The Smith Family Times

Important Information About Zanny!

(Rob:) Please pay close attention to the following facts about my baby sister!

She loves to read:

She's a lot of fun to go to Bronco games with:

She's a great daughter:

She is a little wobbly:

She loves to party!

She has a secret relationship with Dale Earnhart, Jr:

She has an enormous head:

If you cross her, she will strike you down:

There has never been a better mom:

She is an expert dancer:

She is smoking hot:

She WILL take your bunny:

One last thing- she turned 40 last Thursday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZANNY!

Snowmass Recap

(Rob:) We made it home safely from Aspen last night. It's a 13-hour drive, but it's such a beautiful place that it's well worth the trip. We had a great time and it was great for the four of us to spend some time together. I know that it won't be too long before the kids won't be as interested in hanging with Mom and Dad on vacation, so we try to appreciate their attention while it lasts.

A real highlight of the trip was watching Sam learn to ski! He was very reluctant to take a lesson, but once he got on skis he loved it. I took this picture from a ski lift while he was taking his lesson with Denise on Monday:

Here I am skiing with both of my kids:

I did some solo skiing from the west side of the mountain- a run called Long Shot where you had to take the lift to the top of the mountain and then hike an extra 100 yards up the mountain to the start of the longest ski run in the USA: 5.3 miles through moguls and trees. Here's a view from the top:

Click HERE to see the 360 degree view.

You can see the snow blowing off the top of the Maroon Bells:

We all met for lunch on Monday- here's Susan and Sam:

Me and the Peach:

Snowmass Village:

The Foursome in downtown Aspen:

Dessert at Ben and Jerry's

It's good to be home again!

Sam Skis!

(Rob:) Sam took his first ski lesson today and he did great! His ski teacher Denise thought he had a really good sense of balance. Check it:

Sam and Denise in the Elk Park Meadow area of Snowmass Mountain

Hurtling!

Click HERE to see a short flick of Sam's first time down the mountain!

Here's Tessa also doing some hurtling- (I like the ponytail flying behind her)

Proud papa

Killer views off the backside of the top of the mountain

Tessa Jean with her new temporary best friend "Abbey II"

One more day of fun before the long drive home on Tuesday...

Tessa Jean on the Slopes

(Rob:) Tessa joined me on the slopes yesterday- here are some pictures:

Me and the Peach up on the mountain

Blue skies

Tessa was missing her ski buddy Abbey so we called her from the top of the mountain

Here's where we stopped for lunch (great Wisconsin cheese soup)

Awesome view off the backside of the mountain

This lift is called "Sam's Knob" (you might hear some snickering from our friends in the U.K.)

Skiing some greens

Snow plow

Hanging at the Snowmass Mall (with typical big-head Rob self-portrait)

Big head Tessa

Downtown Aspen

Aspen Grinch

We went to see "The Spiderwick Chronicles" at the Isis theater last night. You can get a beer with your movie!

Snowmass Phooph Phactor

(Rob:) Just a quick post from Snowmass/Aspen Colorado, where there seems to be a bit of a disagreement with our friends in Utah regarding who actually has the "Greatest Snow on Earth". We've done some testing, and so far it seems like the Utah snow has greater phooph factor, for those of you who know what that means. (See last month's Utah post for further details on this controversy)

Tessa and Sam at the Snowmass Club pool

We left Kansas City on Wednesday after work and made it to Hays, KS to stay overnight at the EconoLodge (where the "Continental Breakfast" is a leaf of bread and a toaster). On Thursday we made it the rest of the way to Snowmass, which is just north of Aspen. I went skiing by myself yesterday afternoon, and I think Tessa is going to try it today. She's a little bummed because she's become used to skiing with her BFF Abbey, who couldn't make the trip with us this time. We're hoping to get Sam into a ski lesson this afternoon. He said he'd like to ski, but he doesn't like the idea of "Ski School". We told him that it's really more of a fun thing like "Ski Recess", but he remains unconvinced.

Samfalfa

The heated outdoor pool

Hanging at the condo- Susan has been pretty sick with the cold that I gave her, but we're hoping she makes a comeback today. More later!

More Smith Glory!

(Rob:) More sporting events and more Smith glory last weekend - here are some photos!

