smith family...our crazy life

Spring break or Bust, orlando!!!!

2011-04-02T17:24:00.000-04:00

allergies, yuk!!

2011-03-30T16:55:00.001-04:00

jackson's allergies this season are the worst we have ever seen them and it is truly been heartbreaking as a parent to see what he has to endure. it has gotten so very bad, that we finally said he needs to see a specialist for the allergies and eczema. we made the appointment and all i can say is, we are so very thankful. we got answers (not what we had wished for) and hopefully a remedy to treat the symptoms. Unfortunately, jman's allergies to all outside triggers are so severe, so much so, that he will probably fight them for the long hall! We send praise to Dr.Joshi, the amazing allergist and kindest, most thorough dr we have ever come across. Please cross your fingers that we can control the allergies with no shots and just other meds.

just after a day of play outside

still swollen two days later

start of allergy test, the fated "prick" test. jackson was a trooper

every prick reacted!! not common for that to happen :-(

spring soccer

2011-03-28T16:47:00.000-04:00

spring soccer is in full swing...started a few weeks ago and jackson is loving it. and what he loves more is the fact that his jersey # is how old he will turn this season. (gasp, so very hard to believe)!!!! go #5 and go blue jags

movie madness

2011-03-25T16:38:00.000-04:00

there have been quite a few animated movies for kids that are in the theaters lately, so we have made dates to see a couple of them. some were hits and a couple were definitely misses!!! to say the least, DO NOT go see Rango, bad bad movie and so very inappropriate for kids. Olivia did get to see her first movie, and although it was not one of my favs, she loved the whole day and was so well behaved!! fun times for sure. we love our movie outing with mom and friends.

miss olivia's first movie in the theatre

finished off the day with maggie moos for desert

movie with friends! jman, caleb and parker

party on

2011-03-20T17:08:00.002-04:00

spring time parties are in full swing and face painting is the hit this year!! we have had a ball so far and love celebrating with our friends. here are some pics

miss olivia's first face painting experience, she opted for the hand. a bit scared of the unknown

jackson's pick, shocker....spiderman!

three amigas....sporting some cute face paint at Halle's 5th bday party

we must really love Halle, because we are sporting a screen printed tee!! never have sone this, but we had to go with the theme, Hello Kitty! leave it to my daughter to manage to pick the face paint that just so perfectly coordinates with her attire (wink, good job olivia, mommy taught u well)

top o the mornin to ya

2011-03-17T16:33:00.000-04:00

Happy St. Patricks day from us to u.xo

Downtown library

2011-03-03T16:22:00.000-05:00

Jackson's school took all three four's classes on a field trip to the down town library. a sweet and fun trip. brought memories back of me and j going on adventures there before miss.o was born. a great afternoon.

Yankee Bound

2011-02-26T15:46:00.001-05:00

I was lucky enough to get the time away to head north for a long weekend, grand pause........by MYSELF!!!! my uncle eddie was turning the big 50 and my aunt was throwing him a surprise party. since nathan could not get all the time off and the expense of four tickets was not an option either, nate said, "go and enjoy it for me" yay. when i stopped to think about it, i had not been up to NY alone in over a decade!!! crazy. the trip was wonderful, full of laughs and good times and some quiet rest away.

the view from the plane as i was landing...that is chunks of ice in the hudson river!

family dinner

got to see snow fall!! beautiful to visit

all the o'brien ladies

cousins

my favorite ladies!!!! mom, where are u??

an oldie but goodie, friends for so long! love ya kate

party hard

2011-02-20T15:30:00.000-05:00

we have had some fun going to bday parties lately, love sharing in all the celebrations! here are

a few shots from them........

massey mardi gras themed partay

Blaire Massey's 2nd bday-minnie theme

kennedi's second bday party

never had cotton candy before, can u say in heaven!!!

kennedi and miss olivia

out for another party fest

a few warm sunny days

2011-02-19T16:06:00.000-05:00

we have been lucky enough lately to catch a few, very warm days in feb! seasonally rare moments that we seized by having picnics outside and park trips in the sun

Happy Heart Day

2011-02-14T14:24:00.000-05:00

nothing says love more than heart shaped everything, including food for school!!

my two baby loves heading off for school

love from my three loves

bling for mama

bling for sissy love

surprise cake for daddy to end our "love filled" dinner

Father daughter dance

2011-02-05T15:28:00.000-05:00

Whoo dee hoo, Miss.O is 2!!!

