pictures and he didn't complain at all during these.

Thanks for coming and visiting us... we love you all!

Boy? or Girl?

2009-09-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was the big day of our ultra sound. Gavin was excited to see if the baby was a boy or girl. I had been talking to Gavin about seeing pictures of the baby all week. I had it planned out all in my mind that our experience was going to be unforgettable. We were going to the hospital, sitting there has a little family, watching our new little baby, pointing out the arms, legs, head, and finally jumping up for joy when we found out the gender. Sometimes things don't turn out the way you picture it.

When we got into the room Gavin immediately started talking to the ultrasound technician. It was so cute because he said "I want a boy. I want a baby brother". The ultrasound tech wasn't too interested in Gavin. She was getting frustrated because Gavin kept talking to her. She even made the comment that she can't do her job and talk to him at the same time. It broke my heart. Gavin is shy around strangers. To have him start talking to a stranger is a big deal. I was getting frustrated with this technician lady. She was rude to my son, she seemed to keep looking at the clock like she's was in a hurry, and she didn't even have the monitor turned so we could see the baby. She was definitely on a power-trip. She had something I wanted and she was in control. I was glad when Travis walked in but it still didn't make a difference.

About ten minutes into the ultra sound she said, "okay you can get cleaned up and go use the restroom". What? That was it? No pictures, no jumping up and down, no nothing? I went into the bathroom and started crying. I thought to myself this lady ruined my perfect day. I gained control of myself, went back into the room and luckily she wasn't done. She was far from being done. I finally had the courage to ask if we could see the screen and pictures of the baby. She completely stopped and said "okay here's the deal, the baby comes first, as soon as I get all the information I need then I will let you see pictures." We sat there for a good 30 minutes or more. She did finally say that she didn't see any boy parts and she was positive it is a GIRL. That seemed to make the situation a little better and she started being little more congenial. Travis couldn't stay any longer because he had a meeting at work and he decided to take Gavin with him. I was still a little disappointed because Gavin and Travis didn't see the baby on the monitor.

I ended up being in the ultra sound for an hour and a half. The ultra sound tech started being really friendly and much more relaxed. She let me see the screen and gave me plenty of pictures of our new BABY GIRL! Our baby wasn't hiding the fact that she definitely was a GIRL. The tech kept saying that the baby wouldn't stay still, she was moving all around. It is so amazing the creation of life and that I have something growing inside of me. She is healthy and everything looks great. She is measuring exactly 20 weeks. Travis new it was a girl all along because of the Chinese calendar. I was ready to have another boy but am super excited for a little girl.

June 23 Gavin's 3rd birthday

2009-09-04T13:06:00.001-07:00

Gavin's 3rd birthday...... JUNE 23rd 2009.

I really wanted to get these pictures posted. I can't forget about my baby turning 3. We decided that we wanted to do a small party. Last year we didn't invite any of Gavin's friends, this year his little friend Owen came over to celebrate. We decided to wait one more year for the "BIG PARTY". I know that's a little selfish, but I was pregnancy sick at the time and really didn't feel up to it. Travis surprised Gavin and came home early from work to take him fishing. Gavin even caught a couple of fish. For a three year old little boy he had way more fun going fishing with daddy.

He got a new sleeping bag from Grandma and Grandpa Smart, my parents spoiled him with new trucks and a swimming pool, and we got him a new peddle bike. I will post pictures of his new bike. As of yesterday SEPTEMBER 3, 2009 he is officially riding his bike with NO TRAINING WHEELS. As you can tell we are proud parents... more to come on that.

NO I DIDN't MAKE THE CAKE. I had some help from our local bakery.

"MOM WHEN CAN I EAT THIS CAKE?" He is waiting so patiently.

What would you do without a buddy there to help a little....

SURPRISE!!!

2009-07-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

I have been having some weird symptoms the past 12 weeks....

1. NAUSEA/Vomitting ALL DAY LONG:)

2. Headaches

3. fatigue/tiredness

4. emotional... okay so I've always been emotional

5. missed period (sorry men... just telling the truth)

6. Swollen breast

7. sensitive to smells

8. Can't stand certain foods.

9. MY BELLY SEEMS TO BE GROWING!

You guessed it I am pregnant. We are so excited to have another baby! I feel so fortunate. Getting pregnant with Gavin wasn't really easy. We tried for 2 1/2 years and then I got put on Clomiphene, which is a fertility drug. After the 2nd month of being on the crazy, hormonal, drug we got pregnant with our beautiful little boy. This time around was a bit harder. My OB put me back on Clomid for three months and for some reason I didn't get pregnant. They referred me to a reproductive specialist in Boise, Dr. Slater, who I would highly recommend. They treated me so kind and I felt like they truly cared. After two months of working with them we got results! It took a little more drugs this time around but so far we have a healthy baby. I have had three ultra sounds and our due date is set for FEBRUARY 8th. I have graduated back to see my OB here, which I am excited that I don't have to travel anymore.

PLEASE I am NOT looking for any sympathy. I want to say how lucky I am to be a mother. I am very humbled to say the least. I can't imagine what some girls have to put their body through with in vitro fertilization and other things and sometimes never seeing results. My heart goes out to them for the struggles they go through. I am glad that these couples have the opportunity to become parents through adoption, what a blessing that is in itself! I saw a quote once that touched me dearly...."A baby is a miraculous gift from God, no matter how one receives it. Some are given the ability to bear them, others are given the ability to rear them." Holding my child in my arms for the first time I too recognized that I was sent a miracle, a true miracle from God. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for this divine gift of being a mother!

CRAWDAD

2009-07-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

HELLO BLOG.... WE'RE BACK!!!!!!

This cute little green "CRAWDAD" boat has some sweet memories behind it. Travis's dad bought this boat back when Travis was young, probably 12 or so. Travis bought it from his dad for $5... what a DEAL! We have dragged the thing from Idaho to Colorado and back again. The poor boat only got used ONCE the four years we were in Colorado. It still floats and the motor still runs as good as the day they bought it. I have learned a valuable lesson from Travis, there will come a time for everything even if we have to pack it around for years before it gets used! The day we took the crawdad out for the first time was something I will cherish forever. Travis and I smiled and laughed the whole time. Gavin was in heaven being there on the boat and especially with "daddy". He loved looking for birds and watching for fish. Some memories truly are priceless!

LOOK.... A BIRD or is that a FISH?

ROW, ROW your BOAT

Way to go dad... this is way out of my ball park! I am glad Travis is around to teach Gavin how to stand up to pee.

Memorial Day 09

2009-06-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

WeEkeNd aT tHe BeAcH, Bear Lake beach that is.

The best words to describe BEAR LAKE:

RAIN

FoOD

FAMIly

FrIeNds

pIcTures

More RaIn

LotS of SaND

GrAndma's cHocOlate cake

CaMpInG

MoRe RAIN

JuMpiNg CaRs

RoAsTing marshmallows

A liTTle SUN...

MoStLy RaIN

aNd ONE LoNg Nap

Travis showing the kids a thing or two about rock skipping.... he thinks he doesn't need flat rocks anymore; he has "graduated" to skipping round rocks. Please, someone, anyone make him humble... I am sure there's someone out there better at rock skipping than Travis.

This is one BIG BUBBLE!

Lacie... you are an angel!

Lacie and Gavin

Sophie

The first Great Grandchild for Travis's parents... meet Kaidance

S I S T E R S

This is what happens when you have no parents around... don't ask me I am just the Aunt with the camera(grin).

I promise there really was a lot of rain....

ThaNkS mOm aNd Dad SmArT. We lOvE yOu!! CAn'T wAit uNtiL NeXt yeAr.

Potty training SUCCESS!!

