Happy News and Smith Family Reunion

Before I talk about our fun family reunion to Lake Powell, I have news...I'm pregnant! It was a bit of a shock, but we're excited to have a new sweet baby join our family February 2016. Morning sickness (more like all day sickness) is starting to wear down now, yay!

The story of how I found out is as follows. I had diarrhea for 3 days and a stomach ache that would not go away (hmm weird!) My period was late, but I wasn't too worried because I do this kind of thing all the time. I have a little panic whenever my period is a little late, take a test, then I usually start the next day. I had Don bring me two tests on his way home from work. The next morning I took a test and put it on the toilet tank not thinking anything of it. I washed my hands, did a couple chores and go to look at the stick and it said POSITIVE! We weren't going to start trying for a few more months and it usually takes us several months to get pregnant so I was expecting to be pregnant a lot farther in the future, but apparently Heavenly Father has different plans. I said, "WHAT?!" and immediately fell to the floor and bawled. I had an inner battle with one side saying, "I'm not ready!" while the other said, "Quit being so selfish." Don came in, laughed at me and hugged me. He really is my rock in times when I'm not hormonally stable. All of the sudden I got so sick. There were several days of me sitting in the fetal position on the couch while the kids ran a muck. But now those days are subsiding thank goodness. Although they have switched to having terrible headaches and nerve pain in my back. I've been going to the chiropractor regularly now to get it fixed. Enough complaining...

When we were kids my grandparents had the great idea to have Smith Family Reunions every year. I have a great relationship with my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents because of these reunions. We usually meet in Southern Utah as it's pretty central for all of us to drive. This year we met in Lake Powell for the fourth of July weekend. It was packed with people and there was tons of traffic on the drive up, but it was worth it!

Some of us went to the Paige 4th of July parade. It was just as small as the Gila Valley's! Then we spent the whole day on the lake playing with jet skis and wading in the water. My aunt and uncle camped out on the beach so we had a good spot to play on the water. We were disappointed the beach was covered in stickers! Luckily, Tyson dug them all out so the kids could play and walk on the sand.

At night my cousins played games and stayed up talking, but I got so tired and sick. I'm sorry I missed out on the best part!

The beautiful Moffat sisters

Every time I got lake water in my mouth I expected it to be salty like the ocean for some reason. Probably because it could be as big as an ocean.

Don with the sun in his eyes

My mom watched Jax a lot while Don and I rode the jet ski

Bron and my nephews going for a ride in the tube

Alana getting splashed by the waves

Wading in the water was just as much fun as jet skiing. Carter thought it was so fun to "float!"

Apparently the "sun in your face" look runs in the family

The woman who started it all. I have awesome grandparents.

Snacking on the beach

We came back from our ride a little soaked. Don tipped us over when he took a sharp turn. Carter of course thought it was so fun to fall off :) My favorite part of the day was taking turns on the tube with my brother, Ryan. We felt a little guilty because we thought we took him too fast a couple times because he was flying until we talked to my mom. She took him 5 mph faster!

Rachel and Ruby

Jeffrey and his wife, Kelsey

Becky is such a fun grandma. She's with her two granddaughters, Alana and Ruby. They clearly loved it.

Snacking buddies, Ruby and Jax

Jax, Reddic, Carter, and Grady

Jessie has instilled her love of adventure in her kids. They wanted to go again and again!

Emily and Alana

The Nelson's and us eating dinner at an overpriced Mexican restaurant on Independence Day ;)

We taught the kids to take selfies to keep themselves entertained.

After dinner we walked down the road to watch a professional touring marching band perform music from Mary Poppins. It was very good!

Don and I got separated from my mom looking for a spot to watch fireworks so we watched them with just our little family. We found an awesome grassy spot by a golf course.

Sunday we were headed home. It really was too short of a trip. The boys ran up and down the hallway of the hotel while we packed and said our goodbyes. We really don't get to see my family enough. 

Oh, and I had to document my mom's swimsuit cover up she has had since we lived in Hawaii in the early 90's. I hope Mom passes down the legacy ;)

On the drive home we took a quick gander at the dam. We need to go back to Lake Powell soon!

We had a good time seeing everyone and miss you all terribly. Hopefully we can make an Idaho trip soon!