2011-01-10T18:54:00.002-05:00

2!!!!!

i cannot believe my sweet baby is 2 already. time has passed so fast, and yet so slow all at the same time. Everyone knows how excited i get to plan a party and i must admit i had this one in the bag about six months ago!! hehe. i thought of owls because something about them remind me of my sweet girl. Then, i came up with the "slogan" for the party and it was done from there.

Whoo dee whoo, Look hoo's two!

what an amazingly happy and blessed two years this has been. what a wonderful week full of celebration; from a party at olivia's school to big bash at our house to a chapel celebration again at OPS. our girl is loved in so many ways by so many people we love!!! thank you to all who surround olivia and us in love every day!

Birthday girl for class party ( note: the owl theme was present all week!)

cutest hiney ever

she looks so big to me here

all the decor, all for miss.o

the wonderful cake done my k.Noelle cakes

a smith party would not be complete without a pinata, and it has to be theme appropriate!

miss.o surrounded by all her peeps

yummy!

playtime

her bestie, miss kerrigan

singing happy bday to olivia at chapel

slacker!!!

2011-01-05T18:53:00.000-05:00

ok, so to say that i have been slack in my blogging world is putting it mildly!!!! sorry family and friends, life got a bit crazy at the end of the year and i barely kept up after my tonsillectomy. New years resolution, to get better at this blog thing again. i mean, it is my way of journaling to sanity, haha.

2010 Wrap up

2011-01-01T17:44:00.000-05:00

we celebrated the start of the new year with a big family dinner at Donna's house. not very often that all sides of the family get to share time together. Happy New year to all. xo may 2011 bring all happiness and blessings

Christmas day at Kiki's

2010-12-26T16:17:00.000-05:00

Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T17:18:00.000-05:00

christmas eve

2010-12-24T16:27:00.003-05:00

our tree for 2010....ready with all the goodies for the AM

heading to church candle-lit service

my little sugar plums getting ready for bed

reading with daddy one last time for the year about "rudy"

tradition....making cookies for santa

olivia's first time making cookies with us

playing santa

2010-12-22T13:18:00.004-05:00

christmas with friends

2010-12-21T13:05:00.001-05:00

Brunch with Santa

2010-12-19T11:49:00.003-05:00

Christmas Chaos

2010-12-17T11:45:00.000-05:00

4's holiday Party

2010-12-16T11:28:00.001-05:00

OPS toddler xmas party

2010-12-16T11:17:00.003-05:00

a night in bethlehem

2010-12-15T10:52:00.000-05:00

getting into the holiday spirit

2010-12-15T10:48:00.001-05:00

OPS 4's Christmas Program

2010-12-14T10:37:00.000-05:00

Happy Bday KK

2010-12-13T10:21:00.001-05:00

rudy's arrival

2010-12-10T10:27:00.003-05:00

oh xmas tree, oh xmas tree

2010-12-03T10:14:00.000-05:00

blunders and benefits

2010-12-02T10:13:00.001-05:00

Good bye, asheville

2010-11-28T10:04:00.000-05:00

Chimney Rock

2010-11-27T21:06:00.001-05:00

Linville Caverns

2010-11-26T20:38:00.000-05:00

Dinner full of Thanks

2010-11-26T20:12:00.002-05:00

adventures around asheville

2010-11-25T20:01:00.001-05:00

Day one in asheville

2010-11-24T19:50:00.003-05:00

mountain bound

2010-11-23T15:20:00.000-05:00

this thanksgiving holiday, my dad decided it would be fun to have a family destination celebration....the choice, Asheville, North Carolina!! i about did flips when it was chosen. i have not been to the mountains (on this coast) ever, other than the airport. we left the tues before t-giving and chose to break the 8 hour drive up with a stop in Atlanta. Thank you dad for that idea. we were able to have a nice dinner and get some good sleep before hitting the road again. all in all, the drive thus far has been pretty smooth and the views became quite breathtaking. hope this finds all of you surrounded by those you love, remembering those that are not, and realizing all to be very thankful for!!

ughh, packing

2010-11-21T15:30:00.000-05:00

the only BAD thing about traveling outside the jacksonville area?? PACKING. i hate choosing, therefore, i over pack and loose all ability to make decisions. what ends up happening. i take practically the whole closet, make a huge mess and wear only a fraction of what was taken. better safe than sorry, right.

