Gerardmer, France

The day after Adeline's birthday we decided to head down to Geradmer, France. It is kind of a random place to visit, but Abe had thought of it because it was in his area while he was on his mission. We rented a little apartment that was right across the street from the lake. It ended up being a nice little apartment and was in a great location. We have learned that traveling in Europe, it is almost impossible to get a hotel room that will accommodate a family of 5. You really would need to get 2 separate hotel rooms and sometimes even at that, I don't think 5 people would fit. So, the best way is to rent an apartment or a home and it actually ends up cheaper than a hotel.










We spent the weekend playing at the lake, paddle boating, playing at the park, walking around the darling town and eating.
















Pooped from all the action








We had some great food there and the pastries/bread were TO DIE FOR!! I want to go back their right now just to get some bread. Abe would go first thing in the morning to get bread and it was so yummy to eat warm and fresh out of the oven!




On Sunday we drove about 25 minutes to a little town called Saint Die. We were able to go to the branch where Abe served his mission. He warned me that we would probably double the branch with our family of 5, but I kind of thought he was joking. We showed up and there were 2 cars in the entire parking lot. We DID double the branch in total and our kids were the only kids. For the first meeting they brought me and the girls back into what was supposed to be the primary room. I don't think that room had been used in years. I colored and played with the girls back there, while Abe attended Sunday school. Since there really wasn't anyone that attended that branch, they only have 2 meetings instead of 3. After I played with the girls in the primary room, we went into the Chapel for sacrament. Our girls were being really good, but they were a big distraction since there were no other kids and hardly any other people. It was a humbling experience for me. I don't know how I could live in an area and go to church where there were no other kids/members. It would be rough. It is easy for me to be critical of our ward here, but it feels very functional and big after attending that branch. After church we were able to drive to see the cute town of Saint Die and let the girls run around for a bit. We found a little place there for lunch and the food was wonderful.





All in all, it was a great little getaway!

5 Years Old

I can't believe that I have a 5 year old!!



It scares me to think about how fast the time flies. Abe and I were watching videos of Adeline the other day when she was just a little peanut. It makes me remember that I really need to savor every moment with my little girls, because they are not going to be little forever.

We had Adeline's birthday party a couple days before her birthday at Blomland. Bomland is a little family owned farm in the village right next to us. The kids first got to search for chocolate candy in a disgusting little room filled with corn. That room also had a slide, hay bails and a swing for the kids to play on. After that the kids were able to go and see the animals, feed them, play on a big outdoor play area and have little pony rides. It was definitely an authentic German birthday with the french fries, bratwurst and fanta served for lunch. I regret not getting a picture of the whole group!



I have to say that I am pretty darn proud of this cake!








































On Adeline's actual birthday we went swimming, opened presents and she picked her favorite meal for dinner. She choose shrimp, avocado, watermelon and root beer.







Some things about Adeline at 5 Years Old


-Independent
-Brave
-Competitive. If this girl sets her mind to something, she is determined that she will do it... and she will!!
-Adventurous. She is always game for anything and everything and always up for a new adventure.
-Wants to be a good girl. I have always been told that 5 year olds are pleasers and want to be good. I can totally see this in Adeline right now. She is so fun right now.
-5 going on 12. This makes me so nervous for when she does get older. She refuses to use anything that is meant for a kid while eating or drinking. She wants glass plates, glass bowls and real silverware. I asked her why she wants to use all the adult stuff and she replied, "Because I want to be an adult!"
-very mature
-still into fashion
-Loves helping out with anything: cleaning, crafting, cooking, folding laundry, etc.
-loves dressing up and putting on shows. Her shows consist of mostly dancing around and doing tricks.
-Loves riding her bike and scooter pretty much every single day. She used to ride her bike to German Kindergarten, but it is too hard now that we are going to the bus. I can't carry her bike back! Now she rides her scooter to and from the bus stop. It is much easier to fold up and put in the stroller.
-Learning to read. She can make all the sounds and is starting to put words together.
-Loves puzzles, being read to, jumping on the tramp, dressing up, coloring, crafting, and baking.
-Asks in depth questions about everything.
-Has TONS of energy. She is still our energizer bunny. She also loves to talk.

I love this little girl!

7 Years

Today is mine and Abe's 7th wedding anniversary. It is crazy to think that it has been 7 years, but at the same time I couldn't imagine life without him. My parents grilled it in our heads when we were younger that picking the right person to marry would be one of the most important decisions we could make. They also made sure we knew that when you marry an individual, you also marry their family. Marrying Abe was definitely the best decision I have ever made in my life. I also got lucky that he has an amazing family that I feel fortunate to be a part of.

