Smith Señoritas Scram 2019

While I DO enjoy my time with these two crazies every day.....

It IS fall and time for me to take two of my OTHER girls on a little Fall Getaway I've called "Smith Señoritas Scram". Last year I surprised them with a Missouri Great Wolf Lodge trip but THIS year it was a no-brainer. As SOON as I heard my niece was going to be in a pageant-type thing in Utah I could not HANDLE my excitement. 

The girls had no idea where we were going and had no idea I had packed a carry-on bag for them with airplane supplies so they assumed we were driving someplace.

When I told them early morning in the car we were headed to Utah they FLIPPED out with so much squealing. So so much.

PLUS the earbuds and airplane entertainment kept any arguing or bickering at complete zero 😂

Grandma picked us up and took us downtown SLC. My girls have never been there and they loved it every bit as much as I thought they could. They ASKED to take a picture of them  on this rock in the middle of the mall

We went to the Beehive House and to the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for this view!

Since it was Aleeya's birthday weekend Grandma treated us to Cheesecake Factory. It was our FIRST time there ever. It was amazing! Of course Iris got a corndog (her favorite food)

The girls visited Temple Square for the first time too. I love that they shared this memory with Grandma. She's such a good sport with the girls' giddiness and energy.

The next day we went over to my mom's for a special birthday dinner for Aleeya. My mom always makes birthdays feels so special and celebrated. It only ADDED to the fact that my two sisters and their girls were their too.

It is RIDICULOUS how many pictures I take of Iris with her two-same-aged cousins who ALSO happen to be my sisters' girls. There's just something so satisfying seeing my girls love being with my sisters' girls!

Blowing out the candles on one of mom's famous chocolate mint cakes. Growing up we always got one for our birthdays. I made one once I was a newlywed and realized it was harder than I thought so I haven't made one since. ha! So this Degn tradition was a new one for my girls and they absolutely LOVED it.

The same aged cousins!

Aleeya has NEVER gotten a birthday spread like this before. My mom and sisters sure spoiled her.

The NIGHT of the pageant came and of COURSE I made t-shirts for me and the girls and Mom. If ANYONE knows me and my sisters' fettish with pageants they will understand how giddy this whole event made us. I was inwardly squealing the whole time and to experience it with my favorites was a dream and truly a treat for me.

We were so proud of Lizzie

It was a beautiful trip. It was dreamy and all things exciting full of so many laughs and genuine hugs. We are so spoiled with amazing family on both sides.

 

Octobery 2019

What a LAME title....but here on out for a while I will just do a photo-news drop with no common theme besides them happening in the same month. ha!

But check out how CUTE my elementary school kids school pics are. Everly's smile is 100% one of my favorite school pics EVER!

Everly also had to do a poster describing things about her and things she likes. She picked all the pictures and even drew a picture of our family. (I love how she put "My Savior" as one of the things she likes.)

On October 5th Kellyn turned 7. I actually didn't ASK what she wanted for a piñata because I saw a few Pringles cans on our counter two weeks before and the idea was formed. Kellyn loves all things ballet. She was so thrilled.

Kellyn and her friends, post-swimming, pre-piñata smacking.

As mentioned before Kellyn loves ballet. She's never taken ballet and has begged and begged. Ima gonna be honest here.....she kept begging while I had young twins. Or during crazy busy times when we were always running everywhere anyway. Well I decided to bite a temporal bullet and buy a 3 month groupon for her and she's in heaven. Her little naturally arched back is so cute.

It now turns into an expensive groupon when you have to buy all the supplies. Thankfully Wynn keeps sneaking into Kellyn's room and getting more of our money's worth in it dressing up. (Have I mentioned she's the sneaky twin?)

There is always a lot of work to do around here but every once and a while I stop, breathe and take in this little patch of paradise we have. I love the pond when it's "steamy"

One aspect of being a kid in this family is that it includes the job of testing if the electric fence is working hahaha. Brooks asked the older boys and it turned into them conning the younger ones to do it. Here they are asking Royce to touch it.

Brooks and I were watching this out the kitchen window. One kid would touch it and then all the OTHERS would lose it laughing. Finally it was Bronson's turn and he didn't jump back in shock. How in the WORLD did the electric fence short right before he touched it....but it did! haha Well played Bronson!

I love looking outside and seeing the kids playing together. I like it even more when there are random farm animals mixed in.

Aleeya turned 12 and wanted a swim party. 

She also wanted to play Pin the Tail on the Goat. She made the poster all by herself. I love how well she can plan a party and do all the details.

Brooks never likes a fuss over his birthday. BUT Everly made him a birthday card and he made her feel so special connecting it to his tie for part of the day so everyone could see what a "wonderful card" she made for him. (Look how proud/pleased she is!)

Pause! Time for another dreamy farm picture! Twins and goats running through the pasture.

Brooks has taken on the project of making us a giant table that will fit us all and a few more. It's been a beast but I'm loving what I'm seeing. He started having to assemble it IN the dining room since it would never fit through a door.

