David Alexander Smith Born October 1, 1997

Davy, the oldest son of Dave and Nichole, is a wonderful kid who just turned twelve! He attended the Priesthood Session of General Conference with his father,grandfather, uncles and cousin for the first time! Grandpa said he looked so handsome in his long sleeve white shirt and his hair combed so neatly!
Davy reads voraciously and has the vocabulary to prove it. He is loving and kind to his friends and siblings and polite to adults. He can carry on a conversation about almost anything with ease and knowdege. He and his brother, Kaden, found chipmunk tracks in the grease under the grill at our family reunion. Grandpa cut the cardboard out so they could save their find! Davy enjoyed the marble games we played at family reunion and did a good job keeping everyone entertained! He loves to play baseball and enjoys drawing, too! Below is a photo of him when he was about 18 months old. We are grateful for his good life and love him very much!

Cameron Elise Smith born September 30, 2000

Cameron, the girl in the green shirt in the photo on the left is a star shining brightly in our family. She is Ryan and Lauren's second child and oldest daughter.
Cameron is a remarkable girl who skipped kindergarten and is in the top of her class. She plays the piano well, dances ballet well, writes fantastic stories, recites poetry with feeling, and has acted in several plays. In January, she will perform in The Wizard of Oz. She has a cute freckly face with a darling nose and reddish brown hair. She's pleasant to be around and has a good sense of humor, as well as being very hard working and helpful. When her parents were out of town, she did her brother's chores while he was at football. She wanted to please her mother and help her brother! We love her very much!

Amanda Rose Kay Smith born August 23, 1990

Amanda, or Mandie, is our oldest grandchild, daughter of Rob and Karen. She is a talented girl who sings with a beautiful, clear-as-a-bell voice, and has been heard singing most of the day since she was a little tiny girl. She enjoys writing poetry and has a mind of her own. She is a tall, slender, beautiful young woman with delicate skin and beautiful brown eyes and brown hair. She is stalwart in the gospel and shares it with her friends and coworkers. Recently she accomplished a very difficult assignment; she graduated from training in the Army Reserves, where she trained as a police officer. Kudos to you, Amanda. We are very proud of you!! I don't have a a good photo of her in my computer, so I'm hoping she will send me one. There is one on her facebook page.

Rachel Lynn Marie Smith born August 7, 2001

Rachel is the fourth child of Rob and Karen.
She has her father's dark hair and her mother's beautiful light skin and dramatic eyes. She's a tender, sensitive soul and very loving and forgiving. She loves to help on big projects and does a really good job! She enjoys learning and is intelligent and creative! The photo on the left is Rachel with her cousin, Brianna at our Family Reunion in August, 2009. The photo on the right is at Thanksgiving Point a week later. She was baptized in September and was so excited to tell us about it! We love her very much and wish we could be there with her when she has special events in her life!

Austin Ryan Smith born July 27, 2006

Austin Ryan Smith is the fifth child of Ryan and Lauren Smith. He's an intelligent boy who likes to tease and make people happy and laugh. He is also very loving and sensitive. He has a hunger to learn and can play board games extremely well for a person his age. He has a very handsome face with dreamy eyes and well proportioned features. He'll certainly be a knock out as he grows up. This photo shows him at our Smith Family Reunion in August, 2009 at Heber Valley Young Women Camp, watching a marble tournament. Grandpa and I are just tickled to have him in our family! We love him very much!

Jesse Ryan Smith born June 22, 2005

Jesse Ryan Smith is the fifth of six children in Dave and Nichole's family. He's a smart thinker and keeps us on our toes, asking all kinds of questions and never forgetting anything.

The first photo was taken on his fourth birthday, just a few months ago. The lower photo was taken in February. As you can see, he's handsome and looks a lot like his older brother, Davy and his dad, David.
He is a joy to have around and we love him very much!

Kaleigh Ann Smith Born May 15, 2005

Kaleigh Ann Smith is the youngest child of our third son Robert and his wife, Karen.

