Love Where You Live

Jess is getting so big

2012-11-29T13:20:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Big Boy!

2012-08-10T15:42:00.002-06:00

My sweet sweet boy. I don't know what I would do without him. He knows how to make me happy, he is so thoughtful and creative and smart. Ha loves technology, specifically computers (didn't see that one coming :P ) He wanted fireworks for his birthday, and boy did he get some!

We tricked him on this one. It was the ONE he wanted and we told him it was too much money, but we went back and got it for him. He was SO surprised.

Happy Birthday bud. My big 6 year old. Starting 1st grade in a few weeks! Aaaahhh!

BABY JESS IS HERE!

2012-06-18T10:02:00.000-06:00

We had our little angel on May 18th at 5:20pm. Jessica Joyce Badger weighed 7 pounds 11 oz. 21 inches long. The labor went so smooth. Can't complain. She is just the funnest little thing. We couldn't be happier.

I plan to post quite a bit this summer, so hopefully I still have a few readers interested in our lives. Mike and I are starting a weight loss challenge, so big changes to come with our health again. Jeffrey will be a first grader in the fall, and Katie will be in preschool. So fun to watch them grow up. I am Young Womens president in our ward. Such an amazing opportunity to work with the youth. Our girls are amazing. Between Youth Conference and Girls Camp our summer is busy with plans. Our little family has a few trips planned as well, one to Flaming Gorge with my family and a camping trip up to the Spruces with Mike's family. Thanks for all your love and support.

NEW YEAR 2012! Here we come!

2011-12-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

As most of you have heard we are expecting baby number three. We are very excited. We will find out what we are having in the next week or two, baby is due at the end of May! I am feeling better than ever. I never get very sick being pregnant, but being so healthy going into this pregnancy has made it even more fun! Mike is doing well with work and his weight loss. We are excited to re-commit in 2012.

We are shifting focus to our new business adventure with my sister in law Shelley and her Vinyl Decal shop www.thehouseofsmithsdesigns.com check it out. Mike and I are the production team working with Shelley to build an amazing shop linked with The House of Smiths amazing Blog. Fun additions to come in the new year.

I am no longer designing flowers as of January 2012. It has been so fun to share my talents in a creative way and I may pick back up where I left off one of these years, but as for now it is time to move on to bigger and better things.

I am Young Womens President in my ward.... it's hard. I feel inadequate but that's usually how it goes. I love, love the girls and we will have a great year! Mike is Ward Mission Leader along with Gospel Principals Teacher each week. Busy busy.

Jeffrey is in Kindergarten and seems to enjoy school, he loves computers and being creative with paper and coloring. I am excited to get him involved with sports. like soccer or karate or something in the spring.

Katie is three going on 16. She is a fun spirited little girl and she is SO excited for our new baby. She loves horses, and playing with her brother.

Thank you all for your love and support this past year, we love you all!

Happy Holidays! And, Happy New Year!

First Day of School

2011-09-21T13:47:00.000-06:00

Jeffrey's in Kindergarten!!! Love this kid. He definitely chose what he was wearing the first day of school. He refuses to go to school without his har fixed, all spikey and cool. And is very particular with the type of snack I pack each day.

He is doing so well so far. Yay!

STATE FAIR 2011

2011-09-21T13:24:00.000-06:00

Getting our hands stamped.

Kangaroos this year huh? Pretty fun.

We had such a great time. Spent too much money and left very satisfied.

2011-09-21T13:21:00.000-06:00

Our tradition for the kids. A ride on the ponies is a must.

2011-09-21T13:19:00.000-06:00

Mike standing for our new lifestyle. Last year we got fudge carmel apples and a funnel cake. This year we brought our own apples in a plastic baggie.

2011-09-21T11:08:00.000-06:00

Until next year.

Gettin Crafty

2011-08-26T10:18:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted for real. We are doing so great right now! Hope things are going well for my few readers.

I have done quite a few of these frames lately, thought I might as well share. I have two more in the works that I am doing for my cousins. One that is getting married on monday! And one that is having a baby pretty soon. So fun. This is more like something I think is fun to do. Definitely not a business, but I slowly the word has spread and It has sure been fun to get ideas for baby names ;)

Pricing starts at $20 and definitely varies from frame to frame. I never use the same frame. I have been collecting fun frames here and there and use the one that fits the theme or name. Get in touch with me if you might like one. More updates to come!

2011-08-15T13:29:00.001-06:00

Hi guys! Head on over to Mike's blog for pictures and stories from our camping trip. We had so much fun. Thanks for all of your love and support. More updates to come!

