We had a really great Thanksgiving this year. We were blessed to be able to share it with both sides of our family. Because the Smith family is growing, we decided to try having Thanksgiving at the church this year. It worked GREAT! There were 11 grandkids there and everyone chipped in to get a jumping castle. It was a lot of fun to watch them play in it and also to see how quickly there attention would switch to another game, or riding their scooters. Joshua was hilarious. I was surprised that it took him a little while to warm up to it but once he got going it was pretty funny. He liked to bounce while sitting, and he liked it better when it was just him and cousin Adam who is a year older than Josh. Dinner was yummy and we had a lot of fun visiting.
After we finished up with the Smith's we headed back to our house where my family was spending the day. Originally my family was supposed to be in Safford at my Mom's but because of last minute changes it was better for everyone to be in Tucson. It was a very fun day. Cody and I were spoiled with two delicious meals. We came home to most of the second already prepared. My family always goes to a Christmas movie on Thanksgiving night. This year things were a little chaotic and we all decided that it would be better to stay home and just enjoy a movie there. We had pie and hot chocolate and just kicked back in our pj's. It was wonderful!
We have so many things to be thankful for. Our families are a big part of that and I would be lost without them. We are so grateful that Heavenly Father has provided us with so many wonderful people and things in our lives, and that he has also given us trials to help us learn to savor the sweet moments in life. Thanksgiving 2009 was a great holiday that gave us many things to be thankful for.
With moving, the new job, my photography, and the holidays I have done a terrible job at keeping up on our blog. I realized that it's half way through February and I haven't even posted Thanksgiving pictures yet! However, because I look at it as a way to journal, I thought that I should catch up even if the posts are terribly late. There are new things that I would like to post too, but I keep waiting until I get caught up so the older events don't get forgotten. So, please forgive me for the overload of new posts! They were really great times so I want to write them down. :)
I am ecstatic but so very sad to share the most recent Smith Family news. Friday morning we traveled to Willcox for a job interview Cody had. It was perfect timing because we were already making the trip to Safford for the annual light parade. Late that afternoon Cody received a call and found out that he got the job. We were so excited!!! Then we started to have all of the stress of the upcoming changes set in. We are still so happy that we have been given this blessing. Unfortunately the company Cody is currently at has not been doing that well and they have had to make a lot of cuts. We worried everyday that he would come home without a job. Luckily that has not been the case. The new position will give him so many opportunities to learn and grow, and will take away much of that worry. But in the next couple of weeks we will have to leave our home, our family and friends in Tucson, and the place we have built our lives for the last three years. On the other hand, this will be a great new start and I am sure it will provide us with many new adventures. We will miss everyone so very much and hope that we will have the opportunity to make new friendships in our new home! We will keep everyone posted on our progress and hope to stay in touch with those we are leaving here.
So I have been super swamped with photography sessions over the last few weeks because of the holidays. And I am loving it! However, the whole reason we invested in our camera was so we could get quality pictures of our family. So we decided that we were going to get ready and head out to do our own session. With that comes it's own difficulties. Joshua decided to sleep longer than normal and had to be woken up so we could make it before it was too dark so he was a little grouchy (as you can see in the pictures), but we made it work. Cody got really creative and found was to get Josh to look at the camera like throwing rocks at it. It's a good thing he's got a good aim. It became a game, we would count to 3, Cody would throw it, and we would snap some shots. On top of a grouchy boy, we left later than we had planned which left us with only a half hour of time to get shots before it was too late. The light was not the best, but the pictures are still special to me. A special thanks to Grammy Talley for Joshua's handsome Christmas outfit! Enjoy taking a look at our adventure.
Joshua has recently developed a love for coloring. We color at least once a day and it is so funny to watch him to pretend to color. Anything that resembles a coloring utensil will be used to pretend to color with. Well, Josh has been attempting to color in regular books. He doesn't realize the difference yet or maybe he's just good at pretending like he doesn't. Well, apparently he likes to color on doors as well. Sunday as we were getting ready for church we realized that Josh was being awfully quiet. We found him with one of Cody's caricature markers coloring on the back side of our door. I was a little frustrated, but he was so proud of his drawing it was hard to stay mad. Here is the newest piece of art we have displayed in our bedroom. At least it's on the back of the door which is almost always open. I'm sue I will look back on it and smile. It was even hard not to when it happened. Look at that face, who could stay mad!?
Writing this post has reminded me that I have had this blog for a full year now. When I first started the blog I thought it would fizzle out and I would eventually loose interest. I am so glad I haven't. This has been a great place to journal for my family and record some of the precious memories we have created together. Thanks for sharing and enjoying our journey with us.
Every year since I was a very little girl, my family traveled to Willcox to attend the pumpkin patch and visit Apple Annie's. Over the years ownership has changed and the experience is not exactly as it was when I was a child, but the feeling I get when I 'm there is still the same. I love it! I was so excited to find that Cody's family had adopted the same tradition a few years after they moved to Tucson. This tradition has become even more special as we have welcomed our little Joshua and he has joined us in the fun. He went last year when he was just 2 1/2 months old, but I think it's fair to say that he had a lot more fun this year. You can tell by the dirt on his face in the pictures below. Unfortunately, my side of the family was not able to find a date that worked for everyone this year. But Cody's family were still able to all go except for his brother that lives up in Utah. I was so happy that my mom made the trip over to Willcox to join us. Thanks Mom! So because a picture is worth so many more words than I have to offer, enjoy the story below.
This year Halloween was a lot of fun. We decided last year that Joshua would make the perfect Dopey for Disney's Snow White. And we were right! I made Joshua's costume but my mom was such a huge help in the whole thing! Thanks Mom! It was so funny because after our Ward party on Friday we ran to a few stores and we couldn't get anything done because people would stop us to talk to Josh. Some were even taking pictures with their cell phones. It was hilarious! We have an annual Halloween party with friends and family that we started the year we got married and it was super fun this year as always. We did miss Cody's sister Lindsey and her family, but hopefully we can have them there next year. Here are a few pictures from the night's festivities. Enjoy!
This kid is constantly moving these days, so it made it kinda hard to get a great picture of him. Here he is coming in the back door which he at least has to slow down for.
This is our little family as Prince Charming, Dopey, and Snow White.
Josh with his Daddy out trick-or-treating.
Josh and his mama hanging out at the party. When I first came down he wouldn't let me hold him. Guess he wasn't a fan of my dark hair.
Here is Joshua with his Grammy reading after the party.
This is my brother Richard and sister-in-law Kara. They were Robin Hood and Maid Marian. We though their costumes were awesome! They designed and made them themselves. They really are so talented.
These are all the kiddos that were there except for our friend's little guy Hunter. He was the cutest lion.
Uncle Richard and Joshua
Joshua getting prize candy from Grammy's spooky treasure chest. It creaked when you opened it. It was a big hit with all of the kids.
And here is our sweet niece Holly taking a shot at the ghost target. My mom made that and some other really awesome games for us to use each year at our party. What would I do without her?We had a great Halloween despite all of the chaos of getting the costumes made and preparing food and decorations for the party. My mother-in-law made the best chili, my mom picked up dessert and punch, and everyone pitched in where they could. Thanks to everyone who helped! Especially to my mom who basically finished a costume for me that was only 1/4 of the way complete. She pretty much pinned me into it. Thanks mom! I love you!
