Happy Halloween...2010

Well I think I can finally post pictures again on the blog however I can't use the mac I have to use Stephen's lap top. So much for Macs being the superior computer! At any rate I am happy to be back. I have to start way back  in October and Halloween! It was a great Halloween Annie was a precious little duck and Katie was a beautiful princess. Stephen and I dressed up too as...doctors I know real creative! It was a last second decision to dress up so we just put on Stephens scrubs and walked out the door. My girls both had a great time at the ward party and then a little trick or treating. Katie also had a school Halloween party that was a lot of fun. I can't even tell you how much candy she collected between all of the celebrations! Thankfully she forgot about it and I was able to throw a ton of it away. So I will be updating lots and lots in the next few days until I can at the least catch up to 2011!

The girls matching in pretty pink dresses

                                               

Trying to stay active on one of our walks in the preserve near our house

                                                   

  My little duck she is so darn cute!

                                                  

Happy Halloween 2010

So precious!

I love my girls!

Life is good for us it was a great family holiday!

No Pictures....

I haven't been able to post anything in awhile because we have been experiencing some camera difficulties. Our old Camera that we bought before Katie was born has quit on us. So we have been shopping cameras. We finally have a new one but now we are having some weird issues with it too so no pictures on this post. I will just have to post a ton of pictures next time. I thought I needed to update the blog regardless. So The Smiths have been keeping busy with life.

Stephen is well into his program now and he is truly loving it. We both feel thankful that he has found a career that will (eventually) support us financially and that he also enjoys. He is doing really well in his class and is one of the best people at actually putting the dummy under! Starting in January he goes into the hospitals and starts working on real live people! So watch out Florida! Stephen is really excited about actually getting to work on real people soon. I am very proud and impressed with how much knowledge Stephen already has. He is doing a great job and learning so much.

I really have no news about myself to share. I am really starting to miss Fresno and my family. I have decided that everything is more fun with cousins! I was comparing this Halloween with Last years and it makes me a little sad because we are just SO alone. But we are still doing our best! We bought a great jogging stroller and found this perfect jogging area right across the street from our house! It is a paved walkway that winds through this beautiful wooded area. We have seen deer walk right in front of us! The whole loop is 11 miles and my goal is to one day jog the entire thing. On top of the paved route it also has dirt paths that lead into the woods so there is a lot you can explore and do. It has been a lot of fun to take the girls out and get some fresh air. So Anyway I hope this can help me to reach my jogging and weight loss goals.

Katie is my ever intelligent, talking, demanding three year old! She sure keeps me on my toes. I love her to pieces but she definitely knows how to push mommy's buttons! She has won over her preschool and every day her teacher or some other staff member has a new story to tell me about my Katie. She is certainly full of life. In preschool they handed out progress reports (I know it seems silly for a three year old) but I am proud to say that Katie has exceeded all of their expectations and goals set for her preschool career. Her teacher said this about Katie on the back of the report, "Katie is having a great year! She knows her colors, shapes and numbers well. She is awesome with her letter recognition and has a good pencil grip. Katie is kind and sweet. She follows our directions and participates in all our activities. katie has many many friends!" I have to say that I was shocked to hear that she followed directions because here at home...not so much! (Sigh) Oh well at least she is being good at school! As a parent I don't think I could expect more or be more proud of my Katie bug!

Last but most definitely not least is my sweet sweet Annie. Annie is officially 5 months old and I simply can not believe it! She is hitting all of her developmental milestones and is melting my heart each and every day. She smiles and laughs and goos and rolls and creeps. Nothing is truly safe anymore if she really wants something out of reach she can get to it! Annie is such a good baby she just puts up with whatever we throw at her. She lights up when you simply smile at her and she loves to be sung to. She shows her happiness with every single body part flailing her arms and legs with excitement. While I like to think she loves me the most I know the truth is that she ADORES her big sister. All Katie has to do is walk into the same room and Annie is super excited! In the car Annie spends her time ignoring the mirror we bought for her and toys we give her to stare at her big sister. Katie just has to look at Annie and say just about anything and Annie will burst into laughter. I hope that her good feelings towards her big sister stick around forever. Annie is just so beautiful and so pleasant she makes being her mommy so easy. Annie still loves being held and snuggled most of the night and during naps which has made keeping up with laundry and other such things a little bit harder but who can complain about a baby that wants to snuggle? I do worry that Annie doesn't quite get her fair share of attention since her sister is an attention seeking machine but I try and try to sing and play with Annie every chance I get. Dividing my time between both girls and housework and trying to exercise is not easy but I guess that is life!