Happy Turkey Day

2010-11-20T12:41:00.000-05:00

Turkeyriffic feast

2010-11-18T20:46:00.000-05:00

Wayne's 60th day

2010-11-17T15:55:00.004-05:00

soccer season ender

2010-11-13T20:33:00.000-05:00

park playdate

2010-11-12T15:46:00.000-05:00

karate & gymnastics

2010-11-11T15:34:00.003-05:00

Farmers Market and Flag Raising

2010-11-04T20:27:00.000-04:00

birthday night

2010-11-03T19:47:00.000-04:00

A howling good night

2010-10-31T20:14:00.000-04:00

OPS Halloween Parade 2010

2010-10-28T19:46:00.000-04:00

surgery sucks

2010-10-21T19:41:00.001-04:00

firestation fieldtrip

2010-10-12T19:18:00.002-04:00

I still cannot believe that this is jackson's last year at OPS!!! it seems like yesterday i was dropping him off for his very first day in the toddlers class. IN the 4's class, the kids get to experience things similar to what elementary school does. drum roll.......jackson's first Field Trip!!! to the main fire station downtown. I must say that even i was a bit excited for it too..The three classes rode the bus there and back with a caravan of parents following behind. The morning was great...we toured the entire station, met the station's pet dog, rode the pole, and saw the big ladder truck in full extension. we followed the tour up with a lunch date at the park.

boarding the bus

ellie, ann lowery, jackson, and halle

halle and jackson sharing the ride

all the students listening to all the fire station "facts"

riding the pole (not really, just posing)

listening to the station bell go off that alerts the men of a fire call

view from the top of the pole

shooting the hose...jackson was in his glory

the ladder truck pulling up

hospitality

2010-10-10T19:13:00.002-04:00

since baby eastyn gave us a bit of a scare and put tiffany in the hospital on bedrest, we decided to suprise her with an impromptu celebration at chateau Baptist. every baby's birth should be celebrated and rejoiced in!! although tiff was not showered the way we had hoped prior to miss E's arrival, it did reinforce the love this baby is about to receive!

julie howard, muaa, tiffany, erin peterson, tiff massey, and jenn jones

an A-Mazing day

2010-10-09T18:55:00.002-04:00

there is an amazing place about 45 minutes away from jax that makes u feel for the time you are there, that you are not in florida and for that time get to experience what fall fun festivities are like. the adventure you ask, was to Connor's A-mazing Corn Maze, pumpkin patch and hayride. We shared the day with great friends, the Peterson family and Massey clan. the kiddos had a blast running around the fast land. playing on the bales of hay, with the hand made water toys, taking a hayride thru to see the animals, pick up a pumpkin, make corn angels and of course, consume some good ol' country food! the day was great, barring the nearly scorching weather....but, hey, the family time and friends made it all worth it!!

my "angels", all clean before we headed out

jackson climbing the hay bales

our fall family- olivia 20 mos and jackson 4 1/2

olivia and kerrigan were not so into the feeling of the hay on their hineys

jackson and his "P" girls

water fun, from front to back: halle, grace, jackson, olivia and blaire

corn angels! we were just a wee bit scheevved out by all the potential germs in the bucket.

hay rides

attempting the corn maze...kids and parentals done!!!

grace massey, jman, and halle peterson

sissy love, the sneak

2010-10-05T12:10:00.000-04:00

this is where i found miss o; for just a split second to turn towards the sink, olivia quite silently pulled chair out, climbed up and turned the music on the computer on!!! i nearly jumped out of my skin when it happened and had all i could do not to scream and startle her. Boy, she is going to give me a heart attack! jackson never was a dare devil like this

health update

2010-10-02T16:57:00.002-04:00

well, it seems as though this strep thing does not want to leave and since i am thoroughly over it, i have decided, along with the advise of the ENT, to go forward to tonsillectomy surgery. it is scheduled for 10/19/10. i am nervous, but hopeful it will be the end to my string of illnesses and lack of energy. thank you to all my friends and family that have lifted me up during all of this.

lovely bones

2010-09-30T16:52:00.002-04:00

olivia 20months, jackson 4 years 4months

we r so excited for fall and halloween. mommy got us matching glow in the dark jammies and we are having a ball "charging" them up and going into the closet with them. and when we r not in the dark, we still make them look good!

4's sing in chapel

2010-09-22T17:02:00.003-04:00

jackson's class was chosen this week to sing in chapel. it was so cute and so momentous being that this is his last year at OPS. every moment seems to matter so much more to me. Their class sang two songs, ABC's to jesus and, well i forget the second son (i know, bad mom) daddy got to come and so did sissy love. a sweet family time shared.

jackson, second from the left

daddy, jackson and olivia

jackson and his letter

mommy and the munchkins

babydolls!!!

