All the new things in life!!!

Well, as everyone knows we recently moved to El Paso, Texas. To save time and space I will give you the highlights of our life during and since the move.

It was sad to say goodbye to friends and family, but we were thrilled to have a "real" job. We could not be more excited the Lord answered our prayers. Kevin is now working for the City of El Paso as a Planner. (Sometime he might go into that since nobody knows what that is.) It is exactly the position that we were hoping he would get. He loves going to work which makes all of us happy. As for the actual move. . . Kev drove the UHaul (with no cruise control, YIKES!!!) with help from his Dad. The kids and I spent a week in Idaho Falls with my family before a weekend romp in West Yellowstone. It was hard to be away from Kevin for so long, but good to have one last hoorah with my family. (I have never lived far from my family,so this is particularly hard on me.) Then we began the 3 day journey to TEXAS!!! Thank goodness Erin (Kevin's sister) was able to come along. She was so helpful!!! And now we are in Texas and all moved in to our new apartment.

Maddy turned 5 in March. We celebrated with a butterfly cake and a few presents. She is such a big girl!!!

Geneva turned 3 in April. We went to the zoo and had a Mickey Mouse cake. Geneva got lots of games for her birthday and the kids love playing them!!

A few weeks after we arrived Alex got a killer fever. I took him to the doctor, but there was nothing obviously wrong. He woke up the next day just fine. Actually better that just fine. He started crawling. It was incredible!!! And now he is taking an interest in getting into everything and he even likes to stand on his own a couple times a day. He also likes to be a little brother to his big sisters.

This last weekend we traveled to Cloudcroft, NM for the day to escape the heat of the city. On the way there we traveled through a border patrol checkpoint. Our apartment is located about 3-4 miles from both New Mexico and Mexico so we were pretty surprised to run into a checkpoint an hour away from home. However, our obvious whiteness (blond hair and blue eyes) got us through pretty quick. It was odd/funny though to see a drug-sniffing dog checking out my minivan. We had a great trip and enjoyed our"hike" to Bluff Springs and the girls loved playing in the water. I would love to make the trip again in the near future.

As we were getting the kids ready for bed on Saturday Night we found out that Maddy had a loose tooth. She had not said anything about it but it was so loose that it came out that night and the toothfairy made its first appearance in our home. It was very exciting for everyone involved.

Since being in El Paso we have been to the zoo several times and we went to the Wyler Ariel Tramway.

I have busted out the sewing machine recently to create drapes/curtains for the bedroom. Mine and Kevin's bedroom gets the afternoon sun (which is killer). I sewed together a large blue sheet and a large blacksheet and now you have to turn on a light whenever you go in there, but it stays nice and cool. I also just hung drapes (again made from sheets from the local thrift store) in the kids room. One half is a lion king sheet and the other half is a purple leopard print. Classy, I know.

And I think that is all the happenings. We are adjusting to everything pretty well. It hit the low 90s the other day and I thought "Well, the heat isn't too bad today." Yup, my body is adjusting to Texas weather just fine. I will be excited when the pool opens. (If it actually happens before the real heat hits!!) We are enjoying the ward. Kevin was called to be the ward financial clerk and I am in the Primary (again). Maybe someday I will graduate from Primary like all the other kids.

For now we are enjoying life and Kevin's 3 day weekends. The parks here are covered in sand, not woodchips and they have huge shade structures over them so they are really nice to play at. We go the park about twice a week.

But, right now Alex want to eat and go to bed, so I sign off with an appropriate . . .

BYE Y'ALL

Changes

Well, here is just a quick update. Pocatello will soon be beind us. Kevin was offered a job as a planner with the City of El Paso, Texas. So, we are packing us and moving this weekend down there. It will be a little bit daunting, but we are all excited. The whole family is all doing well. We will be updating the blog a little more often now that we won't be searching for jobs all the time. More updates will be coming. We wish everyone the best.

