58 years = 696 months

 October 29, 1950

Mom and Dad are observing their wedding anniversary today, but I don't think that they will take the time to do the math to see how many months they have been married, so I'll do it for them. (We Smiths like monthiversary numbers...) Six hundred ninety-six months sounds pretty impressive, eh? It seems as if it was just a year or two ago that we were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary, but I guess it was actually eight years ago. Wow! Tempus fugit.

2008

250

Today marks our 250th monthiversary. (I won't break it down into how many days of wedded bliss that represents. Suffice it to say, it's a long time! And it has been a BLAST!) Two hundred and fifty months represents a bit of a milestone, but I doubt if there will be any big celebration, especially since we are hosting the boys' high school Bible study at our home tonight. Oh, well.

It has been a lot of fun to commemorate our "monthiversaries" over the years. I am so thankful that our dear friend Karl coined the term for us back during our first year of marriage. He thought it was "sweet" that Mr. Smith and I celebrated each month of marriage, so he said something about it being a "monthly anniversary" kind of a thing, and then that morphed into one word, "monthiversary." From that new term we had our inspiration to keep the counting going. I believe that we have only missed celebrating one month, so that's not a bad track record.

I could take the time to write out 250 things I appreciate about my beloved, or some other mushy kind of a list, but I'll cease with my ++++++++++++++++++++++++ typing1111111 for now. YIKES! These additional keystrok+es are compliments of Jemima. Our kitty girl is sleepily lounging next to the computer, and she occasionally........... hit+s a key with her7777 incredibly large paw. It is too hard to type with her being on the keyboard, and I cannot bear to remove her from such a comfy location. CATS! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (You can tell her key of choice is the plus sign. She is+ such a positive influence, or should that be PAWSitive? HA!)

When life gives apples...

...make apple butter!

Although we made the trip to Apple Hill a couple of weeks ago, the kitchen help has been slow to get to work on this seasonal favorite. The boxes of apples have been waiting patiently, and waiting, and waiting! In between running to and from the dance studio for Nutcracker rehearsals, this weekend was spent peeling, slicing, coring, cooking, seasoning, stirring, and canning lots o' Golden Delicious apples to make our annual batch of apple butter.

This time around, we experimented by using a fraction of the sugar that the recipe calls for, and the results were wonderful. Five out of five taste testers agreed that this is an exceptionally tasty vintage.

I am almost certain that I heard Helen T's voice echoing in my brain as I stacked the finished product on the pantry shelf.  I cannot make, eat, or even think about apple butter without remembering Helen. Oh, I probably shouldn't add our beloved neighbor's comment here verbatim, as I have to keep this blog "G" rated, but I'll give you a sanitized version. 


When commenting on a person's obvious lack of knowledge regarding a certain topic, in a mischievous tone she'd frequently say, "He doesn't know $@*! from apple butter." 

Even though Helen passed away many years ago, I can still hear her saying this and many other pet phrases; however, I cannot repeat most of those sayings in front of my children.

She'd be so pleased that I know apple butter when I see it. ;-)

What's up with the cups?

Okay, so these are just paper coffee cups from Peet's Coffee. No big deal, right? Well, to me it symbolizes time well spent talking with my boy. (These cups represent a whole latte love?? SORRY! I am just espresso-ing myself with a couple of bad puns. You should know by now that silly wordplay is always brewing in my head.)


On Monday and Wednesday morning of each week, MDS goes to Sierra College for an 8 AM math class. After class, he rides the Placer County Transit bus to The Galleria where he transfers to the "M" line for Roseville Transit. The "M" drops M. off at Peet's, which is one mile from our house. At this point, he can either walk home, or call me to come and get him. On the days I go to pick him up, I enjoy taking a few more minutes out of the schedule to drink a cup o' joe with my boy. So far, he is the only Smithling who appreciates coffee, so I have to take advantage of that!


Since classes started, we have been having a "coffee break" about once a week, and that might increase to 2X/week as the temperatures get cooler. :-) What a treat! I love hearing what my son is thinking -- it doesn't have to be a deep, philosophical conversation. Sometimes a good laugh can't be beat. I truly enjoy spending time with him, and I know that time is fleeting, so I am savoring these coffee breaks all the more. Of course, the time spent with my "mostest favorite" son is MUCH tastier than the brew...