Tessa's club volleyball team the KC Sports travelled to Topeka, KS again on Saturday for a big tournament:

Tessa Jean with teammate Christine ready for action

Abbey spikes!

Tessa delivering a killer serve

It can be nerve-wracking watching these games- here's Susan with Beth and Papa Shoe watching from the sidelines

Abbey demonstrating her setter technique as Tessa looks on

The Sports lost their first game, but then went on an unbeaten roll through to the final game. They took the lead and were two points from victory when Tessa Jean went in to serve. They made the first one, then it was game point. Tessa lined up, tossed up the ball and delivered ...

An ACE! Game over, Tournament won!

*********************************************************************************

Unfortunately, Susan and I weren't able to see the end, because we came back to KC early to go to Sam's 1st grade basketball game. He's been working hard to try and get more involved in the game by making either a steal, rebound or a shot...

Sam with buddies Carson, Will and Carter at the pregame lineup

Here he is on offense- for some reason he was unguarded for most of the game. (The problem is that passing is the last basketball skill learned by 1st graders)

Skying for a rebound

On the fast break

Shutdown "D"

The big news for Sam was that he shot the ball three times, and one of them even went in!!!
He was pretty happy with his performance (but perhaps more excited about the trip to the Target toy department that I had bribed him with if he made the box score in some fashion)

Doin' What We Do Best

Pancakes, anyone?

(Susan): We are coasting into home with one day to go until the weekend. Highlights of the week per the children--no school on Wednesday due to snow, wearing pajamas to school, a bowling birthday party, a fun Superbowl with friends (it doesn't get any better than jalapeno chips, tequila, and Tom Petty for the adults in attendance, too), a toasty warm new kitchen, and a quick week. More volleyball is in store this weekend. Last weekend the girls placed second and very nearly won the whole deal again. They are so exciting to watch that I am pretty sure I may have a heart attack.

Tessa and her brownie Superbowl creation

The second place finishers after a sweet day of volleyball (they were number one in my book)

Sam touched the basketball in his game!

We are loving the new kitchen

The red gummy bears beat the orange gummy bears the the final 2 minutes! Yeah!!!

Gussie loves the toasty warm kitchen too

Sam tries a new game courtesy of a friend's birthday bash

Token picture of Rob putting something away in the new fridge

I made a pit stop at the coffee garage tonight and everyone is now asleep which means I get to stay awake all night reading my novel, and have two coffees tomorrow to stay awake!

Super Tuesday

(Rob:) Tomorrow is Super Tuesday here in Missouri and many other states:

See if yours is one of them!

Last week, Tessa Jean and I went downtown to see Senator Barack Obama speak. It was a huge crowd- over 10,000 people turned out for the event. He's an amazing speaker and I'd recommend going to see him if he comes to your town.

Obama on stage with Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius

Tessa Jean at the rally. (She still favors Hillary Clinton because she was very nice to her when she got to meet her last October- click HERE for details)

A shot of the crowd- I was excited about what a cross-section of race, age and gender were represented. Kansas City tends to be a pretty socially segregated town and you don't see photos like this very often outside of Arrowhead Stadium.

I've been thinking a lot about my grandma Mary Louise Smith lately. She was always so excited about the political process and I loved our conversations at election time. This year would have been especially exhilarating for her, I think, with either the first woman or African-American candidate for president now a certainty on the Democratic side. For her beloved GOP, I think she would be very pleased with the apparent move back to the center with the rise of Senator John McCain, who is far more in line with her moderate, fiscally responsible point of view.

I'm one of millions who have been inspired by Barack Obama and I'll be in line at 6 AM tomorrow to cast my vote. I remain a registered Republican (Missouri has open primaries) but I think Obama will be the best for the USA at this point in history.

I think John McCain would definitely be an improvement from the last 7 years; he would restore a sense of morality and honor to our country- torture and rendition would surely end and habeas corpus would return.

In my opinion, however, the "W" era has been so damaging that I feel we need a dramatic revolution, not just an interval improvement. We need someone who can unite our country that has been painfully divided culturally and economically. After what we've been through, I want to be inspired again, and I feel that with Obama like I never have with any other politician.

Check out this cool Obama video (Scarlett Johannsen is in it! And Kareem!)

Whomever you support, get out and vote!
(Unless you aren't voting for Obama, then just stay home- it's going to be really cold out..)