Scott and Katie Smith

Polynesian Cultural Center

2012-01-24T18:43:00.000-08:00

We scheduled Thursday as our day to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center. The center didn't open until 12:30 and so we had the majority of the morning to wander around the island. We decided to stop at the Punchbowl Cemetery. The cemetery lies at the top of a mountain with a great view down on Honolulu.

As we drove up the coast we stopped to watch the big waves crash into the rocks on the North shore.

When we arrived at the Cultural Center, we got there just in time to catch a river raft performance from each of the different Pacific islands.

We saw a man open a coconut, start a fire with just bamboo, and climb a palm tree. There were lots of students that did polynesian dances and played large drums. Many of these demonstrations called upon audience members to participate. Scott got called to go to the front to do a Fijian dance. He was really nervous, but he did it anyway. I was proud of him. At least it looks like he's having fun. He did get a crown woven from leaves for his trouble.

We had dinner at a luau that evening. We ate kalua pork, chicken, fresh fruit, and poi. Following dinner we made our way to a large outdoor auditorium where we saw a performance from the students of nearby BYU. They did dances and played with fire. It was amazing!

Days 2 & 3

2012-01-22T17:59:00.000-08:00

Scott participated in the conference for the first two full days we had in Hawaii. We didn't want to do anything in which he would feel left out, so we took it easy and scheduled our most exciting adventures for later in the week. While Scott sat in on some classes my parents and I hopped in the car and took a drive up to the North shore of the island. We intended to do a session at the temple, but discovered that it was closed for two weeks. Instead we toured the visitor center and took pictures on the temple grounds. Isn't it a beautiful temple?

On the way back we decided to stop and watch the waves crash in on the many beaches that line the north shore. Winter on the island brings large waves to this side of the island. The water is far too dangerous to swim, but the large waves bring surfers. We were able to watch some daring individuals ride the waves.

As we drove back to the city we decided to stop at the Dole Pineapple plantation to grab some pineapple soft serve ice cream. We also learned how pineapples grow. Here you can see a little one. One pineapple plant grows a single pineapple, and each fruit takes nearly 15 months until they are large enough to harvest. Now we know why pineapple can be so expensive.

When we got back to our hotel room, Scott was just finishing up his classes for the day so we decided to grab a bite to eat and then head to Waikiki. The beach was just outside our hotel. It was so fun to watch all the boats float out just beyond the beach. We waded in the water the first night, and watched the sun set.

Wednesday we woke up and drove to Aloha Stadium for the Swap meet. We wandered the entire circle around the stadium, and found some great items to bring home.

Scott didn't want to participate in this so he stayed back in the hotel working on his presentation. When we arrived back from the swap meet we met Scott just in time to sit in on his presentation. He did a great job. The group chair opened the session for questions at the end, and many people had questions and interest in his topic. I was so proud!

Following his presentation we decided to celebrate by having dinner at "Cheeseburgers in Paradise". This restaurant came highly recommended from family members. Scott had the Kobe beef burger!

Hawaii 5-0!

2012-01-18T18:44:00.000-08:00

Scott and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit the island of Oahu in order to participate in an international art and humanities conference. Scott submitted a paper he wrote and they invited him to present it. It was the first of many more opportunities Scott will have to be able to present at education conferences in the future. I didn't want to miss out on a trip to Hawaii so I tagged along as well. When we told my parents his paper was accepted they casually joked that it would be so fun for my mother to celebrate her 50th birthday in Hawaii "Hawaii 5-0 style". A few weeks of conversations and collaboration later, we were able to work it out that they would be able to make it there with us. January 9, my mother's birthday was the day we spent traveling to the island. My siblings and I didn't want my mom's special day to go unnoticed so we decided to collect letters from many of my Mom's closest friends and family for her to read on the airplane. I think she really enjoyed that surprise. First thing, we checked into our hotel and saw the gorgeous views we would enjoy the rest of the week. We had an ocean view and out our balcony, we had a perfect view of diamond head crater.

Our first night in Honolulu we celebrated my mother's birthday at a prime rib buffet in our hotel. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was great. We were so tired after a long day of flights that we went to bed at 9:00. We had a long week of fun adventures ahead of us...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-20T16:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas decorations are up....

Christmas lights are shining...

Christmas cards are arriving in the mail....

And our bags are nearly packed....

We're coming home for Christmas!!!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

Scott and I don't usually dress up for Halloween, but this year we were invited to a Halloween party where costumes were required so we wanted to think of something that wouldn't be too much work. I found the inspiration for my costume online and Scott came up with his coordinating look. My Aunt Elaine was generous enough to make my apron for me. Can you tell who Scott is supposed to be???

Friday evening we went to the home of our friends the Youngs. They're home was decked out in Halloween decor complete with a "kill room" with a dismembered body. Some of our favorite costumes were Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer, as well as the "Franken family".

Micah wanted me to make sure I got a good shot of his costume.

Jillian planned some fun games for the kids like wrapping the Dads up like Mummies. The adults played Halloween Pictionary and Charades. We really enjoyed ourselves!

The following night we went to our ward's Trunk or Treat activity. It was so much fun to see everyone dressed up. We had hot dogs and chili and there were lots of fun things for the children to do.

Our friends the Knights were all dressed to match. Their adorable little girls were a caterpillar and a butterfly in crocheted costumes.

My favorite costume was little Oliver. He was dressed like a piglet with little hooves on his feet. I love this guy!

We are so grateful to have such good friends to spend our holidays with.

General Conference Weekend

2011-10-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

Scott and I had a great General Conference weekend. We started out Saturday morning helping our good friends, the Nelsons, empty out their apartment and move their furniture to their new home. It was such a bitter-sweet moment for us, even though they're only moving a couple miles away. We'll miss seeing them on a weekly basis; since moving away from family and friends in Utah, our friendships here have become really important to us. Trine and Aaron have been so good to us and have really gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. I'm so happy for them, their home is gorgeous. It makes me excited for the day when we can own our first house.

After returning from that, we got cleaned up, and watched General Conference. Right after the Saturday afternoon session I hopped into the car and attended a wedding and then returned home in time for Scott to take a friend to the Priesthood Session. Afterward, Scott and a bunch of men from the ward decided to go eat dinner.

Sunday morning we slept in and watched the morning session in our pj's. I like to have a project to work on while I listen to the speakers so I found a Halloween project to complete. I made Mason Jar luminaries to decorate our bookshelf. I found the idea on pinterest. I think they turned out pretty cute.

After the last session Scott made his mother's recipe of Chicken and Wine. It was delicious. I think I'll start putting him in charge of Sunday dinner.

I'm really excited for this month, our calendar is already starting to fill up with fun activities. I'm also excited that the temperature here is beginning to fall below 100 degrees. Soon enough it will be Thanksgiving and my family will be here. I cannot wait!

Back to school!!!

2011-08-19T13:03:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Katie!

2011-08-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year Scott treated me to a fun evening at Arizona Mills Mall. We started out by visiting the aquarium. Later he was gracious enough to be my personal shopping assistant when he let me wander the mall for two new pairs of shoes. We ended the evening by having dinner at Garcia's Mexican Restaurant. I really enjoyed my birthday and I am happy I have my husband Scott to share it with.

Anniversary

2011-08-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

Scott and I decided to get away for a one night trip to celebrate our anniversary this year. We couldn't go too far since I still had to work, but we decided to take a short vacation to Snowflake. We've been wanting to get out of the valley to escape the heat, and we figured this was the perfect opportunity.

This was the maiden voyage for the Tom Tom I received from my parents for my birthday.
We got a pretty late start on Monday, but when we finally pulled out, we decided to take the long way to Snowflake through Globe. We stopped often to see all the pretty scenery on our drive.

We pulled into town around 7:00 pm and checked into our bed and breakfast. The old pioneer home was such a treat to stay in. It had a large front porch with comfortable seating and a beautiful fountain. At night the place was lit with little white lights.

Each of the rooms have modern day comforts such as air conditioning, tv, indoor plumbing... etc., but they are decorated with the antique looking furniture from the pioneer time.

The next morning we woke to have breakfast out on the patio. The hosts made "German Babies" with lemon juice and powdered sugar. It was so delicious! We're going to eat our German pancakes like that from now on.

