The Jungle Gym

We took the girls to The Jungle Gym in West Monroe yesterday. They had a BLAST!!! We did too! It was so much fun watching them take off and explore. We started in the jumpy thing but after about 5 minutes a boy came in and jumped right on Mallory's head and she screamed! Needless to say she wouldn't have anything else to do with that. She took off climbing up the rope ladder, through the tunnel, and down the slide. We let Alyssa jump for a while then she joined Mallory on the slide. They both loved the ball pit too! We had to get the bigger kids to gather the clothes they were shedding. One would take off her socks then the other would take out her bow. We stayed about 2 hours. At the end Alyssa decided she didn't want to slide down so after about 10 minutes of her just sitting at the top of the slide we got one of the workers to go up and slide down with her. I would have done it but she was standing right beside us!! We will DEFINITELY go back! I am thinking play dates would be great there. I could actually talk to the other Mom's and not chase after kids!!!

Friday night was First Friday night out. First Baptist provides childcare the first Friday of the month for members from 6-10:30!!! I was thinking there is no way I can leave my kids there until 10:30 because they go to bed at 8:00. Well, we got there about 9:30 (because it took us forever to eat at Olive Garden) and they were just sitting down to watch Veggie Tales and DID NOT want to leave!!! I couldn't believe it. I figured they would be fussy and tired. I have to say both Elaine and Marcie told me that would be the case but I had to see it for myself! We decided next month they may stay the whole time. I guess it will depend on their naps that day. :) We did have fun eating out with the Ramsey's (without kids) and getting to know them better!

Costume Party & Tech Homecoming

We had a blast Friday night at the costume party. There were some funny characters!!! I worked ALL afternoon Friday spray painting our boxes to make dice then cutting out the dots. We went to homecoming on Saturday. We tailgated with the "BSU old timers" before the game with the girls then dropped the kids off with Mom and went to the game. I only stayed until half time because I was MELTING in the sun. We bought tickets on the student side and the sun was brutal! We were still tired from Friday night and all went to bed early that night. The girls did okay with daylight savings time on Sunday but yesterday & today woke up at 7:00am. They usually sleep until 8 or 8:30. Luckily Trey doesn't leave for work until about 7:30 or 8 so he has been getting them up so I can sleep a little longer. I am hoping they get adjusted SOON!

Fall Festival

Last night was the fall festival at Temple. The girls had a great time. Alyssa LOVED the pony ride!!!! Our battery was dying so most of the pictures from that are shaky. We managed to salvage one of her! I LOVE the last picture of the girls looking at each other! The little golfer is Jake Tyler. I had to post that! It is the cutest thing I have ever seen!!! Trey & I are going to a costume party tonight. Hopefully I will remember to take my pictures so I can post some pictures. Well, I better get busy making our costumes! :)

My Princess

Alyssa got to wear a costume to school today so she was a princess. Thanks to Mimi who bought both of the girls princess costumes. I had already bought Alyssa a different costume so she was a princess at school and will be Minnie Mouse for the fall festival. Mallory couldn't wear a costume to school so it is a good thing she only has one!!!

Giant Candyland

We went to the giant candyland at FBC last night. It was fun. The girls really didn't understand the game but did understand the candy & jumpy thing. Afterwards, we went out to eat with the Tyler's - they just moved to Ruston and are fabulous!!! They are in the same boat as us trying to find a church home. Well, tonight we are going to the Temple fall festival. I will have more pictures to post soon!!

Pumpkin Patch 2008

Fall Pictures

We had some fall pictures made of the girls yesterday. It took all of 20 minutes and was not quite as painful as I was expecting. It is REALLY hard to get Alyssa to smile or even look at the camera but I think she got a few good shots. Mallory is a ham! Although, she kept saying "ball" and picking up the pumpkins that were supposed to be the backdrop for the pictures. If you want to look at the rest of them you can go to www.sherryowensphotography.com click on proofs then scroll down until you see smith girls. You have to put in your e-mail address and the password is pumpkin. We are taking them to the pumpkin patch this weekend so I am sure I will have more pictures to post!!!

On another note tomorrow is Trey's last day at his current job. He has decided to do home health full time. It really is a good move because he will be able to be home more and a little more accessible to help me go to doctors appointments or just pick up the girls from MDO if I need it. He is sad to leave the people he works with but we are looking forward to the change.

