Zoo Fun!

...since our last entry. For that, we apologize. It's been a busy week for the Smith Family. First, here are a few photos from our trip last week to Hogle Zoo. We have many, many more and will figure a way to get them on here as a slide show (all of them are posted on my Facebook profile). We had a ball. Thanks to Grandma Sarah for treating us to a fun day with the animals and with you! We saw all the classics- elephants, rhinos, zebras, bears, birds, turtles, penquins, and so forth. It was a rather chilly day with a touch of rain, but nothing could deter us from our long-awaited zoo trip with Grandma. We also loved having Aunt Kara will us. It was a day for us to remember!

The girls had the time of their young lives. Kadence is still talking about it. I think the most enjoyable and amazing part of being parents is watching things through their eyes. You see things in a totally different light.

Our next entry will let you know why we've been up to this week. Stay tuned for our latest adventures!

LDSP Building Dedication

Last Friday, our LDS Philanthropies Building was dedicated by President Henry B. Eyring. What a remarkable experience! We've been preparing for this for weeks and when it came to fruition, it was well worth it. President Eyring, President Samuelson, Elder Kerr, and Bishop Burton were all at the special session. President Eyring gave such tender comments, followed by a powerful prayer. I was able to participate in our choir number, "Because I Have Been Given Much." A public tour followed. It makes me ever so grateful to work where I do. To work in the area we do, and to do it in a building dedicated by one of our leaders is a true blessing.

President Eyring even came into my office and I was able to shake hands with him. This wasn't the first time I've shaken his hands. In fact, he's got a special place in my heart. Not only has he spoken numerous times to LDSP, but way back in late 1998, he visited our mission. As we got things ready for his visit last week, it made me recall that time in Japan. In both instances, we made sure things were spotless, that things were in order, and that we were absolutely ready for a visit from a prophet. Sister Komatsu, my mission mother, said afterward that she had spent a solid week preparing, ensuring that each nook and cranny was clean. Then she said something that I'll never forget: "It's wonderful that we did this, but shouldn't things always be in this condition?" She then paralleled our preparation for the Savior's Second Coming. If we found out He'd be returning next week, we'd be working double time to repent and be ready. In reality, we should always be our best so that if He did come, we'd have nothing to fear. This experience helped me recall this lesson my mission mother taught me so vividly.

This is Joy

No, joy is not out little Tayah waking up before 5:30 this morning. Joy has been holding her the past 45 minutes. Is there any feeling warmer and deeper than holding a little one, especially your own? If you can think of something that is better, I'd love to hear.

Last night, Kadence and I had a cuddle session too. She's pretty much on the mend, but she just wanted to be held. Lately, she's really taken a liking to the movie Emma. There is a song on that film that I've sung to her since she was born. The other day, Elizabeth and I were baffled as she suddenly burst out in song at the dinner table. We couldn't tell what she was singing for the life of us. Finally, it dawned on us...it was this song. It is so cute to hear her sing it. So, the past few evenings, she and I have watched that scene right before bed. I love moments like that.

I love being a daddy. I pinch myself sometimes to make sure that this is real. When I realize it is, I thank my Heavenly Father for sending Elizabeth and me these two little angels. I'm also grateful for my Elizabeth. We couldn't ask for a better wife and mother.

This truly is joy!

Opposites in All Things

Thankfully enough, the longer I live, the better I understand things (although sometimes it's quite the opposite!). Case in point: Kadence was terribly ill earlier this week, having a 103 degree fever. When this happens, as a parent, you naturally want to magically take it away from them...to alleviate their pain and discomfort. As she's gradually improved this week, we've all become ever so grateful for health. Opposites in all things. It's all part of Heavenly Father's plan for us. We become much more thankful for health we it's gone. We become much more grateful for family after a long day at work. We are even more thankful for the thrill of victory when the Jazz season is over (okay, that may be a stretch).

The simple point: Heavenly Father teaches us lessons in myriad ways and this is one I've gained a better perspective of this week.

Joined at the Hip

For Elizabeth and me, there is nothing sweeter than watching our girls play with each other. There is a lot to be said about the bond between sisters that formed almost instantly the day Tayah joined our little family. We love our girls!

