Our Little Hobbit

I never thought I would ever attempt to make a Halloween costume. I'm not "that kind of mom" - or at least I thought so, but sometime in September I got the idea to have Kale be a hobbit for Halloween. He was running around the house with his long curls and we thought - he looks just like a hobbit! So I tried to find an costume to buy... but there wasn't anything in his size... so I improvised! I bought some fabric for the cloak, a fake gold ring, some fake fur, and found a vest at goodwill for a couple bucks and used some of his church clothes for the pants and shirt. My friend Katie helped me sew the cloak (and helped me learn to sew better in the process!- thanks katie!) and I think it turned out great!

This year was the first time Kale has gone trick or treating so it was really fun. He got the hang of it, but tired out pretty quickly so we didn't go too far... here's some pics!

sorry!

I know it's been a long long time since I've blogged anything... I thought we might have some good news to share eventually, but no luck on that front, so I haven't really been in the mood to blog. But, I do hope everybody is doing well and enjoying the beautiful fall leaves and weather for us - and I'll try to get some pics and stuff up soon.

Love, Julie

Kale's New Slide

Well, new to us anyways. I had been searching craigslist for a while to find a slide for Kale to play on indoors. It's so hot here we have to stay inside most of the time, which equals no playground or park time. Anyways, these slides are pretty spendy, and Yuma has a pretty crappy craigslist, but we were heading to San Diego for the day so I found one there for a great deal! It was a lot bigger than we were expecting (and almost didn't fit in our car), but Kale loves it! See how coordinated he's getting from the last video? They grow up so fast!

Cobb

We stopped at my Auntie Joan & Uncle Boysie's house on the way back home for a much needed driving break. They are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet! While Zack and I grabbed some Z's they hung out with Kale and even took him to the park. They were also dogsitting a couple of their friends dogs, one being a Great Dane Katie. Check out the cute pics of Kale and Katie conked out. So cute to see little Kale with this giant dog. I'm so glad Baker has made Kale a dog lover. When we got up we had an wonderfully yummy dinner (my aunt is a great cook) and were on the road again. It was soooo good to see them and I was glad they were able to see Kale at the age he's at, because it's pretty cute. Love you guys and a million thank-yous...

Kale meets Katie


















Fun at the Park














Conked out with Katie




























Auntie Joan, Uncle Boysie & Me

Whale Watching

One of the highlights of the trip was that Zack's parents took us whale watching! We'd all never been before and it was amazing! There was a couple times where the whales came right up to and/or under the boat.They were so close it was surreal. It's a totally different feeling seeing them in the wild, than at say Sea World or an aquarium. So cool! We went out of Anacortes, WA and the party consisted of Z's parents, Cody, Logan, Logan's parents and us. We took a picnic lunch and were out on the water for about 5 hours. Here's the pics:

The Orca's








































Minke Whale










I married a keeper huh?




































On the way back... Cindy, John & Cody

Friends!

Although I'm getting better at getting out the camera... I'm still horrible. So I'm ashamed these are all the pics I have of our friends while on our trip... and some of them I stole from Aims off of facebook. Arrrgh! The first ones are from lunch at On Rice with Kim, Mark, Sarah & Sophie. Then some from our Spaghetti Factory dinner with a bunch of friends... which I go NO pics at. Whoops. And then I got together with my high school buds Trina & April in Portland on our way back home. So fun seeing all of you guys!! Love ya.

Check out this sequence... Sophie checking Kale out...










Then going in for the kiss!! hehe super cute.










Auntie Kimmy reading to the kiddos - isn't Sophie gorgeous??


