After a couple hours of lounging on the hammock we packed up and checked out. We were sad to leave. Before we went home we stopped by the Snowflake LDS Temple and took some pictures.

While the trip was short, I was happy to have the time to spend with my sweetheart. I love him so much and I'm so grateful for the past 3 years with him. I can't wait for many many more!

What we've been up to....

2011-07-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

Scott and I made a list of things we have been wanting to do over the summer and we've been really good about finding fun things to do on a budget.

My book club decided to go to the midnight show of Harry Potter 7.2 together. Scott not wanting to be left out, decided he would go too. I was really worried that he would feel out of place with all the girls but the night was so fun and he had a great time.

The next evening we went to Chase Field in Phoenix to see a baseball game. Luckily the field is in an indoor stadium so we didn't worry about dying in the scorching heat. We rode the train into the city, we ate hotdogs, and cheered on the D-backs.

Unfortunately the Diamondbacks lost, but that didn't dampen our spirits. It was a really exciting night, and I was glad for the opportunity to spend some quality time with my man.

On our way home we kept getting messages and calls from my family telling us they wanted us to watch a dvd my sister-in-law Rachelle created about our recent family vacation. We found it weird that they were so persistent about having us all watch it together. We got home from the game around 11 pm (midnight Utah time) and threw in the movie. To our surprise, the dvd was a creative way for my brother and his wife to announce they are expecting! This will be the first grand baby born into my side of the family. I am so excited to have a new little niece or nephew.

Congrats Chris and Rachelle!

Major Dust Storm!

2011-07-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Last night we heard quite the commotion outside, when we looked out the window we saw the neighborhood blanketed in a large cloud of dust. Thank heaven we weren't out on the road!

Frederiksen Family Vacation 2011, Part 5

2011-07-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

In Seattle we decided a good way to see the city would be by "duck". We hopped aboard the amphibious vehicle, and made our way around town.

It drove us right past the famous Space Needle...

then we took a dip in Lake Union....

we had a great view of the city.....

and of the local football and baseball arenas.

After riding the duck we all headed into Pikes Place Marketplace. We bought some fresh fruit and pastries. It was fun to wander around through each of the vendors and see what was for sale.

After wandering the marketplace we had worked up quite the appetite so we decided to have dinner at a nearby Brazilian grill. Following lunch Chris and Rachelle wandered to find the notorious "gum wall".

Unfortunately half our group had to get back home to work the next day, so we packed them up and sent them to the airport that afternoon. That evening we had scheduled to meet up with my cousin Cheryl and her husband Dana. They live outside the city in a cute condo. This is the view of Seattle from Cheryl's balcony.

The next morning we packed our bags and left the city to get to our next stop in Seaside, Oregon. When we arrived at the Worldmark we were pleasantly surprised to see it was right on the beach. We could hear the waves crashing from our rooms. The resort was gorgeous. This is the view of the pool.

We took a walk down the beach. Check out those beautiful cliffs in the background!

A few miles down the beach were the remnants of a shipwreck from many years ago.

The whole trip Scott talked about how much he wanted to eat crab while we were so near the ocean. That night was the night!

Here's the damage.

The last day of our vacation we decided to start out at the Aquarium in Seaside where they had a brand new baby seal, it was born just days before these pics were taken. I could have spent hours here because he was so adorable!

Look at that cute little face!

We had breakfast here

This waterfall was one of the many beautiful scenes on our way home. Oregon is a gorgeous state.

Frederiksen Family Vacation 2011, Part 4

2011-07-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately the day we had scheduled to visit the Buchart Gardens in British Columbia I was up the entire previous night with an upset stomach. I wasn't feeling up to going, and so Scott stayed back with me. The rest of the family made the trip and came back with beautiful pictures. Here is a compilation of my favorites:

While they were gone, Scott and I took a long nap, had some lunch, and wandered the pier around the hotel. We stopped on a bench and watched the planes land and take off in the harbor. It was a beautiful, relaxing day for us.

The next day we went to the butterfly gardens. The butterflies were all contained in a big greenhouse which kept the temps just right for them to grow and flourish. They were everywhere!

This is a neat little closet where they had many of the cocoons in their different stages of development. One or two of the early developed butterflies were flying around in there.

While we would walk around some butterflies would come and land right on you. Camille's shoulder was a frequently used landing spot.

As well as Scott's head...

This was a large moth just hanging on to a tree. I had Scott put his hand up next to it so you could see how large it really was. It was kinda creepy...

This is a picture of some of the other creatures found in the greenhouse. There were two flamingos strutting their stuff in the water.

This last butterfly landed on the backside of Scott's pant leg, and wouldn't let go. He walked around to see if it would fly away, but it didn't. It took a little strategic hand maneuvering to get it off his pant leg and then on to a nearby tree.

Following our adventures with butterflies we decided to tour an old mansion in Victoria. Craigdarroch Castle was built by a Scottish immigrant who made a fortune on mining coal on the island.

This is a view upward from the front entryway.

Sarah found an old piano that she played

I can't remember why, but Camille and Rachel were running away from Scott in this picture. He really enjoys having younger siblings to pick on. We really enjoy our time with the girls.

After the castle we decided to head downtown and do some last minute shopping in Victoria because we knew we'd be heading back to the U.S. the next day. While shopping we wandered into a gelato shop and bought chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick. It was so rich and delicious!

That evening we wandered to the wharf again, fed the fat seal, and packed our bags for our journey the next morning. This picture was taken just outside the window of my Dad's room around 5:00 am. Isn't the harbor so beautiful?

The next day we drove back to Sydney to catch the ferry across to Washington. We spent much of the day driving to Seattle, but once we got there and got checked into our rooms, we decided to walk a few blocks down to Pike Place Market. Everything was closed for the evening, but we were able to take a few pics of the harbor and wander the neighborhood.

While wandering Scott found a little hot dog stand with a sign which self proclaimed to be the best hot dog ever.

Frederiksen Family Vacation 2011, Part 3

2011-06-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

By far, one of our favorite things we did on our vacation was ziplining! We had two guides take us high up into the trees along a zipline course. I believe there were 14 consecutive lines that we rode down from the top of the mountain to the bottom. The longest line was 1,000 feet! It was so much fun....

Here we are getting strapped into our harnesses and helmets

Don't they look adorable!

Here we are receiving instructions on how to safely ride the zipline. This was before our first ride, a few of us look pretty scared.

Scott and I were the last to take the plunge the first time.

Scott has excellent ziplining form!

Here is a video of Scott on the zipline

I love this picture of my Mom!!!

This is the whole group right after we went on the 1,000 ft ride.

After ziplining we had worked up quite the appetite so we drove to a pier to have lunch. While we were eating we spotted otters and seals in the water. There were even some people throwing big cages into the water in attempt to catch crabs.

That evening we decided to go on a walking ghost tour. In old cities such as Victoria there are a lot of spooky old buildings, and many stories of deaths, suicides and murders. At night many of the old historic buildings are lit over the harbor. The lights reflect into the water, it's really gorgeous.

Frederiksen Family Vacation 2011, Part 2

2011-06-25T22:45:00.001-07:00

Our first full day in Victoria we decided we would visit a place called Undersea Gardens; we noticed it the day before. It looked like an interesting place to see fish from the bay. Unfortunately, it was not quite as interesting as we expected, but there were a few things that we found pretty hilarious. This place was a small aquarium like building which was half submerged into the water in the harbor in Victoria. Guests walk down a flight of stairs where you could look into a hand full of tanks with different species of fish. They did have a place where you could touch the sea stars, which was fun.

Our favorite thing about this place was the "live show" that they put on a few times a day that we were lucky enough to catch. They have a special seating area that faces a large tank full of different marine creatures where they send in a diver to feed them. Our diver's name was Ben. During the show they would ask Ben questions about what he was doing and when he responded all we could hear was indistinguishable gibberish. It was a good idea in theory, just poorly executed. The whole rest of the trip we would pretend to be Ben and answer each other in loud obnoxious mumbles.

Ben in the flesh....

The traditional funny hat photo in the Undersea Garden gift shop

Following our adventure at the Undersea Garden we walked around the pier right in Victoria's main street. Here we got some good shots of the Empress hotel.

