It's a Birthday Week!!

My Fam is all about the Aug B-days! This week especially we have three! I thought I'd give a shout out and a little b-day love...

Blake-O's

Blake's b-day was on Monday. I can't believe he's already 11! It seriously makes me feel old. (I feel old saying something makes me feel old...anyways....) Blake is one of the most fun-loving kids I know. He is always in a good mood. I can't wait to see what he decides to do when he grows up because he always has some invention, business, or scheme up his sleeve. He is so creative. He has always been so willing to help anyone in need, and he is a hard worker. I love the kid! I think my favorite memory of Blake is from a few years ago when we were making an alphabet video to send to the utah grandkiddies. We all had planned parts to say and then all of the sudden on Blake's turn he just comes out of nowhere with this stand-up comedy act, off the fly. It was SO funny. He has such a great sense of humor, and yet he is still SO kind hearted! Love you blakey!!

Tyrone

Tyler's B-day is on Friday. Ty and I go way back....Let me preface by saying; I have never seen anybody with SO much patience with children. Really...with any kids...his own or not. He is an incredible dad to Harper and Elliot, might I add. When I was little Ty used to sit with me and count my penny collection. OVER and OVER. I think he pretty much did whatever I wanted him to...he's that nice. He really will do anything for anyone. I remember being completely broken-hearted when he went on his mission. I love the relationship that Ty and I have now because I feel like we have the same sense of humor. We just laugh all the time. He can make anything funny, and then we just build off of eachother. One of my favorite memories with Tyler is from this past winter when he was kind enough to go snowboarding with me. You should know that he is like pro, and I'm DEFINITELY still learning. We spent the day in a blizzard, pretty much freezing, but laughing the whole day. Tyler was such a good teacher. He was nice enough to wait for me when I fell...about every 5 seconds, and he really helped me improve. It was so fun. Tyler is one of the most genuine, kind-hearted people I know. Happy B-day and I love you ty!!

Lindsey-Lou

I don't think anyone's called her that for like 15 years, but it just came back to me so it's officially out of retirement ;) Linds' B-day is on Sunday. Oh how I love this one :) Linds and I have been side-kicks since I can remember. From the days of our matching Gap Kids attire to now, I think i've always been her little shadow. Lindsey is one of the most on-the-ball people I know. Ever since I can remember she has been clean, organized, goal orriented, driven...etc. etc. etc. I can still hear my mom..."Why can't you just keep your room clean like Lindsey does...." My mom always jokes that Lindsey has been my "2nd mom" all my life, and it's so true. She really does take care of me! Even still! She is such a caring and thoughtful person. She is so in tune with the way people are feeling around her, and she is always doing nice things for people. Like seriously...ALWAYS....I don't know how she does it. I feel like it was Linds and I at home together for the majority of my growing up because we were the youngest, so I have an endless list of favorite memories with her. I remember when I was like 11 I would wake up in the middle of the night scared, and without fail every night i'd go sleep in Lindsey's bed with her. It was a twin, mind you, and every night she'd let me. She's that nice. I love all our shopping trips and dinner outings. We always laugh and have such a good time. You're amazing Linds. Happy B-day, and I love you lots!!

Yep...my family is amazing. Happy B-day you three!!

Three flights of stairs later...

This past week has been SO crazy. Benita & I had to move out of Mt. Vista starting last Thursday and it basically took us until Sunday to get everything finally moved out and cleaned and everything. I really like our new place and it's going to be really nice once we get everything all put together. I'll post some photo's once the place looks presentable. (We're still putting stuff away!)
Here are some things I learned while moving...
1- I detest manual labor. Seriously carrying boxes down a flight of stairs and then up 3, not my idea of a good time. WHY do I have so much crap!
2- Chivalry is dead...Nelly Furtado was right...We had the help of ONE of our guy friends to move some furniture, but we flat out had some guys say no to helping us. REALLY?? I was totally blown away. Now...let me add in that I know a lot of our guy friends would have been more than willing to help us, but were out of town when we moved, so not all our guy friends are that awful. What happened to the days where a guy sees a girl carrying a box bigger than she is up the stairs and he would rush to help her instead of thinking....hmmm she's strong...
3- A little Stop for some frozen yogurt and a diet dr. pepper can help make moving a little less painful.
4- I HATE that Benita's room is on the bottom floor and mine is on the top. You have to understand we've been wall-mates for the past 4 years. I can't just yell to her anymore! So sad. thank goodness for cellphones.
5- Moving is a pain. The end.