Sarah, Sophie, Kale & Me











Aims, Me & Kale














Aims, Me, Wren & Emily














Checking out some spot lighting at the Spaghetti Factory



































April, Trina and Me

Semiahmoo

The monday of our Ferndale trip was busy and fun, we went to lunch with friends (see next post) and then did a bike ride from Birch Bay to Semiahmoo with Kim and Mark ... although I didn't make it all the way to the end. Apparently I had bent something on my bike and we were like 9/10ths of the way there and my bike just stopped. Seriously it just stopped. Luckily I had just enough time to click out of my pedals before I took a dive. Whew! So the boys went to get the cars and Kim and I had a nice snack on some blackberries that were growing along side the road... can we say convenient??? Yum! We did finally make it to Semiahmoo - one of my other favorite places in Whatcom County. We used to head out here to the beach almost every Sunday to relax and eat a picnic. It's really beautiful. We met up with the whole fam and had a BBQ dinner. Originally it was just gonna be something really simple... like hot dogs and chips... but the Smiths can't do simple so it ended up being a wonderful feast with corn on the cob, watermelon and smores... sooo good! See the connecting ties in all my posts? Food? I really was hoping that vacation calories don't count, but when I got home, much to my dismay - they do... Anyways, it was a beautiful evening and Kevin & Jess brought their camera so I could play around with it. It's super nice and they have a telephoto lens, so I was in heaven. So Fun!! Here's what ensued...

Beautiful Grace

















Hi Mom!

















Getting ready to take off!

















Kissin' cousins

















Momma & Kale

















Mr. Andrew

















Kai - such a cutie!!












Grandma Cindy & Kai












There's nothing like the beach...

















Pretty Sunset

















Kevin & Andrew

















Eden & Preston

















Owen

















Grandpa John & Kai












Proof I went on this trip - according to Kevin...

Ferndale

Ooooh, I miss this place. So we finally made it up to Ferndale to spend some quality time there. On Sunday, we went to church in our old ward Ferndale 3rd... awww. It was so nice to see everyone... even though we got put right to work saying the prayers...:) I really enjoyed going to sunday school and relief society. I usually teach the kids on sunday and you just don't get the same amount of deeper spirit stuff when you are in there all the time. So it was very uplifting and nice to have that break. Sunday night we got together with a bunch of friends and their families to have a dessert potluck/bonfire. It was soooo nice to catch up with everyone and enjoy the evening at one of our favorite places. Monday we went to Semiahmoo (will be a separate post) and tuesday we saw Harry Potter and played games at the Leaths and wednesday we got together with a bunch of Zack's extended family. At the bottom are some pics of the cousins from that night. It was such a nice night! We played with the kiddos, ate crab and tons of other yummy food and just enjoyed being together. A big thanks to Zack's parents John & Cindy for putting us up and organizing so much. Here's the photos:

The Bonfire... and the Nooksack














What happens at the river, doesn't stay at the river - it comes home with you
Spencer :)

















Andrew

















Riding the tractor































Grandpa Bill











All the cousins... minus Kai












What most of the pics looked like... Kale is CRAZY!












Uncle Logan and Kale were matching that night!

More info...

Sorry to get your hopes up (aims & sarah) we're not moving back... :( But we are moving houses - hopefully! If everything goes as planned, we're going to rent a house of some friends of ours that are moving out of state. It was a little bit of a difficult decision because it's more in rent than we are spending now... but we decided it would be worth it in the end. It's a really nice house, with 4 bedrooms, a pool, play area and nicely landscaped backyard. We decided that if we are going to be down here for an indefinite amount of time (hopefully not more than 4-5 years) we should probably make it as livable and enjoyable as possible. We don't want to buy a house now, in case we do get a transfer earlier than we think. There's not a lot of things to do around here, not a lot of parks out in our area and the heat is pretty miserable in the summer. Plus, Zack works such long hours it would be nice to be able to have things to do at home to take advantage of the time he is here. Our backyard right now is sand and rocks, so it's adding almost twice the amount of livable/usable space! I'm also excited about colored walls, a huge huge pantry, garage door opener, bathroom fans (lol), being close to schools so we can play in the fields & big toys, lighted sidewalks to walk or run, and being closer to Zack's work, town and church. I can't wait to post some pics! I hope everything works out...

The Pro's Won

We'll be moving the end of September!

