Sandbridge Beach

A summer vacation is not complete without a trip to the beach!  We have several trips planned but this was our 1st trip so far.  It was hot as crap but totally fun!  We saw dolphin fins and dug in the sand.  It was just me, my mom and dad, and Noah!  Next week we are going with my parents and my brother Jared and his family.  It is going to be a ton of fun!

I am looking forward to the other trips to the beach we have planned!!!!

Going home to Utah!!!

The day after Father's day,  Noah and I flew home to VA.  We left super early in the morning from Salt Lake City Utah and had a layover in Denver Colorado.  Let me just say Denver airport is AWESOME!!!!  I ate Panda Express at 9am.  hahahahha It was soooooooooooooo good.  We then flew in to Newport News VA and have been here for a little bit.  The first night in we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant, El Caporel.  It was so good but it was crazy.  All of my family showed up!  Two of my brothers and their families, my mom and dad, my in laws, and my brother in law and his family.  We were missing a few because they do not live in the area but it was still really nice to have those who live around here come out for dinner.  The next day we went to the pool and my best friend Emily Greenwald came and we got to hang out.

I also had promised my niece Emma, who is 3 1/2, that I would teach her how to swim.  Three days later she was swimming and going off the diving boards.  She is a cutie pie.  Noah is now doing back flips off the diving boards.   Last year he was doing front flips and has done that for a few years so its nice to see him doing new tricks too.

The girls have gone and gotten our toes done.  Sorry no pictures but I forgot my camera, but it was fun as always.  We then went to El Patron for dinner after that.  
My dad took Noah and I to see the change of command at Fort Lee on day.  The General was retiring and a new General was coming in.  It was a long morning but it was neat to see some of the Army functions that we will be a part of.

Then the best part of our trip was when we went to visit Chris in South Carolina. My dad is the best.  He planned a trip for us to go visit so that we could see him while we were home.  We got there on a Wednesday and left that Monday.  We went out to eat, Noah and I went to the waterpark while Chris was at work and my dad was at a seminar.  We toured around Columbia SC and went to church with Chris on Sunday.  My dad had his own hotel room Wed thru Fri night and kept Noah with him so that Chris and I could have some alone time.  That was really nice.  Monday was a hard day because I did not want to leave.  I am so grateful for Skype so that we can talk everyday and see each other or else I am not sure I would make it through.  While we were there Noah wanted to try on all of Chris' Army gear.  It was really cute.

We were able to visit the Columbia South Carolina Temple.  It was really pretty.  We couldnt go in because they are closed for renovations but the grounds were beautiful.
We have spent some time with my nieces and nephews.  It has been so fun so far!  I feel so blessed to be able to be home with family!  This has been a great summer so far!

Happy Father's Day!

This Father's day was a little lonely.  Chris was gone and my dad and father in law were in VA so we did not get to spend it with three of the most amazing fathers ever.  My dad was always so amazing.  He read to me, sang to me, kiss my boo boos, taught me how to ride a bike and drive a car.  He sat up with me when I was scared at night and told me stories til I fell asleep.  He played with us at the beach and now plays with his grandkids at the beach.  He truly is an amazing father and grandpa and I thank my Heavenly Father for him.

My father in law is also a great man.  He helped raise three amazing children who have all done very well for themselves and now have beautiful families.  He helped mold Chris into a great husband and father by his loving example.  He is a great father in law and I love spending time with him.  He laughs at all my jokes (which is awesome) and is such an amazing grampy!  I love him so much and feel truly blessed to have him for my father in law.  Oh and he is gonna kill me for posting this picture but I LOVE IT!

And now for Chris, my amazing husband and such a wonderful devoted father.  Where to even begin with all that he does for me and for Noah.  He provides so much for us and sacrifices a lot too.  He works so hard and takes care of us.  He loves Noah so much and is always teaching him by example and he loves to play with him.  There is no better father in this world who is better or more loving than Chris.  God has truly blessed our lives by giving him to us!  Noah and our future children are and will be so blessed to be able to call him dad.  Chris, I love you and thank Heavenly Father every day for your selfless sacrifices you make for our family.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!

