JC Mickelson's & Nebo Loop

If you've ever been south of Provo, you've seen some interesting billboards for a Restaurant in Nephi called JC Mickelson's. One of them reads, 

"Nephi? 

It's worth it dear...eat some peanuts!

HUH!?! I found myself trying to figure out what this billboard was saying. Then I realized - oh someone might think it's a long drive so "eat some peanuts" to tide you over until you make it (because it's worth it). 

So we talked for the first while about someday going there to see what the restaurant was all about. One Saturday (we were actually north in Provo shopping), we just up and did it! On our way down we saw more billboards with words like "cabooses" and "boxcar" and started to hope they had a cool train. And - they did! The boys loved it!

We were worried that we had built up the restaurant so much in our minds and it wouldn't live up to our anticipation. But, we LOVED the food. And while the outside of the restaurant is nothing to get excited about, or the "updated" look, the trains were wonderful, the service was great, and we couldn't have had a more pleasant experience. 

 Even better, the day we just up and randomly decided to finally (driving from Provo), the Thompson's were there too! Ironic that some of our best friends ended up at the same restaurant, at the same time, in NEPHI, when we hadn't planned it. We've been sick off and on since we moved so we hadn't planned many official playdates. It was fun to randomly run into them :-)

Matt told us they took the scenic Nebo loop to get here. They actually set out to do that first and ended up in Nephi, deciding to check the restaurant out while they were in town. So, we decided to do the same thing, and took the scenic loop back home. It was a beautiful drive (and it dropped us out only about 2-3 minutes from our house)! We love living so close to such magnificent mountains.

Pomp and Circumstance

And here he is - the graduate! Austin John Smith is graduating with his Master's of Business Administration from the University of Utah...well, sort of. What I mean is, today is all the pomp and circumstance of graduation, but we still have two more summer classes to get through before we're done! Still, it was a great excuse to see all of his family and enjoy them in our new home as well!

 We went to Red Robin before graduation. We got there early enough it wasn't busy. The boys seemed oblivious to what was going on really, but they enjoyed being there. Having Austin as the guest of honor meant I was dealing with them a lot on my own. Thankfully, other family jumped in the help some (what was I thinking putting them in suits before dinner?!)

 He looks thrilled doesn't he? Well Uncle Keaton actually did a great job making Kory laugh and keeping him happy. He's just showing you he was about as thrilled as they were to be there.

 I played all sorts of games with the kids (and so did Grandma, AND Great-Grandma), gave out treats, and tried to explain what was going on. It was a battle. Graduation started at bedtime! Even Cadence had a hard time seeing Austin and only got excited for a second when he saw him on the jumbo-tron!

 Grandpa & Grandma Smith came from Florida, and Grandpa and Grandma Cobb from Texas to be with us! Mom and Dad, of course, came from Illinois!

 Dad, Kelsey, and Grandpa Cobb went down to sit closer to get some better pictures.

 It was so hard waiting for "Smith"! We had to get through all the doctorates, then half the Master's students (maybe more) until we heard Austin's name! I was grateful it wasn't a bachelor degree!

 After Austin walked Mom took the kids out to run around. I was so grateful! Ethan stayed with me and took a short nap. Can you find "Waldo" in the picture below? The rest of his row decided not to stay, and it was really easy to spot him after that!

 I wish we'd gotten pictures with everyone at our house. It was the intent, but didn't happen. Still, here is Austin with Grandpa and Grandma Cobb at the new house! We had such beautiful spring flowers!

 He accomplished so much during his MBA. Reflecting over the past two years, with all their trials and difficulties, there were so many more blessings than hardships. We have a beautiful new baby boy and a beautiful new home. Austin met his business partner in school doing group projects (and carpooling for the hour-long commute). They got together one day and decided to do something "real" (might as well make some money instead of just "simulating" everything). Now we have a budding new company and many great new friends. He was invited to a special leadership class based on his GPA and leadership qualities, along with an array of other students from the entire campus. He spent so many hours tutoring other classmates, even when he understood the material himself. It was great practice for his dream of one day teaching school and helped him gain real mastery of the concepts and discover his own weaknesses. We enjoyed many social events, including free dinners, trips to the museum, and a golf tournament (which he'll repeat this year). Last, but definitely not least, he met some great mentors and friends, who have inspired him to be better and really make a contribution to the world while making a living for our family. It's been an amazing ride!

  Congrats - well the countdown begins anyway! The weekend was exhausting but so wonderful with friends and family. I think it was just enough to give me the energy to make it through one more semester!

