Welcome to the real world, Olivia!

Well it happened, our baby arrived. Olivia Lynne was born on July 10th at 12:17 am (that's the morning!). She weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and has since then been filling out even more. She is pretty perfect and we are enjoying her, even though there is no preparation for having a newborn.

She's beautiful and one stylish dresser!

Tyrion Smith...he will always pay his debts!

In preparation for our Olivia arrival in July, and because I married such a patient and great man, we got a kitten a few weeks ago. We named him Tyrion, as we are well aware of our nerdy roots. He is now 9 weeks old and is too adorable for his own good. Already there have been numerous pictures and he will have lots more once Olivia gets here and we have two cute things to photograph.

And obviously I love this one to show off that I am his favorite!

Easter Family Fun

We got home from D.C. just in time for Easter. We went to my parent's and had Easter breakfast, an egg hunt, and Chase took a family picture. It's going to be a different look next year when Olivia gets here, so we'll have to update again next year.

Updates and Time in Capitol

So there was an update quite a bit ago, which I guess is a running theme for blogs, I suppose. We are still adding to our family with a little girl in July. Chase is still working as an image editor and photographer, and I am still teaching and moving closer to the end of my doctoral program.

We ended up taking a vacation to Washington D.C. in April. I was quite pregnant and had my ankles and feet swell (tons of fun), but it was a great trip.

The first day we got there early and went around all the monuments, saw the White House from a distance (they kept us from getting too close for some event happening), went to the Newseum (Anchorman exhibit!), and saw the Library of Congress (so many books). It was a lot of walking the first day and we became pros at the Metro. It is the benefit of being married to the human compass.

The second day was filled with more Smithsonian fun, including the National Art Gallery, Air and Space Museum, and the Natural History Museum. Then on to see the giant columns of the National Building Museum. I then talked Chase into renting bicycles to ride around downtown. It was fun and ended up being one of my favorite things. Chase enjoyed the guy we passed asking his "woman" why she didn't think of it. I was the woman who thought of it! After dinner, we went to the Washington National Cathedral, saw the Darth Vader gargoyle and cat carvings (so great), and walked back down to our hotel.

The last day was devoted to Arlington. We went early and walked around, taking a lot of pictures and just being in awe of how big it is. We then took the train to the airport and headed home. It was a short trip and I'm sure Olivia will want to go back at some point when she is born and older, but it was a great trip for our little family.

 Chase and I in front of Thomas Jefferson.

 Great view of Tidal Basin and Washington Memorial.

 Which one is pregnant?

 So many flowers and budding trees. It was beautiful.

 Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

Lincoln Memorial.

 The World War II Memorial and a shout-out to the home state.

 The Capitol from the observation deck at the Newseum.

 Stay classy, Planet Earth!

 The Library of Congress and the Gutenberg Bible.

 The Metro and Chase showing off his skills.

 A carved kitty is still a great kitty.

 Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

 Some amazing perspective shots of Arlington.

One More Smith

Chase and I are expecting our first child in July! I'm 14 weeks and it hasn't been too bad, well as far as I've had to deal with...just wait for the last few weeks of pregnancy, I imagine!

I've enjoyed all the excitement from those in our family, friends, ward, and work. Everyone is supportive and excited for our new Smith boy or girl.

We'll update as we can, since it's been a bit since an update anyway.

The next one should be a gender post!

Muse

Chase and I decided to buy last-minute tickets to Muse to prove we were still cool and hip before we have a bunch of kids and start going to bed at 8 and only watching the news. The concert was amazing, so many lasers!

Fried Food and Con

This past weekend was pretty busy...and awesome.

On Thursday, we went to the Utah State Fair to see Chase's pictures he submitted for photography. Last year, he got 2nd place and this year, two of his pictures got Honorable Mentions. Side note: He deserves to win 1st every year.

On Friday, Chase and I, along with my niece, Lindsay, went to the first Salt Lake Comic Con. According to the reports, we were there along with around 70,000 people, so it was a big deal. We also met up with our friend, Jon, and saw another friend, Adam, dressed like Zapp Branigan. It was fun and very interesting. There were a lot of costumes and some celebrities. However, one of my favorites (and most unbelievable moments) was listening to a man discuss Bigfoot and how wildfires are a constant source of danger to them. So wonderful and crazy. All in all, it was a great event and I think next year we'll go again...and dress up.

My niece dressed up as a character from Homestuck, a webcom.












And this picture is one of my favorites, because that man is Kevin Murphy, he helped to write and star in Mystery Science Theatre 3000. He's a genius!

A lot can happen in a year...

Last week, Chase and I celebrated our first anniversary. A lot has happened this year and there is a lot to come.

Some highlights:

• Obviously the marriage!
• Buying a house.
• Having a cat for two weeks.
• Our new ward and area.
• Honeymoon to Mexico, trip to Disneyland, seeing Rush.
• Hiking the Wave.

What's to come:

• Salt Lake Comic-Con
• Chase is putting in pictures again for the Utah State Fair.
• More trips, hiking, and awesomeness (like Kanye).
• Who knows...

Pinterest Wreath

Since moving into the house, I've wanted to make something for the door, so looking on Pinterest, I found a tutorial for a felt leaf ombre wreath and I thought it would work perfect in some earthy tones with the house.

The finished product doesn't look bad. I am always satisfied to finish something and I am not completely disgusted by it. Thanks, Pinterest!

Amateur Photography Merit Badge

Because Chase is such a patient husband, I asked if he would be willing to teach me some photography skills. I enjoy the idea of being better at photography and having an expert on hand does help. So we went for a Sunday drive up Guardsman's Pass, into Park City, then around Sugarhouse area. Here are my top picks.

This one is my favorite. I played with aperture and focus. I like that you can see all the other blossoms in the back. Even Chase gave this one a thumbs up.

Pioneers...again

So I've slacked off a bit on posts, it's been a busy summer and I'm just trying to get caught up on schoolwork and life.

Add to that, Chase and I have to plan a talk for Sunday on Pioneers. I've got a confession, I get rather tired of pioneer talk and how we will never understand their sacrifices, we're not as good, yada yada yada. Well I think they were great, so that's not the argument, but rather, I feel like we spend too long on the past or on one group. I like new things in church and new views. So I am going to take a somewhat different approach.

Thoughts?

Moooooon Lake

A few weekend ago, we packed up our mountain bikes and camping gear and went to Moon Lake in the Uintas. Chase loves the Uintas and was excited to get out there and for us to use our new bikes!

We went with Chase's brother and some friends of his. Everyone was really nice and friendly, and we enjoyed getting to know new families. Apparently, they go every summer for a few camping trips and we are now part of the group, so we'll see what adventures come next.

This was the first trail we rode. I am not an experienced mountain biker and we hit some rough patches, but it was fun. I'll get better and own the mountains soon!

We got to take a boat around the lake and then spend some time on the beach. I had some school readings to complete, but the scenery made it pretty easy.



Camping has its benefits. Fires every night, sleeping in a bit, and great scenery. It was a good weekend!