{Snodress Reunion}

All the Snodgress' got together for a family reunion at Navajo Lake! We did all the traditional things like:

Painted quilt squares,

Played poker,

Got rained out,



Did the Horseshoe Tournament,


(which can get very serious!)



look at her focus...

Laughing,


and eating yummy food!

This year we added a few new traditions...

Rock painting,

and Home Movie Night! (Uncle Kevin hung a big white sheet over the deck and we watched old (and new) home movies through a projector as we sat around the campfire--that's where my previous post of "Family Time" comes from.)




Hooray for Family Reunions!





We are so lucky to have such wonderful family members. I have so many good memories with my Snodgress relatives, and Grandma Bev is the glue that holds us all together. Some of the treausred memories that I have with Grandma are:
the toys in the hall closet
ice cream cones
swimming with SpringTree tags
socks for Christmas
Grandma's talking car
Memory Match game
the big gold chair with a mystery stain under the cushion
fancy hand soaps
mandatory "talk time" at dinner
and Sunday comics

These are just a few of the things that make me smile whenever I think of Grandma.

Release of "Family Time."

The much anticipated movie is now available on DVD or FaceBook.

At the Snodgress Family Reunion, each family submitted a home video. Each was judged and awarded according to best actor/actress, etc. Ours won Best Video (*clap hands*).

Now sit back, relax, and enjoy a glimpse of how the Snodgress' spend an afternoon together.

On a side note, Brittany won Best Villian at the Academy Awards. :D

Coming soon to a theater near you:

Snodgress Revival;

A Tribute to the Monkees

One Fine Day

Today I spent 2 hours at American Fork Hospital. I ate breakfast, filled out some paperwork, got decontaminized... you know, the usual.

Oh, didn't you hear? There was a biochemical terrorist attack today at the BYU football stadium.


I hope you keep reading, because it was just a drill.


Not real. Just a drill.


For my nursing classes, I have to do community volunteer hours. I signed up for the Utah County Mock Disaster Drill because I heard there was a continental breakfast. :) I roped Don in to it too. He also needs community hours for med school.



The whole county was involved; the police, the UTA, the National Guard, the hospitals. It was pretty cool to see everyone work together.

So, my part was pretty cool. After the "bomb" went off, I was shunted to American Fork Hospital and was sent through the decontamination shower in my bathing suit. I played a 75 year old woman with no symptoms. I was happy and glad that everyone at the hospital was doing their job. (That's what my assignment card said.) Easy-peasy. Everyone did their job well, but it was mostly fun and kick-back. The unconscious guy next to me was drinking a Diet Coke, and the pregnant guy across from me had stuffed a balloon up his shirt. :D


Don's story is a little different.

He was bused to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center as an unconscious man with a chest laceration. hahahahaha... I'm sorry, I am laughing as I write this. Remember how I said that the whole county was taking part in this mock disaster? Well, no one told the staff at UVRMC. All they got was a message saying, "There was a chemical bomb at Levell Edwards Stadium. Prepare for buses of injured. Several critical. Few minor. Few in late pregnancy. Possible contamination."

Don's bus was the first to arrive. He said it was controlled hysteria. Every nurse and doctor was scrambling to get the decontamination tent set up so they could help these poor injured people. The volunteers acted their part well, moaning and groaning. Since Don was unconscious, he was put on a gurney by the hospital entrance. The labor and delivery nurse was the first to run up to the bus. She shouted to the crowd, "Where are my pregnant ladies? Where are my pregnant ladies?" A young guy sitting in a wheelchair raised his hand, "Oh, that's me." I could only imagine what the poor nurse was thinking, "You idiot, we're in the middle of a crisis, and you're being a smart-A!" What she said was, "THAT IS NOT FUNNY! THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SITUATION!" --as she wheeled him out of the way.

Don said it was a good 20 minutes before they realized that the situation was not real. The ER doctor was the first to understand...because, you know... nothing was wrong with these people.

hahahahaha-- sorry, I'm still laughing!

