10th Anniversary Weekend

For our 10th Anniversary, we celebrated by leaving Elizabeth with Ryan and Jenni to allow us a true weekend getaway. We have not taken a vacation alone together (no family or friends) since our honeymoon!! We stayed in the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Walt Disney World. We had a very fun and relaxing weekend lounging by the pool, enjoying the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at Polynesian Resort, and re-visiting the very special place where Keith proposed in 2000, Port Orleans French Quarter Resort in Walt Disney World. Many more pics in our album. Click on Keith n Betsy's pics in the right sidebar and look for 10th Anniversary Weekend album.

Picture from our Engagement Scrapbook taken the night Keith proposed

View from our balcony at Animal Kingdom Lodge

Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show

Animal Kingdom Lodge

Our engagement place at Port Orleans French Quarter

Christmas in July

Aunt Suze sent packages to all her "nieces and nephews" in Orlando. It was just like Christmas morning with wrapping paper everywhere, Lizzie in her new pajamas, and playing with new toys all day!!!

Mary Poppins and Ballet Class- Observation Day!

Currently, this is Lizzie's favorite movie! Makes Mommy so happy as it is her favorite movie of ALL TIME!!!!

We got to observe Elizabeth's last ballet class of the Summer. Until this time, we had no idea what she was doing in class! They actually work very hard and get lots of exercise! They practiced all their positions and Lizzie followed instructions pretty well. We were only allowed to take pictures after class, so we don't have any of her in action. She is very excited to begin ballet again in the Fall.

Adventures in Angel Food Cake

Lizzie has really been having fun baking with Mommy this Summer. Mommy is NOT a "baker" by any means and would rather cook, but there is not much for Lizzie to do when I am cooking because things are hot. Baking is more of a project and takes sometime, so it is a great activity for us to pass the time in the Summer. (Mommy is also not "crafty", which would be another great way to pass the time in the Summer. I have decided that baking is the lesser of the two evils....) :)

So, the problem with baking so much is that you have it in your house and, of course eat it, so I tried to think of something that we could bake that is just a little bit healthier and came up with Angel Food Cake. I have attempted this before, but never successfully. So I did my research, found a recipe and I was ready for the challenge.

I chose a Chocolate Angel Food Cake because I thought... I can BUY Angel Food Cake in the store that is pretty tasty, but I can't buy CHOCOLATE Angel Food Cake. This would be something different.

It was a lot of work and we had to follow directions exactly or I knew it would be a disaster. We grated, sifted, used all the measuring techniques I learned in 4-H (and haven't used since) and we were VERY happy with the finished product. So, I can check Angel Food Cake from Scratch off my list and I don't think I will be making it again anytime soon! :)

Return of the Playhouse and a Summer Splurge

Lizzie asked to have her playhouse assembled again. She hasn't played with it for about a year. It's fun to see her use it in different ways than she did before. When we had it out before, she used it more as a jungle gym and now it is her playhouse!

Once a year, I splurge for Ranier Cherries! I am not a huge cherry fan, but we LOVE these cherries! They are mild and sweet and great for snacking!

Lizzie and Amber's Day of Fun!

Donna, Amber and John McDaniel came down from Jacksonville where they moved this Summer to Orlando to visit family and friends. We had a playdate at Donna's parent's home in their swimming pool. The girls acted like no time had passed. They played and fought just like sisters!!

Piano Lessons

Mommy has been teaching Lizzie to play piano! We are using her princess vanity piano, which is not a full keyboard but she has learned quite a bit already. We started in June and she knows the scale C to C both on the keyboard and by sight reading notes. She knows Treble and Bass clefs and which hand to play for each. She can play 10 songs by sight reading! We are very proud of our little pianist!!

Sea World Orlando!!

Keith has been working crazy hours on a project for work and one of his bosses surprised him with a gift of Sea World Orlando passes for our family. The original passes were for Sea World and Busch Gardens (Tampa) and we exchanged the Busch Gardens passes for Aquatica passes. Aquatica is the water park across from Sea World. We have never been there, but have heard great things about it! So excited to go!! This afternoon, we decided to go visit our ocean friends at Sea World. We haven't been there in a while, and it was a very hot day, but we got to see the baby dolphins in the Dolphin Nursery, puffins and penguins and polar bears. oh MY!!!

Random Fun at Grandma and Grandpa Smith's

Lizzie and Anna made a huge tent in the family room, complete with a tiara on the roof!

Lizzie, Anna and Taylor got to play in the bounce house at Wings n' Rings (A family tradition now every time we are in Greensburg)

Lizzie got to catch lightning bugs for the first time!!! So exciting!!!!

Decatur County 4-H Fair!!!

We planned our trip so that we could take Lizzie to the Decatur County 4-H Fair. The friends I made and experiences I had through 4-H and the fair were so important to me growing up in Greensburg and I was sooooo excited to take Lizzie!! She had a blast! She saw a pig for the first time, rode rides with her cousins Anna and Taylor (and sometimes Mommy) and she even won a tiara playing the duck game. Our future 4-H FAIR QUEEN!!!! Made Mommy proud.... ;)

Our Special Date

So, we think, our best guess is, about 12 years ago Keith and I were living 3 hours apart in Greensburg and Evansville. On a lazy summer afternoon, we decided we wanted to meet somewhere in between. We talked to Michelle Bowman's father and he suggested a place near Louisville. We shared a very special afternoon, eating at the restaurant and sitting on a bench by the Ohio River and talking for hours. We shared everything... our hopes and dreams. Keith says that was the day he decided that I was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. :) This has gone down as the best date we have ever had, but it was always this mystery place, that we never thought we would find again. Through the marvelousness of the internet and Daniel and Brandi now living in Louisville, we were able to track down the restaurant where this special date took place. I surprised Keith by picking him up in Louisville (standby flights and crazy work schedules to thank for that) and getting a reservation at Captain's Quarters. It was a beautiful night, but the restaurant is booming with business now! It has really changed! Not as much quiet time to ourselves as before, but it was wonderful to relive those memories and to have found that special place.

First Annual Smith Family Cornhole Tournament

One of the most exciting times during the Smith Family Summer BBQ was the First Annual Smith Family Cornhole Tournament! F.A.S.F.C.H.T. for short... Betsy had never played and yet made it (with the help of her teammate Amy Hacker) to the Championship Game!!! So Fun!!! Already looking forward to the next tournament!!!