Hair, Alligators and Bugs!

We bought a season pass to the zoo and have enjoyed using it!

Katie loved the camel she was a little bit afraid at first but she warmed up to him quickly and then she didn't want to get off.  Typical kid!

Riding the carousel

Still riding while I was taking the picture and had a strange tingling on my head....

Right after I took the above picture a kind woman at the zoo said, "Please don't panic but you have a large insect on your head!"  Of course I started panicking! Not that I like to think of myself as one of those whimpy girls but I really don't do well with bugs, especially when an unknown one is on top of my head!  I was too afraid to reach up and touch it and thankfully Stephen had come off from the carousel and he hit it off of my head.... after many attempts!  So here it is a HUGE cricket, I think that is what it is.  Needless to say I was very happy that it was off from my head and back on the ground.  Geez these bugs here in Florida are getting the best of me!

compared to Stephen's hand

Here is a picture of something we don't have to go to the zoo to see!

I just really liked this picture of our nations symbol.  At the zoo they have rescued eagles that have been harmed in the wild.  It was neat to be so close to one and get such a close up shot. 

Here are some shots of my Annie jumping away in her bouncer.  She does not love her bouncer like Katie did rather I think she just tolerates it!

Disney on Ice!

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I am still playing catch up but we are only about a month behind now! last month we took the girls to see Disney on ice here in Tampa! it was a blast! We bought the cheapest tickets possible and we still had good seats! Katie simply loved watching all of the characters come to life! It was a spur of the moment event and I am very glad we decided to go. Katie still asks me when we can go again.

Amy's Wedding/ Utah Trip

Amy and Landon!


I love Amy in this picture she is simply gorgeous!


The family with out us in laws or kiddos


The whole family


Amy and her brothers


Katie and Kaden at Kaden's house! These two are so cute! They have been friends for a long time check out the pictures below! I think it is fun to see these kids growing up together!

Flash back:
Katie and Kaden Easter 2008

Katie and Kaden around Christmas 2007 (I think...Andrea am I right was this in November or December?)



Okay back to the Utah Trip of 2010! We got to see Grandma and Grandpa Pehrson too!


Troy, Katie, Jaxon, and Kaden eating donuts!


Thank you Aunt Emily for cutting Katie's hair!


Kaden, Anna Belle, Emma, Katie, and Reagan


My Sweet Annie!


Katie and Reagan playing outside. They have been friends for a long time too!


Flying to Utah





Okay that about sums up our Utah trip with pictures! We had a great time seeing all of Stephen's family (which considering how big his family is that is no small task)! Thank you to Spencer and Andrea for housing us. Thank you to grandma and Grandpa Pehrson for coming all the way to Utah to see us! Katie LOVED playing with all of her cousins and I really loved it too because she was basically occupied the entire time! Some funny and memorable things were that Katie and Kaden's names sound very similar and since Spencer and Andrea were kind enough to let us drive with them in their car (so we wouldn't have to rent a car) the two kids would get confused often! I would tell Katie not to do something and Kaden would respond with, "I'm not!" Super funny! Amy was more than beautiful she looked radiant and it was so great to finally meet Landon he is such a great guy! I am very happy for them they seem like a perfect couple! We had a blast staying up late and playing games! I wish everyone lived closer (especially us) so we could see them more often! My greatest regret of the whole trip was not taking more time to take pictures. I really wish we would have gotten a picture of all the grandkids together. I am horrible at remembering to take the camera with me everywhere. So to all the Smith's come on out and visit us soon so I can take more pictures...the weather is getting much better!

