Memorial Day Fun

Hannah & Alysa

Hannah & Reanne

We spent Memorial Day with friends-enjoyed a BBQ & pool fun. I didn't have to work since the gym closed at 2pm-yeah! I hate Mondays there. The kids were worn out. Thanks to Paul & Cami for having us over.

Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief for Todd & I as my Blackhawks will not being playing his Penguins. That could have been rough! First game is tomorrow-watch it. Calls may be ignored during game time though. Can both his teams win in the same year? Here's to hoping a Father's Day gift of a Penguins Stanley Cup Championship t-shirt is on the horizon....

2nd set of butterflies

I got a better shot of the colors this time around. Pretty, huh?

I was sent another batch of caterpillars from the company I ordered from in March. They messed up my order then & they sent me an extra set by mistake before our Disneyland trip. They told me to keep them. This group of butterflies did not want to leave their home. They hung around for awhile & it took awhile to coax a couple of them out. Amanda & her girls and Belinda & Will were here to help release them.

Hannah's Theater Performance

Hannah's theater performance went very well as I mentioned in an earlier post. She did great & had fun. She had a problem getting the buttons undone quickly on a jacket she had to wear & then take off. Once she got it off she jumped right into the song with everyone else. Sorry the pictures are not better. I borrowed a camera that at least took better pictures than mine would have.

Joshua's Birthday Video

Ha, my turn to add a post!

This isn't real long, but you can see how Joshua's birthday started out at around 4 AM until it ended late the following night.

Birthday pictures continued...

Todd gets a smooth ride with Hannah on Autopia

I get to ride with Captain Whiplash on Autopia.

Waiting for our train at Big Thunder Mountain.

Joshua in the car on the way Sunday morning.

I just wanted to add a few more Disneyland pictures.

Hannah's Showcase went well last night but pictures will have to wait till I can get them off Amanda's camera. Her group was last & she did wonderful despite a wardrobe malfunction. I nearly cried when I saw how happy she was to get up in front of everyone & perform. Great stuff for a shy kid.

Joshua's Birthday at Disneyland

We had a blast celebrating Joshua's actual birthday at Disneyland on Sunday & Monday. We woke up the kids to spill the news but intead of being super excited they were more dazed & confused by our secret surprise. It took awhile to sink in.
We left at 5am & got there at 10am & headed to California Adventure 1st. We thought it would be less crowded than Disneyland. I can't say how busy it was at DL but there is no "bad economy" in Anaheim. Our Disney stock is doing fine (all 2 shares). We still like the Fall for weather & crowd level. We enjoy the rides over & over again but none of them are worth 90 minute waits. We got done what we could before heading back to the motel to get our room & ordered in pizza. The kids got to use the pool for a short time,we ate, changed clothes, & headed back to try Disneyland.
Around 8:30pm we didn't experience our 1st earthquake. Apparently when you are on a ride such as the Matterhorn you don't feel it. We got off & headed to Frontierland wondering why we didn't hear anyone on Big Thunder Mountain. We saw people being turned away so made our way to Pirates without asking what the trouble was. Pirates is closed too. Hmmmm.....that's when we ask what's going on. Just a 4.7 earthquake that we never felt. Every ride gets closed to reset & go through safety checks. We decide to wait in line for Haunted Mansion for when rides open again. Lots of people start giving up & leaving after 15 minutes so we move up to the front of the line. It took about 40 minutes before rides were going again except for Indiana Jones which almost always has closures even on non-earthquake days. It was still closed the next morning.
We got a lot done Monday morning. We planned lunch at the Golden Horseshoe so we could watch Billy Hill & the Hillbillies & have their ginormous (is that spelled correctly, Belinda?) chocolate cake to share for Joshua's b-day. We got a good laugh on the Jungle Safari. As they were loading the boat the skipper asked who was from out of town. Todd raises his hand. Skipper asks "where are you from?". Todd says "Phoenix". Skipper says "yeah, I could tell from all that Pittsburgh attire" (Penguins shirt & Steelers hat).We had some more to do back at California Adventure. We had to still get Grizzly River Run in & a couple more do-overs. We got those done & went back to DL for dinner & to finish up the night there.
Our first ride of the trip was Mickey's Fun Wheel (formally the Sun Wheel). My last ride was Pirates. Todd & the kids' last ride was Splash Mountain. I sent them to squeeze in one more ride while I went to buy a frame before closing. I still needed a frame for the artwork I got on the last trip but I didn't want to bring it on rides so it was the last thing I did before we left.
We got home around 2:45 this morning. I had to work today but at least I still had those fresh memories rolling around in my head. Hannah had her last practice at theater tonight before the Showcase on Friday. We're all tired but happy. Well, Hannah's still sad but that happens every trip. I know how she feels. I hate coming back to reality too. Scroll down to see a few pictures.