These photos were taken at our family reunion at Heber Valley Young Women Camp, on August 18th, 2009. Kaleigh is a bright, unflappable and happy child. She is very loving and giving and a deep thinker. It's fun to cuddle with her and read stories. She has her mother's big beautiful eyes and her father's courage. Her dark hair falls in soft curls down to her shoulders. We haven't been around her as much as most of the other grandchildren and feel really blessed that we could see and be with her this summer. We love to be with her, she's so much fun!

Trip to Texas-Thursday evening

Steve, Dani and I enjoyed an evening out on Thursday, June 5th. We drove to downtown Houston and saw the play, "Fiddler on the Roof ," with Topol as Tevya. The theater was a beautiful place and the play was very well done. I really enjoyed being there with Steve and Dani. It was a very special evening; one I will long remember!

Trip to Texas-First Two Days-Wednesday & Thursday

Dani picked me up at the Houston airport early in the afternoon on June 3, 2009. It was the last day of school for Garrett, and he was out! I was amazed at how much older Garrett looked and how much bigger Ethan was. Dani is still tiny to me, but she thinks she is huge-being 5 months pregnant. It felt good to be in their house again. Dani is neat as a pin and her place is homey and very comfortable. I had a room to myself upstairs across the house from the boys' rooms. Upstairs there is a toy room/loft, an office, a bathroom and three bedrooms. I took a nap later in the afternoon and we enjoyed a fun evening with Steve. He showed me the video games he plays and I tried to play without screaming. The one game I remember well is throwing the cow. Poor thing, I always threw her right where she was and never got her very far. What a game!

On Thursday, Dani, the boys and I went for a nice walk around their neighborhood and fed the ducks at the lake close by. Then on our way home, we stopped at the playground near Garrett's school for a few minutes.

Trip to Texas-Sunday in Lake Jackson

I don't have any photos taken on this day. Steve drove me down south of Houston on Hwy 288 to Lake Jackson, where we lived from 1970-1981. It seems like ancient history to think back on those days. As we drove, I told Steve stories and experiences from our life in Lake Jackson so he would know some of the people we would meet at church that day. We arrived during Sunday School class for the 9 am meetings, went in and sat down. I recognized two women, Debbie Kennemer (I had called her on Saturday and she had encouraged me to come and see our old friends.) and Sandy Simiskey. After class an elderly brother passed by me and I asked him who he was. It was Jimmy Guest! He visited with me and remembered Darrell and me and went to get his wife, who works in Primary. Ollene did not remember me. Peggy Aldous updated me on her family. She looks happy and I rejoiced to see her firm in the gospel! Steve attended priesthood while I attended Relief Society. Afterwards, he took me to the gym where priesthood met and introduced me to Bruce Goodrich, who said that Darrell was his first bishop and had married him to the Middleton girl. He gave me his email address, etc. Steve and I also met Victor and Virginia Bond, James and Gail Butterfield, Jan French, Vicky and Rodney Clayton, Doris Powers and her new husband, Patrick Simiskey, Jack Perry and his son, Shelton Price, and Steve Erickson. Doris Powers was excited to meet Steve and could hardly believe he was all grown up. The Bond's told us about the mission they served in the Pacific Islands. Vicky said she heard my voice as I walked down the hall, and that she could recognize, but my face was a little difficult to see who I was. It's my hair, right? Rodney recounted how just a few days previous to our visit he had driven past our home on Pine Street and had said to himself, "There's where my first bishop used to live." He told me how he found the church and how he met Vicky and married her. He also said that Darrell had called him into the bishop's office and asked him to be the assistant scoutmaster. The following Sunday from the pulpit, he also called him to be the deacon's quorum advisor. That was quite a surprise, but Rodney has been a great member of the church, serving in most callings, including in the bishopric and on the high council. It was a blessing to me to see the people that I served, and who served me those long years ago.