Assembled and stained.

While I won't go into the saga and the multiple issues we had with our epoxy attempt, it is FINISHED (besides the painters tape around the sides)

Halloween Trunk or Treats are my kids' favorites. The twins dressed up as Rapunzel BEFORE her haircut and after her haircut (it worked for Iley's shorter hair anyway). They were hilarious with the frying pans asking "Who are you and how did you find me?"

I went as Mother Gothel.

These two wanted to be cheetahs. It worked because they needed new clothing anyway so cheetah clothes it was. Everly's cheetah face makes me laugh since her "fierce" translated into constipated.

Still nailing the "constipated" look

Year after year Royce is a ninja

Iris as Hermione Granger. She looks so much like her AND she talks as fast and as much as her. It's a perfect type-casting if you ask me.

Aleeya as Messi

Between the Trunk or Treat and Halloween night the kids got waaaaaaaaay too much candy. 

So Brooks set a challenge to the kids to give all their candy to him and if they don't eat any candy or pop for 6 months he will give them $50. For a whole year he will give them $150 each. Obviously the plan wasn't ran by me BUT he DID have a good point that it's still less than what we would pay in cavities, right? The only kids to take him up on it were Emerson, Aleeya and Iris.

Speaking of dressing up there was a cowboy dress-up day at the middle school. While Aleeya looks adorable I have ZERO idea what Emerson is trying to pull off with his slicked hair, hoodie and boots.

But confidence is all that matters anyway, right?

Red Barn Mission Farm

August 2019

While it is TRUE our 12 acres has fish, frogs, night critters and snakes......

we ALSO have a barn and a few pastures that came with the property. One pasture behind our house Brooks kept saying he needed a tractor or something to keep it low. A friend came over to discuss farm-stuff and told him the cost of a tractor. It probably stunned Brooks for a few seconds because the friend then said, "Orrrrrrr you could get some goats to keep it low"

*LIGHTBULB*

An idea was started and the excitement spread to the girls.

I actually went along with the idea after I heard the tractor price and Brooks' plan. The plan was to get the boys to put up an electric fence (bonus- get them doing "real" farm work), buy three goats and eventually breed them and sell their "kids". THIS way they keep the pasture low and also make a little money and HELLO.....baby goats are the best.

So apparently we are NOW goat-owners. Who'da thought?!?!

This is Aleeya's goat, Pepper (female)

Iris' buck, Barnaby

And the other female was to be Royce's named "Ginger"

I say "was" because when Royce found out he'd have to let them out every morning and put them back in the barn at night and make sure they had food/water, etc. He decided to give his goat to Aleeya apparently.

Here is our first day with the goats. Welcome Home kids!

They really are quite social and sometimes come out. I looked outside and saw a football game being played with goats dispersed throughout the game. The scene cracked me up.

But BEFORE goats became a thing for us I had been on the HUNT for some mini goldendoodles. The kids and I have always wanted a dog. However, Brooks and I have allergies, they are a TON of work AND Brooks still didn't see a good "purpose" in having them. Brooks and I then came up with the idea (after learning how much goldendoodles go for) to BREED them. We talked about it with the kids. We told them if YOU all did most of the work with the dogs (and stuff around the farm), then we would use the money from the sold puppies to pay for their church missions. If they didn't, then they would end up paying for half of their missions. The kids saw this as a win-win since they wanted the dogs anyway AND they didn't need to pay for missions. 

The name of our puppy/goat selling farm came pretty easy....

Red Barn Mission Farm

I was on the hunt for two females and one male that would each be assigned to our three oldest boys. It's actually super hard to find one of these puppies sold with breeding rights, but I found a little blonde girl eventually. She was going to be Emerson's dog. I took Emerson with me to pick which of the two blonde girls we wanted.

When we walked in this little one actually winked at us. Emerson knew she was the one.

We still had to wait 2 more weeks to pick her up though.

At the same time Brooks was in Utah. 

With no forethought I just decided to look on the classifieds out there and see if another mini goldendoodle was ready right then. Knowing what I know now, that was a really silly thought since available ones are hard to find.

I think Heavenly Father was watching out for us, because I found the most PERFECT looking male to be the stud of the breeding program....and since they were PAST ready to go home the owner even gave us a discount!!!! Funny how Brooks wasn't planning on flying home with a puppy but it just worked out.

Oh and I love this picture of my mom and Brooks when he took her out to lunch.

I can NOT even SAY how excited I was to get my hands on little Tux.

He's absolutely perfect.

..... just like Kellyn's splits. HA!

Tux is Camden's dog and boy did they (and DO they) have a connection.

FINALLY the day came a week or so after to go pick up Emerson's dog he named "Sandy" (after the fact that we were going to pick her up on our way home from the beach.....but there was a hurricane so our beach home cancelled on us)

If there EVER was a cosmic connection between puppy and owner it was right here. 

Sandy is just so fluffy and snuggly!

And there you have it, the start of our Red Barn Mission Farm.