Abe is my best friend and I love spending every day with him. We are lucky that here in Germany he is home almost every day. I probably need to step it up so he doesn't get sick of me! When Abe and I first got married, we were warned that the first year of marriage is hard. What?! The first year of marriage was total bliss. I love looking back at the pictures of our first year of marriage to see all the fun adventures that we had together.... just us.... no kids. I love my kid to death, but I cherish the times that it was just us two with no other distractions. No matter who you are, marriage is hard and can be trying at times; and we are no exception. However, we have been blessed with great communication and have not had any big rough spells in our marriage. I have loved all of our adventures that have gotten us to this point. Before marriage, I thought that I would live in Utah for the rest of my life. I didn't want to live anywhere else. I am a homebody and Utah is where I felt comfortable. I can't believe that we have lived in California, Ohio, Boston and now Germany. I always tease Abe that I could never be a military wife if I didn't love him so much. I'm not kidding when I say that though. It doesn't matter where we are, as long as we are together.

Abe, you are the love of my life and I am so happy to be married to you. Even when you think that I am your wrestling competitor (on a daily basis) and I am a big wimp. Happy Anniversary!!

Jet Lag

Just in case you wanted to know what it is like....

Utah Trip Part 4

I missed my family so much and was excited to spend time with them. I was especially excited that both my sisters came in town from California while we were out there so we could all be together. Adeline was so excited to see her little soulmate Johanna. When Adeline and Jojo are together, you don't ever see them. They are coloring, painting, playing dress up, feeding the horses... you name it. They are completely compatible and never get sick of each other. If only I lived right by Sierra so I could take Jojo every day! It is the sweetest thing ever seeing them play together. Norah loved playing with all the rest of her cousins. She kept calling Claire Bear, "Care Bear" and said that she was her best friend. Her and Emer seemed to click pretty well our last couple of days there and were playing together a lot. And of course she loved Dilly Pickle too. I love hearing her say his cute little name!


This post has a million pictures, but it is kind of hard for me to narrow it down more than this since my dad, my sister and I all took pictures the entire time. I have way too many. Some of the highlights in no particular order-- and the pictures in no particular order as well.

-4TH OF JULY
I love 4th of July in Oakley. We woke up bright and early and ran the 5k. I still can't believe that Sierra actually ended up getting talked into doing it. It was so much fun even though we were in horrible shape. My dad even kept up with us the entire time and sprinted at the end to try and beat us. Sierra cut a corner to try and get ahead of him and I was not able to cut the corner due to pushing a stroller. All three of us were sprinting as fast as we could at the end and we finally "let" the old grandpa win :)

After the race we went to the Oakley Parade. My dad drove the tractor over and reserved our family a spot. It's a small town old fashion parade where they throw candy at the kids and the local kids ride their horses and floats. I love it. After that we went to a kid rodeo. Adeline, Jojo and Emerson did a sprint to earn a silver dollar and tried to catch a greased pig and chicken. Fortunately non of the kids caught one... however Jojo was really determined and fast and I thought she might have a chance.

That night my mom had all the Smarts over for a big BBQ. I can't believe how huge our family has gotten. It was fun to catch up with everyone!! Immediately after that we went to the Oakley Rodeo. I grew up going to this rodeo every year as a kid and haven't gone at all since I got married. Needless to say, I was so excited to be able to go this year! It did not disappoint!

--SEEING THE HORROCK'S!
Oh I miss them so much in Germany. At least we have a Utah tie so we can still see them every so often. We went to the Alpine slide at the Olympic park in park city. We waited in line for about an hour... or 2? I can't remember. However we finally got to the front of the line and got in the slides on the track. When we were all about to go, it started raining and they completely closed down the track. It was such a bummer. Luckily Abe and Adeline made it to the bottom and saved my mom from watching the hungry babies all by herself! We had to wait for an hour or so for a shuttle to come pick us up and bring us back to the bottom.

--RIDING HORSES

--SWIM LESSONS FOR ADELINE

--ALPINE SLIDE IN PARK CITY AND ICE CREAM

--BOATING

--SEEING FAMILY (Cousins, Siblings, Parents, Grandparents... and Great-Grandparents for my kids:)

--PLAYING, PLAYING, PLAYING. I swear there wasn't one day that went by that we didn't do something extremely fun.

The one thing that is a bummer is that the time always slips away super fast when we go to Utah. I feel bad I wasn't able to see a lot of my friends. Hopefully next time!! For the friends that I did get to see... I loved it! I miss everyone so much!





THE RANCH


SLIP AND SLIDE FUN