5 years and counting

Chris and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on June 16th.  Since we knew we would not be together we celebrated before he left for BOLC.  It has been the best 5 years of my life.  We have been through so much and have grown so much closer to each other over the years.  I feel so blessed to have him and to be able to have him for eternity.

The past 5 years have been a learning and growing experience for us as a family.  In the past 5 years we moved across the country for school, Chris graduated from BYU, Chris commissioned as on Officer in the Army, I started school, I graduated with my associate's degree, we have been diagnosed with infertility, got orders for Korea, and made a few trips home to VA and so much more.  With all the ups and downs we have grown closer to each other and I am so grateful for that.  I could not imagine what life would be like without him and thank God every day for him.  Here is to Eternity with my best friend!

It's been awhile...

So it has been quite awhile since I have updated this blog and so felt like I would make a couple of posts.  Since I last blogged Chris has left for BOLC (Basic Officers Leadership Course) in South Carolina.  He left on June 3rd and will be gone til the end of August.  With him being gone is it nice to have amazing neighbors who take very good care of us.  We have our best family ever, The Banks'.  Sarah and I have been best friends since we moved in almost 3 years ago.  Her oldest son Mason has been Noah's best friend since we moved in as well.  They have taken care of us and kept us pretty busy.  While Sarah was at girls camp I was able to keep her 4 kids during the day while Aaron, her husband, was at work.  They kept me on my toes and very busy which was nice because then I had less time to focus on the fact that Chris and I weren't together and I slept well those nights.  We had lots of fun and I even had a little drama.  Kylie bumped her head and got a nice HUGE cut.  Blood everywhere.  For anyone who knows me well they know that I do not do blood.  I actually surprised myself and did very well.  I got her cleaned up, took her to BYU health center to make sure no stitches were needed and then got all the kids McDonald's for lunch.  Although the last day was crazy, we had fun.  We also had dinner with them one night and it was super good.  Then we have our neighbors Randall and Jess.  They are awesome.  They live right across the hall from us so we visit with them often.  Randall came over and played video games with Noah and Jess taught me how to crochet.  We hung out and chit chatted and they just made it a lot easier.  Randall is also a great security system.  I am super paranoid so I told him if someone tried to break in that I would bang on the wall and he knows to come running ready to fight.  LOL  They are truly amazing.  

Zion's National Park

We knew that Chris was leaving the beginning of June so we took a small vacation to St George Utah.  IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.  We went to Zion's National Park and did two hikes and it was amazing.  I am not the most athletic person but I am willing to try almost anything.  The first hike we took was the Emerald pools hike.  It has a lower, middle, and upper pools.  You cannot swim in any of them but they were so beautiful and it wasn't too tough either.

The above picture is when we made it to the upper pool.  It was nice and shaded (which was great after that long hike).  We had so much fun and talked a lot and just enjoyed each others company.


Our second hike was easier.  It was really pretty and the huge rocks narrowed the farther you walked which was neat.  There also was a part where you could wade in the water and it was so peaceful.  Chris and I sat on a rock and enjoyed each others company and the scenery (which was so quiet and in a way romantic) while Noah played in the water.

Just so you know...I HAVE THE BEST HUSBAND EVER!  Just blogging about our trip makes me miss him already so much.


We spent the night in a really nice hotel in St George.  We swam in the pool and got in the hot tub which was all surrounded with palm trees.  I didn't take my camera down to the pool but I should have.  It was beautiful. The next morning we got up and had breakfast and got ready for the day.  We drove around St George and looked at the big houses and then stopped by the St George LDS Temple.  It was breathtaking.  We got out and walked the grounds and just felt such peace and love being there knowing that we are a family forever.

