Last Day of June 2011

To celebrate the Last Day of June 2011, Shanel, Marcus and I hiked Squaw Peak... seriously, we weren't really celebrating anything but I just thought the title might catch your attention, Haha!  Really, we hiked simply because we WANTED TO HIKE and hadn't done it in awhile. It was also my attempt at getting back into the hiking mode to get ready to climb Mt. Humphrey's in September. That hike will take about 5 hours and there is no way come September, I will even attempt it if I don't start getting back into hiking shape now.  So here are a couple of pictures to document our 4:30am hike...

Busy as a BEE, That's ME!

TWO New Posts - One on Tying the Knot and One on Baby Watch

CLICK HERE to see Shamesha & Reggie at their very 1st bridal registry...


CLICK HERE to get our latest update on Shamara & Malaysia... all I will say is IT'S GOOD!

I Bet Ya Didn't Know

I bet you didn't know that I've been posting other things to our BABY WATCH and Tying the KNOT blogs as well...  If you want to catch up then just select any of the CLICK HERE's below and see what's been happening in the other BOOKS of our LYFE Story.

 

Click HERE for a sneak peek at the WEDDING DRESS which we picked up yesterday...

Click HERE for a look a Shamesha & Reggie's new house ~ C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E-D

Click HERE if you want to see what we are doing with The NURSERY!

Click HERE if you missed the preview of pictures from Shamara's Maternity Photo Shoot that were taken by one of Arizona's most amazing photographers ~ Jackie Lindfors ~ THIS IS A MUST SEE EVENT!

Father's Day

Although I didn't get not even 1 picture to document the occasion, we went to the early (7:30am) service at First Institutional Baptist Church to surprise Pastor Stewart for Father's Day.  Mark & I, all 5 girls and Ken walked in shortly before the service began and just as if they knew we were coming our old pew was empty and waiting for us, needless to say we filled it up quite nicely.  Words can't describe how many smiles we received from members who hadn't seen us in years.  Seriously, the LOVE in the air was TANGIBLE! Many told us afterwards how good it was to see us walk in just like old times with the family.

When Pastor Stewart walked in and turned around he looked at Mark first and you could tell he was please to see him, then his eyes moved to me next and got a little bigger with a smile, then he kept moving down the row seeing each of the girls and his eyes and smile just kept getting bigger and bigger (IT WAS TRUELY HEARTWARMING!) He was definitely SURPRISED!  He shook hands with the guys and gave me and the girls hugs and told us how happy he was that we were there.  The music was off the charts and Pastor's sermon was awsome as he preached about Sagging, Sexting & Satan.  He texted me later in the day and said that the Smith Family had definitely made his Father's Day very special and I thanked him for making us feel so loved and so welcomed.

After church we stopped by Mesha's and Reggie's new house to see how things were progressing..

isn't this a GREAT Father's Day photo of Dad and His Girls?

BREAKFAST

We stopped at AZ Bread Company in Tempe for a light breakfast since we weren't going to be eating our Father's Day meal until around four pm.

HANGING OUT

Here's a few pictures of the kids just hanging out while dinner was being prepared by none other than our 2 father's.  The plan started out with all of us preparing something for them two (Mark 1 & Mark 2) but somehow they kicked us all out and did it themselves.  Do you think that means that they think none of the rest of us is any good at cooking or can't meet their standards?  Well, you won't hear me complaning, if they want to do it HAVE AT IT!  Now you see why Mark 1 is the official cook in this family because HE LOVES IT!

I have to insert here a little background info on Marcus & Trey ~ prior to what you are witnessing below, Trey would have nothing to do with Marcus, he would actually turn his nose up at him, turn his back to him, anything to send Marcus the message that he didn't want to be bothered. Now this time home for Marcus and he couldn't get rid of the child.  It's like he just discovered a new BEST BUD, he wouldn't leave him alone.  Marcus was great letting both Trey and Boston climb all over him...

DINNER

Our Father's Day menu: Australian Lobster, Beef Short Ribs, Steamed Veggies and world famous Red Lobster Biscuits... YUM! 










I think that we one day SOON we are going to have to order a BIGGER table for family meals... What a GREAT issue to have!

DOMINOS

the boys enjoying a game of dominos...