2009-05-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

That's right Gavin's been potty trained for over a week now. No more nasty pooh smells, no more buying diapers, no running to change a nasty pooh while working out, no changing poohs in public restrooms, no more smelling pee, etc.....It is fantastic to have a child who INDEPENDENTLY toilets himself!

Our success story:)

One morning Gavin told me that he wanted to sit on the potty, I was totally shocked! He had never shown any interest to sit on the potty. I got my act together, stayed home that day, and taught him how to go potty on the toilet. My sister-in-law, Sherry, gave me a book called Toilet Training In Less Than A Day. I started reading it and followed the procedures outlined in the book. This is "our story":)

First, I went to the store got him his favorite drinks, special prizes and big boy underpants, that he got to pick out himself. Drinks are suppose to be his reward so he constantly needed to go pee. Gavin started learning from a doll we named "Suzy". The book wants you to get a doll that wets its pants. Luckily I had a doll passed down to me by Sherry. I read in the reviews that someone used a bear and sprayed the toilet with water when it was time to pee. I thought that was a cleaver idea. Gavin would give "Suzy" a drink of water and when Suzy had to go potty Gavin would run her to the toilet and sit her down so she could go. This would demonstrate how he should go potty too. After doing this several times then it was time for him to start trying. The first time he actually pee'd in the potty I was so excited. I thought it was funny how I was filled with overwhelming joy when he went potty for the first time; but it's truly an awesome thing when you are sick of changing diapers! Gavin would get so excited too. His eyes would light up when he could hear himself go "pee, pee". Giving him drinks and running to the potty was a constant thing all day long. It was an exhausting, long hard day, but so rewarding when it was over. During the next couple of days he did have accidents, but overall it was a success. He looks so dang cute in his underwear.

The only time I can get away with taking pictures of Gavin with a doll.

(ReAnn, you are right, this doll is well endowed.)

The method the book gives is great: loving, supportive, clear. I would strongly suggest it to anyone. The basic ideas really work: Loose cloth training pants, a doll that wets, which the child teaches first, rewards that taper off after more and more steps are completed, time solely dedicated to potting, and practicing after accidents. The only thing I changed was how many times Gavin "practiced". The book suggests to practice at least 10 times, I think Gavin caught on in about 4 times practicing. He hated practicing after he had an accident. He knew that if he had an accident he would have to practice and he didn't like that at all. The short-term hard work paid off and now I have a happy, independent little boy that loves the potty. I think most of all be patient! Happy Day!

WAY OFF THE SUBJECT.....

I just had to post these pictures. I took these the other week when Gavin and I went to the Zoo. One of the female lions had its face up against the glass and the other two lions were about a foot away from the glass. It was an amazing sight. It was almost scary to watch their every move and to think we were so close to such a dangerous animal!

Picture catch-up

2009-05-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

This airplane kite Gavin got from Grandpa Hunt.

EASTER

This year Gavin was able to have fun with Grandma Smart's Easter egg hunt in her back yard. As soon as he realized there was candy in the colorful eggs he wanted to make sure he picked them all up. There was even some that had his name on them.

My little niece Sophie.

This is Gavin trying to reach for an Egg, through the trampoline, in Grandma's backyard.

Newborn to One Year

2009-05-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to take pictures of two beautiful children. These two have close to the same birthdays but what a difference a year makes! It's amazes me how much a child grows in the first year.

Baby Hadley was born last month. I love the name Hadley! Her parents are the sweetest people you could ever meet. They have a little boy, who is the same age as Gavin. They are best buds and love playing "choo, choo, trains" together.

I can't believe Samuel is 1. It seemed like yesterday I was taking pictures of him when he was a newborn. This little guy melts your heart. He is always smiling and full of energy. It isn't hard capturing his cuteness.

HADLEY

SAMUEL- this was Sam's very first time in a swing. He absolutely loved it!!!

Play, Play and more play

2009-04-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Myers visited for a week during spring break. We skied, swam, went to the zoo, played at parks, and many other fun things. I think we wore the kids out. Check out Kassiah and Daniels blog for more pictures and the CUTE VIDEO of Anna and Gavin walking in their ski boots. Click HERE.

Anna and Kassiah

How cute is ANNA?! She is such a fun little girl.

LOVE THIS PICTURE!!! Thanks Kassiah for being the photographer.

Didn't want to make this picture too big. Can you tell our legs are getting really tan? We were sure enjoying the SUN!!

Me and Kassiah. Thanks Sebs for taking this one!!

In Memory of Grandma E.

2009-04-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

My grandmother (Anita Eisenhauer) passed away a week ago Sunday, April 5th at the age of 79. She was actually a very healthy person up until she had back surgery this past winter. After her surgery she stopped eating. Unfortunately the Doctors couldn't figure out what was going on and why she wasn't eating. It was sad to see her health deteriorate little by little. She got down to a measly 85 pounds, her normal weight was around 130. She was getting so feeble that my mom and family finally realized her life was coming to an end. Even though the Doctors didn't diagnose anything there were several signs that pointed to cancer.

My grandma was living with my parents. My mom unselfishly took care of her mother up until the very end. Day by day she would be there to make sure grandma was taken care. It was difficult for my grandma to totally rely on someone. Grandma felt so bad that she was putting my mom out. I didn't realize how much time and effort it was to take care of my grandmother until I visited three weeks ago. She will admit it was hard but wouldn't trade taking care of her mom for the world. One of the things that I will never forget is some nights that my grandma couldn't sleep, because of the pain from coughing, my mom would hold and rock my grandma and tell her how much she loved her. Tears swell up in my eyes when I think of the love that she had towards my grandma. It hasn't gone unnoticed all the love and support that my mom has had, especially from my uncles and many other family and friends that my mom couldn't of done it without.

I am going to miss....

Giving her hugs

the conversations on her back porch while she smoked her cigarette and drank her beer. She would always like to get us a coke to drink.

her cooking.... mashed potatoes during thanksgiving, meat loaf, soups and many other delicious foods.

her sarcasm

the cards during birthdays, Easter, and Valentines Day.

the visits my mom and her would make during the summer to come see us. While we lived in Denver she would at least come once a year sometimes twice. She would never travel anywhere else but she always wanted to visit us. We would joke that she was only there to see Travis. Secretly Travis was her favorite.

coupons she would save for us

how worried she would always get when we traveled. Someone would always have to call her to let her know that we made it safely.

the geraniums she would plant. They would grow in her front yard like trees

how she would always tell us what to get for her during Christmas, sometimes we didn't even have to ask.

the simple "I love you grandma, I love you too sweetie".

One of the last times I saw grandma I wanted to tell her how much I was going to miss her and how grateful I am to have her in my life. All I could do is tell her I loved her and hold her hand. Her mind was all there and I didn't want to upset her. I am so grateful for my savior Jesus Christ and what he did for us so we can return and live with our loved ones again. I know that she is in a better place and I will see her again.

I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!!!!

Meeting Gavin for the first time.

This was the last picture taken with my grandma and mom in August 2008. The funny thing is they were a little irritated that I wanted to take a picture of them.

This season's last hoorah

2009-03-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

I am sad to say that skiing has almost come to an end. The resort closes on April 12th and the lifts will start shutting down this week. We've been having some unusually warmer weather and the snow is melting fast. My parents, my brother and his family came for one last ski day. We didn't think they were going to make it because my Grandma Eisenhauer (my mom's mom) has been real sick. She is living with my parents and they have a hard time leaving her right now.

Even though it was raining on the mountain and the snow wasn't that great, it was nice to ski with family. Like always Gavin loved having his grandparents around. We even got to spend some time with his little cousin, Tanner.

Gavin and Grandpa testing out their helmets

This is Tanner... I posted some pictures of him when he was a newborn. He has grown so much. He is adorable!

