You know you officially have teenagers when..

you come home from the ward campout to find this. :)

The Ugly Details

Okay, I guess I will tell you the ugly details of my horrible Saturday although it pains me to do so. :) We'll just call this my public confessional. First you have to have a little back story on fall ball. Fall ball, unlike spring ball which is hard core, is mainly for the purpose of training and development. There isn't a draft, there's not a lot of practice and you can either get on a team that is totally stacked or one where a lot of the kids have hardly played before. Often times the teams are terribly unbalanced. Aaron never seems to have a problem, but Chad always gets on these teams that rarely if ever win. He didn't want to do fall ball this year. He really wanted to play club ball with all of his friends, but that was impossible because of all the Sunday play. So, we didn't exactly go into it with a good attitude. But, we were hoping for the best. Chad's team is pretty good at hitting, but the fielding errors were awful. And instead of just smiling and letting it go, I sat in the stands sighing, rolling my eyes and seething. Then Chad got up to pitch and he clearly had not quite recovered from his shoulder injury of spring season. He walked a couple of people and then, realizing that he didn't have great control of his arm, just lobbed a ball in to make sure it was at least in the strike zone. Unfortunately, he was pitching to a 16 year old who is on his high school's varsity team and he hit a grand slam. Chad has never had anyone hit a home run off of him before. (He said later, "Doesn't some varsity guy have something better to do than play fall ball and make younger kids feel like crap?") So, he was crying, I was feeling awful and everything was going wrong. Chad recovered from the trauma much sooner than I did however and I was in a terrible mood for the rest of the day. I even told the boys that that they needed to spend the rest of the day practicing and I might have even have told them they needed to (gasp) rise above mediocrity. I know. I know. I am a terrible person. Baseball turns me into Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. Come to think of it, this story may not surprise my former roommates out there as they have seen Mr. Hyde in the past. Alas! I felt terrible the next morning and promised the boys I would go to Crazy Ladies Anonymous, but Aaron pointed out that that would be impossible because then I would have to hang out with Psycho Neighbor and Helicopter Mom. Guess I'll just have to self medicate before games.

Mommy's Day at the Spa!

I was treated to a day at the Bethany and Miranda Beauty Shop today to cheer me up after the worst Saturday ever. You don't want to know the ugly details, believe me. But suffice it to say it involved a combination of the mandatory lowering of fielding expectations for fall ball, a 14 year old whose pitching arm is still rusty from a spring shoulder injury, and a psychotic sports mom. It was not pretty. Here's a record of my time at the spa.

Back to School!

Here they are - the fabulous Smith kids on their first day of school.
Chad & Aaron heading off to the same school for the first time in two years.

Bethany in her back to school outfit from Grandma. Miranda, the big first grader.

Our big preschooler. Amber did great. She even went potty. Mrs. Villareal did say she may need a little practice in the following directions department though.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Here we are August 21, 1993 at the Jordan River Temple. Sixteen years later we have five kids who are all going to school today. Can you believe it? Where has the time gone? Happy Anniversary, Honey. You are the best husband ever even if you don't call me from work immediately to give me the latest La Cueva gossip. :)

Conversation of the Week

Diane's comment on my family reunion post about the road construction as they drove through Monticello made me remember a funny conversation we had while we were there. We actually only went into town to grab fishing poles for the boys at their cousin Curtis's house. The rest of the time, we were at the ranch. But as we were driving through the construction zone, Curtis informed me that I didn't need to worry about the speed limit because he happened to know which policeman was on duty just then and he figured he was probably home watching tv as usual and wouldn't be a problem. Ha! Chad was amazed and asked Curtis if he knew which cops were on duty all the time - to which Curtis responded, "Well, yeah, we only have 2,000 people in the whole town." Chad thought about this for a minute and then said, "Dang, that's just about the size of my school". Curtis just glared at Chad and told him, "Way to make a guy feel good." Ah, small town living.

Cookout with Cousins!

Uncle Rich and his family were visiting this weekend and we had a great time. Here are some pictures of the cookout at Balsam Glade!
Amber with her S'more. By the time she hopped in the bath that night, not only did she have chocolate, marshmallow, pine needles and dirt stuck to her face and hands but she later found the boys' baseball eyeblack and decided it would make a really great lipstick. We had to scrub off a couple of layers of skin in order to be church ready.

Caroline roasting her marshmallow.

Balsam Glade has a fabulous overlook and every time we go, the boys insist on going out past the safety railing to see if they can give me heart failure. This time Uncle Rich was righ out there encouraging them.

Amber clinging precariously to the safety railing. What is with my children?

What a view!

Jump Start!

Here they are, Aaron and his peeps, getting ready to go to 6th Grade Orientation day, or "Jump Start", as we affectionately call it at Desert Ridge. What a bunch of cuties. After two long years, Aaron & Jeremy are finally back together and they even have a couple of the same classes. Does it get any better than that? I think not.

Slideshow

I forgot to mention that I changed the slideshow. I know! Hooray! But you can check it out if you want to. Also, who is an expert at Photoshop because I spent hours making a new banner for this blog and the picture is blurry and I'm disgusted by the whole thing. Anyone want to come give me a tutorial?

Family Reunion

We had the bi-annual Hurst Family Reunion this last weekend at Blue Mountain Ranch. It was lovely and a fun time was had by all. Aunt Liz, you are amazing for organizing this every time.
Bethany and Katherine of the beautiful hair.

