Meet the Smiths

Smith Reunion

2011-07-24T16:03:00.012-06:00

The weekend after our big run was the Robert & Janice Smith reunion. I apologize in advance, but this blog is going to be mostly a picture blog. Our reunion took place out at the Wolff cabin close to police lake. It has always been one of my favorite spots as it has been the location of both Jospeh's legacy and Moroni's quest. Chad and Naomi took charge of the reunion and did amazing!
We showed up Friday night after stopping in at the Winifred and Seymore Smith reunion for dinner, which has a cool story to it as well.... You know it is a small world when you show up to your husband's family reunion to find one of your own relatives! My mom's cousin Janet (Kidd) Olsen married Nathan's Grandpa's nephew Greg Olsen. It was awesome to see her across the lawn and say "Nathan, who is that? She looks like she belongs at the Kidd family reunion?" And then to find out she REALLY did belong there! It was a great highlight of the night!
Friday night was just setting up camp, and Saturday the fun really started! While the guys took the quads out the mom's and kids hung out at the creek side.

Briley's nap place

Chad has a canoe that the kids were playing in. After it went down the little falls once, and having Gage try and save it and get a black eye in the process, Chad tied it to a tree. So the kids spent their time pulling the canoe up the creek and riding down it!

Here are just some candid's that I took as everyone was lounging around:
My nephew Trae

Tay
Thailan
Gage
Ellie
Naomi
Ayva
Edyn
Cheryl
Brandi
Susan
Nathan
Brennan & Davin
Tiffany
Briley
Nana
Chad also rigged up a homemade hot tub that drew water out of the creek, ran it through hot coils in the fire and made magic! It was great for the kids to have a place to warm up as the creek wasn't necessarily anything close to warm.

Here are a few pics of the guys coming back from Quading:
Teran
Nathan
The afternoon brought out the guns and paintball slingshots:

I had to snap this picture of Davin because it summed up him all weekend. He was in LOVE with the Quad's and was constantly asking for rides. When he couldn't get anyone to drive him you would find him sitting on a quad with a helmet on, sulking while he was waiting for the next available driver. While at the same time driving everyone crazy everytime he asked over and over again to go on a ride. Talk about one determined kid....

Sunday brought on a day of rest, and a family spiritual meeting:

Then we had Christmas in July with a gift exchange!

Then the night wrapped up with family photos. Can I just tell you that Chad is Brilliant!!! I love how quick he got everyone in and out of place and how quick photos went! It was almost effortless!

Our evenings were filled with games, campfires, and yummy goodies! Monday morning came and it was time to get cleaned up. While we were cleaning up Ethan and Teran had taken Gage to drop him off at Heleman's Encampment. On their way home they came across a bear in the next meadow over from where we were camping. They followed it for over an hour and then came and got me to get some pics! Talk about a little hair raising!

We made a bolt back to town for swimming lessons and to meet up with my family. Chad, Amy , Ethan and Wade drove up from Utah to spend the week with us. So we picked them up after swimming and brought them back out to the cabin. They were doing some quad riding, kite flying and cleaning up when we got back. Here are a few more pics from Monday:

The evening ended with everyone having a hotdog roast out at the Smith ranch. It was a terrific evening!

Here is Naomi, after a long weekend of organizing and running the reunion! Naomi, it was absolutley amazing! Thanks for all your hard work!!! We had a blast!

Waterton 2 Glacier 100 mile Relay!!

2011-07-12T23:44:00.008-06:00

So if you have been in touch with us lately you will know that we decided to start training for the first ever Waterton to Glacier 100 mile Relay Race. This is how it worked: You decide you are crazy enough to do it. Then you find a full team of people who are just as crazy (if not MORE) than you. In our case we had a team of 8 people. (You could have a team of 4 or 12 if you wanted) We met a couple times to run and work out all the details for our team. Then individually trained and trained and then awaited the day! Each member of our team would run 3 legs of the race. Each leg was between 3.5-6 miles long. By the time you were done running for the day you had run about the total miles of a 1/2 marathon.