Trip to Texas-Friday at the beach

We spent Friday, June 5, 2009 at a beach on Galveston Island with two other friend families from Steve and Dani's ward. I sat in a lawn chair and soaked in the sun and shade, enjoying every lazy minute! Here you can see Dani and Steve, then Steve and Ethan.

One fun thing they did was build sandcastles and lakes with streams.
Steve took his boys out in the surf and they jumped the waves over and over again! Dolphins entertained them for a couple of minutes. When they finally spied a jelly fish, late in the afternoon, they decided to come on in. After enjoying the day at the beach, we found a fun restaurant with an upstairs patio and filled up on yummy hamburgers, fries and shakes. It was a great day!

The next day was Steve's birthday. Garrett and Ethan helped me blow up balloons and filled the living room with 31 of them to honor Steve's special day. The boys discovered 101 fun games to play with balloons. Secretly, we adults wished they would pop faster than they did!

Steve and I pose in their kitchen for a mom and son shot.

Kolby Garrett Smith

Kolby, born June 11, 1998, is the son of Richard and Joy Smith. He completed his Webelos Scout requirements by March, 2009, so he was sent to 11 year old scouts early. Here he is at Great grandma's 80th birthday party, October, 2008, with is dad. (I've just got to get more photos of our grandchildren!) You can see he has red hair and freckles, quite a handsome kid! He is a really entertainig and personable boy, with lots of energy, but very polite and a hard worker. He plays the piano and almost has his black belt in karate. He also is a good baseball player and excels in whatever he tries! He earns good grades in school and his family, including Grandpa and Grandma, loves to be around him!

Merilyn Marie Smith

Lynnie, daughter of David and Nichole Smith, was born June 11, 2001. This is her eighth birthday! She will be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in July! She is an enthusiastic, bright, fun young lady. In these photos, it is almost apparent that she has beautiful red hair and a host of pretty freckles. She loves school, especially reading, and loves to help at home. She takes good care of her little sisters and brother. She is very athletic and can do anything she sets her mind to do. We love her and congratulate her on her 8th birthday! She sang in her class opera in the spring. She was a dragon and was very energetic and cute on stage.

Ethan Daniel Smith

Introducing Ethan Daniel Smith born May 17, 2007, son of Steven and Danielle Smith. He is a happy boy most of the time, except when his two year old tantrums erupt! See happy photo number 1 and tantrum photo number 2. As you can see, he's a handsome boy with blond hair and blue eyes and a really nice smile!

He really enjoys going for walks and feeding the ducks! He knows a lot of words and repeats everything anybody says to him. That is how people learn fast! Ethan is eager to learn new skills and is often heard to say, "Try it!" He loves balls and balloons and playing with his older brother Garrett. He is loving and friendly and his brother adores him.

Grandma is really glad she was able to visit and get to know him for a week in June.

Trip to California

On Thursday, April 9th, 2009, Marsha and I flew to California to visit our loved ones there. Linda and Frank picked us up at the airport while it was still morning, so we enjoyed a lot of the day together. After arriving at Linda’s, we ate and then exercised. The torture we go through with Linda is walking fast, uphill, climbing a huge set of stairs FIVE TIMES, up and down, up and down…go, go, go! Of course, I go slowly and do it maybe two or two and a-half times. How do you do a half? Well, you go half way up and then down. We walked three or four miles, on sidewalks and a trail through a beautiful little canyon behind some of the neighborhood. We passed parks, schools and plenty of homes. The air was warm, sun shining and beautiful flowers were in bloom everywhere, so it wasn’t a complete torture.

We ate lunch at Souper Salad. I didn’t eat too much and only two bites of a sugar-free lemon mousse! Jackie and Brandon were finishing a little vacation, so they picked me up and took me to Deb’s in time for supper and a baseball game with Braden. Braden ran so fast with his brace on, I could hardly believe it! Bailey and I became re-acquainted, and I recorded her saying, “baby”. She has such a beautiful voice! Braden moved his mattress into the girl’s room and slept there while I slept in his room on Bridgette’s bed. Deb always takes good care of me!

