The Living Planet Aquarium/Noah feeding the Sting Ray

Noah and I have been trying to find neat things to do over Christmas Break. Chris has picked up a lot of hours at work so it leaves just me and Noah to hang out. Today we went to Sandy, Utah to the "Living Planet Aquarium". It was so much fun. They had a shark tank and Sea horses. They had a open part where you could pet the Sting Rays. They felt so nasty! Noah had a lot of fun. At 2pm they feed the sting rays and they have 10 spots open for children over 5 to feed the sting rays. I got Noah a ticket and he was able to feed them. It was so funny to watch because they get so excited and start splashing all over the place and all the kids screamed and jumped back.

Just wanted to add a few of my favorite pictures of Christmas! Hope you enjoy them!

Merry Christmas 2009!

Well, this year things were a little different. This was mine and Noah's 1st Christmas away from family. Chris was away from family for 2 Christmas' when he was serving his mission, not that it made it any easier for him. Anyway, it wasn't too bad. We spent Christmas eve and Christmas day with our friends, The Banks'. They are a lot of fun to hang out with and have become family for us here. We had a great Christmas inspite of the lack of family. Santa was good to Noah as always and he got more than her deserved. I love watching his facial expressions every Christmas. He got everything he wanted and then some. He souldn't be bored for a long time. He has plenty to do. Chris was very good to me this year as well. He always is. He is such a great husband. He got me the Cricut machine that I have been wanting soooooo bad and a BYU sweatshirt. I have wanted one for a while and every time I say something about going to the bookstore to get one he always says....."no we don't have the money". Well he must have found some money somewhere because I got one for Christmas. He also say that I had a ribbon in my jeans the other day and asked me what that was. I told him that my belt had broken and I didn't have one so I took the ribbon off of one of my skirts and was using that. He got me an awesome belt too. He did really good this year. I am super lucky. My mother in law and mom do so much for us as well and like always they both over did it this year, but I am soooo grateful for them too. They are always looking out for us! Chris got quite a bit too. He always makes out good at Christmas because I have a shopping problem and will find any excuse to do so. We had dinner with The Banks' and it was amazing. Then we just relaxed. The Sunday before Christmas we went to Temple Square and checked out the lights there. It was so neat. We had never been before so it was a great experience for us, even if it was freezing outside. It was so worth it. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Well, with our recent move and the lack of space we had to move all of our stuff, we ended up having to leave our Christmas tree and all of our decorations behind. While it was sad, I was in a way happy. If you don't have your Christmas stuff then you must go out and buy more. I love to shop so I had fun doing it. I think our tree turned out pretty good this year. I will have to have my mom ship me my ornaments and things but for this year we will have to make do without it. I am glad we got a new tree because I always got in a bad mood when it came to decorating the tree because of the lights. I had getting them just right on the tree and untangling them and all that stuff. This year pre-lit tree. Best thing we ever did. Putting up the tree was great. Noah has a blast and put the ornaments in good spots this year. He is learning how to do it nicely. We didn't have a cluster of ornaments in one spot. Chris was on the couch putting all the hanger things in the ornaments and handing them to me and Noah. It didn't take long at all. In our family it is always tradition to put the tree up after Thanksgiving. I couldn't wait. I have been so excited for this holiday season. I am not sure why but I haven't been stressed at all and have really just been enjoying it. Chris finally gave in to me and my whining and let me put the tree up the Monday before Thanksgiving. My dad was not amused and thought that it was too early, however I have just gotten word that their tree isn't even done yet and Christmas is in a week. Not that I did, but if I had felt bad about breaking tradition, I now don't. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ice Skating

This past Saturday we went to our friends ward Christmas party. It was so much fun. We went Ice Skating. They had subs, Pizza, Nachos and cheese, hot chocolate, and Santa came. We had a blast ice skating. Chris did awesome. I am surprised he remembered how. He did really good. Noah did awesome too. He only fell twice. That is pretty good for his first time. I had so much fun. I didn't do too bad and I didn't fall. The Banks' have a great ward. Everyone had fun and was very friendly. I hope that we will be able to go ice skating quite a bit while we are here. I love all the awesome activities they have here. We are always doing something fun.

Winter 2009

It has really been awhile since I have last blogged. Where to begin??? Well Chris is almost done with his first semester here at BYU. He is doing great. I knew he would. He is so smart and dedicated that I knew he would do well. Chris isn't one of those guys that does enough to get by. He always does above and beyond. I am so proud of him. He is enjoying ROTC. He really enjoys the workout. He likes to be in shape and so this is much better than a gym membership. With the ROTC they pay us and he gets to work out for free. It is great. This first semester has really gone by quick. I remember thinking that 3 years was a long time but really I think that it will go by very quickly and I will be wishing to have that time back.