Nathan initially wanted to run the race competitively with a team of 4. But as I had started running this year I threw out the idea that it would be fun to do a husband/wife team. He was incredibly patient with me and humored my idea. We pulled together our "Border Runners" team, where initially each wife was from the States and each husband was Canadian. But we did have to make a substitution in the last month and added our amazing sister-in-laws to the team. So our team consisted of Nicole and Cannon Smith, Dal and Amy Zemp, Candace Smith, Tiffany Smith, and Nathan and I.

At 5:30 a.m. on June 25, 2011 we met at the start line, got our last instructions and cheered on Dal as the gun went off at 6:00a.m. We had a couple of injuries BEFORE the Race day, but all in all our whole team did amazing! What an inspiring group to be on a team with! Everyone pushed the envelope and were astounding!! Here are a few pics of the day:

Here are Amy & Dal at an exchange. They are training for the Jungfrau Marathon in Interlaken, Switzerland this year! They are going to Rock It!!!Cannon and Nicole were an amazing couple team that filled our day with unspeakable fun! Both make running look effortless! I just love them!

Tiff(above) & Candace(below) were such sweethearts to join us for this race. They both ran the Legacy 1/2 Marathon in Cardston in May and did amazing!!
Each leg's difficult level varied. I felt incredibly lucky as most of my mileage was fairly flat with minimal hills. Nathan on the other hand wasn't so lucky.

His first leg was 4.4 miles, 4 of which was straight up over the Waterton Highway. Not only did he kill it with averaging a 8:50 minute mile, but he did it barefoot!!! I love that man!!!

I included some of these pics so you could get an idea of the beautiful scenery we ran through.

Because of our location we did get to cross the border into the U.S. to finish the race. I'm intersted to do some research and see how many races cross borders....???? Totally amazing to be a part of an international race!
If you can't tell, Nathan is my inspiration for running. He started running over 2 years ago and did so many things I never thought possible. I also have a couple wonderful friends, Barb Salmon and Patricia Beazer, who showed me that women can do anything! So I have had an amazing group of cheer leaders and friends to keep me going. Nathan was so patient with me during my struggles with my foot injuries and was willing to run at my pace and help me see my potential. I can't say enough about the wind beneath my wings!

So here's to checking off an item on my bucket list!!! It is the first time in my life that I have run that far at one time or in a single day. Our team estimated taking 17 1/2 hours to finish the race. We made it in 16 hours!!! I was so excited to feel that I had pushed myself. During my training I was running at an average 12-13 minute mile. During the race my averages were: 1st leg-10 min. mile, 2nd leg-11:30 min mile, and 3rd leg (all downhill) was a 8:50 min. mile. Talk about feeling on top of the world and learning what you are made of. I can't thank Nathan enough for being there for me every step of the way! W2G was definitely an event to repeat!

Feeling Behind.....

2011-07-12T23:41:00.003-06:00

So I feel like life has left me behind lately and I am struggling to keep up! So this is my disclaimer: I will do my best, but don't expect anything to be in order or more than just my random thoughts and events that are happening in our lives. Hopefully you won't get too lost in my ramblings! Thanks for your understanding!

Briley's Photoshoot

2011-05-05T01:34:00.004-06:00

Well, I realized that I hadn't taken a whole lot of pics of Briley lately. So While Brennan was playing on the computer one day, Briley and I decided to set up a studio in the computer room and get some quick pics. She is already 6 months in these pics. How time flies! She has started to develop her own personality and I love how she shows it. She reminds me so much of Taylor.

Brennan was being hilarious as you can see... once the camera came out he had to be a part of the fun as well.

Valentine's Day

2011-05-05T01:22:00.003-06:00

So here we are with a little more catch-up going on....
Valentine's Day is a fun day around our house. We have a tradition of having a Family Valentine's Breakfast. It's our Red and White Breakfast! Mom and Dad get to make it while the kids wait downstairs. We put a little fun something or other on their plate as a suprise and reminder of how they are our special Valentine's.
What a special day to say:

Hanging out...

