we are family

Happy Birthday, Raimy!!!

2010-03-14T16:47:00.002-06:00

Twelve is such a momentous year. I am so proud of Raimy. She is a wonderful young lady with a sweet heart. Her dreams for what life may hold are lovely. I wish only all the best for her as she pursues all she wants to become.

Happy Birthday, Raimy! I love you!
Mama

Here are some pictures from the celebrations of our precious girl. Enjoy!

Thunder Hockey

2010-02-21T23:01:00.004-06:00

Watched our team win their first game in the new Intrust Bank Arena. 1-0 against the Texas Brahmans. Ronn, Jill, Kent and Sheila had a good time. Notice two Zambonis, the Harley-Davis and the Bud Light. During a break between period 2 and period 3, Kent got one of the blue Thunder jerseys thrown into the stands.

Happy Lunar New Year

2010-02-14T19:55:00.006-06:00

We celebrated at the Saigon Restaurant. Vietnamese flair with music, dancing and fireworks.

Kids are Family by:Raimy

2010-02-04T19:30:00.003-06:00

Ladys and Gentelmen especially Boys and Girls that are watching this slide show I will be glad to present, say it with me : KIDS ARE FAMILY! Starring: Tyler Washington, Timothy Washington, Gabrielle Washington, Allison Houtz, Sasha Smith and myself Raimy Washington. These talented Kids star on their first ever famous picture video and it was directed by Raimy Washington. It is called Kids are Family becase these kids are either cousin or siblings in their real life. It is a very fun sweet and amazing show to watch belive me, and on the bounus features there is an amazing music video by:Tyler Washington called Kidz are family it will be coming out soon meanwhile relax get comfortable and watch the show these wonderful kids have created. :-D

All Timothy By: Raimy

2010-01-11T14:55:00.001-06:00

Remember when Idid the post of All Me By: Raimy? Well now Im makeing a post of all Timothy.
Engoy :-)

Happy New PICTURES!

2010-01-06T06:25:00.004-06:00

Look at that fancy lady!

Yep, I got a new do.

Happy New Year fam'!

I want to update the pictures on the side bar. Pick out a recent shot of yourself and email it to me so that I can update it. Don't forget about pics of your kids, either. Birthdays and other special events are times to think about getting a more current picture up on the blog. I love seeing all our faces up there. Thanks for passing them along to me, everyone.

Washington Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T15:24:00.006-06:00

We had a very nice Christmas this year. After a slow start on Christmas morning we all opened presents. Then we had snackins for lunch and headed over to a friend's house for a party. Following the party we stopped at the orphanage to give them their gifts. We finished off the day with a Skype session with Oma, Opa and Kent.

Here are some pictures from the season.

Smith say Hi

2009-12-06T23:11:00.002-06:00

Hello all. We have not posted in a while so i would post a couple for you. It is snowing tonight hear in omaha and it is so pretty. Not going to be fun for my job but it is what it is. You can see a photo of Shadow with snow on his back, i just had to take a photo of it and share with you.

Now you see the other wonderful photo. I love the company i work for they really care about the families that work for them. One of the ladies husband dresses up as santa every year. They have crafts, cookies, popcorn, movies, and a chance to sit on Santa is lap. I dont think that my girls are going to grow up beleaving in Santa. But it is a nice tradition that I do have some what of good memories. As you can see Sasha kinda of injoyed, Chole did not mind at all. Mackenzie on the other hand had a huge fit. The sec I put her on his lap she started to scream. But the second I pick her up she stopped. It was like turning a light switch on and off. I though it was kinda of funny but yet it made me sad at the same time.

I Changed

2009-12-06T15:36:00.002-06:00

By Raimy

Happy Birthday Nick!

2009-11-16T09:56:00.001-06:00

Happy birthday to a very busy Dad. I hope you find some time to do what you wish. Eat a piece of cake for me!

A Trip to Haiti

2009-10-30T21:51:00.002-06:00

Hello family!

I felt that this was newsworthy and momentous enough to make an official blog post.

Chad and Lynde are going to Haiti to pick up Vivine, their daughter! It is just so exciting!

They have been in this adoptive process for so very long. She tells about their trip this coming week on her blog: It's True.

Hurray!!!

I can hardly wait to meet her. What a wonderful time!

- Angie

Happy Birthday Timothy!

2009-10-11T17:25:00.000-06:00

I can hardly believe that Timothy is now 10. Wow. double digits. Amazing!

Enjoy the slide show!

Smith update

2009-09-09T19:59:00.002-06:00

Hello Family.
It has been quite a while since we put in an update from the Smith household. So here you are.
Nick- is doing great. Has had several weekends of playing paint ball, its been really good weather for it. He had a chance to play speed ball for the first time. very different from woods ball but he liked it. He plays volly ball ever sunday evening with a group of friends and me and the girls had a chance to go and watch him play. Sasha was a great cheerleader for daddy and she loved playing in all that sand.
Shawn-thats me. I am still working part time but i think that this will be my last week. i have deffinetly hit the uncomfortable phase of the pregnancy. Baby Chloe tends to like to spend a lot of time up under my ribs lately. ouch. but it is almost over, only a few weeks left. i have not even started getting things ready for when Chloe arives. but i am not stressing. i have been in a one day at a time mind set lately.
Sasha- a few weeks ago she started preschool at Oakdale. It is a beautiful classroom and a wonderful program. So far she is doing great. she goes from 9am to 1130am every wednesday and friday. (friday is nicks day off so he gets to take her, and they both love that) Last week she had a field trip to the Fontenelle Forest, they had a display of life sized dinosaurs in amoung the trees. it was really wonderderful to see. I got to go as a parent sponsor and we had a lot of fun. but i think Sasha's favorite part of the whole field trip was getting to ride on a big yellow bus to and from. Next week she has her first real dentist appointment. very fun. She is the most wonderful big sister and takes great care of MacKenzie and is looking forward to when we bring Chloe home.
MacKenzie- this month she will turn one. Wow! She is standing independently for a few moments at a time and crusing along furniture. she says about 5 words. This past weekend she got really sick with a high fever, so we took her to the doctor and they found out that her white blood cell count was very high and that means that she has a sever bacterial infection. they gave her the highest dose of the strongest antibiotic shot and that was not enough to wipe it out so she had to have a seccond one. but today finally she is almost back to normal. they are growing cultures from her blood and urine and will hopefully know the cause of the bacterial infection. but i am just glad that she is almost better.
Chloe Nicole- i go in tomorrow for another check up but so far everything has been smooth sailing with her. Due date is still October 16th. People keep teasing us that she will have to have red hair to complete the set. Blond, brown, red. just like neopolitan ice cream. I am just happy that it is almost over because even my maturnity clothes are getting too tight around the tummy and the shirts are not quite long enough any more.