My brother Jonathon, mom, dad and me on top of Sun Valley

Jonathon

Thanks Jonathon for taking this picture. I am the one behind trying to keep up. My mom is truly one of the best skiers around. I missed skiing with her while we lived in Denver. It has been so nice this winter to be closer to home. I don't know what I would do without her. I LOVE YOU MOM!!

We were trying so hard to take care of Tanner so his mom could make a few runs. Gavin was so worried about him.

Wonder why kids don't like to put goggles on. They don't want to stay on their little faces.

Survivor Man

2009-03-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

So Travis, my dad, my brother, and a couple friends of the family went backcountry skiing on Friday night. The plan was to hike/skin back to a yurt up in the mountains (a yurt is basically a big tent with a stove, etc). After a few hours of hiking they found themselves in the middle of a really bad blizzard. They couldn't see much more than about 30 yards. On top of the blizzard, they also had some disagreement as to where the yurt was located (can you say LOST). Finally, they decided they were probably lost mostly because the visibility was so bad and it was getting dark very quickly. As Travis describes it, "we basically had to hunker down and do a freakin' 'Suvivor Man' right there on the side of the mountain in the middle of the blizzard." I wasn't too worried because they all have good equipment for this kind of stuff, but I did feel bad for them. I guess they had to dig snow caves to sleep in and figure out how to survive the night. The storm cleared out later that night leaving the temperature around ZERO. Anyway, they lived through the night somehow and ended up having a good ski day on Saturday. Travis was able to take video of the spot where they stayed the night, but the camera didn't work for any of the skiing. He has some pretty funny stories about the trip. When I asked him how it was...he said it was "an experience". I think he's ready for a 'warm' vacation.

47 DEGREES

2009-03-05T18:43:00.000-08:00

I have been so anxious for spring time. I am a little jealous of my Denver friends and my sister-in-law in Texas with the warm weather they've been getting. Oh how I miss those warm winter days! The temperature hit 47 the other day and we were outside most of the day playing like we were in Hawaii. No going to the parks though since there's still about 2 feet of snow on the ground. We just happily played on our driveway.

Can I just say that I LOVE MY LITTLE BOY. I can't believe Gavin is over 2 1/2, time goes by so fast. Travis and I are enjoying every minute with our little guy. He has been saying the cutest things lately. At family home evening the other night we were talking about how to take care of our bodies. He pointed to his bum and said "my bum is my body daddy". I love it when he comes up to us and reminds us politely that we need to say thank you. "Mommy say thank you, say thank you mommy". The most rewarding thing right now is when he says a prayer. It melts my heart when he kneels, closes his eyes and bows his head.

We finally got him switched over to a toddler bed. The transition went smoothly. He loves his "big boy bed". I read several books that told me to wait until 2 1/2-3 years old to switch over from the crib to a bed. We really never had problems with him climbing out so I waited as long as I could. I am so glad I did. I was so scared that we would have to start all over to get him to sleep at night. The sad news is he isn't potty trained yet. He truly doesn't have any interest. I have been lazy myself and haven't pushed the issue. I really don't want to force something on him that he could care less about. We keep asking him if he wants to be a "big boy" and sit and go on the potty. No way, he likes his diaper. He even has a little friend Owen, who is younger then Gavin, that is potty trained. We had Gavin watch Owen go potty but he still doesn't care. I totally think he understands what to do but is too stubborn!

Gavin is definitely not perfect. There are the occasional temper tantrum episodes and he is starting to talk back to us; I've been warned about the 3-year-old stage. He has a "naughty corner" that we put him in, but even that doesn't bother him anymore. Another thing that he has been doing lately is rolling his eyes. Wait a sec... isn't that suppose to be a teenager thing? If we are telling him no or asking him to do something he will lean his head back and roll his eyes. I wish I could get a picture of him while he's doing it. It really is funny. Maybe he will get all the teenage stuff out of the way early.

He is total boy. He loves anything on wheels. As I write he is watching "Cars". I think his favorite movie right now is 'Polar Express', but 'Kungfu Panda' is a close second. It is so funny to hear him repeat several lines and sing the songs in the movie. I am getting a little tired of Christmas and the 'Polar Express'. I am pretty sure that he thinks Santa Clause is a year around thing, the only thing missing right now is a Christmas tree.

He is coming straight towards me as fast as he can... I am glad I'm still alive!

This is his Specialized bike with NO PEDALS. It has taught Gavin how to lift up his feet and balance a bike. I would highly recommend buying one. Gavin loves it!

Show off...

Lovers weekend

2009-02-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

This is what most of our weekend looked like, holding our sick little boy. Gavin came down with a nasty cough and it turned into the flu. On Saturday night Travis stayed up all night long holding him...what an awesome husband! The only thing good about it is I have the chance to cuddle my little boy.

This is what Travis got me for Valentines Day. It's a super duper milk shake maker. When Travis brought home a BIG, HEAVY, beautifully wrapped box I thought to myself "oh crap he got me something real nice and I got him something really stupid". I wanted to run away, hide and take my cheesy, homemade gift far away. It turns out that he liked my gift... he definitely made me feel better about it. My mom used to make awesome milk shakes for all my friends, it's kind of what she was known for. Travis has always wanted to get one for us and carry on the tradition.

I was dang proud of myself for putting this together for Valentines Day, that is until he walked in with something much nicer. I know Travis really likes it BUT I really, really adore my gift. I think I have flipped through the thing a hundred times. Okay I can't take all the credit, I got it as a kit at a scrapbook store. I still had to figure out a bunch of things to put it together. Don't worry ladies I am far from being crafty!

I couldn't resist posting this. I took this last year in Denver. Don't worry Gavin has many more kisses to give! Can you imagine if these two end up getting hitched? HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

Christmas pictures in February

2009-02-07T16:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, these are Christmas pictures. I put this together awhile ago. I thought I should post something quick so I won't get in trouble by my blogging friends. Don't worry I will post something else soon. Travis already made fun of me about Christmas pictures in February.

Last year Gavin despised Santa Clause and this year he LOVED him! It was so much fun to watch him jump up and down as Santa walked in the door on Christmas Eve, my heart melted. We didn't get a video of it so the pictures don't give the moment justice. Santa brought him a Thomas the train set. He was in heaven.

WAITING PATIENTLY FOR SANTA CLAUSE

"What do you want for Christmas Gavin". "Thomas the cho cho train"

CAN IT BE???

"I love you Santa. Thank you for giving me Thomas"

This is what Gavin woke up to Christmas morning.

THREE 0 and counting

2009-01-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

Travis' 30th birthday was last Monday. I put a highlight video together of the past 8 years. I was going to try and get pictures of Travis in the younger years but didn't have time.

I wanted to let Travis know how awesome of a guy he is. I truly don't know what I would do without him. I tried extremely hard to make his 30th Birthday special. Gavin and I went out and bought balloons, cake, and party decorations. Gavin even made a little sign for dad. With all that work I somehow messed things up. I have decided birthday parties are not my forte. First, I melted the cake. I was taking too long with pictures. I had to redecorate and start over(see pictures below). The list goes on but I won't bore you. Thanks to the Smart family for helping me out the weekend before and putting together a family party. Our nieces even put balloons in Travis' truck. We ended up going out to dinner KID FREE, thanks to our friend Crystal. It wasn't the most memorable birthday but it ended up being okay.

Happy 30th Birthday Trav. We love you!

PS Check out the cute video that the Myers put together for Travis on his birthday. CLICK HERE.

Can you tell that Trav is having fun? Gavin is covered with blue pant because he just got done making this SIGN for DAD.

Hollie's re-make of Travis' birthday cake

Merry Christmas from Idaho - Pebble Creek backside

2008-12-30T19:05:00.000-08:00

This is a video of Travis, my Dad, and my brother Jonathon backcountry skiing on the backside of Pebble Creek, Idaho. Santa brought Travis an action video camera that he mounted to his helmet. For those of you that ski...this video will seem like a dream! Too bad you have to hike in to ski, and hike out once you get to the bottom. Santa also brought Travis an avalanche beacon so "don't worry" he says.