PARADE OF HOMES 2011

2011-08-08T13:52:00.000-06:00

We didn't even get to half of the houses, but we definitely got our money's worth. My friend Shannon and I went to the Parade of Homes. We started out in Daybreak and saw some pretty amazing things. HOT colors right now include the grays along with yellow, turquise and green, Dark blue and white, and neutrals with pops of color like oranges and greens. Wall paper is BACK people. We saw some awesome designs. Some amazing decor and some not so amazing decor. Well worth the trip.

2011-08-08T13:37:00.000-06:00

The "UP" house. One word ...BUSY! It was crazy over there. But I'm glad I got to say that I have seen it. Inside and out. It was decorated to be exactly like the house on Disney's UP movie. It was so cute. Who would buy a house like that? I don't know, but it is fun.

2011-08-08T13:31:00.000-06:00

Favorite house by far. Located in Draper. Every detail was more than well thought out. The colors were amazing. Textures were unique. Everything came together. Adn the layout of this enormous house was just briliant.

Love the idea of the computer/ internet in the kitchen. Every cabinet in the kitchen had those glass windows, most of them were lit. And they each had an object in them to add color.

Okay.....ULTIMATE back yard. Only because it has a ZIP-line!!!! Can you see it to the left. You start at the top of the hill and fly down ocross the yard. Oh man would I have loved that as a kid. I mean this house had EVERYTHING!!! So fun, thanks Shan for a great time.

4th of JULY Festivities!

2011-07-06T14:06:00.000-06:00

Pirate Party for Jeffrey's birthday celebration.

We had a blast this year. Thanks guys!

2011-07-06T14:04:00.000-06:00

2011-07-06T14:03:00.000-06:00

Jeffrey turned 5! Love you buddy.

We ended with all of THESE. Made for a fun summer night.

2011-06-27T11:22:00.001-06:00

Don't worry if you missed it this year. There will always be the next year! It was a successful celebration of the longest day of the year. We had a ton of food and even more people than we have EVER seen. We had Steve Walker preform along with another band and an accordionist. We had a lot of fun. So next June we better see the rest of you come on over. It's at my parents home every year. They invite friends and neighbors. In Norway they celebrate it as Sankt Hans Aften it's a day when the sun does not go down for them. Land of the midnight sun. Thanks to all who came!

2011-06-27T11:15:00.000-06:00

2011-06-27T11:14:00.000-06:00

2011-06-27T11:13:00.000-06:00

Taking the time.

2011-05-23T10:26:00.000-06:00

It doesn't take much to keep a kid happy. Get down on the floor with your baby and take the time to read to them, build something with them or color with them. It makes such a difference.

Fashion Photo Shoot

2011-05-23T10:21:00.000-06:00

We came home the other evening from a family walk. And Jeffrey was in the mood for a photo shoot where he does all these "cool" poses. Katie jumped right in and started posing as well. It made some pretty silly pictures. I was standing there taking the pictures saying,

"Oh yeah baby work it. Come on! You got it. Keep em comin. Woo Hoo! Ooh, that one was hot."

Little did I know, one of my neighbors was waiting at the bottom of the stairs waiting to go up while all of this was going on. Hmm. Embarassing.

17th of May

2011-05-23T10:01:00.001-06:00

This WILL be the last year my kids wear their traditional Norwegian outfits. Sadly they are growing out of them. But, we had a wonderful time. The weather was glorious. I couldn't bare to miss it this year. It is a tradition that means so much to me. My parents used to drop us off the night before at Grandma and Grandpa Larsen's house where we would eat dinner and then head to the park down town. We would stay up late being silly with our cousins and try to get some sleep. Grandpa would wake us up super early for breakfast so we could get down to the celebration early. Where we would march in the parade and pretend to sing the Norwegian songs. We had so much fun. I will keep going every year. Hurra! Hurra! Hurra, fra Syttende Mai! Read HERE to learn more about our tradition.

Grandma Badger came with us this year because we made plans earlier in the day.

Ya think!?

2011-05-10T17:01:00.001-06:00

It has been a while. Yep. No excuses.

My life is so good right now. I have so much to be grateful for. Mike and I are hard at work to get to our healthiest by Christmas. I have lost 40+ pounds and Mike.....well he's lost a lot more try 130+ pounds. WOW!!!! Before and after pictures coming your way. Check out his blog and I'm a little bit shy about my success but maybe I'll get brave.

The kids are doing really well. Excited for summer. No big plans just a few camping trips. Mike is going to get through a little more school over the summer. Weddings are picking up. Can't wait to share pictures! Thanks for the support guys.

Below are the pictures I took of Katie wearing the dress my Grandma Larsen painstakingly knit for my sweet Katie. We will be framing this dress along with this picture of her wearing it. These gifts are priceless. The dress is absolutely gorgeous. THANK YOU GRANDMA!!!!

Easter pic of the fam. Awe, cute.