2011-03-27T19:35:00.000-06:00

We got together with a few friends to help our good friend, Ty Bevans, throw a surprise party for his wife Ky. It was just a few couples, a night of games, food, cake & Ice cream, and a bunch of laughs. We thought we would try and fit all Ky's candles on one piece of cake, instead of a cake it looked more like a small forest fire! She could barely stop laughing to blow them out! It was such a hoot!

Kent and Krystie Wynder came with there little guy Tyson who is about 2 weeks older than Briley. They were so fun to watch as we put them in the exersaucer and jumper next to each other.

They had moments of what looked like serious discussion and then followed the ever more boisterous babbling. It was too precious! They seemed to be good friends from the get go! What a fun way to let go of the weeks stress! Thanks Ky for giving us a reason to get together!

Finishing up renovations

2011-03-27T19:23:00.003-06:00

So January was a month of finishing things....I already posted some pics of our Renovations, but I thought a few of how we got there would be fun as well. We had such hard workers all along the way I couldn't help but want to share some pics of the journey!

Taylor's friend Jennica helped us out as well!

What a hard working team, and I love each of them!!!

Playing Catch-up

2011-03-27T19:14:00.002-06:00

Okay...Okay...I can hear you all right now..."Some keeping up with the blog you are doing..." Well, I agree! The past 2 months feel like they have been insane and the last thing that I have had time for have been updating the blog. But now Gymnastics is over and we are starting to get our health back, but that is a story for upcoming posts. My goal is to try and update you on the last 2 months a bit each day over the next week. I hope you will have patience with me as I try to play catch-up and find my life again.

Home Improvement

2011-01-23T18:39:00.004-07:00

So I know some of you are thinking.."Yeah sure, Gen is going to keep up with her goal to blog more frequently....Where's she been lately?" Well, My answer is "Home Improvement" - No I haven't been spending countless hours on the couch watching episode after episode of the show, but I have been down in my basement trying to get it finished!I thought I would put up a few pics to give you an idea of what we have been up to!

We have been working in the familyroom, trying to get the trim up and ready for paint:

We built the shelves for the linen closet & got it painted. (As you can see I barely gave it time for the paint to dry before I filled it's shelves!)

Here's the boys room. We built the window seats, shelves in the closets, put up the trim and got it painted, and Nathan has been working on the boys forest mural! It just needs a few finishing touches like curtain rods & curtains, and hanging rods in the closets, but it will be move in ready soon!

No, it's not a coffin, it's inside the window seats:

The boys have plans to make their room out in Camo. So far we have camo curtians and bed sheets, and we have toy boxes we are going to paint like ammo boxes, etc. Hopefully they will love it! Here is a picture of Brennan guarding his door already-

Thanks to my neighbor, friend and Visiting Teaching companion who gave me an afternoon of her time we were able to get things spakled, sanded, caulked and painted in the hallway and Taylor's room got it's trim and window boxes done, so all we have left is the mural. She wants it to look like you are small in a big garden. She wants large flowers and danelions on the walls with Fairies and Butterflies, kinda a tall order, so we'll see how it all works out!

And finally my last thing to be excited about- I learned how to cut angels for bay window areas! I know this may not sound like a big feat for some of you, but I was so worried going into it....but it all worked out in the end!
So here is your brief update for now. So If you wonder where we have gone and never see us out and about anymore, you'll know we are working hard to get out basement completely finished!