The kids spend almost the entire weekend building forts by the creekbed. It was the cause of much cousin drama but everyone seemed to enjoy it anyway and I think they're all still friends. Here are Chad & Aaron cleaning up their fort before leaving. As you can see, it was quite a chore.

Here is a picture of the Smith family cabin. I even stayed overnight this year instead of retreating to the hotel as I do most years. I am such a trooper!

Miranda and Ireland relaxing after breakfast.

Journey and Bethany after washing about a pound of dirt off of their skin.

Chad, Aaron, Curtis & Drew fishing at Recapture Reservoir. They didn't catch any fish, but they did get a cute little crawdad. Afterwards we nearly drove the van into the water. Next time, Sam is driving them

Amber in the girls' fort. I don't think she left this fort except at bedtime and meals for the entire weekend. You should see the dirt that she collected in her clothes and shoes. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Questionnaire

I totally pilfered this from my cousins' blogs, but it is fun and I'm trying to put off vaccuming and packing, so I think I will do it and tag anyone else who wants to do it.

1. Your ex is on the side of the road, on fire. What do you do? Tell him to stop, drop & roll, of course.
2. Your best friend tells you she is pregnant. What is your reaction? Glad it's her and not me. Phew!
3. When is the last time you wanted to punch someone in the face? Yesterday, via email.
4. What is the last thing you spent money on? I took Chad, Aaron, Matt & Reed out to Chilli's yesterday. I'm such a sucker.
5. Do you think you gained or lost weght this past month? Gained, for sure. Dang awesome, fun vacation.
6. Crunchy or Puffy Cheetos? Crunchy
7. Congratulations! You just had a son. What's his name? Weston Kimball Smith
8. Congratulations! You just had a daughter. What's her name? Britta Jeannette Smith
9. What are you craving right now? I just had breakfast, so give me an hour or two.
10. What was the last thing you cried about? I got a little teary last night when Janine won SYTYCD. Does that count?
11. When you buy something and your change is 2 cents, do you keep it or tell the cashier to keep it? I keep it of course, and throw it in my purse so that I can make it as cluttered as possible.
12. What color is your tissue box? I have those ceramic ones that cover the actual box. They are blue and white and cream and red to match my bathroom colors.
13. Do you have a ceiling fan in your bedroom, and if so, is there dust on that fan?
I have a standing fan and yes, I can't figure out how to take it apart to clean it.
14. What was the last voicemail you received about? Alas, unfortunately it was Brother McEntire wanting us to give a talk in sacrament meeting.
15. Have you ever blocked someone on Facebook? No, but I probably should.
16. Scariest thing you've experienced in the last year? I temporarily lost Amber at a baseball game. She turned up at the concession stands, but she is no longer allowed at sporting events.
17. Do you wear a nametage at work? Not Currently
18. What kind of car do you want? I've always dreamed of having a 1965 Ford Mustang
19. What do you order when you go to Taco Bell? Nachos Supreme
20. Have you ever had a garage sale? No
21. What color is your ipod? silver
22. What is the last alcoholic beverage you had? peppermint extract
23. Are you happy right now? Yes
24. Who came over to your house last? Yesterday, my mom came to dinner and Reed came to spend the night with Chad.
25. Do you drink beer? Yes, the root kind.
26. Have your brothers and sisters ever told you that you were adopted? No
27. What is your favorite key on your key chain? I actually prefer the key chain itself which is in the shape of a baseball.
28. What was the last movie you watched at home? Waltons on DVD. Aaron and I just love those guys.
29. What is in your pocket? Lint, probably
30. Who introduced you to your significant other? Probably a Sunday School teacher
31. Where do you hurt? Nowhere yet, but I'm about to hit the gym so it's just a matter of time
32. Has someone ever made you build a bear? No, but Aaron has tried.
33. What's something fun you did today? I read the TWOP recap of last night's SYTYCD season finale. Good times, baby.
34. What is your favorite aisle at Walmart? Walmart gives me a headache so I guess I'd have to say the check-out aisle.
35. When is your birthday? August 29th. Get ready people.
36. What kind of milk do you drink? Skim
37. What are you going to do after this? Exercise
38. Who was the last person you went shopping with? Sam
39. What is something you need to go shopping for? Cheerios
40. Do you have the same first name as one of your relatives? yes, my aunt
41. What color is your couch? Red
42. What famous person do you look like? Someone once told me I look like Shelley Long
43. Say you were given a pregnancy test right now. Would you pass or fail? Which is which?
44. Favorite pop-tart flavor? Cherry Toaster Strudel
45. What are your plans for the weekend? Family Reunion of course.
46. Do you like the color green? Have you seen my carpet and cars? Yes!
47. Who ws the last person you sent an instant message to? Maelyn
48. Do you swear at your parents? If I ever want to be spanked with a wooden spoon.
49. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? I was out of town for two weeks and had 4 voicemails when I got home. No one ever thinks about me. :)
50. Have you ever changed your clothes while in a vehicle? Yes
51. What is your rintone? Some mystery theatre sounding thing Aaron put on my phone
52. What were you doing at midnight last night? Reading

Quote of the Day

"Can I have some bikini bread, please?" - Amber. Grandma gave us a huge bag of zucchini and we have been baking ever since.