Sayin' Goodbye to Sister Smith

A few weeks ago, we made a fast weekend trip down to Brush Prairie to say goodbye to Sister Smith! She is off to Brazil. She is going to make a great missionary! She did such a good job on her talk and she even bore her testimony in Portguese....she's been practicing and studying hard. It was fun to be together before she headed off for 18 months.
Here are 6 of the 7 crazy Smith kids...having some laughs while at home. We were sorry that Nicole and Corey and their family couldn't make it.... it is so hard to get everyone together. We haven't ALL been together for over 2 years now. WOW...has it really been that long? Yep.
It was a lot of fun to have both of the Grandma's there together. Preston was able to meet his Great-Grandma Smith for the first time and get reacquainted with Grandma Kerr. Both of these ladies are so special to us - they add such a spark to the family... We love them.

'Tis The Season....Sushi anyone?

Well, you may have heard a rumor going around that it's the 'Christmas Season'. Well, we've heard that rumor too, and as a result we've been getting things ready for the holiday; our tree is up, the stalkings are hung on the ....bookshelf with care, and CJ & Preston are napping right now!(I couldn't think of anything better to write)
The weather has been cooperating quite nicely for the season as you can see by the little CJ size snowman and the weather forecasts for more and more snow. If you were wondering what kind of snowman it is, just ask CJ and he will promptly tell you that it's a Mickey Mouse Snowman (you have to look at the ears).



We took the boys to the BX (Base Exchange) yesterday, and lo and behold, there was Jolly ol' Saint Nick and Mrs. ...uh... Nick. Now CJ and Preston have already seen Santa twice this year, but this was the first Santa that was sporting combat boots.

Clay had his birthday earlier this week, and when Laura asked what he wanted for his birthday dinner, she probably rolled her eyes a bit when his response was "Sushi". But she was a good sport and went along with it. She really does like sushi, even if she tells you that she doesn't......I think.
We found out a couple of weeks ago that CJ is a big fan of the wonderful delights of sushi, and when he heard that we were having that for dinner, his excitement went through the roof. He loves the stuff. I think that he ate at least four or five California Rolls and at least two of the raw salmon. Some of the other Japanese delights included eel and shrimp sushi with the standard side order of wasabi.

Christmas Festivities

We are ready for some holiday festivities to help it feel like Christmas. We went to the Christmas Creche Exhibit. It is a gym full of different nativities. It was so fun seeing all the different styles of nativities displayed. There were several foreign arrangements that were fun to look at. They also had a dress up and take your picture area...which was a lot of fun! After we took the picture, we noticed that Stan had on a pointed hat! It is just the star from the background... oh it just adds to his wiseman costume!

We also finally put up our Christmas Tree and decorations. CJ did the honor of putting on the top of the tree and he did a mighty fine job.

Workin' Hard for a livin'

We have been working hard - we just painted the living room in our new house, moved all of our stuff from our duplex into the new house, cleaned the duplex for inspection, spoke in church, ...whew. It was hard work, but as you can see we had the help of the expert - CJ. He is great with a hammer - see the determination on that face! We also had the help of Clay's parents, Stan and Amy, who came from Idaho to help us move- Thank you, Thank you. It was a lot of work - we appreciate your help! We are now in our new house and ready to stay put for a while! No moves for a couple of years...or at least we hope. With the military, you never know!

The Cute Ward Boys

They just keep getting cuter..what can we say? Preston is growing quickly and gaining a little attitude as you can see! But, boy do we love them. The boys love each other too. It is so fun to watch them interact. Preston watches CJ with envy - wanting to do everything he is doing...he gets so excited and just kicks his legs and waves his arms - it looks like he is going to take off... CJ also loves Preston and is always asking to hold him and then to have Mommy go and get the camera to take a picture!