2010-09-20T14:45:00.002-04:00

not sure if its role play she picked up from school or just that stage she is at, but boy oh boy, is miss olivia into her baby dolls and all the "mommy" duties that go along with it! it is so cute to watch her stroll around the house with "babies" as she calls them (for just one or more, still plural), pat them, feed them, burp and even console them when they are crying!! she is getting so big and cuter by the minute!

week in review

2010-09-19T14:36:00.001-04:00

hey everyone in my blog land

this week was pretty jam-packed. i thought that once school began, my life would find some sort of normal and get into a good groove, WRONG! for some reason it is in full chaos mode. as hard as i try to stay organized, i am still all over the place and scatter-brained. Oh well, hopefully soon, i can catch my breath and get on track (i know, i hear you all laughing out there at me!).

any hoos, the week went faster than planned, sort of good, sort of bad. of course, i started last week with yet another round of strep throat! good thing is i was able to get meds fast and scheduled an appt with an ENT for this week!! yay, hopefully i can get well again and regain my good health back. add in a few volunteer shifts at weetrade, meetings at school, soccer practice, soccer game and a few bday parties and the week was full and over! we did manage to enjoy most of it and jackson did much better this week at soccer....go Red Dragons for doing a great job. Here's to another, busy...fun week!

game day!

2010-09-12T16:03:00.000-04:00

It was jackson's very first soccer games this saturday....and boy were we all excited. jackson was a little nervous, fear of the unknown i think, but once he was out there.....he was all smiles! the team had to come up with a name and coach kyle only lets the kids on the team (no parental help) come up with ideas. long story sort we are the red dragons! and jackson is perfectly happy with that. it was so fun and funny to watch this event....not totally an organized game, but the kids did a great job considering they had no idea what they were in for. we did get goals and the final score (although we are encouraged not to focus on that) was 4-2.....Go Red Dragons. my only wish for next week is for less humidity and a much lower temp! i was a hot mess out there.

the coin toss...jackson is #7

lining up for the first kick ( i need to learn soccer lingo!)

some of jackson's cheer leaders!....uncle "p", alyce, kiki and waynedaddy also cheered j on

outta my way girl....jackson taking a push in the chest

jackson blocking the other team so that jordan, his team-mate could keep control of ball. great job jackson

taking a rest to allow other team members a turn; olivia checking on her bubba

run jackson, run!!!

whew...i worked up a thirst

team huddle

end of game tunnel run

labor-less labor day

2010-09-08T07:47:00.000-04:00

labor day weekend was a very slow, relaxing time....after some crazy illnesses and busy schedule, we were just looking for some low-key fun. The hogan's invited us down to their beach condo for some fun in the sun, sand and pool. it was a great time, as always. the kiddos were great and the adults managed to have some fun too. aside from some shriveled up toes (from being fishes in the pool). great times, good laughs! thank you H family and P fam for a great time.

the kids wacky jumps in the pool...each one had a very unique jump style, see below

jackson's tuck and jump

elllie's ballet dive

halle's falling princess jump

miss olivia happy as can be swimming on the stairs like a crab

olivia and halle enjoying some popsicle time

the one and only "quiet time" watching horton hears a hoo

ellie belly and little mama being beanbag bums

sand and beach time

sand hole swimming pools...the kids thought this was so fun. josh made a big sink hole in the sand and all the kids had fun jumping in, sitting in it and digging it deeper

my littleman is not so little anymore :-(

olivia and kerrigan "our babies" are now little ladies!

daddy playing catch with phillip and josh and then with jackson

twinkle toes

2010-09-06T07:35:00.000-04:00

miss o received her very first pedi!!! miss.claire painted them the other day and olivia was so excited. she sat still for it and cannot stop staring at her feet and smiling, hehe. she is so girlie it hurts. she loves to show everyone else too! we also surprised miss.o with her first pair of high heels! the cutest sparkly princess pumps ever. They make a click clack noise when she walks on the hardwood and olivia gets the biggest smile when she hears it. she even made up a new shimmy dance when she has them on from the excitement of it all. ahh...the beginning of two bad habits...the love of pedi's and shoes...heaven help nathan's wallet

soccer star

2010-09-03T14:44:00.003-04:00

jackson started his very first official team sport this week....soccer. i don't know who is more excited, us, jaskon or waynedaddy!! it is too cute to see him in all the sports gear. his first practice was thurs. he did great! he listened, did everything that coach kyle asked him to do and had a ball (no pun intended!)....looking forward to the first game. hope you all enjoy following his sports stories as we experience them here!

ps...miss olivia found her own fun during practice too!

gearing up for practice

GOAL!!

and this is how she passed the time...setting up her own drills! and drinking j's water

