photos lately!

The beach! CA! The Money's! July 4th!

I am way behind on this post because I kept wanting to post ALL of my hundreds of pictures of the trip and kept not finding the time....but I decided to instead print them out and make a real life scrapbook. So for my blogging purposes I will pick my 7(ish) favorite pictures and post those here. 

We had such a great time meeting my family out in California for July 4th! We had been aching to go to the beach and play in the sand, watch the waves, soak up the sun, feel the humidity, eat fish tacos, smell the salt, swim in the deep, for some time now. And we got to do it all. We hit the road, stopped in Las Vegas, stayed at a friends house overnight, made it to Malibu, where we stayed in an awesome beach house with my mom and dad, Joseph, and AJ. (Unfortunately, David and Amelia couldn't make it.) My dad and AJ met Ella for the first time and it was wonderful to spend time altogether. We pretty much just went to the beach every day after that! So much fun finding crabs in rock caves and pools. Dying trying to swim on a rocky beach with AJ, buying delicious fruit on the side of the road, watching the kids run in and out of the waves. At nights we did puzzles, ate, listened to the waves from our bedroom at night. It was pretty much a dream.  Then on Monday the 4th we stopped Joseph and his friends off at EFY in Santa Barbara, then went to the pier and ate some yummy seafood. The money's left and we smiths stayed one more night in Ventura.  We ate In N Out, watched fireworks on the beach and snuggled together, we 5, under a dark sky filled with stars and rockets, thinking about freedom and blessings. 

The next day Collin and Frederick and Harriet dropped Ella and me off at LAX where we flew home to Provo, and hung out with Dave and Mia till Collin and the kids, who had driven home all day, picked us up and we all drive to salt lake together and ran inside to see Dot, our beloved kitty. YAY. 

PAST bdays of nems

It's March. The air is getting ever warmer and blowier. Things are all coming to life. I feel motivated and moved and like ordering fish and chips and shamrock shakes and as if I'm getting older. I grow so nostalgic this time of year. I don't long for days past in anyway besides how skinny I was (and not really even that, but REALLY?!!!) but I love looking back on those days. I was so awkward and inexperienced and invincible!!! I found myself looking at photos and blog/livejournal/facebook posts from Marches past and wanted to post some of them here. Haha!! So funny...and sometimes not so! The furthest back I've been documenting myself online is about 2003, but I found photos from since about 2005. It's strange to think of a world without instagram, facebook, or even cell phones...but it's true....you robot children and grandchildren, you.

Well here it starts...and mind you, these are random and out of context...but a photo of me on my birthday that year!!!! And those....these(!!!) bangs!!!

2005. 10 years ago. I was 21 that day.

Florida in April

Collin and Frederick and I had the most incredible trip to Florida back in April and I was just realizing that we never blogged about it!!! So here are some pictures of the super fun time we had visiting with Collin's parents, brother, Ian and his wife Ashley and their 3...almost 4 children, his 3 grandparents, and my family from my mom's side who live in Florida. 

The plane trips were great. Freddie was happy, excited, hyper, but slept a TON. We weren't sure if he would nurse much (which has been a life saver on previuos trips) but he did, and rested well. There was this crazy little incident with a woman sitting next to us from AZ to our lay-over in Chicago wehre she flipped out at us and told us we thought we were SPECIAL because we had a baby (when we asked if we could go by her to use the bathroom once and then to stand up in the row in front of her as we were waiting to deboard the plane) and we and everyone around us were like...what the?????? HAHA! But now it's just a funny memory. 

these two..

my sweet sleeping angel...

First glimpses of Florida!!!! We were SO EXCITED!!!

Fred and Pops

Freddie and his BEST BUDDY EVER, his cousin Lincoln.

Cousins Lauren, Kate and Lincoln. There's nothing better than Fred spending time with his cousins. 

Happy birthday grandma Hermann. I love Collins hair in these shots. 

Buds

Beach time!!

Kate 

Lauren 

Fred you need some sunglasses or something. 

Beautiful Florida beach. 

I got do burned. :( :( and I put on sunblock!!

After-church photos 

4 generations of smith men

The gals. 

Love these guys. 

Forced cousins pictures always end in tears. 

Oh boy.... Don't worry; he didn't drink of drive. 

Loving life grandpa/ma smiths backyard in Lakeland. 

Garden party

A visit to Macintosh, fl to visit my aunt Susan's home. She and her husband, chuck were there along with robin, Austin, andy, Celia, Holden, blaire+gf, shanna, Doug, Eva, silus, susi, Ryan, Elliot, Cohen, laurel, Liz, rain, Ty, uncle Rick and aunt Jane!!!!! Did i forget anyone???? Collin and Ludona and I had a great time!!

Eating and announcing....that I was pregnant for the second time. 

So independent. Wanted ZERO help. 

Cats and stuff

Swimming. 

Playing. 

Selby Marie Botanicsl Gardens where Collin & I got engaged 5 years ago. 

Saying good bye. What a fantastic trip. We can't wait till January when mom and dad smith visit us after bean is born.  

Solemn. 

Hello again, desert.