Keeping Up With the Smiths

We've fallen a tad-bit behind, so here's the 411 on the Smith Clan.

As you can see, we have some new hair styles in the family. Tayah had her first pig tails last week. How adorable is this?! We even included the "after" photo, right before we put her down to bed. Elizabeth had a good amount taken off and I like the new look. I too got a hair cut, but that's as momentous as it sounds.

Thanks to those who voted on our poll about our dear friends Jim and Pam. We won't ruin it for those who didn't watch The Office last night.

The Jazz lost a heartbreaker the other night and are behind 3-2 to the evil Los Angeles Lakers. Hopefully being at home will aid the cause tonight. By the way, the Lakers are everything that is wrong with professional sports...arrogance, cokciness, and self-centeredness. Yes, I know those all mean the same thing (I did it on purpose!). Did I ever mention how much I dislike them?!

Last Friday, Elizabeth and I attended the BYU President's dinner, an annual event honoring some of the university's most loyal donors. It was a definite reminder as to why I do what I do at work. The entertainment, speakers (especially Elder Nelson and President Samuelson), the company, and the food were all fantastic.

That'll suffice for today. Thanks for reading family and friends!

Mother's Day

It's been several days, so we'd best catch you up on our Mother's Day happenings! The girls and I gave Mommy some flowers, chocolate, and a barbeque grill. We're all excited for the grill and can't wait to fire it up! We had a get-together with my mother and siblings on Saturday. We met at BYU (convenient for us) and had lunch and then walked around. I was able to take the on the tour of the LDS Philanthropies building. Fun times (as you can above)!

Sunday, we made Mommy breakfast and had a nice, relaxing morning together (we cancelled all the normal Sunday meetings). All the talks and lessons about mothers were wonderful. We sent out our second missionary from our ward. The brethren took over the Primary and other areas so the sisters could meet together. As always, we're thrilled none of the Primary children were lost in the shuffle! I had the opportunity of teaching the Young Women about motherhoods. That evening, we headed to Sandy for a family dinner. We went out for a belated dinner Monday night.

Above all, we hope our mothers/grandmothers know how much we love them. We're grateful for bringing us into this world, for loving us, and teaching us what is right. All that we are and all that we have, we owe to them.

To our Elizabeth-- WE LOVE YOU! You are so amazing, patient, caring, talented, etc. I couldn't ask for a better mother to our girls. We hope that we can celebrate you and your sacrifices, and not just on this special day. HAPPY MOTHER's DAY everyone!

April Nuts and Bolts

How quickly the months do fly by! Any minute now, two baby girls could wake up, so I’m going to make good use of this time. The quickest Nuts & Bolts format is to just look at the Smith Family calendar for April and highlight the highlights (which is what someone should always do with highlights):
04.01: Elizabeth attended the big Enrichment birthday celebration and it was quite the fancy affair with china, a fine dinner, and an entertaining talent show. That same night, I held my end of the semester banquet with my staff. As a fitting tribute to April Fool’s, we announced to the staff that I was taking a new position within LDS Philanthropies. Their reactions, especially the looks on their faces, was priceless!
04.02: Tayah says her first word…Dada!
04.04: Tayah had her nine-month check-up and is one healthy baby. Her shots were as fun as ever. We did a sealing session as a bishopric. We all went to an ice cream parlor called Sub Zero, where they freeze the cream with liquid nitrogen!
04.05-04.06: What a blessing General Conference was. It was memorable to sustain President Monson as the Prophet. We enjoyed all the talks, especially Elder Ballard’s and President Uchtdorf’s. I got together with Dad and the brothers for the Priesthood session in Orem.
04.07: We are making a concerted effort to try new things. Tonight, we went to FHE at the Springville Museum. It was Japanese night, with traditional music and origami.
04.08: Kadence was cute, talkative, and a bit mischievious. Wait, that happens every day!
04.09: My staff was delighted to have a visit from Coach Bronco Mendenhall. Go Cougars!
04.10: Elizabeth took her sister Kara to the airport for a surprise visit with her parents. They just recently retired and are making arrangements now to move up to Coeur D’Alene, ID as their retirement pad.
04.12: We took the girls to the Blue and White game at Edwards Stadium. Simple, but fun…especially if Cosmo is involved! Momentous event: Kadence used the “big girl potty” for the first time. There was much rejoicing in the land (side note: she hasn’t used it since…)!
04.15: We had fun watching the news stories about the tax procrastinators!
04.16: Elizabeth had the second half of her root canal procedure. Joy! We also had cleanings later in the month. To fulfill our ritual, we took the student supervisors to Tucano’s. This is truly how food will be in heaven!
04.17: Kadence and Tayah have fun at the toddler sign language class.
04.19: We had service project where we cleaned up the part of Hobble Creek that runs past our neighborhood. There was a good turn-out (could’ve used more youth!). Elizabeth was in charge of breakfast for everyone. That evening, we had a ward temple session where 40 members participated in an endowment session. Very special.
04.20: Had a family dinner celebrating Darrell’s birthday. Always good to be with family!
04.21: The Jazz went up 2-0 in their Playoff match with David’s Utah’s enemies, the Houston Rockets. No victor yet as of this writing (Go Jazz!).
04.23: Elizabeth went to Enrichment recipe group.
04.24: As a ward mission, we canvassed the mobile home park in our ward as it’s an extremely transient area. It was just like the good old days, knocking on doors and meeting fun people! The semester officially ended.
04.25: We went to a fun boutique in Mapleton, followed by dinner out. Simple times make for unforgettable memories.
04.26: Attended Spencer and Whitney’s reception in AF. Congratulations!
04.27: David went to Stake Priesthood meeting. We are blessed to have a wonderful Stake Presidency.
04.30: Let us introduce you to the newest member of the Smith Family…our new Honda Odyssey! Elizabeth has been the catalyst in doing all the research and searching and we found our vehicle. It was really fun for us take the first family drive in it.