Friday was a special day for Bridgette. She had a birthday party with two good friends, Isabella and Sarah. They dressed up like princesses and the princess doll came in her blue dress. They played fun games Deb set up, like pin the horn on the unicorn, fishing, dance to the strobe lights, and coloring. Deb decorated the dining area with pink streamers and balloons. The cake was a tiny Sleeping Beauty.

I had so much fun with Bailey. She played peek-a-boo with me and started saying, “Boo!” Then she said eye when we played with a doll. It was like she was hungry to learn new words!

Saturday was a busy day, with a Primary party for the children, decorating Easter eggs at home, and the Easter Bunny coming later in the afternoon. He left a large number of eggs filled with candy and he hid all the boiled eggs and candy eggs for the children to find in the yard.

Sunday, Deb spoke in church and gave a wonderful talk about the Savior and his atonement, quoting Elder Holland’s latest conference talk. I was happy to be there and hear her speak. We took photos when we arrived home, and ate a great dinner of ham, funeral potatoes, rolls, pistachio salad, green salad and carrot cake for dessert. The weather cooperated, and we enjoyed a great time eating and laughing outdoors on the patio. (Linda and Frank, Brandon and Jackie, Kate, Matt and Annie, and Dave and Christy, Marsha, all of Deb and Stu’s family and I participated.)

I went home with Frank, Linda and Marsha to spend Sunday night and Monday. We girls talked a lot and slept a little that night. In the morning, we drove over to the gym where Frank exercises and spent an hour on aerobics and weights. Good exercise!

Monday afternoon, we headed back to Corona and visited with Jackie in their new home while Deb spent a crazy afternoon diving to and from piano lessons and baseball practice with her children. We enjoyed dinner and Family Home Evening Monday night and left the next morning for the airport. Brittany cried and had a hard time letting us go. Deb drove us and we visited and sang songs all the way. It was a good trip, but too short.

Brittany Rae Lowe, birth May 11, 1999

Here is our beautiful princess, Brittany, who is turning 10 soon. The top photo shows her pushing two of her sisters in swings. She loves her siblings and helps take care of them very well. She is a brilliant student, a creative artist, learning the piano, and even a good singer. She has participated in soccer and ballet and is currently in Girl Scouts. She has a lot of good friends and is sweet and kind. She is trustworthy, responsible, and tender-hearted. Happy Birthday, sweet princess!

Kaden Clark Smith, birth May 6, 1999

As you can see from the above photos, Kaden is a lively boy that loves to do fun things. These photos are actually from last summer at Jumping Jacks and the Pinewood Derby. He is a loving boy who is very active, yet enjoys quiet activities, too, like Gameboy and adventure movies. He is wise and learning to make good choices, polite, takes good care of his younger siblings, enjoys cooking, and likes reading books like Eragon (and I can't remember the other set of books). He actually won second place at the Pinewood Derby for the Bear Scouts last week. I don't have a photo of his winning car. We love him and his very fun sense of humor. I really love to hear him laugh. It just makes me feel so good! He's a great kid to have around!

Bailey Ryann Lowe, Birth May 19, 2008

Bailey, born last year is our fourteenth granddaughter, the fifth child of Deb and Stu. She is already showing a strong personality that enjoys entertaining and loves to learn and help her big sister. She is very loving and energetic. She can already say lots of words, like baby, daddy, boo, bye bye, eye, thank you, and night night. What a joy to have her in our family! What hair she does have, which is about 1/16 th of an inch, seems to be red like her brother, Braden and she has blue eyes. she is a precious gem among our jewels!