New Year- A Look back to the past

2011-01-01T06:32:00.004-07:00

As the New Year has rolled around, I was inspired by my cousin Deb Burns to look back on my life and think of some of the things I have accomplished. She had this on her blog and gave instructions to bold the things you have done in your life. So here is a look at what I have already accomplished, and some thoughts on what I would still like to do:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris(actually was only able to go as high as it was open that day-not all the way to the top)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in movie
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book(does a picture book of our house building project count?)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House(drove by it in a speedy day trip to D.C)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Talked your way out of a ticket

Here are some of my future goals (not in any particular order):

1:Draw nearer to my Savior by increasing my scripture study and prayer
2:Become a more loving and understanding wife
3:Get to know my kids better- spend more one on one time with them
4:Make FHE a "NEVER MISS" event
5:Get back to my running ( I would love to complete a 1/2 marathon in my lifetime)
6:Lose another 12 pounds at least ( I have already lost 28)
7: Finish my basement
8:Get our Landscaping done
9:Learn more about my camera and Master my photography skills
10:Master my Budget
11: Be a better, more self less listener
12: Stay in touch with my close family that mean so much to me

These are just a start, but hopefully they will help me plan my days and use my time in a more effective manner! Happy New Year to you all and I hope this year brings love and Life fulfillment in all the aspects of your life you are searching for!

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-30T12:03:00.007-07:00

This year we stayed in Canada for Christmas. Christmas Eve we made our way out to Candace and Ethan's in Lethbridge for the day. The kids went sledding as Ethan pulled them behind the Quad.

Then they decorated gingerbread houses, at least for a while until they got bored and looked for new adventures to be had.

Here is Taylor's...

and Davin's army bunker....

and Brennan's rainbow house.

Nathan did fairly well throughout the evening, only falling asleep once next to Briley and once under a blanket in the corner.

The evening was terrific and the kids loved spending time with their cousins!

We made it back home around 11:15p.m. in just enough time for us to get home before Santa stopped by. The kids slept well and woke up at 7:30 a.m. to discover the "Magic" that Santa had left behind!

Taylor was so excited for her Footsie pajamas, she made sure she got a picture with both her and Briley in them.

We invited Aunt Susan and Marcheta for lunch and they brought with them Aunt Rhea from the Auxillary. We use to have Sunday dinners with her when we lived in the white house. So it was great to have her with us again. Nathan asked her to say the blessing on the food(which she use to do every Sunday), and she did a remarkable job. It brought back so many memories. We were able to convince the Aunts to stay for a couple of games and help Marcheta catch up on all the game playing she owes us from Christmas' past.

The day was wonderful, and exhausting, and full of terrific memories!

'Tis the Season

2010-12-13T09:19:00.004-07:00

Christmas has hit our house in full force already this year. We have carried on our German Advent tradition of having a few families over each of the four Sundays before Christmas. We have a small Christmas program and then share goodies and visit for a while. It is honestly one of my favorite things about Christmas! It makes Christmas feel like it last so much longer in my heart when we get to celebrate Christ's birth all throughout the month of December.

We have already had our Ward Christmas party at which the Primary Kids got to sing some carols and we listened to Taylor's School teacher's Daughter (try that out for a confusing mouthful) sing some Chirstmas songs as well. I tried to get a picture of Taylor but there was a first grader that was as tall as she was standing in fron of her, so I had no luck on that front.

Then Santa came! They had the kids on the stage when he walked in the back of the gym. And talk about holding on for dear life! They had his chair set up at the back of the gym, so it was like a tidal wave of kids running in and out of tables to be the first to reach him. Watch out Santa!!

It was Briley's first Santa experience, and she did marvelous!( mind you Taylor held her the whole time, so we kinda cheated but oh, well).

I have also been working on a Mod Podge Nativity that Nathan thought up and we just finished it last night...It was a super fun and fulfilling project. It has helped to bring Christmas into our lives even more. So on that note may I wish all of you a wonderful next couple weeks of the Christmas Season! Merry Christmas all!

Briley Dawn Smith

2010-12-08T09:07:00.006-07:00

The Morning of August 19th came so much quicker than we could have anticipated. We got the kids up and dressed and got them over to Auntie Cheryl's house to spend the day. (What a terrific Aunt we have!) Then we were off to the Lethbridge hospital!

