Family day!

We went out to an event down by the river and I am so glad we did.  The weather was beautiful.  The grounds were so peaceful and inviting.  There was music, yummy food, great company and lots of places to see!  I want to take the kiddos there again to explore more soon!  It was so great!

Lovin' Fall!

We have been loving this change to cooler weather as well as everything that comes with the Fall season.  These BIG smiles show how much we enjoyed ourselves out at the pumpkin patch.  I am not sure who was the happiest.  We all loved it!

A special fashion show...

Blake's sister, Blair, might not admit to it, but she is quite the professional model.  I love watching her on the runway because not only is she absolutely stunning, she also makes it look so effortless. Blair was a model in the St. Agnes Fashion Show yesterday.

Guess who else got to be a model with Blair?  Aubrey Rose!!  This is her second time getting to be in a fashion show with Auntie Blair.  The first time was HERE when she was a flower girl for a bridal show.  At the rehearsal the night before and the day of the event, I kept wondering if this giant stage would get this 4 year old nervous at any point.

NOT.SO.MUCH!!!

That girl walked as though she wished the runway was even longer.

 Most of the time, she had her hand on her hip and she was workin' it!

 She also got to be in the costume scene.

She was my favorite out there.  :-)

Aubrey Rose, it was so fun to watch you walk down the runway and see the biggest, brightest smile upon your face.  I honestly couldn't believe how much you loved every step of it.  The night before, you told me you "think you are going to let everyone behind you pass you, so you could dance and tap down the runway by yourself." HA!!  I love you sweet girl.  You make me smile every day.

 Aubrey's little fan club that day...

 Aubrey's favorite Auntie BB.  Thank you Blair for inviting us to join in the fun!!

LOVE

I wish I would have snapped this moment on my camera instead of my phone, but oh well...I LOVE it anyway!

Fridays...

Fridays around here are our most mellow days of the week.  

No school, no gymnastics...just the three of us together.

 It's my favorite kind of mommy day! 

We enjoy going to the park or feeding the ducks.
We like to color,

practice writing our letters, and doing puzzles.

One of our favorite things to do is read books together.
 

Sometimes we have play dates,

but one of our highlights is when Daddy comes home for lunch!
On Fridays, I like to do our laundry or clean the house.
My favorite is when I have my little helper helping.  :)

I try to get all of the errands done throughout the week, 
so we usually try to stick pretty close to home.

When Fridays come around we all welcome the morning with big smiles,

 and we are ready to tackle the day.  :)  HA!!

Yay for Friday!!  :)

Measuring them...

A year ago I posted a picture of our measuring wall.  We decided a year was long enough, so we finally measured Aubrey and Austin up again. 

It was fun to see how much the kids grew in a year, especially Austin!!  Goodness!!

Buddies...

Austin and my nephew Jedidiah are the best of buddies.  

They can't get enough of each other.  

They absolutely light up when they see each other.  

Even the sound of hearing Jedidiah's name, 

Austin starts saying, 

"Vrooooom, Vroooom, GO, YIAH!! GOOOO!"  

(Translation: "Let's get in the car!  Vroom! Go see Jedidiah!!!  Let's GO!!") HA!

Too bad the pic got blurry...

They have quite the bond.  It is absolutely adorable.  

They crack each other up.  And us.  ;-)

Fair Fun!

 We spent an evening out with Mimi and Big Papa at the BIG Fresno Fair!  We enjoyed the petting zoo, agriculture building, the awesome playground, yummy food, some games and a bunch of rides.  

The adults had fun...

and the kiddos had possibly even more fun!  (And Blake too.)  ;-)

Thanks Mimi and Big Papa for making it an even more special night being together.

Go Wawona!!

Wawona proudly supports our own Children's Hospital of Central California.  Wawona's wonderful employees helped raise money for the fourth year in a row.  Way to go Wawona!!!

 The Smittcamp family with the Children Hospital's CEO Todd Suntrapak

After the presentation, we got to drive Aubrey back to class.  She was a lucky girl and got to take a break to come be apart of the fun. :)

Dancing with the Stars!

We got to experience a LIVE taping of Dancing with the Stars!  It was a long day since we left in the early morning, drove 4 hours to Hollywood, enjoyed the show and then returned home the same night. It was ALL worth it though!   This season is the All-Star season so it made it even more fun to experience.  Thank you ladies for making it such a memorable and enjoyable day!  I love DWTS!!

Baking with Oma

I didn't grow up with my grandparents living near.  Both sets of grandparents lived far away.  They lived in Canada and we live in California.  We did get to visit them ALL the time or at least it felt that way to me.  Most summers, with my dad, mom and siblings, we would take a trip and DRIVE about 3,000 miles to Canada to visit some of my favorite relatives.  Such wonderful memories!!  

When I see pictures like this or when we drive only about mile or so to either of Aubrey's wonderful grandmas, I do not take it for granted.  It makes me smile.  It makes me thankful.  Aubrey Rose and Austin are so very blessed to live pretty much down the street from their Oma and Mimi.  What a blessing for us all, so they can share memories and moments like this.

Love you!

Bieber Fever

Yes...yes, we did.  Blake and I went to a Justin Bieber concert.  And we had so much fun!  

We went with my cousin Chelsey and Blake's sister Blair.

 It was such a treat to see Ash, Meredith and Sara!!  Thanks girls for coming by and saying hi!

Carly Rae Jepsen opened for Bieber.  It was fun watching her and singing to

Call Me Maybe??

Birthday fun!

We got to enjoy some birthday fun with Blake's family celebrating Uncle Gary for dinner and dessert. 

 Linda, Aubrey Rose, MomMom (Linda's mom), Blair and myself

 Bill, Austin, Blake, Bradley, Uncle Gary and PopPop (Linda's father)

Happy Birthday Uncle Gary!!

Congrats Grandpa!

Grandpa Earl Smittcamp was recently honored by the FCOE along with four other highly deserved individuals.  It was a wonderful evening to be apart of.  I sure am proud and honored to be a Smittcamp.  :)

Congratulations Grandpa!  We sure are proud of you and the incredible way you have led our family.  We love you!