Across the street from where Scott and I stayed there was a hotel named the Royal Scot which was appropriately named for the mascots of our High Schools as well as for the finely dressed polar bear out front which the girls had to have their picture with.

For lunch we wandered over to Fisherman's Wharf and had fish and chips and ice cream. We also purchased some fish to feed the seals that hang out around the wharf. Actually, there was really only one seal that looked like he frequented the wharf because he was not perishing for the want of food, but it was so fun to hold the fish out over the water and have a wild seal come out and eat it right out of your fingers. Rachelle had a moment where she wasn't paying attention and a seagull came and snatched the fish right out of her fingers. Thank goodness she didn't fall into the harbor.
Feeding the seal was one of my favorite things to do. I'm ashamed to admit that Scott and I wandered over almost every day we were there to feed that fat seal.

Frederiksen Family Vacation 2011

2011-06-25T12:51:00.001-07:00

We just returned from a three week vacation with my family to the North East Coast and Canada. Last year my parents got each of the kids passports for Christmas in preparation for this trip. My parents and sisters started out driving through Idaho and Montana in order to visit cities in my sister Sarah's mission before we met up in Seattle, WA. Scott and I caught a plane on June 1 which stopped in Salt Lake City, UT where we met up with my brother Chris and his wife Rachelle, and then we all flew together to meet with the rest of the family. The first night we stayed in a hotel near the airport and went to bed early because we needed to wake up at 4 am the next morning to catch a ferry that would take us across the border to Canada!

That morning we hit the road around 5 am to drive a few hours north of Seattle to Anacortes, WA where we would catch our ferry. We drove right through Seattle on our way, which made us so excited to make our stop there on our way home. When we arrived around 7:30 am we were asked to line up to prepare to drive on to the boat.

Once we were on board, we could get out of our cars and climb up to the third floor of the ship where there was seating together. It was really fun for the whole family to watch out the window for sea life. Chris spotted some porpoises in the water. We passed many little islands that were scattered with little homes. We spent lots of time speculating how people got supplies and groceries to their homes on those islands. The first stop on our journey was Friday Harbor where many of the cars and trucks on the ship got off. While we watched them drive off the boat we noticed many big trucks shipping supplies onto the island.

After about 20 minutes we were on our way again. Soon after we reached our stop in Sydney, British Columbia. Once we reached the island we were instantly stopped by Canadian customs, questioned, and sent on our way. It was about a 20 minute drive to our condo in Victoria, but we were able to witness so many interesting attractions on the way like.....

The Victoria Parliament building

fisherman's wharf

and the Empress hotel

(We were able to spend much more time at these locations on a later date)

The condo, where we spent much of our down time, was located right next to the wharf, and around the corner from downtown Victoria. It was a beautiful location. From the balcony we were able to watch the biplanes take off and land. This is the view from the room.

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

Scott and I stayed up late last night to watch the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. It was a beautiful event, and I tried my hardest to be awake for the entire thing... but I failed. Nevertheless, I'm glad I stayed up and it's something I'll always remember.

2011-04-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

Dean Thompson

ROY/RIVERDALE – I died the, 13th of April, 2011 at the age of 79. I had the very good fortune to have great parents, Frank and Glenda Thompson, and a good brother, Gary.

I was born October 13, 1931 in Ogden and lived most of my life in Roy. I had a happy but unremarkable childhood and graduated from Weber High where I occasionally appeared on programs as a marimba soloist.

I served an L.D.S. Mission in the Central Atlantic States, and served in the U.S. Army Second Infantry Division Band. I graduated from B.Y.U. and received a Master's Degree from the University of Utah.

I taught at Ben Lomond High for thirty years with some great faculty members and school administrators.

The people I enjoyed the most, however, were my students who were willing to endure my jokes for the opportunity to learn a little biology or physiology. Teaching also gave me the lifetime opportunity to study science and to try to keep up with the tidal wave of discoveries in the 20th century.

I enjoyed church activity, but my attempts to add a little bit of life and humor to the prescribed lesson material got mixed reviews, and it was difficult to be an L.D.S. Democrat.

At BYU, I fell in love with JoAnn Peterson, and I got leave from the Army to marry her the day she graduated. We had a great life together and raised four lovely daughters. We lived a simple life, but the one vice we shared was our lust for travel. We visited over thirty foreign countries, and I taught biology in Lima, Peru for three years. Later we both taught English as a second language in China for two years.

JoAnn died of cancer in 2003. Life without her was lonely and difficult.

When I finished teaching I turned to writing. I wrote my biography and personal histories of thirty-four of my ancestors. This made me appreciate my heritage, but it made me wonder what happened to the family gene pool when I came along. Following JoAnn's death I wrote her biography and then personal histories of forty-eight of her ancestors. I don't know what caused me to write. Perhaps I liked to see my name on book covers.

Along the way, I started doing stand-up comedy, and I enjoyed many fun evenings at Laff's Comedy Café and other places. In my later years I enjoyed playing my marimba at care centers and in ward sacrament meetings.

Surviving are my brother, Gary Thompson of Riverdale, Utah; and four daughters, DeAnn (Scott) Jones of Providence, Utah; Elaine (Jeff) Jones of Gilbert, Arizona; Eileen (Joel) Frederiksen of Roy; and Jodean (Adam) Child of Riverdale; and 16 grandchildren. I was preceded in death by JoAnn and our infant son, Mark Alan Thompson.

Funeral services will be held Monday, April 18, 2011 at 1 p.m. at the Riverdale 3rd Ward Building, 1056 West 4400 South, Riverdale. A viewing for family and friends will be held Sunday at Myers Roy Mortuary, 5865 South 1900 West from 6 to 8 p.m. and Monday at the church from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. prior to services.

Others may file past the casket to make sure that I am dead.

The family would like to thank the doctors and staff at Ogden Regional Medical Center and Alpine Hospice for their loving care.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Anne's Shelter, 137 Binford, Ogden, Utah 84401

Interment, Roy City Cemetery.

I love my Grandpa

2011-04-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

My grandfather was taken off life support today after suffering from a heart attack on Friday. My mother and her three sisters have had the opportunity to sit at his bedside together and talk about the adventures my wonderful grandpa has had. I'm so grateful I have a forever family, and I'm grateful for the example my Grandpa Thompson has been to me.

Spring Break

2011-03-16T23:15:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of welcoming my family into our home this past weekend. This is the first time they've been able to visit us since we moved in last year, and it's the first time we were able to see my sister Sarah since she got back from her mission. They drove much of the day Friday, and arrived on Saturday afternoon. They wanted to see our apartment and they checked out the pool at our complex.

After showing them around we took them to Ted's Hot Dogs in Tempe, AZ for a little lunch before taking them on a tour of Arizona State University campus. Scott and I tried to convince Kiranne (Rachie's best friend) that she should transfer to AZ for school. I think we did a pretty good job. :)

We stopped by the bookstore on campus and purchased ASU gear to show our Sun Devil Pride. Below everyone posed, flashing their "pitchfork" sign

We told Camille to sit under this bush with tiny yellow flowers as we shook the pedals into her hair.

Following our tour of ASU we drove out to Gilbert to visit our extended family and have dinner. While we were there, they pulled out their desert tortoises that had awoken from their winter hibernation just the day before. This provided hours of laughs and entertainment.

We fed them strawberries. This one was especially funny with red stained all over his mouth.

That evening we had bbq sandwiches and salad for dinner and played games around the table. Following dinner, my sisters came to our apartment for a sleep-over out on our balcony. We stayed up until nearly 3:00 am laughing and talking.

The next morning we woke up early and prepared to attend our ward's church meeting scheduled for 12:30 pm. We were able to introduce our family to some of our friends in the ward, and it was the first time I've been able to sit with all of my sisters in Relief Society. We took up a whole row. Sunday night we went back to my Aunt Elaine's house for dinner. She made a yummy lemon chicken which she grilled out in the backyard.

On Monday we woke up early to meet my family at Trader Joe's. There aren't any TJ's in Utah, so they had a good time looking around, and purchasing fun foods for their ride home.

We decided to visit the Mesa LDS Temple since Kiranne had never seen it before. It was a beautiful day, and it was fun to see workers preparing for the upcoming annual Easter pageant.

