Beach....BABY!!

We loved spending time on the BEAUTIFUL beaches in California. There is just something that is so relaxing about being at the beach..... listening to the waves and feeling  the sand between your toes.  It was such amazing weather while we were there. It was an overcast day and we all got sun burned, even with sunscreen...except for Ashlee. The sun in California is sooooo HOT!! 

Malibu Beach. 
My cousins Carolina and Craig took James and I to Malibu beach.  On the way they showed us all of these fancy beach houses.  WOW...they were SO  beautiful, but of course very pricey.  I think we may have even driven past Mel Gibson's house!   We loved spending time with them.  They showed us a good time and were very hospitable!!

Seagulls "looking for lunch"

Laguna Beach :
also courtesy of Craig and Carolina. After we went to the beach we went to Joe's Crab Shack.  It was so yummy and so so fun.  I went alone since the rest of the family decided on  something else. 
I loved it!!

James chillin' on Malibu beach

We heart California?
Or at least that's what it's supposed to say.  Oh well, you get the idea!

Huntington Beach:
with the Family!!

It was a beautiful day to relax on the beach!  Ashlee was all set with her snacks and a book!  Here she is all cozy ready to read!!!!

The pier at Huntington Beach!

Writing in the sand, as soon as we would write something the water washed it away.  I just love leaving my mark, ya know, it's kinda like proof we were there  haha

We saw this CUTE pelican @ Malibu beach begging for food......he didn't even care that people were up close to him and taking pictures of him :)..

~~~James~~~

The boys played some frisbee as well.  

We miss the beach already!

Hot dogs & corn dogs MUST taste better in Disneyland

Hot dogs & Corn dogs........

apples and chips.........&

DRINKS.....

*and the grand total was.........
too much!

***We should've gone to a sit down restaurant, it would have been cheaper.
  At least we have a souvenir!

~Livin' it up at the HAPPIEST place on Earth!!!

Our family went toDisneyland YAY!!!
June, 21st, 22nd & 23rd 2011

Getting ready to spend the day "where dreams come true!"

Day 1

Ashlee and her daddy

Walkin' through California Adventure, for what seemed like the hundredth time. ha ha

James, Jake and Don

Ahhh, refreshing!  Ashlee cooling off.  it was a nice day.. really not that hot...but the mist feels sooo good

The favorite RIDE......
The Tower of Terror.
We always go on it way too much, but we love it!!

Day 2

~~  the traditional DISNEY picture :)

Tower of Terror

We lost track of which time this was..

Day 3
The kids at the entrance to Disneyland!!!

It was an amazing trip.  We always have so much fun there. Well, almost all of us ;)

An evening SWIM***

And.....a soak in the hot tub!!!
We had such a fun time that we really hated to leave, I guess we'll just have to come back next year.
If you want to see more of the pictures you are welcome to go here!

~19 on the 19th~

James had his 19th birthday on the 19th of June!!  He is such a remarkable young man and we are so proud of him.  He is working so hard @ Zion's bank to save up $$$ for his mission that he will be serving very soon!

As I was looking through some pictures, I felt a little sad, that he is growing sooooo  fast, but I am also happy at the same time for the amazing person he is growing up to be!  His birthday fell on Father's day this year, so he shared his birthday with his dad!  They both wanted Banana Cream pie, so that is what they got!

Happy Birthday Jamers!!!  We love you!!

 

BEFORE!!

 I loved these candles, however they melted before James was able to blow them out!!

James loves beef Jerky....he also got an Oil vile and some ties for his mission.

AFTER!!!
Thanks for 19 fun filled years :)

"He is 17 going on........ 18."

Jacob had his 17th Birthday,  he had a fun day of school ;) and then went with James later that night to a Bees game.  We actually celebrated on Sunday with the family.  His special dinner consisted of.......

 *Dutch oven Pork ribs

and Potatoes with onions and bacon  and of course veggies.

We played a good game of 5 crowns

 Jacob loves "Chocolate cake"

I even used my cute birthday decorations.

"17"

James, Ashlee and Jake!

"Fancy Dancer"

Ashlee had her end of the year recital on Saturday night.  She has worked SO hard and has waited So long for it.  She was absolutely amazing (no Bias here) ;).  We spent ALL morning at her dress rehearsal, which is always the not so fun part....it takes so long....But we managed  to get through it. 

She was in 2 dances, Jazz and Ballet.. and she nailed them both.  I couldn't have been happier than to see my (not so) little girl do such a great job after working so hard.

Love you ASH!!!!

The Fray & U2

~May 24, 2011~

Last night  Don,James,Jake and I went to the U2 concert.  WOW!!  We were so close to Bono at times we could have touched him.  I think I enjoyed it more than anyone.  It was such a GREAT show.

I got tickets last year and wasn't able to use them because they cancelled it due to Bono's back injury/surgery.  We actually got a refund for them, and then when we were sure they were going to reschedule, we bought more.  It was a "beautiful day" and night.  There was no rain whatsoever, and we could even see the stars....ha ha!  Anyway, it was an AMAZING show, so glad that we went! . 

"The Fray"

another one of my favorite bands!

**I loved the claw and the effects were amazing**

Love the mountains behind them.....

I love this picture, there was just so much smoke that it looks foggy.

this was during the song "City of blinding lights" very cool.  

********

Today my ears are still ringing and I am so tired because we didn't get home until after 1 a.m.!!!  BUT it was so worth it! 

****

