Layton Surf n Swim

Here's Sam showing off some of his moves while we were at the pool, also take note of the chin damage that took place. Sam is a little worried that the facial hair that he has growing was shaved away by the bottom of the pool. I have been teasing him for days about the lack of peach fuzz on his face . . . .

Here's Chaze showing off his pool moves.

Today the boys and I met up with Sadie, Megan, Melissa and all the kids to go to the Layton Surf .n. Swim. It was the first time I had ever been to a swimming/recreation center of this kind and I was surprised how much fun I had. It turned out to be a great day and we all had a lot of fun!

We finished the night off with pizza and bread sticks from Little Ceaser's then a little R&R over in the Mill's backyard.

A Day at the Park . . . Playing Football

After we got to the park a small game of football took place, before we knew if a couple of other kids visintg the park joined in.

I just have to say that Sam and Chaze have to be two of the most amazing young men Micah and I have met. Both of these boys have become members of our neighborhood family in their short period of time they joined us, it is almost hard to Rembrandt a time when they haven't been with us.

A few nights ago I received a text message from our neighbor Megan to tell us that Ayden things Sam and Chaze are the best and that they some of his best friends!

Apricot and Pineapple Jam

They call me Betty Crocker, but I just think of myself as someone who wants to try something at least once!

The other day Chaze's Uncle Mike came to visit for a little while and he asked if we would be interested in some apricots. I said sure why not, I have always wanted to make jam! So the boys and I rushed off to Wal-Mart to get some canning jars, sugar, and that stuff you need to make jam.

After we returned from our study hour at the library I went start to work. My hands were like little prunes after I pitted all of those apricots . . . . I followed the directions word for word! I know I know . . . I of all people followed directions when making something, but guess what!?!? I still managed to make an alteration that hopefully does not make a huge mistake ~ I really like Apricot and Pineapple jam so I removed 1 cup of apricots and replaced it with 1 cup of crushed pineapple.

When all was said and done and Micah came home to me cleaning up (he was rather surprised by this new kitchen adventure) I was nervous that it was going to be a total BUST, but the next morning after everything had time to cool off I was excited to learn that all the jars were sealed tight and appeared to have settled just as the instructions indicated.

Stay tuned to see how yummy or yucky it may have turned out . . . I have ten jars of it, hopefully it is eatable. If not, Christmas gifts for my dearest of friends who won't have the heart to tell me I suck!

Bicycle Ride to the Park

This evening my three "boys" decided it would be a great idea to take a bicycle ride to the park just around the corner from our sub-division. As you can imagine living in our "cool-de-sac" as we are commonly refereed to - the younger boys in the neighborhood are enjoying have two older boys who have been so willing to ride bikes up and down the street and play catch.

It is also no secret that Ayden was just thrilled when Micah took him to ride his bike all the way to the park a month ago and has been asking since then when were they going to go again. Off they all went; Micah, Sam, Chaze, Ayden, Braxton, Hunter and little Jaelyn. I drove behind them with my emergency flashers just in case there were cars that weren't prepared for a neighborhood trip to the park.

Syracuse High School Football Team

Sam and Chaze have joined the Syracuse High school Football Team! Both of the boys are so excited to be able to play football and are really enjoying have some friend time with their team mates.

Football practice is Monday through Friday from 7am to 9:15am - the first few days I did not know if I should laugh or cry watching them walk out of the gym, here are these young men (17 years old) walking like little old men (107 years old). They have been great sports; you can see how tried and exhausted they are, but not once have either of them mentioned giving up! They are both dedicated to making the football team and giving it their all -Micah and I are extremely proud!

Sam and Chaze both have taken the time to complete ten letter to family and friends back home asking for sponsorship, as well as, walking door to door selling 'I Support Syracuse Titan!" signs. Our most amazing neighbor Nick even offered an award of a $100 Gift Card to each boy if they sold all ten signs they were asked to sell by the Football coach. Tonight the boys will go back out and contuie to impress MIcah and I with their determination - Even though several people in the community and said No, since they do not have kids in high school! Seriously folks . . . ONE DAY your kids will go there. I know it's a tough economy, but supporting your community benefits us all.

Sam 6 and Chaze 5

Family Fun Day at Sparetime

Micah, Chaze, Sam and I headed to Sparetime in Syracuse this evening to have our first family fun day; we had a blast!

Monday night after dinner we headed over to Sparetime to play a few arcade games and then enjoy the nightly special of $7.99 per person for unlimited bowling from 7pm-11pm. I was only able to play 1 1/2 games since my neck and shoulder are still healing from the car accident in May, but the three boys were so great in taking turns for me . . . after 4 games the total was Chaze 3 - Sam 1

The Chaze Laugh

A few nights before this the four of us were on our way to or from somewhere and Chaze busted out in this laugh and it had to be one of the funniest things when you are caught off guard.

I had to wait to capture it on video - as he mentioned he can perform on demand.

