Smith Family Road Trip 2008

We're Off!

On Friday June 27th we left Dad's graduation ceremony in Jonesboro and hit the road headed for Springfield, Missouri. We traveled 217 miles. Yee-haw!









We had lots of fun swimming in every hotel along the way.


Here is Levi meeting dad's magical squirting turtle.




Naomi tested out all the luggage carts.


A happy Nomi-bird in a gilded cage?




On Saturday we traveled 340 miles to Salina Kansas, where we found an ice skating rink. Great idea, but we didn't bring any warm clothes, so only the most determined ice skaters lasted.

Determined ice skaters:








Frozen travelers:





Besides swimming, all of the hotels we stayed in were great for snuggling, bouncing, leaping, and resting.




I made travel-logs for the children to help them learn about maps and get an idea of distances.





We stopped off in Colby Kansas on our way to Denver to see the new puppy! Oh, and the Robbins' too.




Ruby and Vivi


The famous twin cousins--Levi is no longer the bigger one. It was great while it lasted!




I gave Cristal a turquoise ring. She loves it!



On Sunday we went to church in Salina, where one sister, upon inquiring about our plans, sighed, "They don't need you in Utah! We need you here!". It was a little awkward, but we continued on, nevertheless. Daniel commented to me later that Richfield definitely needs a new doctor, even if Utah doesn't need any more Mormons.

Then we traveled 432 Miles to Denver Colorado. That's a lot of are-we-there-yets, but Denver was a great reward at the end of a long stretch. The girls got creative painting ceramics at "My Art Workshop". It was fun to see them concentrating in complete crafting bliss.









Later we went to "The Downtown Aquarium". It was a thrill a minute for all of us.

Elora's cute profile:


An Eel's cute profile: Yikes!


Nice little eel. Make that BIG eel.


Nomi, Vivi, Creepy.


We walked through a tunnel-shaped aquarium, so we had to look in all directions to see the amazing animals that surrounded us.






Levi didn't get many naps on our activity days, but we arranged to bring his fingers with us so he was always happy.


We also brought along his toes. You can never be too prepared.






Elora's sweetness attracts a happy duck family.


This is what happens if you don't brush your teeth, Viv!


Please don't feed the monkeys!



Welcome to Casa Bonita! Observe the senoritas bonitas!


Dad teaches Levi that you might as well just smile if you ever want that camera out of your face.


The girls have no problems posing--but Elora kept getting car-sick on the trip, and this is her 30-minutes-to-purging face. Poor Ellie!


The food was yummy and we got to sit in the pink castle section.



Everyone loved the show!


The evening had kind of a sad ending, though: Elora and I retreated to the car so she could find a bowl while dad and the rest stayed in to have some more fun. When they finally came out to the car dad told the sad tale of how the girls insisted that they wanted to go through Black Bart's cave. They were sure they would not be scared even though it was a dim black-walled tunnel. As soon as they were in too far to turn around because of people behind them, they both started crying and screaming and begging to get out. Daniel had to mush them forward as the tour proceeded at a painfully slow pace through the rest of the scary cave. Oh well, it can't all be craft-heaven and animal-amazing.


Glenwood Springs: The Last Hoorah!
We spent all day at Glenwood Caverns Advernture Park. What a great place for families to play!

Here we are waiting for the tram to take us up the mountain to the park.


Grandma and Grandpa Smith joined us--even more fun!

And here we are on the tram--the girls in one and the boys in the other.

The view was amazing.


As soon as we got there I spotted the perfect photo-opp. It's a good thing we brought along photographers.




Daniel and I thought it was really cute to perch Levi on the bear. Grandma tried not to scream.







The older girls were great at flipping on the trampoline with the help of the harness.
















Naomi achieved a triple flip and everyone watching was impressed.


Dad and the kids just loved this quaint attraction that came with charming sound effects. Grandma and Grandpa and I could have done without it.


This was an all-time favorite. The girls got to mine for arrow-heads and gems in the sandy water, then keep their findings forever. What great souvenirs those rocks are!


Another high note of the park: rock climbing! Viv was too little, but the other girls were fearless and agile as they scaled the heights. Dad was, too, of course, and even I was able to reach the top.















Bull riding--no one loved it, but it made for cute pictures.








Back at our favorite hotel, The AmericInn, we had another great time in the extra-fancy pool.


Elora and Levi are never far apart, as you can see.























Naomi always goes to the hot tub first and is often there by herself, doing her own thing. That's Naomi!




What a great slide!





Here we are before making the last leg of the journey from Glenwood Springs to Richfield. So long, happy vacation! Thanks for the memories!