Corn Dogs and Ketchup

I introduced corn dogs to the girls last night. Mallory loved it. Alyssa didn't. Alyssa does love ketchup. She likes to stick her fingers in it and lick them. I thought maybe if we dipped the corn dog in it she would like it but I was wrong. Oh, well. I'll try something else! Mallory liked dipping her corn dog in the ketchup and eating it. It was so cute we took pictures. The bottom picture is from Saturday. Tech had a game so I put the girls t-shirts on to show some support! The last one is showing how excited Alyssa gets when I sing the veggie tales theme song!

Alyssa's Fetish

As promised, here is a picture of Alyssa's fetish. She LOVES to wash her hands. About a month ago I dropped her off at MDO and she immediately went to the bathroom, climbed up on the stool, turned on the water, and washed her hands. It was AMAZING! So, the potty I bought for them (that hasn't even attempted to be used) doubles as a step stool so I put it up to the sink. If I ever need to find her I can listen for the water running. Last night she couldn't get in the bathroom with the stool, so she decided to go to the bathtub. She turned on the water and was trying to get in when I ran in there. It is crazy how quick they can get into stuff!!!!

Shoe Fetish

I have decided that Mallory has a shoe fetish. She LOVES shoes. If she ever leaves the room we always know where to find her. Luckily, after she drags all of the shoes out she usually puts them back. Today I decided to catch her in action. She also has a thing about pulling out clothes from the dresser either trying to put them on or throwing them in the trash. I have to be careful to look in Alyssa's trashcan every time I throw something away to make sure there are no clothes in there. Alyssa is also obsessed with something but I haven't been able to catch her in action. I will post about it as soon as I have a picture.

Trey went to Kansas City this weekend to visit his friend Dylan. He had a great time! My mom came to stay with me for the weekend. We had our second MOPS meeting Friday which went great! Friday afternoon we went to Monroe to do a little shopping and eat. I got so sick while we were shopping. I have had a little sore throat all week but Friday it was bad! Every time I swallowed I was overcome with nausea from the pain. My mom had to drive us home Friday night because I didn't think I could make it! I felt better Saturday morning but went to Quick care to make sure I didn't have anything contagious. The doctor said it was allergies so then I went to croptoberfest to scrapbook for the rest of the day. The only problem was the doctor gave me a decongestant to take and I felt drunk all day. I hate that I can't take any medicine. It ALL makes me feel that way - and I don't like that way that feels!! So, I will just have to suck it up and deal with it. Luckily my Mom was here to help take care of me and the girls. She made me my favorite soup which made me feel SO much better. I did get 14 pages done in Alyssa's baby book! Trey came home yesterday. He was supposed to fly into Monroe but because his flight was delayed out of KC he missed his flight in Dallas so he flew into Shreveport instead. The girls and I were SO glad to see him!

MOPS & Petting Zoo

This weekend was our girls weekend at the MOPS convention. And when I say girls I mean girls - 5,000 to be exact! We had fun and got some great ideas. They had live performances by Go Fish (they sing children's songs), Jaci Velasquez and her husband (who is in Salvador), Plumb, and Avalon. They were all really good. My favorite was Jaci Velasquez. It was just her, her husband, and his guitar. Kim Hill was the worship leader. She was good just REALLY loud! We went to workshops to learn about different areas of mothering and being a leader of MOPS. We heard many testimonies that were unbelievable. We were staying at The Gaylord Texan which was really nice. Luckily we checked in in time to get a room with 2 queen beds. Many groups of 4 or 5 had to share a king bed. We were able to get some shopping done. Who can go to Dallas without shopping? I think my favorite part of the weekend was getting to know some of the ladies in my group better and on a more personal level. It was a good weekend but I was ready to see my kids! I couldn't wait to get home and hold them (even though it was 11:30pm).

While I was in Dallas Trey took the girls to DeRidder to visit his dad. Oh, I forgot to tell a story. We left Thursday morning at 9:30am right after we dropped the kids off at MDO. As we were leaving I just had a sick feeling in my stomach. I knew I would get over it but it was there. Well, about an hour on the road Trey called to tell me MDO called because Alyssa fell on the playground and hit her head. Trey quickly went up to the church to check her out. She fell and had a goose egg right in between her eyes. It looked HORRIBLE!!!!! It is much better now - she just mainly has a black eye. But of course that would happen the one day I am not there! Trey and the girls had fun in DeRidder. They did go the the fair and they had a petting zoo. Mallory LOVED it! She even got to feed a camel a carrot! Alyssa finally warmed up to it. Here are some pictures.