Blog Absence Explained

I've been seriously MIA from this blog since Baby E was born! It's not that I haven't wanted too. I think about reporting here often. Time just hasn't allowed. I've spent the time enjoying my family. When most of them left, my sister Cristina was still nearby and our children love playing together (not to mention how much we enjoy each other). Then there's been the typically dentist appointments and doctor visits because it's birthday season again at our house. We had a pretty bad round of sickness last month (stomach garbage) and as I write this now, we're all (minus the baby, thankfully) struggling through the sniffles and scratchy throats.
 Then there's stopping every three hours for a nursing session (though gratefully I'm getting lots of sleep as our 2 1/2 month old sleeps for 10ish hours every night). Then there's preschool and studying for homeschool which is keeping me busy with the other two. Let's not mention cleaning up after the two year old everyday...
 Not to mention my responsibilities are increasing as Austin starts his 3rd class on Monday. He has class Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Church stuff all Wednesday night, and we've moved Family night to Fridays. Saturday always seem to get filled up and Sunday is of course busy with more church meetings. We're still finding great time to be together though. He's been working more from home (which in a 750 sq ft house is sometimes stressful), he enjoys breakfast and scripture study with us most mornings, and with earlier church, we have him more on Sunday's than we did last year.
 Wow! Are we busy or what? Just with regular life. I have to say I'm a little overly concerned to write down the happenings of this family. Each of the boys have their own journal I write in, plus my own journal. Then we have a yearly book (I'm behind two years now) and this blog. Plus Christmas cards, etc. Anyway. I've been spending more time in the boy's journals than on anything else. I can't wait for Cadence to start writing so I have one less I need to write in (though I will still steal it occasionally to write special letters from his mom to him). The blog has posed additional problems with uploading pictures so it's taken me awhile to want to brave the problem.
 AND (you thought I was wrapping up, huh?) the biggest distraction of them all - a whirlwind doozy!!! OH... I can't tell you yet! I'm dying too! But in a few more weeks will be the unveiling. For now, enjoy some pictures of everyday life at the Smith home.

Ethan at 7 weeks old

 

 

 

Cade had to join the photoshoot!

First time sledding for Kory

 

Trains with baby brother

Sledding with our Sorensen cousins

 

Kory's Artwork, on the most inconvenient of days...

Happy Bday Cadence - a ride on the Heber Valley Railroad from Baron Grandparents

Train Robbers!

 

 

Had to check out the trains in the gift shop!

 

 

Money Balloon!!

Celebrating my 4th birthday with friends!

Tough Mudder Aftermath & BYU Homecoming

For a little more explanation on Tough Mudder I thought I'd share some of Austin's thoughts afterward.

Welcome Home!

During Austin's last fall in the electro-shock, his right eye hit the mud-covered hay bail and was just caked in mud. He went over to see the medics soon after the race was over. His eye was filled with rocks and dirt. They did their best to clean it out, but for the rest of the day, it was pretty puffy and still clearing the dirt out. Here he is, explaining a little more of what happened.

 Dad bought us tickets to the BYU Homecoming game. I waited for Austin to get home and clean up before going to join him and Keaton. It was my first BYU game - after living here almost 6 years! Sad, huh? Cross it off the Provo bucket list - we can move now! I still haven't seen one start to finish though (even on T.V.). I'm not sure the other fans appreciated me showing up 3rd quarter and asking a ton of questions about how the game of football is played. But, Austin was grateful his wife finally attended on with him.

Dad, Keaton, Austin

Austin, Amy (and Ethan) - check out the eye.

After the game, we walked for awhile to be picked up by Mom and the kids, then went out to eat for Michaela's 15th birthday (which, unfortunately, we have no pictures of because the camera died). Then we came home and Dad & Austin put a new wax ring on the toliet and we had ice cream cake for the birthday.
  The kids have been exhausted today, but we're so glad to have had a visit from family! We canned grape juice, finished the Christmas shopping for the boys, got the pipes cleared out, etc. It was a lot in such a small trip and we were so grateful for all of the help (I was especially feeling VERY pregnant this weekend).

Welcome Little Levi

We had a new nephew born in September. Unfortunately, he was born when all of us were sick, so we didn't make it up to Logan to see him until he was almost two weeks old. He is such an adorable baby and we're so happy for Taylor & Jon.

 We're also grateful for any excuse the family takes to come out and visit! We had Kelsey with us one week (she helped me paint the bedroom), Keaton with us the next week (who helped Austin with his projects), and went up to visit everyone during the last session of General Conference. We're looking forward to having the family visit this week.

John & Lynda Smith's grandchildren: Cadence, Kory, Levi, Sadi, & Cael

Shane, Cadence, & Kory - wearing the Armor of God

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