Well, Its a lot and mostly boring, but that is our life right now. We love you all. And from the looks of our family blog we are not the only ones that are over due for an update. hint hint hint. ha ha ha
Lots of Love Shawn

Happy Birthday Tyler!

2009-09-08T13:52:00.001-06:00

We had a fun time celebrating Tyler's 3rd birthday! He is getting to be so grown up. Enjoy the slide show!

Tyler the Lion

2009-08-23T17:36:00.004-06:00

At the Grand Theater Washington we recently introduced our kids to a classic: The Wiz. The DVD came with a soundtrack CD for our listening pleasure. Tyler especially likes the song called "Mean Ol' Lion". Enjoy the video of his fun lip sync. What are we in for if this is how he is like a just two years old? What fun!

Love ya!
~ Angie

Munchkin Mugs

2009-08-17T17:54:00.002-06:00

These are some mugs of my munchkins. High resolution originals available upon request.

Smoochy Face

Wonder Kid

Gabby Girl

Super Baby

Gabrielle's 8th Birthday Celebration!

2009-08-10T13:17:00.003-06:00

Gabrielle will be 8 years old on Wednesday. Her papa is traveling tomorrow so we decided to celebrate as a family early. It was a fun time. Enjoy the slide show.

Happy Birthday Sasha

2009-07-06T21:34:00.002-06:00

Today my sweet little girl turned three.
This morning when mommy and daddy wished her a happy birthday she was confused and argued with us saying, "My birthday was already." because we had already done most of the celebrating.
On Saturday we took her to the mall and she got her ears pierced at Claire's. She cryed more then i thought she would but stopped crying as soon as they gave her a sucker. She picked out pink flowers and they look so cute.
On Sunday afternoon we had cake and icecream with the Smith group. She got a lot of nice presents including a red Radio Flyer Trike, with a bell and streamers. She loves it. She had been asking for a bike for quite some time. She has spent every minute that she can on that bike since she got it. She still needs some practice but i would say that she pretty much mastered it.
The cupcakes she decorated herself for her party. And i think that she did a really good job.
Today, on the official day of her birth, we spent some time at the park. we had a lot of fun even though it was really hot. Sasha got more time on her trike in the driveway while daddy mowed the grass. She chose pizza for her birthday dinner. and the day ended with a rainbow. That was special because it was right before sunset and we have never seen a rainbow at our house before. It was just for her today.
All in all it was a wonderful celebration. She is very greatful for her gifts and we are very greatful for the beautiful girl that she has become.

2009-06-30T21:13:00.000-06:00

new baby

2009-06-07T22:31:00.002-06:00

Five months into this pregnancy and we finally hit the big day that we get to have the ultrasound and find out the gender of our new little one. The whole Smith family (all four and a half of us) filed into this tiny dark room with the ultrasound technitian. It was wonderful to see the baby and even better was that Sasha totally got it. She completely understood that we were watching the baby inside mommys tummy.

It took a while for the baby to asume the right position, but there it was, the big reveal. I knew what it was before the technitian even said the words. ITS A GIRL!!!! Sasha took a little bit of convinsing because she totally thought the baby was going to be a boy, but I think she has accepted it now. In a few short months we will have three beautiful daughters in our care.

The most common comment that I have heard about this pregnancy is that people are predicting red hair. Wouldn't that be something?

So far Nick and I are still in discussion about names. The current top pick is Chloe Nicole. He is convinced and I like it but I just have to wait until I feel sure. I have to practice saying it out loud until it feels natural.

We are very happy and excited about this new baby. But both Nick and I are a little sad that we will never have a boy. (I am all done getting pregnant!) Oh well. We are not going to keep trying just to see if we can get a boy. Three is enough for me. All done.

They are still saying that my due date is aroung October 16 or 18. The baby is excactly 1 pound right now. She measures perfectly in every way, and they saw nothing abnormal. She should be perfectly healthy, God willing.

May Day May Day

2009-05-20T17:54:00.002-06:00

Well we have had a busy month. Some activities included day trips and theater.
Jill Sheila and I did bird watching at Kansas wetlands including Quivira National Wildlife Refuge (salt water marshes) and Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve Nature Conservancy. Over 60,000 acres of wetlands and host to millions of migrating birds. Some of birds we saw included sandhill cranes, pelicans, plovers, sandpipers, avocets, ducks, geese, red wing black birds, blue herons, egrets and others.

Traveled to Omaha for Mother's Day. Took the folks and the Smiths out to Outback Steak House for dinner. The next day had dinner with Lucas and Misty at the Metropolitan Community College Bistro.

We went to the Cirque De La Symphonie pops concert with circus performers (juggler, cube artist, aerial hoop artist, ribbon dancer, aerial silks artist and strong men). Saw the new Star Trek and the X-men, Wolverine in digital projection. Saw Allison's OK Elementary School Kindergarten and First Graders program.

Got in some good biking including a 30 mile ride in Omaha to the Missouri River Chutes and Ft Atkinson with my friend Fred Gallata. He by the way the week before won the National Duathon for the 55-59 age bracket in Virginia and qualifies him for Worlds this fall. I have put in a couple of 50 milers and a couple of 40 milers the past week or so even with the nasty wind we have here in Kansas.

Worked with others from Cargill to host a River Cleanup Saturday. I helped cook hot dogs and ham burgers to feed the 450 volunteers that cleaned the banks of the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita.

Spent an afternoon planting 55 perennials in the "castle" area of the island in the parking lot.

Watch the River Festival parade with Allison, Kent and Emily.

Jill, Kent, Sheila I got food at the Mid-way the last night of the River Festival. then we went toward the river to watch the fireworks. A series of canon shots startled Jill and cause a severe panic attach. Even after we left the noise of the fireworks, Jill was experiencing chest pains. We ended up calling 911 and an ambulance took us tot eh hospital. Tests in ER included EKG and constant blood pressure monitoring. Jill had to spent the next couple of nights in CCU. Tests included a heart catheter and the resulting diagnoses was interesting. The doctor thinks she had a heart attack but the her heart is OK in fact it looks like "the heart of the young woman". We are happy she is back home and recovering well. She will be taking it easy for a while.

We are planning to go to Omaha this weekend returning on Memorial Day. On the way up there we will stop in Lawrence Kansas to visit a foundry and drop off sculpture Jill finished and will be having mold made so it can be caste into bronze.

Tomorrow we are getting a new sign for the entry. It will be 24" tall and 13 ft wide with teh following copy: "www.WichitaPottery.com"

School Program

2009-05-20T11:39:00.001-06:00

Happy Mothers Day Mom, Emily and Shawn

2009-05-09T06:34:00.002-06:00

This greeting was in my inbox this morning. I felt like I wanted to share it. Hope it makes you smile and feel super!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Girls and Shadow

2009-05-06T19:33:00.003-06:00

Hey all i was going through the dig camra and i found a good photo that shawn took with the Sasha, MacKenzie, and Shadow. I don't remember how but i was working in the garden and Shawn got the girls and Shadow to sit in the wagon that Oma and Opa bought. It has been so useful as of late.

