The Smith Family Times

Birthday Weekend!

Grandma Delores and Grampi Paul check out the flowers with Mr. Wiggle Worm

(Susan):  The annual awesome birthday bash extravaganza weekend has once again come and gone.  Things were a little more sedate this year without all the family.  We sure missed you all!  However, there was more jumping time, more cake and more barbecue for us!  Somehow we managed to get through. This is the last week of school for the kids and I am off next week.  With the current weather conditions we will be at the pool every day.  We are looking forward to a weekend trip to the lake to see Grandma Judy.

Rob chillin' in his new birthday hammock with a good read

That wife!  Where does she find such cool gifts?

A little birthday joy with Barbie

The tent goes up the night before and the kids jump for three stright hours!

Thar she blows!

"Can we get in now?"

Happy #10, Peach!

(Rob:) Tessa Jean was born ten years ago today! Susan and I were all set for a big garage sale when labor began sometime after midnight. Tessa was born at 12:39 PM. Bill and a very pregnant Beth came over to run the garage sale in our absence!

Today Tessa Jean wore a digital watch to school so she could tell exactly when she began her second decade. Apparently it was pretty exciting- all the kids gathered around her desk and counted down the seconds until 12:39 and then let out a big Happy Birthday cheer!

Tonight we went out to eat with Grandma and Grandpa to the Cheesecake Factory, then to Coldstone Creamery afterwards for dessert. This weekend we'll have our usual combined birthday party to celebrate hers and mine (which is tomorrow.)

Here we are at ages 40, 40, 5 and 10 (a numerical phenomenon that will occur for one day only every 5 years).

Birthday Peach

Who's Your Momma?

Happy Pre-Mother's Day!

Sam and I before the Mother-Son Pizza Party

"Poppies will put them to sleep"

Tessa flashes her baby blues before the Father-Daughter Dance

(Susan):  What are those crazy Smiths up to? No good, I guess.  Rob is off on some 18 mile run and we may or may not get dressed today.  The rains have stopped and the 40 degree weather has set in.  If it warms up, we will be out to shoot some hoops.  Rob and the kids played a little back yard ball this week and Sam made ten baskets.  Coming inside he said, " This might be the best day of my life!"  We'll see if we can have another of those days today.  Our only true goal today is to make some chocolate chip cookies!

Father-Daughter '06

(Rob:) Friday night was the annual Visitation School Father-Daughter dance! It's a highlight of every spring; a chance for little girls to run, dance and scream to the latest "Kidz Bop" tunes while their fathers hold their shoes and fetch them sodas. It's sort of like the sock hops from the 1950's except none of them wear socks. Here are some pics!

Me showing Tessa Jean some killer moves.

CLICK HERE to see some daughters dancing!

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Tessa Jean with her friend Erin.

Abbey catching some air!

Peach and Abs.

Flexi-Girls unite!

The post-dance trip to Winstead's- polishing off the last of the Skyscraper ice cream conglomeration!

We all had a great time, as always.

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Tessa Jean up to bat at today's softball game. The girls are making the switch from coach-pitch to kids-pitch this year, so the games are pretty brutal. I think today's score was 16 to 14, and all the runs were unearned from bases-on-balls. May be a long season...

Random Shots

(Rob:)I tried to go for a 9 mile run this morning, but it started raining really hard with a lot of lightning, so I turned back for home after only 2. What else to do at 6:30 AM but blog? Here are some random slices of life from the iPhoto Library (some may be repeats, think of them as "encore presentations")---

Two little monkeys, jumping on the bed up on the ballroom floor

Jude and Tessa Jean in the kitchen at Christmas

Sam desparately trying to avoid pokey kisses

Cool sunset

Tessa's basketball team

Susan and me at our wedding reception, 1990 AD.

Zanny with the 99 jumer (Mitchell's favorite)

Smiths at the Big Cedar Lodge