Pro's & Con's

When making a big decision a pro's/con's list can help. But why is it that I find whenever I make one I already sort of have a side I'm taking - so I consciously or subconsciously end up trying to make that side look better? I think we all struggle with big decisions involving money. My current dilemma is: Do I try to spend the least now so I have a better house later... or do I spend a little more to have a better quality of life now and take a little longer to save for our own home? My gut instinct is to always save money and be reserved, but I always do that and sometimes to the detriment of fun, family time, etc. Life is now too - and sometimes I forget that. My brain continues to argue with itself...

Redwoods

Well this is out of order, but on the way up we stopped at the Redwoods. The Avenue of the Giants. It was really amazing! We both hadn't been there since we were little so it was fun to stop and see them again.

Seattle

The next leg of the trip took us up to Ferndale and then right back down to Seattle... but on the way we made a pit stop at one of my college friends houses in Olympia. Nausheen and I were in the Graphic Design program together at WWU. We had a nice visit and got to meet her hubby and new daughter Seher - who by the way is a super cute little girl.

Then on to Ferndale for a night and then the next morning we headed to Shelton to visit and have lunch with Zack's Aunt Alice and Uncle Charlie. They have a beautiful house right on a little cove of the puget sound - it's amazing! We had such a nice time visiting, I chatted with Charlie about a project he's starting and Zack went out canoeing with Alice, Gracie & Carson.

That afternoon we headed out to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound WA. We had a great time playing in the water with Kale and all the cousins. I screamed my head off on the two scariest rides... it was so fun! We stayed the night there, and spent some time in the water park the next morning, then headed to Seattle.

We ate some yummy lunch at the RockBottom then headed down to the Alexis Hotel for Shawn & Matt's wedding. Shawn was Zack's closest cousin growing up. They lived next door to each other and apparently played HeMan and SheRa... according to Zack's bro Cody who officiated the wedding and used that as part of his intro. hehe. It was a very beautiful hotel and reception. We had a nice time until the kids had had enough (it had been a long day).

Me & Kale, Nausheen & Seher


















Canoeing at Arcadia Point














Kale & Aunt Alice


















Wedding Pics


















Kale took this one - I kinda like it!






















































The great wolf lodge - I didn't get one shot of my own.

Oregon

Well the trip started out not so fun.

What was supposed to be an 18 hour drive ended up taking 28 hours due to construction, accidents, a loose strut bolt, sleepiness and one wrong turn due to freeway zombification. :) Kale was a trooper... luckily we borrowed a portable DVD player from our friends which kept him entertained. Although he would only watch Elmo/Sesame Street related shows and none of the other movies we brought. By the end of the trip we had those dvd's totally memorized and were almost bonkers. We left Thursday night around 6 and arrived on the the Oregon coast (sunset bay/coos bay area) around 11pm Friday. Camping wasn't so great either. The fog/ocean mist was so thick it acted like rain. Kale was not happy with the cold or the sleeping arrangements and threw his first tantrum ever. (not fun when you are in a campground) We did get to spend time with my dad, have a nice sushi lunch, see some huge seals, and get a taste of the coast though. After a day and a half of being miserable we decided to head home early, which ended up being just fine because it meant more time with my brother Matt. Of course I forgot to take hardly any pics at my dad's house (I took a bunch with his camera, so I'll try to get those). We spent our time there relaxing, checking out my dad's new car, helping my dad get ready for his kayak trip and we went to a local aquatic center. It was so great to see them. Kale learned a bunch while we were there including: he likes li hing mui, how to climb backwards down a flight of stairs and how to throw another couple toddler tantrums. Fun! Here are the pics!!

What is this soft green stuff?? It's so cool!!


















Oh how I love the Oregon Coast... almost made the 28 hour drive worth it just seeing this vista.










Doe at the Sunset Bay state park










HUGE seal at the state park... they were SOOOO LOUD it was crazy














Dad E O


















Some awesome murals in Newport OR
































Matt & Kale

More Pics to Share

Oh, I had so much fun taking these & editing them... now I just need a nice camera and a telephoto lens and I'll be in business! I guess it doesn't hurt that these are some of my favorite people and they look amazing... :)

Smith Family Photos Edited

All the Smith kids together again! Out of a gazillion photos this was the best one. Love you guys!

Edited Family Photo '09

Eventually I'll blog about our awesome trip. (it was seriously the best trip) Before I do that I'm in the process of editing some family photos we took while up in Washington. I started with ours, (this was my fav pic) you can see it unedited below. I love these actions from Pioneer Woman and with a little tweaking and combining they can be really fun. I don't usually like using actions, especially on everyday things, I prefer shots straight out of the camera - but once in a while for posed shots it they can be fun to play around. I'm so glad we got a great pic of us, especially with Kale smiling so great!

Many more to come...

4 days to this...

Infertility Road

Warning: Medical issues discussed... This is mostly for my benefit and records, but also to let people know what I'm going through right now. I've been debating for a while whether or not to share this publicly, but I finally felt like it was the right time...

Most of you already know we've had infertility issues and that's partially the reason we adopted Kale. We've always known that we wanted him to have siblings, but weren't sure how they would come into our family. Last November I met with a OB/GYN-Infertility specialist and he laid out the plan of action for when we were ready to tackle it. About 4 months ago we decided to get started. The first course of action was testing. I had one procedure done and some blood work. The results came back that I wasn't ovulating due to the presence of a trigger hormone that is only supposed to be present when you are breastfeeding... weird I know. So after years and years of trying & hoping I found out there was no chance of it happening naturally anyways! Part of me was a little upset about that, but then I realized we never would have our wonderful Kale if that hadn't been the case, and also this seems to be a problem that can be fixed. It is kind of amazing to think what Doctors (through inspiration I'm sure) are able to do these days. If I was born a couple generations ago I may not have even had a chance of getting pregnant. That being said, this isn't a for sure thing ... so with the side effect of mood swings and emotional-ness I can go from pretty hopeful to thinking it will never happen. The Dr. put me on two meds, one to lower the "prolactin" levels (bromocriptine) and one to induce ovulation (femara), since the bromo apparently takes a while to work. The first month was horrible. I had read about the side effects online so I was sort of prepared but it was pretty bad. I was really nauseous all of the time and super super tired. As time passed the symptoms got better from the bromocriptine, but got worse from the Femara. I was having weird joint pains and I thought I had hurt myself working out... but then the pain started in other joints and I started getting scared... come to find out it is the #2 most common side effect. It's sort of funny because a lot of these side effects are similar to pregnancy so I keep telling Zack, this better work because I'm sick of having pregnancy symptoms without being pregnant!!

It's been a long journey, filled with hope, sadness, disappointment, anger, jealousy and acceptance. At times I have felt depressed at hearing anything related to someone else & pregnancy. One of the worst parts of this process is the monthly hope to disappointment. It's really hard month after month, year after year, to always be wondering if it's going to happen this month - and then the disappointment when it doesn't. I know anyone who has tried to get pregnant will understand this feeling... but multiplied over years it gets really hard. Most of the time though I am very thankful we have experienced what we have because we wouldn't be the family we are today.

Lately, I've felt like we really need to ask for this from God specifically at this time. I know we've done it before and prayed for it before. But now we've done all we can do, and we have to have faith that He can make it happen. So if anyone would like to add us to their prayers/fasting we'd appreciate it!

For my own records:

Bromocriptine Side Effects:
-nausea (horrible the first month, progressively better)
-fatigue (didn't want to get up... had to nap in the afternoon... but also progressively better)
-dizziness on standing (only at the beginning)

Femara Side Effects:
-joint & bone pain (worse at night & morning) making it almost impossible to work out, and sleep well. I feel it mostly in my hip joint, but also knees, ankle, a few toes & one finger.
-muscle pain - mostly shoulder, but back and quads too.
-mood swings/emotional/depression.... (I remember telling Zack... I really don't want to feel this way but I can't seem to do anything about it!)
-headaches
-hot flashes... temp fluctuations
-extreme PMS symptoms (really bad cramps, heavier periods, moodiness)
-swelling of hands
-memory loss (I can lose my train of thought in the middle of a sentence sometimes.... I've NEVER experienced this before)

9 days till...

Vacation!

Adding a little color...

If you saw our old house, you know I love color. Our walls were covered in yellows, oranges, reds, and greens. So it's been an adjustment to live in a stark white house. Everything white. For a long time I've been trying to figure out how to add color (since we can't paint because we're renting) It seems there's an untapped market for HGTV to get into. It's always been a secret dream of mine to be on DesignStar - j/k. I found a couple ideas online that talked about using cornstarch and water to apply fabric to the walls. So I decided that it would probably work the same with ribbon. So for $4.99 for a big spool of wide ribbon - Voila! Kale has a red band around his room and some ribbon accents on his curtains. I also saw a pic of a friends wedding that had a bunch of similar colored asian paper lanterns in a line so I stole that idea too for our living room. The pics aren't the greatest, but it does look cool in person. That's all for now...

What Kale's Been Up To...

Throwing Pop-it's for the first time


















Trying on Daddy's Boots




































Watching Wheel of Fortune

Sparkling Sands of Coronado

Don't you just love the beach??

San Diego Day 3&4

The third day (which was our actual anniversary) the weather was perfect! So we headed over to Coronado Island to have a day at the beach. We ate really yummy sushi for lunch and then were denied a bike ride on the beach path :( But we still had tons of fun playing bocce, swimming and enjoying the water & sun. We didn't want to leave! That night we snagged some cupcakes (for later) from a store downtown and went for a crab feast. It was a great day. Our last day we went to play frisbee golf at Balboa Park. They have an actual park just for frisbee golf that's maintained and everything. They even have multiple hole placements that they change every monday so it's a totally new course! It was CRAZY. So hard, but very fun. A great trip!!

Some pics of the Hotel... thank-you Priceline for the awesome deal!










The Pool







































Out our balcony... everywhere they had these beautiful smelling flowers... it smelled like heaven!










Coronado Beach














Dang the no bikes sign...










Yay for the beach!































and yay for bocce!!






















































Mmmmmm!











CRAB!


















Hehe I look like my mom in this pic...


















Frisbee Golf!




























the "shoe tree" on the frisbee golf course... so random!

San Diego Day 1&2

For our 6th anniversary we headed over to San Diego for a long weekend. It was soooo nice to get out of the heat for a bit, hang out on the beach and spend time together. Some friends of ours from church took Kale for the weekend which made it even nicer! We haven't had any time by ourselves really for over a year! The first day we went down to mission beach and explored the boardwalk and rode the roller coaster, then we went back to near our hotel and had a really yummy dinner. The next day, the weather wasn't really cooperating so instead of hanging on the beach like we planned we went in search of a sweatshirt down at Seaport Village and decided to go to the Padres game later that night. The day was a lot of fun - and although it rained, it was still nice to be out of the heat for a change. We also drove around a bit and really got a feel of the city, which will be nice when we return....

Mission Beach










The Roller Coaster at Mission Beach










On the ride :) Almost lost the camera...





















Mmmmmm Poke....


















The absolute best Slurpee flavor combo EVER... Passion Fruit/Mango/Coke


















At the Padres Game (they lost - big surprise)

A teenager no more...

So apparently my new "do" makes me look 10 years older... according to Zack that is. He also says that I look more like a mom now too. One other comment that may or may not be related to the hair was that he also thought I'm probably not being mistaken for a teenager anymore. Although I always knew the day would come... (I've always looked young for my age). I'm not sure how I feel about it! I guess I'm a grown-up now officially... or at least I look like one... :)

6 Years of Mawridge with my Twoo Luv

So many wonderful memories... I don't want to forget.

Pre-Year One: 2002-2003
-Across the institute view
-Kick the Bucket
-Bumbershoot
-Crazy Uno Nights
-Will you move my dresser/hang my whiteboard?
-Olive Garden/Corn Maze/Karate Kid first date
-Late nights
-Roses after fire Academy - First I love you!
-Camea & Clayton's Wedding
-Fire academy graduation
-Shane Co & Azteca
-The appendix incident
-Crepe Proposal
-Wedding Plans

Year One: 2003-2004
-Best Wedding Ever! What a great day(s).
-San Juan Islands Honeymoon
-Finding a job... our first trial together as a married couple
-Apartment on Washington St.
-Sitting straight up when the fire pager went off
-Noisy Neighbors
-Who's gonna do what?
-J, Lots of homework, funky art projects, start design program
-Fire tests
-Work: carpentry, z & CC&G, j
-Little christmas tree
-Port Townsend with J's Parents
-Kayak building
-Nehalem Bay with J's dad - Kayaking!

Year Two: 2004-2005
-Whistler Anniversary Trip
-Zip Trek Ecotour Zipline!
-Lummi Island Kayak trip
-Lots more Art projects
-Lots of fire calls & tests
-J hired at Birch Equipment
-J alaska biz trip w/ birch
-Bought the Mobile
-J Graduation from WWU

Year Three: 2005-2006
-Back to the Mission Trip to Honduras / Grad trip to Costa Rica
-Remodeling.... Remodeling...remodeling..........
-Christmas in Cobb
-J's Mom passes away, hard times
-Valentines day in a tent... with heart shaped steaks hehe
-More remodeling....
-Move in to our own little piece of heaven
-Baker the black lab puppy... awwww! Our first baby....

Year Four: 2006-2007
-Mariners Games
-Weddings
-Harrison Hot Springs
-Reids Luau/Trip to Hawaii : Hauula, Maui, Biking Haleakala
-Finish paperwork and get approved for adoption
-temple feelings and dream of selection
-the fall through selection
-the waiting game
-J quits Birch & starts Door No. 3 Design

Year Five: 2007-2008
-More waiting game... running to the computer everytime we hear a "ting" that there's an email
-Picked by our lovely birthmother Shonda
-Visit to Nebraska to meet the fam
-Waiting on pins and needles for the birth
-Kale Dawson Smith born 11-15-07
-Placement on 11-18-07 - We became parents!!
-A long month - but friends made
-Wonderful homecoming
-The joys of being new parents and watching Kale grow...
-Zack is offered positions with customs AND BP
-Decide to go with BP and move to AZ
-Zack leaves for the Academy in New Mexico

Year Six: 2008-2009
-6 mos apart
-J' mini tri and Hawaii trip with Kale & Gpa Chas
-Zack at BP academy
-Move to AZ, rent house
-Rely on each other
-Biking around town, Kale in the trailer
-Kale's First Birthday!
-Sealing to Kale in San Diego Temple
-Cooking our first turkey alone!
-A normal sized Christmas tree... hehe
-Trip back to WA/OR
-Zack at camp
-J's grandma passes away
-Adjusting to shiftwork/family life
-Adjusting to a much much much hotter climate
-starting a new journey to grow our family... we'll see if it works...
-trip to San Diego to celebrate six awesome years!

Who knows what the next years will bring?? Whatever it is we'll face it together.
I love you Zack!

(and when you see this you'll have to add your memories to it too)

New "do"

I got my hair cut today, which I hardly ever do. It's so hot here I decided to hack it off. There was a whole lotta hair left on the floor!!! Here are the results. What do you think?? I like it... I just don't know if I'll ever be able to get it to look like the stylist does again. It's so annoying!

Kale's First Sucker

Since we don't have other kids, we don't really keep any candyish stuff in the house. But I promised our primary class if they memorized a scripture and recited it the following sunday I would bring something for them. I figured dum-dums would be a good idea - not easily melted, not messy, not too big... anyways. I thought I'd see what Kale thought of one... and here is what ensued. I WISH I had taken video of it... because after the first lick he got this HUGE smile and giggled. It was seriously one of the cutest things ever.