I feel like I am moving away

After 18 years of speculation and discussions, the Idaho Falls 22nd Ward no longer exists. If my sister had not moved away last year, I would now be in her ward. Too little too late. Our bishop had been eluding to the changes for several months now. Talking about getting our numbers up or they may get rid of the ward altogether and so forth. No one thought it was much more than idle threats. They certainly showed us.

You can read about the changes more in detail here.

The kids will get to be in primary with more friends from school. As will I get to be with some of my PTO friends in church. The boundary line was moved west a block and a half. The hard part about changing wards is leaving behind a group of friends and neighbors that we are just now starting to feel a part of. Ryan took it a lot harder than I did, but I feel a little less rooted there than he does. My friends are switching with me. His are not.


The calling issue is interesting. The ward we are leaving merged with another ward so they have 2 of everything already called. We are joining a fully functioning program already in progress. This leaves us kind of on the outs. I did meet several "influential" people that will help decide our collective fate in the new ward. RS Pres. Primary Pres. The bishop asked us some interesting questions. I may have inadvertently gotten Ryan involved in scouting--completely unintentionally I assure you.

Next week we have stake conference so it will feel like nothing has changed. After that we move to the new building--almost a mile away instead of 2 blocks. No more walking to church for us.

Now instead of focusing our thoughts of friends, neighbors, etc. westward, we will be facing east.

It is interesting to me how one little line can change everything so much.

The "Smith Girls" Reunion

On Saturday I got together with a bunch of my sisters, cousins and aunts--all the women on the Smith side--for a Smith Girls Reunion. But mostly to spend time together with our Grandma Smith. She is going to be 95 this summer. July 4th actually. She is a kick in the pants. Everything I learned about sarcasm came from her.

There were a lot of people there, but also quite a few who did not make it that we wish would have been there. A lot of the Nielsen women were there--both sets. (My dads 2 sisters married a couple of brothers. That is a story for another day) A couple Miller women made it as well. And of course all my Smith sisters but 1 were in attendance too.

Here is the funny thing though. Of all 18 women who made it, only 3 were actually named Smith.

My dad is the only male child in his family and although he had 7 children, 5 of them are girls and all married.

No Smiths there.

His oldest son is married so Rachel is a Smith. They have 3 girls and only 1 boy. But kids were not invited.

Of course there is his wife, my mom, who is a Smith.

And then his mother, Grandma Smith.

The potential for more Smith women is pretty bleak too. When Carson gets married there will be one more. But that's it.

When we go home everyone still calls us the Smith girls. I kinda like it. With as many people in this world who have that name, you wouldn't think it would be much of a distinction. But I am here to tell you that being a "Smith Girl" is well known in our neck of the world. And not too many people can claim to be one.

Nice Tweet!!

I am on Twitter. You can follow me @lishajeanne if you really want to. Except what is the point? Someone explained it like this.

"It's like updating your status on Facebook all day long, but you get the notification instantly if you want it."

Ummm...Ok.

Admittedly, I can see how this could be useful.

For example, one of my good friends is a "higher up" at ISU. (Didn't know I was so well connected did ya?) Yesterday, he met with all the other "higher ups" to discuss the budget cuts/staff cuts/tuition and fee increases, etc. they are going to have to be making this year. Normally this is information, while good to know, not to useful in my life. But pretend I have a sister who is one of the aforementioned staff members and wants to know if her job is in jeopardy. Thanks to Twitter, we knew INSTANTLY that yes, in fact it is. This is an effective use of the Tweet.

I have another friend from college who lives far, far away. He Tweets all day about random things. Yes, he includes his job updates, but he also sends cool info he finds on the Internet, with links to the story. One really useful thing he recently tweeted about was General Conference. All day Saturday he kept sending updates on topics, quotes from the speakers, etc. At first I was getting a little annoyed with it because I was in the middle of a dance competition, but then I realized "this is great because I am in the middle of a dance competition and have no way to listen to the talks." Another very effective use of the Tweet.

My brother the architect is also fond of the sending of random Internet finds. He likes to send pictures and articles about cool buildings. He is also a DJ over at blip.fm and sends lots of new songs to listen to.

What does a SAHM have to Tweet about? I have asked myself this quite a few times over the past couple weeks. Mine have looked like this lately.

"bathing the boys"

"updating the blog"

"going to buy milk...love the grocery store"

But anything interesting I am doing, people would be grossed out by.

"changing a poopy diaper"

"mopping the bathroom floor...toilet over flowed AGAIN!"

"changing sheets from another 'accident' during the night."

Do people really care about what I am really doing? I guess it gives my friends in the worlds of academia and corporate America something to grin about. Every so often I do get a little reply back about how much fun I must be having, or how I got involved in something like that. (referring to the cooking class I taught to the kids at Ally's school during After School Enrichment)

So in an effort to be a better Tweeter, I found this article. I think I need to rethink what I do send in my updates. Or maybe just rethink Tweeting at all. I feel like I am a better follower than a Tweeter when it comes to this new form of "social networking."

