Papa and Grandma Smith's Visit

Papa and Grandma Smith's visit flew by! Luckily we know we'll get to see them again in a few weeks for Nate's wedding and then again in July for the arrival of Natalie's baby girl. But the week they were here just whizzed by! We had fun celebrating all the different events. Between different school schedules, swim lessons, and life just going on, we kept busy. We were able to fit in some time to just have fun and play though. 

I love this picture of Papa trying to keep Ian warm at swim lessons. It was cold for us, so imagine those poor swimmers!!!! Never again will I do swim lessons in May. Ian sure does love his papa!!!

 

One afternoon while Natalie was at an OB check-up, Papa and Grandma treated all the kids to an ice cream at McDonald's. They thought it was the greatest and they also enjoyed playing:

  

Monday morning after our weekend of celebrating we met up at a park for the kids to play. We had a fun morning at the park!

I love when these two get a chance to play together. Oftentimes when Rachel is around, Chase gravitates towards her and Audrey just does her own thing. It's fun to see these two play together.

 

 

Our local Chick fil-A hosts some fun nights every once awhile. Monday night, after Mother's Day, Elsa was going to be there, so we all went to meet Elsa and Natalie and I were off the hook yet again to have to cook!

One last pic of Ian playing with Papa the night before they left:

We definitely enjoy when Papa and Grandma visit from Utah. We're excited for this upcoming summer and all the time we'll get to spend with them!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was another enjoyable day. We just partied for 3 days straight! It was neat to be able to spend Mother's Day with so many amazing mothers, but especially my mom. We went to church in the morning. Rachel, as tradition is in our ward, sat up on the stand with the bishopric since she was baptized the day before. After church we ate some lunch and then the kids got to play with one another for a bit. The Michaelson side had to leave around 2:00, since they each had a 5 hour drive ahead of them.

Here's Grandma Michaelson with most of her grandkids:

That evening we got together with the Smith side for dinner. Natalie and I had put the men in charge of dinner and they did a good job. My only regret is not getting a picture with Natalie and Sherry. But it was definitely an enjoyable day spending it with so many mothers that I look up to!

My Birthday

My birthday this year was definitely busy, but very special. We started off the morning great with Rachel's baptism. That afternoon we went to the pool. And then Andy had Mexican food catered into our home to feed everyone. It's probably the birthday that I've had the most family to celebrate with. After dinner we had some more of the super yummy birthday cake that we had from Rachel's birthday. And then Andy surprised me with a gift I wasn't expecting, a kindle. I love to read and I also enjoy wasting time on the Internet...ok, maybe it's not always wasting time. But anyhow, I'm excited about my new kindle. Overall, it was a great birthday!!! 34 is looking good!

Rachel's Baptism

Rachel was baptized and became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on May 10, 2014. Here's the invitation that was sent out to invite family and friends:

We had gone back and forth quite a bit trying to figure out a day for her baptism. Once we finally decided on my birthday, we had everything set in stone. Family made travel plans and we reserved the church. About a month before her baptism an email was sent out to the men saying there was going to be a volleyball tournament that same day. Well, this mama bear insisted on them rescheduling and they did... But boy did I make some people unhappy. Such is life! And in my opinion, a saving ordinance is much more important than a volleyball tournament. :) So, on May 10th at 10 am, our sweet girl had her baptismal service. Before the service began we took a few pictures:

 

 The program:

Baptismal Service

Conducting:                         Brian Hintze

Chorister:                              Dora Powell

Pianist:                        Cristy Michaelson

Opening Song:       When I Am Baptized

Opening Prayer:                Sherry Smith

Talk on Baptism:         Natalie Mackay

Special Musical Number

Baptism of Rachel Mikayla Smith

Baptismal Ordinance by: Andrew Smith

Witnesses: David Smith &
Mike Michaelson

Talk on Holy Ghost:    Vicki Michaelson

Confirmation of 
Rachel Mikayla Smith

Confirmed by: Andrew Smith

Introduction to Faith in God:  
Primary Presidency

                                                                                     

Welcome to the Ward: Brian Hintze

Closing Song:  

               Families Can Be Together Forever            

      Closing Prayer:  Paul Michaelson

Rachel and her daddy walking down the hallway to the baptismal font:

Rachel had to be immersed twice. She was a bit worried about that happening, but luckily it was explained to her that if she did need to be immersed twice it was because Daddy made a mistake... :) She was fine with it. It was a pretty awesome experience to get to wrap a towel around Rachel and give her a big hug right after she was baptized. We're so pleased with her and her decision to enter into the Baptismal Covenant with her Heavenly Father. I know her life will be blessed because of the decision she has made. Especially as she continues to make those correct choices and remembers the promises she's made.

Rachel with some of her friends who came to support her, the Justensen girls and both Nicoles:

Can't forget about the food!

 

We then took pictures of Rachel with the family members who were able to come and support her. The Michaelson family who traveled down from Dallas:

Cute girls! By coincidence, Cristy and I purchased the same Easter dresses for our girls. So, Audrey and Ashlyn coordinated. 

