Our Summer in Review

Since summer is basically over, I thought I should finally update this blog on what we did over the summer.

On May 3, we drove to West Richland, Washington and moved into Marcus' parents' house for the next 3 months. Marcus had an internship at the Franklin County District Attorney's Office. He really loved the work there and got a lot of great experience!

The kids and I tried our best to stay busy. We went to the ward Picnic in the Park on Wednesdays and played with cousin Ukiah and Grandma Gilson (and cousins Cole and Lola for the short time they were there). It was a lot of lazy days and the boys playing in the kiddie pool but that's what summer is all about, right?!

 We took lots of walks around the lake.

 Puddles are the best places to play!

 Johnny loves giving Claire hugs and cuddling up next to her!

 My first Mother's Day Card from Johnny. Melted my heart.

 Riding the horse outside of Fred Meyer.

 Shopping in style.

 Johnny and Lola get along so well. We really should live close to each other!

 Sometimes it's hard to give up the spot as baby of the family. ;)

 We went to Twin Falls to celebrate Grandpa Gilson's 90th Birthday and Grandma and Grandpa Gilson's 66th Wedding Anniversary. What a wonderful celebration!

 My younger brother Kendall married his sweetheart Ale. We were able to come home from the wedding and it was a wonderful week with the family. Johnny and Claire had so much fun with their cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

 Little Angels :)

 Zoe loved holding Claire. So sweet!

 Johnny and Grandma Smith

 Claire and Aunt Grisel

 Wedding Day!

 We love swimming!

 We also love Grandpa Smith!

 Johnny, Ashlynn, and Madison

 The whole Smith crew touring SLC.

 Johnny being a helpful big brother.

 Ukiah and Johnny had so much fun together!

 We love and miss Grandma Gilson

 Claire especially misses snuggling with Grandma Gilson.

The stairs are a great place to read.

 Play area at the mall.

 Ukiah was baptized! We love you, Ukiah!

 We had a couple of really great picnics and walks on the Columbia River. It's so beautiful there! When my parents came to visit us at the end of July, we went to the river and took turns riding on a jet ski. It was the most fun we've had in a long time. It was so wonderful!

 We love Grandpa Gilson!

 Our kids have the most wonderful grandparents! 

This picture was taken the night before we left Washington. We had a truly wonderful summer! Here's to the last year of Law School and hopefully finding employment before graduation!

"I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday"

Today, my younger brother and his beautiful fiance are getting out their endowments. I am so happy and proud of them. I wish I was there with them but I am excited that I get to go home this weekend to attend their temple wedding on Wednesday!

My brother didn't choose the easiest path in High School. He has endured a lot of heartache and sorrow. But he has become a remarkable and wonderful young man. He has so much love and compassion and understanding. He is an example of love and that faith can make you whole. While some of his choices brought him unimaginable pain, it brought one family immeasurable joy to finally get a baby they could call theirs. And now he holds the priesthood and on Wednesday he will be sealed to his sweetheart for time and eternity. He will raise his family in the Gospel and be able to bless them with his priesthood authority and teach them that they will be together for eternity. Typing this brings tears to my eyes and great joy to my heart. I am so proud of my brother and the choices he's made to better his life and spend eternity with a wonderful woman.

I love you Kendall and Alejandra. I am so proud of you and the choices you are making. I am eternally grateful you are both a part of my family!

Johnny Stories

Johnny has us laughing constantly. He provides so many great stories. My dad suggested I put some on my blog- so here are some Johnny stories for your enjoyment!

I was finishing getting ready for church on Sunday and Claire and Johnny were laying on my bed. Claire started getting a little fussy so I asked Johnny if he'd hold her hand to comfort her while I finished getting ready. He responded with, "Okay! I'll do it!" and he held her hand. It was so cute and sweet.

I made a smoothie for Johnny to try and get some more fruits and vegetables in him. I put it in his sippy cup. He took one sip and handed it back to me saying, "No, I don't want it. I want juice." I said, "Johnny, this is your juice." He responded with, "No. Open it." He wanted me to open the lid so he could verify it was the juice he was wanting. You can't get anything past him.