You'd think that when they Schedule a C-section that you would know when you are having your baby...Well, as we found out the hard way, that is not always the case. We were set with the day (August 19th) and told to come in for 10:00a.m. My doctor told me that he didn't have any ER time scheduled, but that they would squeeze us in if anything opened up throughout the day. I had heard of other ladies having this happen to them and they were in fairly quickly, unfortunately that wasn't the case with us. We had arrived on time and as soon as we got there they got us all gowned up and preped with IV's started and waiting to go at a moments notice. I had to start fasting at midnight the night before and so when noon rolled around and they still hadn't gotten us in I was starting to feel a little on the queezy side. One of the nurses mentioned that she thought they might get us in around 4:00p.m. 4 PM!!! Do they know I hadn't put anything in my mouth since midnight!?!

I tried to sleep it off a bit while Nathan snuck down to the cafeteria to get lunch. I asked him what he had when he got back, but he refused to tell me just saying it was awful cafeteria food, and that I should be glad I didn't have to eat. (What a sweetie, eh?) We were lucky enough to have another couple waiting with us. The Barfuss' from Raymond. We actually knew her brother as he lives in Cardston. This seemed to help pass the time as we had someone to talk to. The guys provided entertainment as they started to experiment with things they found around the room, trying not to get caught by the nurses that occasionally poked their heads in to check on us.

Well, the hours continued to tick on by and my stomach was more than making it's pain known to me. Finally at 8:30p.m. we got word that they were going to come and get us any minute for surgery, and I was the lucky one that got to go first! Yippee! So they wheeled me down to the O.R. and got me moved to the operating table.

Then was the most dreaded part of the whole thing for me...the Spinal. The nurses helped me breath through the pain of the needle going in and within just a few minutes I was down on the table and couldn't feel anything from my neck down....Except the nausia. We told the anethesiologist that when my blood pressure drops that I start to throw up. He kindly nodded and said he would keep an eye on things. It wasn't until Nathan was holding a puke bin and I had lost what was never in my stomach to begin with, that he finally believed that I was telling the truth. He raised my blood pressure and I only had one more puking incident throughout the surgery.

We decided that we didn't want to find out at the ultra sounds whether it was a boy or a girl, so we were anxiously waiting to get word. Finally at 9:15p.m. I heard a little cry and the words "It's a girl!". I don't know whether it was the drugs I was on or just my utmost excitement, but I had a hard time stopping the tears from cascading down my face. After getting to have her wrapped up close to my face for a few minutes they wisked her away to get her bathed and I was left to my memories as they finished sewing me up.

On my way to the recovery room I was able to give my best wishes to the Barfuss' and then saw their little boy being brought out past me after he was born. It seemed like a lot of waiting, but 2 beautiful babies entered the world that night and both were worth the wait!

When I got back to the room I got to visit with Mom and Dad Smith and Uncle Stuart, as I waited for our little 7.6 pound, 21 inch long miracle to be brought in. We were glad she had finally made it here. In the beginning of my pregnancy we had 4 threatened miscarriages and by 4 months we had already had 5 ultrasounds. We were so excited that her birth was fairly uneventful!

We named her Briley Dawn Smith(Dawn after her great grandpa Donald Earl MacPherson). She has been adored by her siblings and such a sweet addition to our home!

Time to take over

2010-12-08T08:57:00.003-07:00

Okay, here goes. I have usually left the Blogging up to Nathan, be it that I was too overwhelmed by the process, or that I was too overwhelmed with keeping up with life, I'm not sure which one. But I think it is finally my turn to buck up and take a turn at. It has been forever since we have really updated this with anything other than Jib Jab videos, so I am not really sure where to start, but I will give it my best go and see if over the next little while I can post some short entries that will update you a bit. So here's to hoping I can do a little bit of updating and keep on top of the rest of my life as well!

