I think my husband had something to do with this poster.................(click on the poster to enlarge)

Looks like me...acts like dad

2 cute 2 sew

Carley and Grandma Janet have been working on this little project for a couple of weekends.....

Carley did most of the sewing herself. Her holiday apron is soooo cute! I have suggested strongly how good I would look in one of her handcrafted aprons but so far Carley just giggles.

You've Got Mail

First day of kindergarten, little league, report cards, AAU, first dance, SAT's......Dani receives her first college acceptance letter from University of Idaho. Wait, that happened in a blink of an eye.

It really happened,

now we will wait for the other applications to be returned and then wait to hear the big decision! Will we still be wearing black & gold (Go Vandals!) or will you see us in crimson & gray (Wazzu!)

Stay tuned.....

A "Royal" Field

Build it and they will come.....ok, our turf project wasn't quite like the movie but I know there are plenty out there that think we are just as crazy. Earlier this year, the idea of putting in artificial turf for our football and soccer field started buzzing around. By the end of May the buzz was over and the sting of action was in place. September came and the field was in use. I wanted to share a few thoughts on this endeavor.
We have an incredible Booster Association that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to provide our kids with facilities and activities that others only consider luxuries. Darin and I have both served time on the Booster board and many years as members. I have always been impressed with the "greatness" of the projects. Football field, bleachers, new lights, baseball lights, softball/baseball complex, the first rubberized track in the Basin, a weight lifting room. When any of these projects start there are always a few rumblings about the expense of such projects, I have seen the Booster Hunt Club raise funds year after year to support these projects. I have seen volunteers and equipment from the entire slope come together when it is time to work on a project.
Our high school soccer coach also blogged about the field and said it perfectly (read it here)
Dani has finished her soccer season and had the incredible opportunity to play on this beautiful field. It is so awesome to watch our kids play in this great stadium. Thank you to everyone involved in this, I hope we continue to have the opportunity to work hard and do great things for our kids.

Teenage Wisdom???

Spend an unearthly amount of money on braces so your daughter has a perfect smile.........
forward five years...............
spend an unearthly amount of money to pay someone to cut open that daughter's mouth and rip out four "wisdom teeth" so they don't ruin the perfect smile.

Dani and I started our day at 7:00a.m. driving to Moses Lake for the Checkup, she refused to call it anything else as she was already on her second anxiety pill. It is now after 10p.m. and I hope we are going to have a restful night. She had a lot of bleeding this afternoon and that along with the meds have made her sick. After emptying numerous "puke buckets", I think I have the bleeding stopped and an entire vicadin is in her system. Wish us luck......

Halloween & Homecoming Week

More dress up days than one mom and five kids should have to do. Everything from pajama day, superhero, 80's Day (and no they did not raid my closet for this), 50's Pink Lady, Transformers and Ninja Turtles. Even a hippie showed up, the boys are still confused and called me a Hobo all day.

Random Thoughts....

Election '08 - It's over, really what can you do but pray for our country no matter who was elected. On the lighter side, Justin has shared with us that Rock O-bana is the president, that is the guy that waits on us at our favorite restaraunt LaCabana!

College Applications - I am having a hard time understanding why I am paying them to let our Senior apply. Shouldn't they be paying me for encouraging her to go to their school and really how much more can they squeeze out of you.

The answer to prayers - Why can't I figure out that the more times I pray for patience the more "opportunities" God gives me to test that prayer.

My parent's TV - Did I morph into another generation or are tv shows crossing the line way too often. I'm not a huge tv watcher, we stick pretty close to the Disney Channel and TLC but more and more I run across something that was truly inappropriate.

Christmas shopping - Will anyone notice if I don't do any?

Where did the water go???

I can't believe summer is over. My kids have had so much fun in the water this year, it seemed like once it was hot enough we were always swimming. Some of our favorites...

Scroggins pool...slide, dives and jumping in from the side!!!!!!!!

Ted Christensen's...without it my boys would still be sitting on the side and never getting wet. We are so lucky to live in a community with someone like Ted, he put these wading pools in for the little grandkids several years ago and has always encouraged everyone to use them. It is always fun to go and visit with a variety of moms during the afternoons.

Allred Pond...another great benefit of the Royal Slope. Rope swing, big toy, sandy beach, hammock, zip line, kayaks, ..

