Smith Family Fiasco!

Hey all!
This is our first post. So good for us. We wanted to post some pictures today (which we will do), but we wanted to get some new ones to. So out comes the camera, and before we know it we have tables stacked on top of each other trying to take a "Christmas card photo". Well those haven't worked out yet so you get some older ones.
Things are good for us. We are currently working on a deal that will give us cheap rent for taking care of a couple of horses. We will see if that will work out or not. Mariah has finals this week in her classes, that will be a load of stress gone once she gets that done.
Evalyn has been sick for the past couple of days. Just a really nasty cold, a genuine snot fountain. She is growing up fast, and will generally repeat anything you ask her. Some of the newest words are bacuum (vacuum), mountain (she actually says that pretty good), and bekfast (breakfast). It is fun to watch her grow. Another one of our favorite things is we let her watch Kung Fu Panda, and the part where panda is getting trained and the teacher says he can eat, when the teacher takes the dumpling from the panda she will laugh. It is great!


Just a side note, man can TEXAS play football!

Ben

Right Now in North Carolina...

Well. Right now in North Carolina, I'm skipping church with a sick Emily. The other two kids are home as well because, well, at least this way Dave might actually get something from church.

Emily is supposed to be the "Star Student" in her class this week, and we filled out a little survey about her for the bulletin board. Here were her answers:

1. I am 5 years old. My birthday is on: I don't know.
2. My favorite book is: 10 Funny Fish (some crappy dollar store book. I think it just happened to be the first thing she saw on the shelf. I really want to lie and say something like "Gulliver's Travels" or at least "Fancy Nancy.")
3. My favorite color is: Pink and Purple. (Which, in her mind, is one color.)
4. I have 1 brother and 1 sister.
5. When I grow up I want to be: I don't know.
6. I'm special because: I don't know.
7. I was born in: I don't know.
8. My favorite food is: Pizza and ice cream. (What the...her real favorite food is ham.)
9. My favorite thing about school is: drawing. (Shwew! A real answer!)
10. My favorite snack is: rainbow goldfish. (She said that with a nasty look at me because we never have those.)
11. My favorite toy is: I don't know.

Wow. We're raising a really self-assured, confident kid there. Although, she's watching Fantasia 2000 right now (on our "allowed" Sunday movie list) and she just said "She's not choosing the right. She's choosing the left." At least we've taught her something!

Caleb is the biggest drama queen ever. I'm not kidding. Serious div-o going on there. This morning he was weeping and wailing over... uh... I have no idea. But it lasted a really long time. At his 3 year well-child checkup this week I asked her if it was normal for a kid to be so hyper emotional. She just laughed at me. Maybe I'll video one of his fits and THEN ask her if it's normal. On his Christmas list is a blue airplane, a game, and a Powerwheels Motorcycle that his dad already bought WITH him at Goodwill and then stashed in the attic. He even knows right where it is.

Which brings up a conundrum--what the heck am I going to get Emily to compete with a Power Wheels motorcycle??? I mean, really? I think her little "Crayola Glow Dome" is going to look pretty pathetic next to a moving vehicle. We've thought of getting her a bike, but then the visual of the skinny girl pedalling down the road with her tank of a brother following behind NOT using any muscles... well. I'm just not sure that's a good idea either.

Ainsley is cute. And funny. She's learned how to make raspberries--you know? Stick her tongue out of her mouth and blow? It's really funny. (See video below.) It's our favorite thing right now. She has 8 teeth, which she used to bite Dave on the shoulder yesterday. Hard enough that it left a mark. Through THREE LAYERS of clothing. Little velociraptor. She got her first ever "time out."

And so it begins.

Happy Birthday, Adam...

Adam, I love this picture of you and Ellie. I think it captures what I love about you this year, which is your sense of humor. You've always had a great sense of humor, but I really think that it helps you to be one of the non-whiniest people I know. There is far too much whining in this world, and I'm proud to say I know someone that doesn't contribute to it. (Which is more than I can say for myself.) I never heard you complain this year, even when juggling a broken neck or a newborn baby with a broken collar bone. I admire that a lot.

So happy birthday. You're phenomenal.

Love you,
Becca

They say its your birthday

Adam's birthday usually falls right in the middle of finals and since Adam has a real knack for staying in the educational system, he also has a pretty high chance of having a lame birthday.

Our first winter at MIT he was so freaked out about his final the next day he didn't even eat his cake, but things got a better. Our next year, after realizing that they only kick out like 1/3 of the students, he did take the evening off. We got a babysitter , but the forecast was snow and more snow 17 inches fell that day. Most of the town shut down and our event was out, so we decided to just drive around and get stuck--as we hated to waste our babysitter. Adam doesn't like to admit it, the oldsmobile handled like a champ in snow, and we could spin around anywhere because the town was mostly deserted--all except for some totally crazy woman we helped get unstuck who was trying to learn about migratory birds. It turned out to be way more fun than the cultural event we had planned, and a great birthday.

Here is hoping for some snow in the Bay area tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Adam...

Demo-whatics? ;)

Ok so I'm not cool like Becca and don't know who to post the video right on to the website buuuuttttt.... Here is the link to a video I think most (if not all) of you will find quite interesting. Let me know what you think or how you feel eh? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU

The funniest thing. Ever.

can you see this?

Ok so maybe its just me... but I can't see the titles above any of the posts.... ever! Just wondering if its just me, or if others are having this problem; if it is just me the how the heck do I fix it?