Jon's Tenth Birthday

Jon had his big TENTH birthday last this week.  We celebrated ahead of time because he wanted a sleepover with a few friends.  

First we headed out to the local bowling alley.

Bowling is fun!  The boys had a good time.  

Then we headed home for pizza, presents and cake.  

Faith and I made a bowling-themed cake for Jon. 

The boys played tag in the dark backyard and slept in the living room that night.  

The next morning Brian made mancakes and sausage for everyone.

And then there was an epic Nerf war in the backyard.  

Jon picked up his new favorite shirt with some of his birthday money.

Thanks everyone for the cards and gifts for Jon.  

Stay tuned for more!  

**PS**  I plan to keep updating this private One Smith Day with more personal things about the family, which you should still get in your email inboxes.  The public One Smith Day will contain less personal stories and recipes for everyone.  I want to keep them both because we use this private one as a journal of sorts and enjoy looking back through the years at ourselves and how the kids have grown.

Jon's Blanket Redux

In the past I have made each of the kids their own blanket - with the exception of Baby Grace (she'll get hers soon!).  And they all use them - with the exception of James (his wore out and was too threadbare to fix.)  

A few years ago my sewing machine broke and I recently picked up a new one.  The back had blown out of Jon's blanket a while back and he has been asking me to fix it.  

I finally got the chance. 

Just for fun - 

Here is Jon in January of 2008 when I made him his blanket.  

So cute.

And here he is today when he got his blanket back - just like new!

Get out there and sew something!  They'll thank you for it!

Haircuts

Saturday was haircut day - times 5.

I went with Brian and all of the boys (except Peter) to Sports Clips.

Ready to begin.

Jon is done.

Brian, Andrew and James in the hot seats.

Its tough getting your hair cut.

But it can also make you sleepy if it takes too long.

All done!

Treats for good boys.

The crew.

Stay tuned for more!

Haircuts at LSU

My favorite place in Baton Rouge to get the boys' hair cut is the barbershop at the LSU Student Union. 

Yes, even on game day.

We braved the crowds and traffic and found a parking spot not too far away.

Here's Jon in his before/after

Andrew and Grace were watching tv while they waited.  Grace was tired!

Andrew after.  I didn't get a before.  Jon tried to take a during shot, but it was blurry. 

The barber gave us a 2-for-1 deal so we had some cash left over for the candy machine. 

Score!!

Then we braved the sidewalks back to the car.  

Flags were flying.

Lots of tailgating going on.

It's hard to see, but there is actually a big screen tv under that white tent.  A little generator sits by the tree to run the tv I guess.  Us?  We choose to watch at home from the comfort of our couch and avoid the lines at the port-a-potties.

But what do we know??

On the way back to the car we saw some tackle dummies.

So they had to mess around with them a little bit.  

Sure beats WonderCuts!

Stay tuned for a post on Gracie!  She's 7 months old already!!

Three Months Old

Grace turned three months old a few days ago.  

Here are some recent photos of her:

Also last week was Crazy Camper Day at church.  Kids camp is coming up soon.

Andrew

Jon

Grace did not dress up for Crazy Camper, but she looks pretty cute anyway.

Stay tuned for details of our visit with Gramma and Grampa Berg - coming soon!

Laundry and Haircuts

So, it was time to wash some sheets and blankets.  I decided to try and take three loads to the laundromat to get it all done at once and because one of the blankets is HUGE. 

So, Brian took James to a meeting and then took Jon and Andrew out for haircuts and I took the rest to wash blankets. 

Peter liked the front loading washers. 

And the front loading dryers.

Daddy's blanket is still washing.

When the laundry was done we went back home and soon Brian came back with the boys. 

Here are Andrew and Jon with their new hair cuts.  They're about to get wet on the slip n slide.

Here they are playing in the mud that results from any type of water fun in the backyard.   Jon is being a Mud Monster.  He said they eat turkey sandwiches - and people.  YIKES!

And here are a couple of close ups of the littlest boys from this morning. 

Peter

Matthew

Jonathan's Money

Here is that video I promised you.  There are many more videos that the kids have been making with my little point and shoot camera.  It takes a little while to edit them together because they're so short.  

Hopefully I can put together a couple more soon.