On It's a Small World

Lots of construction walls but at least they have photo ops on them.

Before going into the Haunted Mansion. It's the first time the kids have ever seen it not decorated as the Nightmare Before Christmas (which we dislike greatly by the way).

Do NOT get between Joshua & his target. He was soooo happy to find out he can ride Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters by himself. I was just as thrilled. If you have ever gone with him you will understand.

Father Daughter Sock Hop

Cute 50's Girl

Hula Hooping skills from the Smith genes!

Todd & Hannah had a good time at the Father/Daughter dance last night. Thanks to Grandma Judy for the poodle skirt. I found the shoes in just her size at Savers. Trying to find saddle shoes & actually finding them in the right size can only be God taking an interest in even the small things in our lives. Hannah looked adorable if I do say so myself. Take no notice of Joshua right behind Todd. That stinker didn't like being told he could not be in the picture. He won I guess.I didn't notice this till today. I'm glad I sent the camera with Todd,that he remembered to take pictures, & he didn't lose the camera. Yeah!

I made a chocolate cake to look like a record for the potluck. I tinted chocolate frosting black & made groove marks with a fork all the way around but I forgot to take a picture so you'll just have to imagine it. I taped a "label" to a Pringles lid in the center. Of course the kids have no idea what a 45 really looks like.

Scroll down for a Mother's Day wish. For Mother's Day we wanted to avoid any crowds/waits & eat cheap. After church we went to Pizza Hut with some coupons that made our meal under $10. Then we used a Cold Stone coupon to get the kids some ice cream. Me & Todd were stuffed so we saved money by not getting ice cream there. I'd rather put that money in the Disneyland bank anyway- which is only 7 days away! We rented a couple .99 videos & will cuddle up with the kids to watch them later. Pretty good day. I was given 4 free movie tickets by a sweet co-worker & we considered seeing a movie but decided it might be too busy. We're saving them for when "UP" comes out.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to both of our wonderful moms & to my mom friends.Todd & I feel so blessed to have such great moms. I wanted to say thanks for loving us no matter what & for being such loving grandmas. You both know how much the kids love you. Thanks for being such a good example. We love you too! Sock Hop pictures coming soon. I just wanted to post a quick message before church.

Wildlife Presentation

One of two Gila Monsters

Owl-obviously!

Checking out the gila monsters.

Joshua feeding his favorite animal.


After P.E. on Monday the kids got to see a small wildlife presentation. The animals the man brought were an owl,2 gila monsters, & a prarie dog. I couldn't get great pictures because of the glass on their cages. I also thought I'd include one more zoo picture.

Todd had the MRI yesterday but doesn't go back to the doctor till next week to find out what happens next to fix his knee.

Hannah's dance classes have been either canceled or put on hold which is a bummer. It also means no Mother's Day dance recital next week. I've also got 3 punches left on her punch card so I hope it all gets figured out soon. She's getting very excited for the Sock Hop on Saturday & her showcase later this month.

Return of the Sixth (Joshua's Early Birthday Party)

Don't you just hate it when people sing to you? I didn't think we were that bad.