Following our walk around the temple grounds we stopped at our favorite Greek restaurant My Big Fat Greek Express and had lunch. Everyone was pleasantly pleased with their food. I don't think we had any left-overs.

After lunch we headed to Tempe Town Lake to rent a boat that we could drive around the lake. Our boat was able to accommodate eight passengers so we all hopped on for a relaxing ride. My Dad was the driver, and my mother snuggled up close to him for much of the trip.

Behind Rachel is the view of ASU Sun Devil Stadium from the lake.

When we were finished on the lake we decided to come back to the apartment and lounge by the pool for a few hours. -(Author change: This is Scott now, Katie just handed this over to me for some reason, I guess I should finish this up.) So let's see, oh the pool. Well the pool was freezing cold, like unbelievably cold. I can only attribute this to the fact that it's only gotten warm here recently and it's an unheated pool. Kiranne was the only one who was brave enough to get in all the way, the rest of us just put our feet in and whined about that. We just sort of relaxed for awhile at our place until it was time for dinner.
Now that I'm on the subject I should interject that I had been planning our eating agenda here with surgical precision. Food is something i don't mess around with and there are several places around here that we just had to visit. I had planned on pizza at Spinato's Monday night but it turns out it's closed that night so we drove to El Rico's instead. El Rico's is a long way from our place, about 45 minute drive or so, but totally worth it. The owner is a friend of mine who used to feed us for free when I was a missionary here. He said they still feed about 14 missionaries a day for free there. It was great to see him and we all had excellent Mexican food with guacamole so good it would make a grown man cry. After that we headed off to Bahama Buck's for a nice dessert.

Tuesday we met up with the family again and headed to Scottsdale to visit Katie's uncle Scott's art gallery. It was incredible to see all the amazing pieces of art and gawk at the price tags. One was going to go for between 3 and 5 million dollars. Cool huh? If I was rich I would totally get some cool art. Afterward we walked around old Scottsdale and shopped and I got a delicious prickly pear soda float with homemade vanilla cream soda. Then we wandered off to the Chicago Cubs' spring training stadium to watch them play the Rockies. I hadn't been to a spring training game before, I didn't realize how crowded it would be but we got seats and had a great time.

Here are the girls at the game. We were not in the shade but it wasn't too hot, even though we did all get burned.

Here's my big head watching the game.
After the game we went to the Arizona Mill's Mall to just let people wander around and shop at all the fun stores they have. Then we got ready to go eat. We called Katie's Aunt Elaine, Uncle Scott, cousin Mallory, and Joel's cousin Marylyn and her husband Roy (who live down here as well) and all went to Spinato's for some excellent pizza. We had a huge group but it was a blast and we all ate a ton, which is what you do.
And that was pretty much it. We went back to Elaine's so the Fred's could pack up. They needed to leave at 5 or so in the morning on Wednesday to get back to Roy in time to get Camille to a choir concert thing for school. It was really really great to see everyone again and sad to see them go. Now it's back to regular life...

By the way, since I'm sure you're all saying to yourselves "well that's all well and good, except I wish that I could see what a tortoise eating a strawberry actually looks like and I'm sure Katie and Scott didn't have the presence of mind to take a video of one." You've got some nerve...and besides, you're wrong. Check this out.

I eat strawberries in much the same fashion.

Post Update

2011-01-11T18:12:00.000-08:00

Remember when we made gingerbread houses with our friends last month? Well, there was a trophy riding on whichever house had the most votes via facebook.

Scott and I came home from the grocery store tonight and found this on our doorstep.

Isn't it a beauty? We love it!! We have it displayed in our living room.

Utah Trip - Holidays 2010

2011-01-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

Well everyone, this is actually Scott and not Katie. She says that this will be the year of Scott if I make the first blog post. I think she was just irritated by me asking her repeatedly to create the post on the new MacBook I bought for school because like any boy with a new toy I am seeking approval. But she said I should make the post and logged me on, so here I am.
Anyway, here we go. So for the holiday season we took a two week trip back to Utah to visit family and friends and unwind from our hectic lives down here in Tempe and thereby avoid any stress related nervous breakdowns. Not that things are that stressful but you can never be too safe, and that semester was brutal. But I'm off topic again.
So we flew to Utah at 6:30 am or something (thanks to Katie's uncle Jeff for driving us to the airport in the wee hours of the morning and my mom for picking us up in Salt Lake). The first couple days we did things like eat at the Ogden Pizzeria with both of our families and just sort of hang out. I was able to hang out with some friends of mine and go see a movie and that was fun. We also went to an ugly sweater party hosted by Rachelle which was very fun.
There is the proof. I stole that pic from Rachelle's Facebook account. I was wearing a pretty sweet sweater with llamas on it I borrowed from Katie's parents. So that was fun. It was good to see everyone again.
So on Christmas eve we hung out with my parents during the day and then went to the annual Christmas Eve dinner with the Frederiksens. It was a fun night and again it was really good to see the extended family again and play games (which the in-laws like myself dominated I might add) and eat very well. Afterwards we just went home and had hot chocolate and had a quiet evening and went to bed. On Christmas we got up early to open presents with my parents, and then went to the Fred's again just as Sarah called. It was good to talk to her, she should be coming home soon. Then we opened presents with them and everyone was just as pleased as punch. Let's look at some pictures eh?That's me and Camille in our ASU gear and Gus Gus, the regal beastly cat at the Fred's house that I thought I would post a picture of just for posterity.

Phew, this is getting long. I'll speed up. So we did things like go see a play that our friend Kevin was starring in at the Desert Star theater with Katie's parents. We, ummm, I'm having a hard time remembering. Oh yeah, we were scuttled by the blizzard and had a sleepover at Katie's old house. So on to New Year's! On New Year's Eve we had a spectacular turkey dinner with my parents and Grandparents. It was all decked out. It was great evening and we ate a lot of food and then went back to Katie's parents' house for their party. There was also a delightful assortment of food there as the extended family had their usual seafood party: shrimp cocktail, shrimp scampi, prime rib, coconut shrimp, clam chowder, all examples of the great seafood which provided spectacular gustatory pleasure to those in attendance. I played video games with the younger people for the majority of the night and no doubt impressed everyone with my talents, which are considerable. Then we watched the ball drop on TV with Ryan Seacrest and an animatronic Dick Clark and a great time was had by all. New Years Day we watched a movie with my nieces and nephews and went to my sister Katie's where we ate chicken and played Band Hero.That's me doing a stirring rendition of Mr. Roboto. Our band was named "Flatulent Pastry." The next day we drove to Idaho with my parental units for the blessing of Bronson, my newest nephew whom we had not met. Idaho is freaking freezing these days for us Arizona residents. But it was really fun to see my sister Kelley and her family. And once again we had spectacular food.
Here is Katie with little Bronson, he is so heavy you practically need a lumbar harness to hold him. On Monday, for Katie's aunt Elaine's birthday, we had dinner at that Chopstix place on Harrison where Training Table used to be (which by the way is fantastic, get the walnut shrimp). We opened our fortune cookies which I guess are our fortunes for the year. Katie is going to have to finally find herself apparently and I'm going to get a prestigious award, which I assume means my sizable student loan which should be coming through any day now.

Well that's it. We flew back. It is nice to be out of that dang cold weather back to sunny AZ, but we do miss everyone. Now it's time to get books and for me to get reading like crazy so I can be ready for the semester on the 18th. Katie rolled right back into work again too. So we're good.
Well thanks for reading. That was long I know. As a reward he is picture of Rachel.

Weekend Festivities

2010-12-19T22:00:00.001-08:00

Since moving to Arizona we have been so fortunate to move into a fun ward with a lot of newly married couples such as ourselves. Last weekend we were invited over for dinner by our new friends the Nelsons. They invited another fun couple, the Laytons, as well and we all participated in a friendly gingerbread house making contest. This contest was complete with a trophy for the best house. Each family was responsible for purchasing their own kit, and candy to decorate. We had a great time putting them together. Unfortunately Scott and I didn't realize the creativity we would be up against.

Aaron and Trine made a tropical home for Santa Claus with tye died "fruit by the foot" with shredded wheat on the roof. They spread out brown sugar for sand, and blue icing for the ocean. Little life saver-life preservers lined the house, and lastly they made a beach towel out of sour candy. This was our favorite house, so creative!

