Fun Birthday Weekend

This past week we got to celebrate the little man turning 3.  His birthday was Thursday so we gave him his family presents after he woke up from his nap.

He was really excited about his new basketball and hoop from G&G Wadley...thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

We went to the mall that night for dinner and some fun kids activities they had going on.

Free train ride!  It normally costs 5 BUCKS a PERSON, so, yeah, we've never gone on it before, but we were all over it Thursday night.  :)

We had a few of Aaron's friends over on Friday night for a BBQ in the backyard to continue the celebration. 

I love this picture.

and this video.  :)

Aaron fills our house with energy and love and more energy.  :)  He is a lover and I love him!  Happy Birthday Aaron!

Time for Pigtails!

Presenting...

The Biggest Tree In Texas!!

They are not sitting on The Biggest Tree In Texas.  It was all fenced off.  But this is a pretty cool one right by The Biggest Tree In Texas.

Just hangin' on a tree next to The Biggest Tree In Texas.

The requisite family shot in front of The Biggest Tree In Texas.  Little man in front is none too happy about all the picture taking.  Best line of the day came from his sister upon seeing The Biggest Tree In Texas for the first time (cue pre-teen nonchalance coolness):  "Well, it's not that big."

She sure was a good sport for the picture taking though.  Always gotta be holding up her treasure for the camera, that one.  In this case it was a fake Oreo (Walmart brand, thank you very much Schweets :)

Do you love the diaper bag taking center stage in the photo?!  Obviously, I need some tutelage from my good friend Tiff, whose amazing work you can view here.

We had a fun little outing to Goose Island State Park on Memorial Day weekend, where, in case you haven't figured out yet, the Biggest Tree In Texas is located.  Always fun to get away with the fam for a little FFF.  (Forced Family Fun).  Dad always used to call it that as we grew up and started rolling our eyes at family outings.  We really loved it though. 

I love my family (immediate and extended) and all of the cool things I have been able to see throughout my life because of my dad's and husband's professions.  Dad was in the Air Force and I grew up getting to see so many amazing sites in Europe.  Salzburg and Garmisch are two that really stand out as incredibly beautiful places that I want to take my own family to someday.  I have been lucky enough to go on an incredible journey (wink, wink, schweets :) with my husband as he has pursued his career and have really gained a love for the southern part of this country.  OK, there are parts of it I can't stand (can you say Arizona cactus), but there are so many more parts I love.  Each new place has its own character and feel.  The people in each place are unique.  I love the spanish moss hanging from the huge, old, beautiful oak trees in Baton Rouge.  I love that the people there think they are in God's chosen country and anything west of Nachitotches is not.  (No, I'm being serious.  They really do, and I really love that!  Totally cracks me up!)  I love the warm hospitality we experienced in Arizona.  I love how the Relief Society Presidency was on our doorstep with a treat in hand before we had even been in the apartment 2 hours.  I love the food in Texas.  Oh, how I love the food.  I love that my Texas friends cook up BBQ for birthday parties, Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentines Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, and pretty much any other celebration that requires food.  I love that I have lived in my home in Texas longer than any home in my whole life.  (6 years!)  I love the HUMIDITY!!  (Can't believe I just typed that, but there it is!)

Most of all, I just love being with my family and experiencing it all with them.  They are the best. 

YAY!  You Made It!!

I liked my new blog concept and template so much I decided to merge my old blog into it.  Only bummer is now I have to spend time getting all of y'all over here and figuring out my sidebar from my old blog.  But that shouldn't take too long. 

So, whaddya think?  Accompany ME is sooooo much better than The Smith Family, no??!!

I know, I know, it's all about me.  But not really.  See, here you get me AND my fam, but all told by me.  At my old place you mostly just got the fam and little snippets of me here and there.  So yup, now you get to be full-on privy to all of my innermost thoughts.  Such as what my family's next meal will consist of, how to get the hard water stains out of the bottom of my tub, and the ever-popular what to do about the shack next door.  Oh, I know.  You are all shaking with anticipation. 

In all seriousness, though, I want my blog to take a little different spin than it has in the past.  I still want all of my kids' cuteness and schweety's accomplishments in there (and believe me, there is plenty of that to go around), but I also want more of ME!  Just what I think about and go through on a daily basis. 

So if you were just here for the cute kids' stuff....well, stick around

and Accompany ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Supermom

Two-year-old runs into baby's room as I'm changing her diaper.

"Mom, are you SUPERMOMMY??!!"

Hmm.  Let's consider this.

Definition of Supermom from our friends at Miriam-Webster:
an exemplary mother; also : a woman who performs the traditional duties of housekeeping and child-rearing while also having a full-time job

Hmm.  The first part of the definition = I hope I fit into that category one great day.  The second part of the definition = nope.  I am definitely not Supermom.

I have friends who are Supermom.  In both parts of the definition.  I marvel at their capacity.  I am astounded by how they do it all. 

As for me, I will don a cape during the next session of dress up.

That oughta do for now.

Name That Tune!!

Two-year-olds are so dang cute when they sing!  Aaron has been picking up a lot of tunes that we sing or play around the house.  Here's the latest.

A Wonderful World

Well, it just so happens that my family is all still in bed and I'm awake...how nice is that?!  It was a beautiful nights sleep.  Went to bed at 9, woke up at 5 to feed the girl, got my grocery shopping done at 6 and went for an amazingly cool morning walk for the 2nd of June. 

So yesterday began the start of hurricane season.  Call me a freak, but I somewhat enjoy the excitement of hurricane season.  I love to see the hurricanes spin on satellite imagery.  I know I will not feel this way if a hurricane affected my family personally, but as that has not happened yet, I continue to enjoy watching these incredible forces of nature. 

This month also marks the one year countdown for our semi-annual family vacation to Boise and the Oregon Coast.  Mmmm, I can smell the ocean already.  See, even though I live right next to an ocean (well, alright a gulf), the Gulf Coast and the Pacific Coast are WAY different.  You can probably tell from the pictures.

 See?

Gulf Coast = warm, humid, palm trees, humid, warm, all year round humid and warm

Pacific Coast = cold, clear, forestry, clear, cold, all year round clear and cold

I grew up around the second one, and I've lived for 10 years now near the first one.  Vastly different, but each beautiful in it's own way.  Never thought I would get used to the humidity, but now when I visit the northwest it feels like a nice warm blanket has been taken off of me and I want it back on!!

Heavenly Father's creations are all simply amazing, and I love different parts of each of them.  (Alright, minus the roaches, spiders, snakes, mosquitoes, etc.)  But these two pictures remind me...what a wonderful world!