After traveling a total distance of 1,450 miles, we arrived at our new home in Richfield. Grandma and Grandpa Smith worked like hired hands for days helping us move in, and the neighborhood and ward welcomed us with dinners, invitations, information, and lots of friendship.

Richfield Update

So far, Vivian has joined us in bed every night since our move. This helps her deal with the stress of such a big transition by giving her extra snuggle time with mom. And this (very early) morning, it has helped me to do some online window shopping for home decor, answer some Emails, and update the blog, since occasionally I can't go back to sleep after her cute little warm body crawls over me and nudges me ever closer to the floor.
The girls and I are getting a slow but steady dose of acclamation to our new life here. Things are in drawers and closets and are even organized, which makes me feel at home. The girls can visit the house to our left for Passion and Paris, (those are the little girls' names--different, yes, but their parents are surprisingly normal) straight across for Kate, Brynn, and Adri, to the right for (I forgot her name--she's Elora's age), farther right for a family with FIVE girls, and down the street for Emily. And that's only our street! There are more little girls waiting to be played with close by! Elora met one today at the Parks & Rec. twice-a-week free craft time in the park whose name is Ellie Smith! They got along great, calling each other "K" and "M", their middle initials.
The craft day has become a regular part of our summer, along with daily visits to neighborhood friends. We also enjoy the free school lunch in the park occasionally. As it was explained to me, Richfield has lots of free- and reduced- lunch school kids and an extra source of money from somewhere, so the lunch ladies take their cafeteria line to the park for summer lunch for anyone from 0-18 years. It's fun to go and see which friends showed up, and it's fun for me to not have to choose, make, serve, and clean up lunch at home.
We've only been to the pool once, but we're going again today. I love this pool! Admission is $1 for kids and you can rent a huge array of fun floaty things for .50 each! The shallow section is huge with its own little slide, and the deeper part has a bigger one. And there's a diving board, too, which Elora enjoys. One of my favorite parts about it is that all the teenage employees are kind, attentive, and respectful to both the kids and their dorky parents. It's kind of a Richfield trend I've noticed that makes me so glad we gave up living in a bigger town.
I've been feeling needy for more friend interactions to reach the point sooner where I can show up to someone's house with greasy hair, complain about my chubby tummy, and borrow a diaper. Today I was given hope by being invited to my neighbor's weight room three times a week to work out with the ladies and let the kids play in the basement. It's the perfect opportunity for girl talk and toning on a regular basis!
Church here is wonderful. The people are sincerely interested in every single person who walks through the door, and the speakers, teachers, and primary leaders all seem to take their callings seriously and are well prepared. To sum it up simply, both in the ward and neighborhood, the people are genuinely kind, good, and believing.
Daniel is doing all kinds of exciting work in the ER and the nurses are learning that he's unusually bold when it comes to procedures. There are a few things he can do on the spot in the ER that they normally have another doc come and do because most ER docs don't have the extra training Daniel has. He will start his clinic work in the middle of August, and there are patients lined up to see him (unfortunately not because his fame has spread all the way from Arkansas, but because all the family practice doctors here are booked for weeks). Daniel's having to adjust to running into patients around town more often than he did in Jonesboro and to mixing medicine with religion since it's Utah. He's working so many weekends that people at church don't know him yet, so those friendships will take a while to start.
We've all been enjoying the mild weather here--to us it seems like paradise with the fresh western air, mountain views and cooler temps, even as others complain that it's sooooo hot. We're excited for the cool and crisp of a western fall, too.
About the house--it's big and beautiful inside and out, and we love it! I was planning to hire an interior decorator to help me out so I could learn from an expert in one of my fondest areas of interest, but I'm so overflowing with my own ideas that I just want to do it myself yet again. And there's so much potential with the landscaping, too. It's a do-it-yourselfer's perfect blank canvas.
In other news, Levi turned one! He's taking a few steps now and then, but he has turned into such a goofy, giggly kid that he can hardly ever balance because he's usually laughing and bouncing. He loves to be teased and to play any kind of game with anyone. Naomi discovered that if you plug his nose he'll respond by snorting. Every time. He's a fun, happy child, and at times the only kid in the house I'm not mad at (it's embarrassing to admit, but I know other moms get me). He can cheer me up out of the darkest of moods--I'm just plain lovey-dovey about him. And so is everyone else, except for when he bites us, which he loves to do.
So far, so good for us in Richfield! We miss lots of Jonesboro people, but we enjoy it here very much.

Levi's First Birthday

On Levi's birthday his sisters fawned over him, starting with lollipops

and on to ice cream and cake.

It's a wonderful life!