Noah is continuing to do great in school. He works really hard and is a great student. No behavior problems at all so far this year. I am very happy about that. He loves Utah and all the things he gets to do around here. There is so much to do and for cheap or even free. Last week we got snow. About 25 inches. We bought Noah and kids snowboard and a sled so all this week he has been snowboarding and sledding. He has done more snowboarding than anything. He has never done that before and so I was a little scared for him at first. I am not sure why. He is a natural athlete. He picks up on things like that and the technique of it so quickly. He is having a blast.

Who would have thought that I, Amy Smith, would ever like the snow. I was so worried about it when we were planning our move to Utah. I have been waiting as the days grew colder and closer to winter that the snow would start coming. What was I going to do? I don't know how to drive in snow. Do people in Utah buy the stores out of milk, eggs, and bread? Well, Utah is very equipped and on the ball. Snow started Saturday night and the roads weren't that bad. It continued to snow Sunday night and they were out plowing the streets at 3am. When it was time to take the kids to school the roads weren't that bad compared to the way it would have been in Virginia. I actually enjoyed sledding too. I would have never pictured myself out in the snow, cold and wanting to stay so we can go down just one more time. It was like I was a kid all over again. I LOVE it!!!!!!!!!! So looks like this winter might not be as bad as I thought. I actually might be OK here!

Just an update!

So this week we finished up with wrestling. Noah really enjoyed it and wants to do it next year. He learned a lot and isn't too bad. He does well with the technique. He had his last practice on Tuesday night and they had some treats for the kids with a certificate and a medal. Noah was so excited. He now has over 10 trophies and about a dozen medals. He is so happy to add to the collection.

School was out on Wednesday and they go back on Monday so they have a nice little vacation from school. Noah and Mason have been playing nonstop since school let out on Tuesday. We did Thanksgiving dinner over at The Bank's house. It was so good. So much food too. Plenty of leftovers for lunches for the next couple of days. We had fun socializing and hearing mission stories from the guys. The kids just played until it was time to go home and relax. We all had a good time. It is so nice to have great friends that have become our family. I am so grateful for The Banks Family. They are a lot of fun and we just seem to click!!!

Black Friday, well I was just lazy. Chris and I woke up at about 9am. I think Noah was up about 8:30am. Chris went to work from 10-6 and Noah was outside playing most of the day. I played with my Cricut Machine that Chris got me for Christmas and let me have already!!! Then I ate leftovers for lunch and watched the Law and Order marathon on TV. Noah came in for a little so I could take a nap and then I realized it was 4pm and I needed to finish the dishes and take a shower before Chris got home from work so he wouldn't know how lazy I was today. It really did feel good to just hang out with no plans. I also did a lot of Christmas shopping online because I could still get the awesome deals with free shipping and stay in my pajamas all day. It was great. So that is what we have been up to lately. Not anything amazing but I have enjoyed it all!!!

Checking out Snow sites!

We went to find the best place to sled when it snows. Chris was telling Noah and I about this huge dome that he went to with the ROTC. So a couple of these pictures are from that. I just wanted to share them with you.

Happy Halloween!

So Halloween we made another haul!!! We went with The Banks Family to their ward trunk or treat and Chili cook-off. It was so much fun. I have never seen a ward decorate so much or have so much fun together before. They had all kinds of activities for the kids and even the adults. Then we went outside for the trunk or treat. That is always a huge success. Then we went to a couple of neighborhoods. Noah has so much candy that he will be eating it for the next year and until it is time to do it all over again. It was a lot of fun. Noah went as GI Joe this year. He was the cutest GI Joe I have ever seen. I will add a couple of pictures so you can see how adorable he is.

I am still getting pictures together so that I have enough for a disc. Halloween pictures are coming I promise. So this week has been hard. Chris was in the field for 3 days, which I know isn't long, but it is new to me. I will get use to it or maybe just be able to deal with it I am sure over time. Noah was a big help and so we just hung out and did some things just him and I. It was fun but I was so excited when Chris got home. I really do admire those women whose husbands who have been deployed because I thought those 3 days were the longest days of my life, I can't even imagine what they went through.

So I am working on a special project that I can't say right now, but I am loving it. It is so much fun and seeing the progress is amazing too. I also was at the craft store the other day and was just wondering around seeing what kind of project I wanted to work on and came across the Cross Stitching Section. I haven't cross stitched in forever. My mom taught me and Jared how when we were younger and I love to do it, (I am not as good as my mom) But I am trying. So I am cross stitching some ornaments for our Christmas Tree this year. With our move to Utah we didn't have room to bring our tree or any ornaments that we had. So this year we have to replace it all. Oh well. I always remember having ornaments on the tree that were cross stitched and so I want some on my tree this year. I am doing a cute little frog and then Lightning McQueen from the movie "CARS". I think they will turn out great.

Noah gets out of school at 1:30pm all this week due to SEP's. I have teacher conference tonight at 5pm. Noah is doing great in school. He is so smart and isn't getting into any trouble. He tells me all the time he is so glad that I stay at home now because he has more time to hang out with friends. His friend Mason and their family have been sick all week. H1N1, Strep, and Croup. I am glad that they are feeling better because Noah has been so worried about his best friends and has been kinda lonely. He has other friends that he plays with but Mason is by far his favorite. Well gonna get back to my projects. So much to do!!!

