The Smith Family

Turning 30 is not so bad

2009-05-21T20:57:00.003-04:00

I did it! I am now a part of the "30 and over" club. Michael threw me a party in the North End (the Italian district - on the water - in Boston). We ordered dinner from Blue-Ribbon BBQ and played Boccie ball with our friends. It was such a wonderful birthday. Thank you Michael. You are so thoughtful.

This vitamin holder and One-A-Day vitamins were from my dear marathon buddy, Ryan Butters. This may have been the best gift I could have imagined for! Thanks for reminding me that I am supposed to feel old!

Nature Hike

2009-05-10T20:50:00.005-04:00

Some friends of ours and I took our children to a nature preserve in early May. The kids loved discovering all the plant and animal life that flourished in this garden. They especially loved the picnic we had while we were there!

Andrew and his best friend Carter.

Boston Marathon 2009

2009-04-21T20:09:00.001-04:00

This is the line in front of the State House to get on the buses that take you to Hopkinton - the start of the race.

Destination - the finish line - picture taken the day before the race.

These are the two girls that I trained with. Both ladies qualified for Boston. Needless to say they are fast! I almost died training the long runs with them. It was really hard moving my normal pace a minute (or more) faster in order to keep up with them. . . for 14 miles!

I felt incredible the entire race. Kristy Williams joined me at mile 20 right before heartbreak hill. It was really nice to have her to run in with!

These are the guys that I started the race with, Allen and Ryan. It was so much fun running with them . . . the jokes just kept coming and coming. It certainly kept my mind off the race for the first several miles!

I stopped for a moment to give Andrew a hug. He was so upset that I said goodbye and kept running. It took weeks for him to get over it. Every time he sees something with the Boston Marathon emblem on it, he says that "he doesn't want me to run it anymore. He wants to run it and win it!" I wish him all the speed in the world. Luckily, he's already off to a good start, my little Andrew doesn't stop moving!

The marathon was just as meaningful for me this year as it was last year. Catie is still battling cancer so I wanted to run and fundraise for Dana Farber again. I was a little more hesitant to put myself through all the training and the time commitment this year because I was still carrying injuries from the previous year, but I knew that I wouldn't feel right about it if the marathon came and went and I hadn't taken the opportunity to be a part of it. So, I started physical therapy and went weekly for about three months during training. A month before the race my therapist told me that I wasn't to run again until the marathon. I was instructed to cross train in a pool and run in deep water - as exciting as it sounds - it wasn't. Running in water for an hour gets a little boring, and redundant. But, it helped spare my body from further injury. Because of my injuries, the farthest I was able to train was 16 miles . . . after investing so much time and energy to get up to a 16 miler, I was really disappointed that knew I wouldn't be able to run the marathon like I had hoped. When I began the race in Hopkinton, I wanted to at least make it half way through. As the miles ticked away, I was shocked how good my body felt. I kept my pace slow and steady to preserve myself for the last few miles. Surprisingly, I felt stronger and had more energy than the first time I ran. I never hit a wall, I felt happy the entire time and, best of all, I finished!

All in all, the training and the fundraising went really well. We ended up raising over $10,500 this year. Thank you to all who supported and donated. Your help has made a difference in so many lives.

Naptime

2009-04-15T15:04:00.000-04:00

Andrew is three and a half and he still takes naps. Granted, his bedtime is getting pushed back later and later (I realize he is probably ready to stop napping, but I love my quiet time in the middle of the day to get a few things done). Before he woke up I was able to capture this picture. He takes such great care lining each one up on the pillow, tucks them in and sends them off to sleep before he drifts off himself.

Happy Birthday my precious Jacob

2009-04-06T21:50:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Jacob's birthday with Michael's section again, so this was my attempt at making a carousel cake that fed more than 90 people. In fact, we had three pieces left at the end. The bottom layer is a double 16 inch round cake that took 4 cake mixes and the carousel on top took another two.

Jacob loved blowing out his candles, but several section mates loved helping!

I adore my little Jacob. He is just so darling, kind hearted, and precious. I am so thrilled that he came into our family . . . I'm even grateful now that he came sooner that we expected! It has been a wonderful 2 years. Happy Birthday sweet little boy.

Crimson Kids Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-01T21:34:00.000-04:00

Once a month the children's organization on campus, Crimson Kids, usually plans an event for the children. This was the first event that the "new" Crimson Kids group was in charge of. The kids loved it but weren't too hot about the bunny.

A section mate of Michael's volunteered to be our Easter Bunny. What a champ! He really took a hit for the team wearing that costume. Although it terrified most of the children!

Spring Break 2009

2009-03-23T15:43:00.020-04:00

This is the 5 bedroom villa that we were in, the view and the room we stayed in.

Nothing to do but kayak every day. Talk about living!

These two scary creatures swam right up into our private beach. It was incredible!

LOVE these boys. They had such a blast. And their most difficult decision everyday was wether to go to the beach or the pool. Hard life. Really hard.

Despite 50SPF sunblock, Jacob still managed to get tan through the holes in his Crocks. It was darling!

Turks and Caicos was amazing. I have to thank Kristy and Joel for their memories of the trip (most of my blog is verbatim what Kristy wrote . . . because I am actually blogging 8 months later!) and Joel took some amazing pictures of our little cove.

For those wanting a little more detail than the summary above the pictures, read on. We were joined by Rich, Rethsey, and their 5 month old girl Nayeli, along with Joel and Kristy and their son, Thomas. Kristy, of course, found our lodging on the internet; the pictures looked decent, but we didn't have a good sense of what the area would be like or how the house would look in real life. When we arrived at the house, located on the south side of the island (opposite from all the resorts) on Sapodilla Bay, we were very pleasantly surprised. The house was much nicer than expected and the set up was perfect...we had our own little private beach and were walking distance to a bigger beach (~50 yards). We had 4 sea kayaks at our disposal and plenty of lounging chairs and umbrellas (contrary to what the rental agreement suggested). Also, we had rented out the main house, which has 3 bedrooms, but were able to use the guest house as well. A pretty perfect set up!

Saturday afternoon and evening was spent enjoying the beach and ocean and the gorgeous views. Joel and Rich did make a trip to the grocery store and were shocked SHOCKED at the prices. They spent ~$170 on food, including 3 boxes of CocoRageous (think chocolate flavored rice crispies). CocoRageous quickly became the signature dish of the trip. I won't name names, but many people ate it for breakfast, mid-day snack, dessert, and even snuck in another bowl before bed. We bought at least 4 more boxes before the end of the trip. Sunday was a low key day, with more relaxing, followed by our own little church service in the evening (the island doesn't have formal LDS services). On Monday we were greeted by some heavy winds, so we decided to drive up to Grace Bay - the resort area- and check things out. The beach/ocean was pretty, but very different from Sapodilla Bay. There were actual waves! Where we stayed, the ocean was shallow (knee-deep) for at least 50 yards, with no real waves to speak of (perfect for little kids!). Perhaps because of the wind, the beach was largely deserted despite the long line of large resorts along the beach. We walked around a bit, scheduled scuba trips for those who were planning to go for later that week, and had a less than stellar meal at one of the local restaurants. After our Grace Bay trip, we decided on a few things: we were okay to eat at home the rest of the time, and we were happy to be far from the resort side of town.

Tuesday was a stay-at-home kind of day, filled with time at the beach, in the ocean, in the pool, and on the kayaks. On Wednesday Rich and Rethsey went scuba diving. And Thursday Kristy and Joel took their turn. Both couples loved it and said the scuba was fantastic. Michael and I are not certified, and didn't have a huge desire togo this time around. It was so incredible to have absolutely nothing to do . . . no agenda . . . nothing but family time. So relaxing! So relaxing. Friday was another stay-at-home day, and on Saturday we said goodbye while the others headed to the airport and then relaxed until our flight went out the next day.

It is always nice to head back home, but we absolutely needed a break from the cruel winter and from the constant grind that is our lives. We love being busy, but having a week with nothing to do but spend time together was truly wonderful.

A weekend of pure JOY

2009-03-06T13:48:00.001-05:00

This is my friend Catie, her husband Steve, and her beautiful children. She has been battling cancer for almost two years and we all missed her so much that eight of her college roommates decided to fly to North Carolina to be with her for the weekend. It was a miracle that we could all find a weekend that worked out for the nine of us!

We were giddy when we all showed up at her doorstep. Words can hardly describe how wonderful it felt to be back with my dearest friends. Obviously, during chemotherapy Catie's hair fell out, so she gave us all matching hat so we could all keep our heads warm through the winter the same way that she did.

We all filled out a 10 year time-line to track all that has happened since we left each other in college. I loved seeing what everyone had accomplished in such a short amount of time. While many of us have kept in close touch over the years, it was great to rekindle our relationships together.

Catie exudes joy. She is so full of hope and light. Her laughter filled us up all weekend.

We went out to lunch together one of the afternoons and then to Duke Gardens. We could barely get anything done all weekend because we were talking and laughing so much.

Courtside 304 Girls

Courtside 302 Girls

Sorority Sisters

The entire weekend was incredible. Indescribable. and Perfect. We love you Catie!

Trained

2009-02-05T14:32:00.002-05:00

In the midst of terrible threes, we decided to potty train Andrew. For three days we did little but eat, drink, and go potty. I was so concerned that he would fight it (because that is all we have been doing these days) but . . .HE was a CHAMP!

I think this was the thing he needed . . . It certainly helped him out of his tantrum stage! I'll be willing to bet he felt like needed something that he was in control of . . . for once. This has turned out to be more than I could have hoped for! I now have a potty-trained little boy, and my Andrew back. Plus, he's asking to take naps again!!! Welcome back sweetie. I have missed you!

Sushi Anyone?

2009-01-25T13:32:00.003-05:00

Andrew had always loved sushi. Weird, huh?

He ended up eating 6 California rolls! Way to go Andrew!

Testing His Boundries

2009-01-25T13:32:00.002-05:00

January was a particularly difficult month in our home. I have a certain darling 3 year old who was desperate to assert his independence; and I am a 29 year old who, admittedly, has a few issues with control. This combination does not equate to peace and harmony. For about two weeks we had been battling the dreaded tantrums. Books, toys, clothes, and even his most favorite stuffed animal would come flying across the room if he was angry at a decision that I had made. He wanted to be in control of his own life. (Funny that this starts at such a young age!) I was mortified that I was loosing my little boy. Battle after battle Andrew would decide that he wanted things to be different, to be his way. I was exhausted by trying to keep the house rules intact and my patience was growing thin. The one battle that I decided to give in on: Andrew was finished with naps. Much to my chagrin, I knew I would have to be alright with this decision. He's 3 1/2 now and he's been a fabulous napper his whole life. So away with naps, but . . . welcome "quiet time". Andrew was not too excited about quiet time in his room, but on this particular day he decided to play along.