Jedi Joshua

Getting wet.

Pre-party fight

Lightsaber cake

More wet-but it was warm & windy so everyone dried fast:o)

Today was Joshua's 6th birthday party (2 weeks early) after church. Return of the 6th is because his 3rd birthday party was also Star Wars (Return of the Sith/Return of the 6th-get it?). Anyway, my kids had fun & hopefully everyone else did too. They got wet with splash balls & sponges,ate cake & ice cream,broke the pinata,etc..Joshua did not like our singing & refused to pretend to blow out candles for a picture-the wind was keeping the candles from getting lit. Oh well...

Thanks to everyone who came. Really big thanks because I know you all made sacrifices to get here. Paul & Cami made special arrangements to have Scarlett & Desiree come,Aunt Cheryl for the long drive while being on call, the Ellisons for making the drive even though Kelly isn't 100% post surgery, & John for bringing 5 kids all by himself while Belinda was sick. Joshua has opened up all his stuff already. Mom Smith, Joshua is putting his money in our "Wii Fund".

After the party I washed & vacuumed the cars with help from the kids. Ambitious I know but it was time for the once a year wash & I'm only partly kidding. Then the kids attempted to go in the pool. It was too cool for me though. We're all tired & have got a busy day tomorrow with P.E. & a wildlife presentation after that plus work for me & dance for Hannah. Todd has an MRI for his knee on Tuesday afternoon. If you think of it, pray they can find out the problem & fix it with no problems.

May Birthdays

Hannah & Joshua with his favorite animal. It's always fun when you get to feed your favorite animal. We got to feed 2 giraffes when Todd's mom/Grandma Judy took us to the zoo. Too bad for the darkness of the picture.

The kids with Grandma at Westgate after eating at Johnny Rockets.

At Johnny Rockets.

Petting sting rays/manta rays-whatever. And one of Joshua's trademark camera poses.

The kids with their silver medals in hockey. They played hard & I'm so proud of how they never gave up & they did their best every game. It's Joshua's 1st medal & Hannah's 5th.



Happy Birthday to these "May" people:
Alexis-our friend, 2 years old (she was just a newborn at Joshua's 4th b-day party)
Wendy-Todd's sister
Paul-our friend
&
Of Course:
JOSHUA
Our crazy-psycho-biscuit is 6 years old on May 17th


We had a fun time with Todd's mom when she came to visit last week. I got all my shifts covered so I didn't have to work which was very nice. We watched movies,ate out,played games,& went to the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium.

The kids won a silver medal in hockey on Wednesday as you can already see from the picture above.

I'm busy planning for Joshua's party on Sunday. We needed to do it early because of Saturdays I have to work in May & our surprise birthday trip to Disneyland on his actual birthday. Keep it quiet! Neither of the kids know.
We did Hannah's 6th b-day there & are planning our week vacation there this October for her b-day again. Our passes are blocked out on 5/16 so we have to leave Sunday & are staying only one night. We'll be there all day Sunday & Monday and coming home after closing Monday night. We'll wake him up first (very early) & surprise him. Then he can wake up Hannah & tell her. It's so hard to keep this surprise inside! I can't wait. We had planned 2 nights but realized Hannah absolutely needs to be at her last theater practice on Tuesday because her showcase is that Friday 5/22.
Tomorrow I need to make his birthday cakes. We also have a family portrait appointment & a play to go to tomorrow-luckily they are both free. The Penguins play too so it's a busy Saturday.
Todd's mom brought him a Steelers foam "brick" to throw at the TV for bad calls & such. It may come in handy during hockey playoffs too. Which reminds me Joshua threw it behind the TV....

I plan on posting a few more zoo pictures & some from the party next week. If you didn't already see it, scroll down to watch Joshua's party invitation.

Upcoming May events are a Father/Daughter dance which is a sock hop,Hannah's Mother's Day dance recital,Disneyland, & Hannah's theater performance. Check back soon!