Chloe's Tooth

Chloe lost her first top front tooth. She looks so cute and we are calling her snaggles. The tooth was jus barely hanging in there and finally came out when she was brushing her teeth before bed. Here is her picture

Happy Birthday Nanny!

We celebrated nanny's birthday last night and it was lots of fun. Here is a cute picture of the Nanny and the girls and her yummy oreo birthday cake from Dairy Queen.

Happy Birthday Chloe

Chloe turned 7 on Tuesday. We had lots of fun...a slumber party over the weekend, dinner at nanny and pop's on Monday and out to eat on Tuesday. I can believe how much she has grown. She is a sweet blessing to our family.

Here are some pictures of her special day:

Here are some pictures of birthdays past:

Happy Birthday Parker!

Well, our oldest girl is nine today. We had lots of fun today, but the real fun is tomorrow night. Parker and Chloe are having a sleepover birthday party! Here are some pictures from today.

And here are a few pictures of birthdays past

Creative Arts Camp

Parker and Chloe attended Creative Arts Camp this week at Northbrook Church and they loved it. The kids were able to choose from a variety of arts - boomwhackers, interpretive dance, drama, banner art, etc. Their favorite was the dance. The kids all got to participate in the worship service this morning. It was really amazing. They were learning all week about how to use their gifts to glorify God. Here are two videos of the practice before the worship service. I like filming practices because then I get to really watch the real thing.

A trip to the Farmer's Market with Chloe

This morning Chloe wanted to go with me to the farmer's market. She also went with me last week. She loves it - mainly because I let whoever goes with me pick out a treat and she enjoys a treat more than any kid I know. Anyway, here is her funny comment of the day....

After visiting the Mennonite booth to get chocolate milk, Chloe said, "Mommy, why do they always dress up like they are poor?"

So, apparently in Chloe's mind, the Mennonite people come across as not poor but they just dress like they are poor. I think this warrants a lesson in history, different religious views and maybe even a trip to visit the Mennonite farm.

And for her treat today - a chocolate, chocolate chip muffin....mmmmm.

12 Years and counting

Happy Anniversary to us! Tomorrow is our anniversary, but we are celebrating tonight because tomorrow is Sunday. It seems like the time has been so short, but also like it has always been. I know I have said it before many times, but I really do have the sweetest, most thoughtful husband in the world. I am in love with him now more than ever. I had to post a picture of one of my favorite presents. The picture speaks for itself...

Chloe's Dance Recital

Chloe had so much fun the week of her dance recital. There were extra practices, a dress rehearsal at the civic center and then the big day. She practiced very hard and knew her dances well. And this year she was even responsible for changing costumes by herself - no parents allowed backstage after the show starts. Aside from being fun, I think Chloe learns a lot from dance that is important - self control, working together with a group of friends, and some responsibility. Not to mention that she is full of joy as she dances - she is a joy to watch. Here are some pictures and then the dance videos from dress rehearsal - no cameras allowed at the real show.

Lilly's Playschool Program

First of all---Sorry I have been absent for a while. The old smith family laptop died (although it wasn't really that old) a few weeks ago and so now I have finally set up the new one with all the appropriate stuff so I can blog again.

So first in line of important events missed: Lilly's playschool program. She had lots of fun singing the songs and getting her certificate. Here are some pictures and video.

Piano Recital

Last Saturday Parker and Chloe had their spring piano recital. They have both practiced very hard this semester and did a great job. Here are a few pictures and the video.

Happy Birthday Lilly Grace!

Easter has gone

Well, Easter has come and gone, but we really had a great week leading up to the special day. As is our usual tradition, we made the tomb/mountain out of dough and baked it and made pipe cleaner people to act out all the stories leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection. But this year we really upgraded the pipe cleaner people. We made them out of wood beads, pipe cleaners, yarn and we sewed them clothes. They turned out great. I think all the fuss over making them helps us to remember that Easter is important and we do special things to plan for it, just like Christmas. Anyway, here are a few of my favorite Easter pics and there is even one of the risen Jesus who has conquered sin and death.

Guess what I got for my birthday

Sledding pics

Here are some sledding pictures (thanks Angie for taking them) from our day at the Autrys. We had so much fun - well, everyone except Lilly - didn't I already mention that. Although this morning she told me that if we went again today, she would love it. She just didn't love it yesterday.

Wow, I'm way behind

Since I last blogged, there have been many exciting events around the Smith house. We had a really fun Valentine's Day - Ronnie and I learned to waltz. The girls got some goodies and we planted strawberries and flowers in little pots on the window sills. We had a visit from a certain little cutie pie named Kaplan.