With both children in their rooms, I finally had a moment to myself so I called my sister Kristen. We couldn't have been more than 5 minutes into our conversation when I noticed a very pleasant and familiar scent. Lavender baby powder. My heart sank. I told Kristen I had to go. Trying to compose my emotions so I wouldn't react the way that I wanted to react, I opened Andrew's door . . . terrified of what I would find. It was everywhere. Everywhere! In his shoes, his toy box, in between his sheets, ALL over him, inside his coat, down the sleeves, all over the floor, the rug and his furniture and because there was a fan going in his room (for white noise) he had decided to pour some of the baby powder into the blowing fan! It was everywhere.

After taking it all in. My first reaction was to call Poison Control. I had no idea what the safest way to clean up baby powder without the entire family inhaling everything that was kicked up by the vacuum. They were a little less than helpful. I decided to spray everything down with a water bottle so the particles wouldn't kick up as I cleaned. While I was in the midst of spraying, I turned around and Andrew was dumping what was left of the baby powder on my head. I was about to loose it, but thankfully the phone ran. It was Michael's sister Kristen. I am certain that she was inspired to call. It may have saved my son's life!

While on the phone with Kristen, I was attempting to clean up the baby powder covered room as I tried to describe the chaos that was my son! I was very grateful for her humor, her stories she shared that compared to this situation and her encouraging words that Andrew would come out of the funk he was in. Distracted by our conversation, Andrew decided to capitalize on my lack of attention. He had begun to track the baby powder ALL through the house. He was thrilled that he could make powder foot prints from his bedroom to the front door! It looked SO cool to a three year old who didn't have to clean it up.

My next move was to strap both children into their booster seats, give them a snack and then resume cleaning. I told Kristen I probably should go, but before I got off the phone, I warned her that I might be calling Andrew's grandmothers soon for reinforcement. I was so close to loosing my cool that he might need a grandmother or two here to help diffuse the situation. As I got off the phone with Kristen I noticed that Andrew was rocking back and forth in the chair so he could knock over the chair and hopefully be freed from his booster. Although it was a clever idea . . . it would not have ended the way that he was hoping. So, I unstrapped the booster from the chair and stuck him on the ground (still attached to the booster). I never thought I would laugh so hard when I saw him trying to get up with a booster seat strapped to his back side. It was so funny. Luckily Andrew thought it was funny too! We were both in stitches for a moment until Jacob started crying. He didn't see the humor in this situation. Luckily, Big Brother was around to comfort Jacob in his time of need.

The booster, unfortunately didn't stop Andrew from coming into his room to track more baby powder through the house. But, it did slow him down so he couldn't make it all the way to the front door.

Plan B. Call a friend and send the kids upstairs. I was so grateful when Brittany answered her phone! She took the boys for over an hour while I started 3 loads of laundry, wiped down, vacuumed, and dusted all of the baby powder from his room and cleaned up the tracks throughout the house!

It's a really good thing that he is so cute. I think we might make it past the terrible 3's.

Snowy Sunday

2009-01-18T13:09:00.002-05:00

We have definitely had our fair share of snow this winter. AND we are willing to share with anyone who would like more. In January and February we had two Sundays that church was canceled. While it was enjoyable to spend Sunday in our pajamas as a family, it did make the days following the snow storm a little more difficult to get around.

Best Snow on Earth

2009-01-05T12:57:00.000-05:00

After Colorado we went to Park City, Utah. We are a little partial to Park City when it comes to the snow, ski and all winter sports. It was a blast being with cousins . . . when we weren't hugging the toilet! Sad, but true. We all got a version of the stomach bug again this winter. It was quite miserable. But, I have to say . . . long after the fact . . . it was worth the memories!

Christmas in Colorado

2008-12-25T12:47:00.001-05:00

We spend Christmas in Colorado with my family this year. We stayed at my older sister Danielle's home. It was such a blast. The picture above has her girls: Talise (8) (baptized while we were there), Renee (6), and our little miracle Macie (8 months). Andrew and Jacob absolutely adore their cousins. After overstaying our welcome at their home for two weeks, my children still hadn't had their fill of cousin time. What a great Christmas!

Andrew made this gift for me and Michael and called it "The best Christmas Present EVER!" We are grateful for the technology these days to save this present digitally. It didn't quite make it home in one piece in our luggage.

Family Photo on campus. Merry Christmas!

Holidazzle

2008-12-04T08:55:00.001-05:00

I absolutely LOVE dancing. And I love Christmas time. But, I love even more that these two things became a standard weekend celebration for several weeks in a row. We had holiday party after holiday party for three weeks. By the end of the third Christmas (dinner/dancing) party I was warn out - we even left early because we were so tired. Lame, but true.

These pictures are from the Harvard Business School's annual Holidazzle. We were sorely over charged for an open-bar event but it was SO worth every penny. We danced until 2 in the morning. I almost forgot that I had to get up with children the next morning!

Most of these people are from Michael's section. The school splits the 900 students into 10 sections - named after letters in the alphabet. Michael was proud to be placed into section H. H is brimming with incredible people full of personality and talent. It has been such a blast for Michael to get to know these classmates. We loved spending the evening with them. It was the best date we had all year!

A special thanks to Andrew for helping me to get ready for my date with papa. I love you little guy!

A Time for Giving Thanks

2008-11-27T14:30:00.000-05:00

We are grateful for so many things.
To start, we are incredibly grateful for our two boys.
Our marriage.
Our Savior.
Our Testimonies.
The roof over our heads.
Running water.
A safe vehicle to drive.
Our friends.
And plenty of food . . .

Two events down: Kristy's Shower and the Hampshire House Fundraiser. Two to go: Thanksgiving dinner with Michael's Learning Team and Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving.

It's hard to imagine Jennifer Smith being fooded out, but I was on the brink. Four large parties in a matter of 6 days made me not want to cook for a month! (and much to Michael's chagrin, I didn't!) Both Thanksgiving dinners turned out great. It was really enjoyable having so many great friends at our table that week. I don't know what we would do without such wonderful and loyal friends. Thank you all!

And a special thanks to Joel Williams for always entertaining our boys with the Wii. He was so helpful while we were busily cooking in the kitchen!

The Hampshire House 2008

2008-11-24T22:29:00.000-05:00

In honor of my dear friend Catie Stubben, who is still battling cancer, decided that I wanted to host another party at the Hampshire House to raise funds for basic cancer research for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. So in September I applied to run with the Dana Farber team in the Boston Marathon again and was accepted! Overwhelmed by the thought of training for another marathon and planning another fundraiser, I decided to do things a little differently this time around. I was going to work on just the fundraiser and then work on the training. Last time, I had begun my training in September and threw the party in November and for three solid months my entire life revolved around this endeavor. Splitting this up this time around has helped keep the rest of my life a little more balanced.

Invitations went out and RSVP's trickled in until the event. We hosted around 60 friends for an evening of dinner and dancing. The Hampshire House was decorated so nicely and the food was delicious. Our DJ, Reggie, was amazing. We raised over $5,000 that night toward our goal of $9,000. I couldn't have asked for things to go more smoothly. We had such a blast!

Honoring Kristy Williams and her son

2008-11-22T13:20:00.000-05:00

We celebrated in anticipation of Thomas Mario Williams the best way we know how . . . with food and friends! Two dear friends of ours flew in from D.C. (Leanna Kowallis) and San Fransisco (Regan Williams). It was a fun, but busy weekend. As you can see from the first photo I look exhausted . . . because I was.

We are so glad that Thomas is here safe and sound. Sometimes it helps to blog 6 months after the fact, things always seem better with a little time. I remember this weekend being really stressful because we threw Kristy's shower on Saturday, we had guests in town for the weekend, and then on Monday I was hosting a Dana Farber fundraising event. It was a non-stop weekend. Now that I look back at the photos, I can appreciate more how much fun it was!

2008-10-31T14:17:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween! I know it's almost April, but we're just getting around to posting our Fall happenings.
Life at HBS has been wonderful, but it is completely packed with things to do from dawn until dusk some days. I have, quite obviously, found no time to blog.

So, back to October . . . we went Trick-or-Treating to Beacon Hill again this year. It was a blast and the weather was so pleasant! We had been enjoying the winter cold a few days prior to Halloween so we were really grateful that weather cooperated just for this fun little evening.

This is the American Flag. I know that you know this fact, but . . . did you know that this is the very flag that is hanging outside of Sen. John Kerry's home? It's true. He was actually out giving candy to children this year. Last year he just had his house keepers passing around candy, but this year he was up for re-election, so it was necessary that he pass out his own candy!

Pirate Andrew says . . . aaarrghh!

Little monkey just wants to go home. Sad day. He'll soon understand how cool Halloween is.

Andrew's Birthday Party

2008-10-17T20:32:00.005-04:00

What was Andrew's Birthday Party Theme? I'll give you one guess.

So this cake doesn't look very big, but let me tell you . . . it was a layered 16" round, 15 pound cake that fed at least 80 people! It was enormous and SO much fun to create.

Michael goes to class in "sections". There are 90 people in his section, and he sees them every day, all day, all week. His section was cute enough to invite Andrew, Jacob and I to come to class after the day was over to celebrate Andrew's 3rd birthday with them. I was admittedly worried how Andrew would react to 90 adults singing "Happy Birthday" to him. I was thrilled and surprised to watch him enjoy every minute of the attention!

Right as I walked into class, my children were swooped out of my hands to be loved and cuddled by Michael's classmates the whole time we were there.

This is Michael's classroom: Aldrich 109, Section H.

This is our resident HBS wild Turkey: Henrietta. Warning: She has a really mean streak! Luckily we were permitted to pass behind her without being chased all the way to class.

Have you ever seen someone SO excited for their birthday?

We had a few of Andrew's friends over to celebrate his birthday and to help us make train shaped pizza. Too bad you can't tell the shape from these pictures, there was SO much cheese and pepperoni put on top it buried the dough!

Happy Birthday my little love. I am so grateful to have you!

2008-10-13T20:30:00.000-04:00

I love my boys!

Cape Cod

2008-10-13T20:23:00.001-04:00

We had a few days off of school so we headed down to the Cape with some friends. This is the darling little Bed and Breakfast that we stayed behind. There is a little carriage house behind this that is just as darling and New England. It has two floors and each floor had two bedrooms and a bathroom with a living room and full kitchen. It was ideal for our three families. What a fun weekend!

These are Andrew and Jacob's friends. William is 3 and Oliver is 18 months. Perfect little playmates!

Even though it was the middle of October, the weather was seasonably warm during this weekend. We were able to get into the water to go "paddle" boating and splash around with the children. We just keep hoping that winter will not join us too soon!