More cool videos to come now that he has this rad video camera!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T13:18:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

X-Games 2025 (preview of course)

2008-12-14T20:37:00.000-08:00

That's right! Gavin went skiing on Saturday for the first time ever with Mom, Dad, and Grandma. He is fairly cautious with everything that he does, so we weren't sure how he would respond to skiing. Turns out he thinks it's great, so long as dad was holding his hands! He seemed so tiny up there compared to all the other youngsters.

The conveyer belt thing is called the "magic carpet". It takes the kids up a small hill that is just right for the little beginners. Gavin wanted to ride on the magic carpet, once we got to the top he wanted to go "fast" down the hill. Once at the bottom of the hill, he wanted to go back on the carpet again...and so on and so forth...repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat!

We are excited about Gavin's reaction to skiing. We hope that it is the beginning of a long lifetime of skiing for Gavin. My parents taught me to ski when I was very small as well. It is an important tradition in my family and I can't believe that I'm already passing it on to my child. We're planning to take him a few times a week, so hopefully by the end of the season he'll know what it's all about.

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

Travis and Gavin walking up to the ski hill for the first time.

Yay...a successful ride on the "magic carpet"!

Gavin is really studying the "magic carpet" and how everything works

and he's off.... SKIING for the FIRST time!!

Gavin didn't last more than two minutes after getting in the truck. Notice the drool and the red nose.

This one's for David

2008-12-11T16:02:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken back in October when Gavin and I took a road trip to visit the Myers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!

David and Anna hanging out on an old train.

David and Sebastian

David, Anna, and Gavin

Pictures of Gavin

2008-12-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures that I took at Thanksgiving. These were going to be put in our Christmas cards but didn't make the cut.

Anyone in the mood for "see food"?

2008-12-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken back in August at Dad Smart's 60th birthday party.

All the grandkids put their hand prints on a t-shirt. Out of 19 grandchildren there were only two hands missing. It was nice getting to know more about my father-in-law. He has done so many amazing things for our family and others around him. He is such a kind and gentle person and proud of his family.

As we just celebrated Thanksgiving, I am especially grateful for my father-in-law. I am grateful for all my family and friends!

Gavin's uncles have started teaching him bad habits. They all claim that "Uncle Travis taught their kids bad habits" so it's just PAYBACK. This summer Uncle Greg taught him how "cool" it was to show everyone your mouth full of food. All his uncles (Jonathon, Robert, Michael and Scott) continued to encourage the game. I caught Robert in the very act! I love showing everyone these pictures.

Gavin was happily eating a cookie while in the grocery store with Travis, when he turned to this lady and opened his mouth to show her his chewed up chocolate chip cookie. She turned to Travis and gave him a dirty look. I am sure all of the uncles would have loved to see that.

A few random pictures

2008-11-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures of Halloween and the end of Fall. Gavin was a skeleton that I picked up from Walmart. I was so excited to see it glow. I held it up to a light for awhile and then took it into a dark room...no glow. I held it up to a light again just to make sure and turned the light off...NO GLOW again. Who was I kidding it's from Walmart!

We went down to Utah for Halloween fun with Greg, Julie and family (Travis' brother). They were so much fun. It was amazing, on Halloween we met McCain and Obama. They came to ask for our vote just before the election.

Emily and Rachel helping Gavin do some trick or treating

All three brothers (including dad) were dressed up in camo gear

They said they were looking for Joe the plumber! I love how Obama is shorter than McCain.

One of these days Gavin will be jumping dad

I thought this was so cute Grandma S. and Gavin checking out some birds

We washed the car the other day. Gavin was playing with the hose and I just couldn't resist. We laughed for days.

Can't forget FALL

2008-11-03T12:59:00.000-08:00

One of these days I will be better about posting on time. I figure better late than never!

I think Ernest Hemingway says it the best about fall time here in SV. I quote "“Best of all he loved the fall … the fall with the tawny and grey, the leaves yellow on the cottonwoods, leaves floating on the trout streams and above the hills the high blue windless skies." This is a eulogy he wrote for one of his friends. It keeps going but I won't bore you. Ernest Hemingway is a big deal to the locals. He spent much of his time writing here in SV.

My parents came and spent some time with us conference weekend. Gavin loves it when GrandPa and Grandma come, they spoil him. As soon as they walk in the door it's always "Do you want to play? Let's go play Grandma." There's no time for hello's, it's straight to playing with airplanes, trucks, cars, trains, or whatever else.

My parents, Gavin and Travis

I thought this was cute that Gavin was walking unison with his Grandpa.

Gavin's Buddies

2008-10-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Don't worry I know Gavin has many more "buddies" but these are a couple of his friends that he likes to hang out with. I had the opportunity to take their two year old pictures. These two were actually born on the same day and in the same hospital. They have known each other way before Gavin became their buds.

Owen is the cutest blonde, curly hair, blue eyed, little boy. He loves animal crackers, Thomas the train, airplanes and anything on wheels.He reminds me of Gavin in so many ways. Owen is actually younger than Gavin and believe it or not is taller. He definitely has the advantage of having two fairly tall parents. I am hoping that Gavin and Owen can go skiing together this winter.

When Gavin sees Makenzie he always says "HI Kenz" and she responds "HI Gavs". It is the cutest greeting. They have been playing so good together. It used to be that Gavin kind of beat up on Makenzie. You know little boy stuff... nothing too bad. Unfortunately, Makenzie has recently moved to Boise and we are going to miss her very much! It's hard to see such a good friend go.

Grinding and Flying

2008-10-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

My dad owns a sporting goods shop and every year he puts on an event called the "Rail Jam". It's a kick-start to the new ski season. The "Rail Jam" consists of snowboarders and skiers going down a BIG ramp, jumping on a rail, and doing tricks. There's no snow just some special carpet that makes them go fast enough to jump on the rail and do tricks. Some Ski Resorts have these HUDGE "terrain parks" that have all different kinds of rails and jumps for kids to go on. It's amazing what kids can do on them. When I was growing up skiing these jumps and rails didn't exist. It's a fairly new thing that kids are doing.

My dad wanted me to take pictures this year, since we live closer. I have never seen it so I was impressed with all the effort that was put forth. It was super cold this year but they still had a great turn out. Anyone can enter but it is a competition. Judges narrow it down to the top snowboarders and skiers who are the best and then they give away prices for the top three. The prizes consist of new snowboards, skis and a ton of other stuff. I had a blast taking pictures. My dad paid for these cool BMX bikers to show off their tricks in between the "Rail Jam". These guys were totally AWESOME!! It was amazing the tricks they were doing in the air. I swear they were flipping their bikes and bodies around like 20 times before they landed. It was incredible. My picture doesn't give it justice but it gives you a good idea.

If I didn't have a family I would love to take action pictures or be a sports photographer. That's okay I love being a mom and taking photos of my sweet little boy!

DON'T MAKE FUN OF ME for showing you this. Some people don't havve a clue what I am talking about. I was standing on top of my dads store trying to lean over to take this picture. I thought this would give people a good idea of what the "Rail Jam" is.

This is standing on top at the start looking down onto the ramp.

This is Ivan Marcinko who is a professional snowboarder. He has been to the X GAMES and is sponsored by several different companies. He was the only guy I trusted to get this picture. I was standing right at the end of the rail and he came full speed right at me. It doesn't look like it but he was going SUPER FAST straight towards me. I took the picture and a split second later he had to put on the brakes. I don't think anyone else could of had enough control to miss me...YIKES!

Here is a picture of one of the BMX riders. Like I said before I was totally shocked on all the tricks they could do in the air before they hit the ground. It was amazing on how high they got too. It might look like this guy is falling but it's just part of the stunt!

