Horses, Slides and Roller Coasters

We had a fun time at the Gunderson Family Picnic - a child's dream place. CJ had a great time riding a pony, seeing a REALLY TALL MAN, and riding his first roller coaster. CJ loved all the rides and asked to go on them time and time again - however we could never get the kid to smile while on the rides (I guess he was concentrating on holding on for dear life!)

Celebrating Bryce's Birthday

Bryce is now 24 years old, but still needs help blowing out his candles, or so CJ thought! CJ was a good helper by blowing out a few of Bryce's candles even before Bryce could get a chance to catch his breath! ( so much for those birthday wishes Bryce). But, we had a fun day having a great family dinner, scavenger hunt, games and of course the famous strawberry triffle...it is to die for! Any of you who love strawberries, coolwhip, pudding and angel food cake - this one is a good one! A Smith family favorite! Preston even got a taste of coolwhip and strawberries! Yum, Yum.

Earning our Keep

Papa Smith has been busy painting every room of the house and when he got done with that, he started on the garage! Laura and CJ decided to do a little finger painting to "help" out. But, as many of you can atest... how helpful is a two year old, really? After a few rolls with the brush, some spilt paint, a climb on the ladder - we were ready for CJ to be done helping and ready to start playing again.

Visiting Great Grandma Kerr

While we were in Washington visiting the Smith family, we decided to take a trip down to Southern Oregon. We were able to visit Great Grandma Kerr, and many of Laura's aunts, uncles and Cousins. We hadn't been down to visit since CJ was born, so we were grossly overdue for a visit. It sure was fun to see everyone. While we were there we picked up 160 lbs. of pears!
We stuffed the trunk, backseat, floors, etc. we were practically sitting on the pears - - they were every where! And now that we are back, Laura is learning the great art of canning from here mother. We are in the midst of canning pears, lots of pears!

Julie's going to Brazil

Laura's sister Julie got her mission call....Brazil! Yipee. Julie is so excited and already practicing her Portguese. Laura was able to go with Julie to the temple for her first time on Saturday. It was a wonderful day for everyone. The boys even behaved well for Aunt Becky and Uncle Shane! Julie will be a great missionary - she leaves for Brazil the end of November. We love you Julie, we promise to write!

CJ says hello....CJ style

What can we say....... YES, He's ours!

Sneak Peek of Washington

Out of the heat and into the rain of Washington State. Laura, CJ and Preston are visiting the Smith Clan as we prepare to move to Spokane. They were welcomed by the rain and cooler weather. CJ was excited to get out the umbrella and put it to use! Poor Clay is still in Oklahoma, sweating enough for all of us. Laura and the boys are enjoying their time with Nana, Papa and all the aunts and uncles. At one time, 6 of the 7 Smith kids were at home...wow. It's a crowded, but fun house.

Preston's Impression of an Aileron Roll

Hey, the little Preston made one of his first major moves towards Manhood. (No, he didn't pick his nose!) Laura was able to catch the kid on video during one of his first roll-over's from belly to back.
What will be the little man-cub's next move? Only time can tell.....

A Goodbye Surprise

Here are the Enid Groupies. We have so much fun together. Our good friends threw us a surprise goodbye party. We sure are going to miss playgroup, garage sale-ing, early morning walks, long talks, movie nights, park dates, dinner dates, etc. These ladies and their husbands have been angels on earth for Laura, CJ and Preston while Clay has been doing training. Thank you everyone...you are such a blessing. We are hoping you all get a blogspot so we can keep in touch all across the world...hint, hint!! We are sure going to miss all of you.

My Two Sons!

Oh how we love our boys! They are too much fun. We have a great time together as a family. CJ is growing like a weed and talking up a storm. He is such a smart little thing. He is always cracking us up with those fun little things that come out of that mouth. CJ is a great big brother. He is always concerned about Preston and want to help. He can't wait until Preston can wrestle and play cars. Preston is now 3 1/2 months old and getting closer to playing with those cars every day! He is constantly watching CJ and looking at him with eyes that seem to say, "Oh, I can't wait to play and have fun with you!"

Footsie Fun

Thinking about the upcoming week with the packers and movers coming, Becky and Laura decided they needed a little relaxation time to gear up for the big week. What better way to relax than with a pedicure...and not just any old pedicure they got the massage, oils, cleaning, warm water, bubbles, nail trim and and fancy paint (a real treat) Now when the stress and work comes on, a quick gander down at their tired feet brings nothing less than a smile! They are even kid approved by CJ!

Bon Appetite & Giggles!

Well, people say that you should start feeding a baby solid foods when they start showing interest in your food by following it with their eyes and getting excited when they watch you eat. Well, it that is the case, Preston would have been eating solid foods from day 1 - he has always been completely mesmerized by our food. This last week, Preston has been waking up a lot more at night, so we thought that maybe he is growing and needs a little extra food, so we gave Preston his first taste of solid food this week. I guess food is more like eye candy for Preston than stomach food because when it hit his lips, it came right out! I don't think one drop of that rice cereal made it down the tube. You would have thought we were feeding him rotten lemons! He was puckering and gagging and didn't want anything to do with it. Even though the actual eating part ended up being a complete failure, the experience ended up being a real treat...right after the attempt, we got our first giggles and right out belly laugh from Preston. It was the best sound ever. I wish I could hear that every day all day. The sound of a baby laughing...oh sweet music! Of course we tried to record it, but no...sorry. We will continue to try!

Well, Look Who's Here!

Things in Oklahoma are getting pretty exciting! Clay finished his simulators and will start flying the KC-135R this week, Laura and the boys are getting ready to move in a couple of weeks, but to top it all off.....Becky is here! She was able to take some time off of her busy schedule to come and live a little bit of the good life here in Sooner Land, and so far things have been pretty fun. The pool is a frequent hot spot, we went to Enid's very own "Splash Zone" waterpark yesterday, and of course there have been a number of other things that have been going on, but it's been so hot and sunny that all that comes to mind is 'water'. Anyways, the fun continues and.... ...well.......yeah, it continues.

Fourth of July Frenzy

The Fourth of July week ended up being a good one for the Ward Crew. Clay wasn't able to get the entire time off, so Laura and the boys came down to Altus and spent a good week in the area. Now Altus is notorious for not having a whole heck of a lot by way of entertainment, but if you look hard enough, there are little Fun Nougats scattered around the Altus area. And if you are having a hard time finding those Nougats, stickers work just fine too!


(Click on a picture to make it bigger)








Laura and the boys got to try their hand at flying the Mighty KC-135R in one of the full-motion simulators. And their performance was "Not Too Shabby"