Meet the Newest Addition to the Family . . . Kia!

Kia has come to stay with the Smith's until Irene and Kevin come back to retrieve her.

Playing Catch - Football

This evening we spend sometime outside once it cooled down!

The morning started off with breakfast at Jermiah's - always a good place to start the day! I am not much of a breakfast person, but somehow I always manage to walk away from there a happy camper. It must be the home made freshly bakes bread they have each morning - YUMMY Sourdough!!

After breakfast we headed back home to let Kevin rest, he was not feeling well! (That's another blog post all on it's own) It was nice to be at home and enjoying the company and not have anything planned . . . We ran some errands to Wal-Mart - What is a visit to Utah without at least two or three trips to Wal-Mart with Irene.

We had a great family dinner; BBQ Hamburgers with all the good summer foods like watermelon and corn on the cobb. After dinner we all went outside . . . the boys took the chance to get some practice time in with the football before football practice the next morning at 7am!

Instant Family Photo

New bikes from Oma and Opa Wilson and Micah on a Rip-Stick?!?!

I was off with Roma today, and my folks arrived from Colorado after visiting little Kevin and Dawn. They were coming by to drop of some more camping equipment now that we have the two extra people in our family, as well as, two bikes Kevin received as payment for some work he did for a customer.

As for Micah, I am not sure what he was thinking on that Rip-Stick!?!? I better increase his life insurance if he is going to be that daring.

Happy 1st Birthday Anika

Just want to wish Anika a very Happy 1st Birthday

Chaze's Home

Fun Fact about Chaze

• Birth date: August 10th
  
• Age: 17 years old this August
  
• Junior at Syracuse High School
  
• Hometown: Blanding, Utah
  
• Favorite Sport: Football
• Favorite Color: Green
  
• Favorite Movie: 7 Pounds
  
• Favorite Book: Cedar Post
  
• Hobbies: Hunting, Trapping, ranching, fishing, anything outdoors! He asked that I add annoying people like Tanya "Nannnaa LOOK!"
  
• Favorite Food: Hamburgers
  
• Favorite Holiday: 4th of July
  
• Least Favorite food: Squash
  
• Favorite Season: Autumn/Fall
  
• Favorite Subject in School: Language Arts
  
• Favorite TV Channel: Animal Planet
  
• Favorite TV Show: Amazing Race
  

Basement Project - Tile Part Two

Look-E Look-E Look-E . . . the family room downstairs seems to be a work in progress once again. With Sam and Chaze moving in we found the need to use the family room downstairs which meant we needed to complete the project we started two years ago.

It is a great place to hang out; watching TV or playing games! It is also handy to have when you have out of town guests who need a place to stay . . . HINT HINT for those of you that haven't come for a visit in a while!

Micah did a good job of laying out all the tile - and the following day Micah and Sam grouted and cleaned the floor.

Sam's Home

Fun Facts about Sam

• Birth date: July 2nd
• Age: 17 years old
• Junior at Syracuse High School
  
• Hometown: Vernal, Utah
• Favorite Sport: Football
• Favorite Color: Blue
• Favorite Movie: Stardust
• Favorite Book: Breaking Dawn
• Hobbies: Hanging out with family and friends, going to the movies, swimming, football and working out.
• Favorite Food: Seafood Alfredo, Sushi, and Artichoke & Spinach dip
• Favorite Holiday: Christmas
• Least Favorite food: Onions and Jambalaya
  
• Favorite Season: Autumn/Fall
  
• Favorite Subject in School: PE, Science and History
• Favorite TV Channel: History, Military and Disney Channel
• Favorite TV Show: Monster Qwest, NCIS, and Nurto

Yard - July 2009

Okay, so I thought this gardening thing was for the birds, but so far I have been doing pretty well. I posted already about all the strawberries I had in June and the yummy strawberry lemonade I have been making. The above photos are of my tomatoes and pumpkin plants. The pumpkin plant took off to a roaring start and I have about 20 - 30 blossoms and I have noticed that a handful of them have died off, my guess is lack of water and lack of attention.

My six little jalapeno plants are just growing too fast for me to use . . . the other day I made some homemade salsa that I am dying to make and can for the winter months and then last night I went and picked another two handfuls.

Chinese Fortune Cookie says . . .

A new relationship is about to blossom. You will be blessed.

Yard Sale - July 18th Part Two

The yard sale was not a huge success, however it was fun! We are planning on having an additional yard sale in September and hopefully we can have additional signs and newspaper ad to help get more people to our neighborhood yard sale.

It was also one of the hottest days this summer and no matter what we did to keep cool it was like being broiled on high heat for five hours!

As you can see Kylie was helping us step up the night before and was modeling some of the goodies we had to sell. Thanks Kylie!