The Hollie Less Known By

2008-10-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Hollie is out of town this week so this gives me a chance to post something without her permission. I feel like the Fresh Prince ya know..."when the parents left the keys to the brand new Porsche...will she mind...uummh...well...of course not!"

Many of you don't know this, but Hollie and I met for the first time when I went waterskiing with her family. She is talented in so many ways, but you would be shocked if you saw her waterski or snow ski. Her competitive edge is still one of the many things that I love most about her. She is terrific, and I'm tired just thinking about trying to keep up with her. For those of you who thought Hollie was just a sweet, kind, soft and gentle person (which she is of course)...this should give a better idea of what we're really dealing with.

A day with Bear

2008-10-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

Just like Travis' Train set, I have had this stuffed bear for a while... thinking that someday one of my kids would enjoy it. I never thought my little TWO year old boy would dress it up and want to take it around town. That's just what we did one day. Gavin wanted to get it dressed (I guess it was naked) and take it to the park with him. He had to make sure "Bear" was doing the same things he was doing. When I got in the car he even wanted me to buckle him up. We packed up a lunch and went to the park. These are the times I cherish with Gavin. I love being a mom and doing semi-stupid/fun stuff with him.

BUCKLE UP!!!

Notice the lady in the back ground. She got a kick out of Gavin and his bear.

Bear doesn't replace "Blankie "

Myers Visit (from my cow-town to yours)

2008-09-28T20:55:00.001-07:00

We have the coolest friends! They packed up their bags after only living in Helena for a week and drove 5 hours to come see us. We were so excited to spend some time with them, since we haven't seen each other for almost 6 months. Gavin and Anna Belle have so much fun hanging out. Anna is growing up so much... she will talk your ear off! It was nice to talk with Kassiah and catch-up in person. She went in to some of the BEST scrap booking stores EVER...LOL! I have to say I missed her and still do! Saturday night we took our cruiser bikes out and rode around, we had a ton of fun! You will have to go to her blog
and check out those pictures! Daniel and Travis hiked up Baldy (Sun Valley ski resort) and were attacked and almost eaten alive by a porcupine. Daniel thought that it could have been the "Chupacabra" click here. Daniel and I also sustained injuries from our bout with the Wii; me from boxing and Daniel from BOWLING! Thanks guys for coming to see us. I am glad we are five hours away instead of 12!

Bringing home the bacon!

2008-09-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

This may sound crazy to some of you, but Travis literally goes fishing almost every day during the afternoon. From his office he's able to walk or take a short drive down to the river where he spends the next hour or so trying to trick these fish into taking his fly. He even keeps a silly fish journal so that he know how many fish he caught, with what fly, etc. Today he caught a couple of fish and one he decided to keep (which he never does). I'm sure everyone at work loved having a dead fish in the fridge. Anyway, he was so proud that he was "bringing home the bacon" so to speak! He said that if our country's electric grid went down and there was no more gas to harvest food that we would be OK because he can still fish every day. Our diet would be a little high in mercury, but at least we'd have protein! Anyway, I thought this would be a great post (unless you have a weak stomach) to share with everyone. What a MAN! By the way...the fish was delish!

Step 1 - respect the fish...

Step 2 - cut the guts out of the fish...

Step 3 - tear the guts out of the fish...

Step 4 - rip the skin off the fish...

Step 5 - uh...yeah...

I was worried about Gavin having nightmares...I don't think that will be a problem!

Step 6 - cook the fish with all sorts of yummy seasonings.

Bon Appetit!

Being a girl again

2008-09-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

That's right when I hung out with these two cute girls for a week I felt like I was a young girl myself again. We watched chick flicks, went swimming, floated down the river, sewed tote bags, watched the Teen Choice Awards (I know all about the Jonas Brothers and David Archuleta so does Travis, he had to watch them too), memorized the song Handlebars, went to the SunValley Symphony (I don't think this was their favorite), put makeup on Rachel for the first time, they watched Gavin a night so Travis and I could go out on a date, and even helped me clean around the house. They were such pleasant, polite, fun girls.

We are glad that they decided to come visit us. I hope they still like us and want to come next year. Gavin adored their company, he hated to see them leave. A week after they had been gone he was still asking "where's did Rachel go? Where's M&M mommy?" M&M is what Gavin would call Emily.

SWEET INNOCENCE

In the morning Emily and Rachel would go to the YMCA with me. I would go work out and they would go swimming. There are two locker rooms, one for women and one for young girls. One day they walked in the locker room and there was a lady getting dressed but the problem was she was doing it openly. They both noticed and was trying to ignore her and get out fast! Unfortunately, they were having some troubles opening their locker. The lady saw that they needed help and graciously decided to help them. My poor innocent nieces trying to hurry has fast as possible and then have this naked lady come and jiggle their locker open in the nude. Traumatizing, don't you think? First of all, I don't know what an older lady was doing walking around nude in the girls locker room and second come on people have some decency. This has happened to me in the women's locker room but I didn't think twice about the girls locker room. The worst part is it happened the next day with the SAME LADY! There's nothing I could do because it was a locker room and after all it is a place to get dressed. I sure hope that Emily and Rachel weren't ruined from the experience. I did get a good chuckle out of the story.

They floated down an area where there are big, beautiful, million dollar homes. Nobody around just the sweet sounds of nature, until we put these two girls in it! I can still hear the screaming. I don't think they stopped screaming until the end. I wish I had video of the experience, it was funny! This was definitely the highlight of their trip.

Rachel has natural curls but doesn't like them too much. I talked her into wearing her hair curly and putting some make-up on(with the permission of mom) and taking a few pictures. Isn't she BEAUTIFUL? I would die to have her curls.

Congrats Jonathon and Tiffany

2008-08-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

My brother and sister-in-law just had their first baby. He was born August 16th at 11:55 PM and weighing in at 8 Ibs 14 oz. They named him Tanner Jonathon. This little guy has so much hair, I think they measured it being an inch and half long. I thought Gavin had a ton of hair but Tanner might have more. He is the cutest baby... I can say that because I am the Aunt. Seeing my little brother hold his baby makes my heart melt. He is going to be such a good Dad and Tiffany is going to be the best mother.

I have to give Jonathon a bad time about changing diapers. I have yet to see Jonathon change Tanner's diaper. He wouldn't come close to Gavin when we changed his diaper, I don't think he would even stay in the same room. I am sure he will get the hang of it, he has to. That is a lot of diapers for Tiffany to change.

We love you and are so happy for you two. Cherish every moment because it goes by too fast. Your baby is beautiful!!

Jonathon and Tanner

"Surfing USA"... you mean in Idaho?

2008-08-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

This is our annual family trip to Palisades. We love to water-ski, but this year everyone decided to do a little surfing behind the boat. We had a blast!

THIS VIDEO IS A MUST WATCH! Pay attention to my dad, he is the last one who falls. Listen to what he says before he takes a BIG SPLAT!! Travis and I got a kick out of it.

If you didn't understand what my dad says

"I don't need no stinking rope" followed by a big body SPLAT!!

HUNT FAMILY 2008

Travis jumped on Jonathon's wake board while he was surfing. This picture was taken right after Travis jumped on. It was a BIG SURPRISE for Jonathon, as you can tell.

This is right before they crashed and couldn't hold on anymore.

Deaune and Riley

Travis got Gavin out on the tube. I don't think Gavin new what he was doing.

She thinks my tractor's sexy!

2008-08-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

Gavin is nuts about tractors. He has a tractor book that he reads every night; he sure to remind us that we can't miss reading his "tractor book". In the book he learns about combine tractors. He thinks combines are the bomb!