Odds and Ends and Going Ons

Well, I think that I am going to be averaging a blog about every two months. Hopefully, it will get better. We shall see what will happen. Here is what is new with the Smith family.
Little Alexander is not so little anymore. He is now a big boy. Maddy and Geneva at his age were smaller. As Kendra has put it, it is fun to have a big baby. Alex got his first haircut today. He really enjoyed it and didn't cry at all. He also likes to play and splash in the bathtub and rock out to the Beach Boys. We (especially Kendra) are trying to have him sleep through the night. He still likes to wake up and eat (Did I mention that he is a big boy?)
Geneva is a funny little girl. We recently decorated for Halloween and we have a fake spider. At first, she was terrified of it and wouldn't go near it. Then Kendra worked her magic and now she gives it kisses and even told it good night one evening. She also is starting to go potty in the "big girl potty." She, like her Daddy and Grandpa, are obsessed with Legos. She gets a huge smile on her face and loves playing with them.
Madeleine is our little student. She has been going to preschool and loves going. She then tells us what she learned and she is getting smarter every day. Soccer just ended for her and she really enjoyed it. She didn't seem to interested in taking the ball away from the other team, but she was always willing to play when the other kids wouldn't want to. She is also always helping with Alex when he gets a little grumpy.
Kendra is doing an excellent job for only getting a few hours of sleep each night. She may seem half asleep during the day, but she keeps plugging along. She and the kids (along with a little girl from our ward) were rear ended this last week. The other driver decided he should pick out the gunk out of his dog's eye and ran into the minivan. No one was hurt and there wasn't a lot of damage. So, all of you readers, don't clean out your dog's eye gunk while driving. (Just do it at home.)Kevin is doing okay. He did have an interview in Philadelphia about three weeks ago, but still hasn't heard back yet. He has also changed some of his tasks at work to have a little more peace and sanity. There is not a lot of prospects on the job front, unfortunately.

Overall, we are a very blessed family. We really have nothing to complain about. Heavenly Father has blessed us and we will keep on doing what He wants us to do. We wish the best for each of you and your family. (Expect another update in two months).

End of Summer

Well, here is the latest updates. It has been a while and I apologize for that. Life has been a little tiring.

The whole family is doing well. As you can see, little Alexander has turned into a manbeast. He sure is growing and becoming a little ladies man. He likes to grunt and recently has taking to showing off his dimples.

Little Geneva is really mischevious. Her language is really coming along and she has even taken to eating her vegetables (at least more often).

Madeleine is growing up as well. She has taken swimming lessons this summer and has recently started playing the beautiful game (soccer). Here she is after just scoring her first gggggoooooooooaaaaaaallllllll!

We have also gone camping this summer and have tried to play as much as we can. Since it has been a while, here are some pictures to let you know that Kendra and Kevin are still around:

We hope that you all are doing well and hopefully we will be able to update this a little more than once every six months.

Congratulations to Switzerland!

Just a quick congrats to the Swiss Football (Soccer) Team for winning the World Cup this year. Wait, you might say, but didn't Spain win? Well, not really. Switzerland was the only team which beat the Spanish in the beautiful game for the World Cup, therefore Switzerland is the official winner. If you have any qualms, talk to Geneva, who learned how to say "Go Swiss!"

On a more important note, the whole family is doing well and some more pictures will be going up later this week. Hope all is doing well with you and yours.

Here is the little one!

Well, it took a little while to get out, but Kevin has finally been joined in the ranks of manhood. We are pleased to announce the birth of Alexander Benjamin Smith.

He was born at 12:50 am on June 21. For those of you keeping track, that was still today. He was at birth 7 lbs 10 oz and he was 21" long. He doesn't cry too much, except for when he is getting his diaper changed. He has some blond hair and he wasn't as hairy compared to his sisters when they were born. Anyway, both mom and son are doing well. I'll put up some more pictures when I have a minute, probably tomorrow. (Most of the pictures of Alex make him look a little funny.) Have a wonderful day!

We are still here

Hello one and all! We are still here. Kevin, Kendra, Madeleine, and Geneva are all doing well. Just a quick update - Kendra is going to the hospital tomorrow to have a baby. We are all really excited. I will be putting up some pictures for everyone can see. Hopefully, we will also be able to update this more than once every six months. Hope everyone is doing well. Until tomorrow.