Hail to the Chief

I am pleased to introduce you to the Student Council President of Colbert Elementary for the 2008-2009 school year. This is the 3rd year that Cooper has been elected into Student Council, as a 6th grader they get to become officers. Cooper's job as president is to oversee the meetings and keep them running smoothly. The 3 officers take turns and get to do the morning announcements, which includes saying the Pledge of Allegiance and telling the students the lunch menu over the intercom. Cooper was a bit nervous his first day and told the kids they were having toasted salad (instead of tossed) and chilled peppers (instead of pears). I thought it was pretty funny but apparently he thought it was quite embarrassing. Too bad he is too young because I think he would give Obama and McCain a run for their money. Way to go Coop, you make us so proud!

Happy "1st" Birthday Kaiya Mae

We were lucky enough to have my sister and her family visit us last weekend. They recently moved to Portland so now we are in driving distance of each other. While they were here we celebrated Kaiya's first birthday. She eventually let me hold her for about 10 minutes on the last day they were here. I assure you I WILL win her over:) I wish I would have gotten more pictures but here are a few from the weekend. This shot of Chloe is her pouty face. The cousins had a blast playing together. They got to swim in Boppo and Gigi's pool (brave children), we had a great breakfast at Mom and Pat's, and they all got to watch Cooper's baseball game and Hayden's softball game. Thank you Carnegie's for coming!!!

October is Lupus Awareness month

Facebook Krista Reese Smith

October is Lupus Awareness month, at least I think it is, some websites say October some say May. I thought I would post a few videos that I found on you tube that help people to understand this disease. I was diagnosed in May with an autoimmune disease. They gave me a list of names to my diagnosis Sjogrens, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, and Mixed connective tissue disorder. They are all very closely related, many of the symptoms are grouped together in each disease. Since I am still learning about all of this I thought some of you might want to learn too. You may not be as nerdy as me though. I definately think I should have become a nurse, maybe God gave me all these mutant genes so I could let my "inner" nurse out. I would LOVE for there to be a cure someday for this, that is why I am all about spreading awareness. This video is about 6 minutes long but it is full of good information. It is on my facebook page, just click on my name and it should take you to it. I think....never posted like this before.

Chicago- A weekend of "First's"

Our trip to Chicago was perfect. Great company, perfect weather, awesome food, and lots of fun. The cab rides were...fast. On Saturday night after singing at the top's of our lungs to eighties hits in a bar on Rush street we took a cab back to the condo. Scott told the driver that Guy was from Nome, Alaska and he was a helicopter guide that took people out to hunt for Polar bears and penguins. Guy used his best New York accent to describe in detail how he flies his "copter". This was at 1:00am after a "few" drinks.

We went on an Architecture Tour of the city by boat. It was so beautiful. We left at dusk so we were able to see the buildings at day and at night with all their lights on. This was a highlight of our trip. We learned a lot of facts about the city and each building that we passed by. The new Trump Tower is quite impressive.

First time that I have seen my cousin Lizzy pregnant! Isn't she cute. She lives with her husband Dave in Chicago. She was able to come to lunch with us and walk around the city a little bit. Thank you Lizzy for taking the time to see me.

First time to see a real Olympic Gold medal. We were at Wrigley field to watch a Cub's game.The women's USA soccer team was there to show their medals to the crowds. They walked right by me and I could have reach out and touched the medal. Very cool.

We had unbelievable seats for the game. Right behind home plate. The game could have been a bit better, but it was still great even though the Cardinals beat the Cub's. This is one of Cooper's favorite players.

First time to Wrigley field. This was so cool. The atmosphere outside the park was spicy, can't think of a better word to describe it. I couldn't take my eyes off all the fans waiting to watch their team. It is really fun to be in a city where the people LOVE their teams.

What happens in Chicago stays in Chicago!

First time to be in a "Coach" store. I can probably guess correctly and say it was the first time that anyone has witnessed a man in a camouflage jacket trying out a purse. I could be wrong....but I doubt it. As we entered the store the saleslady asked "Are you here for the event?" Kim and I say "Yes... as a matter of fact we are." While Guy and Scott say, " We are the event!" We were pampered with champagne, truffles, and cute little coach water bottles. Kim bought a very cute little purse while Scott silently paced.

First time to ride on a ginormous Ferris Wheel and see the view of the city. Sorry it is a bit blurry but we are moving a tiny bit. Either that or Kim's tears are fogging up the glass. Which comes to another first. Guy made Kim cry. Yes, he really did. He didn't realize how scared she was and couldn't stop with the joking. He asked the ticket agent how many people had died and told Kim they took our picture before we got on so that they could ID our bodies. That is what friends are for right, to scare the @#*% out of you!

There are so many more pictures I would love to post but I am missing the Season premier of Dancing with the Stars. A girl has to have her priorities you know. Have an awesome week.

Krista

I won a contest!

I am so excited! I follow a blog called my charming kids, which I also have a side bar on my blog, to pray for baby Stellan. There was a photograph that she wanted a caption for and guess what, SHE PICKED ME! So much fun. Now I seem to be getting a lot more traffic on my blog. We were used to about 6 hits a day, and in the last 30 minutes I has at least 50. WOW. The internet is amazing. So, hello to all my fellow bloggers out there. God bless you!

Heading to Chicago

We will be jetting off to Chicago in a few days! I am so excited to get away and visit such a fun city. Lots of sightseeing, eating, and a baseball game! Go Cubs. Hopefully their flooding has subsided. I will try to take a ton of pictures and post them when I get home. Thank you to the Kelly's and Smith's for taking care of the kiddo's. You are the best. To our Ohio clan...have lots of fun with Guy. He is so excited to spend the week with you. Much love to all.

Oh My how you've grown! First day of school 2008

It was a beautiful first week of school. The kids are adjusting to getting up early and having homework, it is only the first few weeks though. I know as soon as it gets cold it will be harder and harder to wake them up. Cooper started Fall baseball and will have double headers every Saturday. Hayden is playing Softball and her double headers are on Sundays. Hayden is also playing school volleyball and we found out today that her games will be on Saturdays. Hmmm.... How to be in 3 places at once? The kids love their activities and we LOVE to watch them play. Hard to believe in 5 short years Hayden will be a Senior, wow has time flown.

Crystal is continuing to improve. She is eating and talking. She is at about 80%, it will still be a while before we know the total extent of her brain trauma. Thank you for your prayers for her!

Guy and I will be heading to Chicago next week with our friends the Chaffin's. We are so excited to visit the "Windy city". We have tickets to a Cub's game and have plans to eat, sight see, eat, and probably eat some more. I will head home but Guy is going to fly to Ohio and spend the next week with the Smith clan. He can't wait to hang out with his family!