Mark and Dani's house was a little more conventional with candy lining the roof to look like Christmas lights and Santa being pulled in his gingerbread sleigh by his reindeer. They were having a hard time getting their house to stay together, but in the end I think it turned out really cute. The issues with their icing can be seen by the sliding peppermint over the door of their house.

I found a really cute gingerbread kit at "Trader Joes" that resembles a winter lodge. It came with little icing people as well as fruit snacks for the roof, and chocolate candies for lights. We had sprinkles as well, but our icing dried too quickly so we used it as ice melt on our pathway. I think it turned out pretty darn good.

This is a close-up of our cute little icing people.

On Sunday we were invited over for a festive Christmas dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Gilbert. They really get into decorating their home for the holidays, and it doesn't disappoint. My Uncle Jeff really puts a lot of time and effort into their decorations, and each time I see it, it becomes more and more spectacular.

After dinner we all hopped into the car and drove around town looking at Christmas lights and stopped by the Mesa Temple to see their display. It was really fun to see so many people walking around the temple grounds, and the nativities and lights really get you into the Christmas spirit. It was fun to notice everyone walking around in their short sleeve shirts without jackets; that would never happen on temple square in Salt Lake City.

Feeling sentimental

2010-11-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

I walked into our bedroom the other day and discovered my husband sitting on the bed studying, looking like this...

It's moments like these that remind me why I fell in love with him.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

2010-11-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

It's official, we've booked our flights home December 21- January 4, 2011!

Look out Salt Lake City, HERE WE COME!!!!

Autumn Adventures

2010-10-29T23:40:00.001-07:00

Scott and I have taken a break from our hectic schedules to fit in a few fun activities here and there the last few weeks. Beauty and the Beast came to ASU Campus last week and we were able to get tickets. I picked Scott up from class and we enjoyed a nice meal at Chili's before walking across campus to catch the show. It was so much fun! This is the view of the stage from our seats on the balcony

It has always been a tradition in my family to carve pumpkins before Halloween. I think this began when my Dad started as an Elementary principal and would put together pumpkin alleys at school. In preperation we would carve multiple pumpkins for his school, and then they would be displayed on our porch on Halloween.

I personally LOVE to carve pumpkins. I think it's a fun and creative way to celebrate the holiday. My husband, on the other hand, doesn't enjoy carving and so he usually opts out of doing it. This year was no exception, so I decided to carve a few pumpkins on my own.

They are going to look so awesome next to our front door on Halloween!

This one is my favorite.

Lastly, I was going through my camera the other day and I noticed I have pictures from my family trip to Hogle Zoo last year. We went on Halloween. There are some cute pictures of the baby elephant and giraffes so I decided I would add them to this post.

Happy Halloween!

Biographical Sketch

2010-08-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

In our new ward in Tempe they have new familys create a biographical sketch about themself which is included in the sacrament meeting bulletin/program. It needs to be less than 275 words, all written in third person, plus a picture of the both of us.

Here's my entry. Who's not going to want to be our friend after this???? :)

Scott and Katie Smith met at their singles branch in Roy, Utah the summer of 2007. Katie was living at home and attending school at Weber State University in pursuit of her Bachelor's degree in Social Work and Scott was living in an apartment with two of his bachelor friends while working full-time at a travel agency and attending school full-time in pursuit of his English degree. One evening they met in the school computer lab and exchanged phone numbers, and as they say, the rest is history. Scott proposed on Katie's graduation day in May 2008 and they were married for time and all eternity on August 1, 2008 in the Ogden, Utah temple.

Scott graduated with his Bachelor's degree in English a year later in May of 2009 and was accepted to the graduate English program at Arizona State University which brought them to Tempe in August 2010. He hopes to one day receive his PhD in English to eventually become a literature professor at the collegiate level. Scott served in the Tempe, Arizona mission and is excited to be in his old "stomping grounds". He also likes to read, watch movies, and try new food.

Katie works for LDS Family Services as an expectant parent/adoption caseworker. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, blogging, watching movies, traveling and recently discovered sewing.

They are both really excited to be in Arizona, meet new friends, and get involved in the ward.

Arizona Update

2010-08-27T16:44:00.001-07:00

Well here's the post you've all been waiting for. Somewhere in the shuffle of moving I misplaced the cord required to upload my pictures so I wanted to make sure I had that before I posted about our new home in Tempe.

We've offically been here now two weeks. School has started, I've been working, and everything is put away at our apartment. I know a lot of my family is curious of what our apartment looks like so I thought I would appease their curiosity and post some pictures.

One of my favorite things about our apartment is the turquoise colored front door. How cute does our wreath look hanging up??

The view from the front door

The living room from another angle. (Nice view of the swords)

Our dining room, this is where we eat.

The kitchen... not much to look at, BUT it has a DISHWASHER!!!

Our bedroom, this is where we sleep.

The bedroom is also where Scott will be doing his homework and I will be catching up on my blogging.

And lastly,

This is our bathroom.

Well, that's it. That's the grand tour of our home for the next two years. It seems so bland and white compared to our last place which had brightly painted colors on each of the walls. We've found a nice place down the street that we can take our laundry. Also, I've scoped out the nearest grocery stores so that I can get back into my coupon shopping. If I hop onto the freeway from our home, I can get to work in five minutes!!! That is such a nice upgrade from my fifteen minute commute in Utah.

Scott had his first week of school, and I think he's feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be accomplished within such a short amount of time. I know he's going to be an excellent student, and I am excited to hear about the intelligent discussions that he will have in class. It makes me want to go back to school and get my masters degree.....maybe someday.

Anyway, we're happy here in Arizona, but miss our families and friends back in Utah very much. I'm sure we'll be making new friends here in no time.

Tempe Trip

2010-05-31T14:42:00.000-07:00

Scott and I made a short trip to Arizona last weekend to check out apartments, and get a head start on planning our future there. We had so much to do during our stay, and little time to accomplish it in.

We flew from the Salt Lake Airport on Saturday and arrived in Pheonix around 1:00 pm. It was a perfect 80 degree day. We picked up our rental car and drove to Tempe and checked into our hotel. Our hotel was really close to ASU campus, and the perfect place for us to begin our apartment search. I'm guessing we toured nearly 20 apartment complexes the whole time we were there and were able to see some really nice places, and some not so nice places as well. We've decided that in Tempe YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. I was really feeling confident that we would find the place for us.

Our last full day in Arizona (Monday), we were tired, had seen lots of apartments, already had a few in mind, and were thinking our search was done, when we drove past an apartment complex that looked really nice and decided this would be our last place we would check out. Thank heaven we decided to stop, because this was the perfect place for us. This place is really nice, and it has so many ammenities. The grounds are well kept, and the landscaping is beautiful. The location is great too because it's far enough away from campus that we're away from the party scene, but close enough that it will be easy for Scott to take public transportation to school. I'm really feeling much better about things now that I know we have a nice place to live.

While we were there we also crossed some other 'to do's' off our list such as:

1) Eat at Joe's BBQ in Gilbert

2) Visit Bahama Bucks

4) Check out campus and find Scott's building where all his classes will be.

5) Spend time with my cousins.

6) Eat at El Rico's

7) Shop at Trader Joe's

8) Visit the Mesa LDS Temple

This was a great trip for us, and we accomplished a lot of things that needed to be done before the big move. It's strange to think in a few months I'll live there!

New Do

2010-04-17T11:50:00.001-07:00

It's Official

2010-04-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

So we've sent our confirmation email to Arizona that says "Ready or not here we come!". School starts August 19 so we will be moving in sometime early August. (I know...Not the most ideal time to move to Tempe)

The more I plan, the more excited/nervous I get. There is so much to do!! Luckily, Scott's parents were gracious enough to allow us to stay with them for the next few months so we can save the money we would be spending on rent for school. So now I've got the rest of the month to pack up our apartment. I began this morning to pull out boxes. Boy, we've accumulated a lot of stuff the short time we have been married. This will be a great time for me to weed out the stuff we don't need or want. While cleaning,I've been feeling a little sentimental about our first place, and the two years we have spent here! It's going to be hard to leave, but I will never forget our first home!