Chapel day

2010-09-02T20:04:00.002-04:00

i do get excited at the start of school, but i get exceptionally excited for the first chapel day at OPS.....it is the sweetest tradition they do (in my opinion). every wed, all of the children file out to the main courtyard, say the pledge of allegiance and the sing the school song and then continue onto the small chapel for some "bible song" time a j calls it. it is so sweet and innocent to watch! it is by far my favorite day of every week for them. and its makes it all the cuter to see everyone wear their school tees. this year, however, just had to be that aweful gator orange. OH well, we will find a way to wear it proudly. Hey teachers-can next year please be garnet??

olivia and jackson

bums and battlewounds

2010-08-30T19:53:00.000-04:00

we had a pretty rough weekend....between hospital stays and stomach bugs, the smith family was TKO-d. slowly but surely we are on the mend. i tell ya though, i hope we don't have another one of those weeks in....well, forever!

just some of the battle wounds i received from multiple iv sticks....bad nurse!

on a lighter note...through her sickies, olivia did manage to give us a chuckle with dress up time. once again, she concocted quite an outfit. lazy day dress paired with jackon's undies that were then layered with daddy's underwear (no fear, they were clean!)...add a touch of bling and you've got westside's finest. hehehehe

cutie twosome

2010-08-26T19:49:00.000-04:00

second day of school..my cuties

School Days 2010

2010-08-24T19:50:00.001-04:00

well...its here. the first day of school 2010. i thought i would be able to make it without tears, but that was a no go! i actually got more choked up about jman then for olivia. Miss.O is a rockstar and i know she would love school.....especially since one of my very dear friends is her teacher this year! ms.julie rocks, hehe. This morning i realized that it was jackson's LAST first day at Ortega Playschool!!!!! (holding back the tears to write this). I cannot believe 4 years have passed that quickly. he is my baby, my love and i don't want to let go of this moment! well, enough mush...it was a great day for all. both kids made it to school with smiles on and both ran into class and did not look back. I, on the other hand....left drop-off and headed straight to boo-hoo breakfast with the ladies. we all commiserated over yummies at the fox and bid our munchkins prayers for a wonderful first day!!!

jackson-4yrs

first day photo at home....good luck loves

olivia-19mos

my handsome littleman...his LAST first day at OPS :-(

miss Olivia- first day in the toddler class. too cute

walking into school...thank the lord we quickly found friends to help with Mommy's' jitters.

our little ones waiting for school to start...the peterson girls, the hobgoods, the massey girls, the diggs family, the hogans, the summerfords and us...the crazy smiths

jackson and oficer massey...his favorite guy!!! made jackson's day to walk in with harry

meet and greet at OPS

2010-08-23T19:38:00.000-04:00

its that time of year again...school is about to start! i cannot believe the summer is coming to a close and i cannot believe my two babies will be in school, TOGETHER!! this will be miss.o's first year and jackson's last year at OPS! olivia is the same age jackson was when he started....my, how time flies. i want so badly to stop time and freeze them at this age. they are both so cute. so this monday is meet your teacher day at school. jman was thrilled to go and olivia was just in a funk, totally not in the mood to get out of the house. all in all the school time was fun...chaotic, but exciting at the same time. we followed up the meet and greet with a back to school bash at the massey's house. just some fun with all our fav playschool families. the kids and mom's had a great time. Back to school.....here we come!

jackson- 4yrs 4months

miss.olivia-19 months

jackson playing at OPS Meet and Greet, now onto fun at the Massey house

a bouncing good time

yes that is jackson, and yes, he is in a snow white dress! oh well...he had fun and let me just say....i am in no way worried; he is ALL boy and he had fun in the girl stuff for the moment! haha nathan

family finale

2010-08-23T19:18:00.000-04:00

so...as you have read and seen, we have had quite the family visits lately! we have loved them all and they surely made the summer time all that much better.....can i say, it flew by. our last visit was from my dad and bonnie. they rented a wonderful condo in summerhouse, st.augustine beach. it was large enough for us all to stay at. I have to say it was nice to just pack up and be in one place...and it allowed us more time together by skipping out the daily commute. we just all relaxed and enjoyed lots of fun in the sun.....by now, jackson has become a fish in the water and can swim like a pro. it is so cute to watch! Thank you papa and mia for a wonderful visit and for some spectacular dinners. hope to see you all very soon! xo

olivia amazed by the large turtle...he had a home right outside by the patio

my favorite men

the view from the condo

pool fun with papa

kissy fish

dinner at the Conch House

this pic makes me smile dad!

