Gingerbread Houses

I've been trying to be as festive and Christmas minded as I can this year, mostly I've been trying to do all the traditional Christmas activities. So for Family Home Evening this week I thought we could make some Gingerbread houses, (which in reality ours weren't all that traditional since they were made out of graham crackers, not gingerbread). Regardless, it was a lot of fun and the kids, especially Ellie, really enjoyed themselves. I think that she did as much eating as she did decorating, and by the end she was mixing everything she could find with the remainder of the royal icing into a new creation of "Gingerbread Soup."

Thomas was just happy to be playing with the box and glad to be snacking on the occasional candies.

In the hopes of building the biggest house on the block, Heath's house had a few structural issues. We all had a great time and what a wonderful blessing to spend time with our family. No matter what Christmas brings from year to year, it's so easy to see what the Lord has blessed us with and why we celebrate the birth of our Saviour.

Christmas Parade

It is still strange to me that any town would have a Christmas parade, only because if anyone tried to put on a Christmas parade in Idaho, no one would show because it would be like 5 degrees below zero and in the middle of a blizzard or something. Regardless, it is a very fun tradition that I've enjoyed here in Big Spring. We bundled up on Saturday evening and had a great time enjoying the parade with Janie and Rayford. The kids loved it and it was another great activity help us enjoy the Christmas Season.

Breakfast with Santa

The Heritage Museum in town was putting on a new annual event of "Breakfast with Santa." You could bring your kids and have a doughnut and juice, get your face painted, and visit with Santa and Mrs. Clause. Of course both Ellie and Thomas were very unsure of Santa and Mrs. Clause. Ellie wouldn't even talk to them, look at them, or pose for a picture. Thomas just stared at them, although Mrs. Clause was able to bribe him with the goody bag for a quick picture.

There were lots of beautiful trees that the community and different organizations have put together for display. All Thomas wanted to do was pull of every single ornament off of every single tree.

The face painting was also sort of frighting event for
Ellie. I made Thomas go first so that she could see that there was no harm.

She was very brave and was quite the little trooper. And in the end she was so proud of the little angel on her face.

Let it Snow!

Friday morning we woke up to a little bit of a surprise; SNOW!!! For Big Spring, Texas this was a big deal. And for a certain little 3 year old it was an especially big deal. Ellie and Thomas had quite a wonderful time playing in the snow. Ellie was quite the little explorer and wanted to stay out all day, she kept saying "Help me make a snowball fight!" Thomas on the other hand was happy to be outside for a while but wasn't quite sure about all the cold. I have to say it really makes it feel like Christmas time when the weather is a bit colder. It really was a nice surprise for an Idaho girl.

Our New Car

Over the course of the past year we have sort of out grown our little Saturn (aka Heath's pick-up). So the last few weeks we've been looking and searching and we found this little beauty. We love it! It's big enough for the whole family and then some. It has everything that we were looking for; it has power locks and windows, cruise, 4 wheel drive, sunroof, CD player, three rows of seats (seating for 7) and a healthy V-6. Needless to say we are very happy with our purchase and have no buyers remorse whatsoever. And Heath was "negotiator of the year" and got us a great deal! Hopefully there will be lots of wonderful roadtrips ahead.

Please Take Me With You!

What a day! Well, its 11:17pm, the kids are asleep, I have full control of the computer and I actually have some time to blog! My morning began about 2:00 am, getting up with Thomas, who apparently thought that it was a good idea to be awake, WRONG! And after an hour with him it was time to get up to take Heath the airport. He had to hop a flight to Salt Lake so he could be in Rexburg for a hearing tomorrow. I told him numerous times that I wish I was going with him. Yes, for moral support AND so that I could see my brother and sister-in-law, visit old friends, see a little snow, reminisce the good-ole days of college life and maybe even do a session in the Rexburg Temple (We moved before it was completed, bummer).
Maybe another day...

As much as I wish I was somewhere else tonight, I'm grateful and truly happy to be home with my beautiful children. And I'm anxiously awaiting Heath's return!

Rattlesnake Roundup

As a "Yankee" living in Texas I am constantly being introduced to many new things. Christmas parades, fried okra, as Heath says "a REAL rodeo", all sorts of plants that could easily kill you and yes, The Rattlesnake Roundup. We had the opportunity to attend the annual Big Spring Rattlesnake Roundup, what a show! It was really quite fascinating. The reason for the Roundup is to obtain the venom from the rattlesnakes by "milking" them. They use the venom in making anti-venom and also for research in other medicines. Pest control also happens to be a lovely side effect of the Rattlesnake Roundup.
There were all sorts of rattlesnake paraphernalia to purchase and also the floor show where death defying acts were taken place, crawling in a sleeping bag full of rattlesnakes, the Kiss of Death, and the world famous snake handler Jackie Bibby swinging rattlesnakes in his mouth. Pretty impressive, but definitely not some thing that I'll be training for anytime soon!


