Sydney's got Talent!

For the past two years, Sydney has performed in her school's talent show. I have never pushed her to sign up, she does it all on her own. She is getting really good at the piano-- Thanks Aunt Val for the lessons! This year she played When the Saints Go Marching In.

Here comes the bride

Payton goes through spurts when she loves to play dress up. She has a play wedding gown that Grandma Hillman made. It even came with a veil, flowers and a poofy slip. Payton parades around in the whole getup all day for days at a time. She has a pair of purple dress up shoes that she loves. She wears them everywhere-- around the house that is. I won't let her wear them anywhere else. So, if you happen to stop by in the middle of the day, don't be surprised if a child-bride answers the door! I'll post a picture of the little bride, next time I take one.

Baby Kate

Our new little girl was born April 18. At first I didn't think Katelyn looked like Sydney and Payton, but every day she looks more and more like her sisters. She is a happy and content baby. She smiles at everyone and rarely cries. I love my Kate!
Sydney calls her self 'the biggest sister' to differentiate between herself and Payton as big sisters. She really is a wonderful 'biggest' sister. She helps all the time. She will run and get diapers or wipes or burp clothes or pacifiers. She helps around the house. She entertains Payton. I do not know what I would do without her help. She is such a sweet girl. I love to watch her with Kate. She is like a little mother. She sits and talks to Kate and holds Kate. I love my Sydney!
Payton loves to be a big sister. She helps a lot- sometimes too much. But, I know she is trying to show her little sister how much she loves her. Payton does not like to hear Kate cry. She covers her ears and sometimes even starts to cry or panic a little if I am not immediately available to help Kate. Until Kate was born I thought of Payton as my little girl, almost like a baby. But, she seems to have grown up over night. She is a sweetheart. I love my Payton!

Rise and shout the Cougars are out

We are Cougar fans. Our friends are Cougar fans. Our kids are Cougar fans. I wouldn't say extreme, (until I see the amount of BYU stuff we have and realize even Sydney knows who Jimmer is) but we are loyal! In November Brian and I went with some friends to a football game in Provo, in February we went with friends to a basketball game at the Marriott Center and in April Brian took Syd to the Blue and White Spring Game. Sydney was so excited to go with Brian. I know they had a good time, but I feel bad the weather was so awful.

Bless your beautiful hide

During the day, when Payton doesn't have Sydney to play with or torment, she is left to her own imagination. More often than not, she can be found playing Barbies or Polly Pockets behind the closed door of her bedroom. (She closes the door so I cannot peek in and embarrass her.) Her Polly Pockets know the words to all of Payton's favorite musicals: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Oklahoma, State Fair, My Fair Lady, and many others. The song I hear most often is "Bless your beautiful hide" from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Coming from a three-year-old, the song makes me giggle!

Grandpa Smart

I want to take just a moment to post a little bit about my Grandpa Smart. He passed away in March and I want to write a few special memories about him.
Every year we get spend a week at the cabin near Bear Lake that he and my grandmother built. While there, Grandma and Grandpa would always come and spend an evening with us. They usually brought corn on the cob and other produce from their garden. When I was young, it was my job to help husk corn. But, in recent years it has become my children's job. I have so many memories of spending time with my grandparents at the Lake. We hiked, walked to the water, attended church, but mostly we worked! We weeded, mowed, watered, vacuumed, dusted, swept, etc. But, I never remember not wanting to do the jobs I was assigned. I worked willingly because my grandparents were right there working, too.
Grandpa and Grandma worked in the Logan Temple. As a Sealer, Grandpa received permission to come to Idaho Falls and perform my marriage. While I don't remember a lot of what was said at the ceremony, I will never forget how happy I was to have that sacred ordinance performed by my Grandfather.
Now that I have children of my own, they have memories of Grandpa Smart, too. Sydney learned flag etiquette from Grandpa. She also learned to relax and enjoy the beauty of Bear Lake from a lawn chair. Payton loved Grandpa's voice. He would read Goldilocks and the Three Bears to her over and over. Her favorite was his Papa Bear voice. He could make the deep, low growl of that bear and you almost felt bad for poor Goldilocks!
I could list numerous other fond memories of time spent and lessons learned, as could my siblings, but I want to end with what I will remember most: Singing in Sacrament Meeting with Grandpa. He loved hymns. He was always singing, humming or whistling a hymn. I never grew too old to enjoy sitting next to him on a church pew and hearing him sing from his heart those hymns. Every time he sang, I felt he was bearing his testimony of the truths he was singing. Along with everyone who knew him, I look forward to seeing him again.

My girls + Barbies = Hours of Entertainment (for me)

My girls take after me in a very important way- They love to play Barbies. Sydney plays the same way I did; gives them pretend names, does pretend things with them, etc.
Payton, however, is unique. Her Barbies take on the lives of people she knows. For example, she has a girl and a boy that have become Dayna and Brian. In fact, we all refer to those two barbies as Brian and Dayna. If Payton cannot find these two particular dolls, she asks, "Where's Brian and Dayna." And, sadly, I know exactly what she wants-- and it is not me or her dad! On a more comical note, 'Dayna' is always wearing the wedding dress and 'Brian' has dark curly hair (actually he is a Black man).

Dancing Queen... with stage fright

Payton has always been a pretty outgoing child. She has never been very shy around people-- until lately.
In September Payton started taking dance. She is in a class made up of about eight 3-year-old girls. They have learned basic motor skills like jumping, hopping, skipping, galloping, etc. I must admit, it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen to watch eight little girls trying to skip! They concentrate so hard and get so frustrated, but they just can't seem to get it. And then, one day, it just clicks!
Payton has enjoyed dance so much that I think we'll keep her involved next year, too. There's just one catch: Our poor little Payt has stage fright! She had a recital in December and one in May. Both times, our sweetheart just stood in the middle of the stage with the deer-in-the-headlights look on her face. She works so hard on her dances and knows every move and every word of each song. But, once she gets on that stage she is frozen! Keep trying, sweetie, you'll conquer your fear!

We're Idahoan!

Brian changed jobs in December of 2010. He worked at Melaleuca for almost 10 years, and had some great opportunities-- including a three week business trip to Singapore and Malaysia. But, it was time for a change. Now we are true Idahoans! Brian works for a company called Idahoan. The company makes instant mashed potatoes. My brother thinks it's hilarious that we live in Idaho, work for a company named Idahoan and deal with the thing Idaho is famous for-- potatoes! We're a walking advertisement for living in Idaho!

Molly Lou Melon

Like most children, Payton has a favorite book. The book is called Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon. It's by Patty Lovell. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. Payton has this story memorized. She does voices and everything. I want to record her 'reading' the book. When I do, I will add to this post.

I've slacked... but I'm back!

I look at my blog every day when I turn the computer on-- it's my home page. Every day I feel guilty for letting it sit for almost TWO YEARS. But, yesterday my mom called and told me how much she loves my blog and my sisters' blogs. She also reminded me that my blog is not just a fun hobby, but a journal for my kids. That's what got me going! I can't backtrack the past two years, but I can give a little prelude to what's going on right now.