Atlanta Temple Open House

The Atlanta temple has been closed for almost two years for a renovation project. It is now done and it is beautiful! The kids all walked through and they thought that it was amazing. Mia loved the brides room, Brenner thought that the chandeliers were very pretty and Cayden thought that the new "green" stained glass throughout was spectacular. They really did a great job, and it is truly a beautiful building and ultimately the "House of God".

The whole walk through crew.

It will be nice to once again have "our" temple open so close to us so we don't have to drive 3+ hours to another. They say that you don't miss something until it is gone, and this could not be more true of our temple.

Spring Break- Disney Style!

Spring Break at Disney World.

We were invited again to go down to Orlando with the Browns, and of course we said yes! It was over the kids spring break from school and we had a blast. Although over the years we have decided that Disney is not a relaxing vacation, it is allot of running around, waiting in lines and very long days. But it is truly allot of fun!The Castle Picture.

Ice cream anyone! Daddy and Mia in front of "It's a small world". This became her fourth or fifth favorite after Pirates, Splash Mountain, the Tea Cups and Thunder Mountain Railroad. She has become quite a little thrill junkie! All the kids (minus the Browns as they went to Universal this day) waiting to ride the Buz Light year ride.

The electric parade is back this year with the fun music and all. Nikki was our parade spot holder, and beat several people from our spots each day as the kids and I rode rides, Go Mommy!

Mia and a Mickey Treat!

At Disney's Hollywood Studios. The Rockin Roller Coaster was the favorite of all!

Our last day in Animal Kingdom.

This is Daddy's favorite park of the bunch, with the Safari, Mount Everest and the Nemo Show!

We all had so much fun over the week, and I think that it will be our last Disney Vacation for some time to come!

Check out the new Club FHE!

Our Site has changed up a bit.

And has a new look!

Check it out and be sure to tell me what you think!

I am very excited as you can only guess- It is time that such a neat program has a site to match!

The Club has really taken off in January and February, and the first of this month we shipped a yearly subscription off to Australia. That is as "half way around the world" as it gets! Thank you to all who support us, it helps out alot! Remember to post our logo on your sites, blogs and Face Book pages, and now with the cut and paste logo it is easier than it once was!

Thank You!

Pine Wood Derby

Pine Wood Derby

The boys and their cars.

Out of 17 boys, they drew numbers that were competitors for the first race, what luck for the Daddy who built (helped!?!) the cars. To Daddy's surprise, Brenner's car barely squeaked out the win and sent Cayden to the losers bracket, but not for long as his car was still very fast!

Brenner took lining his car up on the track very seriously. This is the second to last race, and the red car ended up with 1st place.

Cayden cheering his car on to victory in his third race. In the end, Brenner ended up with 3rd and Cayden with 5th place. Not to bad for a 17 car heat... but there is always next year!

Cayden's Birthday and Baptism

Cayden turns Eight

His request for a turtle cookie cake was realized and as you can see, it made him very excited.

Turning eight is all about baptism and he was very excited. The day was very special, and I hope he remembers it forever.

Mimi and Grandaddy and the rest of the family came and all had a feast at the house after, but no one seemed to pick up the camera for it!

What a special day!

Brenners Science Fair and Soccer

Science Fair

Brenner did his science fair topic on the solar system and did a great job! Now if we could only convince him that Pluto is not a real planet, everything would be great!

Soccer

Soccer is in full swing, or kick or whatever. He truly loves it and we get a kick out of watching him play. Two games so far this season and they are undefeated, keep your fingers crossed for another great year!

Bonsai

BONSAI

Daddy's newest hobby is finding small bushes that he digs up, forms into very small trees and puts into pots. These are three specimens in his bonsai collection, he has become quite the little bonsai artist!

Family Ski Trip to North CarolinaWe went to Maggie Valley for a little skiing and had a great time. I guess kids pick up everything quicker than adults, because after a quick 2 hour lesson, all three were skiing!
Mia and Daddy.

The Speed Demon Brenner.
And the ever cautious Cayden.

All three kids on the bunny slope.
Mia and Daddy on the BIG LIFT! She went straight down the hill without any care, and was fine as long as the there was someone to catch her at the end. Brenner went down with allot of right turns (could not get the left down for some reason). And Cayden, was fine for the first little bit, fussed and cried the next (with daddy screaming and yelling and saying he was not going to walk down, one of those moments that your thoughts go back to you and your dad at the same age.) and He walked down the rest of the big hill back to the bunny slope where he was just fine for the rest of the day.
Every one had a great time, and Brenner even wanted to go back the next day.

The next day we went to the Builtmore and walked through. It is very amazing that people used to (and still do I guess) live like that! The house was amazing, and being the largest house in the country, I guess it should be. Amazing is all I have to say!

Kids in a candy store.

Valentines morning back at the cabin.

A cute shot of the kids at a gift shop overlooking Tallulah Gorge. We harassed Brenner about being the boy from Where the Red Fern Grows as he just read the book in school.

Every one on the deck of the cabin.

And the last night we stopped in at Harra's Casino in Cherokee to eat at Paula Dean's new restaurant there for Mimi. It was very good, especially the ewy gewy vanilla brownie.

Basket Ball

Basket Ball Cayden

We signed Cayden up for Basket Ball this winter to see if it would be his sport, and the verdict is still out. He likes it ok, but needs alot more practice this summer on things like dribbling and passing. He has a good shot, but there is so much more to the real game than we prictice during a game of HORSE.
The plan is to do alot of practicing this summer and see what becomes of it.

Go Cayden!

Mexican Train!

Mexican Train..... Choo Choo!!!

Although not a new game in the Smith arsenal, Grams and Pa gave Brenner a new set for Christmas, complete with the train items and we have done nothing but play the entire month of January. It seems every weekend we are playing with someone.
Choo Choo!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Mia started it all off with dancing as an angel in the nutcracker. She did a great job and we think it was worth all the money for costume, recital fees and the extra ticket (as it only came with one) in the end! She truly danced like an angel!

Mommy and her little angel.
As soon as the recital was over we hopped in the packed car and headed south to Florida, stopping at Calaway Gardens to see the lights. As we had skipped last year, this was alot of fun, but cold!
At the beach! Mommy and Mia and their sand castle.
Daddy and the boys sand castle.
Cayden found a turtle at the new mall area. We spent time walking the stores, eating of course, had some ice cream and found a Christmas ornament for our tree! The last night we went to the Olive Garden and Mommy and Brenner went to see Harry Potter while Daddy stayed back at the house with Cayden and Mia and watched a red box.

Their was a lunar eclipse one night that Brenner and I got up at 1:30 to see. It was pretty cool!

One night the kids made gingerbread houses.

The last day at the beach!

The Boys feeding the birds.

Three kids in the heated pool. We had alot of fun, even more relaxation and most of all a great time as a family!

Back at home and the cousin gift swap. We also all opened jamies and had a pajama parade.

Christmas morning and Cayden found the pickle hid in the tree, letting him open the first gift.
Santa Came!
Brenner and his bow and arrow.
Cayden and his Legos.
And Mia and her littlest pet shop.
There was breakfast pizza and home made orange juice and a nap for Mommy and Daddy.
Christmas evening we got what we thought would never come, a White Christmas! Grorgia has not seen snow on Christmas day since 1882, thats right, 128 years ago. The kids played in it for a bit and came in for some hot chocolate!

We had a great Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND A GREAT NEW YEARS!