Gymnastics Camp in Cedar at SUU!

This year McKinley signed up to go to a gymnastic's camp in Cedar City at Souther Utah University.  She was able to go with two girls from her gym and she had an amazing time.  She learned a lot, worked really hard, and enjoyed the coaches and girls a lot.  She improved on her skills and has gained a lot of confidence moving forward. 

Eden house fun

While we were staying up in Eden we found various things do to stay busy.  We enjoyed the pool and the lake, but we also found a cute petting zoo right in the heart of Eden where we enjoyed a few hours playing with a lot of baby animals.  The girls were especially taken with the kittens!

The boys chilled at the house and kept busy relaxing, playing pool, reading and watchin some TV.  It was a great get away!

A week in Eden

This summer we rented a house in Eden with my dad and sister and our families.  We were lucky enough to have all the kids there.  One day we even had everyone (spouses included!).  It was a beautiful place with breathtaking views of the Pineview Reservoir.  We enjoyed a peaceful, calm few days and an enjoyable day of boating as well!

The reservoir was perfect...pretty warm and mostly calm.  We were able to do some fun tubing and also pull over and swim off the boat for a while.  We definitely enjoyed Pineview and hope to go back!

Our newest Eagle Scout!

 Ethan was awarded his Eagle scout award at a Court of Honor.  He worked many years and finally got his project and final merit badges done just before he turned 18.  We are very proud of the things he learned, the service he rendered, and the character he developed in the Boy Scouts program.  This program helped shape who he is today.  Congratulations Ethan!

Father's Day 2016

Another year to recognize and celebrate Fathers.  We have one of the best fathers in our house and so it's so fun to spoil him.  This year the kids wrote him nice letters and McKinley gave him a tissue box pull out surprise of 23 hugs and 1 hugs and kisses.  It was cute to see David take each tissue out of the box and see when a paper would come out.  She was so proud of herself.  We also picked up a few more Tommy Bahama camping chairs that are Dave's favorite.  We now have a complete collection of 6 for our camping  fun!  We made him a great breakfast and then spent the day together relaxing and visiting with family that came by to see Grandad as well.

Evan's gift to David was speaking in Church.  His talk was very well done and he gave a great delivery of it.  Here is the printed form of it (he added things along the way)

"Good morning brothers and sisters.  Today I have been asked to speak about fathers, specifically mine.  But before I can tell you how great and wonderful my father is I want to explain what a father is and why they are so important.

To me a father has three main roles and jobs he needs to accomplish to truly be a father.

First a father needs to be a provider of the family.  In the family proclamation it talks about the father's role in the family.  It says, "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families".  The father not only needs to provde the tangible things like food and clothing but intangible things such as love and protection.  My father leaves every morning for work around 6:30am and he doesn't come home until he finishes what he started there, even if it means getting home at 8 or 9pm.  If we are out with friends he will stay up until we get home and then make sure all the doors are locked.

Second, a father must be a mentor and example to his children.  I know being a teenager that I know everything and my parents don't know what's best for.  But unfortunately that is not ture.  When mistakes are made it is the role of the father to council with their child and correct the mistakes they have made by showing them the way by leading by example.  I know that when I make a mistake the first thing I have to do is tell my mother to tell my father for me.  Because he can't get that mad at her.  Then my dad will sit me down and go over the mistake with me so I can correct them.

Finally, a father must be a friend.  If something is on my mind I'm not just going to talk with any 46 year old man on the street (stanger danger, right?).  No, I'm going to talk to my friend, my dad, because he has known me for my entire life and he will understand anytning I'm going through.

Happy Father's day dad.  I love you"

McKinley is 12 now!

It's that time of year again and McKinley's had another birthday.  She's 12 now...which is crazy!  She had a wonderful birthday and was spoiled as usual.  It's just so fun to spoil such a sweet  girl.  This year she celebrated with presents in the morning, cake with some family the following night, and a birthday party with 7 friends the following Monday.  It's been a blast!

McKinley is soft and sweet and thoughtful.  She has a kindness about her and she is friendly to most people she meets.  She's a little bit shy, but the perfect amount of spunk and fun.  She's a hard worker and a big slacker all in one!  We love her and enjoy having her as the caboose in our family!  Happy birthday my daughter!

Ethan Charles Patterson Smith - Class of 2016!!!

Ethan graduated from high school!  It was a super warm and wonderful day to watch the culmination of high school come to a close for Ethan.  We are so proud of his accomplishments throughout these past 4 years as a person and a student.  He graduated with a 3.95 GPA with a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) emphasis (one of 3 in his class to achieve a STEM degree!).  He played 4 years of soccer and was a part of NHS for 3 years.  He's done service and youth councils and had a ton of just plain fun!  It's been a journey and today we celebrated all things Ethan!

Thanks to our family members who came and sat in the hot sun with us.  Thankfully our school is small(er) so the ceremony was only a little over an hour!

These three (used to be 4...Parker we miss you!)  have been great friends all through his school.  They are known as the "squad", the "fam" and just yesterday those were combined into the "squam??".  They are the funnest kids and I love having them around my home.  They truly have each other's backs and have been through a lot together.  I hope they stay in touch!

And so many other friends that have been part of the high school experience.  They were all so happy to celebrate yesterday.  It was a blast!

This is Ethan actually getting his diploma.  They give you a blank one when you walk and make sure you turn in your cap and gown to get the real thing!

High school is officially over!  Congratulations!