Soccer Season

2010-06-09T16:03:00.001-06:00

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Have Yourself a Happy Snow-day

2009-12-01T22:31:00.002-07:00

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Snow for December

2009-12-01T22:12:00.001-07:00

It's been a long fall... Even though we would like to get a few more things done to the outside of the house, it was nice to see snow fall for December. It now feels like the Christmas season. Enjoy the video!

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Ward & School Halloween Costumes

2009-10-30T09:32:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween

2009-10-27T09:36:00.002-06:00

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26.2 miles at the Top of Utah

2009-09-23T13:34:00.001-06:00

Saying Goodbye!

2009-04-12T22:57:00.007-06:00

After a long week of long hours on the house, we spent Friday morning with the kids. They loved painting Easter eggs with Grandma and Grandpa before they departed back to Utah.Brennan found a constant friend in Grandpa as all he usually said was "Gwampa, I NEED you!" before dragging him off in one direction or another.

We don't feel like we made the usually fun-filled memories while they were here, but we did make it out to dinner Thursday night, and enjoyed their company during the long work filled days. Mom and Dad Smith were angels to open their home to them to sleep at nights (as the cabin can get a little tight for too many people and only 1 bathroom). This week flew by so quickly. The clock struck 10:00 and a few tears and hugs and kisses later they were on their way home. Thank you so much for the week!

Jess' Grad pics

2009-04-12T22:27:00.002-06:00

One of the breaks I took this week was to take Jess out to some ruins on the Smith Ranch and do a little photo shooting! She's looking for a few to send out with her Graduation announcements this year. After about 5 outfits, a little gopher hunting for me while she did wardrobe changes, navigating through cow manure, fighting with the glaring sun and 217 picutres later, here are just a few of our results..

What a beautiful young lady she has become! Love ya Jess!

Send in the reinforcements!!!

2009-04-12T22:05:00.005-06:00

This last week was a heaven send! Mom & Dad Buckner and Jess drove 11 hours from Utah. To do what? Yes...work on the house...gotta love'em. They arrived Monday afternoon and even after driving since 6:30 came over and worked on the house until around 10p.m. That's what I call devotion, undying sacrifice, service, charity, love, and the list goes on. Just when I thought I couldn't continue to work any more, they came and gave me the boost I need to make it to the finish(hopefully). We worked on patching, priming, sanding, taping, masking, more sanding, more patching, more priming, and still more and more sanding. They seemed to feel new muscles that they hadn't felt for a while. I was impressed as dad even jumped on Nathan's painting stilts to cut in the ceilings, and didn't fall. Talk about skill.

They kept us on our toes and constantly working from sun-up to sun-down. (Although Jess and I did sneak away for a few hours to do her "grad" photo shoot -I'll post a few pics on that next). For us Buckners to get together and not include a games night is pretty rare, but this trip was pretty much all business, and we love them for it!

Thanks Mom, Dad and Jess for your love, patience, and hard work...we couldn't have gotten this far without you!

100 Things I May Have Done

2009-03-26T12:26:00.004-06:00

Just copy the list and bold the ones you have done...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Rock Band, heck ya!)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in movie
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Talked your way out of a ticket

Date at the Smith Ranch

2009-03-22T22:56:00.006-06:00

Saturday came with plans of more and more painting....only to find us too burned out to actually do any. We didn't have our sitters scheduled to come until noon, so we decided to make a morning of going out to the Smith Ranch. We took the kids out to visit Grandma Belle, Aunt Susan, Aunt Marcheta and Uncle Ricks. We had a wonderful time chatting away the morning while we waited for the weather to warm up a bit. We brought our binoculars for some bird watching and our guns for some gopher hunting.

I know, I know... I never thought I would be able to shoot any living thing with anything other than a camera, but when it comes to a ranch I am learning how troublesome these little creatures can be to cattle. They create holes that cattle step into unawares and break their ankles, essentially killing the cattle. The gophers also eat the grass, taking it from the cows..I think Ricks told us 20 gophers can eat as much grass as one cow.(don't quote me on that, I can't remember the numbers exactly) So in order to protect the herd a little gopher control is always in order.