No, I am not so sentimental as to keep the used cups -- they do get thrown away. My Millie-girl thinks I'm rather silly for taking a picture and posting this entry. She just peeked over my shoulder and cannot believe that I am writing anything related to that cup photo. Perhaps someday she'll appreciate taking a coffee break with me, too. I'll keep you posted!

Apple Hill

It was a perfect day to skip school and work so that we could head up Hwy. 50 to Apple Hill. Family tradition dictates that we must first go to O'Hallorans to pick pumpkins before heading across the road to see Bill and Felice for golden delicious apples. Our final destination is, was, and shall always be High Hill. No trip "up the hill" would be complete without getting to purchase FRESH apple donuts AND caramel apples; however, these taste treats are not to be consumed at the same time. Donuts are for mid-morning consumption, and caramel apples are for dessert later in the day. I know, it's a day FULL of a lot of sweet stuff, but it is too hard to choose just ONE treat.

Our lil' Smithling punkins picked their pumpkins...

I'm pickin' this one! :-)

Don't squash the squash...

Apple donuts are tastiest when warm, so I had to hurry up and snap the photo before too much cooling occurred. Obviously, self-control is one of the fruits of the spirit that Miss Millie is still working on! HA!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." -Galatians 5:22-23

SIXTEEN?!!! Sweet! (Not "sweet" 16)

My lil' boy is now 16. He now has his very own debit card, but the driver's license will have to wait for a little while... I think that "might" happen in October or November. We'll see.

To celebrate M's b-day, on Saturday, Mr. Smith took The B-day Boy and a friend to Six Flags for a full day of COASTERS. More flags, more fun. The boys took M's new i-Pod Touch on the rides, and used the accelerometer feature to measure the g-force. Cool! 

You gotta love the looks on their faces. PRICELESS!

B-day dinner: Tri-tip, garlic mashers, and Caesar salad.

There's a very long and somewhat convoluted story behind the procurement of that "log" cake. An inept, yet kind-hearted B-R employee somehow missed the repeated request that I wanted BLUE writing on the cake, as this was for my SON. Initially the sentiment on the cake was written in PINK frosting. YIKES. I was informed that there was nothing to be done about the frosting debacle. Hmmmmmm.... I very kindly instructed the young man to go back to their decorator and have it scraped off and redone. I don't know -- pink just didn't seem like the appropriate color for my 6'3" son's cake. :-)

After much waiting, we finally got what we had originally ordered, but there was pink frosting residue on the cake. Oh, well. It made for an interesting story. Despite the difficulties with customer service, in the end, the cake was tasty. Ugly, but tasty.

Our girls enjoyed helping M celebrate his special day. :-)

Ahhhhh! Now that the birthdaze are over, we can get back to our normal routine -- at least until Nutcracker season hits.

Sdrawkcab Yadhtrib Ytrap=Backwards Birthday Party

To celebrate her 10th b-day, Millie invited four friends over for a very silly party. Ydennek, Haras, Inal, and Yendys helped to make this a most memorable event.

Which way is up? This photo looks good either way.

Is everybody smiling? I hope so!

Backwards Musical Chairs was sooo much fun!

Everybody, sing along:

You to birthday happy!

You to birthday happy!

Millie dear birthday happy!

You to birthday happy!

There are many more adorable photos from the party -- too many to share. We started out the party by giving a birthday present to each of the attendees. Next it was time for cupcakes served in an ice cream dish and an upside down sundae served on a plate with a fork. Sprinkles and toppings were on the bottom. Pizza was the next menu item, but it had to be eaten crust first. Upside down cans of 7-up added a little bubbly to the ytrap. (Thankfully, none of the cans exploded when punctured on the bottom.)

We played several games that were familiar "traditional" party games, but they were all reversed in some manner. The favorite activity to observe was backwards musical chairs. (Daddy-boy supplied the accordion music, but he didn't play the music backwards. That would have been tricky and would have required some practice.) 

M. was responsible for finding and printing out a donkey cartoon for "pin the donkey on the tail," and he most definitely chose an interesting graphic... It was somewhat graphic, but still within the "acceptable" category.  One of the party attendees summed it up by saying that the donkey was, "somewhat disturbing" in appearance. That comment made us laugh, especially since it came from a ten-year-old! My boy was proud of his creative efforts and photoshop skills, but then again, he's a little "warpulated." (Right, UJ?)