When we were driving around we went on the top of one of the red rock mountains and got to see this view.  We then drove the 4 1/2 hours back to Provo, drinking monsters and laughing and just enjoying each other company.  It may have only been a two day trip but it was amazing!

And so it begins...

Well, as of yesterday Chris is officially active duty for the Army.  I have waited and been so excited for this point in our lives and now that it is here...well Im sad.  Yesterday Noah and I put Chris on a plane to South Carolina for 11 weeks of training.  That is totally across the country from us right now and I really don't like it.  It has been two days and one night and I feel so lonely already.  I am glad that this summer while he is in training we can talk every day.  Whoever invented Skype is now my best friend too.  It is so nice to see where he is staying and most of all get to see him everyday.  Good part of this is, the end of this month (3 weeks to be exact) we are going to South Carolina to spend a week with Chris.  I am so glad that my dad loves Chris like his own son because he has made the arrangements to be with Chris for a week this summer.  I also plan on visiting at some point this summer with his mom.  My mother in law is one of my best friends and so we are going to plan a road trip to go see him.  I am glad that Noah and I are going home in 2 weeks because I am very lonely.  Noah is so sweet and has been really good and that makes things better and easier.  He is taking over the "man of the house" role and it is too cute.  He is being extra caring and making sure I am okay and it makes me so proud of the young man he is becoming.


I salute all those women who have been through deployments or are going through a deployment right now. My 11 weeks may seem like nothing compared to their experience and I have a tremendous amount of respect for those strong women.  How they became so strong I may never know but I would like to know how they make it through.

May...

May has been a very lazy month for the Smith family.  Chris graduated in April and we had family come to town.  Once they left, well.......we really haven't done much.  Chris is leaving the beginning of June for South Carolina for BOLC and Noah and I don't take off for Virginia til the middle of June.  Since Chris doesn't have school or work what we do is take turns taking Noah to school each morning and then just hang out all day long.  It has been really nice.  I am taking full advantage of this time since he will be leaving soon for 11 weeks.  We stay up late and chit chat, we laugh, we watch movies, we cook, we clean, and Chris plays video game while I play the piano.  Yup some may say it sounds pretty lame but we are loving every single minute of it.


Chris was able to participate in Noah's school "FUN RUN" again this year.  They did awesome.  Noah had just gotten his braces on the day before so I was a little worried that his mouth would be bothering him and they wouldn't do so well but I was wrong.  They did awesome and had fun doing it together.

(Dad and Noah before the run)

(Noah and his friend Jence)

 (and they are off)

(almost done)

They did an amazing job and had fun doing it.  The we also had the school extravaganza which was a lot of fun too.  No pictures for that because Chris and I were running one of the game booths.  Noah was running around with some of his friends.  Chris and I had a blast with our game and had a few winners at our booth.  It was nice that we could help the school out and enjoy such a nice afternoon with a ton of other families.  Now we just look forward to our Memorial Day picnic with great friends and family and then our family trip to Zion's National Park.  Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

Graduation

Well.........WE MADE IT!  It has been  a long 5 years but we have made it to a great point.  Chris graduated from BYU April 19th and 20th.  He also commissioned as on Officer in the United States Army.  I am so proud of him.  He has worked so hard and totally deserves this.  Being married for almost 5 years and all of those years Chris has been in school it will finally be nice to just have a job and a real paycheck coming in.  Chris' parents were able to come out for the ceremonies and so we had a very busy but exciting week.  Chris, his dad, and Noah all climbed the "Y".  We went to Bridal Veil falls.  We went to Temple Square and toured the conference center.  We did the BYU tour and then  two days full of graduation and commissioning stuff.  We made a trip to the BYU bookstore and spent WAYYYYY too much money.  We ate a few meals out at our favorite local restaurants and I cooked a few nights for our family.  We had so much fun!  I couldn't have asked for a better week.