My parents live near a farm with some nice BIG combines and tractors. I knew that I had to get my camera and take some pictures of him by the tractors. I wanted to let Gavin get a closer look. Right when I stopped the car, Gavin started getting so excited. I was really hesitant because I didn't know what the farmer would think of me and this little boy climbing around his equipment. Some workers were there and one came around the corner and started to walk towards us. I thought we were going to be in trouble but the guy turned out to be super nice. I think he found it amusing that this two-year-old was so crazy about his equipment. He let us get inside the tractor...he even told me I could drive it around if I wanted. Are you kidding? Me, driving around a big tractor with a two year old in my lap. I told him thanks but no thanks! He was so nice to us. He even let Gavin get up inside the combine tractor. These are brand new, never been used combines. The biggest challenge was trusting Gavin inside the combine while I ran back around the front of the huge piece of equipment to get a good picture. They are bigger than the pictures are able to show. Anyway, Gavin likes tractors so much that we might have to become members of the FFA in order to give him a chance at life. Hopefully he finds a girl "who thinks his tractor's sexy" (kenny chesney)!

"High on a Mountain Top"

2008-08-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

We went on a camping trip a couple of weekends ago with Drew and Crystal and a new couple we just met Mark and Kelley. We are glad that we have friends that want to do stuff with us. It has been fun to met such great people. In Colorado it took us between 1.5-2 hours to get up to the mountains and it was always so crowded when we did go. Here it only takes us about 30 minutes to get into a camp site and settled. It is such a beautiful area, people spend hours traveling to get here and we are so fortunate to have it right in our backyard.

We decided to take a hike on Saturday up to some alpine lakes. Unfortunately we took the wrong path so we ended up turning around before we got to the lakes, but it was still a nice hike. We had Gavin in a backpack on the way up, which he did NOT like. Kelley and Mark Green have a three year old boy and he walked the whole way. I think Gavin saw him and thought he should do the same, he decided he wanted to hike on the way down. This meant that we had to go way slow and smell every flower and turn every rock and listen to every bird (talk about "stop and smell the flowers"). Surprisingly he did a great job. It was so cute to see him stop and look at almost everything. All the way it was "look mommy, look" at everything he saw; a bird, squirrel, rock, butterfly, flower, fly, bug, stick, tree, river, stream, sky, sun...whew! The kid is like a vocabulary and visual sponge... he soaks everything!

If you want to see more picture of our camping trip click here to view Crystal and Drew's blog.

Gavin and Makenzie were so cute with their little chairs by the fire. It looks like they are holding hands.

Gavin and Travis

Makenzie was actually asleep. We didn't want to wake her by taking off her glasses.

This is a fairly steep hill that Gavin is trying to walk down. He thought it was so fun.

Choo Choo!

2008-07-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

Don't we all have a toy or something that we have been saving all these years in an effort to show our kids what we played with when we were little? Travis finally decided to dig out his old train set. This box has been laying around forever. Every time I picked up the "train box" to move it, I thought to myself "this will never get used". To be honest I was kind of irritated that Travis wanted to keep it; Oh was I wrong. I am the kind of person that likes to get rid of things (contra-pack-rat). I didn't really appreciate it's value until now.

One day after Travis came home from work he looked at me with a smile and said,"I want to do something (smile) and I don't know if you will approve". He asked me if he could get down his train set and show Gavin. I don't know why he thought he had to get my permission. He was like a little kid again, taking out all the pieces one by one. I was very impressed how Travis' parents put it so neatly into the box. He carefully assembled the tracks showing Gavin how it was all put together. Travis was so proud of his toy! It took some effort for the train to start going, but Gavin loved it.

Gavin is waiting patiently for Travis to get it started. Poor Travis kept running into problems.

Finally, it was on the tracks and working.

It was so cute how Gavin was laying on his daddy and watching the train go around.

4th Pictures

2008-07-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Greg (Travis' brother) and his family came to visit us for the 4^th of July. Instead of going camping, we stayed at our house (city slicker camping). Julie said it was the cleanest camping trip she had ever been on. We had so much fun with their family, all of their kids are so awesome. It was nice to spend some time with them. Gavin loved having them around, they spoil him!

We took a drive up to Stanley Lake one day, had a picnic, and played in the water. On the fourth all 10 of us got on our bikes and road to the parade, it was hot but the kids did a great job. The temperature here is always between 78 and 82 degrees; on the 4^th it was hot…88 degrees. It was nice to watch the fire works right from our back-yard, we had a great view. The girls and I went out to do a little shopping while the boys went to the river to skip rocks. I think they enjoyed skipping rocks more than anything.

Nathan (right) is a little character. I don't think there is ever a dull moment with him. This is a great picture of Nathan's personality... he's a crack up!

Tyler and Nathan thought Uncle Travis was awesome at skipping rocks. I love how they are looking up at him. Poor kids they definitely got brain washed while they were here. Travis claims to have a special skill for skipping rocks.

Rachel at the river finding wishing rocks.

These pictures are hard to see. Gavin thought Nathan was so cool. They were both picking up sticks and throwing them in the water, it was so cute to watch. I think the funnest thing was when Julie told them to stop because they were going to "clog up the river", I think she was serious.

I couldn't resist giving you this picture in a larger size. I think it's so cute how Gavin is using his stick as a sword.

I LOVE MY BOYS!!!

(Stanley Lake)

A Quick Pic

2008-07-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

I just had to hurry and post something. This picture of Annabelle and Gavin is from our trip to Denver. I tried to get them to look up but no luck, I thought it still turned out cute.

Forgive me for not posting anything, like I promised. I have been out of town for the past week. I have much more so keep checking back!

OVER-LOADED

2008-07-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, it's been awhile since I have posted. It kills me not to keep things updated. This past couple of weeks have been crazy! Between family visiting and church stuff I haven't had enough time to go through pictures and get something posted.

Now I am going to ask for a little sympathy or maybe just do some complaining. I have been shooting in RAW for the past several months (thanks to Amy Farnsworth), I absolutely love it! It is much easier to manipulate the photo. ONE BIG PROBLEM..... RAW images are HUGE!!!! One photo is around 8.2 MB. They are taking up way too much space on my computer. I have been slacking in getting them organized. Stupid me and I haven't been using my external hard drive. DRUM ROLL PLEASE........ I have a whopping 2,704 photos in my IPHOTO LIBRARY, this doesn't include the photos on my desk top and most of these are RAW images. My computer is awesome but it's getting a little slow. I am going to try and help it and get rid of some pictures.

NEXT POST 4th of JULY..... I promise it's coming.

TWO...

2008-06-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

Gavin turned two on Monday. WOW... TWO YEARS OLD, I can't believe it. Where have the last two years gone? Gavin is becoming such a fun little boy. I made a little video to show everyone how he is growing. He is starting to communicate more and more with us and it's also easier to figure out what he wants. He loves to sing songs and one of the songs that he recently learned is "Happy Birthday". I was lucky enough to get some if it on tape.

Travis and I were having hard time deciding what to get him. He loves cars, trucks, airplanes, helicopters, tractors, boats, trains, motorcycles; basically anything with wheels or wings. We walked around Target (in Twin Falls) watching him play with everything. Every corner he turned was followed with a "wow...look mom"! We settled on a John Deere tractor and farm set. He had the biggest surprise on his face when he saw his new tractors.

This year we invited my Aunt and Uncle (Bruce and Sonya Jensen) over to help us sing Happy Birthday. They live here in Hailey as well. It's been nice to have them around and we appreciate everything they've done for us. We definitely missed all the friends that we had over for Gavin's first birthday party last year.

Gavin got a surprise visit from Grandpa Hunt on his birthday and the next day Grandma and Grandpa Smart came. Gavin was so excited to see them. I wish I had a picture of the look Gavin had on his face when "Papa" was at the front door. Gavin loves his Grandparents so much and was so glad to see them. Thanks for making the trip to come see us!