UYV Update

Micah and I received the telephone call tonight from our UYV consultant Casherie to let us know Sam will joining our home on Tuesday, July 21st and Chaze will be joining our home on Thursday, July 23rd. (No overnight for Chaze was necessary)

Hopefully sometime after that I will have some pictures to post!

Good Things Utah

Neighborhood girls got together this morning to go to the taping of Good Things Utah in Salt Lake City this morning! What a great we had - in fact the studio audience was larger than normal and yet we all managed to get both of the give away they were having that morning! We also got the recipe to make pancake cupcakes with a maple frosting that I am just waiting for an excuse to make!

Afterward we headed to Red Iguana for lunch; so far it is one of the better places I have found for Mexican food - Thanks Chellene!

Overnight Visit with Sam

Today we went to Kearns to bring Sam back to Syracuse to have an overnight visit. When we arrived one of the group home parents introduced us to our second youth who will be coming to stay with us, Chase. Chase is about to turn 17 and will also be a Junior. He seems to be a little more social, but overall another good kid we are excited to welcome into our home.

Once we got back to Syracuse we headed to the grocery store to get the sides to go with BBQ grilled chicken; corn on the cob, garlic bread, and green salad. I also made a strawberry angel food layer cake for dessert.

Again we had a great visit; this time Sam seemed a little more open and talk active. It was different sitting at the dining room table having a family dinner . . . Shortly after we went outside to talk and have Sam explain some details of his treatment plan for UYV. Our neighbors were great not to come over and overwhelm him, however, word has it everyone saw him from a far.

We finished the evening off watching Forrest Gump.

Neighborhood Camping Trip

I have to say Micah and I are the luckiest people; we moved into a neighborhood that is far beyond good and honest people - they have become some of the greatest friends we have here in Utah.

We planned a neighborhood camping trip to Mt. Tippengous with the Stagge's, Mill's, and Reddington's for two nights and three days.

Camping Trip - Day One

Happy Birthday Terryn!!

Day One: Today marked the first day of our neighborhood camping trip . . . . Ready... Set... Go!

But before we can even begin we need to make special note that we also were celebrating Terryn's 26th; off to 7-11 we go! 7-11 or Bust is the theme for today!

First stop the 7-11 on Antelope and 1000 in Syracuse! Next stop 7-11 on Antelope and Main Street Layton!! At this rate . . . we will never make it there before dark to set up camp.

Our First Meeting with Sam

Micah and I had the opportunity to go to Kearns to meet and visit with Sam today. While we were driving there Micah and I must of asked one another about 10 times "Are you nervous?" and to be honest; we both kept saying "No, not really! More so excited then nervous!"

Neither of us knew what to expect, and we had even stopped by the UYV office and met Sam's foster-mom Penny at the Group Home and the first thing she said was what a great kid Sam is! In fact - she also told us how excited she was that he was moving ahead in treatment, but that she was sad to see him leave. That made Micah and I even more excited!

At first glance Sam looks like most teenagers; he was wearing sports/gym shorts with a tee shirt that said Philispy Style with the Philispy Dough Boy. He is extremely tall, okay extremely tall means that he is taller than I am - he is 6'2 and something like 280 lbs. A very nice looking young man; clean cut hair cut, glasses and a friendly smile. The three of us decide to sit outside under a large pine tree to get to know one another.

We learn that he has just turned 17 and will be a Junior next year - he is hopeful that he is will far enough into the treatment process to be able to play High School football (and I am excited to be a football Mom, even though I KNOW NOTHING about football!), he would like to be able to get a part-time job and be able to afford the luxury of paying for his own cell phone bill. He likes all the same TV channels that Micah enjoys, and likes the Twilight series, he says he will eat anything, but onions and loves fresh garlic in food . . . . and like me is dislikes the frosting on cakes and cupcakes!

Our next step is to have an overnight visit, scheduled for July 14th!

UYV Update

Our backgrounds are finally back! Casherie called last night and gave Micah the good news - - - > and it seems that we are still going to be able to have the two youth we had hoped to have placed in our home last month. What comes next? Micah and I are hoping to be able to meet with Sam and Chaze sometime this week and have a chance to meet, then they will have the chance to come to our home and spend the night or weekend with us to determine if it will be a good fit and the final step would be for them to make the transisition from group home to our home.

We don't have many details to share, but we do know there is Sam (17) will be a Senior and Chaze (16) will be a Junior this coming school year. So just as soon as we can I will get pictures and more information to share!

Silly Story to Share

Last night Micah and I were having dinner and I decided to place a bottle of Cranberry Grape Cider in the freezer to get cold. Long story short - I forgot the juice in the freezer!!

When I went to get the bottle out Micah assured me that it was okay to open - so as he went out side to empty the trash I decided to brave it and open the cider.

Just as I was about to remove the top it popped open hitting me int he head, splashing the ceiling, the cabinets, the counters, the stove, all over the floor, the light fixture - - - it was EVERYWHERE!

Just has to share the silly blond moment I had this evening.