the end. ish.

I'm not entirely sure the title to this blog post is fitting for what I'm about to do, but this is the end. 

The end of this blog. 

I was going to do a post concluding our 2015 and introducing 2016, but there are sssooo many things that happened in 2015. I would never have enough time!

With the new year comes new ideas. One of these ideas, a combined blog with my sista. I won't lie, this is mostly her idea. She thinks I'm cooler than her and so by combining our blogs, we'll get more traffic   relate to more people   help more people... you know, I'm not *entirely* sure the reasoning behind the combining of the blogs, buttt I do think it's a neat idea. maybe I can blog even less then ;) 

She's a way better blogger than I am so I'm not sure whyyy she would want to combine with mine, but I'm down with the combo!

in conclusion, thanks for all you loyal readers. mostly my mom. and that one stalker woman I can't seem to get rid of. you know who you areeee ;) we're friends, it's okay if I say that :)

and come along for the ride ova heaaayyyyaaa!!!

2 smiths. 1 blog.

with love,
the Smith clan :)

recently enjoyed things

April is a busy month here. I'm using that as an excuse for why I inadvertently missed one of the children for 14/52 and will be completely skipping that week. Oops! Instead, I'll post some photos from our Sunday celebration of a few birthdays. I'm also behind on posting Will's first birthday. I'm in denial ;)

 the birthday boys. Jax 5 on the 7th. Nash 6 on the 10th. and Peyton 15 on the 12th!

Casey + Theo

first warm day of the spring means water balloons!

and baseball

tops optional ;)

the beginning of the water balloon fight :)

why not burn a couch. not strange at all.

yes, he's sitting on it while it burns...all hillbilly ;)

been awhile since we've gotten a sister pic :)

#sistersistersistersister

creepy oldest children

the boy who started it all :)

snow swapped for dirty faces. I'll take it!

and last but not least, the belly made an appearance!

Dave's cousins wife is expecting their first, and we're *beyond* excited!

Will: Wilbur, willdabeast, willburger, Willie.

Oh my, baby boy... how has the time gone so fast, yet again!? I probably dwell on it too much, daily maybe, but one constant in life... time passing incredibly fast. As usual, I'm late posting this, but you're 4 months young now! You're another 'easy' baby... easy going, bright blue eyes, almost always smiling... just perfect  ;) I tease, I tease... you fuss occasionally. Usually swapping turns with Theo Daisy to mess up auntie and mom's coffee mornings ;) 

The other 23.75 hours of your day you're sleeping, rolling around, eating, smiling, talking, loving peek-a-boo, eating, getting your toes to your mouth, flirting, perfecting your grasp, eatinggg (see: thighs, below)... that smile though... my heart!

but you do have a serious side... and the scowl and chin are more defined when you're serious  ;)

iPhone photos so not quite the same quality

still just as cute!

thankful holiday weekend

There's just something about long weekends with lots of family time and warm weather and good food and time on the beach that makes me never want to come back to reality. Our 4th of July weekend was just plain a good ole time. I'm sure I'm just choosing to remember all the good, but then again, that's really all I want to remember any way... the good.

the youngest cousin, Johnathan, schnoozin

I should never walk by a $1 bubble wand without picking up 10 of them. The kids love them, play reasonably well for a reasonable amount of time... best $10 you'll ever spend :)

and then I made them pretend to like each other for a photo... which turned out awesome!

and then I told them they could make silly faces... Homer was looking for inspiration :)

We are *in love* with Rowdy's new teef. A month or so ago she had some (more than a couple... she's taking after her mother) cavities that needed to be filled which required sedation sssooo she came out of 'surgery' with these brand spankin new capped front teef that we've been calling hippo teeth... chiclets...beaver teeth... but she's SO darn cute (messy face and all!) :)

These ladies are pretty much the best. A weekend together wouldn't be complete without a sister photo :)

week 38/39/40

andddd just like that we're full term. 40 weeks. 40 weeks 1 day to be exact! I've been meaning to post these but just haven't made the time to sit down and actually follow through.

Today I had my last OB appointment. I'm not fully prepared for what's about to happen any day now, but I can't really do much about that. Ha! I'm very much looking forward to meeting this new little one. Finding out boy or girl. Seeing what he or she looks like. and praying that everything goes well and everyone is healthy during and after the birth. 

baby Smith #8

due date: March 30 (Casey beat me… overachiever!)

weight gain: 45 pounds (oooops)

Many thanks to Lia for snapping this photo of me above. I'll miss that belly, but again, can't wait to meet you little one!

craving warmth {finally finishing Florida}

Ima-gonna go ahead right meow and let you know this is going to be a superrrrr longggg post. I forgot to finish our Florida vacation. :|  Honestly, I wish we were still there. Forever. I could maybe live there forever. BUT I'm saying that today after we received 10 inches (okay… maybe only 8 inches…) of snow!!! so here goes… enjoy!

A *lot* of our time was spent on the beach, just the way I wanted it. Some of our time was spent walking around St. Pete's. Some of our time was spent at the wedding. And some more of our time was spent on the beach. We had an amazing time. I wish we were there. Right now. Like… right now.

Saturday was sssooo hot. We met family for pizza. Then practically ran back to the beach.

We were all pretty excited to see a real life, free-range dolphin while we played at this park. Amazing! I was too far away to capture it on 'film,' but it was pretty neat regardless.

back to the beach :)

Sunday we attended mass at a beautiful church just a few miles from the hotel. So nice!

and then there was an amazing wedding!

she's happy, I promise ;)

then party time!

These guys were happy too. SO glad I got some sort of photo of my boys with my cousins. They're all beyond great. Wish we saw them more often!

sweaty beast sisters  :)

maybe I'm the only sweaty one… also, I want my tan back!

first dance

father-daughter dance :)

the longest goodbye hug in the history of hugs. for real, it was really long. ha!

and just like that, our Florida vacation was over. We packed up our hippos… and children… and we were on our way. Still can't believe it was over 6 months ago. Time, slow down!

Rowdy and Casey rode most of the way home positioned just like this… kidding!

I'm not sure which was worse… the bars on the doors or the 'souvenirs'…wrong turn, stop for gas and potty break, extremely fast! I usually don't, but I immediately asked all the kids when we got back in the van if they washed their hands  :|

 last stop for food before home… and it was a lllooonnnggg night!

2am alarm/border check/ticket… $140 later… ugh!

Florida, you were good to us. Kentucky, not so much ;)