An administrator finally came down to make sure no one was getting poked with needles or stuck with IVs. Which, Don almost was! So he decided to come out of his coma. When he sat up, the X-ray tech was amazed at his sudden recovery and kept asking him how he felt and what his symptoms were. Not everyone caught on.


This was supposed to be a fun day for student volunteers. Get free food, run around in a bathing suit, play-act an injured person... sounds fun to me! Poor uninformed medical personnel. I bet they hated today.

Toothless!

Two days ago Miley came to me in hysterics. Through her tears and hiccups, I thought I heard, "My tooth is coming out!!!!" Then I thought to myself, "That can't be right. My baby can't have a loose tooth already!" She opened her mouth and--whoa-- sure enough, it was terribly loose. The solid chocolate Easter bunny she had been sneaking bites from was the culprit. Poor babe. It was never explained to her that parts of her body will spontaneously and inevitably fall out. She was not prepared for this. I was not prepared for this. My first reaction was to implode as Miley was exploding. But then I remembered the saving grace of losing teeth. The Tooth Fairy! And oh, once I explained about the Tooth Fairy, Miley was a running and jumping blur of squeals. There was only one day of ceremonious soft food eating and tongue-tooth wiggling before Miley became impatient enough to take action. I discovered her in the bathroom tying dental floss to the door handle. My What-the-heck..? facial expression didn't deter her from her plan. Nonchalantly, "Mom can you help me tie this?" Miley is so awesome and fearless. Don and I both agreed that we were never so brave.

Here is footage of the tooth vs. door battle, and the bloody aftermath.






Poor Ike thought he was next in line.







That night we placed the baby tooth in a special fairy tooth-pouch-thing that I had bought at the dollar store.


The Tooth Fairy came and went, leaving Miley a Whimzy Pet and five $1 gold coins under her pillow. The Tooth Fairy also left behind some fairy dust in the pouch where her tooth used to be! (I was so excited for the Tooth Fairy that night, I could hardly sleep!)

Miley and I love magic!

candy, CaNdY, CANDY! (not just for Halloween)

Easter is so family-oriented, that's why we LOVE this holiday! We were so glad to see the family (especially Aunt Holly), even though it was cold and snowy. :{
On Saturday, we kicked off the celebrations with the traditional candy hunt at grandma's house.

.:Remember the good old days when all 50 cousins would crowd under the carport on a sunny Easter morn, anxiously waiting for the candy race? Basket with pink grass in hand, then Gramps would fire his pistol--you'd pee your pants a little-- then all the older cousins would push you into the bushes? :.

...wish I could go back...

In hopes of providing the same magical Easter memories for my children, I try and do what my parents did. Look at Miley here. What a smile--and pink grass! I must be doing something right.




Go for the gold, Ava! I know Ava will "share" her candy with me, so I guide her to the PB eggs.




I want to say that Ike is helping Ava find candy, but a part of me thinks he is making off with her basket...




Aunt Jas, if you don't open that candy for her, she'll just go love someone else.


Grandma Snodgress tried to convince the kids to not eat their candy until after the weenie roast. But I remember eating candy ALL day, so I let them spoil their appetites. They are well on their way to happy memories!




After the weenie roast and ice cream feast, we went back to G & G Richards' house for more fun! Here we are dying eggs.

Right now I could act all appalled at what Ike is doing. "Where does he get that behavior!" But I know exactly where he gets it from. He comes from a long line of goof-balls: His dad. Uncle Ricky. But I suspect it originates from great Uncle Kevin.


We went to Pirate Island Pizza for dinner...


...and had sword fights for dessert.





Easter Sunday was perfect! We all OD'd on ham, sweet potaters, mashed potaters, broccoli and cheese, and pie! Honestly, I was too busy eating to take pictures, but I did get this: It's Gramps (Don's dad) in his chair. Classic.My Easter memories include my grandpa falling asleep (or pretending to be asleep) on the floor in front of the fireplace. Grandpas are so funny!

