Football, volleyball, soccer, wrestling camps...wow...we are busy this time of year. As I'm traveling that 555th mile in a week, I think to myself, "Remember, when this is all over, you will miss it!". And I think I will.
Proof of that....Matt leaves to go back to OSU next week. Grant went to school all through the summer and was only able to come home for a few days. Alex is gone for two years. I will miss this crazy, busy life with kids. Hopefully by the time the last one is out of the house, I'll have "little" Grants/Matt's or Alex's running around to chase. The other day, we were at a wrestling camp and Greg laughed and said, "Can you imagine, in less than 10 years we could be sitting in this gym watching Grants kids wrestle?" Are we really getting that old?????? Loving that Heavenly Father has given us the health and ability to keep up with these guys (& gal). Excited to report, as of today, I have lost 51 lbs! Greg is off the charts with his weight loss. Feeling (and moving) a lot more like I'm under 40! Blessed. That's all for now. I keep thinking I will get my Hawaii pictures edited and uploaded. Maybe next week? It has taken me forever to look at these pictures! I am also working on downloading all of our "summer fun" pictures....will have them up shortly.
Had an awesome time with Matt, Kayla, Nick, Chuck, Suzette, John, Mari & Zach. Great dinners & fun swimming adventures! Sure love that family of mine!!!!! So the kid has only been gone for 2 days....and I miss him! Here are some fun pics from college life:
I'm sorry that I keep forgetting to post Elder Smith's address:
Elder George-Alexander Vincent Smith 4490 Eldorado Parkway # 1833 McKinney, TX 75069 What a crazy summer this has been! We have barely been home. Today is a catch-up day for this old girl. I have been going non-stop to wrestling camps and other various destinations since the day school let out......and I'm tired!
First of all, the big news; Alex is now on his mission. We dropped him off at the MTC on Wednesday. What an emotional day! He was so ready to go, and he was so happy. Such a different experience then when we took Grant to the airport. With Grant, we didn't know what to expect, and all of us were scared I think. This time, we just had such a calm, peaceful feeling with Alex. It was just the right place for him to go at the right time. No worries, no anxiety. He was ready to go and we were ready to let him go. Guess experience will do that to parents. Grant survived and came back 10 times the young man. Good luck Elder Smith, you are going to do such great things for Heavenly Father, the church and your neighbors. They are lucky to have you in Texas! Below was his first email to us: Dear Family, I hope you are all doing well. That must have been a really weird car trip home. Did no one fight with me gone? Well, my room is awesome. Only me and my companion sleep in there. We have more dorm-like rooms (like what Grant lived in before he left on his mission). Two other Elders live in the some dorm as us. They are really cool and they are going to the same mission as me. My companions name is Gram like graham cracker. Gram Hunt is from Orange County California. He is like Joe Smit, but has more of a sense of humor. He is 6'4" and only weighs 135 lbs. He looks like a bag of bones. Plus, if guys thought I eat slow, you should see him eat! It takes him 7 minutes to eat a bagel. It drives me crazy…but I already love him like I have known him forever. We have been studying a lot of things, more than I could ever write down. Most of the time I feel like I trying to drink from a fire hose. Luckily, the spirit helps me pick up a lot of what I miss. Sorry you have not gotten a letter from me just yet. I have one ready for you guys, but I do not have any stamps. The book store is at the MTC, and I am living in the MTC West. Our book store is not done yet. So if you could please send some so I can write you guys. That would be awesome The Elders that I told you about in my dorm are also my Zone Leaders for our stay at the MTC. One is from Provo and the other is from Canada. Both of them are really cool guys. The one from Canada looks almost exactly like John Nelson (that use to wrestle for Heppner). It is so weird. The last thing I want to ask you is if you could send me the rest of the emails for our family. I know Ryan has one and so does Gen, but I would also like Grandma & Grandpa Smith, Uncle Doug & Aunt Heather. Can you also get me Jesse’s email? I love you guys so much and I hope you are all saying your prayers. Love your son and brother, Elder Smith Gen and Ryan are not sure what to do without Alex. It has been funny to watch their transformations. One thing Ryan is happy about; for the first time in 15 years....he has his own bedroom (with a new bed and all)! No more bunk beds....no more fighting with Alex about whose dirty clothes are on the floor. That's right folks....he's flying solo. I think deep down though.....he'd rather have the "sloppy Alex" back and his best friend to talk to every night before falling asleep. I told him Gen could move into the room (after all, she talks non-stop!). He declined. Gen is looking forward to showing her sewing projects at the County fair, while Ryan is looking forward to having a pool party for all incoming 10th graders. We have a new family in the branch that has a daughter his age. We thought it would be cool to introduce her to the Sophomores by having a party! He is also looking forward to attempting to change the by-laws of Heppner High School so that he can serve as ASB Business Manager AND President of his class. That ambition sounds like someone I else I know! Greg and I are working hard on the weight loss. I am at 36 lbs lost.....hooray! We are enjoying our walks and workouts. Gen has really gotten into working out. She loves to ride her bike and walk on the treadmill. She has a calendar all laid-out with the types of exercises she and her Daddy will work on nightly. So cute. On the other hand, she is really into cooking right now (a down-right detriment to the diet plan). Today she is going to attempt cupcakes with raspberry filling. Good thing we're working out to get rid of all those extra calories she's adding! Love that girl. Matt is working hard at his internship. Hopefully he and Kayla will be able to join us in Sunriver for our visit with Uncle Chuck and Aunt Suz. I have really been missing my brother and Aunt, as well as Matt & Kayla.....so spending five days with them will be just awesome. We will go on hikes, bike rides, swim and of course, have our famous bowl game. The secret weapon to our team; Kayla. That girl can totally play football! Last year we all had a blast! Grant is slaving away his days between work and classes. By the way, the funniest thing that I have heard in the last month was this: "What is this place, a POW camp"? - said Ryan upon looking in his older brothers refrigerator. Apparently Ryan is used to seeing more food in a fridge than a single 1/4 gallon of milk. We promptly went to the store the next day and filled Grant's fridge with food. Had fun in Maui, a trip Alex really wanted to take before leaving for two years. He is going to miss swimming....so he did plenty of it in Hawaii. Well, back to work I go. Staff meeting in 2 hours that I need to prepare for. Love to all who follow my blog....and Chuck, I'm really looking forward to being in Sunriver, can't wait! Call me so we can plan some menus :) I will be at another wrestling camp next week, so call my cell. Our Matthew was accepted into Pro School at OSU for Mechanical Engineering.....hooray! Way to go son!!!
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