Since we chatted away the morning with the aunts, we only had about 20 mins for the kids to get a chance to shoot the guns and bolt down to the barn store for the traditional "Mountain View Ice Cream run", before the sitters made it to our place in Cardston.

The kids each shot about 3 shells with Brennan saying "Again! Again!" (He was shooting into a hill of snow and loved to watch the snow shower everything once it was struck.)Then we had to run. We made it home to meet the sitters and drop off the kids. We grabbed our painting clothes and took off. Nathan suggested going back out the the ranch for a little while so we could have a turn shooting as well, then we would come back and paint.

For the next 7 hours we were lost in the world of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. We met up with Ricks and Cheryl (and Brandi and Kole were with us for the first hour or so). After sighting in the guns, and testing them out on the targets we were ready to go. And GO we did as we raced each other in the trucks back to the Ranch house for lunch. With Brandi & Kole on the back of Ricks' flat bed truck, and Nathan and I in the lead, I wasn't sure whether we were going to lose them off the back or me out the window first. I was officially scared and ready to kiss the manure covered ground by the time we reached the house.

We stopped for some amazing lunch with the Aunts and stayed to chat some more. Cheryl and I kept hinting at getting back out to do a little hunting while Nathan and Ricks were carried away in conversation. Cheryl and I finally stood up and started saying our good-byes in order to get the guys moving.

We loaded into the 2 trucks and made our way out to the fields to do some gopher patroling. I chuckled to see two trucks driving through the fields with a gun out each window...can you say "You might be a Red neck?"

I earned the nick name of "Sharpshooter", but I owe any shooting skills to Nathan's teaching skills and his work on sighting in my Marlin so well.

What an amazing day off and date time! I think it was the first time I have been out with Nathan without construction tools in hand. Can't wait for a repeat of the day!

High as a Kite

2009-03-22T22:41:00.004-06:00

Well, we have finally made it to the painting stage at the new house!! Yippeee, or should I say "Wowsers"....Friday night we were able to spray out our Trim using a product that is an oil based primer/sealer called Kilz. You can tell by the pictures that it does a good job of covering things!

Yes, Nathan's wonderful make-up job was a result of wearing a headsock and respirator, while spraying tight spaces like closet shelves. Even though both of us had on respirators, It only took a couple hours to start feeling light headed and numb around the lips. We slowly developed a case of the giggles, and had a hard time walking. We did make it home to our poor babysitter who didn't know what to think about us anymore. Needless to say, this house has created memories that will be hard to erase!

Saving the world one poop at a time!

2009-03-22T22:26:00.008-06:00

As of late, Brennan has become a little stripper. He is in the process of potty training, and so if he ends up going in his diaper he will take it off as soon as he is dirty. Well the first Sunday in March as we were slowly waking up from a lovely Sunday Afternoon nap, we heard Taylor scream upon entering the Livingroom. We rushed in to see this...

Which upon a closer look was this:

Needless to say, I'm not quite sure whether he was using Spiderman to rescue him from his poop, or whether he was attempting to rescue spiderman from the poop monster...anyways, we will know who to call the next time the poop monster decides to attack..."Never Fear....Spidie's Here!"

The first of many...

2009-03-22T22:11:00.004-06:00

All Gymnasts know that gymnastics is not a sport without risk...Taylor experienced that first hand this last week, as she sustained her first major gymnastics injury. She was up on the high bar in a front support and did a roll over to a long hang down from the high bar. Miscalculating how close the low bar was, she wacked her heel on the low bar as she was coming down.

