Surprise!!

Just about everyone who knows me knows that I love surprises. I create little ways to surprise myself each day.

I don't know when exactly I became aware of this fact.

I know that I didn't, unlike my sister, sneak into wrapped gifts. I know that when people told me they had a surprise for me I wouldn't beg to know what it was.

The best I can pinpoint it is to 1998. That's the year I got one of my best surprises~my sweet boy Kaleb. Kaleb Dylan. He is the answer to so many of my prayers.
When I found out I was pregnant I with him I was certainly not in an ideal situation.

I wasn't married. I didn't have a career. I had no goals and I certainly didn't know how to be a mom.

Over the years I have accomplished most of those things. I'm still working on what I want to be when I grow up but at least now I have a career in mind :)

Kaleb is a special boy.
He is amazingly smart-sometimes too smart for his own good!

He is becoming a master at sarcasm.

He has the sweetest heart.

He is an awesome cook.

He still holds my hand when we walk places and isn't embarrassed about it.

He adores his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

He loves animals almost as much as I do.

At ten years old he still thinks I'm pretty cool.
He has always been incredibly observant.

He is kind and courteous.

I love when he sneaks into my bed at night and searches for my hand first thing. Then he doesn't let go all night no matter how much we shift.

He has a gift on the football field.

He makes me laugh constantly-It's saved his little behind numerous times!

He is learning to be a gentleman.

He loves hanging out with his friends.

His hands are magic on my neck after a stressful day.

He's more than I would have ever dreamt I deserve.

A few of my favorite Kaleb moments over the last few years...

Kaleb and Bella at the Boise Zoo

First year of Babe Ruth baseball

First year of flag football

One of my all time favorite photos of Kaleb

Elvis Halloween 2007...

He's a huge Elvis fan!

Florida November 2007

Kaleb and Lucy

Strikin' a pose!

Oregon Coast March 2008

Kaleb and cousin Blake in Alaska July 2008

Kaleb and Christian

:)

Recreating A Masterpiece

I stumbled on these photos tonight as I was cussing at my computer because for the umpeenth time it WON'T RECOGNIZE MY FRICKIN' CAMERA so I haven't been able to download photos from Christmas.

So to stop me from ripping out and stomping on the guts of my computer I've decided to lighten my mood by posting and remembering the waaay funny trip to Sun Valley Donna, Daryl and I had.

Wait a minute...here I go again. This is where I would typically insert a link to something I've previously posted about but since I acci-frickin-dentally deleted my old blog I won't be able to do that. No worries. Composing myself now.

So to catch you up the three of us (siblings) escaped to Sun Valley without any kids or spouses. Never before have we done this. We are all ones who use humor any way we can in any situation possible, appropriate or not, to express ourselves. So the entire weekend was spent "outlaughing" eachother.

Thank God my kids seem to have picked up on this gene. It definitely makes our days much more enjoyable.

So with out futher delay...

The Recreation-ish:

The Masterpiece :)

Donna after seeing the photo...

The Smith Family Goes to Michigan

I've written before about our family vacations (still trying to recover that deleted blog!) that we have been blessed to receive from my Grandparents but I thought I'd talk about one of my favorites.

My family is from Michigan so, being on the West Coast since I was not even a year old, we didn't get back to see them very often .

The last time I was in Michigan I was in high school...many, many years ago! So this trip in July of 2007 was so meaningful for me.

Most of our time was spent at the awesome Double JJ Resort but we did visit other parts of the area.

I don't share a lot of the memories with my cousins about Gamy and Gampy growing up but I distinctly remember The Cottage. What I remember most is the lilies and lily pads, the beautiful lake and the quaintness of The Cottage.

While The Cottage was not the main part of the trip it was definitely the highlight for me. I've told my kids about it not knowing when or if they would be able to enjoy it. I was so excited that they were able to be there not only with me but with the rest of my family as well.

(click on photos to enlarge...)

Bella and Charlie chilling out waiting for the plane...or not.

We got "bumped" and ended up driving from Chicago to Michigan.

Kaleb, Donna and Charlie hanging out at the pool at the Double JJ.

Bella got to celebrate her 7th birthday with the whole

Smith family...at a ranch...a dream come true for her!

Three of the cutest kids Michigan has ever seen!

My favorite boy bring me flowers :)

Bella, Alexa and Kaleb saddled up waiting for ice cream.

Right where we belong...

Alexa, Bella, Tanna and Charlie

The Cottage

Bella catching turtles, Kaleb catching...lily pads :)

Charlie Mae and Daryl on the dock at The Cottage along with my favorite part...the lilies and pads.