July...

We traveled from NC to Vienna, VA to spend the 4th of July with Baba Sue and Papa Kevin before heading back to Kansas. We were very lucky because Meg's brother, Brian, his wife Michelle, and their 3 kids were also in VA getting ready to do some househunting in Pax River, MD. We attended a great Firefighter Competition in the next town over, went to the petting zoo, and got some great cousin time.
Back in KS, Riley started solids and is a HUGE fan of sweet potatoes...making her southern relatives proud! We also had the great opportunity to visit with Sandi, "Patrick's first friend," the wonderful friend of ours who was in the delivery room with Meg when Patrick was born. We also spent a lot of time at the pool on post where Patrick starting getting ready for the diving board! It has been so wonderful having great family time! Enjoy the pics and videos!! You'll see Riley doing her kicks, Patrick just being goofy, Riley learning to play, and Patrick having "quiet time" where he would sing "God Bless America" for 10 minutes straight...

June...

June was a busy month for us, as well. I continued working part time at the YMCA and Chris' class schedule stayed very family friendly--we've been loving it! Patrick has been loving his weekly summer camps at the CDC (Child Development Center) at Ft. Leavenworth, and Riley has mastered sitting up, plenty of new sounds, and charming the rest of us. Patrick and Chris enjoyed a night of kickball in the warm rain, and our garden continues to grow--we can't wait to see the huge sunflowers!

Sadly, we lost Chris' Grandma, Rosa (Rose) Smith, but were so grateful that Chris was able to miss a week of school so we could drive to Edenton, NC for her funeral and services. An incredible woman who had a quick wit, an enormous heart, inspirational faith, and a love of family evident in every moment spent with her, Grandma Rose will be sorely missed. A mother of 3, grandmother of 9, and great-grandmother of 8, we will all cherish our personal memories of this special woman!


Chris' school was due for 2 weeks of break so we were able to stay in Edenton and visit with family as originally planned. Patrick loved his time walking and playing with Great-Grandpa Crouch and really enjoyed playing with cousin Charis...particularly when it meant they got muddy. Patrick, Chris, and Granddaddy Bill raced down the street on several bike rides, and we got to experience Patrick's first fishing adventure. He wasn't too sure about how a cricket was going to help us catch fish, but he really had a lot of fun reeling in the catch. As we crept into July, we also enjoyed a few day trips up to Virginia Beach visiting with friends and playing at the Bay. We finished our trip with a visit to Busch Gardens and we loved the new Sesame Street section for kids. It would have been great to have more time in Virginia Beach, but we're hopeful we'll get the chance to visit again sometime soon. We hopped into the car and heading up to Northern Virginia for a quick visit before making the long drive back to Kansas...July updates coming soon!

May...moving to Kansas!

May was a good month for the Smitty Family--after about 22 hours of driving, leaving Friday afternoon and arriving just after lunch on Sunday, with Baba Sue, Patrick, Riley, Lady, and the three cats, we arrived in Kansas. Chris took Patrick immediately to tour the house, pick a bedroom, and discover the massive backyard. The tree house is a big hit, and the views of the creek and the woods behind are pretty impressive. We've seen wild turkey, deer, and pretty much every kind of bird imaginable--cardinals, humming birds, orioles, blue birds, robins... Patrick has taken to assisting with taking care of the huge yard, albeit with his bubble mower, so enjoy the pics!

We went to the LT Dan Band (led by Gary Sinise) concert, celebrated Chris' birthday and our anniversary, and had a great time celebrating Memorial Day with a concert in downtown Kansas City. They KC symphony played, followed by some pretty impressive fireworks. I grew up going to stuff like that, so I'm really excited to share it with the kids.

Riley started eating solids and is particularly fond of sweet potatoes. We're also extremely proud to say that Patrick continues to enjoy his role as big brother...he loves to make Riley laugh, and seems to find a new way every day. The month concluded with the biggest event: the purchase of Patrick's first bike! He LOVES it, and is doing really well. With our cul-de-sac, we've got the perfect "training ground."

April...

April was a very busy month for us! Not only did we attend 3 Easter Egg hunts, but Chris made it home for the long weekend, we went to the beach, visited the local Firehouse, and more! We were lucky to visit Edenton, NC for Easter and spent the time with Great Grandma Rose, Granddaddy Bill, Grandma Karen and many other relatives. It was a great weekend, and we're so glad that Chris was a part of it. We also enjoyed the conclusion of Patrick's soccer season and the YMCA's "Heathy Kids Day," complete with goat races. Pictures of the races are being sent our way, so I'll share them as soon as I can!