Despite the mushy sentiment, I'm really excited to start looking for our next place. We've booked a flight to Phoenix in May so we can check out the neighborhoods surrounding the school and hopefully find an apartment we can stay in for the next couple of years. I'm currently contacting the Mesa and Phoenix LDSFS agencies to see if they have caseworker positions available for me when we move down. If all goes according to plan, it should be a pretty smooth transition. After a day like yesterday where we got 6 inches of snow overnight, Arizona sounds pretty nice.

Prayers Answered

2010-03-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

We received the confirmation email last night. We are going to ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY!! Classes start August 19.

Valentine's Weekend!

2010-02-17T19:22:00.001-08:00

Scott and I celebrated Valentines Day all weekend. And in true Katie fashion, I didn't take my camera anywhere so there are no pictures to document the fun we had.

Saturday, Scott suprised me with a bouquet of purple roses and white lilies.

Saturday night Scott's parents picked us up and we joined the Wahlquists at Ogden Pizzeria. We enjoyed yummy pizza, good company, and we heard all about Jim and Carolyn's week in Maui.

Sunday evening we went to my parent's house and had dinner and played Mario with the family. Super Mario Brothers was Scott's Valentines gift. My parents got us freezer skillet meals for Valentines day which is such a great gift because after a long day at work, I dread having to prepare a time-consuming meal. Thanks Mom!!

Lastly, Monday evening I picked Scott up after work and we drove down to Salt Lake to eat at Happy Sumo. We enjoyed sushi, coconut crusted halibut, and beef teriyaki. For dessert we went to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and bought caramel apples.
When we got home, we snuggled on the couch in our pajamas and watched "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."

I love our families and spending time with them. They take such good care of us, and I appreciate that.
I am so grateful to have married into such a fantastic family. Jim and Carolyn are the best in-laws and I couldn't have asked for better sister/brother in-laws. It is such a blast when the whole family gets together.
I'm also grateful for my family and for the fun times that we have. They are such an easy-going wonderful group. I'm really proud of them and all that they are accomplishing in their lives.
I'm especially grateful for my Scott and for the love that he shows to me. I love that I'm married to him. He is such a goofy, fun, special, intelligent, talented, hard-working, strong, tall, and handsome man.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

In celebration of a new year Scott and I opened fortune cookies to learn our luck forecast for the new year.

Katie: "Now is the time to call loved ones at a distance. Share your news."

Scott: "Focus on the color purple this week to bring you luck."

Our Beautiful Christmas Tree

2009-12-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

2 years ago...

2009-11-17T20:37:00.000-08:00

Two years ago... I was hurrying to finish typing a paper for my class that started in a few minutes when I noticed Scott walk into the computer lab. I knew him from church and secretly really liked him. I wanted to talk to him so badly, but I had to get to class, so I left without stopping to say hello. All throughout the class I sat there thinking about him, hoping he was still there. Luckily the professor turned on a movie so I decided that was my opportunity to slip out.
I ran downstairs praying he was still there and was excited to see he was, and also that there was a seat available next to him. From there we got to talking and exchanged numbers. He text-ed me back that very night, we set up a date for a few days later and the rest is history... we were married nine months later.

Two years ago TODAY Scott and I went on our first date. I love to reflect over the past two years and what I would have thought if I could have seen my life now, back then. I am grateful everyday for my "Scottie" and for his fun-loving, passionate personality. I'm so glad he didn't give up on me when I showed up three hours late for our first date. I'm so glad he loves me and that he lets me know it every single day. He's the biggest blessing in my life.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2009-10-21T14:30:00.001-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

General Conference Weekend

2009-10-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Conference weekend was so much fun. We were able to attend the Saturday afternoon session because Jim and Carolyn's stake sang. We arrived in SL really early so we took a short tour of the new church history library. We decided to find our seats early and find Scott's parents up on the stand. We sat amongst other families that were anxiously looking through the choir for their loved one's face. I must say, the choir sounded fabulous, and I was so proud of Jim and Carolyn!

After the conference session we had dinner at El Matador in Bountiful and returned to Farmington to send the boys off to the Priesthood session. Carolyn and I went to the Grandparent's house to watch the recorded broadcast. After the Preisthood Session we met up with the boys and had pie at Marie Callendars.

http://www.lds.org/move/index.html?type=conference&event=Oct179&lang=english#

Graduate School....

2009-09-15T22:40:00.001-07:00

As fall approaches it becomes more and more ominous that we need to get our butts in gear and apply for graduate school! We've filled out applications for the University of Utah and Arizona State University, but are contemplating other options as well.... here is the list of possible schools:

Okay, so probably not Berkeley, but it is a great "pretend to apply for" school.

One Year Ago....

2009-07-31T23:28:00.000-07:00

Darn Insomnia!!

2009-07-28T00:58:00.000-07:00

So it's nearly 2 am and I am wide awake. Not sure why..... but anyway, I haven't posted in a long time so this is very overdue. July has to be one of my favorite months. I love summer time and the fun holidays and occasions that happen to come around each year. This month started out with Cousins Camp, which for those of you who aren't familiar with Frederiksen family history, is a BIG deal! My grandma Thompson started a tradition with her daughters during one week each summer, all the families gather together and have a big reunion-type of get together. This always includes loud talking and laughter, and lots and lots of food! All of the kids enjoy playing with thier cousins while the grownups chat. Some of my favorite memories as a child took place at Cousins Camp.
Anyway, this year cousins camp began on July 4 when we went canoeing at Causey Reservoir. We divided 22 people among 8 canoes and headed out on the water. The weather was perfect! Regretfully, it took some boats longer than others to get used to rowing in syncronization.....ahem....Camille..... :) but once we got going, it was super fun. Some of our other fun activities at Cousins Camp 2009 included boating at Willard Bay, Lagoon, Fireworks, Family Reunion at Roy Aquatic Center, Lava Hot Springs, and Jamie's Baptism.

Among all of this fun, my sister Sarah left for eighteen months to serve a mission in Lubbock, Texas. My family and I dropped her off at the MTC on July 8. Just over a week later, we received a call from Sarah telling us that the mission doctor reevaluated her mission call and decided it would be best for her to go to a cooler climate. She is now assigned to the Billings, Montana mission.

Last weekend Scott and I went with his parents, a couple of siblings, and a handful of neices and nephews to Rexburg, Idaho to see his sister Kelley, and her family. It was so much fun to have a mini vacation and to spend time with family. Kelley and David have their own farm complete with chickens and goats. We had fun at the waterpark, ate at Craigo's Pizza, had super yummy snow cones, played with a parachute, swam at the hotel and line-danced the night away. I love spending time with my in-laws. They sure know how to have a good time!!

Lastly, this week is the countdown to the one year anniversary of my wedding day. Today is my 24th birthday, and Saturday will be August 1.... one year from the day I married my eternal sweetheart. I cannot explain how grateful I am to have Scott in my life. He brings me happiness that I've never experienced before. I love him so much and I'm excited to celebrate one year of wedded bliss!!

Return with Honor Sister Frederiksen!!

2009-07-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

It's official, Sister Frederiksen is now a full-time missionary. We dropped her off at the Missionary Training Center this morning. I'm really proud of her and the dilligence in which she has prepared to serve. She is such an example to me! I love you Sawah!!

The latest news....

2009-06-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my sister Sarah gave her farewell talk in church. She leaves on July 8 for the MTC in Provo. It's been really fun to be able to attend the temple with her and experience her excitement in preparing to serve a mission. I am very proud of her.

On Friday, June 26 Scott and I attended a surprise birthday party for his sister Katie. It was held at a park in South Ogden. Many family members and friends were there to show their love and support to Katie on her birthday. We were all watching some dark storm clouds approach hoping they wouldn't spoil the party. Alas, right as the birthday girl pulls up to the party, it starts to downpour. The rain wasn't going to spoil our fun. There was cake and ice cream and the kids played with glow sticks and bubbles. The adults socialized and had a great time. It will definately be a birthday party I'll never forget!

Lastly, on Saturday, June 20 our neice Megan was baptized. She looked so beautiful all dressed in white. She is such a good girl and a great example to her cousins. I am so proud of her!

And as always, I forgot to take my camera to each of these events.

Yosemite National Park

2009-06-18T20:10:00.001-07:00

The last two days of our vacation were spent in Yosemite National Park.