Washington Family Pictures

2009-05-05T08:08:00.005-06:00

Photographer: Lacy Inscho, Kansas City area. She came to Bolivia to photograph the kids in the orphanage and graciously did a session with our family.

If you would like me to email you the originals then just let me know which ones you want.

Love you all!

ER

2009-04-09T10:45:00.002-06:00

I have been a mom for almost three years now and last night we had our first emergency room visit for one of the kids. Fortunately it was for something that was not too sereous. Sasha was playing in the mud and got a shovel full in her face. She got quite a bit in her eyes. Despite my best efforts to wash them out I was not able to get it all. When I called our pedeatritian they recomended we go to the emergency room because mud in the eyes could cause corneal abrations and infection. So off we went. We were in and out of the er in under two hours, impressive. They numbed her eyes with droppes so that they could examin them with out too much discomfort. then they had to flip her eyelid inside out to check for scratches, yuck. She really did not like that part. Then they put some orange die on her eyes. She really hated that part. Then they turned off the lights and turned on a black light. And all i saw was her eyes glowing orange in this dark room. very spooky. After all that it turned out to all be ok. there were no scratches and no signe of infection and we were free to go. She was happy because she got to pick out a toy to take home, so all in all a good visit. but it was really hard for me to see my baby scared and crying to go home and that it hurt. It almost made me cry.
Nick and I were pretty sure that any kid of his would end up in the er in the first year. But Sasha has proven to be very sturdy. With all the climbing and dare devil things she does we are surprised that we havent had any broken bones or concussions.
Thank you Jesus for your angels of protection around my brave little girl that tends to get herself into a lot of precarious situations.
In the end it was a little mud in the eyes that sent us to the er, for the first time at least.

bio pic! :)

2009-04-07T15:31:00.003-06:00

Hello all! :)

"Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice"~

Sidney Freedman.
Psychology Ward
M*A*S*H 4077

Who change my picture! :) Were did u get it. :)

New member of the family

2009-04-01T08:22:00.002-06:00

On Sunday we brought home a puppy! Nick and I have wanted a dog since we got married and have been talking about it a lot lately, and finally we decided that now would be a good time. (Get him potty trained before the new baby comes.)
Its all a little bit crazy, two small children, one on the way, two cats, and now a puppy. Wow! we are nuts, but we love it.
His name is Shadow, he is an all black Cocker Spaniel. Born on December 14, so he is three and a half months old. We took him to the vet and he is very healthy. Surprizingly we know more about taking care of a puppy then we thought. It turns out its a lot like having another kid. But I am happy to report that he is sleeping through the night. (what a relief)
Sasha is having a blast with him. She is really good at helping to use up his energy before we put him to bed. MacKenzie still doesn't know what to think of him yet. Its like she gets nervous and excited all at the same time when he is by her.
As for pictures.... I dont have a good one to put up yet because he is all black and i am having a hard time getting one to come out clear. I will try some outside in our green grass today and maybe that will work.
Its my first dog ever so this has been a very fun adventure.
Shawn

Allison's Birthday

2009-03-21T13:59:00.003-06:00

Dear Allison,

I hope that you had a marvelous birthday celebration. You are so precious! I am glad that you are part of this family. Wow, you are 6 years old now! I remember being 6. It is a fun age. I love you, Allison!

Love,
Tia

Adoption Update

2009-03-13T16:10:00.000-06:00

It was the first week of December of 2008 that we announced the commencement of the adoption of our daughter. We have learned sooooooooo much in these 3+ months! My American brain wrongfully assumed that the adoption process is thus: 1. decide to adopt 2. pick your kid out 3. do all the paper work 4. get your kid 5. live happily ever after. Aside from number one my nice little steps schematic plan has been blown to smithereens. I do hope to arrive at number five but it is turning out that there are many more steps than I could have ever dreamed of. If I had to give a guesstimate I would say there are like 5,823 steps. That might be an exaggeration but it feels like an incredible number of tiny little steps to arrive at the completion of this adoption.

We are making progress. Really, we have not hit any immense obstacles. It is going ok.

Right now we are facing an adjustment in our mentality. Boiling it down this is the natural Bolivian adoption process: 1. decide to adopt 2. do all the paper work 3. present your request to the Bolivian government (stipulating gender, age and health condition of the child you would like to adopt) 4. Bolivian government matches (assigns) adoptive parents with eligible child 5. live happily ever after.

As a missionary learning to cope with culture shock one must recite this mantra often, "It's not wrong, it is just different." As we are looking at this adoption we are evaluating the adaptation to this Bolivian process. We are asking ourselves many questions. While we know that there is nothing innately wrong with this different process we are asking ourselves what is right for us.

Our lawyer told me that if we follow the Bolivian process, in the most ideal case, we would be done with everything in under three months. We all know that we do not live in an ideal world so it probably would take longer. Now, if we hold out for this idea of us being the ones to select the child it will mean looking for loop holes and trying to beat the system; in other words even more time than the first scenario. She is willing to work with us either way.

We could pick up the phone and call her this instance to tell her that we want to finish up the paper work and submit our request to the Bolivian government. All the while still hoping for a special circumstance to arise (baby left on our door step, new child coming into the orphanage who is perfect, etc.) while we await our assignment. The two don't cancel each other out.

The bottom line is that we are adopting a Bolivian child. How it will happen is still a mystery. There are so many kids that need homes. In the end we are trusting that God be the one to put us together with our child. Who am I to say that He cannot work through the Bolivian process? Who am I to refuse Him that option?

If you have any insight or observations I would love to hear them. I am so excited and very passionate about this new addition to the family. It will be interesting to see who arrives first: the new Smith or the new Washington. (smile)

Happy Birthday Raimy!

2009-03-12T12:23:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Raimy!!!!!

2009-03-11T07:11:00.002-06:00

Raimy,

You are turning into such a lovely young lady. I hope you have a happy birthday. I would love to see pictures of your celebrations. Enjoy every minute of it!

Love,

Auntie M and Ali

The Many Adventures of...

2009-03-10T22:12:00.002-06:00

Recently Sasha and I shared a special moment that caused many happy memories from my child hood to come flooding back. The Dysney channel aired the good old favorite show, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. So I recorded it because when I was young I remember that it was one of my favorite shows to watch, (I think we may have owened it on vhs.)
We watched it together this week, (several times) and it is just as wonderful and as majical as I remmember it. Even better is I still know all the words and can quote the whole show (Sasha thought that this was pretty cool.) But what was so special about the whole thing was that Sasha loved it too. She got caught up in the adventures just like I remmember doing when I was probably her age. She sat with me cuddled up on my lap and we bounced and swayed to the songs together. I think that she loved that I loved it, and I loved that she loved it. I felt like a kid again.
I am not sure if our bonding moment over Winnie the Pooh had anything to do with it but Sasha told me this week that I am her best friend.
Oh be still my heart.
I really love that kid.