POOL TIME

I had to do a slideshow for our pool time pictures because there were just too many great photos to pick only a few or to post individually... but you can always stop the slideshow and see the pictures one by one.

FAMILY GAME TIME

 When we all get together, it is always so much more fun than going out somewhere... and it costs a lot less, too.  Time to PLAY!  The kids chose for our family game tonight the game of THINGS - Humor in a Box!This games requires lots of creativity and it's loaded with laughter.  There are no teams with this game,

everyone is on their own and trying to be the winner.  There are topic cards that are designed to provoke thought and  generate FUN!  An example of some topics:

• THINGS people do for a million dollars...
• THINGS you wouldn't do for a million dollars...
• THINGS your parents forgot to tell you...

Everyone takes turns picking a topic, it is read aloud and everyone has to write their response on a piece of paper that is then gathered by whoever is the "holder."  The holder then reads everyones responses outloud and each player gets a chance at guessing who wrote what response.  There are no wrong answers, just a lot of fun but WARNING you won't believe the THINGS you hear.

 

em B R A C E D !

Today was a VERY BIG day for Sabriya, she got B R A C E S

PICKING THE COLOR FOR HER 1ST BANDS

SHE IS GOING TO HATE ME FOR THIS PICTURE!

THE BRACKETS ARE ON, WIRES NEXT...

BEING BANDED!!!

CHECKING OUT HER NEW BRACES BEFORE SHE SHARES HER SMILE WITH THE WORLD.

IF YOU WERE EVER A PATIENT OF DICKERSON ORTHODONTICS THEN YOU WILL REMEMBER THESE PRIZE TICKETS... you can get a max of 4 tickets each time you come in for a visit. 1 for wearing your Dickerson Ortho Tshirt, 1 for being on time, 1 for having taken great care of your teeth/braces and 1 for... "sorry but I can't remember the 4th one." Anyways, they go in the bowl for chances to win some fun stuff from Dr. D and staff!

DR. "D" GIVING HIS FINAL APPROVAL!

THIS IS IT! SHE'S BEEN "emBRACED!"

SHE LOOKS SO ADORABLE IN BRACES!

Let's go to the Movies!

Talent Factory & Tempe Dance Academy presents their 2011 Annual DANCE RECTIAL ~ Let's go to the Movies!  The event was held at Chandler Center for the Arts with a 2:00pm and a 7:00pm show.  Dress rehearsal started on Friday night at 6pm and again Saturday morning at 9am. It is always such a fun time to see a year's worth of dance lessons come together in such amazing shows.  Congrats Sabriya and all of the dancers and teachers for all the hard work.












MY BACK STAGE HOME & OFFICE AWAY FROM HOME FOR 2 DAYS... this is where I orchestra Sabriya's performance ~ organizing her different costumes & accessiories & shoes & makeup & food ~ and in between all that I continue to work for Honey Bear's answering calls, taking orders, putting out fires... You can see my laptop all fired up and ready to go, working mobile...








MORE PICTURES DURING REHEARSAL FRIDAY NIGHT... This is about as far as I get to the auditorium - side stage - so most of the pictures you will only see Sabriya from the side or from behind.







THE FOLLOWING PICTURES ARE OF THE DANCE # NEWSIES ~ DOESN'T SABRIYA MAKE A CUTE BOY!























THIS ONE IS BLURRY, HAZY IN APPEARANCE BUT I LOVE IT BECAUSE IT SHOWS SABRIYA COMPLETLY OFF THE FLOOR GETTING READY TO DO AN AERIAL (essentially a cartwheel that flies thru the air without her hands touching the ground).




BACK STAGE AGAIN, DOING MAKEUP & HANGING WITH FRIENDS...



















OKAY, NOW TO CLOSE OUT THIS YEAR'S SEGMENT OF SABRIYA'S 2011 DANCE RECITAL HERE ARE A FEW PICTURES OF THE SMITH CLAN WHO CAME OUT TO SHOW THEIR SUPPORT...




KEN'S 1st DANCE RECTIAL!





WHAT A GREAT FATHER'S DAY PICTURE OF MARK & BRI (DAD & DAUGHTER)









I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY  THEY WERE ALL LAUGHING SO HARD???