lovie

slacker

2010-08-21T14:35:00.000-04:00

Ok...so i have to admit...i have totally slacked and let my blog posting get away from me! sorry readers...i did not mean to let u down, but it has just been a VERY busy last half of summer! we have had all of my family in town; all at different times, which made the actual visits more personal, but man did the time fly and i let so much pile up. So school is starting and i am slowly getting into my "routine" which makes me (and the rest of my fam) so much happier. routine=sanity!!!! for sure. I promise to keep the posts more frequent and equally as funny as ever. love to you all

bubble tub fun

2010-08-20T19:08:00.000-04:00

miss.o finally got some alone tub time. we usually bathe the kiddos together, but we realized that they need some one on one time every once in a while....so this night, both kids got seperate bubble baths and boy oh boy did olivia have a ball. she was moving around so fast, this was the only shot that looked soo cute! i must say, olivia makes the bubbles look very adorable, nice choice for accessories, ha!

olivia-19months

all clean from the bubble bath tubby and enjoying some daddy time as well.

O'Briens...round 2

2010-08-08T17:12:00.001-04:00

so with a weeks rest in between, my uncle joey and family made their way south to also share their summer vacay in jacksonville beach with us. they drove the long drive and had 10 fun days here with us wild Smith's. My aunt kathy and cousins had never been to Fl(at least not J-ville) and we were so excited to show them all over. they arrived late, but I had pizza and margharita's in hand for their arrival!!! have to show them the southern hospitality, right? I am trying to get them to move here ya know! They headed out to the beach where nathan's family were gracious enough open up for them! thank you kitty and wayne. we spent the week mostly out there with them at the condo...swimming, playing on the beach and eating out. we did hit st.augustine one day and toured the old fort and walked st.george street with a yummy lunch in between. I was also able to celebrate aunt kathy's birthday with her since they were actually here on the day!! i don't think i have done that with her since i was maybe 14 (erin's age, wow!!) we had a family dinner the night before at our house finished with of course, ice cream cake....an o'brien birthday must have! We did this because on her actual bday, the men...nathan, uncle joey, patrick, wayne and a friend of Nathan's took them off shore fishing while the girls got a day of shopping, spa treatments, VERY yummy lunch at Bahama Breeze, followed by more shopping, clothing change and dinner at Bonefish Grill!! the best day ever! i don't know how i will ever enjoy a pedi without them (guess u have to move here, wink). they did head further south in the middle of the week to see disney world and visit my aunt's family. We finished the visit with another day in the sun and a fabulous dinner at Joe's Crabshack. Thanks for letting us sleepover with u all, jackson still talks about that night.

jackson, un.j, patrick, aunt kathy, erin, me and miss.o

swimming fun

cousins

buddies

boys and girls in jail at the fort

lady love!

my buddy

older cousins

girls rule! aunt kathy, me , olivia and erin

the o'briens

boys and toys

family birthday dinner

miss.o and aunt "kassie" -that is how olivia says kathy

last family dinner-joe's crabshack

need i say more about these boys?

the piece 'de resist-ance....aunt kathy doing the birthday chicken dance in front of the entire restaurant

a moments reprieve

2010-07-30T14:46:00.000-04:00

in between family visits...we took some time to take things slow and just hang inside the house. here are a couple shots of the kids finding funny ways to stay entertained indoors

snuggle bugs getting ready for night night

olivia and jackson going on a camping trip turned skating trip sans skates then turned pirate adventure? funny

front view of olivia's concoction of the day

watch out world here comes ...lady o, warrior of the world!!

O'Brien Ladies trip

2010-07-30T13:22:00.000-04:00

my mom had been planning on making a visit down this summer with my aunt joan and at the last minute, my gma o'brien decided to suprise us and join in too. she had not been down to FL since shortly after my wedding and had not seen the kiddos! They stayed a week and it was a spectacular one at that. We had so many laughs and fun times.....it was a very laid back visit, no parties, no events to work around. just lots of beach time, family dinners, kiddo chasing and whole bunch of great memories made. sorry aunt joan, next time i promise to put u to more work and have some crafts to make for me (wink, haha) i know how much u wanted to do that! my mom and gma got to see the kids in all spectrum's! good, bad, silly , tired, sassy, wet in sand, wet in tub, and funniest....miss.o full of dinner on her face funny. Thank you to my wonderful lady family for sharing your vacay with us crazy smiths this summer! It meant the world to us to see you all and we will treasure that time forever. xoxox

gma o'brien, aunt joan-ie, mom and me going to dinner at marker 32 in jax bch

the three amigos

pool fun with aunt joan

lady O enjoying the waves and water

mom, olivia, me, jackson and aunt joan hitting the beach at the condo

jackson and joan boogie boarding and wave chasing

two peas in a pod

attempting a "four generations" pic....miss o less less than cooperative

the best we could do...not bad.....a very special moment to have

gma and jackson

three generations

miss o having laughs with ra-ra

family dinner night!!!

