Sky View Homecoming Week

Brianna isn't old enough to go to homecoming yet, but she sure was busy with all the school activities last week.  Jon even lost his mind for a minute and agreed to let the tennis team use our boat as their float for the homecoming parade.  The whole family was a part of the parade Wednesday night as we pulled 21 girls from the tennis team in the parade.  

Brianna being goofy once again with girls from tennis.

Brianna with two of her friends at the homecoming football game!

Brianna and two of her friends painted their old YW Presidents face and their new 

YW Presidents faces for the big football game.

Brianna the Superfan!!!

Happy 40th Birthday Jon!

We were able to celebrate Jons 40th birthday last week.  We had a nice night celebrating with our family.  Jon of course didn't want any special treatment or parties.  We gave him his wish and just celebrated at home.  

Someone let the neighbors know that it was Jons birthday and they came over to sing and wish him a happy birthday!  (The Goldman Family) 

It was a lot of work to get 40 candles on the cake and get them to all light!  Happy Birthday Dad!  We love you and thanks for all you do for the family.  We hope you had a great birthday!

 Love,

Julia & Kids

LOTOJA 2008

LOTOJA 2008 was another epic event in our lives. It was another beautiful day for biking although a little chilly in the morning. Jon's goal was to beat his time from last year but it didn't quite turn out that way. He was happy, however, in being able to finish for the second time. Once again Julia was a great support and we could not have done it without her. Julia's brother Alan came to do the race this year after spending a summer of intense preparation. Julia's parents also were here to help with support and take in all of the activities of the day.  Tee and Dave were back for a second time and Julia's nephews, Mike and Brad where also there to help out with support.  It was a great day for everyone.

Getting a little ride in the day before the big race.

Preparing food the night before. Jon thought that he would once again try some potatoes. He said that he will not be doing potatoes next year.

The morning of the race. We all got up at about 4:30 -5:00 am to be ready for a 6:00 am start.

Here is Alan, Dave, Tee and Jon  ready to go.

Jon and Alan anxious to get going.

At the start. The Bishop that Jon serves with also did the race. He is in the Blue behind Jon. Also not seen is a neighbor Greg Carlin. They all started out together.  It was pitch black at 6:00 am so they had to have lights to start.

At the first feed zone in Preston. Jon recovered from banana overload last year and once again was stuffing them down this year.

The support crew waiting at Montpelier. From L to R: Lisa (Alan's wife), Julia on the phone, Mardi (Julia's mom), Brad and Michael (Julia's nephews). Thanks to Brad and Michael for there help and support. It was fun to have everyone there.

It was a rough year for Jon. In Montpelier he was not looking or feeling the greatest.

Trying to decided what to eat before heading out again.

At the top of Salt River Pass, also known as the King of the Mountain climb at mile 110. Jon was not looking good. He said later that he really thought about throwing in the towel at that point but after getting some nutrition (Pepsi) he pushed on.

After Salt River Pass Jon got a second wind. Here he is biking up the Snake River Canyon on the final leg. He once again hit the wall at Hoback Junction and it was slow going for the last 20 miles.

At the finish with Greg, Jon and Alan. Congrats to Alan for finishing first among the four who started together. At the end Jon was just about an hour longer than last year. He says that it is motivation to come back for more next year.

Here is Jon with his good friend Mike Broadbent who got him started in cycling two years ago.

Thanks to all who helped.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

Jack is out the door

Look who is going to school.  We can't believe that our last child is now out the door.  Well not quite.  Jack is very excited about going to preschool and Julia will now have some free time during the day.  Who knows what she will do.

Brianna is enjoying playing tennis.  We get to go to Park City to watch a tournament today.  Here she is going for an ace.

First Day of School!

Today is the first day of school for everyone but Jack.  He will start preschool in a few weeks.  We all had a hard time waking up to make it to school on time.   It is always sad to see summer come to an end.  We have had another fun filled summer with lots of fun trips and family reunions.  It is also nice to get back into a normal routine.  Jack and I don't know what to do with ourselves today!  The house is so quiet!  

Brianna is going into the 10th grade and this will be her first year at Sky View High School

Heidi is going into the 8th grade and is going out to Richmond to North Cache 

Mallory is going into 4th grade and is at Greenville Elementary with Mrs. Budd and Mrs. Gutke

Caleb is going into 1st grade and is at North Park Elementary.  He has Mrs. Magnum.  He is excited to be going to school all day and taking a lunch with him.

Mallory and Caleb ride the bus together.  Heidi rides the bus at 7:00 in the morning and Brianna is getting old enough that she has friends who pick her up for school!  We will have all five kids in five different schools this year.  We hope we all can have a great school year once again!

Brianna Makes the Tennis Team!

Brianna tried out and made the JV tennis team!  She has worked hard this summer spending a week at tennis camp at BYU to make the team.  These are pictures from her first match.  She played doubles and won!  Way to go Bri!  We are proud of you.

Happy Birthday Brianna & Heidi

Another year has gone by way too fast.  Brianna and Heidi celebrated their birthdays on August 7th, Brianna turned 15 and Heidi turned 13!  We had a fun time celebrating as a family with them.  They each got fun things and are growing up way too fast!

Mallory worked hard to make Brianna and Heidi crowns for their birthdays!  She decorated their door and then Caleb and Mallory took Heidi breakfast in bed.  Brianna was gone early to tennis tryouts so she missed out on breakfast.

Watch out all you people on the road!  Brianna is old enough to get her drivers permit!

Brianna invited a bunch of her friends over for pizza, cake and ice cream for her birthday.  Heidi went to the movies with Jon while Briannas friends were here.  Then when they got back we had cake. 

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIANNA AND HEIDI!

Smith Family Reunion McCall Idaho

We had a wonderful week of camping in McCall, ID.  My family all met there and we had a week full of fun activities.  My brother Alan was in charge and did a great job organizing all the meals, activities, devotionals and everything else.  We spent each day on the lake and we all thank Jon for the many hours that he spent in the boat.  I don't think he even sat on the beach for more than a few minutes each day!  

Jon did find some time to get behind the boat and work on his surfing!

My brother-in-law has made these kayaks that fold up, so they brought four of them with them.  Mallory and Caleb had a great time learning how to use them and spent a lot of time paddling around the lake.

A couple of days we rented wave runners and all took turns riding them.  Jack didn't want to get off of them.  He kept finding people that would take him out!

Caleb woke up one morning and had a tooth so loose that it was about to fall out of his mouth!  He wouldn't let Jon or I pull it so he walked over to Grandpa Smiths motorhome and had the dentist pull it out.  He didn't even make a sound!  Way to go Caleb your 1st tooth you lost was camping in McCall!

One afternoon we spent a couple of hours fishing.  Each of our kids were able to hold there own pole (thanks to Alan coming prepared with more than one pole!)  They each caught at least one fish and some more than that.  Here is Jack and Kathryn holding the fish they caught on a stick.

Each day one of us was in charge of a craft or activity for the family.  Here the kids are with the t-shirts that they designed and spray painted.  We also made Jacobs ladders, had some fun games including tug-of-war, walking on stilts, being blind folded, etc.  

One morning we got up early and went and took family pictures.  It was a beautiful morning and we found some great spots to take our pictures.

Grandma & Grandpa Smith with all of their 14 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild!

Thanks for the fun week!  We have an awesome family and we all had a great time and are still talking about all the fun.