Of Course, mom was right there and watched the whole thing. Being the combination of coach and mom that night I told her to sit it out the rest of the night and we would see how things looked in the morning. (Thinking of course that she would shake it off and be fine by morning)...Morning came and to the ER we went for X-rays. The X-rays showed a slight fracture in her growth plate(the small bone that looks like a crescent moon -right behind the major bone in the heel). Taylor loved the idea of being able to go to school with her crutches the first day. But after her arm pits were rubbed raw and she got frustrated with the number of things she couldn't do, the crutches got old-fast.

The swelling has continued and it still pains her to put any weight on her heel, but she is moving around much quicker these days. She will be out of gymnastics for the rest of this season, but I'm sure this injury won't keep her down for long and she will be bouncing all over the gym again in no time.

Updated Photos on the House

2009-03-14T22:04:00.003-06:00

Boys in Hats

2009-03-14T21:44:00.001-06:00

New Sleeping Bags

2009-03-14T21:38:00.007-06:00

Gen and I are slowly working on backpacking gear for a trip to Juan de Fuca just South of West Coast Trail in B.C. next spring. Our sleeping bags came just the other day... a little different than most bags. Check 'em out for a good laugh. We are hoping to get a number of backpack trips in this summer in Waterton and possibly Utah to prepare.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-11T21:46:00.004-06:00

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The Not-so-updated Update

2009-03-08T23:46:00.001-06:00

Well, these are pics of the basement before we framed it up. Over the past couple of weeks, we have both framed and boarded it. It's amazing to watch it take shape, and we are glad to be getting the mudding and taping out of the way before we move in... it'll keep the dust down. I think we were most excited about getting stairs in.

These Boot Were Made for Walking

2009-03-08T23:33:00.002-06:00

Just thought I would throw a couple pics up since we haven't updated our site for a while. The boys were just trying out our snowboots. It kept them busy for a while.

Taught 'Em Everything I Know (took a couple of minutes)

2009-02-06T08:00:00.004-07:00

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Don't Be Jealous of My Moves

2009-02-06T07:29:00.006-07:00

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Tay Gets Her Ears Pierced

2009-01-31T22:47:00.001-07:00

My little girl is finally growing up! For nine years she's never wanted her ears pierced and has been too scared to do it. But last week she came home asking if she could finally get her ears pierced! I have to admit that I was extremely proud of her as she worked hard to earn her own money to get them done. Friday afternoon she had enough money saved up and called her Auntie Cheryl to come hold her hand, and we made our way down to Barb's Glitter N' Glitz. All the way down there in the car she kept telling me that she was too scared. I gave her the option to not do it, but she wouldn't hear of it. So 15 mins later we walked out of the store with a grown up Taylor, who was overly excited to tell & show everyone what she did! I was impressed with her courage and drive to pay for it herself. That night we had a girls night and had to paint her fingernails to match her earrings. What a day to remember!

Davin's First Winter Camp

2009-01-31T22:18:00.001-07:00

Davin and I got back fom his first Winter camp today. He was quite a trooper. He held in through the cold wind, snow and rain. I was proud of him.

"I want to do the BREAD thing!"

2009-01-01T20:40:00.012-07:00

This year's New Years Eve party was all about the kids. We did an early evening countdown with all the works... balloons, noise makers, bubbly, and a toast from Taylor. All the kids got right into it, and we were glad for an early bedtime. The next morning, the kids all climbed into bed with us. We were all wishing each other a happy New Year when Davin asked if we could do the "bread thing." We were a little confused by his request which he repeated a number of times. When given the chance to explain himself he said, "The bread thing... where we hit our glasses together." Needless to say, we had more than one type of toast that morning.

On New Year's Day

2009-01-01T20:40:00.007-07:00

Nothing like celebrating the new year by working on our house. Enjoy a couple of pictures from today's drywall adventure.

A Cold in My Nose

2008-12-12T08:20:00.003-07:00

A Christmas Choir

2008-12-11T20:04:00.003-07:00

Taylor entertained at the Jr. Choir's Christmas presentation for us last night. It made for a great evening. I'll post a video of a funny song they performed called "A Cold in My Nose" as soon as I get a faster internet connection.