What do you think? Do you Tweet? If so, who do you follow? What do you pay attention to when Tweets hit your home page/TweetDeck/text? How has Twitter become valuable in your life?

Side Note: If you are following me, I will be sending an insane amount of tweets this week...Ry and I are trying an experiment. So if they seem dull and everyday to you, they are. Just turn my notifications off for a while.

Random Fact: I had more followers and was using Twitter before Ryan. I am just saying.

The Search for Peeps

You may have heard me mention before that holidays have grown to a new level in the Smith family. We no longer are able to celebrate ANYTHING on just one day. It seems to spill over into at least 2 or 3, sometimes more.

Having said that, here is a recap of our Easter weekend (and then some.)

We dyed eggs on Wednesday, giving the kids plenty of time to play in the dye. The newspaper that draped the table wasn't even too wet when they finished. One benefit to growing children is their ability to keep things cleaner as they age. I kinda like it.

Friday was Ila's birthday party. Complete with a Princess Tea Party and a visit from Cinderella herself. I missed the party, but I did make the cake and sent it to Poky with Gertie and the girls for the party.

Later that evening we met for our first barbeque of the season. The day was beautiful, we almost got out the picnic tables...almost.

Following the delicious meal, Maga taught a fun yet spiritual lesson on why we have the holiday. The fact that Jesus was crucified was not lost on Emma and she worried about it for quite some time.

"Why did they kill Jesus Maga?" her worried little mind could not understand no matter how many times it was explained.

After the good news of the ressurection was passed to the younger generation, we went outside for the Annual Smith Family Easter Egg Hunt.

Peeps were hidden among the loot, but Emma searched in vain. "Maybe you will find some later." was the voice of comfort.

Ally found the Golden Egg. In other hunts this may be attached to a great prize, but not here. Here the fun is in the finding. Everyone searches. But only one person can find it. They jump up and down and get all excited. They only thing they win is bragging rights. Then they give it back to be hidden next year.

Saturday morning we joined other members of our ward at a friends house for another egg hunt. The kids enjoyed swapping prizes at the end. Second basket of candy. Check. Peeps were no where to be seen.

After 3 hunts, we had lots of eggs to play in and Clark took advantage.


On Sunday morning, the kids had to search for the baskets from the Bunny himself. After a little frustration and no reward they were "prompted" to check in the back yard. Under bushes and behind fences, baskets were finally found. Coloring books, picture books and goggles were found amongst the candy. The Peeps from Mom and Dad were presented as well. Emma's were gone before breakfast. Success!

Luke was so proud to wear his pink tie "cuz it is a Easter color."

Side Note: Emma woke this Monday morning complaining of an upset stomach. Too much candy and peeps. We warned her not to eat so much. But at least now the temptation is gone.

Have you seen my camera battery charger?

My camera is fine...don't worry. The battery is dead however and I have no idea where the battery charger is. Hmmm...so until I can find it, I have no way to take anymore pictures. I think I am going through withdrawal. We had to postpone our Easter Egg dyeing party yesterday for a few hours until dad could get home with a camera to take pictures of it. Even then, he missed most of the fun.

We have been turning the house upside down looking for it and have had no luck. If you happen to see it, will you let me know? I have this pretty new paperweight that used to be a brand new camera that makes me sad every time I look at it.

Dance til you can't dance no more...

Back from another dance competition...Dance Unlimited. It went well. We continue to improve and impress each time.

Update from the girls:

The "boredom" was not as severe as in the past.

The "fighting" did not happen (thank goodness).

The teams performed rather well! I must say I was pleased.

Here is the rundown if you are so inclined to want details.

I feel a real sense of ownership when it comes to the studio. My only claim to it is as a blood relative. Most people don't realize that though, so it makes me feel even more attached.

I tried my hand at some action shots this go round. They are not great.

Here are a few I thought were interesting.

Yes I do know they really are bad pictures. I was "playing" with the settings on the camera to try to figure it out. I don't think I ever got there though. Just because you have access to a nice camera doesn't mean pictures will turn out great.

All of you who actually know how to use a camera, I could use some tips. Any info you can share would be helpful. I think I am decent at the close up face shot...I know I am improving there...proof is in the pudding. (see previous post) The action shot is a whole new ball game though (pun intentional).

"When I Grow Up"

"Kung Fu"

A soloist from our studio

"Speed Racer"

Post Script: Ally is in "Kung Fu" and "Jump Up"

There is a first for everything

Clark is 7 months old today. We had a little photo shoot prompted by this FIRST...he wants to crawl and he finally can assume the position to get him moving. I am so happy I caught it. I grabbed the camera because I knew I wouldn't be able to get him to do it again. I was right. Enjoy the photos.

This one we call "Papa lips." If you know him, you will know why.

Side note: Although I am excited that my baby is getting ready to crawl, I am also saddened by the thought that this is the last time I will have a little tiny baby. At 18 lbs he surpassed "little" quite a while ago, but he is still stationary and therefore almost completely dependent on me. We celebrate the firsts, but do we pause to consider the lasts? I have cherished him with that thought in mind from his birth. I am not in a hurry for him to get big. I wish he could stay little just a while longer.