Topsfield Fair

2008-10-11T20:10:00.001-04:00

One afternoon while all of our husbands were oh, so busily working, we went off to play at Topsfield Fair. The kiddos loved it! We are already out numbered 6:4, but next year it will be by an even bigger margin 9:4! All of my first year friends are pregnant!

This is Alli. She has two darling boys and is expecting a daughter soon!

This is Heidi and Alicia. They both have one child and are anticipating the arrival of another soon!

You can't go to a Fair and not enjoy a ride or two! We rode the carousel, the Crazy Bus and went down the Fun Slide. (It was actually a LOT more fun that it looks or professed.)

2008-10-07T21:43:00.000-04:00

I have always loved the fall in New England. And this year is no exception. A few other first year moms and I took our little guys to a Pumpkin Patch to pick out the most perfect pumpkins.

This is Andrew's friend: Billy

Jacob with Sheldon Galbraith and Madeline Vetter

I can't ever get enough of this little guy!

We wish you could be here to enjoy the fall with us! Love to you all.

Preschool - My little one is growing up

2008-09-08T15:36:00.000-04:00

Andrew loves preschool. His teacher Trudy is darling . . . she has a south Boston accent and loves all of the students. I love that my kitchen pantry door is covered with all of Andrew's art projects that he brings home each week. I also love that I get a little one-on-one time with Jacob.

This is how excited he was right before he left for school. Annie Archibald and Lauren Stone ride with Andrew to school.

Although Andrew was a little bummed that he didn't get to ride on a school bus, I reassured him that he could sing "The Wheels on the Van" instead and it would be just as fun! It seems as if he bought it.

This is a picture after school. He had the time of his life!

Let the Blogging Begin!

2008-09-06T21:27:00.000-04:00

Please don't fall off your seat. There is a new post.

It's been a while, I know. Really, there is no good excuse for letting our blog go for so long. Regardless, we still have found many excuses not to blog. After our cyclone vacation around the west coast this summer, we moved into a new apartment in Boston and started business school. Finding time to sort through 3,000 pictures from these last few months has not been as high on my priority list--as it obviously should have been. Needless to say, things have been busy. Very busy.

Let's start with May:
After recovering from the race, I spent my days packing up our apartment, caring for two boys and a husband with the stomach flu, and playing Mario Cart with Andrew. I knew it was getting to be a terrible habit for the both of us when my Andrew was requesting to "race cars" all of his waking hours.

June 5th -10th: We flew to Sun-Valley, Idaho for a family vacation with the Smiths.

Andrew has had a lot of luck lately. The pilots on our flights have been super nice and have let Andrew land the plane the last few times!

All of Michael's family was able to make it to Sun Valley. We had an incredibly fun week . . . and hope we can make this a regular vacation spot!

The resort in Sun Valley

Attempts to take a Grandparents/Grandchildren photo:

Family Photo:

Andrew between photos.

Pool time:

bicycling into town:

Andrew with his phone obsession:

Girl's afternoon:

Lonnie and Cheryl's 40th Anniversary party!

my sweet Andrew.

June 11th-21st: We flew to Park City for a wedding, and to see my sister Danielle and her family. We walked around Main Street in Park City, we met friends and family in SLC and in Provo, we enjoyed two trips to the Hogle Zoo, and LOVED the fresh mountain air.

These guys were pumped to be here!

Wild roosters and turkeys totally belong in a zoo!

The is the most gorgeous carousel I have ever seen!

Macie was still on O2. It's pretty common for premie babies to be on it until their official due date.

June 22nd- July 21st: We flew back to Saratoga, California to spend a month with Michael's parents. There was no way we could have packed in more than we did. We were exhausted and so were the boys. It was a magical 4 weeks.

Lake Berryessa:

So the picture isn't out of focus, it was the smoke from the forest fires in Northern California.

Andrew was in heaven. He loves "Granka's fast boat".

Jacob crashed! He was so tired.

Vesona Park:

Trains, Planes, and Fire Trucks . . . what more could you ask for?

So proud of himself for sliding down such a big slide.

Swimming with our friends, The Other Smith's:

Fourth of July:

Los Gatos, the neighboring town had a really fun musical celebration in the morning.

San Jose Children's Museum:

Santa Cruz beach:
This beach is only 30-40 minutes away from Michael's parent's home. It was so much fun to go with the Call girls and their friends.

My dear friend Beth Call Hulme

Andrew's best friend in California, Seth Hulme.

Emma Prusch Farm Park:

This is Andrew's cousin Max. He was such a help with the boys while we were at the farm. He is a wonderful older brother and cousin . . . Thanks Max!!

Muir Wood National Forest:

Golden Gate Bridge heading into Sausalito Island

Max

Kenna

Inside of one of the fallen trees

Monterey Aquarium with the Smiths and Keysers (Michael's parents and sister Mimi's family):

Oakland Zoo with our Other, Other friends named the Smiths:

Jacob and Asher . . . both Smiths.

Kim Smith and her son Bennett

We've visted quite a few zoos in the last few months, but none of them had a miniture amuzement park like this one! Andrew LOVED the roller coasters. It wasn't too scary, but it had enough torque to make your stomach drop.

July 22 - August 8th: We flew from Cali to Colorado Springs, Colorado to spend three weeks with my family.

Grandma Cowser's home:

Gratefully the boys adjusted quickly to my parent's home. This whole summer they were remarkable mobile and easy going.

Mr. Biggs Indoor Playground:

We took Jacob and Andrew to an indoor play ground to meet some more of their best friends:(in order) Reid, Tanner (twins above) and Andrew Michael (below).

I loved seeing my friend Liz Hasler Christensen. It seriously brought tears to my eyes when she walked in Mr. Biggs with her little clan. Her boys are so beautiful and full of life. I don't know how she does it! Moms of twins amaze me!

Renee's birthday party:

We snuck the boys in the back . . . to the "girls only" Princess Garden Party.

My mom has a little talent when it comes to cake decorating!

Andrew trying to help blow out the candles! Thanks bud.

Pizza with Egglestons:
After the birthday party, we headed to Carbondale for a weekend with Michael's sister. It was a beautiful drive. We met them at a yummy pizza place just outside of town.

It was a good thing they had buffalo to ride at the restaraunt.

This was Jacob's face when he recognized his cousin Genivieve.

Pool and Carbondale:

August 8th-15th: San Clemente, California for a Cowser family reunion.

Not that we hadn't already been having quite the reunion, we decided to have it in a more glamarous location.

This is the beautiful place we stayed (above) and this is the gorgeous view (below):

A few shots of Danni and her family.

Talise 7

Renee 5

Macie 3 months

Beach Days:

His feet still never touch the ground!

Disneyland was magical.

Nemo's submarine ride:

Roller coaster after roller coaster.

Mickey's Parade

Danielle and her family . . . except Macie.

Loving it!

August 15th-18th: We flew back to Park City for a friend's wedding. Loads of fun.

August 18th: Flew to Boston to move into our new apartment and start school.

Wonderful things come in tiny packages - an update on Danielle

2008-05-02T13:28:00.005-04:00

Last night I was about to blog about Danielle. I wanted to tell you that she went home on Marathon Monday. She was doing so well after 9 weeks of bedrest in the hospital and the doctors were really surprised that she had made it to 32 weeks, so they decided to let her go home. Danni has been really enjoying at home bed rest . . . in fact, I think I recall her referring to this as pansy bed rest. The "real" hard times are being stuck inside of the same four, stark white walls, with alarms ringing and lights on around-the-clock.

Several weeks before she went home, while she was at Memorial Hospital, she bled again. She was just a few days over 27 weeks along and we were thrilled that she had made it as far as she did, but were obviously still quite concerned for the baby. Luckily, her bleeding stopped on it's own, but the doctor warned her: "This is kind of like baseball, it's three strikes and your out."

Before I had a chance to write an update I got a call from my mom last night. After many foul balls, she finally struck out. Danni started bleeding right after dinner. The ambulance came, started 2 IV's, strapped her to the gurny and headed to a trauma level hospital. She said they even rode with the sirens and lights flashing (Andrew would have LOVED it!).

Not long after her OB arrive, he rushed her off to surgery and delivered her baby. She was one day shy of 34 weeks. Perspective is such a funny thing. If this had been a completely normal pregnancy, we would have all been shocked when she delivered a 34 weeker. But, since we have all been praying our hearts out that she would be able to carry this little one just a little longer, we are so thrilled that she lasted for 10 1/2 weeks past her first bleed.

Her name is still to be determined. But she is a beautiful, tiny, little love. She was born at 4 lbs. 1 oz and 17 inches long. Danni was able to hold her for a second to kiss her and smell her and then she was taken to the NICU where they could help her breathe. She is on a CPAP machine that helps her lungs to breathe more efficiently.

Danielle is doing well. She is anxious to be able to get up and walk around again--like a normal person. She's been on her back for close to three months and she's ready to start running!

What an answer to so many prayers.

2008-04-29T09:46:00.009-04:00

The most fitting word for this race.

Look at the concentration. It was quite an intense race.

This was right before mile 9. I thought the runners would thin out a bit but, I guess that's hard to do with 25,000+ runners.

This was at mile 9. I was SO excited to see my parents.

Thank you so much for coming to support me Mom and Dad. I love you!

This was mile 16 where Jhordan joined me to run the rest of the race. I was obviously thrilled to see her too!

This was at mile 20 when Linsey joined us.

We just crossed the finish line . . . you can see it in the back ground. I was dead. Really.

I was so grateful for these two friends who helped me to finish.

The medal.

Finding Michael after the race was all I wanted to do. He has been my rock of support through all of the training, injury, and execution of this race.

Dana Farber really takes care of their runners. Inside of the recovery zone they had a place for you to change out of your drenched clothing, some nice food prepared for you to enjoy, but most importantly, over 40 massage tables with volunteers prepared to work on your very sore muscles. What a dream come true!

I admit that I look terribly tired here! It was such a rewarding tired though.

What a wonderful experience all of this has been. Thank you everyone for your love and support.

Boston in 4:15

2008-04-21T20:31:00.004-04:00

I finished the Boston marathon. It was wicked awesome.

I'm sore, very sore. And tired, very tired.

I arrived at the Boston Common where 25,000 runners, give or take a few, were trying to load buses to head to Hopkinton--the start line for the race. It was amazing to witness a sea of runners file onto these buses. It was so efficient.

Hopkinton was electric. I had about an hour before my wave started and I enjoyed the time to relax, stretch, get a few last minute pieces of advice, and prepare for the mental battle ahead. The weather could not have been more perfect! Just as we were lining up to start the second wave of runners, the sun was peaking it's way out from behind the last of the clouds. The temperature was a perfect 52 with a slight breeze.