Miss Millie received LOTS of nice b-day presents, but the best gift she received is the gift of friendship from four very sweet young ladies. We were all blessed by getting to spend time with these girls. Thanks to all of you for making this a very special (AND very silly) get together.

Double Digits

Miss Millie is TEN!

Millie's most amazing bagel tree did it again! There were 17 "ripe" bagels on the tree this morning. When life gives bagels, slather on the cream cheese. Yummy! This tradition has been going on for years -- ever since a three-year-old little girl "planted" part of a bagel next to a flowering plum in hopes of creating a new strain of fruit. This will be one of those things that we will keep as a tradition until #3 Smithling moves out. Maybe we'll keep it up even after she's gone. That is one prolific tree. Surprisingly, there was a breast cancer awareness bagel on the tree this year. Asiago, Plain, Choc. Chip, and Cinnamon Crunch bagels were all present, accounted for, toasted, and eaten.

Now for "other" birthday silliness: Due to the birthday girl's past infatuation with the word poop and poop-related topics, Big. Bro. has been promising Millie (for the past 10 or 11 months) that he was going to make her a kitty litter cake for her 10th b-day. Although the interest in "poop" has long since passed, a promise is a promise. Or a threat is a threat? Poopy Birthday! The boy kept his "oath," and he even got a hand, or two, from Liesey and Jenny. 

Bartholomew and Jemima did NOT assist with the project, contrary to how it might appear. Those are microwaved Tootsie Rolls® that have been lovingly crafted into authentic looking shapes. GAG!

Millie was thankful that the cake was served to family only. She was fearful that M. would make this cake for her upcoming party in an effort to embarrass her in front of her friends.

Two b-days down, one more to go... 

Many hands make light work. 

Bart was relatively unimpressed with this litter box, or perhaps he was disgusted with the untidy condition. He walked as far away from the box as was possible, which is a good thing since it was made for human consumption. The "cake" tasted much better than it looked; however, we will not make one again. Once is definitely enough.

Fourteen

Look who had a birthday! Liesey Lou is now 14. YIKES!

She's a well-balanced girl...

We celebrated #2 Smithling's special day by going to the dance studio so our resident ballerina could take her regularly scheduled ballet technique/pointe and tap classes. She didn't tell anyone at the studio that it was her birthday, as she didn't want it to be a big deal. We finally got to eat the "by request" homemade chicken pot pie birthday dinner some time after 8PM. It was tasty! AJ joined in on the festivities, so it was a party indeed. :-) 

Pot pie was followed by a Snickers "Blizzard" cake from DQ. We were already stuffed, but we found more room for dessert. 

Oh, and there were a few presents thrown in for good measure. Aside from receiving $ and gift cards galore, the b-day girl was also given a lovely cross pendant and a jigsaw puzzle from Millie, piano sheet music (Pride and Prejudice Soundtrack) from her big bro., a shawl/wrap, a dance warm-up jumpsuit, and beautiful earrings.

One September birthday down, two to go...

Back-to-school B-B-Q

We welcomed our newest Raleigh Court neighbors to the 'hood AND got the new school year started off right by having a back-to-school bash at the end of our court. There were 28 people in attendance. If we counted correctly, 10 of the 15 households were represented. We had three barbecues fired up, so there was no shortage of food.

After dinner, and lively conversation, we enjoyed watching a movie (Nim's Island) on the Freeman Garage Door Drive-in/Driveway Theatre. How could I forget to mention the shaved ice & popcorn offered for free at the concession stand?!

The men of Raleigh Court grilled 'burgers & dogs for the gathering.
What is it about men & fire?

The girls had fun wearing their Hannah Montana wigs. We found these at Justice for 79 cents, so how could we refuse? They definitely have that "rock star" look goin' on.

Talk about a "rock star" look... Boys will be boys!

We even had expert fly swatting coverage going on to protect & preserve the tasty salads & side dishes from unwanted "guests."

Everyone pitched in to make the evening happen, so it was a very easy & low-stress gathering. We are blessed to be surrounded by sooo many wonderful folks. What's incredible is that this all came together with only one day to plan & organize everything. (What would we do without Costco?!) The neighbors all agreed that we will have to do a progressive dinner this fall, but perhaps we will need more than one day to pull that one off...