We took a quick break from the move on Friday night to go to Amber's Reception which was so beautiful! She looked adorable, and SO happy. I loved her "candy bar" that she had for her guest's to take home a bag of candy. Yep, I'm a sweet tooth! (And yes, the purple skirt made an appearance, as per Amber's request.)

Move Over Betsy Ross....

Ok, so I'm not usually one to post a big ol' solo shot, but I'm quite proud of my latest venture so I had to share it will you :) I was looking through some magazines that we had around the house and I found myself thinking...I could make that...several times. Not that I think i'm some seamstress, because I most definitely am NOT. I am quite the rookie actually. However, I definitely thought I could try. So, I set of to Joann's and began wandering through the fabric first. I found the CUTEST flower printed fabric. Very Anthropologie. Quite excited I went to search through the patterns. This proved to be a little more difficult than I thought due to the fact that the last pattern I used was for pajama pants in 9th grade sewing (shout out to chels and liz...good times!) I looked through all the patterns and found one that looked similar to the vision I had in my head, and I was set. I got out my mom's old Bernina Sewing Machine that works like a charm, laid out my fabric, and got my pattern cut out. As I laid my pattern on my fabric I realized that matching up the patterns of the flowers with the correct direction of the pattern was a little out of my skill range, so it was back to Joann's to find a solid. I decided on the bright purple which would prove easier to match up. I think the most time I spent on this project was looking at the pattern directions. I was so worried I'd make a huge mistake. It's just not the same as when Master Seamstress Elaine is over your shoulder helping you out! Anyways...I did it!! I actually made a skirt. I'm quite excited about it. I feel like this is going to be a fun little addiction. :)

Take a Second...

Sometimes when things get crazy busy and I start to stress about everything in life I get caught up and tend to forget all of the amazing blessings that I have. Today was one of those days, so to counteract I decided it was time to do an evaluation to remind myself of all I've been blessed with.
- I have an amazing family. I get to see them frequently even though some of them live far away. I'm lucky to have my sister Linds about 2 min from my house and she lets me bug her all the time.
- I am lucky to have great friends. I've always had such amazing friends. I really don't know how I am so lucky. Although my parents aren't in Utah anymore I feel like I always have close friends surrounding me like family.
- Not only do I have one great job, but I have two. I have been doing personal training for the past year and a half for a private gym in Orem and I LOVE it. I get to hang out with great people, and talk about health and fitness, my passion. I also started working for my brother-in-law's security company doing all his financial work about 5 months ago, and it has been awesome. I work with great people there and they are so good to me. I love both aspects of work even though they are so different.
- I am healthy. My schedule gives me time to workout everyday and it's such a stress release to me. I really and truly feel blessed to be able to have time in my day to workout. I love it. Although I may not be exactly where I want to be physically, I feel like I have been and will be able to accomplish a lot. (I'm still proud of the smith fam for completing the 1/2 marathon together, what a cool experience!!)
- I have been able to get a college education. I couldn't have done this with out the love and support of my parents, and I know there are so many people who don't have this opportunity. The things I have learned in college have been invaluable. Not only have I learned so much relating to my field I learned a lot about myself, and my capabilities as a person. Although many times I almost gave up, I always had the support of the great people around me to keep me going.
- I have the gospel in my life. This is the greatest blessing I could possibly have in my life. It is my constant. I love the peace and the strength that I get from the gospel.
- I have a car that doesn't break down on the side of the freeway at 5 in the morning. Bless you my little black beauty.
- I have food to eat, a place to live (yessss!!), and clothes to wear.

My apologies for the rambling, but I feel better already. :)