I was surprised how quickly I was able to cross the starting line with as many runners as there were, I think my delay time was only about 6 minutes. I started the marathon running 9:43 minute splits per mile and finished the VERY hilly last half of the marathon running 9:44 minute splits. I stopped to visit with people who had come out to watch, to stretch, to walk through the water stations--generally, I didn't push myself too hard until the end of the race. I don't know where my energy came from, but I had it . . . until mile 23.

I thought I'd be very emotional at the end . . . and I wasn't, I was cranky and couldn't believe that I had run so far and I still had to keep running . . . 3 more miles. My legs were killing, my feet aching and my body tingling. And there were still several hills to overcome at the end. I thought if I saw another hill, I would just swear . . . literally.

Once we finally rounded the street onto Boylston, the thousands and thousands of people in the crowds were just a blur in the backgroud. The finish line was about 700 yards away and I was behind a man who stopped. So I stopped. The way I was feeling, I was fine walking to the finish at this point. It's amazing to me how far I had come and with only 700 yards left, I felt SO justified in walking to the finish. I was convinced that my body could not start running again. And then, out of NO where, I found myself sprinting to the finish line. Talk about psycho. My mind was off and my legs were on and I didn't feel like I had any control over either.

Crossing the finish line was so relieving. I don't think I would have made it as far as I did, with the pace that I did, without Jhordan or Linsey there to help run me in. I was so grateful for their support on the course. Jhordan ran me in from mile 16 and Linsey joined up with us with 6 miles to go. It was great to be flanked with love and support for the last 10 miles. I loved that they were able to cross the finish with me too! The way the course is laid out, they have barriers to keep the crowds back for the last 2 or 3 miles of the course, so they literally weren't able to jump off the path anywhere. (Thank you both for being with me!)

I'm going to throw together some pictures of the race that my family and friends took, and I'll add a few more details . . . I just thought you might want to know how it was. So amazing. I even have thoughts about do it again next year, and I'm close to convincing Michael to join me!

Thank you for all your love and support. I can hardly believe that I just finished the Boston Marathon!!

Boston Marathon

2008-04-16T10:54:00.007-04:00

There are only 5 days left until the race. Every time I think about it, my stomach drops into my toes and my heart skips several beats. I am so excited, but as excited as I am, and I equally nervous. After all of these months of training, and these MILES of running, what if I get sick, or my knees give out, or the weather is atrocious? I feel pretty certain, that no matter what happens I’ll be running on the 21st of April, but what if???

The boys and I met Michael after work yesterday to join him for dinner. He works downtown in a beautiful building in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay. There is no way to be in Boston and not be aware that the marathon is fast approaching. Adidas is the main sponsor for the race and they have larger-than-life size ads everywhere you turn. They are photos of previous runners with their bibs, their number and a quote scribbled across the front them. Just seeing them triggers the aforementioned stomach-heart reaction.

Several of my favorites are:
A girl, her blonde hair pulled back, she has a white jacket on (it must have been a cold race day), she looks like she was struggling. Her bib said “my legs were screaming, but the crowd was screaming louder. Impossible is Nothing.”
Two men with white shirts on, both look filled with fatigue. “We started together, we ended together. Impossible is Nothing.”
My favorite:
Two women running, their brunette hair pulled back, black jackets on. They must be close to the finish line because they are holding hands and they have a look of relief on their faces. The bib reads: “Make sure your friends are right where you need them. Impossible is nothing.”

For some reason this ad always evokes so much emotion in me. I can’t pass it without welling up with tears. I can just imagine the fatigue I will be feeling after 26.2 miles. To know that my family will be at the end to strengthen and support me is a little overwhelming. My parents are arriving on Thursday with my sister Kristen and her son Tyler. Michael’s parents are flying in on Saturday night. And there’s Michael. Michael has been amazing during these last 8+ months of training. He’s never once complained about my Saturday runs that consume the entire morning, or the naps that I love to take after them. He has been so encouraging and accommodating.

If you’ve never watched the Boston, let me try to paint a picture for you. This is the most prized marathon in the nation. This is one of the only races that you have to qualify for . . . and the qualifying times are rigorous. (Unless you are running as a charity runner like I am. There are only a small percentage of us and we’re going to be bringing in the rear!) Imagine 25,000 runners. And then, imagine ten times that number of spectators lined along the course—the entire course—all 26.2 miles of the course to cheer, support and encourage the runners. I hear that there isn’t a quiet moment the entire run. I’m so used to hearing my heart pound and noticing the rhythm of my breathing. I doubt I will even be able to hear those over the roar of the crowd. I hear it is magical. I hear that near the end you experience one of two emotions: you are so exhausted that you don’t want to finish the race, the fatigue is so great that you will gladly give up all the months, hours, and miles of training to just stop running; or you are so exhausted that you just cry for the last 5 miles after ascending Heart-break Hill.

No matter the emotion, I am determined to finish this race. In September of last year I started training for the Boston because of my friend Catie Stubben who was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma. This is a rare disease in which cancer cells are found in the bone or in soft tissue. Catie was 22 weeks pregnant when she was first diagnosed and because of the progressive nature of the cancer, it was imperative that she begin chemotherapy immediately. It overwhelmed me to imagine being in her position: a mother of two and pregnant with her third with seven months of chemotherapy, doctors appointments, surgery, and radiation ahead of her. She and her husband Steve were incredibly courageous and optimistic through the whole process.
Because of our concern for Catie, Michael and I became involved locally with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. It was through this involvement that I received an invitation to race in the 2008 Boston Marathon with the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) team in honor of Catie.
To support DFMC, we have been raising funds for cancer research. With many generous donations, we have nearly reached our personal goal of $7500. If there are some of you who would still like to donate to this wonderful cause, we are allowed to accept donations until May 21, 2008.

Here's how to donate:
By following these instructions, any donations will be applied to the DFMC fund-raising goal.
1. Click on www.RunDFMC.org.
2. On the left side of the page, click on the "Support a Runner" button.
3. Enter my first and last name: Jennifer Smith, and follow the prompts from there.

In case you wanted to track me on race day:
On April 21st, go to www.baa.org and put in either my name or my bib number: 22210
The race starts at 10:30 am east coast time.

Here's a really cool site with an interactive map of the coarse:
http://www.boston.com/sports/marathon/course/map/

My baby is One

2008-03-31T13:38:00.007-04:00

I can hardly believe it when I say it. Jacob is turning one tomorrow and I already miss him being a baby. He has been the most pleasant creature ever to grace this earth. He is happy, playful, sweet, and agreeable. He puts up with his older brother when he needs to, but often ends up winning Andrew over.

Jacob has been an incredible blessing to our family from the moment he arrived. We love you little guy!

Jacob as a newborn

My sweet boy at one

A stop-over in the snow

2008-03-28T15:30:00.007-04:00

On our way home to Boston last week we decided to stop in Park City once more. Michael's sister Mimi and her family were there on spring break and we hadn't seen them in almost a year. This seemed like the perfect time, plus it was just one more excuse for us to postpone our trip back to the New England Winter.

Poor Jacob didn't have any snow gear, so much to his dismay we kept him inside and began training him to be a concert pianist. He's actually doing quite well!

Los Gatos Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-28T14:29:00.004-04:00

The week before Easter I took Andrew to the neighboring town's Egg Hunt. Los Gatos really know how to do Easter well. There was a local radio station there filling the air with music, booths with games and toys, a pony ride, a petting "zoo" and of course, the candy eggs. Andrew really had a blast!

I was begging Andrew to look at the camera here . . . but the DJ was way more entertaining!

Unfortunately, if you stop to "smell the roses" in this situation, you lose out the treats! It was amazing how many people showed up for this Egg Hunt. There were thousands and thousands of egg hunters!

Sadly, this is the last set of pictures that I have from our trip to California. It really was a magical time. We are super excited to head back there again this summer . . . we're taking the whole summer off. Michael has been accepted to business school and we're going to enjoy life a little before he's back to the grind stone. So, summer plans include a trip to Sun Valley Idaho to celebrate the Smith's 40th Anniversary (WAY TO GO!), to Colorado to enjoy my sister's baby when she arrives, and to a few places in California. PLUS, if I can convince Michael, we might go on a short trip to Europe without the children.

Grandpa's Fast Car

2008-03-28T14:04:00.012-04:00

Andrew LOVED Grandpa's fast car. It was such a treat for him when we finally let him take a ride in it. We rolled the top down and strapped a booster seat into the back and they were off. Three generations of Smith men heading to the candy store. Michael told me that Andrew had the time of his life. He was hanging his little hands out of the car the entire drive. I hope Andrew doesn't get too bored now that we are back in Boston. We had an adventure almost every day while we were in California. In Boston it is just a little harder to get out and about . Plus, it's still winter here! I am really looking forward to enjoying 2 springs!

Because Jacob was too little to drive in the fast car, we let him drive Dad's rental car. It wasn't really a fair trade, but since he's so little, he really doesn't know the difference! I guess there will come a time when we will have to worry a little more about trying to be equal with rewards and privileges. Luckily we are only caught up in drooling, teething and nap times for now.

Mustard Flowers in the Vinyard

2008-03-26T23:19:00.003-04:00

So there is an immaculately manicured vineyard at the end of Chester Avenue--the street the Smiths live on. I guess the owner of the land plants these beautiful mustard flowers each year to fertilize the land. For weeks we would drive by these blossoms and watch them dance from the breeze. As the weather warmed they blossoms would become so full they looked as if they would burst. In the evenings they would close up again as if they were trying to stay warm. One afternoon, on our way home from the farmer's market, Lonnie and I pulled over to take some pictures of the boys in the flowers. It was a perfect day, as most days in Saratoga are and the colors were so vibrant.
The next week on the way home from church we were all a little heart sick when we saw that the flowers had been plowed under to fertilize the soil. It hadn't dawned on me that they had to be underground in order to nourish the land. So sad. It's a good thing we captured a few moments of their glory!

Happy Hallow Park and Zoo in San Jose, CA

2008-03-26T22:38:00.001-04:00

Happy Hallow was a lame attempt to be a park or zoo, but it was totally worth going to see my dear college friend Mandy Watkins and her darling children. Andrew loved the petting part of the 5 species "zoo", Jacob didn't mind the carousel, and of course they all loved the playground. I'm sure we'll make it back to California again this summer, and Happy Hallow might even make our list of destinations. I hope we can meet up again Mandy--we sure miss you!

Boston

2008-03-25T12:42:00.004-04:00

We're home. It feels different.

We had such a magical time in California it was so hard to leave. We miss Michael's parents terribly, but are so grateful for the time that we had with them. It was wonderful for the boys to get to know their grandparents!