Bridgette Savannah Lowe, Birth April 12, 2005

The above photo is Bridgette at her 4th birthday party. Of course, it ws a princess party. Being the fourth child, she can take care of herself just fine, thank you. She is fun, smart, wise beyond her years, cute and likes to help. when she was only two, actually less than that, she wanted to help me wash walls and paint as we were getting ready to move. Quite a remarkable girl. We all love her very much.

In April, I was at Deb’s house eating lunch with Deb and Bridgette. Bridgette asked me if Grandpa likes pirates. I said, “Yes, he does. How did you know?” (Grandpa likes the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.) She answered, “Because he’s a boy.”

I rode in the back of Deb’s van with Bridgette. She told me,
“When I grow up and have a baby, my mama will be the Grandma, and she will stay with us.”

A little while later, I told her, “Bridgette. I’m going home to Grandpa and I’m going to tell him all about you. What do you want me to tell him? Should I tell him that you are beautiful?” She replied as grown up as can be, “No, cute.”

Kalvin Davis Smith, born March 10, 2002

See that adorable rehead boy hugging his sister with gusto? That is Kalvin. (Photo from 2005)He has a winning smile and energy to go with it! He is an expert driver of motorcycles, little battery powered cars, and electric drills. He can jump and dance, sing and draw. He even made a bench for his playhouse all by himself last fall! He is smart and handsome, fun and able to size up situations really fast! He is an innovator and an artist and does well in school and in sports. We love this guy and enjoy being around him every time he comes to our house!

Kalvin with his two older brothers, Kaleb and Kolby. (2005)

Rylee Ann Smith Birthday March 10, 2003

Those three girls above are left to right: Rylee Smith, Brianna Lowe and Lynnie Smith. The photo below is Rylee. As you can see, she has red hair and blue eyes, and a sweet smile. She is a loquacious child and has an outstanding vocabulary. She is quite peaceful and hardly ever fusses or fights. She loves to read, draw, color and play games and do puzzles. She's a beautiful princess and we all love her very much! This photo is a couple of years old. She now wears braids or ponytails most of the time.

Granddaughters

We have fourteen granddaughters. They are Amanda (Mandie) Rose Kay Smith, 18; Brittany Rae Lowe, 9; Cameron Elise Smith, 8; Merilyn (Lynnie) Marie Smith,7: Rachel Lynne Marie,7; Lillian Audrey Smith, deceased; Brianna Marie Lowe, 7; Rylee Anne Smith, 5; Katelyn Joy Smith, 4; Eden Clara Smith, 4; Bridgette Savannah Lowe,3; Kaleigh Ann Smith, 3; Sydney Faye Smith, 2; and Bailey Ryanne, 9 months. In December, we had a granddaughter party for all the girls in town. We played carroom and Chinese checkers, made pretty paper fans, ate ice cream sandwiches and drank pop. We planned to start a club and named it the Cutie Pie Princess Club. Here is a photo of nine of our princesses. Three of the ones who were not here live in Ohio and one was sleeping when the photo was taken.

Garrett Steven Smith

Garrett Steven Smith, son of Danielle Jan Sudweeks and Steven Gale Smith turned six in the month of January. He is the oldest of two sons and really takes good care of his little brother, Ethan Daniel. He started Kindergarten in September and really enjoys school. He learned to read at home a couple of years ago and reads on the third grade level. He loved to sort legos with Grandpa when he and his family visited us in September. The lower photo was taken in December 2005.

Kaleb Richard Smith is our first grandson.

Kaleb Richard Smith is our first grandson, the son of Richard Darrell Smith and Joy Lorraine Davis. He turned 13 this month. He plays the piano well. He has composed a piece of music that sounds similar to Pachelbels Canon. I love to hear it. He plays the clarinet in school and has learned to play the guitar from his Uncle Scott. He certainly is a multi talented guy, since he also excels in football and karate as well as achieving 4.0 + in his middle school subjects. He cheerfully helps others and is clean and neat, a good scout working on his merit badges and requirements for Life Scout and then Eagle.

Rich and Joy show off their three week old son,Kaleb, 1996.