Fresh produce on the way...yum!

Daniel and Jewel decided to plant some herbs, peas, pumpkin and a few other vegies to see if they will grow. They both love taking care of a garden and it certainly rains enough here in NJ.
gratitude thought: Grateful for family members who enjoy gardening. Grateful for Daniel who grew up with a garden in Utah. Patricia knows NADA about planting, as she grew up in the Big Apple.

Math in the class and in the kitchen

Dakota giving a math presentation at Rutgers.
the mathematics behind wallpaper design.....

using math and chemistry to make great bread

gratitude thought: for Dakota's interest in our new wheat grinder. He's been making bread for the family!

Bishopric Appreciation Potluck

On Saturday April 18th, the East Brunswick Bishopric and families, had a farewell potluck dinner to thank the Smith family for all the wonderful contributions and impact they have left us with. They will be moving to another Stake in NJ and we will miss them so much! The entire Bishopric with all the toddlers, kiddies and teens were there. Daniel, John and Pablo....talking away!
Mac and Priscilla with their three kiddies.
The Lleras & Rumneys & Dakota
The wonderful Smith family

Friday evening, marked the 10th Anniversary of Jewel's school. Here she is with some classmates attending a party.

gratitude thought: Grateful to have met and served with the Smiths. Kristen and Pablo are both wise beyond their years and Daniel and I have learned so much from them. They are lovely!

Waiting for daddy after church...

Here is Jewel on Easter Sunday, (wearing her dress from Oma) as she waits outside the chapel for her daddy. We only had to wait an hour and 20 minutes and we all got to ride home together for Easter dinner. There was an Easter egg treasure hunt for the kids after dinner. Can't tell who enjoyed the hunt more, Jewel or Dakota ;-)

Jewel (age 9, four feet, six inches tall: weight 57 pounds)

Springtime 2009 memories....

The change of seasons, is just one of the many blessings to enjoy living in the Northeast. We can really feel temps rise and the cold winter slowly leaving as spring approaches. Jewel with Uncle Kevin at Brooklyn's famous Coney Island, waiting to get on a ride. Jewel was on spring break.
Jewel and Kevin being slap happy!
Jewel in her 3rd grade play on the Solar System.
Dakota playing piano for the Stake Youth talent show. Courtney helping turn music.

Ben, Dakota & Megan, 3 youth performing in our ward talent show.

gratitude thought: grateful for warmer temperatures, walks outdoors, birds singing and new daytime hay fever meds that don't make you fall asleep.

Family Home Evening

Playing a game for Family Home Evening in Jewel's room...
Making the sacrifice to spend one or so hours together, once a week has made for some lasting memories. Even the fighting & teasing before the lesson will be treasured one day when all that is left are memories of our children!

School days, school days, dear old golden school days!

Dakota seated before his performance with the Rutgers University Choir. He sang with combined choirs in the Nicholas Performing Arts Center. It was a wonderful family treat! Daniel came especially to hear the Samuel Barber piece (Dakota is holding and praticing) Daniel sang this piece years ago with his school choir.

Andrew, Mr. Jan & Jewel giving a rollerskating demonstration for the after school program.

The terrific trio after rehearsing...

gratitude thoughts: grateful that Jewel & Dakota enjoy simple activities that their parents did in their childhood..like skating and singing (as opposed to texting, facebook, nintendo ds, wii sports, dance dance revolution, etc...)

grateful for healthy children...

grateful for grandparents who help us in supporting the activities and interests of their grandkids....we love them so much!

Dee Tourtellot's 75th birthday at Red Lobster

Members of the East Brunswick ward came to celebrate the 75th birthday of Dee at Red Lobster on route 18. Dakota seated here with 5 young women ;-)
We took up almost 1/3 of the restaurant.
Daniel, Jewel and Benjamin waiting for dinner.

Happy 75th birthday Dee. Thank you for allowing us to share this special day with you! (Dee Tourtellot wearing the blue blouse)

Look at me..."I'm eating snow"

February 3rd, continued to be a snowy day. By evening the entire city was so beautiful covered in fluffy white snow.

Dakota and Jewel in the backyard enjoying the snowfall. Dakota dropped his cell phone, which we couldn't find for the next three days. The snow had turned to ice and the phone stayed hidden in a block of ice.

gratitude thought: for warmer temps that melted the ice allowing Dakota to find his phone. No damage was done!! Yipee!!

Free breakfast at Denny's across the US

Denny's restaurant decided to give away a 'Grand Slam' breakfast across the country on February 3rd, between 6:00 am and 2:00 pm. Dakota and Patricia braved the snow and arrived at noon to put their names on a two hour waiting list. Returning home (Dakota is off on Tuesdays) he did some homework, and Patricia & Dakota went back again at 1:45. There were hundreds of people!!

gratitude thought: Pancakes on a cold snowy day, that I didn't have to make myself.