My Annie 0-3 month update

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Annie is a beautiful and special little girl. I just love my baby. She has such a sweet spirit. Annie can now roll over both ways although she mostly will roll over from her tummy on to her back because she isn't a huge fan of "tummy time". She reaches for toys now and tries to put everything into her mouth including mommy's hair and her own toes! She loves to watch her big sister Katie do anything. Annie smiles all the time and she melts my heart with each little grin. Her smile is so precious her entire face lights up and she has this sort of shy look about her when she smiles. She gets this special twinkle in her eyes when she smiles. Annie laughs but sometimes she is difficult to get a laugh out of her. It is funny because I will try and try to get her to laugh with no success and then other times I won't even be talking to her and she bursts out laughing. When she does laugh I don't think that there is a better sound in all the world. She makes lots of noises now and "talks" to us quite a bit. I love my little baby more than I thought would be possible. I am so thankful everyday for my two beautiful daughters!

School Days!

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Katie goes to preschool for three hours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday now. This is truly been such a great thing for me and for her. Katie is a demanding little girl and back when she had me and grandma all to herself it wasn't so bad but now that she is stuck with sharing just mommy it has been a bit of a struggle. Preschool has been great because it has given her that time to have some structure and activities and it has given me time to spend with just my sweet Annie! Her preschool is GREAT we just love it. Her teachers are very kind and Katie loves them. She is making new friends and learning lots of fun and new things. In my mind the cost of preschool is worth every single penny! It keeps both Katie and mommy sane!

"Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo"

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Hello Florida!

Well I wish I had some pictures of us on the air plane or of the HUGE moving truck but I didn't have it all together to take such pictures during the craziness so here are some pictures of some real signs and my girls in Florida although, nothing about the pictures actually show that they are in Florida but they are!






Hello Florida! Yes we really do see signs that tell us not to feed the alligators which let's be honest I DONT NEED A SIGN to tell me to keep my distance! Although I guess it is common for people (not the most intelligent people) to actually feed and PLAY with the alligators. Really... they are not ducks people! The closest I have come to the alligators since I have been here is at the zoo which is as close as I EVER want to be! Honestly these animals are HUGE here. Stephen has seen one out in a lake behind our apartments but I have yet to see one out and about although... the other day I did see an Armadillo on the road!

Now if you can imagine a swamp... gross water festering with mosquitoes and other strange insects, hot, sticky, humid, greenery everywhere, wild animals everywhere... ok now you have a pretty good idea of where I am living! Maybe it isn't quite that bad but honestly pretty darn close! There are literally ponds (well that is what the locals call them I personally would refer to them as swamps) all around us and driving on roads even busy roads we see huge birds and wild animals everyday...this is Florida! What an adventure we are having! Florida has often been called "heavens waiting room" due to the large population of elderly people coming here to retire and...well you know wait it out until the end! As of now I think a better nick name for Florida is "Hell's waiting room"! Alright so I am being a little silly but you get the idea so far I don't know why anyone would choose to live here. However, It is fun to see and to have a new experience living in a completely different part of the country. It has been quite an experience for the entire family. Every Floridian tells us that we are here during the worst possible time and that it will only get better. Our ward so far has been very kind and accommodating and we both already have callings. The church is not as strong here as it is even in Fresno. Our stake building for example is 45 minutes away from us! This is new for me! When we first moved Katie loved it because it rains A LOT. She loved getting her umbrella and going outside in the rain now when it rains she says, "Ahh it's raining again...dangit!" Our apartment is actually perfect for our little family. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kitchen is the only down side in that it is super tiny but we have an attached garage and a laundry room inside the apartment so it really is pretty nice. Well that is all I am going to say about Florida currently because I have other posts in which to tell more! Thanks for reading...if anyone made it this far! OH and again please come visit we would love it and you have to admit it sounds lovely! Don't I do a good job of convincing you to come and visit??

Last days in Fresno

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Here are some pictures to summarize our last days living in Fresno. We were able to take some family pictures which was great. We sure do love our family and miss them more than I can say. I know that Stephen being in this program is the best thing but it doesn't make it any easier! Katie misses everyone so so much (especially Ellie). She is constantly talking about everyone back in Fresno. All I have to say is come and visit family we need it!