Happy Birthday Lucas!

2009-02-27T19:07:00.002-06:00

Dear Lucas,

I only hope that you are enjoying your life and that you have a very happy day. Celebrate your life!

God bless you, brother.

Much love,
Angie

Happy Birthday Emily!

2009-02-25T18:49:00.002-06:00

Wow, Emily, this has been a year of milestones for you. You are becoming quite the accomplished woman. I am so proud of you for going after your dreams and being such a unique individual.

Today you entered the final year of being a twenty-something. I am excited to see where you are headed from here. I wish only goodness and mercy for you. Happy Birthday, friend. I love you!!!

Angie

Sasha's FIRST haircut

2009-02-25T16:14:00.004-06:00

Today was a very big day for Sasha (and for Mommy). Sasha got her first haircut. We had it done by a friend of mine, Nicole Schulte. And I was so nervous about but it ended up not being as stressful as I thought it would be. She was a champ, did a great job, and got a sucker and a baloon when she was done. Here are some pictures of before and of after and the durring...

ps. I had about seven other photos that I tried to share but I was unable to (after I tried it three different ways, ugh.) So all I got is the before and after. Sorry. Maybe I will do better next time.

Smith Family Update

2009-02-09T07:48:00.002-06:00

On Friday February 6th, we found out that our family of four is about to turn into a family of five. I am expecting baby number three, and he/she should be due in the middle of october. Nick and I are very very excited but Sasha has not jumped on the baby bandwagon yet. And MacKenzie is sweetly oblivious just like any other four month old.
Just in case anyone was wondering, yes we did this on purpose.
Shawn

MacKenzie Update

2009-01-29T20:13:00.002-06:00

MacKenzie had her four month check up on Tuesday. She weighs 16 pounds now and is 25 inches long. 90% if anyone was wondering. Sasha was the same way. Everything checked out just fine, and she does not need a helmet to work out her lumpy head. She gets to start eating foods now and we started her on cereal this week. It was a new experience and she wasnt' so sure about it at first but now she is cool with it. It is so cute to see her open her little mouth wide when she sees the spoon coming. Like a little bird. I think we will try bannanas next. So much excitement at the Smith house. ha ha ha.

"Gabrielle with Golden Glasses On" by:Gabrielle

2009-01-22T12:40:00.003-06:00

I miss you family. I want you to see I have my golden glasses. I love you. I hope you are having a good time. I'm happy. I am going to a new school that is why I got new glasses; I was kind of twisting my eyes with my old pink ones. My hair is growing longer. I love you, once again. Good bye.

Ali's Announcement

2009-01-19T16:43:00.003-06:00

Allison had a surprise today. After not being able to eat a sandwich as she normally could she said,

"I have something in my teeth."

"Do you want to toothpick?"

"No. It's not food."

I checked in her mouth and with a laugh said,

"You have a loose tooth!"

Her mood quickly lightened and she giggled happily, grabbed a mirror and can't stop talking about it.

Sharing Shoes

2009-01-15T15:16:00.004-06:00

As these photographic images prove we have moved into the phase of our relationship that my ten year old daughter and I share shoes. In all actuality Raimy's toe has outgrown the size of my foot by a few millimeters.

(click image for enlarged version)

Esmarella

2009-01-09T05:50:00.003-06:00

If you are following the comments then you will see that there were some rather lively comments made to the kids by a woman named Esmarella. Her other (real) name is Rehanna. She lives here in Bolivia but is from England. She is a single missionary working with street kids. She stayed with the kids while DaRonn and I were in Peru for our anniversary. The kids and her got along swimmingly and they all created fun personalities for themselves. She was Esmarella and had a thick Island accent on top of her thick English accent. It was a riot when they demonstrated when we got back. The kids had funny voices too.

Video January Raimy

2009-01-07T17:36:00.000-06:00

Video January Timothy

2009-01-07T17:14:00.000-06:00

Video January Gabrielle

2009-01-07T15:19:00.003-06:00

Video January Tyler

2009-01-07T14:47:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Shawner!

2008-12-31T08:38:00.002-06:00

I hope you are carried away with fun and celebration this year! I love you little sis'.

(I found this pic on a very interesting website: http://www.clusterballoon.org/ Who knew such a hobby existed?)

Family

2008-12-30T15:30:00.000-06:00

Christmas in Omaha

2008-12-30T15:23:00.001-06:00

Allison as Angel

2008-12-30T14:57:00.001-06:00

Allison played an angel in the Christmas program at church the Sunday before Christmas. She was the most beautiful angel I've ever seen!

Making Christmas Cookies

2008-12-30T14:49:00.002-06:00

Allison, Oma and I made Christmas cookies before Christmas. We had a lot of fun! Ali liked licking all the utensils. We also created our gingerbread house (not homemade though). Detail shots of all the treats are included. And since then everything has been eaten, even the gingerbread house!

Christmas Money

2008-12-29T12:13:00.005-06:00

Oma and Opa gave the kids Christmas money and this past weekend we were able to take them out to spend it. It was a fun time.

Raimy got a doll and a couple movies. Timothy purchased two building sets. Gabrielle got some Play-Doh kits. Tyler got a couple sets of blocks.

Thanks Oma and Opa!

While I am thinking of it I had a cute little story about Raimy...

We got Timothy some Iron Man stuff this year so I thought it would be good if the kids saw the movie. There are some strong parts that I didn't let them watch. For the most part Gabrielle was disinterested and the older two liked it. Tyler was napping. So, the end credits rolled and the little mysterious bonus clip with Samuel L. Jackson as a recruiter for a special team showed. Then Raimy goes, "Is it over?" I told her it was. Then she said, "It can't be over yet; we don't know who he marries!"

Ha! Such a girl.

Oh, now I am remembering a little thing about Tyler...

This season he was introduced to mint M&Ms (thanks to a package from Becky Gomez). I have never seen a kid do this, but he started peeling them. It was hilarious to watch him meticulously picking at the candy shell.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and that your New Years celebrations are safe and fun. We will be at our big sha-bang at church partying.

Love you!
Angie

WSU Graduation December 2008

2008-12-27T18:34:00.003-06:00

In the midst of the holidays a great event took place. On Sunday, the fourteenth of December 2008, the Wichita State University Fall Graduation Commencement Ceremony was held in the Charles Koch Area. Emily Jane Houtz graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts from the College of Fine Arts.

"My Make-up" by Raimy

2008-12-27T08:27:00.004-06:00

This is my Christmas present: real grown-up make-up! It was fun learning and doing it. I felt like I wanted to do it over again and I felt like a grown-up. It was fun!

Happy Christmas Eve!