The other good news about April is that we were lucky to secure renters for our condo in Virginia Beach, so that eased a great burden as we get ready to reunite as a family. I regret that I haven't kept up with our blog more during these busy months, but hope you enjoy the pictures and video regardless!



EDITOR'S NOTE No siblings were harmed in the making of the following video:

March...better late than never...

March was a blast...a blast of cold weather, a blast of warm weather, and anything but consistency with clothing and activities. The greatest gift is that Patrick continues to love being a big brother, which makes things more fun but also more manageable while Chris is in Kansas. He has taken to reading his books to Riley, so hopefully I’ll get one of the videos to upload.
Baba Sue and Papa Kevin came for a visit and they took Patrick and Riley to the Children's Museum in Portsmouth. We also had a couple of chances to be at the beach--Riley's first real visit included. The weather was nice enough to be outside, but Patrick was convinced (with his best friend Amanda) that the water was also warm enough. In case anyone was wondering, THEY WERE WRONG!

Towards the end of the month we went with Amanda and her mom (and my dear friend!) Rebecca to the Aquarium. We also made a few trips to the beach to feed the gulls and the kids had a blast. Patrick even got one to eat from his hand...something he talked about for days. It's days like that we know we'll miss, but I'm so grateful to have had the chance to spend this time with the kids. It looks like our move to Kansas won't happen at Spring Break as planned, so we'll see how quickly the bank will complete our refinance so we can be reunited as a family.

February comes to a close...

Patrick had a great Valentine's Day party at his school...his teachers fed them waaaaay to much sugar and then sent them home...definately a bad mix. :) But we had a lot of fun anyway and Patrick eventually fell asleep! The best part of the weekend was that Chris came home from Kansas. Riley smiled at him immediately and started laughing while he was home. The rest of the month was pretty normal...we celebrated my birthday, basketball season came to an end and we enjoyed watching "the Balloon Man" one night at Chick-Fil-A. Enjoy the pictures!

Basketball, aka Rugby, has begun!

We've jumped head first into another season of YMCA youth sports. As entertaining as soccer was, basketball is even more so--and complete chaos, too. The kids are trying to dribble, run, push, shoot, cry, block, have snack...all at the same time. Too crazy! As you'll see in the pictures, Patrick is very good at defense...HANDS UP! He has scored as many as 3 baskets in a game, which considering the number of attempts by each team (in whichever net is least blocked, even if it's the wrong one), is a lot! Most games he has a ton of fun just jumping around and chasing the group...and we're having fun watching.
Also, Happy 4 month Birthday to Riley! She's doing great...finally really smiling and I suspect giggling is just around the corner. Chris comes home for the long weekend so it'll be great to have her charm him a bit more.
We had the chance to go to the zoo today because the weather was BEAUTIFUL. No, I didn't think to bring the camera...

Our first bowling trip!

We decided to take Patrick bowling and were lucky enough to have our neighbors join us. The kids had a blast--we wish we'd known earlier that they alley had the rack for the little ones to use. Needless to say, the slippery shoes were a huge hit. Enjoy!

The fun of 2009 begins...

We've had the opportunity to enjoy some time outside lately and wanted to share. Patrick loves his "Better Batter Baseball" game and was excited to try out the great new kite he got for Christmas. Enjoy!

Where did the time go????

I'm not sure where the end of the year went! Here's a brief summary: Riley and Meg enjoyed a trip to Philly for the Army/Navy game, although Chris was in Qatar at the time so he didn't have the chance to influence her cheering! We had a great Thanksgiving in Vienna with Baba Sue and Papa Kevin and had the chance to visit with several of Meg's friends from high school--great fun!

We were really lucky to have the chance to visit with Meg's brother Brian, his wife Michelle, and their three kids for "pre-Christmas" at mom and dad's house in the OBX. Patrick LOVED visiting with his cousins--he still talks about how Elizabeth told him "It's ok if you don't win (at a game)...just try again!" He also really enjoyed having a sleepover with Tim--they shared a room which he thought was pretty neat. We celebrated Christmas in Edenton with Granddaddy Bill and Grandma Karen and got to see Chris' brother Ben and his wife Jen and lots of other family. It was great!

Since we don't have a lot of pictures from other than Christmas, enjoy what we have and I'll try to be better!!! Happy New Year to all of you!