Sweet Sisters

So I was walking by the playroom this evening and I couldn't believe my eyes. ALYSSA was kissing Mallory. It is ALWAYS the other way around. I just had to share the sweet pictures.

Marlon & Lindsey's Wedding

We went to Dallas this weekend for Marlon & Lindsey's wedding. Marlon and Trey grew up across the street from each other in DeRidder. Marlon is the last of the DeRidder friends to get married. Trey, Cody, and Daniel were all best men. The wedding was beautiful! Trey got to spend the weekend doing guy things while the girls and I shopped. I took them to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch on Friday and they loved it. Mallory kept pointing to the monkeys! The rehearsal dinner was at a Brazilian steakhouse. It was WONDERFUL! It was hands down the best rehearsal dinner I have ever been to! The wedding was in the atrium of an office building and it was beautiful. We brought the girls but they watched outside with Mr. Bubba. They had the most interesting food I have ever seen at the reception - it was mostly chinese type foods. It was really good. After we ate Mr. Bubba took the girls back to the hotel and put them to bed. We were able to dance and just enjoy the reception. Marlon's family was HILARIOUS to watch dancing. Especially his nieces and nephews. They took over the dance floor to some new superman song. They new every step! Bryan caught the garter (because Marlon turned around and threw it straight to him)! The next morning we went to church with Bryan and Christine. It was a great service! We had lunch at Maggiano's then hit the road home. The girls didn't sleep great in the hotel so we were glad to be home in all of our own beds. Now I have to get all of the laundry done!!

Post #2

Okay, I just had to share this picture!

Still Here

We are still here. I have been SUPER busy this week. Trey has been taking care of the girls most of the nights this week. He took these pictures one night this week while they were playing outside on their new swing set. They LOVE it! It is not totally set up yet but they can still play on it.

We started a MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) group here in Ruston this year. Our first meeting was Friday. It went great. I think we had 27 people and about 10 others that signed up but couldn't make the first meeting. All of these people just heard by word of mouth too! This is going to be an awesome ministry for the mothers in our community. I am so excited to see what God has in store for us!!! If any of you readers attend a MOPS group I would love to hear some of your ideas.

The girls are doing great. They have both started Mother's Day out and are both loving it. They both have great teachers. Mallory started a week before Alyssa and of course got sick and gave it to Alyssa. Because she was sick this was Alyssa's first week. I am glad to get back in a routine.

Sweet Sisters

Okay, so I had to share this story real quick. Alyssa has been having asthma issues this week so we have been giving her breathing treatments. Our routine is to sit at her table with a little people flap book and give her the breathing treatment. Alyssa has to have everything EXACTLY the same or she will totally freak out and not do it. She gets the treatments before breakfast, after lunch, after nap and before or during bedtime. Mallory is usually in her highchair eating and watching us. So, yesterday we were waiting on Trey to get home before dinner and I decided to go ahead and give her the treatment. Mallory was running around the house and I sat Alyssa at her table. I had to run back to her room to grab something and when I walked back in the room I saw the sweetest thing. Mallory had picked up the mask for the breathing machine and was holding it up to Alyssa's face and the crazy thing was Alyssa was letting her!!! It was so sweet. It was also so fast that I didn't get a picture. After that Mallory ran off and came back with her Little People flap book and sat at the table with Alyssa with her book. I love my girls!!!!!!!

My Big Girl!

The girls are growing up so fast. There are certain things you are ready for them to do but are hit with the realization that when they do it they are growing up! I fixed myself a smoothie for lunch and Mallory threw me the more sign. I gave her some of mine but decided I was not going to stand there while she sipped from my straw. We had a kid cup from Chili's so I filled it with smoothie and she drank away. This is her first time to drink from a regular cup by herself! Oh, I also have a question. When your child starts taking off her diaper and playing with her poop is it time to start potty training????????

Destin 2008

We had a wonderful time in Destin. They guys golfed and fished and the girls shopped and laid by the pool and on the beach. The girls loved the pool and the sand but weren't too crazy about the ocean. I didn't venture out too far because there were a ton of jelly fish. Trey & Scott both got stung! Our house was wonderful. It was a short walk from the beach and the outlet mall was right across the street. We ate well! We really enjoyed being with the entire family. We will definately go back.