The big 50 at the 'Olive Garden'

Wow, turning 50 has been so cool. It's great to have five decades behind me!! (Jewel made my crown from Bendaroos)

gratitude thoughts: for the gift of life, loved ones and friends over the years, vivid memories to make me smile!

age 0-5...learning to say the word moon, my dog 'Rainy', living in South Carolina, walking to the front of the train traveling to NYC in 1963, my sister Diane taking off my newborn sister's socks, my sister Diane almost drowning in the tub, falling down and skinning my knee the 1st day of kindergarden, my mom always smiling. gameshow 'Let's Make A Deal' and 'I Love Lucy', my 1st grade teacher Ms. Gera, reading 'Dick, Jane and Sally' books, naps with Hester, eating chips with my dad, my mom buying me a new pair of bedroom slippers, watermelon in the summer, New Jeruselem Baptist Church, wearing cat eyeglasses, last one in line at school (taller than everyone including boys)

5-10...swallowing a nickel, long summers and becoming a tomboy, love of dance begins, dance lessons at Ruth Williams in Harlem, going to a different school out of my district, my dad playing jacks, summers in South Carolina with my aunts (all 6 of them), my dad teaching me baseball, my brother Kevin being born, my height of 5' 4" and my size 8 feet at the age of 9

11-20... Hunter College HS (all girls school from age 12-18), dance lessons all day and night as an Ailey scholarship student, my mom graduating from college with her MA, my sisters wearing my clothes after I told them NO! Joining Alvin Ailey junior company, tons of homework, my brother Kevin on his skate board, no idea of how to date, Alvin Ailey audition and being so nervous...

21-30...my suitcase, my first NYC apartment, Capezio's dance store, aches and pains, my passport, getting lost in Sweeden, my first 'walkman' Alvin carrying my heavy suitcase in DC, being a vegan, Music, music.. Athens, Rome, Tokyo, South America, Europe, Israel... The Kennedy Center, travel, travel, travel, watching Alvin make ballets, staying up days at a time, Studio 54, my electric heating blanket, getting too skinny, Pilates, retiring from the Ailey company at age 27, meeting Daniel while teaching at City College, my sisters get married and begin their families, long walks in Riverside Drive with Daniel

30-40....my grandma Hester dies, DANIEL and I are married!!!!, I join the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, visit from Opa to NYC, DAKOTA born, Daniel returns to school twice, living in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Denver, homeschooling and reading loads of kids books, Dakota gets baptized in Salt Lake City with Oma, Opa and aunts and uncles, Opa driving with Daniel to LA, Dakota and I staying with Oma and Greg

40-49...JEWEL born, Daniel gets an MBA, 9/11, Dakota starts college at age 9 attending Arapahoe CC, driver's license at age 43, moving to NJ, My dad Peter dies, taking care of my mom Mable, becoming a YW president, new house in Highland Park!, Daniel becomes a Bishop, Dakota graduates MCC and starts Rutgers, Jewel starts school, Jewel on gymnastic team, a stake calling in YW presidency, talk at stake conference (hard, hard hard!) KPMG for Daniel, driving, driving, driving! attending the Alvin Ailey 50th reunion

50-60...???

Jewel at Middlesex Gymnastics Academy

It's really hard to take a photo of a cartwheel on the balance beam, but it's probably harder to actually do a cartwheel on the beam. The best I could do was to get a still shot of Jewel doing releve walks on the beam. Next class, I'll try to get a video.

Pajama party & movie night

Jewel between two of her friends for Activity Night at the church. They got to wear their PJ's to watch the movie.

Dakota went iceskating with the young men and young women to Roosevelt Park ice skating rink in Metuchen/Edison. It was about 10 degrees with wind chill but they had fun anyway.

Rutgers is back in full swing for the spring semester. Dakota is taking 3 Math classes (one pre graduate level) and an Honors Mathematics seminar. He will get to research a project and has to do an oral presentation with another class member. He is also taking Honors Linguistics which is going to be his minor or possibly his second major along with Math. He will contiunue with University choir and he's waiting to see if a grad student is available for piano lessons this semester.

gratitude thought: Living only 10 minutes away from the Rutgers campus, it sure makes driving back and forth so much better...

East Brunswick YW New Beginnings 2009

Daniel and Patricia, before the New Beginnings program started. Patricia is wearing her Indian 'gold' dress with pants as the new value for the YW will be virtue (represented by the color gold). It was freezing in NJ, as a huge artic storm is traveling across the US this week.
gratitude thoughts: grateful that Jewel's parent teacher conference went well, grateful that Dakota gets a long break between semesters even though he is still studying his Japanese and playing the piano VERY loud. Grateful that Jewel is having a great time on her junior gymnastics team even though her new teacher is 'meaner and more strict' than her past teacher. She can now do things I could only imagine in my dreams on the 4 inch balance beam...cartwheels and hand stands. She seems not to be afraid of anything except her brother =)

New Year's celebration 2009

January 1st 2009, brought in the New Year with our family tradition of bowling, followed by a buffet dinner. We don't eat at buffet joints too often, so having this to look forward to on New Year's Day is a real family treat. January 2nd, we went to NYC to meet an old family friend for dinner. Carolyn and her new husband Bill. Carolyn was kind enough to let Daniel stay with her while he attended grad school in NYC. This use to be called 'Papaya King'. They still offer the best hotdogs and fresh juices for a great price. Dakota had many lunches here after playing in Central Park as a two year old.
Dakota, Carolyn, Bill, Jewel and Daniel at their apartment, after a great dinner.
Jewel did a great job bowling!
So did Dakota...

BUT Mable had the highest score for both games. She bowls in a league in SC.

gratitude thought: For Carolyn and her friendship over the past two decades. She's such a bright, neat lady and we're happy for her wonderful husband Bill. He's just great, funny, smart and a terrific cook. We had the best evening with them.

grateful for simple family traditions that unify our family! And grateful for grandma Mable who makes the Holidays special with her visit with us.