Who Knew???

Tuesday afternoon as I entered the car, my arms were full; purse, book, cell phone, keys and a glass of water. You get the picture.

I placed the glass in a cup holder and proceeded to get into my car. As I climbed in and reached over to set my purse on the passenger seat....my precious cell phone slid out of my hand and landed in my glass of water. There it sat...submerged in ice water.

As I was driving down the street, I quickly took apart the phone and held it up to the air conditioning vents. Oh, man! I did not want to buy a new phone.

When Jensen got in the car, she told me that you put your phone and its parts in an airtight container buried in rice. Yep! She said rice.

The catch is the phone needs to stay in the rice for 2 -3 days. Oh, Ya!! No phone for me.

I will say it was a little liberating. When I left the house, noone could reach me. So that is what it was like before cell phones. It was a little nice.

I could only hold out until Thursday afternoon. Much to my amazement and surprise...when I put the phone back together, it worked! Yes, sirrreee!!

The phone is working great. So far, no glitches.

All I have to say is...Who Knew???

I love that my teenagers are smarter than me.

Smith Happenings

The question I get a lot is...What is happening with your family? With family and friends near and far it is always hard to keep everyone updated on our family. So here it goes!


Kenzie - Very busy with school, swim team, friends, college decisions and catching up on sleep. She loves having her car and the freedom it brings. She has recently figured out that "boys" are losers. Somewhat disappointing for her. She has some fabulous friends! She HATES swim team and really can't wait for it to be over. College decisions are overwhelming at the moment. Her school load is quite heavy, but she is doing excellent! Needless to say she is one busy girl!


Jensen - Enjoying her first year in High School. Although I get the feeling she would rather be home schooled. She has a fun dance class at school with some great girls. Ballet is still her life. Company auditions came and went. Last Saturday she had her Nutcracker audition. She looked beautiful and had a great audition. I don't think anything can top "Clara", but she is ready for a new challenge. Jens is learning to budget her time. She is up at 5:00AM and dances til 9:00PM. Not a lot of time for sleep. So far her most time consuming class is Honors Biology. Jens is rolling well with her crazy schedule.


Alec - Is having a fantastic year in school so far. He loves his teachers ( 3 different ones), has a great time in ALP and has some good friends. His weeks are full of scouts, playing with friends, piano and taunting his sisters. He has become quite the piano player and enjoys playing. He loves music and frequently can be found singing along to a song on itunes. That kid can learn the words to any song. As we find the weather cooling, he will start to venture outside for basketball and golf


It is a busy house, but a happy one. We love our weekends and the somewhat slower pace. We are all healthy, happy and truly blessed.

Hope after 9/11

* credit to my friend Kara for sharing this great video. Thanks!

~the pain~

The hardest part about being a parent is seeing your kids hurt from disappointment. The pain comes in all forms...friends, grades, sports, auditions, poor choices, etc... As a parent, you can feel their pain. And man, it hurts! It is even worse to see them try to cope with the feelings and emotions.

Life is full of disappointments and let downs. How does a parent ease the pain for a child? As much as I hurt for my children and wish I could take away their pain. I can only imagine what the Savior felt and endured.

The roller coaster of life has so many ups and downs, highs and lows. Its all about weathering the storms.

As I tried to console a child tonight; we talked about the positives, how we each have different paths, how this can be used positively and then I saw them. The big crocodile tears slowly rolling down the cheeks. There it was..."the pain."

I wanted to shield my child, protect them and take away all of the gut wrenching pain.

As I watch and help with the healing process, I know my child will come out stronger, smarter and blessed for enduring this trial. Time and tender mercies will help heal the wounds.

As I reflect on the events of this day, I can't help but think of the Savior and all he endured for each of us. The pain he felt on our behalf and his ultimate sacrifice.

The tears will dry, the pain will soften and eventually disappear. Until then; the tissues are close by, prayers are being said and the healing process is beginning.

Funny and the NOT so Funny

While they are fresh in my mind I need to recap a couple of stories.

Sunday morning as we were getting ready for church. Alec morphed into Darth Vader. Nothing like a 9 year old boy in church clothes armed with a light saber and the breathing of Darth Vader.

As I was bustling about the kitchen Alec kept coming ever so close with his light saber. Pretty much challenging me to take him on. I was in my Sunday dress, heels were not on at this point.

Something got ahold of me and I began to use my kung fu kicks on him. Not bad the first time, took him by surprise. The second kick was spot on, but his reflexes were quicker than I. This time he was ready. He spun his light saber around and nailed my ankle bone with the saber handle. There was pain, hobbling and immediate discoloration of the ankle bone.

Who would of thought he would nail me with the handle. I was prepared for the saber end, definitely not the hard, plastic handle.

My play time with Alec may be coming to an end. Why do they have to get so big and strong so quick?

And now the NOT so Funny ~

Last Wednesday Scott had the privilege of taking Alec to Scouts. Alec just got new leaders. The time and location had been changed as well.

As the girls and I left for YW's I left instructions as to where the leaders lived; what street, house number, where the ward list was located, etc...

Alec dressed in his scout uniform got in the car with dad. Scott pulled up in front of the house and Alec got out of the car. At this point I would be getting out of the car with Alec, but not his dad.

The door opened a crack and there was a teenage girl. Alec turned to Scott and waved good-bye and proceeded to step into the house. At this point Scott started wondering and yelled out the window if this was so and so's house.

The girl replied,"NO." I am sure she was wondering why a little boy was trying to get into her house. Alec realized he was at the wrong house. OOPS!!

With Alec in the car, Scott looked at the street name and had a light bulb moment. Same house number, wrong street. Oh, man!

Alec did arrive at the correct house. The story was told to me by Alec the next morning. Scott had somehow forgot about this little incident.

My Bad....

In my posting frenzy I forgot to include the recipe for the Chicken Bundles. Sorry! I think I was so taken by the pictures and remembering how delicious they were. So, for those of you that wanted the recipe. Here it is...keep in mind that I don't have exact measurements. This is one of those recipes that I eyeball.

Chicken Bundles

12 Rhodes Rolls Thawed

3 Chicken breasts cooked and diced
1/2 lb of Ham Diced (I make sure that the chicken and ham are even amounts)
Grated Monterey Jack Cheese (you decide how much you like)
Ground Black Pepper
Dry Mustard
Oregano

Mix the above ingredients together.

Flatten a roll into a circle. Fill center with chicken mixture. Bring edges of roll together and pinch. Place pinched part of roll on cookie sheet. Brush with butter or egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Do the same to all the rolls. Bake at 350 until golden and the insides are bubbly.

You can make as few or as many as you like. Enjoy!

Falcon of the Week

Must have been one great first week of school for this kid. He got picked to be the "Falcon of the Week" for this week. He must of made an incredible impression on his teacher.

He was sure excited on Friday to share the news. Not always easy for a boy to be picked first out of a class. Way to go Alec!!

Not only does he get to be the "Falcon of the Week", but he starts his ALP classes today. Man, he was so excited for that.

Mrs. Clare has been a family favorite for 10 years. She has taught both his sisters and now gets Alec. Oh, boy is she in for a treat! That should be a fun Math class.

Language is another story. Alec has heard so much about Mrs. Murphy from his friends, but has a little apprehension with all the writing and doing it at the end of the day. I think he will do great! Every summer he has a notebook that contains pictures, stories and comics that he writes and draws in all summer.

We are so proud of him. What a great student! Keep it up Alec!!