~~~ G.N.O (Girls Night Out) ~~~

Erin and Jordyn have been very good friends of ours since.the girls were 3 years old.  We try to have a girls night whenever we can, but it's been a while, because Erin was in Nursing school.  Well now that she has graduated we found time to do another.

We went to see the movie "Soul Surfer".  The movie about Bethany Hamilton who was attacked by a shark and lost her arm.

Can I just say this was one of the best movies that I have seen.  Very motivating and inspirational.  It did have a few bloody scenes and Ashlee was a little queezy  during those, but you couldn't help but feel good when you left the movie!

After the movie we went to "OUR" favorite restaurant, the Bonsai.  I say favorite because whenever we have a girl's night with the Updyke's we go there.  I guess you could say it's tradition!

We love watching them cook our dinner in front of us....It never gets old!

~Ashlee & Jordyn~

I'm just glad that they found a use for their chopsticks!!!

The Easter Bunny strikes again~~~

We had a wonderful Easter this year.  I love this time of year....We had a chance to reflect on the real reason for Easter, and it makes us so grateful for all that we have.  My kids also got Easter baskets, it doesn't matter how old they get, they LOVE to get them....We had fun spending time as a family, decorating an Easter cake, it turned out cute but not quite how I wanted.

This is the one we made*****

This was what I WANTED it to look like!!  I guess I'll be working on it so it turns out better next year
(fingers crossed)

 

Coloring Easter eggs.  I promise they were having a good time.

In their Easter clothes.  Ashlee bought her own dress.  I can't believe how grown up my kids are.  It is a little bitter sweet for me. Sometimes I wish I could just freeze time.  Before I know it they will be all grown up.

AND here is our Easter dinner.  I was going to be brave and make some Lion House rolls, but when it came right down to it I decided it would be too much work with everything else I had to do..so I decided to drive tho the Lion House Pantry and buy some frozen rolls that I just had to thaw and bake. (now that's more my style.)...They really were just as good, just not as much trouble!  

We hope you had a happy Easter:)

Grandma Smith's Easter Egg Hunt 2011

Every year Grandma has an Easter egg hunt for all of the grandkids and the great grandkids.  She outdoes herself always.  This year was a weird year for me because it was the first time that not one of my kids participated.  **Very sad for me.  The kids had lunch, colored eggs and frosted and decorated cookies.  They looked for eggs, and got their very own Easter baskets with candy and toys. 

~And what is an Easter party without bunny ears~

Look at all those happy faces.  Grandma made some darling chick cupcakes.  

There was even a jar of jelly beans. Whoever guessed the right amount won $5. 

The Lucky winner was Vanessa...she guessed 74 which was the exact amount.

Congrats Vanessa.

~Kind words~

As a mother I always see the good in my children, but it's always nice when others see it too. 
Hardly a Sunday goes by when someone doesn't approach us and tell us how wonderful James is .Today  I also got this sweet note in the mail from a friend of mine in our ward.  It just made my day.  James is such an amazing young man and we are so proud of him and all of our children~

*Thanks Lisa for the kind words....they mean a lot!

What's for dinner. . . . . .

Spaghetti and Meatballs?!?

Nope,

If you take a closer look, you'll see that that these are cupcakes.  I made them for an April fools joke. . .

I thought the kids would love them, however they didn't....it surprised me because they were actually really good!

She finally did it. . . . . . . . .

ASHLEE got BRACES!

We have known since Ashlee's permanent teeth came in that she would absolutely need to see an Orthodontist.  She has a small mouth and big or lots of teeth, either way, her mouth was really crowded.  I really didn't know how bad her teeth were though, until I saw a picture.  She was so patient and sat like such a champ.  We are so excited to get this taken care of. 

 sidenote: She even looks cute with braces :)