2008-12-24T07:22:00.005-06:00

Have I shown you all the picture of the kids by the tree? If I have it deserves repeating.
Here is our candle ready to light for lunch today.
Had you heard about Allison's candle problem? I will let her tell you in her own words.

How are things going with the candles in the other homes? Is it a tradition we should keep? Suggestions for improvements?

Here is a picture of DaRonn and I at a Christmas party Monday night with our English speaking friends.
Here is a shot of my dessert yesterday after lunch. So yummy!
Houses of Gingerbread. (I put these on my blog, but I thought they went well with this post and you might not have seen them.)
Happy Christmas Eve!!!

Wichita Christmas Trees

2008-12-07T17:23:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T12:27:00.001-06:00

Advent Candles

2008-12-01T11:55:00.004-06:00

So I chatted online with mom and Emily a bit and also got an email from dad that everyone received their advent candles in the mail. I am so happy that they arrived on time. Now I am wondering if they made it all in one piece.

We burned our candle at lunch today after we got the tree set up. It was fun to hear my kids saying the same things I remember saying and hearing when I was a kid and we had the advent candle in our home.

Enjoy the pics! I would love to see pics of your candles in your homes too, if you get a chance.

Much love,
Angie

ninja knitters

2008-11-20T23:37:00.005-06:00

Last night under the cover of darkness the knitters did their deed:

Getting the bronze statues ready for the cool weather.

Happy Annibirthday Shawn and Nick!

2008-11-16T06:38:00.002-06:00

Today is a special time for our family. We are recognizing two wonderful event on this day.

The first is the birth of our dear Nick. Thanks for being born, brother! I like you pretty well and I am glad that you are a part of my family.

The second is the marriage of that great guy to my dear sister. Congratulations on your wedding anniversary guys!

I hope that you are able to do something fun!

Bless you both!

Angie

Washington Family Vacation to Santa Cruz, Bolivia 2008 slide show

2008-11-13T15:17:00.001-06:00

My kids love looking at the slide shows here on our family blog. I finally am getting these pics up for posterity's sake. We had such a great time!

Pebble by Raimy

2008-11-13T10:12:00.002-06:00

Clue 2

2008-11-13T08:27:00.003-06:00

Oh, I am sooooo worried that you are going to guess it with this clue. (Insert nail biting emoticon here.) Ha ha ha!

That is ok if you guess it though; it is all part of the fun. :-)

Here is clue #2:

Surprise!

2008-11-10T14:41:00.004-06:00

Pray with me that the packages I put in the mail today make it to your hands in a timely manner and undamaged. It is a surprise! I am so excited about it. If you guess it I will tell you that you are right and feel very proud that I have such smart family members. But, I really doubt that you are going to be able to guess it; even with the following picture clue.

Guesses anyone?

P.S. Click this sentence if you want to see an online album of 56 photos of our family vacation to Santa Cruz. It was so much fun!

Fall has come to our back yard!

2008-11-06T12:36:00.002-06:00

We have a tree in our back yard that has just come alive in these fast few weeks with some vibrant colors. It has almost lost all of its leaves now but here are a few pictures that we got durring its most beautiful color display.
Sasha loves playing in the leaves. She loves being outside anyway but this fall she has discovered the lovely crunch crunch of the dry leaves. She enjoyed it when Nick and I covered her in leaves and threw leaves on her and she loved throwing the leaves up in the air herself and watching them fall.
Smiths

ps. this was easier then last time. i am getting better.

Halloween Festivities

2008-11-01T10:11:00.002-06:00

Allison got to celebrate Halloween twice. Last week her friend Lane had a party and last night we went to the church party. The first half of the pictures are from Lane's party and the rest from church last night. Allison loved being Spiderella and said she wished Halloween was everyday. Kent had a blast too.

2008-10-22T11:19:00.001-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our life recently.
I really hope that I did this right. It was really hard.
Shawn

"Sleddy" a story by: Raimy

2008-10-16T12:51:00.008-06:00

Illustrated by: Raimy

In a little snowy town in a crushed boat lived a Wolf Dog. She was brown, pretty, young and pregnant. When her pups where born she had 7 pups: 3 black ones, 3 brown ones and 1 white one. She did not know why the white one couldn’t do anything the others did. The mother decided to call the whit one “Sleddy” because the pups’ dad was a sled dog and he always won.

One day all the pups were playing in the snow. Two black ones and a brown one went running around the boat. Two brown ones, Sleddy and a black one went to hide in the snow. The mother just watched them play. But when she called them to get inside Sleddy was missing. She looked all around the boat but she wasn’t there.

She was in a cave and the opening was blocked with snow. She just had to walk through the cold cave. She saw three snow balls with pictures on them. She heard a little voice on the side of the cave. She followed the sound till she saw a snow-fairy dancing in the snow. When the fairy saw her it whistled so loud that it woke all the other snow fairies and they stared to dance in the snow too.

The first fairy that saw her said with a so sweet voice: ”Hello I am Sparkle.”

“I’m Sleddy. Hi.”

Sparkle jumped into the music. All the fairies started to dance around Sleddy. Even though the dancing was lovely she had to go. She said good by and went on.

Sleddy grabbed her courage and ran as fast as she could and tried to get out of the cold cave. Every time she looked at the ice and saw her self she didn’t see just her self but her family with her. She really missed her family so much. So the seventh time she looked at the reflections she ran through the cave and this time she knew that she could not find her mother so now she’s after her father in the race. Soon she found the end of the cave.

But that did not stop her she started to dig and she got under the cave. When she got out she was not in her home she was in the city.

Then a child tried to catch Sleddy but he didn’t. Then six more children tried to catch her, but Sleddy ran into a moving box and the children could not find her. They looked in seven pleases: 1.The Trash can 2.Under the car

3. In the Snow 4.In the Mail Box 5.By the Park 6.In the Pet Store 7.In Mr. Macys Hat. But they never found Sleddy.

When the children left, Sleddy went down seven steps and found a … Pony. It was brown, shaggy, old and tied to a fence. When the pony saw her it was frightened. Sleddy bit the rope and let the poor pony free.

The pony said: ”Hello, young one I am Tony.”

“Hello I am Sleddy, nice to meet you.”

“What are you doing here Sleddy?”

“Well I’m trying to go to my father to go home and not get lost again.”

“Who is your father?”

“My mother told me he was the champion sled dog in the city.”

“I know! The Silver Slick Sled Husky! I can take you there if you want.”

“Oh please do take me there.”

“Ok, hold on tight.”

Then Tony ran with Sleddy on his back. And the two friends ran towards the race. Sleddy kept encouraging Tony so he would get there before the race began, so they wouldn’t miss him. Sleddy encouraged Tony seven times and then he went faster then ever before.

When they got there she didn’t know which one was her father. Tony told her which one was her father and she went towards him and said “Are you my father? Are you? Are you?”

“Only if your name is Sleddy.”