Our family:

The Mackay family with Rachel:

Papa and Grandma Smith who traveled down from Utah:

Papa and Grandma Michaelson who traveled down from Northeast Texas:

After Rachel's baptismal service we headed home and Rachel was very anxious to open her baptism presents. She was spoiled and loved by so many... There were many presents that were made with love and Rachel's a very blessed girl to have so many who love her. 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating Rachel's Birthday

We had so much fun celebrating Rachel's birthday last Friday. This year she had the most family she's ever had here to celebrate with her. My heart is full and grateful for all those who made sacrifices to make her day special. And I know there are many who wished they could have been here and we definitely felt their love and are grateful for the role they each play in Rachel's life.

Rachel was allowed to open one present before school this morning and she was pretty excited about having a new outfit to wear:

The birthday girl requested French toast made by Papa Smith. She definitely takes after me in her love for Papa Smith's French toast. So, here she is enjoying her breakfast:

  

We then ate lunch with her at school. She requested McDonald's, which is definitely a love she's inherited from her Papa Smith.

After school Rachel and I went to a nail salon. This was Rachel's first time and she's been requesting this for quite awhile. She LOVED getting her nails done. I'm glad it all worked out. I hadn't thought about the fact that it was the Friday before Mother's Day. There were a lot of ladies out getting pampered already. The first salon we went to had quite the wait and luckily at the second one we only had to wait about 15 minutes. It was fun to get some Mommy and Rachel time in as we got to just talk as we got our nails done. She chose pink for her finger nails and her toenails are painted blue (she's very coordinated): 

 

After that we headed to Olive Garden for dinner - Rachel's favorite. We had quite the crowd with both sets of grandparents and the Mackays. And we made sure to have her sung to. She was a good sport about it all.

It was then back to our house to open presents and have some cake! Rachel was spoiled for sure. She was very excited about each and every one of her gifts.

 

 

Group picture time!

 

Papa and Grandma Michaelson with the birthday girl:

Papa and Grandma Smith with the birthday girl:

Mom and Dad with the birthday girl:

Our smart, beautiful, talented, kind 8 year-old:

The Paul Michaelson family tried their hardest to get down her in time for cake and presents, but a rain storm and Houston traffic did not help. So, as soon as we got word that they were almost to their hotel, Rachel got to go with Papa and Grandma Michaelson to deliver a pack n' play to them and see those cousins on her birthday. I think Rachel had a really good day! And the next day the celebrations continued with her baptism and my birthday...

Eight Years Old

 

Our sweet, beautiful Rachel is 8 years old today!!! Time definitely does fly. I already know this is going to be one emotional weekend. Rachel's going to be baptized on my birthday and then the next day will be Mother's Day. I can't think of a better Birthday-Mother's Day gift. It's been an amazing journey so far with this girl and I've learned so much from her. 

Rachel is 48 inches tall and weighs 42 pounds. About a month ago, she was pretty excited to discover she weighed 42 pounds. We've been telling her for years that she has to be 40 pounds to transition to a booster seat in the car. Shhhh...don't tell her that since she's now 8, she legally doesn't need to be in any type of car seat. We play it pretty safe. :) 

This girl loves to play, whether it's playing outside or inside. She comes home from school every day, gets her homework done, and then just wants to play, play, play. I've given up on hassling her about her reading. She hates to read. :( Makes me sad, because I love to read. But maybe one day we'll find that series of books that she'll LOVE. She's an awesome reader though, she's just not into it. She'd rather play. We've decided she is a bit of a tomboy. I'm trying to talk her into playing soccer this Fall. We'll see... Right now she's doing gymnastics, but I think she's ready to move on to something else. When I'm good about sitting down at the piano with her, she learns to play. We haven't been very good very recently though... We need to get going on that while she's interested. 

Rachel is a very well-liked girl. She has lots of friends at school and stays pretty busy with play dates when we don't have other activities going on. Her best friend right now is Isabel. They play and have so much fun together. And they're both really good at including Audrey. Rachel is a pleaser. She wants to make others happy and for them to be proud of her. She's very hard on herself when she fails in that regard. She doesn't like getting in trouble. She has quite the conscience.  Rachel loves her teachers at school and at church. She's a very lucky girl to have some really amazing teachers!

We're so grateful for our amazing Rachel! She brings so much joy every day to our home.

Whoops!

This is how some of my nights go and tonight was no exception. It's been four months since I've been doing bath and bed time on my own... Only a few more weeks.... I can do this!

Swim Season

We made our first visit of the season to the pool today!!! We are definitely excited for another summer of fun at the various pools in our community. The water was a bit chilly today, but I'm a baby when it comes to water... The kids had fun though and I know we're going to have a lot of fun this summer swimming and playing away!

My Little Tornado

This little boy can make a mess in a blink of an eye, but luckily he's cute and usually willing to help clean up...