I was finishing up dinner and so Johnny went and sat at the table and was setting up his spot with a napkin. He put his stuffed animal Lamby (from Doc McStuffins) on the chair next to him and gave Lamby her own napkin. Marcus went over to the table and as soon as he started to move Lamby so he could sit down Johnny yelled, "No! That's Lamby's chair and Lamby's napkin." We compromised by letting Lamby sit on the table next to Johnny's plate.

I took Johnny to the park a few days ago and after playing for 30-40 minutes he came over to me and said, "All done park. Go Grandma's house. Bye-bye boys!" He waved to the little boys he met on the playground and headed to the car.

As I was taking Johnny upstairs to put him to bed he looked at me and said, "I'm precious!" Yes Johnny, you are precious.

Ever since Johnny has been old enough to go to nursery, he would not stay in there unless Marcus or I was in there. We've been working with him and the nursery leaders the past few weeks to get him to stay in there without us. When I went to drop him off on Sunday I reminded him that he was going to nursery without Mommy and Daddy but we would pick him up after our classes were over. As soon as I set him down in the nursery room he turned to me and said, "Mommy, go class!" and kicked me out of the room! I'm so glad he's finally willing to go by himself!

I love this boy and how much he makes me smile! :)

Lately

Marcus is interning at the Franklin County District Attorney's office and he's loving it! They're in the middle of a murder trial and so he's getting tons of great experience. Plus he was able to get a Rule 9 license which allows him to actually work as an attorney as long as he's supervised. I'm glad he's enjoying it and now we're just hoping it won't be too bad getting a job after he graduates next year.

We'll go through what else we've been up to lately via pictures.

 We go almost daily on a walk around the pond behind Grandma and Grandpa Gilson's house. Johnny loves throwing rocks in the pond. We only have a single stroller and so one time Johnny wanted to hold Claire in the stroller instead of Mommy holding Claire.

 I have a picture of Johnny at the same age Claire is in the above picture doing almost the exact same pose and facial expression.

 It's so fun to play in the puddles in Grandma and Grandpa Gilson's driveway!

 Johnny LOVES to love on baby Claire. It's so sweet but we always have to remind him to be gentle :)

All ready for church!

So much love!

 For awhile, Johnny loved to play in our shower.

 Johnny made me a Mother's Day card in nursery. It melted my heart!

 Church is from 11-2 and Johnny usually naps from 12-3. So normally he gets home from church and crashes on the couch for an hour or so. 

 Johnny and his best buddy- cousin Lola. So sad they moved away to Colorado! But they have some legal connections there so hopefully they can get Marcus a job.

 Gotta look cool while grocery shopping.

 Sweetest baby girl!

 Lola and Johnny love Claire and are so good with her!

 Lola and Johnny also share a love of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

 She's found her thumb a couple times. I'm perfectly great with her sucking a finger or a pacifier. After Johnny, the idea of a kid being able to pacify themselves is awesome!

 Sometimes, Johnny wants to still be considered the baby.

 Grandpa Gilson turned 90 this year and we had a big birthday party for him in Twin Falls, Idaho. Since Twin Falls is only 3.5 hours from my parents, they came up to meet us in Twin Falls. It was so fun to have them there. We toured the canyon, Shoshone Falls, went to the park, went out to eat, and swam in the hotel swimming pool. It was a great time! 

Grandpa Smith and Claire.

 I'm pretty busy with Johnny during the day so when Johnny is napping or down for the night, I get some one-on-one time with Claire. She loves to hold on to my shirt as if to tell me that I shouldn't put her down. I love it! 

 She is already showing signs that she'll be a better sleeper than Johnny. She will put herself to sleep all the time. It's such a blessing.

 Summertime is all about hanging outside and ice cream cones :)

Ukiah is the best cousin. He's almost 6 years older than Johnny but he will always play with Johnny. Johnny just adores him and we are so glad we get to be close to him and his parents this summer!