“I am! I am! My name is Sleddy and I came here to stay here with you.”

“Would you race with us?”

“I would if I knew how. I can’t. You have six dogs in your team already.”

Tony and Sparkle got closer.

“Think of your big adventure,” said Sparkle.

“What was your number? Tell us please,” said Tony.

Then Sleddy said, “Well in my family their are seven puppies and I looked at my reflection seven times and seven children tried to catch me, they looked in seven places and Sparkle has seven letters in it S-P-A-R-K-L-E and I encouraged Tony seven times, I went down seven steps to find him and now their will be seven dogs in a sled dog race. Come on, we’ve got a race to win.”

Then her father hooked Sleddy to the other dogs and she was the lead dog in this race. The gun went off and the dogs ran. It was a long way but Sleddy knew she could make it before the other dogs made it there.

Sleddy realized that another sled was faster then hers. Sleddy remembered a story that her Mom told her of a dog that won a race with faith. Sleddy started to have more faith and her team went faster and faster. It passed 16 hours. The race was almost done. Sleddy was in the lead. The flag was waving and suddenly a sled was an inch faster. Sleddy had all the faith that she could and then Sparkle appeared and flew around the other team and distracted it. Sleddy was faster again and she won the big race and a first place blue ribbon.

“You’re a winner!” shouted Sleddy’s friends.

Then Sleddy went home with her father and she told her family the story that I just told you.

THE END

Happy Birthday Timothy!

2008-10-11T20:14:00.001-06:00

This is by far the longest slide show I have ever posted. But we had such a fun day that I didn't want you all to miss out. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday

2008-10-11T10:11:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Timothy,
I think October is sucha good month to be born. Its the best weather out of the whole year here in Omaha. And there are not as many other birthdays in October.
I hope that you really enjoy the day today.
We are all thinking of you and wishing you well on your special day.
Lots of Love from Aunt Shawn and Uncle Nick, cousins Sasha and MacKenzie
kiss kiss hug hug

Brag Board Update

2008-10-06T17:53:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to let you know that the brag board pictures have been updated on the side bar. Enjoy!

Braids

2008-10-06T17:43:00.004-06:00

As you may already be aware I am on strict orders to be resting and not doing anything stressful (read my blog for updates: www.angiewashington.com). It has been good to take it easy seeing as I am not quite up to par yet. Still, I am trying to keep myself distracted. So this afternoon I asked Raimy if she would let me braid her hair. We had a good time. We were happy with the results too. What do you think?

My Art Show: On-Line

2008-10-02T09:08:00.000-06:00

MacKenzie Jo Smith

2008-09-23T15:36:00.003-06:00

Everyone she is here! She was born on Tuesday 9/23/08 @ 2:48 pm. At birth she weighted 7lb 13 oz, she was 19 inch's long. And she like her sister has a whole head of hair only it is like daddy's. She has nice dark hair and nice dark eyes. After only 55 min. of pushing she was delivered with the cord around her neck, but it was not serious. Both Mom and Baby are very good. Shawn is tired after delivery of course, but doing well otherwise with not much pain. The three of us are enjoying a peaceful time of bonding and we look forward to introducing Sasha to her new sister.

Love to everyone from the newly enlarged Smith family.

Nick

Shawn

Sasha

MacKenzie

2008-09-22T08:29:00.002-06:00

today we go to the hospital. Oma got into town yesterday and Sasha has already made her her personal slave. right now she if following her around repeating "oma, playdough, oma, playdough!" i think mom is going to be very busy for the next few days. Nick and i have to be at the hospital by 5 this evening. i have to stay over night and then they will start the induction tomorrow morning. then we get to meet our precious MacKenzie Jo Smith. if all goes well we should be home by Thursday afternoon. When all is said and done we will update the family on how it went. we are all very excited. Love you all.
Shawn

Kent: Bocce Ball

2008-09-20T21:08:00.002-06:00

Every Tuesday evening Kent goes to Bocce Ball practice for the Wichita Independence Special Olympics team. First the Bocce team stretches and warms up with the soccer team. Kent started running faster when he saw I was taking a picture of him. Actually he had stopped running and was barely walking before that point. Then the Bocce team heads over to Sedgwick County Park where there are Bocce lanes they use. He seems to have a great time and when it's nice out Ali and I play at the park too. That park is a really busy one with lots of walkers, bikers, roller bladers, kids on several playgrounds, bag pipe band practice, pee wee soccer practice, fishing, basketball and tennis, and whatever else people want to do. Kent is liked by his team and couch, he makes them laugh, a real joker. He is also pretty good at the game. He is also on the Bowling team which practices on Sundays after church.

Tyler is Two!!!

2008-09-12T06:12:00.002-06:00

We had so much fun celebrating Tyler's second birthday yesterday. He totally blew out the candles! And then he pointed to the matches so that I would light them again so he could blow them out again. Twice blown out for a two year old birthday - appropriate I thought. Enjoy the snap shots of our little guy.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-09-11T06:34:00.002-06:00

Nine eleven will always carry with it the pride of one of the first birthdays that I memorized aside from my own. For me it is the day that my wonderful mother came into the world.

55 years young and still kickin'! I love you mom!

Enjoy your day! Enjoy your friends! Enjoy your family! Enjoy your life!

Happy Birthday!

Belated Birthday Bash to be Announced

2008-09-08T06:45:00.003-06:00

Hey there!

Thank you, Shawn, for the congrats for Tyler. Yesterday was his second birthday but we didn't celebrate it. We will be doing that sometime this week.

Sunday was a big day here in Cochabamba. It was the "Day of the Pedestrian". It always falls on the first or second Sunday of September. I will have more details on my blog about the day, but basically the use of motorized vehicles is prohibited from 7AM to 7PM. Environmental awareness and all that. So the three big kids were invited to go to a friends house all afternoon. It was nice to have some quiet when Tyler went down for his nap. So when the whole fam is together we will do presents, cake and of course pictures. :-)

- - - - - -

On other blogity business...

I have really had fun seeing almost everyone playing the 'Acronym' game in the comment box. We will do it again soon. If you ever have an idea for a game or other participative activity on the family blog here then please feel free to take the initiative to get it going.

I love you all!!!

Tyler B-Day

2008-09-07T22:33:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday hape u have had a good time on your birthday.
Love the Smith's

IHRA Nationals Tulsa

2008-09-07T20:26:00.004-06:00

Saturday August 23, Terry, Emily, Kent and Ronn spent a day at the track. The speedway in Tulsa to watch the International Hot Rod Association Nationals drag races. It was a hot day and a full day with lots of fast cars. We saw super stock cars, funny cars and various fuel classes including nitro-methane. Here is sampling of photos from the day just to give you a flavor of what we saw. It doesn't of course give you a flavor of what we heard and felt. There was a carnival atmosphere with a "mid way" that allowed you to get up close and personal with the cars, drivers and crew. I didn't have my camera during the time we were walking around.

