How to clean practically anything

Sydney: How do you clean a trophy?
Me: Just use a clean cloth and dust it off.
Sydney: Like a kleenex?
Me: Sure. Why?
Sydney: Maybe one of my daily chores should be to clean my trophy.

Sydney played baseball this summer and had a wonderful time. Each of the kids got a trophy. Obviously Sydney loves her trophy! After the above conversation, Brian found Sydney on the couch reading a book titled: How to Clean Practically Anything. She was very annoyed that 'trophy' was not listed!

Bear Lake 2011

Kate's cheeks are so chubby! I just want to squish them!
Our four generation picture: Mom, Me, Kate and Grandma Smart.
The girls! Brian always seems to be taking the pictures instead of being in the pictures!

We always have a wonderful time during our week-long vacation to Bear Lake. This year was no exception! But, unlike the past several years, the water was up to normal levels. Brian and our daughters had not ever seen the lake at its high water level. We had so much fun at the cabin: in the water, playing games, watching movies, eating yummy treats and more. We had a house full-- about 22 people and everyone had a great time. And, Grandma Smart came to spend one night with us. It made me a little teary to see Grandma at the cabin without Grandpa, but it was great to have her there with us. We tried to get her to relax and just sit down for a moment, but of course she had to be up and busy! We had a wonderful vacation!

Splish, Splash, Summer Fun

Summer took a while to get here, but now that we are having some real summer weather, the girls are having a blast! They love to play in the water: slip n' slide, sprinkler, pool, hot tub-- it doesn't matter. They love to get wet!

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

To prepare for Sydney's baptism, we spent quite a few Family Home Evenings talking about why we are baptized, how we are baptized and the importance of making the decision. I was so impressed with Sydney's knowledge of the gospel. She knew so much already about repentance and baptism and the Holy Ghost.

Baby Blessing

Katelyn was blessed on Sunday, June 5. I am just really behind in posting. It was a wonderful day. We are blessed to have a lot of family near enough to attend. And, we have great family and friends that are willing to travel to attend our special events. We appreciate their effort to be here and support us.
On a sad note, it was the first big event in our little family that Grandpa Smart has missed. Grandma Smart came and it was wonderful to see her, but there was a touch of sadness.

Eight Years Old!

We went to Texas Roadhouse for Syd's birthday dinner (her favorite place) and they happened to have a person making things out of balloons. So Sydney requested a mouse and Payton wanted a motorcycle.

Sydney and Grandma Vanderbeek made the birthday cake this year.

I really can't believe how quickly Sydney is growing up. It's so exciting to watch her learn and grow and mature. She is a wonderful daughter! She helps so much with her sisters, she is a cleaning fanatic and she has such a sweet spirit. Happy Birthday Sydney, We love you!!

Compassion

Payton has a stuffed puppy that she carries everywhere. The name of the puppy varies between Roxi, Charlie and Zoe (names of our friends' real dogs). This poor puppy has been through a lot in the short 6 months that Payton has owned it. The seam on the back finally gave out. For the past couple weeks I've found little bits of fluff all over the house that have fallen out. I finally made time this morning to sew the ripped seam. Payton was very concerned when I got a needle and thread out of my sewing box. "Why do you need a needle?" was her worried question. I explained that I had to sew up the puppy's back. The whole time I was sewing, Payton kept reassuring her puppy it would be ok. "I know needles are scary. It will be okay." She kept saying. Payton is so compassionate. She is quick to remember her sisters when she gets a special treat or when they are upset or hurt. She is a good example to all of us!

Bad Dreams

Payton had a bad dream last night. She woke up screaming about spiders in her bed. It was so real to her that I couldn't get her to go back to bed. She ended up on the couch with a blanket. As soon as she went to sleep, she woke up with the same dream. I finally convinced her that her bed did not have spiders. She agreed to go back to bed (in her own bed) if I put the fly swatter on the floor next to her bed. It must have worked, because she didn't complain about spider dreams after that. However, she was so wide awake that she didn't go back to sleep almost 3 hours. She finally went to sleep at 5am. As frustrating as it was to be up most of the night, I feel so bad for little Payt. I wish I could take my children's bad dreams away. It makes me feel helpless when they get so scared and worked up about something that isn't even real.

Squid

Sydney is playing Coach Pitch Softball this year and loving it. I must admit, she's pretty good. She can hit, she can throw and she has so much fun. Her team is a bunch of 3rd and 4th grade boys-- and only 1 other girl. At the last practice Sydney was the only girl. Her coach called her 'Syd' and asked if that was ok. She said, "That's my nickname!" Then she said, "Sometimes my dad calls me 'Syd the Squid'." Her coach laughed and asked if it was ok if he called her 'Squid'. She thought that was pretty cool. So now her whole team calls her "Squid".

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.