Gavin didn't want to get his face dirty so this is the best picture I got of him eating his cake. That's what happens when I am always trying to keep his face clean.

SMELLS LIKE CAT URINE

2008-06-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

Ever since we moved into our house I could smell an odor or stench. I am a real anal person when it comes to cleaning so I thought I was being over paranoid. When Travis and I would leave for a weekend and come back into the house we could definitely smell something. We decided to called our landlord and asked him if he would pay for a professional carpet cleaner. He was cool with it and agreed to pay someone to get the job done. By the way our landlord lives in California.

We got the carpets cleaned on Friday and we left for the weekend to Pocatello. When we got back on Sunday night all the fun started. We walked into a house that literally smelled like URINE!!!! It was horrible. We couldn't even stand to be in the house. The Master bedroom is on one side of the house and the three other bedrooms are on the other (including Gavin's room). We had to put our shirts over our faces to walk through the smaller bedrooms. By this time I was flipping out. Of all the people I was the one this had to happen to.

That night we had to move Gavin completely out of his room. I think his room was the worst. I can't believe I was letting him sleep in unsanitary conditions. I just keep thinking to myself "Hollie get a grip, kids around the world have it much worse and Gavin will survive".

Thankfully our landlord was willing to do anything to fix the problem. He called up some carpet people to come and assess the smell. The funny thing is the lady that came over to look at our floors couldn't even stand to be in the hallway or bedrooms... her eyes started to water. I could tell she smoked, which doesn't help your sense of smell. She lifted up the carpet in the rooms and sure enough there was urine stains. The animal went so much that it soaked into the pad. The renters before us must of let their cat or dog go where ever in the house.

I basically spent all week trying to get the problem resolved. The carpet was replaced last week. The Smart house is SMELLING MUCH BETTER now. If you would like to come over and take a whiff I would be glad to have you.

Our landlord wanted me to take pictures of the damage so he could get insurance to cover the cost. Thinking out loud I told our landlord we could cut a piece of carpet, put it in a box and put it on the insurance assessors desk. When he opened it he would for sure get a taste of what we were going through (GRIN).

I will look back at this and laugh but when it was happening I didn't think it was funny! There are worse things in life and I am sure glad that this was fixable.

This gives you an idea of what we saw throughout the house.

Makenzie

2008-06-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

I usually wait a little to post something new but I just couldn't wait for this one. Makenzie is absolutely adorable. I adore little boys but man little girls are so precious! I love her big blue eyes. She was loving the camera and was in a good mood the whole time I was taking her pictures. Her family lives right down the street from us and is in our ward. I was really excited when they asked me to do her pictures. Thanks Crystal and Drew for giving me the opportunity!!!

For you photographers out there. I have always wanted to get a lens flare shot. I thought this one turned out okay. I tried turning on my flash and it seemed to work, who knows if I am doing it right. If you have any pointers that would be great!

Happy Fathers Day

2008-06-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

Before it was too late I wanted to wish Travis a Happy Fathers Day. He has been the best dad to Gavin. Gavin loves him so much. I think he would rather be with Travis more than his mom sometimes. He races every day to give daddy a big hug when he walks in the door from work, it is the cutest thing.

I can't leave out Grandpa Hunt and Grandpa Smart (aka Papa). We love you so much. HAPPY FATHERS DAY.... two days late(grin).

One of Gavin's favorite things to do right now is throwing rocks in the river. Look closely to the right side of the picture and you can see two rocks in the air.

Memorial Day

2008-06-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to posting this. Sorry it took me so long. I have a ton of pictures. I think I will start with these and maybe post more later.

Our Memorial Day tradition is going to Bear Lake with the Smarts. This year we got a big group campsite and shared it with the Neilsens (Travis Uncle and Aunt). We were worried that the weather would be bad but it didn't start raining until Monday.

We appreciate all the time and effort everyone put into the trip especially Mom and Dad Smart. It is so nice to spend some time with family that we don't see too often. Every night everyone would gather around the camp fire and play games or tell stories, the kids really enjoy spending time with cousins and being with Grandpa and Grandma.

I don't think Gavin is used to so many people. He liked to wander off and play on his own. Gavin is the youngest out of 19 grandchildren on the Smarts side. You can imagine how spoiled the youngest is out of 19! All the cousins loved to play with him, they made sure Gavin was taken care of. It was kind of nice having all the help! At the end of the day he was pooped. When we put him to bed he was OUT in 30 SECONDS or LESS...you could him snoring. He would repeat that all three nights we were there, we got a kick out of it.

One of my favorite things about going to Bear Lake is the pictures! It is so much fun capturing all the kids moments. I hope everyone still loves me after having the camera in their face all weekend.

I was trying to get the girls to jump as high as they could and they did a great job! I think Rachel got the highest... she is the one on the far right.

I thought some of the guys would appreciate this picture. This is of a remote control car... I believe the cost of one of these is around $500.00 or more. The guys decided it would be fun to build a jump and try to get the car to do back flips. They succeeded a couple of times. It was pretty cool to watch.

At the time we didn't have Gavin's swimsuit so we decided to take off his clothes and let him play around. I don't think he is going to like mom when he sees this picture later in life. Oh, but he's so cute!

Thanks to Travis this picture was taken of Gavin and I.

This is of my little niece Sophie. She was so cute trying to fly her kite. If you notice on the right of the picture there is a rainbow. I didn't realize I was taking a picture of a rainbow.

Colton and Bryson(brothers). They were having a blast!

Travis, Corinne and Grandpa.

2008-06-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

Brian and Amy decided to make a 12 hour trip to see us before Memorial Day. I really don't know how they did it with three kids and spending that much time in the car. We are forever grateful for their friendship. We got to show them around our little town. I think Amy was expecting more to it...I hope we didn't disappoint them (grin). We definitely don't live in a big city anymore.

Gavin adores their kids and he loves playing with them. I was trying to get Gavin excited for their visit by telling him that Zac and Avery are coming to see him. That was a big mistake, he didn't understand that he had to wait for them. He would get so mad at me and start yelling "ZAC and AVERY" over and over. I think he was expecting me to take him to their house.

The time went by too fast. It was hard to see them go! We sure do miss their company. I sure wish we could of packed up all of our friends and brought them with us. Too bad life doesn't work that way. On a more positive note, we made friendships that will last a life time!

We stood Zac and Gavin on this big log to take some pictures. As soon as I put Gavin on the log he was petrified, immediately he turned to Zac and started holding him for safety. Zac started glowing, he was smiling from ear to ear. He looked at us and said "Gavin loves me, Gavin loves me". Before this point Gavin didn't want Zac to be near him, so when he gave Zac a hug it made his day. It was the cutest thing ever. Zac was enjoying every minute of it.

A weekend with Grandma

2008-05-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

My mom and Grandma Eisenhauer came and visited us a couple of weekends ago. My Grandma hasn't seen our new house and wanted to make a trip. She always liked to visit Denver with my mom. I think secretly my Grandma enjoys Travis more than me. It was real nice to spend some time with them. I always hate when they leave. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of my Grandma E... stupid me! I thought I would at least post some cute pictures of Gavin and my mom.

Gavin adores both Grandpa and Grandma. Whenever they are around he wants nothing to do with Mom or Dad. All weekend it was "GRANDMA, GRANDMA, GRANDMA". It is super cute to hear him say Grandma.

Hey, has anyone seen Gavin?

