Hayden's Quinceañera and our trip to Mexico

To put this into words would take some time.....especially since I have been trying to speak Spanish for 10 days. Since our time in Mexico began we celebrated Christmas, which was wonderful and also Hayden's 15th birthday. It is still 2 1/2 months away but we celebrated a little early. In Mexico, when one turns 15 it is a big deal. It is called a Quinceañera, it has many traditions which we learned quickly. We had so much fun and we are so thankful that the town took us in and helped us celebrate even though we are Americans. I will post more pictures soon but I am so tired right now.......Mexican's know how to party!

Thanksgiving Weekend 2009

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Nanny and Pat's house. It was very relaxing and the company was wonderful. Skype allowed us to talk to and see Grandma and Papa and also the Reese's in Payette. Fun suprise to get to talk to Joseph too.

Mac and Andre had constant attention from Shae and Shane as well as Hayden and Cooper's buddies the Benzmiller's. The pictures I have were taken by the kids so you can imagine their crazy faces.

The barn pictures were taken on Thanksgiving day. It is so shocking to come home and see how quickly it is coming together.Hayden spent the night with Shae so they could get up early to shop. Crazy girls. The boys did the opposite, Cooper and Shane stayed up most of the night playing video games. Crazy boys.

The next two posts wouldn't let me write anything along with them. The Blog and I seem to have a love/hate relationship. It never seems to do what I want it to, nor do I know how to do what it wants me to do.
My sister took some great pictures of Hayden's adventures at State B volleball. She and the kids met up with us in Yakima, WA for some volleyball entertainment. Northwest Christian ended up taking 2nd in State! It set a record for the school and we were so thankful that Hayden was asked to be a part of the team.
The next post is the latest pictures of the barn. Tomorrow, 11/25/2009, the tar paper will be put on the roof and then next week the tin roof will be put on. It has changed so much these last few weeks I can hardly believe it.
Tonight we were able to talk to Erica and Chris on Skype! It was so cool to get to see their faces as we talked to them. We are so excited to announce that they are pregnant and expecting their 1st baby next July!!
In a few days we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. Whether you are are near or far, we think of you often and are so very thankful for having you in our lives.

Facebook | Jenny Carnegie's Photos - NWC Volleyball

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The Barn

The french doors that go out to the patio.

The windows....duh, like they need a caption.

The covered porch where Grandma will park.

Smith family Barn

Groundbreaking August 2009

The beginning of the rock wall.

All ready for the foundation.

The first walls going up.

1st wall of the 2nd story.

How it looks today 11/08/2009.

Uncle Larry, here you go! I know Sarah will let you know that I FINALLY put up the pictures of the barn for you. Thanks for your patience....Ron and Mary leave for Mexico the end of the week. Hate to think about them being gone for the winter, we miss them so much. I will try to do a better job of putting pictures up as I know they will want to see how their place is looking too.

Hayden's volleyball team made it to State! We will head out this weekend to root them on. I hope to have pictures of the team with a trophy on our next post.

Sadies Dance

Hayden and a group of friends went to the Sadies Dance last night. They spent the afternoon getting their hair done, giggling, and in the end looked marvelous. The moms fixed them dinner and we took a lot of pictures of them. It was a masquerade ball and they all had to wear masks. It is pretty tricky to catch the girls with real smiles because they usually are being goofy! The only bad part of the evening is that Hayden ended up with the flu and we had to pick her up early. Poor thing! I think she spent most of the dance in the bathroom with her sweet friends bringing her water and 7-Up.

San Francisco Baseball Trip- Sept. 2009

Our 2nd annual baseball trip was a huge success. Last year we went with the Chaffin's to Wrigley Field and loved visiting Chicago. This year we traveled to San Francisco to AT&T park and watched the Giants play the Cubs. Last year at our schools auction we bid on this trip. It included lunch with Jeremy Afeldt a NWC alumn who is a relief pitcher for the Giants. After lunch he took us on the FIELD! It was so cool...I even had butterflies in my stomach. His wife and son we there as well and we enjoyed getting to know them.

Our trip was jam packed with sightseeing and loads of fun. Next year I think we are planning to go to San Diego. Great friends and awesome trips!