Father's Day Fun 2011

We had a busy Father's Day weekend this year. Tyler and I took Neal to the SeaLife Aquarium in Tempe for some family fun. It was a nice little aquarium and Tyler liked seeing all of the animals.

The boys are looking at some jelly fish.
They had these fun little bubbles that you could poke your head inside the tank to get a closer look.
Tyler was a little nervous about going inside the bubbles...

After the aquarium, we headed over to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. The last time we went here, Tyler was scared of the noises and animals, but this time he really enjoyed it.
Then on Sunday it was off to a small car show...

and then over to Nana and Papa's house for a BBQ and some swimming
where Tyler's favorite activities were "surfing" and jumping off the edge to daddy.

Happy Father's Day everyone!

Vacation in Strawberry, Arizona

So this summer, Neal planned our vacation for us and kept our destination a secret. On Thursday morning we piled into the car and began heading up north. I was super excited to be headed off into the unknown (I just love surprises). As we're driving I'm imagining we're headed up to Sedona, Flagstaff, or maybe even Las Vegas...but after a while we turn off the main highway onto a road I've never been down. At first I thought, well this is fun we're headed on a new adventure. Although pretty soon we got deeper and deeper into the woods and farther and farther away from civilization. Without trying to let Neal know how disappointed I was I kept a smile on my face but began to worry I was going to be stuck in a tent out in the middle of the woods for 4 days (sorry I'm all about staying at places with full amenities). So with a smile on my face I silently prayed for some signs of civilization...

After about a half hour of worrying we turned onto a dirt road and ended up here... (in Strawberry, Arizona)

A 4000 square foot cabin in the woods. It was absolutely perfect (and I didn't have to worry about peeing in the woods for 4 days). I should have known Neal would plan the perfect vacation, after all he planned an amazing honeymoon in Aruba all by himself!

The house had a porch that wrapped all the way around it. We spent a lot of time out there just relaxing. Here Neal is putting out peanuts for the squirrels. We didn't actually have any come up close but we did have a heard of cattle walk right past the back of the house (which was backed up to the Tonto National Forest).

Tyler enjoyed sticking his head through the bars (and yes he did get it stuck in there a few times, poor guy).

Tyler also spent a lot of his time playing in the fountain in the backyard.

We had lizard hunting adventures...
and took walks around the forest in the backyard.

One day we went to the Tonto National Forest and hiked down to the Natural Bridge. It was a beautiful sight. We couldn't hike all the way through the bridge because Tyler was a little too small but hopefully we'll be able to go back when he's a little older to explore it even more.


These pictures really don't do the bridge justice at all but there was a natural bridge in the rocks where water fell from the top. It looked a little like a cave that you could climb back in and at the bottom were rocks and ponds with fish in them. It was really pretty.


Here we're taking a break after the long hike down and into the cave. Tyler made Neal carry him most of the way (it was a long hike down and even more tiring on the uphill climb out).

Here's Tyler again with his head between the poles. This was at the bridge where he found a squirrel to play with.
Overall it was a great vacation and I can't wait to go back again someday. Thanks Neal for the great surprise!

Spring Break-Grama & Papa Deneen Visit

My parents came for a visit during my spring break. We had been planning their visit for a long time and were so excited that we would be able to travel around a bit now that Tyler is a little older.

On the day of their arrival I got the house in order and felt great. So we headed off to the airport and on the way I began to feel sick. When we arrived at the airport, we waited near their terminal and I began to feel worse as the time passed. As soon as they stepped off the plane, I had a chance to give them a quick hug before running off to the bathroom and throwing up. I felt awful for the next 2 days. As soon as I began to feel a little better, Neal caught what I had and was in bed for 2 days. And each time one person began to feel better, the next one would get sick. Needless to say we all became sick during my parents visit and we never really got to do the traveling we had planned.

It was nice for us to all see each other but it was a sad way to spend our vacation all couped up in the house and in bed.

Here are some pictures we managed to get during their visit:

We went on a short hike up at the White Tank Mountains.

We did manage to make it up to Sedona for the day but we were all really weak from being sick so it was a pretty laid back trip.

Here's Tyler making a wish in one of the fountains near the shops.
Here we are visiting Slide Rock. It is such a pretty place to visit. The water was FREEZING but there were still some brave people swimming and sliding down the rocks.

The last two times my parents have come to visit we've had one problem after another. Two years ago we had the biggest rain and flooding that AZ has seen in years so we were couped up in the house and this year we were all sick. So hopefully on their next visit we will all be well and be able to do some exploring around Arizona!

Look Who's Two!

Wow, our little man is turning two. I can't believe two years have gone by since our little Tyler first entered this world. We have been so incredibly blessed to have him in our lives. He brings us such joy each and every day.

We celebrated Tyler's birthday at our house this year along with his cousin Sophie's birthday. It was a Toy Story theme which is his absolute favorite movie right now. He would watch it everyday if we let him.

We had a bounce house where the kids spent most of their time.

Even Grandpa Smith joined in the fun (but I bet he was sore the next day).

It was the perfect day with lots of friends, family, sunshine, and warm weather.
Tyler had lots of little helpers when it came time to open presents :)

He got his first bicycle which he can't quite reach the peddles on yet but I'm sure he'll be zipping around on it in no time.

The kids enjoyed digging through their goody bags.
The next morning Tyler got his first race track (which I think was as much of a present for daddy as with was for Tyler).

Neal and Grandpa Smith built the track along with Tyler's help :)

Tyler's getting to be such a big boy and we are loving each stage of his development!

Projects

Our weather is cooling down which means projects are beginning at the Smith household. Those of you who know Neal, know that he cannot sit still for very long. He always has to have some sort of project going. So lately he's been patiently (well sort of) waiting for the weather to break so he could begin his next project...the backyard. We have a big blank canvas back there right now and are looking forward to creating our own "outdoor living space" so we can sit back there and relax.

So Neal's first project was to build a shed to store his tools for the backyard (hopefully a lawn mower for our new yard).

Neal and Frank began to build the shed...

...while I worked on sewing curtains for the living room and Tyler and Mollie dressed up in the scraps of fabric and danced around the house.

Fire Safety Day

Last night one of our neighboring towns had their Fire Safety Day. Tyler just loves anything that moves, so we took him out there to see all the trucks.

Here Tyler got to go inside a SWAT truck. The driver of the truck told him (and Neal) all about how much he loves to run things over with the truck (that costs $400,000)!

Tyler also got to sit inside a Medevac helicopter. Little does he know, about a year ago he almost had to take a ride in one himself.

Later that night, we were standing near the helicopter when they got a call, so we watched it take off just feet away from us. It was really neat (and nerve racking) to be so close while it was taking off.

Here we're enjoying some yummy (ok, maybe just edible) hot dogs for dinner.
At the end of the night, they had a burn demonstration where they set a small living room on fire to show how quickly a fire can spread. It was enough to make you have nightmares. The whole thing only lasted a little over 2 minutes and the whole room was engulfed in flames. Very scary!