Bridal Veil Falls

We saw two black bears on the side of the road.
Large fallen sequoia

These are large sequoia trees found in the park. The name of this last tree is The Grizzly Giant.

Monterey Bay

2009-06-13T21:13:00.001-07:00

We scheduled a trip out onto Monterrey Bay with Chris' Whale Watching Company and took to the sea in search of sea creatures. The tour is three hours on the water, and it was a windy day so the water was choppy. We started the tour with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement about the possibility of seeing whales!! Our tour guide told us there had been grey and humpback whale sightings that day and took us out really far into the ocean. We all kept our eyes peeled as the boat drifted further and further out to sea. We got so far, we couldn't see land, and yet, no whales were found. We really started to get discouraged when the captain came on the loud speaker and told us it was time to head back to the bay.

The constant rocking back and forth of the boat lulled many to sleep.

Just outside the bay, the captain spotted some sea otters playing. They were really cute, but it was a huge disappointment.

The captain told us that they see whales 99% of the time on his boat, and we just happened to come on a bad whale watching day. We received a rain-check to come back so we decided to make a reservation for 10 am the next morning. We were determined to see whales.

The next morning was a beautiful day. The water was so calm and smooth. It seemed like the perfect day to see whales. We all piled on the boat again, and the captain took us a different direction that morning. Rather than making a straight line out to sea, the captain followed the coast line north. We passed some sea lions sun bathing in the water, and lots of traps for Dungeonus Crab.
Eventually we got to a point in the water and the Captain slowed down. He said that a pod of Orcas was spotted last night, just after our tour and that they were stopped in the bay on their migration north for the summer. There was another whale watching boat stopped and we all observed them hunting seals in the distance. While all of this was happening, a gentleman standing behind me on the boat exclaimed, "LOOK DOWN!" Right beneath our boat was a GIGANTIC humpback whale. He was able to sneak right upon us because we were all watching the killer whales.
Never in my life have I ever been so amazed and terrified at the same time. This whale was so big and beautiful, and he was right next to our boat!! Just look at the size of his tail.
There was one moment when one of the killer whales made a quick swim next to our boat. They are such beautiful creatures!

It was so cool to watch the orcas hunt. They would all swim circles around their prey and then all of the sudden, one of the whales would body slam the poor seal into the water. If you look closely at this picture below you can see the little head of a seal poking out of the water to catch it's breath.

On our way back to the dock we saw some Risso's Dolphins. There had to be 10+ swimming in a large group. They were spectacular! Needless to say, this was my favorite event of the vacation!

San Francisco 2009- Installment #2

2009-06-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

Our second day in the city started out really slow, but once we got going the day turned out to be one of the best.

In the morning we scheduled an afternoon bay cruise and then hopped on a cablecar into Chinatown to have lunch. Little did we know, that this part of town could be so rough....

My most memorable moments in Chinatown include:
-The homeless woman who yelled profanities at Camille while we were stopped waiting to cross the street.
-Watching Camille constantly look over her shoulder to avoid said homeless woman.
-Exploring all of the different shops.

Chinatown, San Francisco

After our adventures in Chinatown we went back to Fisherman's Wharf and checked out the Aquarium of the Bay. My favorite thing about this aquarium is their moving walkway that takes you through a glass tube right in the middle of a large tank filled with fish found in San Francisco Bay.

(From left to right) Chris, Rachel, Scott, Dad, Sarah, Mom (hiding), Camille, Me

Following the aquarium we had reservations to take a bay cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge.

The cruise was beautiful, but windy.
Scott's coat would balloon up with each gust of wind.

Here we are under the bridge. It really is magnificent! (Please don't judge us for our wind-blown hair)

Our cruise took us right past Alcatraz. We didn't have the chance to visit the island this time, but we'll go the next time we're in the city.

That night we had clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at Boudins. They claim to be the first place that served clam chowder in sourdough.... Who knows if that is true, but the chowder and bowl were delicious!!!

While the rest of my family decided to visit the Wax Museum, Scott and I went back to our favorite place on Pier 39 and said goodbye to the Sea Lions.
After our fun-filled day, we headed back to our ferry to make our way back to the condo. The view of the city was absolutely stunning as we made our way across the bay. This was our last day in San Francisco. The next day we would drive to Monterey Bay, California.

Thanks to Rachelle for allowing me to use her beautiful photos for my posts!

San Francisco 2009- Installment #1

2009-06-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

Recently, Scott and I had the chance to go on vacation with my family to the beautiful state of CALIFORNIA !! We left on Saturday May 30, 2009 and drove eight hours to Reno, Nevada. While we were there we visited a few Casinos, had dinner, and played the penny slots. Needless to say, we didn't win big....

Everyone at dinner

The next morning we packed our bags and drove into California. Our first day we planned to take it easy and explore San Francisco. We started out at Pier 39 and visited the Sea Lions. This is my absolute favorite thing to do while in the city!!

From there we went to a nice Italian restaurant on the Pier and had Calimari.

After dinner we headed toward Ghirardelli's and bought some yummy chocolate!!

Lastly, we were able to ride a cable car through the city. Rachelle, Chris, Me, Sarah, Dad, Scott

Our Adventures in the Windy City!!!

2009-05-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had the opportunity to spend five days with Scott's brother's family in Illinois. We had the greatest time there, and were truly sad to come home. The weekend was packed full of activities, but we enjoyed every minute. There is so much to do in Chicago, and we loved spending time with Dave, Jenny, and the girls.

Here are some of the highlights of our trip. I didn't get pictures of everything I wanted to, so I stole some from Jenny's blog. (Jenny, I hope you don't mind)

May 7. 2009

This is a picture of Dave and Jenny's beautiful home. We were able to stay with them our entire vacation, and we really appreciated their hospitality and willingness to let us invade. I couldn't get over how beautiful and green everything is in Illinois.

That evening we went to Portillo's to have some Chicago-sytle hot dogs and Italian Beef. I should say that if you know Scott and I, actually any Smith, the food is what really matters when you travel somewhere, and the food that first night was great!! We had Chicago-sytle hot dogs a few different times while we were there, but I think Portillo's was the best. And their Italian Beef was to die for!! So yummy.

May 8. 2009

The next day we all woke up early and headed to the Museum of Science and Industry. Right now they have a traveling Harry Potter Exhibit at the museum that has props and costumes from the Harry Potter movies.

This is Harry Potter's flying car

Ashley and Scott peeking on people outside the museum through their periscopes

(Picture courtesy of Jenny)

After the museum we headed to Navy Pier and took an architecture tour down the Chicago river. It was great to have the chance to check out the city at a comfortable pace and relax on the boat.

We went under many different bridges, just like this one, and cars would drive right over us.

Scott and Chicago skyline

The Sears Tower from the river
I stole this picture from Jenny's blog. Isn't Paige adorable? We love her!!!

After the tour we made our way into downtown Chicago to have some deep-dish pizza at Uno's Pizzeria. This pizza wasn't what I expected, it was more like an Italian casserole. It was so delicious! To burn off all the calories we had just consumed we decided to walk up the Magnificent Mile, also known as the shopping district. We stopped and had a piece of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory located at the bottom of the Hancock building. Needless to say, we had worn ourselves out from all of the activities that day so we slept very well that night.

May 9. 2009

The next morning we took a train into Chicago for another day full of activities. Our first stop was at Sears Tower. We took an elevator all the way to the 99th floor! We could see for miles up there.

This is what all of the other "High rises" looked like from the top of Sears.

A view of Hancock tower and Lake Michigan. We were so high, the clouds were under us!

After Sears Tower we took our first taxi to Shedd Aquarium. We were so grateful that we invested in our City Passes because we were able to skip the 50 minute wait to get tickets and jump right to the front of the line.

Just down the street was the Planetarium. Our favorite things about the Adler Planetarium was the space capsule and Star show.

Space Capsule (Must have been made for short people)

After the planetarium we met up with the Smiths and headed to U.S. Cellular Stadium for a White Sox Game!!!

U.S. Cellular Stadium and City in the background

Paige loves her cotton candy!!
The beginning of the 9th inning and White Sox are up by 1. Texas Rangers were up to bat....

White Sox WIN!!!
May 10. 2009 Mother's Day

Again, we jumped on the train and headed into the city. We spent most of the day at the Field Museum. This was definately our favorite attraction. There were exhibits on evolution, ancient America, and Egypt.