We arrived Friday night around 5pm. Because we were still on West Coast time, we headed to Costco to stock up on supplies and food. The boys went down around 11pm--I am really excited to get back to our schedule again!

I went for a run on Saturday. It's been a little while since I've had a good run. We've been a little under the weather-flu, colds, sinus infection. It felt great to be out along the Charles River again, but it was cold and windy. As I passed hundreds of pedestrians who were just out and about on a Saturday morning, I noticed that their faces wore expressions of a long hard winter. They were dressed in black coats, hunched over to protect their bodies from the cold wind, the furrow in their brow had certainly been there all winter long and there were very few smiles.

That's a huge difference between New England and California. There is sunshine and perfect weather year round in Cali, so there really isn't a good excuse to be crabby. In Boston, they usually endure terrible, cold, bitter winters that last from November and into May sometimes. It seems they have earned the right to be a little more harsh and biting.

If we could escape the winter every year . . . I would be fine to stay in Boston all our lives. Spring and Fall are just glorious! Once the buds are on the trees and the smell of spring is in the air, the entire city wakes up from it's winter slumber. And Fall, Fall is so radiant with color and beauty that you wouldn't want to miss it for anything . . . even if it means winter is just around the corner. I guess we'll take the good with the bad (and occasionally escape to California).

I have a few blogs from California left to post. They'll come as I find time while we're settling back in this week. Thanks for joining us on our adventure!

s-m-r-t

2008-03-14T23:57:00.003-04:00

Andrew is such a clever little child. He loves reading, knows all the letters in the alphabet-and the corresponding sounds that go with them, and can whip together a puzzle right in a few minutes. I am going to have to be very diligent as a mother so he doesn't get bored and lose his love of learning.

Capitola

2008-03-13T01:41:00.004-04:00

What a beautiful little city. I reminds me of one of my most favorite vacation spots: San Clemente, Southern California. It's a darling little town, with views straight from heaven.

We ate at Gaile's, our favorite little diner. The food was delicious and the weather was just perfect for sitting outside in the sunshine. Afterward, we headed to the beach to fly our kite while Andrew enjoyed a little surf. He was so giddy about the water . . . if you look closely at some of the pictures--his feet aren't even touching the ground. He was so excited he couldn't keep his feet on the sand while he was running. He just floated in the air. (And anyone who has seen this little guy run, will totally understand what I'm talking about. He really just runs in the air--his feet are so high off the ground it amazes me that he ever moves in a forward motion!)

You'll be proud of us . . . we even took Jacob our of his stroller.

What do Detectives, Art, and Spokesmen have in common?

2008-03-01T16:08:00.005-05:00

Well, I'll tell you. These were all the podcasts of This American Life that I listened to on my 21.2 mile run this morning . . . that extended into this afternoon. I have a terrible farmers tan, a bruise on my leg from a stick that kicked up and smacked me, I have consumed 2.5 liters of water in 3 hours, and I could fall asleep standing. Plus, to make it a "real" run, I still have 5 more miles to go . . .

Not today though. We're going to head to Capitola for the afternoon. I will enjoy hobbling on the beach with sand between my blistered toes!

Here's to the Boston Marathon.

Monterey

2008-02-29T18:30:00.014-05:00

It was a miracle that both Michael and Lonnie took President's Day off of work. Cheryl and I were in utter amazement. Our husbands . . . who are an awful lot alike . . . tend to work every holiday minus Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

We decided to celebrate by heading down the coast to Monterey. It was just beautiful. On the drive down the rolling hills were a velvet green, the artichoke fields were immaculately manicured, and the ocean was, as it always is, magnificent.

We packed as much as we could in one day: the beach, lunch, the Aquarium, Ghirardelli's Chocolate Parlor, the outlets and In-N-Out in Gilroy on the way back home. Needless to say, we didn't need to eat for days. But, how could you pass up an In-N-Out . . . even if you did just eat an enormous cookie sundae?

There isn't anything as satisfying as Ghirardelli!
(p.s. does anyone else get concerned that Jacob never leaves this stroller?)

Andrew is in an ice cream coma. That's a good place to be!

Lets go fly a kite . . .

2008-02-29T17:48:00.007-05:00

Even though it didn't make it to the highest of heights, or up much at all, we sure had fun.

Barefoot in February!! I could be that the weather was so wonderful . . . or that mom forgot the shoes. It may have been a mix of both . . . we'll never know.

All of these pictures are from a darling park out in Mountain View. We had a wonderful Saturday afternoon. I love the picture of three generations of Smith men . . . in order of the most amount of energy! Our hearts will be broken when we have to leave. Thank you so much Lonnie and Cheryl for sharing your home and your hearts with us and our children. We all love you so much.

My sister Danielle

2008-02-19T01:15:00.007-05:00

This is my sweet sister Danielle. She has two darling little girls: Talise (7) and Renee (4). For years now they have been trying to have more children, but for years were unsuccessful. This last Fall they began the journey into the world of IVF. With incredible success (and a little divine intervention!) they were able to get pregnant with their third little girl.

On Saturday Danielle was admitted to the hospital. She began to hemorrhage in the night and didn't know until she stood up the next morning that she had been bleeding. Early on in this pregnancy, she was told that she had a condition known as placenta previa. This means that the placenta is covering a part or all of the cervical opening. In her case, it is a full placenta previa. And, were she to dilate at all, the placenta would tear away from the uterine lining enough to cause heavy bleeding. Knowing this, the plan has been to take the baby via c-section at 37 weeks before her body might go into labor on it's own.

To make a really long story short: Danielle was having some strong Braxton-Hicks contraction this last week--strong enough to start dilating the cervix. She was rushed to the hospital (labor and delivery) where they admitted her, did an ultrasound, and ran several labs. The blood loss wasn't too significant to affect either her or the baby, and the babe is doing well. Unfortunately, because Danielle has already started dilating, she will most likely have to remain in the hospital until the baby is born. Since Danielle is only 23 weeks along, we are hopeful that the baby can wait for at least 8 more weeks. According to the high risk maternity team, 31 weeks gestation is ideally the earliest they would want the baby to come. However, the NICU attending came to speak with Dan and Danielle and told them that the earliest this baby could be born and still have a fighting change would be at 27 weeks. Obviously, we are hoping for more than a fighting chance! This is going to be a long several months for my sister and her family. We feel really blessed that everything is alright with the baby and things outside of the hospital are going smoothly so far. Luckily, My mom lives a few miles away and Dan and Danielle have a wonderful supportive network of friends who have stepped in to help lighten the load.

If you remember, please keep them in your prayers. I'll keep you posted if there are any new updates.

Park City

2008-02-19T01:13:00.005-05:00

Can you believe how much snow there is? I think we might be out of the drought!

A week with cousins-and my sisters

2008-02-19T00:52:00.016-05:00

We decided to a take a week's vacation, from our two month vacation in California, to Colorado Springs. All of the perfect weather was too much to handle! We felt much more comfortable in the blizzards and freezing wind.

Although the entire last sentence is completely false, we did go to Colorado, and we had a fabulous time. Andrew and Jacob loved being with their cousins and really enjoyed jumping from one set of Grandparents to another.
We were too busy having fun and didn't get as many photos taken as I would have liked, but here are the few we took:

Cousin Tub Time--Jacob (10 months-9 days older than Tyler) Tyler Christensen (10 months)

My sister Kristen Cowser Christensen (25 years) Renee (4 years old -- what a doll!!)

Andrew-quite a doll too. He really loved being included
in the older-cousin-girl-games. Lucky for me I decided to
cut his hair--so he doesn't look like a girl!

Danielle-my much older sister. (She's 11 months
and 2 weeks older than I am.)

How could I ask for any more help?

2008-02-15T19:18:00.002-05:00

I was in the middle of making a cake. I needed a few more ingredients, so I ran downstairs to find brown sugar and vanilla. When I came back upstairs . . .

Andrew is the best helper in the world. I don't know what I would do without him in the kitchen. I love you little Andrew. Never stop exploring.

Fisher Park

2008-02-14T12:59:00.005-05:00

There is a great little park in the neighboring town from the Smith's home. Andrew and Jacob love to go play there.

Hanover, New Hampshire

2008-02-11T15:42:00.023-05:00

I have so much to fill you in on, but I wanted to highlight the weeks greatest news. Michael was accepted to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He would feel so honored to accept this invitation, but we're going to give it two months and see what comes of the 4 other applications that he's submitted. We couldn't be more excited. (I just wish the average weather during the winter in New Hampshire were about 50 degrees warmer! That's not asking too much is it?) Hanover is quite remote, but we've heard wonderful things about the people and the campus. We could certainly make this our home for two years and really enjoy the experience.

Hooray for Michael!

San Fransisco--need we say more?

2008-02-11T15:42:00.022-05:00

Piano with Grandma

2008-02-11T15:41:00.006-05:00

Cheryl has done a wonderful job encouraging all of her children to be musically talented. All of them sing beautifully and I am pretty sure that all of them--at one point or another--play a musical instrument. It has been wonderful to watch Andrew's love for music grow while we've been with Michael's parents. He constantly begs Grandma to play the piano and sing "Jumbo Elephant" or other favorites with him. Cheryl is quite talented on the piano . . . so when dad tries to play for Andrew--it just isn't good enough!

I have always had a desire to learn how to play the piano, so watching these two share a love for children's music has fueled my desire. I am so intimidated by reading music and learning the keys on the piano. I guess, just like everything in life, you just have to take things one step at a time. Does anyone know a good piano teacher?

Lake Berryessa

2008-02-11T15:41:00.004-05:00

There isn't anything quite like being on the water. After my 17 mile run, we drove 2 hours up to Lake Berryessa to take the boat out. My knees were a little tender after sitting in the car for so long, but it was worth every minute of the drive once we got up to the lake. Andrew was--out of this world--excited to be able to drive the boat. He didn't want Grandpa's help, but he got it anyway. A two year old-who can't even steer his tricycle-shouldn't have control of such a powerful machine!
California is an amazing place. It is mid-January and we're boating. It was a warm, 60 degree afternoon and it was a perfect day for a little drive around the lake. I am going to look into what it might take to stay here permanently! We need more of this weather in our lives. It's no wonder why north easterners have a wrap for being grouchy people. I was one during the last three winters. They are so cold, hard, and dark. It's a huge challenge not to become cold, hard, and dark yourself! I totally support global warming by 20-30 degrees in the Boston winters. Some days the extra 30 degrees might bring us up from below freezing temperatures! I was truly meant to be a sun-baby.