the ladies attempting to clean off the crazy kids after lasagna dinner

my two monkeys

aunt joan primping miss o for bed

a laugh between two special ladies

goodnight time with granny

lazy summer days

2010-07-21T13:15:00.000-04:00

it has been so god-forsaking hot here in j-ville that it is barely possible to venture outdoors ( i mean like 115degrees with heat index)....but, unfortunately with kiddos, you cannot keep them in ALL day. so on this one, we broke out the redneck yacht club in the backyard! you can always manage to have fun with lots of bubbles in a blow up pool.

summer camp at OUMC

2010-07-20T13:02:00.000-04:00

this summer, i signed Jackson up for a couple summer camps at our church ( which is also part of his school) to give him a little break from all the family time...he loved the time and had a blast with his friends. at the end of the last camp, they had a skit day around the theme of the camp.....pirate i think? too cute none the less. jackson was more into just dancing then keeping to the routine (shocker)

jackson, far left. meagan elsner as teacher. emsley and halle were in the group as well

miss halle claire, all smiles as always!

falalalala

playing dress up

2010-07-10T12:41:00.000-04:00

these days...miss.o is totally into concocting some very unique outfits and accessories. mostly from bubba's drawers or daddy's; making it all the more comical. and there is no way to change her mind when she gets the idea in her head ( sound familiar, haha!).....needless to say, she gives jackson and i many laughs these days! love ya little mama

miss.o wearing adorable lemon romper topped with roaring undies and finished with purple bangle, oh and diaper to go!

front view...we now took away diaper and added fishy necklace!

today's ensemble includes very bright purple tee with matching beaded necklace; daddy's shoes complete the look

traded the shoes for ohh so smelly socks!

big bang 4th

2010-07-05T15:09:00.000-04:00

look a like who?

2010-07-03T13:59:00.003-04:00

miss.o 17 months

aside from the donut face...do we look just a little bit similar???

nicole-1year

friday funday

2010-06-28T14:51:00.003-04:00

friday we had a very fun day with the hogan clan....miss tiffany had to work and josh was on daddy duty, so we planned some fun for the kids to share together to pass the time. first we hit the park. the kids played until they could not stand the heat any longer and their cheeks were so red i thought they would shoot heat out of their heads! so in order to cool off and change the scenery, we headed to the hogan house for some wet water fun.....the kids had a ball on the bounce slide, especially when josh added bubbles to the slide. more laughs and fun. this was the first time that olivia could keep up with the older kiddos and boy did she have fun. it made me smile and a bit sad to see her actually keep up with them and having a ball doing it. she chased them and laughed so much. she is no longer a baby, but a full-fledged toddler! oh my. we finished the afternoon up with a cool off inside the house and then back out to pick blueberries. that was so cute to watch. ellie, jackson and emry had a hoot of a time "hunting" for the blue-berries. i think we burned it into them only to find and pick the ripe "blue" ones!! thanks for all the fun guys-til next time

jman in mid air jump off the slide

the big splash result

bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles...funny how they add SO much more fun

the gang teaching miss o the ropes of playing

olivia trying to surf

swimming lessons

2010-06-25T13:44:00.002-04:00

jackson has been taking swim lessons now for about a week and man is he a little fish. he loves to be in the pool and is so comfortable with it, but until now has not known how to really swim and be safe without floaties on. nathan and i both saw how much he loves to swim and felt that he was ready for real lessons....ms.becky was a wonderful instructor, firm but not too rigid. jackson was a great learner and soaked up all that he needed to learn. he passed with flying colors and can swim with the big dogs now!!!

swimming all on his own in the deep end!!

underwater superman

jackson swimming in the deep end with ms.becky

fathers day weekend at the lake

2010-06-20T17:03:00.006-04:00

nathan provides for us all year long and like most everyone else knows, the economy has made it even harder for us to enjoy the down time well. a friend of mine has a family lake house just an hour south of jacksonville and was looking to rent it out for long weekends this summer. she set quite an affordable rate and i could not resist setting this up as a surprise for nathan and wayne for fathers day. he gives so much for us and he deserved some fun time. Crystal lake was beautiful....just the right size, not too busy with weekenders and so very comfortable. most everything was there, all we had to bring was food, bathing suits and fun (and some fat tire beer for nathan). it was a most enjoyable family time...lots of sun, one really cool rain shower, tubing, fishing, jumping off the blob(the tube turned over), making smores, and low key laughs.