Scott and Sue (the most complete T-rex found in the world)

Stegosaurus

After the Field Museum we went out to a nice dinner at Lawry's. It was the fanciest place I have ever been. After eating a salad, which they spin right at your table, a cart piled with roast beef comes around and you can select which cuts of beef you'd like.

We closed our night by seeing Mary Poppins at the Cadillac Theatre. The show was so great! My favorite song was "Step In Time" where all of the chimney sweeps are tap dancing on the roof, and Burt dances the entire outline of the stage, upside-down and everything!

Cadillac Palace

May 11. 2009

Our last day of vacation was a relaxing one after three straight days in the city. We were able to spend time with Dave and Jenny, and pack our bags. We had lunch at Boston Blackies and had some huge burgers; and of course, they were great!

We had so much fun in Chicago. It's always so fun to spend time with family and visit somewhere new and exciting. It's definately a trip we will never forget.

Graduation Day!!!

2009-05-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

Scott graduated from Weber State University today. I am so proud of him, and his hard work.

Goldenwest Idol

2009-04-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

Scott's work recently had a company-wide competition to create a music video representing their different departments and offices. They called it "Goldenwest Idol" and the winners would receive $200. Scott and the rest of his team worked really hard on their video and their work really paid off. They won 1st place!!!

Here is a link to their prize winning video....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWv_3J-tFGI

Sarah is headed to Texas!

2009-04-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

My sister Sarah received her mission call yesterday. Since she lives in Cedar City and my family is in Roy, my parents, sisters, some friends and I hopped in the car and drove to Fillmore to meet with her and open it together.

We all had different speculations about where she would go, but none of us guessed it. She will serve 18 months in Lubbock, Texas!! She leaves July 8 for the MTC. I'm so proud of her and her decision to serve. She's going to be a great missionary!

P.S. This picture is really old, but it is the most recent picture I have of her on my camera :( And yes, that is a pot belly pig!!

WICKED

2009-04-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to go see Wicked with my family today. It was such a great performance. We (my family and I) have wanted to see the play for such a long time. When we found out they were bringing it to Salt Lake, we knew we needed to get tickets. The night before tickets went on sale, my parents were in SLC to attend the MoTab Christmas concert. They drove past the Capitol Theatre and saw a line of people standing in line to buy tickets, and decided then and there that they would too!! They braved all night, in December, on the streets of Salt Lake to buy tickets. Thanks so much Mom and Dad for thinking of your girls and letting us experience the play with you. It was so much fun, and the performers were great!

Now to Introduce the newest SILVER BEAVER!!!

2009-04-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a Boy Scouts of America award ceremony recognizing my father, Joel Frederiksen, for his outstanding work in boy scouting and with the youth. He received the prestigious silver beaver award. Wikipedia defines the award as, "The Silver Beaver is an award given to those who implement the Scouting program and perform community service through hard work, self sacrifice, dedication, and many years of service. It is given to those who do not actively seek it."

Words cannot express how proud I am of him. He is the best example to not only me, but to all of the children and teens that he works with on a daily basis. He taught me to work hard, and to never give up and he teaches this message not by word of mouth, but by example. He loves his work, and he loves his kids. I hope I can be just like him someday.

They're here!!

2009-03-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Our ant babies are here! We were a little concerned that they wouldn't make it to us, but we're happy to report that all of our ants survived the journey. We cannot get them to hold still enough for us to count how many there are, but I would guess there are at least 20.

Right now they're all named "Katie jr." because we can't tell them apart. Also, rather than digging tunnels, like we thought they would, the ants are excavating the space where the gel and the side of the ant farm meet. The little snow looking crystals at the top of the picture show you where they have moved gel from the side up to the surface. This picture shows you what they have done in 12 hours time.

Needless to say, we are super excited to have our ants. Who knows, once we master the art of taking care of ants, maybe we could try something more challenging.... like goldfish! :)

We're Expecting!!!

2009-03-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

We are hoping any day now, we will be welcoming 25 new members to the Smith family. For Scott's birthday last year (May 5), he received an ant farm and we have FINALLY ordered little residents to occupy the bright blue gel that is sitting on our dresser.

We are getting our ants from a farm in Hurricane, UT and they claim it takes 4-6 weeks to deliver (weather permitting). We've had some really great weather recently, and were hoping to find them in the mail, but alas, no ants yet. We'll keep you posted on their status!

Mustache Man

2009-02-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

President's Day Fun!

2009-02-18T10:31:00.000-08:00

Monday was President's Day and everyone had work and school off so we decided to take a trip to Soldier Hollow to go tubing. It was so much fun and the perfect day to tube. The best part of this resort is that you don't need to drag your tube up to the top of the hill. We loved it! Here are some pictures of our day.

(This picture courtesy of Jodean Child)

I'm glad we went when we did, because the next day we got TONS of snow!

My Husband is the Best!!

2009-02-13T09:51:00.000-08:00

In honor of Valentine's Day I thought I would let my Valentine know how much I love him! I'm so lucky to have Scott in my life. The first six months of our marriage have been so much fun. We've had our ups and downs, but Scott is so good to always make me feel so secure and loved. He works so hard and I appreciate that so much. I absolutely adore him and his sence of humor. He's the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I'm looking forward to spending eternity with him.

I love you honey, never ever forget that!

Katie

2009-02-07T16:29:00.001-08:00

Scott's grandmother Mildred Smith, "Nanny", passed away yesterday. I knew her for a little over year, but I'm grateful that I had that time. She was always so excited to see her "Scottie." I remember the first time Scott brought me to see her, she was so overjoyed to see us together that I couldn't help but love her instantly. I'm so glad she was at our wedding, and many of the memories of our first year together will include our beloved Nanny. I'll always remember her. She will be missed.

Weekend Get-Away!!

2009-02-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Scott and I made reservations at Snowberry Inn this past weekend up in Eden. Snowberry is a little Bed and Breakfast owned by a really great couple who manage everything. This cabin has 9 bedrooms that each have their own "outdoorsie" theme. We stayed in a really fun room that has a big log bed and an old looking bathtub that has claw feet. When we pulled up the cabin was all lit with Christmas lights. It was so beautiful! Our room had a view out over the front lawn and of Northern Pineview. In the morning we woke to the smell of bacon. Our breakfast included omelets, hashbrowns, sausages, biscuits, and fresh fruit! It was sad to pack up and go home. We really enjoyed our time there, and hope to be able to visit again. Here are a few pictures of our room.

Resolution Season

2009-01-22T20:40:00.000-08:00

I'm very new to this whole blogging thing, and I've never been good at writing in a journal, but since I am on the computer ALL THE TIME I thought it would be fun to give this a shot.

Scott and I were able to go to Arizona for Thanksgiving. It was so much fun! My Aunt Elaine was a wonderful host to have so many members of my family intrude on her home. We were able to steal the car a few days and drive around to a few of Scott's old mission areas. That was such an irriplacable experience for me to see all of the places he had served in as a young missionary, way before I even knew him. Not to mention the weather was a beautiful 80+ degrees! We also rode bikes around Arizona State University, and visited "temple square" around the Mesa Temple. Thanksgiving dinner was so wonderful, and we were able to follow it up with a long nap. We were so sad to come home, but we will definately have some great memories of our holiday in AZ.

There is nothing more special than a couple's first Christmas together, and I was a little worried about how we were going to work out who we spent our time with, but it all worked out so well. A few weeks before Christmas Kelley and her family were able to come from Idaho and we went on a fun outing to Salt Lake City. We took the front runner to SLC and spent the afternoon at the Church History Museum and on Temple Square. It was great to see all of the neices and nephews interact and play together, and to chat with the family. I am so blessed to have married into the best family ever! The next night we all got together at Jim and Carolyn's and had a Christmas party. We had dinner and played BINGO. Everyone was laughing and talking, and the kids were running around. We're definately going to have to make this a yearly tradition because it was so much fun!

Christmas was really relaxed and fun. We were so spoiled! Our families really take good care of us. It is so exciting for us to develop our own family traditions for the holidays.

And lastly, we're excited for the new year and what it holds for us as a couple. I hope it turns out to be as rewarding as last year!