5 Going on Eternity

Time is usually seen as a negative thing. Time crawls when we are looking forward to something fun; family get-togethers, Christmas, Spring Break, or the quiet hours after putting the kids to bed. On the other hand, time flies by as we watch our children grow up. This is the side of time that I usually curse the most. Little children are so precious, almost too precious for this world. I wonder if Heavenly Father feels the same. Watching us grow, triumph, slip and fall, get up again, all the time aching for that child-like love.
My children are my joy. I love them for different and unique reasons, but how I love them is the same.

I have known and loved My Miley for 5 years. She is 5 years old now! Yikes.

Whenever I get reminiscent, I first feel happy thinking about the great and beautiful times we've had. Then I get a little sad. Not very sad, just a little tweak in my heart knowing that I'll never see My Miley as a chubby-faced tot again. I won't be able to feel her porcelain baby skin against my cheek, or rock her and sing Away In A Manger as a lullaby. No matter how many times I write in my journal, I will never remember all of the cute things that came out of her mouth. Watching Mary Poppins for the first time will only happen once. Hopefully, I will never forget the energy in her body and the excitement in her face as Julie Andrews snapped her fingers to clean the nursery.

After feeling this sadness, I try to anticipate the the great things in store for us. Recitals, competitions, holidays, vacations, and everyday finger-snappin' magic. These thoughts make my heart do a quarter turn back in to place and I am even happier than before.

These pictures of Miley make me happy.

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Miley's Birthday party was at Pirate Island Pizza! It was amaze~ing! The pizza was as big as the table, and her presents took up the space of another table. There was hardly any room for us to sit. We were too busy playing games and eating junk to sit down anyway.


It was awesome to see Grandpa play too. Here he is in the flight simulator.
So much fun!

I found my camera!

Now it's time to play catch-up with all the pictures that I found!

Here is our slew of Holiday Randomness:

Miley had a Christmas Program and Activity Day at her preschool. She had been practicing "Feliz Navidad" all December long, and she tried to sing the loudest during the Screaming Program--I mean, Singing Program.

Just look at Miley's teacher. This picture says it all!


My big girl makes friends so easily. She is so genuine and caring toward all of her friends. These are a couple of her BFFs.




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What Christmas Vaca wouldn't be complete without:
1- a trip to Temple Square?
2- a Family argument?
3- a car getting booted?

Lucky for us Snodgress', we only did #1, a little bit of #2, and barely missed doing #3.



Uncle Ricky and Izzy

Jas and Lee (doesn't he look British?) :)

Jack and B


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As for the Richards Fam, we went sledding.



I don't know if you remember last year's post about sledding. It had to do with Don and him laughing hysterically at my kids as they tumbled willy-nilly down the frozen hill. Kids crying, Don laughing.

This year...
Isaac, Miley and Don all piled on the sled and did a Clark Griswald down the hill and a half mile to the road. Don couldn't grab Ike in time.

As a result...
Oh, Ike was fine. I was not! Don spent the rest of Christmas Eve humbly asking for my forgiveness for bringing my baby home battered and bloody. As I understand it, he screamed and cried all the way home from the hill. Not from being hurt, but because he couldn't go sledding anymore. My little TOUGH GUY.


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Christmas morning was magic! Santa filled our stockings and ate the cookies (even though Isaac blamed Ava, "Ava did it!" He blames her for everything.)



Miley was making sure she didn't miss any presents.

I did a mostly handmade Christmas this year. My kids got the brunt of it. I made them pj's, robes, bean bags, personalized Book of Mormons, hats, a super hero cape, and a wedding dress complete with veil. The wedding dress is my favorite. I made it from Don's old missionary shirt that we were going to throw out. I just added lace, beads, and pearls. $0. My baby bride.


After breakfast with the Richards, we went to open more presents at G & G Snodgress' house!


We opened traditional British Christmas Crackers, thus the funny crowns and toys.



When it was all said and done, this is how we felt: