Smith Life

Family Pics Nov 2010

2010-11-28T23:03:00.000-08:00

While we were in Hawaii, I did a photoshoot for my cousin Chad and his family. We also got some pics of us that day too! Sort of funny because I feel like I'm always editing other peoples photos and wishing we could get some - with me as the photog... but my Dad did a great job on the ones with all three of us. Then Zack and I took turns with each other and Kale. These were taken at some tidepools at a beach on Oahu near my cousins place.

Aloha from Kale-boy

2010-11-27T12:59:00.000-08:00

Baby E

2010-09-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago some friends we have been going through the adoption process with got "the call". The one where they wake you up in the middle of the night and say you have a baby on the way... the call that changes your life and your family in an instant! We were so very excited for them. It was a wake up call for us too though... because really it could happen at any time! I was fortunate enough to take this little doll's first portraits. I bet you can see the love in the eyes of these parents. Oh, adoption is so sweet and such a miracle.

ap·pen·dix (ə pen′diks) : a totally useless bodypart that can cause enormous amounts of pain

2010-09-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

So Friday August 13th was a very unlucky day for Zack. Poor guy. He woke up around 3am with a horrible stomach ache and the day just got worse and worse. A short rundown....

12am: went to see meteor showers, felt fine
1am: went to bed
3am: woke up with sharp pains in stomach right side Z is pretty sure it's his appendix, but commence puking, feel a small amount better so try to go back to bed
7am: pain unbearable... finally decide to go to urgent care
8am-12pm: Urgent care, x-rays, bloodwork, painful pain med shot.... all the could tell us was "it's probably y our appendix, you should go to the ER"
12:30-4:00pm: ER at Yuma Regional Medical Center... all the tests done again plus a CT scan
4:30pm: We find out it IS his appendix and they are scheduling his surgery.
5:30pm: Pre-op
6:00-7:15pm: Into Surgery - Zack's appendix removed laparoscopically

To say the least it was a crazy day. Poor Zack was in a lot lot lot of pain. And I know because I had mine out in 2003 when we were dating. It was super hard for me to see him in so much pain because I've never seen him like that before. Zack really has a high tolerance for pain so this was very new. I felt so bad for him! The good news is they caught it before it ruptured and they did the surgery laparoscopically so he had a super fast recovery. I have to say I've never seen someone recover so fast from surgery.... he was up walking around in the early morning hours and then home around lunchtime. It was hard for him to go easy on himself. In fact when the nurse was telling him the dr orders to stay out of work for a week, Zack was like "but I can do light duty though right?". Eventually we ganged up on him and told him to just take the week off and take it easy. We did have a nice week and half spending time together as a family, holed up in the house mostly hanging out. It was hard for both Kale and I when we had to send Zack back to work. But not enough to want it to happen again! Good thing there's only 1 appendix - and now neither of us have to go through that horrible experience again!

Here's a pic of Zack and Kale snuggling on the couch as he's recovering.

How to make the summer bearable in Arizona:

2010-09-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Rent a house with a pool! It seriously makes soooo much of a difference. We had tons of fun this summer playing as a family and with friends. In fact it's sort of bittersweet that the temps are going down again because it means our pool time is nearing an end. Here are a few pics from the summer fun!

We had a fun playdate with a bunch of friends...

Ate lots of popsicles! Here's Kale with his good friend Jennica... notice their popsicles match their swimsuits...purely by accident! haha!

We had fun taking underwater pics with Zack's new camera.

Kale learned to jump in the pool all by himself! With floaties of course... but with no one catching him. Although in these pics Zack IS catching him.

Kale is a "cool dude" in these sunglasses. According to himself!

Art Time!

2010-09-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

Well, if you know me you know this is a staple at our house and that I love watching Kale do art. Here's some of what he's been doing lately...

We made homemade playdough... I have a great recipe if anyone wants it. It has vanilla extract which makes it smell good and *i think* makes the consistency a lot better.

Check out Kale crossing his eyes... he's so silly.

Watercolor painting!

Fun new markers!

Can you tell he takes after his daddy? (Zack loved black when he was little)

vegas baby!

2010-09-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

The last weekend in August, I headed up to Vegas with some of my girlfriends to see a Michael Buble concert. It was a great silly weekend and we all had a blast. The concert was AMAZING. He really has a beautiful voice and it was fun to dance and sing along. It was my first time exploring the strip so it was super fun and I was pretty wide-eyed the whole time taking it all in. Here's some pics and a short clip of the concert!

On the way there... it was a 5 hour+ car ride... whew!

He was pointing right at us... really!!! hahaha

Our hotel... I was bummed we didn't get the chance to ride the roller coaster.

Elvis and ???

The Bellagio - very cool water show...

Check out the creepy guy on the right.... ummm? we're mormon, not drunk just high on life... hahaha

Mmmmmm 40 ft chocolate fountain....

Stormtrooper and R2D2... they were asking directions

Monsoon!

2010-09-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

We experienced our first monsoon a few weeks ago. It was amazing. I saw more lightning in one night than I've ever seen in my life. Kale and I just hung out on the back porch for hours watching the storm. It was like a light show. The clouds were lighting up like a disco dance floor. The weird thing is that it was really quiet. I would have expected it to be really really loud with all the lightning going on... but the thunder was muted or nonexistant. Can anyone enlighten me? I stitched together some clips of the storm... unfortunately you never get the really good parts on tape!

Cousins

2010-09-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

We sure love these guys. And wish we could see them more often. It always makes me so sad when we leave knowing Kale had so much fun playing with them, and that we are missing so much of them growing up. I do know we are in the right place and eventually one day we'll make it back. Until then we'll have to make the most of the time we do have together! And we did...

Some fun on the slip-n-slide

Northwest Flora

2010-09-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

One of the other (many) things I miss about the Northwest are all the beautiful plants and flowers. Yes, the desert has it's own beauty... but it is so stark comparatively. I took way more pictures this trip figuring out my camera... so here are a few...

A Portland Rose

The next few flowers are from John & Cindy's Yard (Zack's Parents)

Mmmmmmmmmm...

Don't you wish your garden looked like this? (it's John & Cindy's)

The River

2010-09-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

Can't take a trip up to Ferndale without having a cook-out down at the river. We did it dutch-oven style with yummy bread, lasagna and chicken... delicious. The kids threw rocks, sticks and swung on the rope swings. Notice in almost all of the pictures the boys have a stick. And take a look at the last pic... that's Zack's grandpa - Grandpa Bill... and yes, he's over 80 and swinging on the rope swing with his great grandkids. Gotta love it!

Bowl-a-rama

2010-09-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

On another day, we took Kale bowling for the first time with his cousins. They have "kids bowl free" summer program so it only cost us the shoe rental - bonus! He had fun for a little bit and then the novelty wore off. But hey... doesn't he look cute in those super small bowling shoes?? :)

Port Angeles

2010-09-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

One of our goals for this trip was for Zack to take a look at some of the BP stations up in Washington so we'd know where we wanted to put in for transfers to/or where NOT to put in for transfers to. Luckily, he was able to tour Port Angeles and Blaine and get the low down on all of the stations in Blaine Sector. Zack's parents were super nice and took Kale for us for a day so we could make the trek over to the Olympic Peninsula so we could go check out Port Angeles.

The long and short of it is that it was gorgeous over there. One of the draws for that area is that they are in what's called a "rain shadow" from the Olympic Mountains... so they don't get as much rain as the rest of the Pacific Northwest. We took a really early ferry ride over, drove all around Sequim and Port Angeles, talked to a realtor about the housing market and then got rear ended. Yep, in Zack's mom's car. Not fun. But, no one was hurt and there was really minimal damage... like a tiny paint scratch and a broken light cover. So we were back on our way. After lunch Zack met a couple agents and heard a bit about what work is like at that station, so it was nice to hear that firsthand. We also went to check out Hurricane Ridge... it was amazing! Overall we really liked what we saw so we think it will be on our list of places we'd like to transfer to.

View from near Dungeness Spit

My poor legs after being eaten alive by mosquitos... apparently they missed me while I was away

Hahaha... a store in Port Angeles devoted to Twilight. The realtors were joking about how inaccurate the book was in the scenes about their town.

Driving up to Hurricane Ridge... there were a few really cool tunnels.

Saw a number of deer at the top... they were very tame and came super close... hopefully not because people feed them!

The view at the top of Hurricane Ridge... sooooo amazing!

We caught dinner at the 3 crabs... too bad their crab was way overpriced...

We ended up with Clam Chowder instead...

The ferry was late so we hoofed it through Port Townsend to the ice cream parlor... there are some beautiful old buildings in that town.

And what would a trip to Washington be without a ferry ride???

Cama Beach Sunsets

2010-09-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

One of the (many) things I miss about the Northwest is the water. Not so much of it down here in the desert... big surprise right? hehe. We sure were treated to an amazing sunset while we were at Cama beach... take a look!

I love this one of Ali & Jessica talking

Cama Beach

2010-09-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

The start of our Smith visit began with a trip down to Camano Island - to Cama Beach State Park. It was a great little place with cute cabins on the waterfront and lots of fun for the kids. There was bike riding, rock throwing, shell collecting, yummy food, smores making, soccer games, rain, sun, waffle cones, and canoeing. Everyone had a great time!

Doesn't he look so Surfer GQ? haha

Carson and Andrew

Kai the cutie playing with some rocks. I kept grabbing handfuls for him to throw over the wall.

Andrew the ham

Ali and Kai

Carson

Spencer

Miss Grace

A circle's round it has no end, that's how long I want to be your friend

2010-09-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

I was so glad we were able to fit in a few visits with friends into our trip up North. It was so great to see everyone again!

Emily, Aimee, Me and check out Kale's face! hahaha!

Aims & Me

Kale/Me, Erin/Dylan/Lucas, Casey/Jackson/Jeffrey

One of my fav places in Bellingham... Skylarks Cafe in Fairhaven

Along with one of my fav people - Kimmypoo!

Kale the Character

2010-09-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

As I was prepping for a baby photoshoot, Kale decided he needed to get in on the action... he's so silly! And yes, I will be trying to catch up with blogging in the next few days... I've already posted about the Oregon part of our trip below... next on to Washington!

Trina & Matt Photoshoot

2010-09-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

Did a fun photoshoot for my friend Trina and her boyfriend Matt while I was up in Portland. Here's a few of my favorites. These were taken at the Portland Rose Gardens.

The Fountain

2010-09-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

We picked my dad up from work one day in downtown Portland and headed over to a fun little wading fountain... Kale had lots of fun!

"Watcha doin daddy?"

"I love my uncle matt!"

Don't I have a handsome husband?

Omsi

2010-09-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

One day my Dad was at work, we headed over to check out OMSI - Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. I hadn't been there since I think middle school, so it was kind of fun to see it as an adult. Kale had a great time checking everything out and especially playing in the Kids room.

Japanese Gardens

2010-09-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

In all the years I spent living in the Portland metro area, can you believe I had never been to the Japanese or Rose Gardens in Washington Park? Yah, me too. Well I was set straight this summer and man was I missing out. They were beautiful... here's a few of the many shots I took while we explored the gardens.

Gone Fishin'

2010-09-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

Before we left on our trip, Kale had been playing with a toy anchor he has and calling it a fishing pole and proceeding to go around the house and "catch" things. Poor kid. So while we were up visiting my Dad, we decided to take Kale fishing at a pond near his house. It was a pretty little park and Kale had fun fishing (for 5 minutes or so till he got distracted with other things like the ducks). Matt gave me a short lesson on using my new camera and I quickly put his tips into practice! So this trip is probably one of our most documented trips ever... :o)

Fourth of July

2010-09-05T18:18:00.000-07:00

Our trip back home this summer was planned around the 4th of July. In Arizona, you can't shoot off any fireworks (what fire danger??) so it was pretty quiet and sad holiday last year. Our adopted Hawaiian family in Vancouver has a big block party every year so we went to join them. They had crazy -literally crazy- amounts of fireworks and they were going off straight from the time we got there till the grand finale, around 11 that night. The neighbors even join a long string of huge fireworks together for an amazing finish... see the last picture. Kale had a blast!!! He loved all of the fireworks and had tons of fun watching everything explode, chasing parachute men and lighting sparklers. It was definitely worth it! Might have to come up around that time every year.

New camera

2010-06-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

one of the first pictures from my new camera!!!

I've been drooling over the Panasonic GF1 since before it came out last september. I can't believe I actually have it! Now to learn how to use it... I see lots of picture taking in my near future.

a little laugh

2010-06-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

Zack caught Kale singing and playing the piano the other day. hehe...

Adoption Update

2010-06-20T19:56:00.001-07:00

Well, we made it through all the paperwork! It was long and arduous and at times frustrating with the sheer amount of personal information they need, but we made it! On thursday our caseworker came to do our homestudy interviews, which is the last step (of ours) in the process. I spent hours organizing and cleaning our house top to bottom (it's so nice for everything to be organized - I wish I could keep it going all the time!) We finally had some incentive to get a few projects done around the house that we'd been putting off. Everything went great! Seeing as we have done this before, we didn't have many questions or fears to be addressed, so it ended up taking much less time than we originally thought. Our caseworker Hannah told us that the paperwork would be mailed out the next day and that the courts will have it for a few weeks to a month... but then we'll be totally approved! Exciting! She also said we could start actively seeking leads since we are homestudy approved.

So do you know anyone who's in a crisis pregnancy? I know someone who would be interested in adopting their baby... :)

But seriously the way most adoptions happen are by someone who knows someone who's niece is expecting and might want to know more about adoption... etc. So please, if you hear of ANYTHING don't be afraid to mention adoption, LDS Family Services or our *drumroll* new adoption website I just finished:

www.waiting4anothermiracle.blogspot.com

If you have any feedback/changes/spelling errors/grammar errors I need to fix on there please let me know by email or facebook. Thanks!

So we are on our way!

Another thing I'm working on is "Project Family Photo". I had another "inspiration" moment while I was lying awake in bed a month or two ago thinking about how to get 'the word out' about us wanting to adopt and how to finance it (adoptions are expensive!) And it came to me that I should do family photos to help pay for it. Basically people could donate money and in return get a nice family photoshoot. The "big" idea would involve small flyers placed around town (in businesses, on bulletin boards, etc) about it... so it would give me the chance to get in contact with (hopefully) a lot of people, people I wouldn't normally meet and not just posting a want ad in the Nickelads... but it would still be advertising that we wanted to adopt but not blatantly... you never know who might see those flyers. I've also thought of doing a press release to send to the local newspapers and tv stations and contacting some local organizations too. We'll see how ambitious I get... it might only be the website... but it's good to aim high! :)

Here's the website link... I've just started it though... I'll post again when it's more finished...

www.familyphotos4adoption.blogspot.com

Gotta keep busy... it might be a long wait!

Swimming!

2010-06-18T22:23:00.000-07:00

So we are loving having our own pool. We use it pretty much every day... I really don't know what we did all summer last year - it's so hot here! Check out Kale's new skills:

San Diego w/the Roberts!

2010-06-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Last month we made the drive over to San Diego to spend a couple days with the Robert's (Zack's sister and her family). We had a great time... spent the afternoon at the beach, ate at a yummy mexican restaurant, explored a church history site dedicated to the Mormon Battalion, ate some Pinkberry, and the next day spent the whole day at Seaworld. I was horrible at taking pictures on this trip! I did get a couple cute ones of Kai and Carson though. Unfortunately Kale had some digestive issues most of the trip which resulted in some episodes of puking and blow out diapers... not fun. But you couldn't tell from his attitude! He's definitely a trooper... which I may have to extend that term to Zack and I for that weekend too. Ick. Seaworld was awesome though! We'd never been before so to see the Shamu show for the first time was pretty amazing. Kale could have stared into the orca tank the whole day. Seaworld does this deal that if you pay for a day you can come back all year... so some of the last pics on this post are from another day trip we took to sea world a few weeks later... check em out! :) The ones with Kale and the California Sea Lion are especially cute.

Kale made a friend... although I think he was just looking for food...

Lost Finale Party

2010-06-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

We got together with some friends for a Lost finale party... and went all out. Dharma peanut butter, chips, ranch water, cola, oceanic airline nut packs, chocolate bars, "fish" sandwiches, and even a trifle with a wrecked airplane on it. It was super fun, I just wish I had been more impressed with the finale. Without giving anything away... if you do watch it to the end, watch the recap first.... because after watching the recap a few days later I understood more and could appreciate the finale more. It was a great show, it had great characters, made you think and guess all the time, great acting, beautiful scenery, awesome music and effects... we'll miss it! So long Lost!

Disneyland!

2010-06-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

Did you see the ads for "Give a Day - Get a Day"? Basically it was a promotion by Disney where you give a day of service and get a free ticket to Disneyland or Disneyworld. It wasn't a hoax! So a few months ago we made fleece blankets for a local organization and got 2 tickets to paradise (haha). We debated for a while about whether or not to bring Kale, but in the end decided the lines would not be conducive to Kale... he seriously can't stay still for more than a couple seconds. So Zack and I took an early "anniversary" trip and Kale stayed with his buddy Jennica and her family(thanks you guys!). What made it even better was we got 2 free nights in a hotel thanks to the hotel points accumulated from Zack's detail in tucson. It was the PERFECT day to go. There weren't long lines, it wasn't too hot, it was awesome! We did everything we wanted to and some things twice. I called ahead and got us reservations at the restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribbean, which was really cool... if you ever go, get the creme brulee... we literally licked the bowl. Our fav rides were Thunder Mtn Railroad, Indian Jones and Splash Mtn. We were kinda bummed that the Matterhorn was under maintenance. The fireworks at the end of the night were so cool too... we watched from main street and they went off all around us at times. It was sooo fun! That being said, I don't need to go back any time soon hehe. Here's some pics!

Luckily Kale wasn't old enough to know what he missed, and he was super happy he got a big stuffed Mickey Mouse and the biggest lollipop he'd ever seen...

Easter

2010-06-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter this year. Kale had a few girlfriends (and their mommies) over for an egg hunt, we had some yummy lamb thanks to Zack's BBQing skills and some inspiring words from General Conference.

Surprise Room Makeover

2010-06-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

While Zack was off on a work detail in Tucson I decided at the last minute to do a surprise bedroom makeover. I'd wanted to get a pretty comforter I'd seen around (but it was too expensive to buy) so I found a way to make it myself with two flat sheets and a fleece blanket I already had. My friend Katie helped A LOT, so thanks katie! We had a few late nights getting it finished before Zack got home. I also rearranged the furniture a bit and used some decorations we already had to add the finishing touches... and since the bedroom looked so good... I decided to do the bathroom too. It was fun to create something cool out of something simple and learn to sew a bit better.

the plans

the layout

the pins

the pin tucks

sewing it up

the final pin-tuck blanket

the final room!

the bathroom

Paperwork!

2010-05-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

Wow. There is a lot of paperwork involved with adoption. I guess I must have blocked it all out! We're plugging away at it all and we feel the fire burning to get it done, so we're hoping that's a good sign.

Hi from the Smiths!

2010-05-02T18:08:00.001-07:00

Whistling

2010-04-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have been a whistler since I was a baby. I've always loved to whistle, hum or sing. I think I get it from my Dad. The weird thing is I can tell if I'm in good spirits or not by if I whistle or not. I remember after my mom passed away a few years ago I stopped whistling, and months later when I caught myself whistling again I realized I must be healing.

I caught myself whistling today for the first time in a long time... and it feels good. :)

the end of one road... beginning of another...

2010-04-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

So Zack and I have made the decision to stop infertility treatments. It's been over a year of treatments (actually almost five years of trying off/on) with no success and has been a very very hard emotional rollercoaster each month for me. I wanted to share an experience I had that solidified our decision. It's pretty personal, but it was so astonishing to me that I feel like I really need to share it. I've had revelation/direction feelings of the Holy Ghost in the past... but this was so strong I felt like it was really important... and it was so direct and linked to the scriptures... maybe it will inspire.

For a long time we were praying to get pregnant. It's a good thing right? A righteous desire. We knew we wanted more children... we wanted Kale to have siblings to grow up with and grow old with. I couldn't understand why God wouldn't grant me what I was asking him for. We fasted, had blessings, prayed fervently. One night I was praying again and almost at my wits end (it is just so hard wishing and hoping each month and getting disappointed - I don't know if I can even describe it) and basically pleading really hard just for some direction. I said "It doesn't matter to me what direction we take... keep pursuing infertility or start the adoption process again, or be done with adding to our family at all"... I just wanted to know what the Lord's plan was for my life. At that moment I felt like I got the message knocking my over the head "HELLLLOOOOOO! you have direction! Read your scriptures!!!" It was so strong that I got up and went to get my scriptures from the other room. I opened up right to where I had left off 3 Nephi Chapter 22. And this is what it said: (with my interpretations in parethesis):

3 Nephi 22:1-3 And then shall that which is written come to pass: Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

(don't be sad that you are barren Julie! Sing!)

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

(enlarge your house by adoption)

3 Nephi 22:4 Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame; for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

(don't be ashamed of not being able to get pregnant)

3 Nephi 22:6-7 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee.

(you have been called to this path, these trials, but it's all for your good)

3 Nephi 22:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

(your "children" shall be taught of the lord and be peaceful.)

3 Nephi 22:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work;

(I just thought it was crazy/cool that it had "smith" in this verse too... just further proof to me this was such a clear message. That and God has created the spirits... so it's his creation.)

So I know you may think - oh that could mean anything! And really it could, in fact the first time I read it I didn't see all of the stuff in there... but I kept being drawn back to that scripture every night for a week. It was such comfort to read that whole chapter but especially the first verse - "sing o barren woman, break forth into singing!' A week or two later when for the zillionth time I learned our treatments for the month had failed again... I really started to realize what the Lord was telling me. He was preparing me for that month and for our ultimate decision to start the adoption process again.

I'm not saying it was easy to go through it. I was really sad, and still am (although not painfully anymore) about the loss of not being able to have the pregnancy experience... I know there are bad things that go along with it (don't remind me of them it doesn't help), but I really did want to "feel the measure of my creation". I have realized that I have felt that while raising Kale, there are so many things that I have taught him and as I see him learn and grow I am sure this is the "spirit" of that saying.

A big lesson we've learned from this experience is that God does answer our prayers. He was listening the whole time we were asking, but sometimes the answer is no - even if it would be something good in your life. He knows the master plan, while we are working on the ground level. When we look back on our lives I'm sure we'll understand... maybe he has another child that really needs to be adopted into our home? Maybe it's not the right time? All I know is that after we made this decision I felt at peace for the first time in a long time. I know it is the right decision and that we are on the right path - which is really the best feeling in the world.

So that's the big news - we are starting the adoption process again! We meet with our caseworker for the first time on Monday and have so many hopes for this second journey to meet the next member of our family.

another missed oregon trip pic...

2010-04-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

I just found this one I missed too! For the incredibly cheap flights we flew out of small airports on Allegiant Airlines. So our flight home was out of Eugene, Oregon. Bonus! My great friend from high school, Anje, lives there! So we made plans to meet up the morning we flew out. It was so good to see her and her little man Kaden - and to catch up since it had been years since we had last seen each other!

my fam

2010-04-27T20:10:00.001-07:00

I forgot these two from oregon...

Grandpa Chas doing the "little piggies" with Kale

My Dad, Me, Kale and bro Matt

Paintings

2010-04-27T18:13:00.001-07:00

Every time I visit my Dad, I get the feeling I want to paint him some canvases... mostly because he has such empty walls, but also because I thought it would be fun. I've had some pictures on my desktop for maybe 6 months of an artist I like and wanted to imitate their style. It involves using modeling paste added to paint to make it more 3d, basically raised texture. I've been wanting to try the technique for a long time and finally got the chance! First I did a small painting for my dad's powder room. He liked it so much he wanted me to do a large scale size for his family room. He picked the general colors he wanted and I went to home depot and the art store and got the supplies. Most of the paintings were done with tools instead of brushes. I used an adhesive trowel, putty knife and paint mixer to get different textured effects. It was so fun! The triptych of large paintings were the first I've ever done that size. Things didn't turn out exactly as I'd liked, but I'm still happy with it!

Powder Room Painting #1

Beginnings of the triptych

Finished on the counter... you can see the texture well with this shot.

The finished product up on the wall! Yay!

February: Oregon!

2010-04-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

After a couple weeks in Ferndale, Uncle Matt picked Kale and I up and we drove down to Beaverton. On the drive down we passed through memory lane and visited our old stomping grounds in Redmond/Sammamish WA. We visited Marymoor Park, Redmond El, Timberline and a bunch of other places around town. It was so fun to remember so many things from our childhood and to see how much things have changed in that area too. Unfortunately, on the drive from there to Oregon I started getting really sick. I'm still not sure what I had because I was being stubborn and didn't want to go to the dr, but I had all the symptoms of viral menengitis... stiff neck, fatigue, fever, flu like symptoms...etc. Not fun! So I was out of commission for a long time. Aside from that we had a wonderful time. One weekend we went up to Mt. Hood and took Kale sledding for the first time! The second weekend we went over to the Oregon Coast, Seaside, Newport and Canon Beach. We went to the Newport Bay Aquarium... (can you see a pattern? Kale really likes going to aquariums) and spent some time in Seaside and Canon beach. Highlights of that excursion: fresh yummy dungeness crab, a not so great crab melt sandwich (much better the 1st time I had it), watching the sea lions up close with Kale & the long tube aquarium thing (I don't know the name :), the beautiful drive, lighthouses we stopped at and the yummy sourdough bread and clam chowder overlooking Haystack rock. I have to say the oregon coast is some of the prettiest country you'll ever see. The rest of our trip involved hanging out with Grandpa Chas and Matt at home, which was lots of fun too. Kale kept calling Grandpa "Grandma" because he had just finally learned it up in Ferndale. Matt was great at entertaining Kale while I was feeling sick. (as you can see by the last few pics!) I also got to meet Katherine, my dad's girlfriend, who was very nice. We were even able to go with her to the Ballet when some of her friends had to cancel. I sure miss living close to family.

February: Washington!

2010-04-21T23:50:00.001-07:00

In February, Zack went on a work detail to Tucson, AZ for 45 days. I didn't feel like entertaining a 2 year old in a small hotel or at home by myself for that long, so I found some awesome plane tickets (seriously like 29.99 & 39.99 each way + taxes and fees) And went to visit family & friends back home for 4 weeks! Our trip started off in Ferndale with Zack's family. Kale had sooooooo much fun playing with all of his cousins: jumping on the bed, climbing the fireplace, sword fighting with carson, piggy back rides with gracie... It sort of made me sad to see how much he is missing... but very glad we were able to go up and visit. Some memorable things about the WA trip: a sweet family valentines day party, going to BC to see the olympic torch with Ali & Carson, watching the olympics with John & Cindy every night, catching up with my good friend Michelle, spending a fun Saturday celebrating Erin's b-day with Kim and Kaitlyn... plus a not so fun end of the same day rushing back up to the hospital to see poor Mark with his broken arm, and finally doing a fun photo shoot with the Hinds kids. It was definitely a memorable trip!

Piggy-back rides with Gracie

She lost the 2nd of her two front teeth while we were there! Grandpa John kept offering her money to pull it out... but she didn't give in!

Sword fighting with carson... isn't Kai cute in this pic?

Carson perusing a candy shop on Granville Island BC

Wish we had a farmers market like this in Yuma!

Group pic near the torch!

The amazing olympic torch!

Too bad they had it blocked off by an ugly chain link fence.

Going up to the Skytrain.

Cousins making silly faces... I love how in all the pics I took in this sequence spencer's face was blurry! He's definitely a hurricane! :)

Teaching Kale the art of climbing the fireplace...

On the plane... thank goodness for portable DVD players...

January: Pacific Beach

2010-04-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

On the way back from LA, we stopped in San Diego for lunch and a walk along Pacific Beach. The weather was so beautiful and the lighting perfect for a mini-photoshoot. I love these boys so much!

January: LA Trip

2010-04-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

The beginning of January we headed up to LA to meet Zack's parents at the end of their mexican riviera cruise (are you jealous?) Although we only had a short time to spend together, it was soooo nice to see them and catch up. We went on a two minute ferry ride...hehe... and Kale got to ride a carousel for the first time - he loved it! The next day, after seeing John & Cindy off, we headed over to the Long Beach Aquarium... (which was used as a set for a Bones episode coincidentally - a show we like - it was on the other night and we were like - "We've been there!!" Sort of funny because the Aquarium was supposed to be in DC.) Anyways. Kale loved it soooo much. He's really been into fish, the ocean etc... since watching Nemo for the first time and getting a fish from Uncle Matt for Christmas. It was so fun to follow him around from place to place and see him oooh and ahhh. Very cute. It was a great trip.... oh and I don't have any pictures, (which I am mad at myself about) but we got to meet a couple of my cousins that I had never met before on the way up. That was so fun too!

I looooooove this last one.

The Grand Canyon: Dec '09

2010-04-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

If you haven't visited the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend going in the winter time... but the pics probably say that better than I could... :) It was so good to be cold and see snow (as opposed to hot sunny yuma), plus it was so breathtakingly beautiful - a perfect December getaway!

December '09

2010-03-18T23:31:00.001-07:00

First of all... should this be Kale's costume for next year???

December was awesome!!! Zack took some much needed time off and we headed up to the Grand Canyon for a few days... I'll include those photos in the next post. Then Matt came to visit for Christmas which was so nice. We were spoiled with family visitors during the holiday season this year (new years we got to see Zack's parents too!) Kale had too much fun playing with Uncle Matt and was really sad to see him go. We had a great Christmas Song Sing Along Party that we have decided to turn into an annual event. I made a bunch of song books and we had guitar, uke and piano going. It was a great night! We also celebrated Matt and my birthday with some yummy homemade ribs (thanks to Zack). Christmas was really fun this year because Kale was actually opening presents this time and knew what he was doing. His fav toys ended up being his train table/set from Grandpa for his birthday/christmas and his play kitchen.

We took Matt up to Picacho too, mostly for the 4 wheel drive through Bear Canyon on the way back, which unfortunately I did not get pics of.

Some pretty trees near Picacho

Matt teaching Kale how to do push-ups

After our Grand Canyon Trip we drove down through Phoenix and visited the Temple, which was all decorated with lights for Christmas. It was amazing!! Kale loooooved looking at all the lights, he could have stayed for hours...

Matt got Kale a Beta for Christmas... his name is Fu :)

Christmas morning

Up at Picacho... we saw some wild donkeys that day!

Picacho Peak

the colorado river

November '09

2010-03-18T22:31:00.001-07:00

November started out with Zack gone for a week for work(see pics at the end of the post). He had a good time and took a lot of fun pics... although I can't show most on the blog because of "security" so if you want to see the rest let me know and I'll email them to you. Then my Dad came to visit for thanksgiving and Kale's 2nd birthday! We had a great time visiting and catching up.

Reading with Grandpa

On a hike near Picacho

Birthday Cake Face

Playing the Uke with Grandpa

Haircut set... hehe

Zack's pics from the middle of nowhere in the desert:

The Catch Up Begins: September '09

2010-03-18T22:09:00.001-07:00

The beginning of my long break from blogging started with moving houses. We moved to a different rental house at the end of September. Some friends of ours were moving away and decided to rent their house and we jumped at the offer because it's a 4 bedroom house with a nice backyard and pool! Wahoo! Little did we know, we'd only get a couple weeks of weather warm enough to use the pool, which was a bummer, but the play area has been awesome all winter for Kale. I still haven't taken any good shots of the house.... one day I will if you're lucky. Here's some pics of Kale enjoying the new backyard:

Kale kicking like a pro (we are planning on starting him in soccer next January! He can already dribble and pass back and forth!)

Playing in the packing paper... he had a blast!

If you know Kale, you know he's a ladies man/super flirt... here's some proof:

Who wouldn't want this wild GQ cutie pie?

I know I know...

2010-02-10T20:27:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are alive and well. Zack is in Tucson on a work detail until March 22 and I am heading off to the Pac NW with Kale tomorrow for a month of family and friends. I will get back to blogging when we get back! Love, Julie

Our Little Hobbit

2009-11-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-10-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-28T16:56:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-23T21:14:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-08-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-23T19:50:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-08-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

We'll be moving the end of September!

Pro's & Con's

2009-08-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-16T22:11:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-11T22:53:00.001-07:00

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

Edited Family Photo '09

2009-08-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-10T21:11:00.001-07:00

4 days to this...

2009-07-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Infertility Road

2009-07-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-07-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

Vacation!

Adding a little color...

2009-07-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-07-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Throwing Pop-it's for the first time

Trying on Daddy's Boots

Watching Wheel of Fortune

Sparkling Sands of Coronado

2009-07-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love the beach??

San Diego Day 3&4

2009-07-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-06-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

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"

2009-06-16T15:47:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

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.

