Yikes!

Yikes! I can't believe it's been 5 months since I've blogged! I have so much to share ...so many pictures. But I must first finish up the sashes for the dresses AND sew on the zippers on. Ugg... I know I should NOT have procrastinated.

Once I'm done with the dresses ...I promise to add pics of our lovely family..okay?

I must ask...How in the world does one young 10 year old use up $70 worth of cellphone minutes in 2 MONTHS? He doesn't call anyone...Mind you..This phone is to used for emergency use ONLY! Apparently, Mr. Joseph decided he didn't like having the cheap free games on his cell. So...my little man decided to purchase and download Lego, Pokeman, Sonic something?, Iron man, and a few others. Arrg! We had no idea he could access this or figure out how to download with his little phone. I guess he has the engineering gene....Gee...I wonder where he gets that from?

I almost wanted to cry when we told him to empty his piggy bank. That was such a sad moment. Pitiful little piggy bank. We explained to him that there are consequences to one's actions and he now needed to pay restitution. He has extra chores to make up the difference and I really hope he learns his lesson.

Ugggg.... now we have to add more minutes to his phone AND make sure this never happens again.....

Police station's are never a nice place to be.....

Yesterday night was a horrible night for us...

As we were doing our taxes, we found that we were missing a few documents and hoped that we'd be able to find the information we needed on our bank's website. When I saw our savings account balance...I was sick to my stomach. There were thousands of dollars missing. How could this be? As we were checking, there were numerous transactions in Southern California at gas stations. The amounts were sickening. WHY? C'mon.... how much gas could one person need?

I called my bank immediately and reported my card number stolen. I could barely sleep that night. I woke up early....early for me on a Saturday... and drove to the bank with Joseph. He had a birthday to go to afterwards, so he had to be my little companion for the morning. To be honest with you, I was NOT a pleasant person to be around...especially with the bank personnel. He didn't seem to know how to answer my questions on how these thieves stole my information. So frustrating. How could my bank not have noticed $300 gas transactions per day? Why did no one catch this? More frustrations. I signed an affidavit stating that the $3000+ were fraudulent charges and that I wanted my money back ASAP. GRRR!

After the bank, Joseph and I went to the police station to file a police report. I was pleased to say that it didn't come close to what the San Jose police station reminded me of. It wasn't as busy as I thought it would be. There was an elderly woman there for identity theft. What a nightmare. I filed my report, to which they said they would close the case since all the fraudulent transactions didn't take place in their jurisdiction. ...more frustrations.... I said that I had no problems filing charges should they catch these thieves.

In all...by Monday afternoon most of our money was returned to our account. This has been such a nightmare, but I am now diligent in checking my accounts on a daily basis. That was my nightmare for the weekend.

Man's best friend....or friends....

On Christmas Eve, Allison (Brent's sister) and family joined us for Christmas Eve dinner. Their dog Buddy joined us also. As you can see, the dogs were very patient while Brent carved the ham...

My little quilting bee.....

Alycia was helping a young man in our ward complete his Eagle project by tying baby quilts. She had a lot of fun with the girls in our ward. It was so much fun!

My kids with Santa....

I think my kids are a bit too big to sit on Santa's lap. (big sigh)....

My "eek" moment....

A few nights ago Brent and I went to movies to see the movie Avatar. I was told it would be a 2 1/2 hour long movie, so I decided to use the restroom prior to it starting. I'm not as obsessed with my Blackberry as some might think, but I was texting and walking towards the restroom at the same time....such a bad idea....I had the weirdest feeling like I shouldn't be where I was. I glanced towards the floor and all I saw were jeans and feet. Very large feet facing the wall.....

Eeeeek!
All I could say was "oops...I am soo sorry!"
I made the quickest exit I could make and went straight to the Women's restroom this time.

I went to the movies to see a show...but not that kind!

Christmas 2009

Here is the quick summary of what happened in 2009 for the Smith family: Brent finished the Ironman triathlon, Anna gained 6 inches in height, Alycia once again had straight A’s, and Joseph has learned to speak Latin without an accent. What a year! If you are not confused right now you must be thinking of some other Smiths, because this year was fairly ordinary for us.

In March we went to LA and saw Universal Studios, the tar pits, and the beach. A surprise gem for the family was the Getty museum, which had many amazing works of art and was completely free. July was spent first in Utah at Brent’s family reunion, then up in Yellowstone. Anna was a good sport and put up with two night of camping, complete with bears, buffalos, and a thunderstorm that seemed determined to destroy our tent. We are ending the year here at home, but have Brent’s parents coming to escape the snow.

Joseph, 10, began this year cutting the cheese. His pine wood derby race car was shaped as a triangle block of cheese, complete with holes and mice. Both he and Brent were surprised to see it take 4^th place out of 30 or more boys. He earned his Bear in Cub Scouts and is now working on his Weblos. Besides Scouts, Joseph continues to keep busy with piano, and various therapies. He is in 4^th grade now and misses his big sister who has moved on to Junior High.

This was a big year for Alycia. She left Elementary School and Primary and has moved on to 7^th grade and the Young Women organization at church. This is her third year in the CATS (smartypants) program, but the first year that she has really been challenged. It has been a painful adjustment for everyone. She was able to get her ears pierced when she turned 12 in August, but it took a couple months for her to build up her courage and get poked. She has gained several inches in height and has now passed Anna as the tallest girl in the house.

Anna began the year with two of her favorites: Chemistry and Algebra classes. There is nothing better that she likes than having those beasts out of the way. She did well, but put her schooling on hold in the fall to focus on helping the kids with their schooling. Some need more help focusing, doing work, and meeting deadlines than their brother does. (I’m not going to say who.) Anna also started the year as a Cub Scout Den Leader, where she spends an hour each week teaching up to 10 boys various skills. She really enjoys doing this, although there are usually one or two boys that challenge her.

Brent received a similar challenge in August when he was asked to be the Scoutmaster for the local troop of a dozen 12-13 year old boys. He worked with the youth once a decade ago and has dreaded having to do it again ever since. It was a struggle to get organized at first, but it has become enjoyable for Brent to go on campouts and hikes again. Before scouting, Brent had been teaching Sunday School for a couple years. Anna misses hearing his lessons, but has been very supportive of his new responsibility. He is still working at Global Crossing, where he designs the backbone of the Internet.

We miss all of our family and old friends and are glad we can keep in touch (or at least keep tabs) with many of you via Facebook and blogs. We are constantly surprised to see you and your kids getting older. That might happen to us one of these days if we aren’t careful, but not yet. We hope that you are all doing well and enjoying the Light of Christ this Christmas season.

Love,

Brent, Anna, Alycia, and Joseph Smith