CAMPING AND FISHING

We bombarded the Coon's Annual Family Camping Trip to Bishop This Summer. Boy Were We Glad We Did. It Was So Much Fun To Get Out In The Open Fresh Air And Enjoy Good Food, Fishing And Great Friendship. We Were There 3 Nights and 4 Days. Being 36 Weeks Pregnant Didn't Seem To Hinder The Trip At All. However, I Did Promise To Have Directions To The Nearby Bishop Hospital In Case I Spontaneously Went Into Early Labor.


The two Preggo Ladies kickin' it. I'm 36 weeks, Lindsey's 28 weeks.

Acacia the hiking pack. She loved being in this pack. We found this pack at a neighborhood garage sale that we happened to drive past. It cost us $15-so worth it!

Luca got pretty good at casting and was very proud of himself every time he got a good "bite". He enjoyed fishing so much that he keeps asking when he gets to go again. He was such a good sport and extremely patient.

Luca, Acacia, Hayden & Brooklyn after our few hours at the fishing pond. We got a lot of fish and had a yummy time eating them. It was the general consensus that pond fishing was great for the kidlets, but stream fishing was much more enjoyable for the adults.

Tony teaching our little girl how to fish. She was fascinated by the fish we caught and she even liked eating them too.

I was the only one willing to help the boys clean the fish. It's a pretty nasty job, but someone has to do it.

All the munchkins burned out and full from lunch.

Our little family in front of South Lake. Isn't it beautiful. Why can't the desert be that gorgeous? Acacia fell asleep in the car.

Tony thought it would be nice to have a picture of my 36 week "Big Fat Belly" at the lake. So there we are--Baby in tow at South Lake.

Luca and Hayden after their long hike. They are such cute little buddies, but can be a bit competitive with each other. . .typical boys.

After falling off the top bunk (twice) in Lindsey's Dad's trailer, Luca joined us in the tent. He looks pretty out of it eh? I guess falling off the bed twice in one night can really wear a little man out. He was a champ about the whole thing, but he sure did have some good bruises on his back and side as evidence of his battle with the bed.

Acacia had a pretty rough time one night. She screamed for about 30 minutes straight in the middle of the night. We tried rocking her, soothing her and cuddling, but nothing seemed to work. Tony went around the campsite walking her, but she just kept screaming. Finally I convinced him to take her for a drive and eventually she calmed down enough to go back to sleep. We don't know what that was all about, but it isn't the first time it happened hasn't been the last either.

Family Bonding

Jenni came for a visit with her 5 munchkins, so Uncle Kirk and Aunt Laura came down for a visit too.

It's special bonding time as Kirk and Laura read scripture stories with the kids before bed.
It's a full house with Jenni's five plus Acacia, Kirk and Laura. Family bonding doesn't happen all that often, but it sure is nice when it does.

New Addition To The Family

Acacia got her first baby doll and she fit right in with the family. I'm not huge on the whole "doll thing" but Acacia seems to love taking care of babies and stuffed animals. We decided that since we are having another baby, it would be a good idea for Acacia to have a baby of her own to take care of. Boy does she LOVE IT!

Holding and Squeezing her baby
Giving Baby Lots and Lots of Kisses

The three kids.

Acacia often tries to put diapers on her baby. She tries feeding her with a spoon, gives her a sippy cup, pushes her in the stroller and constantly pulls out the baby wipes to wipe up her baby. What a great little mother hen. I love watching her take care of her baby.

32 Weeks and a BIG FAT BELLY!

We call this the time of the "BIG FAT BELLY".

32 Weeks down. . .8 To Go!
Acacia loves playing with my "big fat belly". She is putting her bare belly up against mine. She loves to feel the baby move, kiss him, hug him and give him lots and lots of zerberts.

Kisses for our baby!

Luca's attempt at having a "big fat belly".
He loves touching, kissing and hugging my belly too. He is very excited for this baby and insists it's a boy. I keep trying to tell him that we might have a girl, but he'll hear nothing of it. He's 100% convinced it's all boy.

Luca X. Smith, P.G. (preschool graduate)

Luca is now officially a preschool graduate. As silly as it is that we have graduations for everything these days, it was fun for the preschoolers to put on their caps and receive their diploma. Luca grew up a lot this year and we are all really looking forward to the next year of kindergarten. He is beyond ready for the scholastic challenge and we can't wait to watch him learn, and of course, learn with him. He will be attending a special aeronautics and science charter school where the first 3 years will predominately be taught in Spanish. It will be a challenge, but one we look forward to.

Acacia and Luca before the big event.
Cool Cap dude!

I love this silly picture of Luca and Lizzie. So classic of their personalities. These two children were hilarious together. They got along pretty well, but they teased each other like brother and sister.

Luca receiving his diploma from Mrs. Morales.

The rowdy class. There were about 20 students. It was a very exciting and interesting year. The children were very ambitious, dramatic, energetic, competitive and loud. It was a good class, but a lot of work. Summer is welcomed as a much needed and earned break for all of us!