Trying not to laugh

2008-01-29T13:27:00.001-05:00

So, since we've been in California, we've tried to stay active with our church attendance (smile, wink, wink). There aren't a lot of young families that are able to afford to live in this area, so most of the families in Saratoga are a little older. Usually this chapel drowns in silence during the sacrament services but Andrew is not, nor has he ever been, wonderful at being reverent in church--so this usually makes us a little worried about what might happen when he has the perfect stage on which to entertain the ward. Reverence is something that we are really working tirelessly on, but sometimes he is just so stinking cute it kills me. . .

So for the last three Sundays, he gets really excited for the sacrament- hollering out "bwead" and "watew" when it is being passed out. He loves to stand on the pews and watch as the young men in our congregation reverently pass the sacrament. After all the bread is passed down the rows and the trays are collected the young men file down the isles back to the sacrament table. As he watched these boys quietly walking in a row, he observed in his darling, but very loud voice, "Mama, Choo, Choo, Twain!" I couldn't help myself. Michael and I were cracking up. I love watching him put things together. He really is so bright.

Join me on a long run

2008-01-25T00:34:00.000-05:00

Every Monday I begin the week with a decent run-usually 5-7 miles. I've had Sunday to recover from my long Saturday run and I enjoy the fact that my run is MILES less than the one I ran two days prior. BUT, every Monday I also start trying to mentally prepare myself for the upcoming Saturday run. This last Monday and Saturday were no exception. I was going to run the farthest I had ever run before-15 miles. I was a little nervous all week about it. Each time I would lace up my shoes during the week, I would visualize myself on my course for the day, and try to mentally rehearse how much farther I would be running in a few days.

Saturday arrived and I was intimidated, but determined. It was sunny, 60 degrees and gorgeous outside . . . the best weather for a run! Michael uploaded a few hour-long NPR programs onto my shuffle to help pass the time. I printed up an outline of the course I was running and we agreed to meet 10 miles into my run so I could get a drink of water, stretch a little, and break up the monotony. I ran down the driveway, onto Chester Ave. and began running toward Gypsy Hill Road. My muscles felt relaxed, my heart was steady, and my mind was focused. I've begun to realize how marathon training is much more than just training your body to run for hours on end, it is also training your mind to endure. Three hours of running can be challenging on so many levels!

Sixty minutes into my run, I had 9 miles left and the first program was just ending. (You don’t need to be a math genius to figure out that I run really slow and steady!) I could hardly believe that I had been running for so long! The NPR broadcast was of a show that Michael and I have been listening to for a little while now—This American Life. It is a wonderful compilation of topics and Ira Glass, the moderator, delves into the heart of each matter. This program really gets you thinking about so many issues that our nation, our world, our family, and we ourselves face. He covers a huge range of topics from our trade agreements in Cambodia to finding ways to resolve “never-ending” sibling rivalries. Sorry, I digressed . . .
I usually listen to music when I run, I really enjoy peppy, energetic dance music that keeps my heart alive and my feet moving. I didn’t realize how engrossed I would become in these broadcasts, nor did I realize how quickly the miles would pass as I distracted my mind from the pavement. Ten miles into my run I still felt great. I met Michael, enjoyed a package of fruit snacks and couldn’t help myself from downing an entire bottle of water. We visited for a moment while I stretched my legs and then I was off again. Two hours in to my run I had enjoyed another episode of This American Life and was feeling more educated and a little worn. As I finished the last three miles of my run, I began to wonder if I should just run a few more miles. I had already logged 15 miles on to my Saturday run and it was going to take a lot of effort to get back to this point. It was still sunny and beautiful. Why not? I was sure I had a few more miles in me. Instead of turning onto the other end of Chester Ave to head home, I ran around the local junior college behind the Smith’s home and headed for the trail that I began my run on. Surprised by how good I still felt, I decided to sprint the last 200 yards back to the house!! I couldn’t believe how far I had run--17 MILES!!

This run definitely gives me hope for the marathon in April. I just hope the weather is just as nice and perfect; although, I’m a little skeptical. Boston weather doesn’t usually cooperate for Marathon Monday. Last year it was poring rain, the year prior it was freezing cold, and the first year we were in town I think we had record high temperatures so the runners were all suffering from heat stroke! Good thing we love Boston despite the weather. (Especially when we can escape to California for a little of the winter!)

Thanks to This American Life. It really helped pass the time.

btw, you can download podcasts for This American Life off of Itunes for free! You'll totally enjoy it!

To Cut or Not to Cut??

2008-01-22T17:05:00.000-05:00

I have been debating this question for weeks. If the weather is humid, his hair is darling curly. If it is dry outside, his hair is out of control and long. It's almost always humid in Boston . . . so it will curl when we go home, but we're here for another month and it's a bit out of control. What would you do?

San Jose Children's Discovery Museum

2008-01-22T16:48:00.000-05:00

It's a small little museum compared to the ones we enjoy in Boston, but EVERYTHING was just perfect for Andrew. He had his very own Fire Truck, Siren, and car to drive. Bubbles galore. Sand boxes. Water play. It was a great outing for a rainy California day. Jacob, stood back and let his brother enjoy all the glory this time around. But just you wait. . . someday . . . soon. . .

Snowmen--California Style

2008-01-18T01:23:00.000-05:00

Sadly, we started to put Christmas away last week--taking down the lights, dismantling the tree, repackaging the trinkets, stockings, and ornaments, and saying "good-bye" to the pumpkins. The Smith tradition is to turn the Halloween pumpkin into a California snowman with a little white spray paint, a few googly eyes, a Santa hat and some great eyebrows. It has been a big hit with Andrew. Jacob might appreciate it next year . . . but the jury is still out this year for him.

Our Christmas won't end for a little while.

2008-01-06T01:00:00.000-05:00

California . . . h e r e w e a r e . We are in heaven. We've moved in with Michael's parents for a little while. And this might just be the best Christmas present ever! (No, Michael didn't lose his job.) His company has an office in Menlo Park--only 25 minutes away from their home. And it has been w o n d e r f u l. (Minus the stomach flu that we have managed to spread to everyone on the west coast. But, it luckily only knocks you off your feet for about 18 hours and you are left a few pounds lighter--ready to start life again.)
We enjoyed having most of the Smith family here (we missed you Keysers!) and Michael and I were close to tears as we said "good-bye" to everyone as they left. However, I must say that staying here after everyone has left has really seem to stretch the Christmas break out for us. It usually feels like we are jumping on a plane right to visit more family after we open gifts and scarf down Christmas dinner. It has been so relaxing and pleasant this year.
There are so many things to love about California: first and foremost is the one-on-one time that they boys get with G&G, next (in no particular order) is the amazing weather, the year-round delicious produce, the weather, a front yard that is as big--or bigger--than our apartment in Boston for the boys to play in--because of the great weather, In-N-Out, free parking, well marked intersections, few pedestrians, two freezers stocked with I c e C r e a m, Michael working Boston hours in California (in a 6am, home at 4pm)!! and I nearly forgot to mention the weather.
We did have a terrible rain storm that came through this weekend though. The weather forcasters said that it was going to be pretty cold on Monday after the storm hit with the lows at 28 and the highs at 50! Wow!! are you kidding?
I checked the weather in Boston, just for kicks, and it was 5 degrees with a wind chill factor taking it down to -7 degrees. It wasn't just a coincidence that we came to California during the Boston winter! It's a little hard to train for the Marathon while slipping on sheets of ice that literally won't melt until April.
So, just to inform you, training is going well. Slow and easy wins the race, right? Well, not the Boston Marathon! I have NO aspirations of getting a great time during this race. I just want to finish standing on both feet. I think the stats for this Marathon are: 25,000 runners (who have all qualified at wickedly fast paces!) and 1200 charity runners (who will definitely take up the rear!). I am running about 10 minute miles and I am only running 11-14 mile long runs for the weekend. At this point, I can hardly imagine doubling that distance. But, I know I am going to have to! I ran 13 miles on New Years Day and I felt good after I was finished. It was a little tough on my knees to go down the stairs for a day or so, but all in all it wasn't to hard on my body. BUT, 26.2 is going to be hard on my body and I am a little anxious about it!

After being outside for a few minutes, we quickly realized that we could drop the jacket.

For Christmas, Andrew got a new tricycle and a "siren" hat. I LOVE THIS AGE!!

Snow Storm

2007-12-14T11:20:00.000-05:00

We had a great storm yesterday, the snow fell for hours. The boys and I really loved watching it accumulate outside--it was definitely mesmerizing.

For the last several weeks, I have been surprised how cold it is every time I go outside. I think that my mind is stuck in August. Watching the storm pass through has made certainly made the reminded me it is winter and has made Christmas feel more real!

Sometimes it's nice to be grounded at home. I gives you a minute to sigh, relax, and make some yummy treats while you're stuck inside!

Our street as the storm began . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and ended.

Analysis Group Christmas Party

2007-12-11T23:59:00.001-05:00

We had a great time this evening and Michael's company Christmas Party. It was at an amazing venue. The food was wonderful, company great, dancing . . . super fun. Merry Christmas!

I love Jacob

2007-12-11T23:56:00.001-05:00

I peeked in on Jacob while he was taking his nap . . . it just melted my heart. Love that kid.

I'm not feeling so well

2007-12-11T23:45:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since Andrew has been sick . . . with the stomach flu. But, today he had it all. Poor little guy. We tried to keep it a slow calm day--we watched a lot of Pixar, read books, and took great naps. We hope he's better in the morning . . . and that no one else gets it!

Make way for Ducklings

2007-12-11T23:43:00.002-05:00

Make Way for Ducklings is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Robert Mcloskey. First published in 1941 , the book tells the story of a pair of mallard ducks who decide to raise their family on an island in the lagoon in Boston Public Garden, a park in the center of Boston, Massachusetts.

Make Way for Ducklings won the 1942 Caldecott Medal for McCloskey's illustrations, executed in charcoal then lithographed on zinc plates. As of 2003, the book had sold over two million copies. The book's popularity led to the construction of a statue in the Public Garden of the mother duck and her eight ducklings, which is a popular destination for children and adults alike. The book is also the official children's book of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Praise for the book is still high over sixty years since its first publication, mainly for the enhancing illustrations and effective pacing. It was criticized for having a loose plot, however, as well as poor characterization. The book is extremely popular worldwide. The city of Boston, where the story is set, as well as Novodevichy Park, Moscow, have both built small statues based on the story.

. . . just a tid bit of information on this book from wikipedia.

While my parents were in town, and after Thanksgiving, we finally journeyed out on the town. Andrew loved the ducklings. In fact, I've spared you from the pictures where he is fighting out other children (twice his age) for a ride on the ducks!

We also took a few family pictures in Beacon Hill for our Christmas card . . . just a preview in case it takes me weeks to get these cards out. In that case, they will be New Year's cards.

This picture is of the side of Beacon Hill. It is such a gorgeous part of town that runs right along side the Boston Common and Public Garden.