Squaw Lake & The Colorado River

2009-06-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

According to the locals, we've had an unusually cool June this year (ie not in the triple digits) although that will end this week (it's supposed to be 107 on saturday). We took advantage of it while it lasted and went out to Squaw lake on one of Zack's days off - and then to the colorado river one day too. We took Baker with us on both trips and he had a blast swimming and cooling off. I wish we had thought of doing this all winter... so we'll have to rectify that when the temps start going down again. Kale had a fun time wading around in the river - as you can see it was really shallow on the side we were on. We did too - it felt so good! I was wishing I had worn my swimsuit! Next time I guess. Baker went "fishing" for sticks at the bottom - he even put his whole front end under the water... it was so funny to watch!

Squaw Lake:

The Colorado River at Gateway Park:

Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor??

2009-06-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

Look what I found while I was making breakfast the other day:

Updated Website

2009-06-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah I FINALLY updated my website... check it out!

www.doorno3design.com

Blessings

2009-06-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

Because sometimes we forget how good we have it. I'm starting a tag thingy. You can do it if you want. All you have to do is list your blessings whatever categories you want. I'm gonna do: basic, spiritual, & personal.

BASIC:
Running water & flushing toilets : can you even imagine not having this?
Electricity
AIR CONDITIONING (can you believe we keep it at 78 degrees? - in WA that was a hot day!)
Food: supermarkets with all kinds of yummy stuff, prepared things and anything you could need.
A house: not falling apart, enough space, homey, safe.
Diapers: nuff said.
Medicine: Especially thankful for them right now. They make so much possible!
Cars & airplanes: to visit family! To get everywhere we need to go... they're pretty amazing if you think about it...
Stable Job: Can't even imagine where we'd be if there hadn't been some guidance at the right time to get us where we are right now.

SPIRITUAL Blessings / the Knowledge of:
Life after death - or to be more specific - life with my Family after death
Being with Zack forever
That my mistakes can be forgiven and I can be pure
That I have a Father in Heaven who loves me and created me the way I am
That I can feel peace no matter what the circumstances if I only ask
There is a plan & purpose & specific things for me to accomplish during this life

PERSONAL:
My family
Piano, dance, band, gymnastics, soccer etc growing up
Learning about the LDS Church & becoming a member
Being able to go to college and graduate
Great friends and roommates
Meeting my husband and getting married
Getting through trials of unemployment, infertility, career path etc. together : blessings of peace
Working in my chosen field
Starting my own business doing something I enjoy
the MIRACLE of adopting Kale
Strength and support through 6 months apart
Moving to AZ, how it was the right thing at the right time (in hindsight)
Learning how to be a Mom.
Seeing Kale learn and grow so quickly.
Kale hugs - (THE BEST!)

I could probably go on and on with this list, but the gist is that I have a really I have an awesome life And I need to remember that and be thankful for it everyday, when the little things get me down.

Balloons for Evan

2009-06-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

Two more balloons for Evan from Arizona. We're thinking of you and your family today.

Love, Julie, Zack and Kale

12 Great things about my Twin Bro

2009-05-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

My twin brother Matt is a great guy and I thought he could use this... let's see how long it takes him to find it...

Again in no particular order:

1. He has awesome taste in music. I attribute most of my likes/dislikes in music to my bro, (except the recent addition of country) If you want to know about current bands/musicians you should be listening to you should ask him.

2. He's super smart. (although he won't admit it) He got into the "smart" kids classes in elementary school while I sadly did not. I'd bet his IQ is through the roof. I can't beat him at scrabble.

3. He's really creative. He's always always always coming up with clever ideas for things from websites to tv shows. Always original, always cool. There's been lots of times I've thought he should work for some show business think tank somewhere. Seriously.

4. He's a really hard worker. I bet all his managers would agree. When we were remodeling our place a few years back we tore out a bunch of carpet. Single-handedly Matt pulled probably a thousand or more staples from the subfloor - bent over hard work. Thanks buddy.

5. He's awesome with Kale. Changed diapers, taught him lots of stuff, played with him - loves him! Nuff said.

6. He's not afraid to try new things. He's been: a US Marine, a snowmaker, a checker, a puppet wrangler, animator, lifeguard, and waterguy among other things. He loves to learn about new stuff and will delve right into learning about something if his interest is sparked.

7. He's got style. Just go check out his pics on facebook if you want examples.

8. He's funny. Just hang with him and you'll see.

9. He's understanding and easy to talk to. And we understand each other. One of those rare people who ask your opinion on something and actually listen to your answer. Over the years we've had awesome discussions on a variety of topics and can talk freely without judgement. I like how we both can see different sides to issues and are free to change our minds about things after listening to the other person.

10. He's a nice guy. He'll be a great husband and father someday.

11. He's really helpful. He's computer saavy, if I have a problem he's the first person I call. And if he doesn't know about it, he'll figure it out for me.

12. He's always been there. Hey we were together before anybody else and known each other longer than anyone else in our lives - and we still like each other. That's sayin something!

Love you Matt. You're the best. Don't forget it.