These are the parents that regularly participated in the classroom. This preschool program is a great place to meet wonderful people and friends.

Acacia was a regular at preschool. She started going with me when she was but a few weeks old. She needed her moment to be recognized as a student too.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. . .

Ahhh. . .creatures of pure comfort.

SWEET DREAMS!

Loma Linda Health Fair

We went to the Loma Linda Health Fair on a field trip with Luca's preschool class. I remember going last year when Acacia was just a baby. This year we all enjoyed it even more.

First Stop. . .FREE Jamba Juice Smoothies! The kids' favorite thanks to Daddy.
Luca got a special tattoo from one of the nurses.

The casting booth was one of Luca's favorite booths. The nurse casted his finger. After it hardened, Luca thought it was pretty cool that he had a finger cast he could pull off and put back on. What a fun little toy!

The Lung exibit our favorite booth last year. Actually, Luca has talked about this booth many times since he first saw it. Every time he sees someone smoking he reminds me that smoking turns our lungs from pink to black, and then they don't expand very well. What a true example that really helped Luca understand why smoking is so bad for our health. Even at the age of 4 it made a big impact on him.

Luca with the LLMC mascot. Acacia loved looking at this guy, but she didn't want anything to do with getting near him for a picture. He was only fascinating from a distance.

The fire department had special hoses for the kids to squirt by themselves. What fun for Luca. He had a blast spraying the balloons.

After going into the fire safety truck the firemen handed out little hats. Luca learned about staying low (where the healthier air is) during a fire and that you should dial "911" in case of an emergency.

The surgical department handed out surgical gear. Luca enjoyed dressing up Acacia in the surgical garb when we got home. I mean really. . .can this little girl get any cuter?

SWEET GOODNESS

Thank goodness for Mothers!

My sweet mom came to see us for my birthday and made me my favorite German Chocolate Cake all from scratch, (really it's the only way). She also made me granola and even watched the kiddos for a couple days so that Tony and I could escape by ourselves for a two night get-a-way. (That definitely needs to happen more often!)
Thanks Mom! We all enjoyed the sweet goodness of your baking expertise. YUM!

It's Gotta Be A Girl Thing

I wouldn't call Acacia a dress up fanatic, but she does have a thing for shoes.

One day after church Acacia decided to take all her clothes off and put a pair of my church shoes on. She can hardly walk in heels, but it's cute and funny to see her try. She just loves to put other peoples' shoes on. It's not uncommon to see her in Luca's, Tony's or even friends' shoes. One of Acacia's friends even hides her own shoes because she doesn't want Acacia to get to them.

Acacia surprised us again a few minutes later when she came out wearing Luca's slippers and baseball cap. She did this all on her own. I think she thinks she's being super cute. . .and she's right. She really knows how to make us smile and laugh.

Luca thought his little sister was funny too. He loves it when she wears his shoes.

Hey Batter Batter

T-Ball was a big hit for Luca. He loved playing and learning the game. He was super fortunate to have Tony as one of his coaches. Mom even got to help base coach sometimes which made me feel like I was at least contributing in some way. I was kicked off the field a couple times because some of the other "joking" coaches didn't feel right sitting down while the big pregnant lady was out on the field. I have to admit that this sports mom feels the need to be involved in the sporting events. I'm not really the kind who can sit on the sidelines and just watch. I enjoy playing and being involved in sporting activities too much to be a spectator.

1. .2. .3. .GO CARDINALS!!
Luca loved playing in the pitcher position even though the other teams always hit from a tee. Most of the hits went directly to the pitcher, which means you get a lot of action there. Luca would always be so proud of himself when he stopped a ball and got to throw it to first base. Every game he would count to keep track of all the balls he stopped. It was kind of funny.

Luca was the loudest chatter box on the team. Coach Sonny would always encourage the boys to chatter when the other team was batting. It was no surprise to me that you could hear Luca over everyone. . .he loves to be LOUD!!

Bunnies & Baskets

We don't usually have the typical Bunnies and Baskets Easter celebration at our house, but this year I decided to add a little fun to the spiritual festivities. Luca and Acacia had a lot of fun decorating eggs, planting magic seeds and ransacking through their special treats.

These little bunny ears fit Acacia perfectly and were a lot of fun--not to mention adorable. You have to love the $1 special finds at Target!

Thanks to a creative suggestion by one of our friends, we decided to plant magic Easter seeds in our backyard. The night before Easter morning we planted 4 "magic" chocolate Easter egg seeds and by the next morning they had sprouted into yummy lolli-pops. Luca and Acacia were so excited to pick them.

I picked out a few special prizes for each of the kiddos and put it in a little basket for them to rummage through. I may be a bah-humbug mom when it comes to Easter, but I just can't get into the whole Easter Bunny madness on such a spiritual holiday. I guess maybe I'm just not quite sure what the Easter Bunny is supposed to represent. Luca and Acacia didn't seem to care that the presents were from Mom and Dad rather than they Easter Bunny; they were just excited to get new things.