Let’s see what the next 31 days have in store for us. We love you all!

I want Mommy and Daddy to get married again!

It is unbelievably cute to watch Tayah learn how to communicate more and more. She can sign Daddy, hat, fan, light, more, and ball. She also is more than adept at giving great, big, wet kisses to Mommy and Daddy. She is such a happy baby and we love her to death!

Yesterday, Kadence watched our wedding video four or five times consecutively (it's about 12 minutes long). Elizabeth said that she constantly was waving and saying hi to her grandparents, her cousins, and also to Mommy and Daddy. She kept repeating, "I want Mommy and Daddy to get married again!"

Fashion Statement

How cute is this? Let's just hope she doesn't dress like this when she's a teenager!

Mothers Week

I gave the family a little FHE lesson last night on mothers. Kadence was sitting on my lap. As we looked at pictures of Elizabeth, I started listed all the MANY, MANY things she does for the three of us. It was so cute to hear Kadence's responses to the questions I asked. "Does Mommy read to you?" "Yeah." "Does Mommy sing songs to you?" "Yeah!" "Does Mommy love you?" "Yeah!" Her yeahs were so sweet and then she went and gave Elizabeth multiple hugs. She loves her mommy! One day is not nearly enough for our mothers. Anyone else in favor of celebrating Mothers Week?!

Saturday, we went around the yard and the house, writing down a list of different little projects we want to work on (if anyone wants to contribute some money to the Smith Home Beautification Fund, give me a ring!). It got us pretty excited. We've had a lot of fun recently just working outside. There's a lot to do, but that is a good thing.

The other day, Kadence was bouncing around and exclaimed "My foot is dancing!"

The Newest Addition to the Smith Family

We adopted a 2005 Honda Odyssey into the family last week! As we couldn't have a new van of our own, we went the adoption route and our love for our new vehicle is the same as if we were its original owners.

Elizabeth did an excellent job with the research and daily web surfing, trying to find the perfect vehicle. We test drove this minivan last Monday and bought it Wednesday. We got a good deal on it and it only has 21,000 miles on it. Of all things, Kadence was most excited for the TV/DVD player (mainly because our friend who from whose dealership we bought the van popped in Finding Nemo to show us how it works)! As my ladies were driving home, Kadence exclaimed, "This is so fun Mommy!"

The girls are getting used to not being as close to each other in the car, but all is well in Zion. We're thrilled and are excited to initiate it into the family. Here are some photos of the latest Smith family member!

Adorable Adorability (is that a word?!)