In the other half of the building they had all the rattlesnakes in this "pit" and they would put a bunch in a bucket and send it over to the next guy.

He would then milk the snake to extract the venom.

Then the snakes would continue down the line to the chopping block. Watch out!

And then onto the skinning station. After she was done cleaning them up she would take them directly over to the concessions booth, where they would chop, bread and fry them.

Certainly no Rattlesnake Roundup would be complete without biting into some deep fried rattlesnake. Yum!

Fun, Sun, RUN!!!

This last weekend we loaded up the Jeep and headed to Moab, UT. Charlotte, Annie and some friends of theirs were running in a half marathon and we all decided to show up and cheer them on (we also needed a good excuse to get together for the weekend)! Heath had the idea to leave Big Spring on Wednesday evening and depart on our 13 hour trip hoping that the children would sleep the whole way. Well the children and the dog did very well, but I was trying to sleep in the back seat between car seats, while Heath was a rock star and drove us the whole way there while downing caffeine and pistachio nuts and listening to his MP3 player really loudly. Thankfully, we arrived safe and sound.


We showed up Thursday morning and spent the day with Cory, Susan, Heather, Spencer and Charlotte. There was swimming, horseshoes, and yummy Chinese food. Friday was filled more family - Mom, Dad, Nicole (who surprised us all!), Annie, Derik, Jessica, Levi, Stacy, and Rachel. We played games, ate a lot of good food and had a grand time. Saturday was the race and the girls got up bright and early to get bussed up the canyon to the starting line, and about noon we all headed down to the finish line to see them come in. What a feat! I'm so proud of all of them, but especially Charlotte! She made up her mind to run 13 miles, trained for months, pushed further than she had before and completed the race with a wonderful time. She truly is amazing! After the race we had more yummy food and birthday cake for Levi.

It was an awesome weekend and worth the time, money, and distance to see everyone and we are looking forward to it next year.

I've Been Tagged

Weeks ago my sister-in-law tagged me and since I'm very slow to get anything done here I go!

This was taken January 18, 2006 in front of our house in Rexburg. We lived in this house while we managed apartments...what an adventure! This was a typical amount of snow that would fall in a days time in Rexburg (and yes this is the very reason that I've been loving the winter here in Texas). That's me all bundled up in front after I came out to take some pictures of Heath who had been snow-blowing that morning. It's so funny to think back when we were first married; going to school, before kids, before "real life". It sometimes seems like I'm looking into a different life. Oh the things that life brings to us, life truly is an adventure.

Here are the rules
1. Go to the 4th folder where you keep your pictures on your computer.
2. Post the 4th picture in the folder.
3. Explain the photo.
4. Tag 4 fellow bloggers

I tag Annie, Hollie, Susan, & Danielle

Growing Like a Weed

Its hard to believe that Thomas is already 6 months old! He's growing so fast. He's sitting up by himself, eating solid foods, trying to crawl, and jabbers all day long. And big news for the week...His first tooth finally came in! He had his 6 month check up this week and is doing well. He's up to 18 lbs, 12 oz and still 27 inches long. He loves to watch is big sister and he just laughs and laughs at her. I know it wont be long before I'm chasing him around the house.

El Diablo Bees

It wasn't 10 minutes after we got home from church on Sunday when we got a phone call. It was a panicking woman who lived in Highland South with a SWARM OF BEES! AAAHHH! Well, Heath was ecstatic. He jumped in the car and headed over to his dad's place to pick up all his equipment.

So Heath and Rayford were off to save the day...so they thought. They showed up to the house and got ready to hive the swarm (this requires the mass of bees to be shaken from the branch into the hive body). This process is USUALLY quite easy and is done without any major complications. Apparently, this particular swarm of bees had been there for several days, were cold, hungry, and agitated! So, when the initial shake hit the bees, they were off! Heath, who was not wearing a veil, was stung in the eyebrow and the eyelid twice, and then on the hands about 8-10 times. Rayford was stung on his right hand and arm at least 17 times, and a few times on his left hand-he was smart and wore a veil. And all Heath can say is, "All in all, it was a lot of fun!" He was happy and grateful for a new hive of bees, and after the bees were well fed and happily settled in their new home they have turned out to be very nice bees.

Heath's eye was swollen shut for a day and a half and Rayford's hand and arm were also very swollen. This is the second swarm they have picked up this year and Heath can't wait for the next call.

Our New Addition

About 4 weeks ago we Heath and I decided that, against all our reservations we would get a dog. I'm not such a fan of having an inside-dog, but we are hoping it will really help Ellie. Ellie is (for lack of a better word) terrified of animals lately. Ever since the attack-of-the-roster incident, she's been very afraid of all animals. So after weeks of Ellie asking "That dog (or whatever animal she sees) gonna get me?" we thought that if we had a little dog that could be her friend it might help with her trust issues. We went to the humane society and found a cute little dog that's perfect for Ellie.