2008-05-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday Travis came home from work and we were all playing out in the yard. Travis needed to change out of his work clothes and I went to start dinner. Gavin followed me into the kitchen and I told him to go find daddy. He left and I could hear him playing, I thought he was playing with Travis in our bedroom. Travis came out and asked if Gavin was with me and I said "no", then he proceeded to say that we left the front door open and "I don't hear Gavin anymore". Travis went to the front yard and couldn't find him and I looked throughout the house and he was no where to be found. I went back to the front yard looking and Travis still couldn't find Gavin. My heart dropped to my knees and I started to panic. I ran to the back yard and started yelling for him... no Gavin. The worst thoughts started going through my mind. By this time I was crying and yelling hysterically. I am sure my neighbors thought I was crazy! Travis went to one side of the house and I ran to the other. I decided to run all the way around behind our backyard fence, where there is a field that separates our house from the other neighbors. When I turned the corner there he was, laughing and playing. So, he had wondered down the side of our property back to the field which is hidden by a solid fence. I was so happy to see him I started hugging him and crying. I don't think he realized that he had been missing. In his mind he was playing hide and seek with us, he wanted to keep playing.

When you loose a child you feel so helpless. For a moment I got a taste of what a parent goes through when a child is kidnapped. That night I stared at him and wondered what would I have done without our little boy. That whole week I took in every smile, every word, and every move he made. The incident made me appreciate even more being a mother and help me realize how lucky I am to have such a precious child.

Showing off his muscles

1st Photo Shoot in Idaho

2008-05-08T11:54:00.000-07:00

This little guy is Samuel. He was born March 31 and weighed in at 4 Lbs 4Oz. I can't believe how small he is, Gavin weighed 7 Lbs 8 Oz... HUGE in comparison. Travis works with Samuel's dad(Matt). They moved here a couple of months before us, so they are new here too. Crystal was at the last of her pregnancy and had to pick up and move where she didn't know anyone. I admire her, she is much stronger than I would be. It was fun getting to know Crystal and the baby. Gavin was with me so he made it a little difficult.

I haven't taken pictures for someone for awhile so I am a little rustic. I actually forgot how much I enjoy photography. I sure will miss all the families in Denver that I did pictures for, I meet such great people and made good friends.

How precious a new baby is to a mother. I love these pictures because it shows how much this new mother loves her baby. I remember how I cherished moments holding Gavin as a newborn. I knew time would go by quickly and it did.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KASSIAH!!!

2008-05-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

I wanted to wish one of my best friends a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I feel horrible that I can't spend the day with her. Before we decided to move we had big plans for our birthdays... I actually had Kassiah talked into SKYDIVING. Yes, skydiving!!!!

It has been a hard transition leaving her and moving to Idaho. She truly has been a sister that I never had. I will never forget all the fun times we had together... game nights, girls nights, working out, camping trips, Rubio tacos, shopping, hanging out, swimming, THE BULL(Kassiah knows what this is).... the list goes on and on. She was my home away from home. I wouldn't trade the past three years of knowing Kassiah for ANYTHING! She is going to be a forever friend, someone that I can always turn to.

I miss you Kassiah... Thank you for everything you've done for me. I love you!

Maybe the "JUMP"(skydiving) can wait until the BIG 30... one more year baby!

HAPPY BIRHTHDAY MOM SMART!

2008-04-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today is a very special day. It's my mother-in-law's Birthday (Judy). As always I'm never quite sure what to do for a woman that doesn't really need anything, so I decided to make this video for her. I want her to know how much I love her. She has been a mom to me for the past 7 1/2 years and I don't know what I did without her. She is such an amazing person in so many ways I will always look up to her.

No matter what, to her, family always comes first. She will do anything for her children and grand children. She has raised such an awesome family, to mention that all of her six kids have turned out not bad! Most of all I am glad she raised such a wonderful son! Travis has complete respect for his mom and he loves her dearly.

She is great to papa Smart! She is great to her kids! She is great to everyone that knows her! We love you! Happy Birthday!

If you give a Mom a muffin

2008-04-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

These books are apart of Gavin's collection, he loves them.

Somebody sent this version through email and I thought it was appropriate for me. I find myself doing this everyday.... always finding something new to do and not finishing what I started. Does anybody else feel the same way?

If you give a Mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her
she has to plan dinner for tonight.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She will look for her cookbook (101 Things to Make With a Pound of
Hamburger).
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year
old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old.
While she is changing the two year old, the phone will ring.
Her four year old will answer it and hang up.
She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee on
Friday.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are......
If she has a cup of coffee......
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

22 months tomorrow

2008-04-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Gavin the day we went up to the mountains. This was taken in Ketchum.

An Afternoon Drive

2008-04-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a drive up in the mountains over Galena Summit towards Red Fish Lake. Here are some pictures that we took not far from Sun Valley. It's amazing how much snow there still is... especially for April 12! We had fun taking pictures of all the snow.

At the Summit

Gavin is amazed to finally see the sidewalk. "snowman" is his word for snow. All day long..."wow, look, snowman"

Fortunately we filled up the truck before we left Sun Valley, otherwise it would have been a little tough backing the truck up to the gas pump at the service station. I don't think the snow plow had been by for quite some time.

Hollie and Gavin at the summit. Obviously, the snow has not yet completely melted.

As you can see, rush hour is terrible up here!

Calming

2008-04-19T19:31:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist posting this beautiful video and sharing it with family and friends. I really felt at peace while watching it. I get so busy and wrapped up in my every-day life. Sometimes it only takes something small to make me stop and think of what's important.

I came across this from a friends blog... THANK YOU KELLI!

Click on the link

THANK-YOU!!!

2008-04-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

I wanted to say thank you to three special people. Words can't expess how lucky I am to have met such wonderful friends. I will never forget the impact they have had on my life. They have been all so caring and loving through the past four years... especially this past month. The only way that I know how to repay them is showing others the love they have shown me.

So, THANK YOU to Amy, Rachel and Kassiah. Thank you for watching Gavin SEVERAL times, thank you for helping clean my house, thank you for your support, thank you for putting up with my complaining, thank you for the girls nights out, thank you for giving me hugs, thank you for watching me cry, thank you for being there when I was sick (a special thanks goes out to Kassiah on this one), thank you for your love, thank you for your kindness, thank you for the advice, and most of all thank you for being the sisters that I never had. I truly feel like the Lord has blessed me by having you in my life.

Take a look at Amy and Rachel's blogs. They dedicated a post just for us. I told Rachel last night that I feel really privileged to be apart of her blog... since she is the BLOG QUEEN and every body loves her comments, they really do ROCK! Click on their names.

AMY

RACHEL

KASSIAH

OUR NEW HOUSE

2008-04-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

Here it is, pictures of our new pad. It isn't real exciting from the outside, but the inside makes up for it. The back yard is huge... Rocky is going to have much more space. I still haven't hung any pictures, but I feel much more organized. Travis spent part of Saturday cleaning out the garage, we can now park both of our vehicles inside. There is no basement so we have to store all of our seasonal stuff in the garage, luckily the garage is bigger. This house has four bedrooms on the main floor and a bonus room up above the garage.

Back yard

Nook

2008-04-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

We have official moved from Denver to....

(population 2.7 Million)

SUN VALLEY IDAHO!!!!

(population 7751: this includes Hailey)

In Denver Travis worked in the tall cash register looking building (you can see it in the picture above) and now he works in a small building that is part of a mansion house. I am so behind in posting stuff. I still need to take pictures of our house. Stay tuned you will see much more!

A long day at church

2008-03-29T13:08:00.000-07:00

I took this picture the Sunday before Travis left. Gavin was so tired that he feel asleep in his arms, it was so cute. I am glad I captured the moment.

2008-03-29T12:40:00.001-07:00

It's almost been one week since Travis left for Sun Valley. Between being sick and trying to get things ready to move... it has been a long week. Gavin is always asking for "Daddy" and looks at me and says "Daddy home?". When we talk Travis at nights he gets a huge grin as soon as he hears his voice. I can usually get him to say "I miss you Daddy" and "I love you Daddy", it is so cute to hear him talk. Travis is enjoying his new job, he feels like this has been a good move for him. We are excited to get closer to home, but we are sure going to miss friends here in Denver.