New Smith Family Update

2008-09-06T17:43:00.002-06:00

WE MOVED!!! It's official. We are completely in the new place and completely done with the old place. It feels so good to be all moved in and it felt like home for me right away. The most asked question is "So, are you done unpacking yet?" the answer is no. But, we have unpacked and settled in all the essentials. With baby coming so soon, I am totally fine with leaving some things in boxes until I get around to it. There is no rush. Nick has taken ownership of the yard situation. It was in very bad shape before we got it and in the few weeks that Nick has been caring for it it has made a huge improvement. It looks a ton better. He spends every spare minute that he can out there working on it. Sasha even helped him mow once. She loves being outside as much as he does.
Now I would like to update everyone on baby MacKenzie. So far we are both extremely healthy and there are no signs of high blood pressure like last time. The only concern right now is that she is a bit on the big side. Because of that, my doc has decided that we can do an induction one week early. Much to my relief we are scheduled to check into the hospital on the 22nd of this month and will hopefully have her that same day. It has been a problem free pregnancy as far as medical things go, but I have definitely hit the point of total discomfort. Everything is harder right now because my belly is so big. So I am very glad that I will be done being pregnant in two short weeks. We are definitely looking forward to meeting this little girl that we have been waiting all year to meet.
That's it for us for now. I am sure that I will have a lot more to say at the end of this month. :)
Love to all my family. I wish that I could have all of you around right now. But Internet hugs and kisses will have to do for now.
Pookers

Acronym

2008-09-04T16:30:00.002-06:00

Hello fam'! I had an idea of something fun for our little blog here. Since games are so much a part of our family culture I thought it might be fun to play a game here.

It is simply called (for now until a clever name is thunk up) 'Acronym'. Play starts with the final word of this post. The first person to comment makes up an acronym for the word and puts it in the comment. Then they leave a word for the next commenter to 'acronymize'. And play goes until I close the comments. No winners. No losers. Just plain fun. Oh, and the acronym doesn't have to have anything to do with the start word.

Example:

(start word)
FAMILY

(acronym)
For
A
Most
Intriguing
Laugh
Yodel

(new start word)
Whiplash

Any questions? Good. Then let's have some fun!

Start word:

BEACH

Motherhood Musings

2008-08-20T21:20:00.002-06:00

This past week I've been thinking a lot about my role as a mother. Mostly because Allison started Kindergarten and lessly because of her doctor checkup. I didn't think much about the transition to kindergarten except that it was a big milestone and because she just keeps getting bigger/older on me, but that's nothing new. But mainly I didn't think much about it because she's been at the center on campus since I started college, she was 17 months old. This was old hat, right? Wrong. At the center I paid for a full day. I don't have to pay for kindergarten (unless you want to talk taxes). But even though I paid for a full day at the center I only had Allison there when I had classes or something else to do. The center was across town so unless I had a good reason for leaving her when I left school I didn't. Now even though I don't pay for a full day of kindergarten I get it like it or not. It is now a flipflop in that Ali has to be at school more than I do. Funny thing is though, I have to get up earlier to get her there and I haven't had a problem waking up with my alarm, waking her up, get us both ready and fed and out the door on time. Everyone knows I'm not a morning person, but motherhood changes the rules on things sometimes. Monday night was open house at her school. I was going to skip it but she was so excited to show us around that we had to go. This was my first open house as a parent! Different. And then there were the shots. I knew she'd need to be up to date on her shots before school and that appointment was yesterday. Thankfully she is in "excellent" health. Also thankfully she only needed one shot! Last year it was four. Terry said, yeah but they don't give them all in one day. YES! They do! I had to hold her still for four shots in a row in her legs! She was screaming so loud and I was crying too! I don't mind shots myself, but hearing her cries got me. I didn't tell her about the shots before yesterday's appointment, but half way there she asked straight up, "Do I have to get shots today?" It's hard to skirt around a blunt question like that. Compassionately I affirmed her fears. We talked about it a little with little help. So since I was driving I dialed Terry for help. He talked to her the rest of the way and whatever he said must've worked, she did cry until after the shot. She said she'd try to be brave and think about princesses like Dad said. It didn't help that waiting for the doc we could hear screams from the other rooms. I covered Ali's ears with my palms and waited until they stopped. All in all she handled it better than I thought. Some crying, but not extreme. I'm just glad it's over, I had been dreading it for sometime. I think we both felt the stress that night. I was grinding my teeth "like a shark" according to Terry. And Allison woke up in the night with a bloody nose. She hadn't had one of those in over a year! But after her bath tonight she gave herself a Barbie bandaid and all is well!

Ali Starts Kindergarten

2008-08-15T17:31:00.001-06:00

Allison Meets Her Teacher

2008-08-14T16:25:00.004-06:00

Allison starts Kindergarten tomorrow. It will be all day. Her teacher sent her a nice postcard to welcome her to the class, but there was no formal orientation set up for the school I called her teacher and asked if we could drop by and meet her and see the classroom. That's what we did yesterday. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Ducommun. She was very nice. As we entered the classroom Allison surprised me by walking ahead of me (instead of clinging to my leg) and introduced herself as "my name is Allison." and hugged her new teacher. Allison asked the question that had been burning in her mind since she got the postcard, "How did you know how to spell my name?" Mrs. Ducommun said the office gave her a list. Then she asked Ali if she could write her name on the chalkboard which Ali did nicely. Before the visit was over I asked Ali if she had any questions for her teacher. She thought for a while before asking, "Are aliens real or not?" to which her teacher replied, "No, they are just pretend." Relieved Ali said, "That's good." I did all I could not to laugh out loud, but every time I tell someone we share a big laugh. Watch for pictures of her first day. We are excited for this big landmark. It is interesting too, since I had a different experience.

Happy Birthday Gabrielle!

2008-08-12T18:49:00.001-06:00

We had a fun time celebrating Gabrielle's birthday at lunch time. Enjoy the pics!

Ali's Cake

2008-08-10T20:50:00.003-06:00

Terry loves white cake so I make it for him without a special occasion. Allison got part of it to decorate for herself. Here's the result>

Also notice the beautiful buttery sweater Oma made for Ali's first time in school.

Thanks Oma!