.

the River...always cold. This year we were able to spend a wonderful day with the Schwilke family from East Wenatchee. They are the water ski pros but we did get Dani to go a couple of times and Gracie even braved the board.

We can never go a summer without the aquatic centers in Moses Lake and Ephrata, this year ML added the Wave Rider, a big hit with Lane & Justin. Carley, Gracie and the boys attended swim lessons in Ephrata.

Callahan slide...still in its early days but this is going to be a favorite. We were fortunate to try it before it was officially done. The little kids did great on it and loved it. Sadly we heard later in the week that it didn't hold up so well for some big guys. But we can see work being done on it and are anxious for next summer.

Favorite Family Words

I know everybody has these, I thought it would be fun to share.



"firecracker" - the doctor in Moses Lake that breaks mommy's neck

"crocagator" - animal with sharp teeth, sometimes seen in canals around Royal

"fluffs" - farts, mom tries to make us go into the bathroom

"dambaid" - we put these on every owie we have

"glubs" - we were these on our hands to play baseball or if we are cold, the same pair

"fuds" - the store where we can get sandwiches and chilly willies

"chimichanga" - just a word that makes us laugh, we won't eat them because we like burritos

"chihuahua" - another word we like to say over and over and over again, just to make us laugh

"bean" - our affectionate name for granpa blaine

"rice-yuk-a-muchy" - actually a rice casserole mom makes for dinner, we even like it

"handcops" - those things dad uses to tie up the bad guys

Anybody like to share some of theirs?????????

Fun and Run ???

A few years ago Darin decided he was a runner. Don't get me wrong, I am very proud of his achievements; he finished the Seattle Marathon, the Moses Lake Triathalon, ran several 10K runs and was on a twelve man team that ran from Blaine to Langley in the Ragnar Relay.

On the flip side I have never, I mean never put those two words together. Darin is slowly sucking our whole family into this idea of running for fun in public places. Lane thinks this is a great idea and was very excited for community days. Dani, Carley, Gracie, Lane & Justin all "Ran for President" this year.

On Saturday, July 26, Aunt Dawn somehow convinced me to have the whole family do the "Dam Run". Darin got to run across Wanapum, but the rest of stayed dry and on land. Everyone came home with a trophy and Darin is now googling "family fun runs".

Idaho

For the first time ever, the Smith family ventured to Idaho. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but I have five car sick kids. There was a time when Gracie couldn't even make it to Moses Lake without throwing up. Several people have noticed the emergency kit I have carried around in my van for years, plastic bags, water, paper towels, air freshner. After a complete round of Dramamine we were on the road. The week was filled with nothing spectacular and again the kids amazed me at how much fun they were having. We had a wonderful stay in Boise where Dani attended softball camp at BSU,

while we got to spend the day at the zoo. The next day while Dani was at camp, we went on the wildlife walk, pretty interesting until we were getting ready to leave and there was a deer laying in the shade behind the information center!

In Meridian, they have a great Glow in the Dark Mini Golf place. It is so awesome, everything is in black lights and they have all these great themes with dinosaurs, monkeys and it was air conditioned.

We stayed an extra day with Uncle Donald and Aunt Carol so we could float the Boise River. Andy & Jennifer let us use their raft so as soon as we rented life jackets we set sail! The first hour was a little rough, not with rapids but being stuck in the raft with four hysterical "I hate this, we are going to drown" kids. And let's not forget that somehow Lane's flipflop got tossed overboard only to torment us by floating by just out of reach. About midway we were treated to being bombed by a three hundred pound college kid jumping in the river about two feet from our raft, we were soaked. In the end I think the kids had fun, I know I did.

More Birthdays !

Carley was lucky enough to turn 11 while we were in Idaho. She was so excited to go to Olive Garden for dinner. I can't believe she is going into middle school, this summer she started babysitting also.

We got to spend the day at the zoo, with Carley's new camera she took a ton of animal pictures. Thank goodness for digital.

Who would believe the buddies are 5 !!

The day started with a stack of five pancakes!

Lots of friends over for the party, Elliot DeLay, Trent Freeman, Zek Naylor, Justin, Lane, Ellie Fanning, Zoe & Carter Noftle.

The girls getting a turn on the slide.

What a pair, a football cake and a motorcycle cake.

The big present this year, a 4-wheeler! Justin ended the day with "Mom this is the best day of my life!"