Two

2007-12-11T23:43:00.001-05:00

to be continued . . .

The Hampshire House

2007-12-04T19:52:00.000-05:00

It was a magical evening. There was only one thing that I would have wanted to change . . .I didn't want it to be over as quickly as it was.

After weeks of planning, the event has come and gone and I am so sad that it is over. We held a fund-raising event for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on Monday the 26th of November at a beautiful venue in downtown Boston across from the Public Garden. This classy historic building was decorated beautifully for Christmas, the hors d'eouveres were amazing, the desserts looked beautiful, and the dancing was so much fun. All in all I would call it a very successful night.

The evening was so enjoyable. We had about 60 guests in attendance and I was pleased with the turnout on the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. After mingling for an hour as the guests arrived, I took a few moments to talk about the motivation for this event. I thanked everyone for coming, talked about the mission of Dana-Farber, gave an update Catie's battle against cancer, and then proudly announced that we have raised over $5,000 for cancer research. I was amazed by the generosity of such a small group of people.

Several times that evening people commented that I must feel grateful that this part of my commitment to Dana-Farber is over--now I can focus on the real tough part-training for the marathon. I had to disagree. I think that training for the marathon might be easier than planning and executing a fund-raiser, but it was definitely worth it!

A few weeks ago I met for the first time with members of the Dana Farber marathon challenge team to begin our group training. I was overwhelmed by the dedication and motivation behind each runner. Listening to their stories as we ran made me realize what an enormous impact our combined efforts will make. Being a part of this incredible team is truly a humbling experience.

I didn't have my camera--terrible mistake--but, a friend took a few pictures for me. Hopefully you can use your imagination to put it all together.

Thanksgiving Day Rule #1: To be operated by sober adults only

2007-12-03T23:01:00.001-05:00

Really, this was the first rule on the operating instructions for the Bayou Classic. Classic. This year we decided to deep fry our bird and the Bayou Classic is the only way to go. Michael's family was a little nervous for Michael to fry his first turkey, so they called to make certain that we weren't doing it in the apartment. Thanks.

This was my first time to ever host Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful time. My parents were kind enough to join us for the holiday and we loved having them around. Andrew especially loved having Grandma here.

As it is our great tradition to eat amazing food on Thanksgiving, we thought a fried turkey would be a great addition. I know it sounds White Trailer Trash, and it is, but we made it as classy as we could. Here was this years menu:

Butternut Squash Soup
with Chived Mashed Potatoes

Caramelized Apple Salad
with walnuts and a cider glaze

Cornbread Stuffing
with fresh mushrooms, sausage, and apples

Whipped Sweet Potatoes
with a sweet walnut topping

Steamed French Green beans
with roasted pine nuts

Fried Turkey
enough said

Homemade Rolls

Cranberry Relish

Dessert:

Stone Fruit Tart
Fruit Trifle
Pecan Pie
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

It was amazing. I was full after the soup and salad hors d'ouveres, but I kept eating and so did everyone else. It was really amazing.

We have so many things to be grateful for all year round. I am always appreciative that there is a holiday to help me put things back into perspective at least once a year!

Here is the bayou classic in action (but that picture is not of Michael):

How addicted are you?

2007-11-12T20:28:00.000-05:00

68%

Looking for payday loans?

Come on, be honest. Take the quiz by clicking on the image. You might be surprised!

Maybe we should start an addiction recovery group? Or not.

Super Happy Halloween

2007-11-09T21:30:00.000-05:00

It wasn't until Andrew realized what happens when you keep your costume on that Halloween came alive! We loved watching him catch on to the kind of crazy tradition that we celebrate--knocking on some one's door and begging them for candy . . . dressed up in costume. Kind of weird, but very fun.

So, as I was writing this, my curiosity got the best of me and I googled Halloween history--and of course, I found loads of fun information. History.com gave a very nice review of the ancient history of this modern holiday that we celebrate--dating all the way back to the Celts 2000 years ago. If you want to know more visit: http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=1076

Anyway, we took the train to well known area of Boston, called Beacon Hill to trick-or-treat. It was amazing. The homes are INcREdiblE! From what I hear, they all have very strict standard they have to follow in this area for keeping up the inside and outside of their homes--down to the way they decorate. Pretty shnazy. Most of the homes share a wall with the home next door--some call that town homes--but these were so much more amazing than your average town home. Michael and I were drooling the entire evening. Michael wants to find a way to make enough money so we can move there. I wish him the best of luck--but if it's not too much to ask, I'd still like him home in the evenings to help me put the kids to bed. If he can find time to earn loads of money around that schedule, I will be immensely impressed!

I am already excited for what next year will bring--Jacob will probably be able to participate more than he did from the stroller this year. Happy Halloween . . . very very late.

The Boston Marathon, April 21, 2008

2007-11-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

For several years now I have had this intimidating desire to run a marathon but never the motivation to commit, until now. Several months ago my dear friend Catie was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, called Ewing’s Sarcoma. This is a disease in which cancer cells are found in the bone or in soft tissue. Catie was 22 weeks pregnant when she was first diagnosed and because of the progressive nature of the cancer, it was imperative that she begin chemotherapy immediately. It overwhelms me to imagine being in her position: a mother of two and pregnant with her third with seven months of chemotherapy, medical appointments, surgery, and radiation ahead of her.

Sarah was born on October 3, weighing 2 pounds and 4 ounces. She is doing remarkably well as of today she should have been sent home from the hospital—a month early!

Catie is so courageous, strong and beautiful. And Steve is steady and full of humor. Leave it to Catie and Steve to make this insurmountable trial seem manageable! I owe them the world for the lessons they are unknowingly teaching me. Soon after I became aware of Catie’s diagnosis, Michael and I became involved locally with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Through this involvement I have been invited to race in the 2008 Boston Marathon with the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) team. DFMC directs 100% of funds raised to this program, which enables scientists at the leading edge of discovery to achieve better cure rates and to enhance patients' quality of life.

This April, I will embark on one of the biggest challenge of my life: completing the Boston Marathon. But my personal effort, no matter how difficult, can in no way compare to the challenge facing those diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, nearly everyone knows someone who is affected by cancer, either directly or through a loved one. To support cancer research, Michael and I have set a personal fund-raising goal of $7,500. In a few weeks we are kicking off the fundraising by holding a formal cocktail party at a reception center in downtown Boston. (www.hampshirehouse.com)

If you happen upon this blog and you are interested in supporting Dana-Farber and cancer research, you are more than welcome to donate to this great cause by following the steps below.

Here's how to donate:
1. Go to www.RunDFMC.org.
2. On the left side of the page, click on the "Support a Runner" button.
3. Enter my first and last name: Jennifer Smith, and follow the prompts from there.

Photography 101

2007-11-06T20:00:00.000-05:00

I started a photography class a few weeks ago and I love what I am learning. There is a whole new world that has been opened up to me filled with terms like aperture, f stop, and ISO. I have so much to learn and no time to practice. I feel like the most valuable aspect of the class is exposure to my camera. I just need to find the time. So be forgiving, I need lots of practice. And although I LOVE the subjects that I photograph, they aren't always cooperative.

Rhode Island--Our second home

2007-11-06T17:35:00.000-05:00

The Newport Marriott in Rhode Island is almost our second home! We love visiting this little state--Michael's birthplace and a favorite of mom and dad Smith. While they were here for a long weekend we took a few days off from our crazy life and drove south.

Andrew loved being with his dad for several days straight. It was really refreshing to have the family together again. We ate, sailed, ate, walked along the cliffs, ate, and then had dessert! I love when vacations revolve around one great meal after the next.

Here are a few snapshots of our trip:

This chariot is the only way that I survive in the city. It's called a Phil and Ted--love it!!!

This was the biggest lobster I have ever seen! It was at least 2 feet long.

The Happy Birthday Party

2007-11-06T17:02:00.000-05:00

We felt so guilty for being gone on Andrew's second birthday that we decided to invite 30 of his closest friends over for a party. Well, it wasn't quite like that but, history has a way of changing itself, even if it was only two weeks ago!

The truth is Michael and I went away for a few days to good ole' Prove. The company that Michael works for encouraged him to interview at "the BYU" to see if there were any great students that they could hire. So, we begged Andrew's favorite babysitter Lisa and her husband to stay with the boys for three days and we flew to Utah. We had a much needed break and saw so many of our dear friends.

The morning after we flew home, Michael's parent's arrived on a red-eye (bless their hearts!) to spend a few days with us. We did feel a bit guilty missing Andrew's official birthday, but certainly made up for it with a fun little bash. He has been really in to Elmo and Cookie Monster lately, so we surprised him with enormous cakes sporting his favorite Sesame Street characters.

We ate cake for an entire week after the party . . . the cakes were enormous!

I still get surprised when I realize that I have a two year old. Where does the time go?

We love you Andrew. Happy 2nd Birthday!

Tribute to Andrew

2007-10-18T12:59:00.001-04:00

This blog is in celebration of Andrew. He just turned two years old!! Unfortunately, Michael and I were away for the actual day but, fear not, we are having a ridiculously large birthday party on Saturday when we get back into town.

Andrew is so full of life, charm, laughter, and love. I can hardly believe that I deserve such an angel in our home-he fills us with such joy.

He talks a mile a minute. Loves to read books. Adores Elmo, Cookie Monster and his little dog, Arf. Can't ever get enough of cars, trucks, and sirens. Hates to brush his teeth. Loves bath time. Still takes a 2-3 hour nap!! Dances, giggles, and plays all day long. I can't get enough of him.

Here's to Andrew!

Enchanting isn't it?

2007-10-11T21:35:00.000-04:00

We've lived in Boston for over three years now. Time has passed so quickly. We have loved our time here in Cambridge and hope that we will be here for several more years. Michael is in the process of applying to Business Schools and there are a few good ones here in town, so here's to hoping. If you haven't made it out here, you really should. If you have ventured this far east, come again! These are a few of my favorite views:

The Charles River

The Back Bay portion of downtown--Michael's building has the glowing dome

John Hancock tower in downtown Boston

The famous Citgo sign

Moonlit evening on Commonwealth Ave.

This is our street: Newport Road

Fellow Blog Stalkers

2007-10-09T23:37:00.000-04:00

I was informed this evening that there are several of you fellow bloggers who have tried to post comments on recent posts and were unable to. I was unaware that I had set my comments to the "invitation only" equivalent. It is now open to all!! Comment away. I'd love to know who's been stalking.

Please visit often, and enjoy!

