Pumpkins, Apples, and a Party

I'm so happy with all the Fallsy things we've done this month!

First we carved pumpkins with Jacob's sisters. I think Jacob was done with his before any of us even came up with a game plan.

Yes, I'm wearing Jacob's shirt. No, it's not too big for me.

SIMBA! My finished pumpkin. So good.

My friend/neighbor, Kelsey had a Wonderland Halloween Tea Party. You must look at her blog and see all the fantastic details she put into it.
Given my current state, we decided it would be fitting to go as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum--the fat boys!

I thought I would be a little bigger by then, but oh well

And this weekend we made caramel apples. mmmmm

Booo

With that title and it being October and all, I know you're thinking this is going to be a Halloween post. Well, you've been fooled. This is actually a random Jr. High memory post.

So. At the end of 7th grade I decided to audition for Advanced Drama. I was like, "Hey, I've starred in lots of Smith Children's Theater productions and been killed in a few Tragic Christmas films (our homemade version of a Lifetime Original Movie)." So I felt pretty qualified.

Everyone had to prepare a 1-2 minute monologue for try-outs. There was a lot of Legally Blonde, Never Been Kissed, and some Disney movies. Then there was me. I walked my gangly, high water-sporting 7th grade self up to that stage and delivered this...

Needless to say, I made it.

Surprise

Sadly, I couldn't share the good news with my family in person, so I made this movie for my mom's birthday to announce my pregnancy:




A photo of her reaction:


She had been crying from all the sentimentality of the slide show+James Taylor, and then she was all excited. Obv.

I never thought I would be so happy to be...

Even though it kind of just looks like I ate a lot, that's really a baby in there!
And he or she will be here (around) March 28, 2012!


p.s. before you start trying to do the math, that makes me about 17 weeks along

p.s.s. yes, this probably will become one of those mommy blogs where all I want to talk about is baby and pregnancy and the like. Deal with it.

Ya, well.

It's just one of those days when I'm determined to be productive, and I end up eating salt and vinegar chips and watching this instead:



So worth my time.

Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered

Last night we went with some of Jacob's friends to UVU's corn maze. I sort of hate feeling disoriented and have the worst sense of direction, but I actually enjoyed this one. I love doing festive things that remind me that it's holiday time! Otherwise, I get so busy working and studying that I don't even know what month it is.



I also like that when we all got split up, Jacob, Robert, and I thought we were totally going to get out first, because we found the map on Jacob's phone and figured out where we were. We still came out last. We had a bonfire afterwords and roasted marshmallows and played mafia and junk.

Lari Lue

Today is my mom's (40th?) birthday, so allow me to brag about her for a moment.


Sure, she may have allowed me to wear a blanket for a skirt and snack on limes, but that's why I love her! She never sweat the small stuff and just let us be kids. She can sew anything, make friends with a stranger in the supermarket line, and has the best laugh you ever heard. Seriously, funny movies/tv shows are 10x funnier when I'm watching them with Mom.

She taught me the importance of a good deal (even if it meant taking me out of school, because "there's a really good sale going on!") and that a dessert isn't complete until it's been topped with ice cream and homemade hot fudge sauce.

And one time when Costco stopped selling their amazing ice cream bars, my mom wrote them the following letter:

I am devastated that you have quit selling your chocolate dipped rolled in nuts ice cream bars from the food court. Since you have destroyed my life by not selling them anymore, perhaps restitution could be made if you would please give me the recipe and directions for making my own. I will not try to sell them, they are strictly for my own personal enjoyment. I might even consider buying the ingredients from you, since I do know the roasted almonds ( a very important part of the recipe) can be purchased right there at Costco. It is hard to imagine even coming to your store without the reward of eating a bar. PLEASE PLEASE I am not kidding, it would mean the world to me, if you could just give me the recipe. Thank you from the bottom of my broken heart which might be repaired dependent upon your cooperation. I am counting on you!

Please do not disappoint me further. My heart can't take it.
Thank you,
Lari Smith, valued customer since 1983

It wasn't too much later that they brought the bars back, so if you've enjoyed one of those babies in the past two years, you can probably thank my mom.

I could go on and on about how my mom's the best and about her many talents--these are just some of my personal favorites.
Happy Birthday, Mom!!

oh wait..

Maybe I am still a four-year-old.


I get hungry at school.
And if I could get away with it, I'd probably bring a little tupperware of cheerios and goldfish to sacrament meeting.

little visits

Sometimes when I get home from school, I have a little visitor waiting for me (usually not bearing a large egg).


If school has made me grumpy or overwhelmed I think "uhhh, I'm too tired for this". But I always end up being thoroughly entertained and enjoying her company. Some of my favorite moments:

She told me about one of her mom's friends being pregnant, and I said "Oh she has a baby in her tummy?!" and she responded, "NO! It's in her uterus!"

We decided to watch The Wizard of Oz one afternoon and she asked, "Does this movie have a robot in it?" I told her no and then figured out that she was referring to the tinman.


She came over while we were in the middle of a movie and wanted to play on our tablet thing so Jacob told her to go play it in the closet, which she did. For a long time. In his defense, it's the only separate room in our apartment besides the bathroom.

I love kids at this age. Why can't we all be four-years-old forever?