We watched Chloe at parents watch week at Ballet. Here are the video clips. She is really practicing hard and doing a great job.

Ronnie made the girls a really cool tent last night and we had a sleepover in it. We all cuddled up and watched a movie and Ronnie even slept in it with them - he's a great dad. I opted for my own nice warm soft bed. Here is a little video of the tent (some of it is a little dark).




Last night it also snowed - a lot. I can't remember ever having so much snow. We spent the morning playing outside at our house and then the afternoon at Jamie and Marcie's sledding the hills. The girls loved it - except Lilly who doesn't really like to be cold. She loves to be warm.
Silas loved the snow, even though it completely covered him. Here is a video clip of him in the snow.



And finally, here are some pictures of our snowy day at home. I'll try not to save up so much for one blog next time.

Hollywood Studios and Epcot

We spent the last two days at Hollywood and Epcot. They were the most fun for me and Ronnie. They girls had a blast too. At Hollywood we went to Playhouse Disney (Chloe loved this), we saw the Beauty and the Beast musical (awesome), we went to the block party with all the characters from Toy Story and Monsters Inc, we watched real stunt cars jump ramps and catch on fire (Ronnie and Parker's favorite), we played at the honey I shrunk the kids playground and ate at the Sci-Fi drive in Theater (very cool). It was a chilly but fun day.

At Epcot we road Soarin (the family favorite except Lilly was too short to ride), we rode Nemo, we rode Spaceship Earth, Ronnie rode another space ride that the girls and I chickened out on, we walked through all the countries. I just want to add in here that this was my favorite. I loved seeing all the stuff from the different countries. It is as if you get to visit them in some small way. We spent a while in France and had lunch there. I had crepes and it reminded me of our trip to Paris. We also spent a while in China, watched the acrobats and a movie and China's history. We had dinner in Norway - storybook dining with Princesses. They come around to your table so you don't have to wait in line to see them. It was Awesome. Epcot was my favorite.

Here are some pictures from the two days.

Ronnie's Big Day

You would think that a day at Magic Kingdom would be all about the kids....but not our day. The girls had tons of fun, but Ronnie was singled out on more than one occasion. We headed off to Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom. We rode space mountain (Parker and Chloe were very brave) and we went to the laugh floor at Monster's Inc. This is an interactive, movie type thing where they single out audience members, put them in the spotlight and either ask the questions or make fun of them. Well, Ronnie was "that guy". Every time they would make a joke and say "don't be like that guy", they put him on the huge screen for everyone to see. They even gave him a sticker that said "I was that guy". The girls thought it was so funny!

We went to Mickey's House and Minnie's house, rode the carousel, drove the Indy speedway cars, had lunch and then went to storytime with Belle. Here is where Ronnie comes back into the story. Storytime with Belle is also interactive. They pick audience members (kids) to act out parts of Belle's story. Well, Ronnie was picked out of the audience to be the Beast/Prince. He got to roar, die, turn into the prince and dance with Belle. The girls also thought this was funny, and could not figure out why daddy kept getting picked at all the shows we went to. I have really not laughed so hard in a very long time. It was great!

Favorites: Parker's favorite was Monster's Inc. Chloe's favorite was splash mountain (and the mickey mouse ice cream sandwich). Lilly's favorite was the Indy Speedway. Ronnie's favorite was dancing with Belle. My favorite was laughing at Ronnie dance with Belle, It's a small world, and the spectromagic parade and fireworks. Nanny's favorite was It's a small world. We all had a blast.

Here are some pictures from the day

Here is Ronnie's dance with Belle




Here is Chloe's crazy monkey dance as she waits to ride splash mountain

First Day at Disney

Wow what a fun trip we've had already. Just the trip down (which took us 2 days of driving) was actually really nice. The girls love to stay in a hotel - anywhere. We did have a crazy first night on the way down. We checked into a really nice hotel, got the girls in their jammies and then realized that the toilet in our room was overflowing. It turns out that we had the very last room (as it was about 12:00)and so they could not move us to another room. So we loaded everything back into the car, girls in their jammies, and drove to a different hotel that had a room. Apparently there was a wrestling convention being held in Macon, GA and almost all of the rooms were booked up. Luckily, we found a room and went to bed.

Last night, after arriving in Orlando, we checked into our AWESOME resort and headed to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. We went to the hugest world of disney store I've ever seen and got mouse ears for the girls. Today we went to Animal Kingdom. Parker loved the Safari and some roller coaster in Dinoland. Chloe loved her Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich. Lilly loved meeting the characters, standing in line to meet them and getting her picture made with them. They all had so much fun. We finished the night off at Rain Forest Cafe. Here are some pictures from the trip down and today at Animal Kingdom.