Thank you, nathan, for all that you do for us all year long. you are an amazing father and wonderful man to all of us! xox

miss.o checking out the rain storm coming across the lake

jackson and olivia trying to catch some minnows

my two men swimming

sweet lady O

family time

jackson's most favorite thing...watch the army men get dropped out of a helicopter over the lake...happened all day

nathan tubing

we finally got jackson to hold a sparkler...he loves to look at them and never wanted to hold fire

teeny keeny mama

jackson raring to go out fishing

kiki and littlemama watching daddy tube

jackson with daddy on his first tube ride!

wayne daddy and jman fishing...gotta love the tighty whities on j ( he going to hate me when he 's sixteen-total bribery)

atlanta bound

2010-06-11T16:08:00.001-04:00

life seems, to me, to be a long path....full of twists and turns, ups and downs. life lessons! through time, love and forgiveness, we learn what matters most, family. and family bonds are what we pass down to each other. this was a visit a long time coming. all for the good.so in all that, we found it a priority to head north, to atlanta.....so my dad and family could meet their new love..miss o.

words cannot express how needed this time was and how wonderful it turned out to be....life may throw lemons at us, but we make sweet lemonade!! it was a blessed visit, full of smiles and rejoicing!! thank you papa and mia for making the time so perfect. may there be many more visits soon.

papa and miss o....

me and my brother andrew...my what a MAN

tender moments

amongst the family time we did also get to do some touristy time. papa and mia took us all to the Atlanta Aquarium....fishy fun!

olivia spotting the fishies (sharks) swimming above

those fish were the size of us!!

papa, little man and mia

memorial day weekend 2010

2010-05-31T15:54:00.000-04:00

we spent this memorial day weekend at the beach condo here in jax....just the four of us. it was nice and quiet and a much needed break for us to share together. the kids loved the beach time and we enjoyed watching them have so much fun.... boogie boarding, finding cool seashells, swimming, chasing the waves, some pool time too, and jackson's newest fav thing...making sand angels! we even managed to get some meals out in public aka restaurants, and we came out in one piece! it may have taken a couple of margaritas for me to remain sane, but it worked in the end. lazy days on the sand is how i wish we could spend every day. hope everyone enjoyed this memorial day as much as we did!

graduations

2010-05-28T17:33:00.002-04:00

last weekend we hosted a graduation party at our home in celebration of Nathan's cousins' graduating from UF and Stanton this year. This side of the family is so very dear to us and we are so proud of the Hill boys!!! good job stewart and taylor.....may your future be bright

wayne, kitty, stewart, pattie, taylor, ron, me and nathan

the party was a good excuse to get nathan out in the yard to pretty it up

one, two, three, FOUR!!!

2010-05-25T17:24:00.005-04:00

my promise to myself this year was to have a low key celebration for jackson's bday. we have had big fun in years past and thought since we were going to disney right before, that would be a good way to enjoy the time. WRONG!!! of course this would be THE year that jackson "gets" his birthday. i should have known better. one look at his sad face when i told him we were not having a party with his friends and i cowered down. i convinced myself that i could do a "simple" party at the park. WRONG again!

i just don't have it in me to do things small....so i did it smaller than i usually would. so it went from just cupcakes at the park, nothing else to ...well i need to do a party favor if everyone is coming and i forgot to say "no gift", but there will be no theme, no theme to the at all.

Lastly, WRONG again.....i found these adorable dino masks online while i was searching for party favor ideas and i just had to get them! hahaha. i REALLY should know better!!

so that finally lead to a dino themed park party with masks, favors, custom dino picks for the cupcakes, drinks....oh, and balloons! so i did not do table clothes, printed invitations or a sheilas cake..... i did modify this year, but my motto is now "GO big or Go home!!!

all in all, it was a great afternoon for littleman with all his peeps. i love them all. thank u to everyone that made the party so special. we love you littleman....u r our best boy ever! four years has flown by and you have filled it with more joy than we have had in thirty! xoxo

the cutest dino masks ever

party favors with notes

jackson blowing out his 4 big candles!...cupcakes by Target!!! great stuff

custom cupcake picks from etsy store and target cupcakes that rocked!

noah mcdonald and jackson

jude mc.

some of the kiddos

waiting for the sweets

wesley and alyce

andrew sharkey aka mr. triceratops

the most fun game at the party...eat the ice, haha

julia kate howard

daddy surprised jman and showed up at the party after all

the elsner girls

jackson most favorite gift...thanks julie!! spiderman-jack

pool fun at hotel

2010-05-18T17:08:00.000-04:00