The dog is about 7 months old and she's as timid as Ellie is. They run around the house startling one another. Ellie sees her coming around the corner and jumps and the dog sees Ellie jumping and squealing and then they both run the other way. She's very sweet and really easy going. We still haven't decided on a name, and I don't think Cory's pick of "Franky" is going to stick. Sorry!

I think that they are perfect for each other...although there are somethings that Ellie still needs to learn. Like no grabbing of the tail!

Do You Love Your Local Beekeeper?

Heath is fascinated, (dare I say obsessed) with bees. I guess he came about it all honestly from an early age, when he was 15 starting out with his father keeping approximately 500 hives. Our house is littered with bee paraphernalia; magazines, books, hive equipment, books, and more books. There have been many nights laying in bed that I've gone to sleep listening to Heath explain the many wonders that make up apis melifera (the honeybee).

After five years of marriage, I feel like I know many things about the honeybee, at least more so than the average person, and I do have to say...they truly ARE fascinating little creatures. So last week as we were building frames I told Heath that the next time he opened up his hives to do a little maintenance, I would like to help. Today we suited up in our bee gear (not the most flattering look, but at least I wasn't stung!), fired up the smoker and away we went. We (and when I say "we" I mean Heath, with me standing behind him watching and taking pictures) fed the bee sugar syrup and pollen substitute (last year was a really dry year and the bees didn't have the food stores that they should have). He pointed out the different anatomy of the hive; brood, honey, pollen, larva, etc.

They are amazing and intricate little beings! Only a brilliant Father in Heaven could have created a such small insect to work together in one perfect unit. "I have determined in writing this book to give facts, however wonderful, just as they are; confident in due time they will be universally received; and hoping that the many wonders of the economy of the honeybee will not only excite a wider interest in its culture, but lead those who observe them to adore the wisdom of Him who gave them such admirable instincts." -Reverend L. L. Langstroth (The father of modern beekeeping)

And yes, I do love my local beekeeper!

Sick and Tired!

Working in retail Heath comes into contact with a lot of people everyday and he assures me that in farm retail he comes into contact with a lot of dirty people everyday. So when Heath came home sick on Tuesday I knew it was just a matter of time before we all caught it. (And as a matter of clarification I'm not blaming Heath, I just know that when one member of the family is sick it's inevitable that others will follow suit.) Well, by Friday morning my throat was starting to feel a little sore and by that night Ellie was starting to run a fever.

On Saturday morning I got up with Ellie who had a horrible fever and was just needing lots of love. As we were sitting watching a movie, she kept saying "I wanna cupcake" and I kept telling her "No", well the next thing I know, she had thrown up all over herself and me. So I had her in the tub, crying her eyes out and by that time Thomas had woke up with a fever, screaming at the top of his lungs. I was tyring to juggle the two of them when Heath came to my rescue. It seemed as if it was one thing after another all day long. So by 1:00am with Ellie finally in bed, Heath trying to sleep I was up with Thomas who had been crying for hours. I found I had reached by breaking point, and Heath had to come and rescue me once more...Needless to say it was a long day.

So today we just decided to take it easy and have a family day at home to try and recover from our ailments. We've had day full of movies, medicine and naps hoping to pass the time as comfortably and happily as possible. As fevers subside and stomachs settle, I'm praying that tomorrow will be a better day for us all.

Our Winter Wonderland

I have always loved the winter season. And when I say winter I envision sledding, snowboarding, skiing, a white Christmas, driving on icy roads (or at least trying to), hot chocolate and roaring fires. Well, this winter has been anything but the ordinary for me. We have been having the most enjoyable weather while everyone else in the nation seems to be getting some of the worst. When Dad told me that the river in Lewiston had actually frozen over I couldn't believe it. He told me that Grandpa Smith (who is 85) can't remember that ever happening.

But here in Texas it's quite a different story. Ellie has enjoyed every sunny day that we've had and she's been quite busy with her out side activities. She's becoming a pro on her bicycle and loves to blow bubbles. Hopefully we will continue to be blessed with sunshine and warmth.

The Smith Family Challenge

This Monday kicked off the "Smith Family Weight Loss Challenge!" The Challenge involves Mom & Dad, Cory & Susan, Derik & Jessica, Charlotte, Heather, Nicole and Heath and myself (so the whole Smith clan). There was a $20 "entry fee" and the person who looses the largest percentage of their beginning body weight wins the pot. We began on the fifth and we are concluding on the day of Charlotte's Half Marathon in Moab. (go Charlotte!!) Eleven weeks in all.

Heath and I have hit the ground running and are pretty motivated. We weighed in at 2** and 1** (like I would really post what I weighed on the Internet). Monday we signed up at the gym and have been working out everyday. We've been eating really well and giving all of our junk food to Ellie. So come March Heath and I will probably be down to our target weights but we may have an obese daughter. We'll continue to work hard and hopefully reach, at least, our personal goals! And to all you Smiths...Bring it On!