Smith Family Update

2008-08-03T20:44:00.002-06:00

Our family has gone through some big changes recently and we continue to trudge through the changes eager for the day that we settle into our new routines.
For starters, I lost my job as a nanny (due to the pregnancy and timing etc.) It was a bit of a shock but I think it was a good thing in the end.
I have recently started a new job at Profesional Research Consultants Inc. I will be conducting healthcare surveys over the phone. But I am still in training. This job allows me to set my own hours and I can work it around Nicks schedule so that Sasha wont need to go to daycare. I will only be working part time. Perfect, because I need the time to get the house packed up. Which brings us to the next big change. We are moving. We will be renting a house. I am very excited about it because we will have three bedrooms and a fenced in back yard. (hopefully we will get a dog down the road. But first things first.)
We move in three weeks. August 23rd. I am really feeling the crunch. Once the move is complete the race will begin to get unpacked and settled in before our next big change happens. The arrival of MacKenzie Jo Smith. Due September 29th. (I love the little ticker countdown, by the way.) Once she is here I will be able to breath a sigh of releaf and we can all begin to settle into the new house and get use to being a family of four.
Sasha is deffinetly feeling unsettled through this prosses, but we just have to get her through the next couple of months. Nick and I are feeling stretched to the max as well, but thats ok we dont mind a little hard work. The only ones that dont seem to be upset by anything right now are the cats, Wicket and Cirrus. They are handling it great and have done well in the past everytime we have moved.
The picture is of Sasha playing at the park. Next to swimming, the park is her favorite thing to do. She loves being outside. And she loves anything active and physical. Deffinetly got those characteristics from her Daddy.
She knows that MacKenzie is coming and likes to kiss the belly and talk about her baby sister. But right now its all very abstract. It will be interesting to see what happens when she finds out that MacKenzie is a real person.
The pregnancy is going great. I have been very healthy and things have gone much easier for me this time then they did last time. Nick and I cant wait to see what this baby looks like. We are excited to meet her.
I think that brings everyone up to speed about our life right now. We miss you all.
Love Shawn

Happy Birthday Buddy!

2008-08-02T19:15:00.001-06:00

Today Kent turned 23! He has blessed our lives for 23 years and counting. Hope you have a wonderful day and eat lots of cake! I love you Buddy!

beautiful day for biking

2008-07-31T17:33:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was 79 degrees, 79% relative humidity, calm..... ideal conditions. Emily (the talented photographer) took this shot of me just before I started my ride. I needed a photo to put in the updated bio for the Burke Alumni website.

Next week is the 40th reunion of the first graduating class from Harry S. Burke HS. Still trying to decide if I should travel up to Omaha for any of the events.

Animated Baby Countdown

2008-07-27T17:34:00.001-06:00

Check regularly as cartoon baby will grow too

Full Weekend

2008-07-21T23:20:00.008-06:00

Well you saw Emily's blog about the drag races. Oh and did we mention it was loud. We may not be gearheads but we did have fun. The day started with pugging. A group from the studio work mixing and bagging to reclaim over 500 pounds of clay. As soon as we finished, we loaded up to take art over to a yarn shop in Delano called the Twist. Jill is the featured artist this month so we had to set up samples of heer work for display. Eric and Gene, studio members, helped hang the art including framed drawings and pottery.

Then on Sunday morning I road 60 miles on my bicycle in the Mowbray Metric. This is an annual event that since 1983 takes place each July in McPherson, KS. Along with 97 others, we started in McPherson a town about an hour north of Wichita, then road through Hesston and Moundridge then back to McPherson for lunch. Good thing we finished before the sun blazed up over 100 degrees in the afternoon. Since it was so hot, we needed to be inside where it was air conditioned. So Oma, Opa and Sheila took Allison and Kent to see Kung Fu Panda (Wall-E was sold out).

Bowling in Wichita

2008-07-21T17:30:00.002-06:00

Here are some photos from Shawn and Sasha's visit to Wichita. We were lucky enough to have them for a week and Opa took us bowling. The girls got pooped out and laid down right on the alley. DaRonn, I got the high score of the day at 128, Ali bowled a 76 by herself (with bumpers).

Drag Races Saturday Night!

2008-07-21T17:20:00.004-06:00

Dad, Kent, Allison and I (Emily) enjoyed some great racing on Saturday night! Terry introduced us to the races but because of his knee could not join us :( Saturday was the Summer Nationals - the biggest event of the year! We saw Pro Mods, Top Fuels, and Jet Cars. If you don't know what they are, don't worry, I didn't either until I met Terry but now I'm in love (with Terry and the races). Here are some photos from the fun, fast, fueled night.

Terry's Surgery

2008-07-21T16:59:00.002-06:00

Hey Fam! I just wanted to fill you in about Terry. To catch you up if you don't know (in a nut shell): he paints cars, he was standing on a stand painting the roof of a suburban when the stand collapsed, he fell to the concrete floor and hurt his knee, elbow and back. This happened May 22nd and it has been a tedious process working with workman's comp and getting to all the right doctors. Today he had surgery on his knee. They went in with a scope and scraped down the torn meniscus and some damage on his knee cap. We arrived at the surgery center at 7:00 am and were home by 12:30 pm. He was knocked out for it and is now in bed doped up on meds. Wednesday he goes to physical therapy and should be weight bearing then. Please keep him in your prayers as his knee mends and during the procedures to look at his back and elbow. He has hired a lawyer to help him handle the workman's comp people, they were a pain to deal with. He has been off work since the accident two months ago. Workman's comp is paying while he's out but he is still stressed about his workplace and the feelings toward him and about money. We are happy this important step is done (surgery) and pray for a smooth recovery. Thank you. I love you all!

fireworks in Omaha

2008-07-12T21:16:00.004-06:00

While we were in Omaha, Oma, Opa and Kent watched fireworks with Shawn, Nick and Sasha.

Olympic Swim Trials

2008-07-10T21:02:00.004-06:00

On the 4th of July Jill and I watched some of the swimming at the Quest Center in Omaha.

Happy Birthday Sasha!

2008-07-06T16:07:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Sweet Sasha! I pray that you are blessed on this day that you are two.

Much Love,
Tia Angie

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-07-05T05:19:00.002-06:00

Dad, I am so glad that God gave me to you. You are a great dad.

You are also a fun loving kind of guy. So I thought I might suggest a party game: a variation of 20 questions. Simply put, I ask you 20 questions and you answer them (smile).

You can answer them here in the comments, or make a whole new post with them or send them by email, or whatever. I just had some things I was curious about to get to know you better.

I love you!!!

1. What is your favorite birthday memory?
2. If you could relive one year of your life with the knowledge and experience of 'now', yet the body and opportunities of 'then', which would it be?
3. How old were you when you learned to ride a bike?
4. Who was your childhood hero or idol?
5. Do you have any heroes in your life now? If so who?
6. What is your dream vacation?
7. What is your dream vehicle to drive?
8. How old were you when you met mom?
9. What was your first impression of mom?
10. What was mom's first impression of you?
11. What is your favorite time of the year and why?
12. What is your favorite holiday and why?
13. If you had to choose between a career as a cyclist or a photographer and you were guaranteed success and a huge salary which would you choose?
14. What do you think people will remember you for?
15. What is your greatest vacation memory?
16. What is your greatest 'date with mom' (even if it was before she was a mom) memory?
17. Who was your first friend that you can remember?
18. If you could cure any disease which would it be?
20. What are you most proud about?