Lavender days

Our third Lavender run

Matt and I both agree if we were to ever leave Utah we would have to come back every year just for this event. There's nothing like it in the whole world. You're up in the fresh mountain air, running in fields of lavender as the sun comes up over the mountain. I wish I could wake up to beautiful fields of lavender every morning.

Bella went to a fairy tea party where they played fairy, fairy, princess (duck, duck, goose) and ring around the fairies. They also had lavender lemonade and lavender cookies and when they were done they performed a little number the fairies taught them and with their empty tea cups got a lavender plant to grow.

big momma made it to the top. This was the first year I did it.

Little miss does it every year, and gets better every year

Jarom wanted to do the hard wall this year, he always goes barefoot

Got to love medieval rides, powered by man

pony rides



Animal lover

It was hot but still way fun and we'll look forward to next year

Park City

We met up with Carrie and Brandon for some dinner and fun.


Matt and Brandon taking the kids on the Alpine slides, you take a lift up the mountain.

Oey and Milly waiting for their Daddys.

Matt and Jarom come down first but you can see Brandon and Bella in the back.

Just talking about the best slide trip ever. It sounds a little scary though because you are in charge of the brakes, some people have eaten it hard trying to see if they can go down with no brakes. Brandon's very own brother has the battle wounds to prove it.

Posing with the birds because Milly did. You got to love Jarom--two different flip flops. He thinks it's pretty cool.

This is a picture Matt took on the way down. Looks like fun.

Smiths take over Lake Tahoe

We take over Tahoe every other year as a family. We always have the greatest time together. this is a photo of all the cousins minus the one in glory's tummy, which I think is a girl, because when I was writing glory's tummy the first time I wrote girl instead of Glory. yah, think about that. I think I have powers. It would be cool if she had a boy and proved me wrong, I would hate to worry about misusing my newly found powers.

Suzi, like always, has a fun craft for the kids. this year it was to make a visor, a big hit.

Walking to lake Tahoe.

Cousins on the beach. Tahoe is so nice because it is shallow for so long you don't really have to worry about the kids and the water is freshly melted snow so they don't stay in too long. But us adults on the other hand play a dorky looking game where we hit this huge big ball in the air and try and keep it up there. It's a big game of hot potato. So FUNNNN

You can still see snow on the mountains. poor O didn't get sunscreen on his face until too late. He got a blister on his right cheek.

Here we are together. Mom and Dad's Christmas card. And only three people missing. Dana will have no problem photo-shopping himself and the others in.

Walking to fallen leaf lake. We usually do lots of hikes as a family but because dad broke his leg we never walked over a mile.

Throwing rocks into fallen leaf lake. Brings back so many memories, and they are the best. We have been camping here for as long as I can remember.

Trouble. One of the nice things about camping in Tahoe is you get to cheat a little and eat out once or twice. This is Bella and Elijah getting in trouble, of course you take the picture first and then get them out. We sure know how to make people mad. It was a little awkward taking the photo in front of the parent who demanded to know "whose kids are these?"

We like jumping. Last Tahoe trip we found a hidden jumping spot off of cliffs, but you had to hike to get there. we really wanted to go this year but didn't feel right about leaving dad behind. This little mound of dirt kept us busy and happy. That's Paul flying pretty dang well for being over 6 feet tall.

us girls in order: Glory, me, kim and dolly. This was not the best picture taken but the worst. I thought you could have fun looking at all of our amazing faces, they make me laugh. they are too good- enjoy

we love mom and dad

Daddy-O. Walked across the beach to come watch us jump over and over again. I love my dad. I had been so worried about him and his broken leg. It was so nice to be able to see and hug him and see him doing so well. That picture you see of him is my big soft heart. I have been so blessed to have the most amazing dad in the whole world.

Our great helpers. They really didn't help put up the tent, but made great flower holders out of our tent poles

Peace out sisters. This was not planned, I think when we woke that morning we were thinking Tahoe + Family = peace.

Good morning with hot cocoa

Notice both of my kids love their visors, first things they put on when they left the tent

Some of us girls and our babies. It was so hard to part ways. I can't get enough of them. My whole family is my best friend, lucky me.

American River

Me and Heather, we got to the river late afternoon and had it all to ourselves

testing the water, a little chilly which equals perfection on such a bright sunny day

lizards in the sun, but way cuter

Joey at his finest moment

I love how Matt and I have got the same cool moves going on

Good ole Placerville

Good bye salt flats

Got to Placerville at 5am, first things first, we walked down to the farmers market and I ran into my sister Dolly and our niece Wendy one of the newest additions to the family that I had been dying to meet.

my little sister Merry and her daughter Gloria at granddaughters day at my Grandmas

Big sis Jenny and her little love muffin Rowan

my Mom and niece Anna

Bella and Jarom playing at their great grandmas

Matty talking to Grandpa

Henry and Jarom. Henry is 6 months younger.

Gilgal Garden

One Saturday we were up in Salt Lake, rambling about, and I decided to find Gilgal Garden. We drove around looking and looking where I thought it was supposed to be (we even drove by it once without seeing it). When I realized we were lost, I called our good pal Brandon, and he gave me immediately perfect directions: "You can see it from the Chuck-a-rama parking lot."

Gilgal is a sculpture garden created by Thomas Child. It's LDS-themed and very strange and remarkable at the same time. It attempts to intertwine his religious convictions with his philosophy.

Here's my Flickr photoset of Gilgal. There's also an online virtual tour.


Captain of the Lord's Army

Jarom and The Sphinx--probably his most interesting and wellknown of the sculptures

Bella, Oey, and Monument to the Trade

The giant's head, part of Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Jarom hugging the head (from the Last Chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes)

Count em