Fall is in the air

2007-10-02T21:57:00.000-04:00

The crisp mornings have finally arrived and I have been loving it. There is something so great about being in New England during this season. One of our most treasured family traditions is apple picking! We've gone several times each fall, buy a million or so apples and cider, bake until Michael's heart is content and eat plenty of apple treats to hold us through the rest of the year until fall returns. Unfortunately, Michael hasn't been able to enjoy this with us yet. Fortunately, there is still a little time in the apple season, AND even more fortunate . . . he will be rejoining our family on Tuesday the 9th of November. (Don't even bother calling to welcome him home. Our phones will be off. It is going to be a family fun day! Andrew and I are so excited.)

[If you haven't been reading the blog regularly, let me quickly fill you in. Michael is a consultant for a firm in downtown Boston. He has been on a case for the last three years that is now preparing for trial. We've known that these last three months would be crazy busy for him, but I don't think I realized how much we would really miss him. Last week he billed the client for over 80 hours of work, which means he was in the office for more than 80 hours. Probably closer to 90 or 100. We really miss him!]

I digress, sorry. So, back to apples. The boys and I headed up to Honey-Pot Hill Orchard with some friends yesterday and Andrew LOVED it. He ate more apples off the tree (and the ground) than I care to admit. This little farm was perfect. It had goats, bunnies, the 3 little pigs (and their houses!), tractors, pumpkins . . .everything that a 2 year old loves. I took over 250 pictures. It was just too easy. We enjoyed ourselves so much.

Here is a sampler of the fun:

You are more than welcome to come join us for apple picking!! I am certain we'll go several more times before the end of October.

Sergi Farms

2007-09-21T23:21:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine, Jennie Preece, and I headed to Sergi Farms last Friday for a morning adventure with the children. (Trust me, it's always an adventure going out together. Jennie has twin girls a month younger than Jacob. Two tired moms vs. 5 very busy children!) This farm was a darling little place that allowed you to pick flowers and pumpkins. Andrew had no desire to do either. He preferred picking up rocks among the flowers and putting them into the tractor's bed. And didn't even make it to the pumpkin patch because he was to busy riding the tractor! I couldn't get him off. He loved it!!

Doesn't he look like he's born to live on a farm?

As always, Jacob enjoyed hanging out in the stroller--watching Andrew run around. What a doll!
This is Jennie, she is definitely a hero of mine. She is with her son Carter and one of the twins. Bless her heart, there isn't anything that holds her back!

Classic Cambridge

2007-09-21T23:12:00.000-04:00

I was on my way home from a run this week and I ran past this car. I had to go back to take a picture of it. Classic!! This is one of the reasons I love where we live so much. I bet they don't have bicycle crusades in Colorado Springs, or Zombie night in Phoenix, or even men in dragon suits riding their skateboards in Houston--we have it all here! Cambridge is full of eclectic people and personalities and I guess cars too. There is never a lack of entertainment when you walk down the street.

My heart goes out to all single mothers--or mothers who feel single

2007-09-21T22:43:00.000-04:00

Michael has been working--let me correct myself--living in his office for the last 11 weeks. He is on a case that is preparing for trial and they have a really tight deadline, so he's been working insane hours for almost 3 months--into the office by 9ish and home after midnight, one or two. And although my little boys are IcREdIBlE, I am worn. I feel like I am being held together with just a few brittle strands of thread. Thanks to those of you who have been gracious enough to catch a few of my tears as they have fallen on your shoulder. It's been hard. I know there are women out there whose husbands do this on a regular basis, so my question is how? How do women do this without the help of their husbands? Just the few hours a day that Michael is usually home to help me is enough to get me through the routine of a week.

Last month I resigned from my position in the Medical ICU at Brigham and Womens Hospital. We have so much uncertainty in our lives in the upcoming months that it didn't make sense to go back after maternity leave. As difficult as it was to come to the decision that I should postpone working for a little while, can hardly imagine how difficult it would be for me to leave my children during these last few months that Michael has been MIA.

On the brighter side of things, I am so grateful that I have the luxury of staying home with my boys.

How do you know when you've completely given your heart away?

2007-09-21T22:22:00.000-04:00

I really think I've lost mine . . . just look at them. They just make me melt everyday. Jacob is SO content with everything in life, I feel so blessed to have him in our family. He has a great routine and he is just so incredibly happy. Andrew is in to everything! His personality is charming and easy. He is learning by leaps and bounds and sometimes I just wonder if I am going to be able to teach him as much as he needs to know. I'm thankful that Michael is my partner in parenting--he seems to know a whole lot about everything.

Long and lean

2007-09-12T13:54:00.000-04:00

Neither of us are tall individuals. But both of our boys are in the 97th percentile for height. I just took Jacob for his 4 month appointment at month late--oops! He was 27 and 3/4 inches long! Two feet and 3.75 inches might not seem very big, but it is for a 5 month old. He weighed in at 15 lbs and 15 oz. Only in the 45th percentile for weight. We are really grateful for a few nice traits in our gene pool. Keep growing Jacob!

One, Two, One

2007-09-12T13:47:00.000-04:00

Little did I know, but the number one comes after two . . . and before two! Try as we might, Andrew refuses to believe us that the number three is involved in the counting process. This illusive number has graced Andrew's vocabulary once or twice, but usually, one precedes and follows two. I am betting that there will be a day that Andrew realizes that we aren't just pulling his chain and we'll be able to count as high as four or five . . .

In the mean time, we'll enjoy: one, two, one.

It's not always as smooth as it seems

2007-09-12T13:40:00.001-04:00

The danger with blogging is that everything always looks and sounds so perfect. Just so you know, we still experience temper tantrums, days with no nap times, diaper rashes on both bottoms (just the boys!), nights when Michael is stuck at the office (come to think of it, when is he ever home?), chicken nuggets every night for dinner--because mama is too tired to make anything else--plenty of screaming during the bewitching hours before bedtime and lots of ice cream to get us through the day! We have ups and downs everyday, but by the end of the night, after the kids are tucked into bed . . . all is well and I am so grateful for my crazy life. Here's to motherhood. It's the hardest thing I'll ever do, but I'd be willing to be my life on it . . .It's the most rewarding thing I'll ever do as well.

Everyday

2007-09-04T22:43:00.001-04:00

Growing up in a family of four girls, I never even imagined that having boys would be so much fun. Andrew and Jacob fill our lives everyday with adventure and laughter.

LOVE THE HAIR!!!

Newport, Rhode Island

2007-09-04T20:43:00.000-04:00

Pictures on the cliff walk . . .

Whenever we can steal away a day to head down to Newport we do. It just doesn't come as frequently as we'd like.
I headed down with the boys and a few friends last Monday while Michael was at work. (He has been literally living at the office for the last 6 weeks. I think he's contemplating renting out his part of the apartment to make a little extra money! I hope the new roomie won't mind the kids things everywhere!) We have a few ties to RI that encourage us to keep returning--Michael was born in a darling little hospital in the heart of Newport, and his family spent several of their early years of marriage living here.
Newport is home to many beauitful mansions. Wikipedia informed me that: "Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, wealthy southern planters seeking to escape the heat began to build "summer cottages" on Bellevue Avenue. Later other wealthier families joined the area--the Wetmore family, the Vanderbilts, and the Astors to name a few." These "cottages" are my kind of vacation home!!

Pictures of the ocean and the Breakers ( the Vanderbilt cottage) . . .

Sunset in Portsmouth . . . how could you not fall in love with this place!!

A lot has happened in the last 10 years!

2007-08-30T21:39:00.001-04:00

It hardly seems possible that ten years have come and gone since I graduated from High School. This was my best friend from school, Emily Hackett (Freeman).
I had the most wonderful time traveling back to San Antonio, more specifically Schertz, Texas for my reunion. I was flooded with nostalgia as I drove through this little cowboy town. I had so many precious memories return as I visited my old home, church building, friends homes, the military base, etc.--some memories I was grateful to leave behind--but more often that not, I really cherished my time in Texas.
Texas was wonderful in 1997-- and it still is!! The sky is never ending, the stars are innumerable, the Tex-Mex is amazing, the Cowboys are darling, the music is heartwarming, the football rocks, and the pride is contagious! I miss the Lone Star State. God Bless Texas!

Plum Island Beach

2007-08-30T18:27:00.000-04:00

We've lived in Boston for three years by now and this was the FIRST time we visited the beached in Massachusetts. How embarrassing! We went with the Harts, a family from our ward, and had a wonderful time with the kiddos.

This picture made me fall in love with Michael all over again!! He loves time with the boys . . . but it's been rare the last few weeks. Work has been consuming all of his time. We feel lucky that he was able to join us for this day trip before things got hectic.

New York, New York

2007-08-29T16:12:00.002-04:00

There is something so enchanting about NYC! Michael and I took a weekend away from the boys and drove to New York the first weekend in July. We had an incredible time! I think I had forgotten how it felt to have a conversation without being interrupted. And since we ALWAYS have a child in our arms or are pushing a stroller, our hands are always occupied. It was so nice to hold hands and walk down the street again!

Friday afternoon we met a friend for lunch, other friends for dinner, tried to get into a show, and enjoyed dessert at the Mandarin Hotel. Saturday morning went running in Central Park, met friends for brunch, dinner and salsa dancing. The weekend was packed. It was so rejuvenating to be without children, but by the end of the weekend we were ready to come home.

Grand Old Flag

2007-08-29T16:00:00.001-04:00

We celebrated our country's Independence like most Americans . . . we decided to pull out the tie-dye, make the famous flag cake, and gorge ourselves--like every holiday!
This year was the first year we've celebrated the 4th in Boston. We've been pulled away for the last two years, but were grateful to be home. We are so blessed to be in this country and enjoy so many freedoms. I am thankful for a day dedicated to remembering our forefathers and the sacrifices they rendered in our behalf.

Oxford Park

2007-08-23T13:36:00.001-04:00

One of the things that I absolutely LOVE about living in Cambridge is the parks. I think--without exaggerating--that there are at least 30 parks in a one mile radius from my home. Andrew loves going to play . . . and Jacob loves to watch. While playing at the park, Andrew is usually so overwhelmed by all of the possibilities for having fun that he wears a dazed expression! (see picture #2)

Mourning Mornings

2007-08-23T13:27:00.001-04:00

Jacob usually wakes up really early in the morning to eat. As soon as I can, I lay him back down and try to fall asleep for the last precious moments before my day is really forced to begin: when I hear Andrew jumping in his bed and calling out "Mama, Mama". It really is rather cute. But I do appreciate my sleep these days.

Thankfully, Michael has been a HUGE help easing me into our daily routines. If he has time in the morning, he'll get up with Andrew so I can drift off for a few more moments. The other morning, I woke up and found them reading. It doesn't get much better than this!

Socks

2007-08-23T13:22:00.001-04:00

We love socks around our house. There is no lack of desire to find a really good pair of socks and snuggle them right on to your feet. Andrew has learned at a very young age to appreciate this Smith family tradition.