So this week has been rather uneventful! Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Just the same old stuff different days. My mom is coming to visit us the end of January and I did find out that she is bringing two other visitors with her. My brother Adam and his wife Ashley are coming as well. I am so excited for that. Noah knows that my mom is coming but we are keeping Adam and Ashley a secret. Noah will be so excited. Him and Adam have always been very close. They are more like friends than Uncle and Nephew. Its really kinda cute. Noah is gonna be so happy to see them and will enjoy showing them all the neat things that he does.

Chris is going to the field for ROTC this Thursday thru Saturday so Noah and I will be by ourselves. Guess I better get use to that since he is in the ARMY now! Oh well that we give me time to get some scrapbooking done once Noah is in bed. I am looking forward to the Holiday Season coming up. We are having Thanksgiving with our good friends, The Banks. It is going to be so much fun. This will be our first Holiday, well for me and Noah, away from home so it will be different but The Banks are like family now so I am sure we will be fine. I am looking forward to doing something different and making our own holiday Traditions. Not sure what our Traditions are going to be but I will come up with something.

Fall Pictures

Noah and I went out to look for some interesting places to explore. We found this one place that is so neat and it is on campus. We are going to bring Chris here soon to walk around and get more pictures. So I thought why not take my own fall pictures. So here are some of my fall pictures that I have taken. The weather here has been so nice so Noah has been able to still where shorts. Not sure how long that is gonna last. I have heard that it snows before Halloween sometimes.

The painting of the pumpkins

Noah and I painted our pumpkins! Noah painted 3 out of the 4 pumpkins. They look wonderful. I gave my pumpkin long eye lashes and huge red lips!!! Noah got to paint the big pumpkin and two of the small ones. Noah had to paint Chris' because Chris had to go into work so he didn't get to paint his pumpkin.

THE PUMPKIN PATCH!!!

The pumpkin patch was a blast. We went to Heehaw Farms which is in Pleasant Grove about 30 mins from Provo. They had so much for kids to do. Noah loved it. We started off at the corn cannon. Noah shot that off a couple of times and then we were off to one of their 3 pumpkin patches to pick out a pumpkin. Noah had fun picking a big one. Then we went to the other activities that they had. They had all kinds of slides, a maze, swings, petting zoo, train and hay rides, corn box, and a whole bunch of other things. It was probably the best farm we have been to for picking pumpkins. Noah is still talking about how much fun he had.

McDonalds for Lunch

Here in Utah they have "Fall Break" this is very different than Virginia. I had to ask what the heck is "Fall Break" but here in Utah they start school in August so that is only fair. So the kids were out of school Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Sarah and I wanted to take the kids out of the house for awhile. We went to McDonald's because they had an awesome play area. It was one of the neatest ones I have seen. The kids had lunch and then played for over an hour. They had so much fun and were able to get out of the house for a bit. Now I guess we will have to start planning what to do for Thanksgiving Break!!!!!!

Movies and Games with the Banks!!!!

The Banks Family and The Smith Family have become each others family. They are great. Sarah and I have become great friends. Both of our husbands are at school a lot and so we have each other to rely on. The other day Sarah watched Noah and I went to lunch with Chris and then she had a dinner to go to and so I watched her children. We had so much fun. The older kids played "Spongebob Life" and had a great time. Reina just hung out with me and Chris. Then they wanted to watch a movie Noah had gotten from the Library "Wizard of Waverly Place" they all loved it. I popped them popcorn and Reina is too small for popcorn so she had a bowl of mini Teddy grahams. They all enjoyed watching the movie and of course I had to get a picture of them playing. They are a great bunch of kids.

Lego Time!!

Noah loves to build things with legos. Every time we go to Wal-mart we have to check out the legos and see if he has enough allowance to buy a new set. The latest was a police motorcycle. Chris really gets into it too. They sat right there on the floor for over an hour and just built. They have so much fun doing that together. Noah is good at putting things together. When he was little he loved puzzles and now that he thinks he is grown we have moved up to legos. Whats next????

Chris is always finding neat places with amazing views. When he finds these things he loves to share them with me and Noah. This one particular day he found a neat area that he really wanted to show us. We had planned to go see if for days and never made it there. Finally we got time to where we could go and not be rushed. It was beautiful. It had a gazebo and an amazing view of Provo. We went at night so we could see lights all over the city. The building that it is behind was amazingly beautiful too. Noah and Chris played football for awhile and I just looked around and enjoyed the view. I love that Chris is so observant and finds neat places for us to explore.

Wrestling

Noah is doing good with wrestling so far. He is a good athlete but need to work on his listening skills. He really likes it and so far has only cried twice. That is good for him considering we have had four practices. Chris is working on making him tougher but that will take time. I made him into a sensitive guy and that is great but sometimes he needs to toughen up. Chris is doing a good job with that.