It was fun while it lasted...

Not in this house! Camryn has found her hair clips!!! It now is an out going battle to keep them in. However, I will not be defeated. I will continue to put them in her hair over and over until she realizes she will not win!

Here she is all cute with her hair all done in her brand new awesome (FREE...from Ryan's dad, thanks Mattel/Fisher Price) Dwell high chair!

Then moments later this is what she looks like! This is the game we play over and over, I put the clip in, it is so cute, then within minutes it is pulled out!

I had a little girl not a boy. I believe it is my duty to make sure she stays looking like one! I know that she is cute without them but we all know how much cuter she looks with one in. So until their are screaming tantrums and endless time outs I will continue to play her game!

I Love My 6 Month Old Because...

~She sits in a shopping cart and is so much happier to look around and grab onto everything around her.
~ I can dress her up and she thinks it's hilarious!


~ She loves animals! I took her to a pet shop to see the puppies and she couldn't get enough...all thanks to Nugget!

~She drinks water out of a cup!

~ She can sit on a step to have her picture taken in her other adorable Easter dress from my mom!

~I can put her in a box!

~She loved her first time to the pool!

~She doesn't mind water in her eyes!

~ She loves being outside and laying out with herMom...she also has no choice!

~ She can swing at the park!

~ Who couldn't love this face and this outfit?!

It is so much fun being Camryn's mom. I am entertained everyday and my time with her just keeps getting better!

The Circus was in Town

And by Circus I mean the Britney Spears Circus Concert! Yup you better believe we were there! Brittany is a diehard fan...well maybe not diehard but likes her so we all decided to join. This is the crew that went; Brooke, Meranda, Brittany and me. We ate at Mimi's Cafe first and apparently missed The Pussy Cat Dolls who were opening for Britney! We were so bummed! Who starts a concert on time?

Here is Britney gettin' down! She put on a great show and was extremely entertaining with the Circus theme. Not to mention in pretty good shape. Definitely not her prime, but not her K Fed days either!

Having way too much fun! This was during her slow ballad so we sat for a minute, but then it was back to dancing! It was great because she did some of her old songs including "Hit me baby, one more time!" Classic.

Here is a little of what you missed! She may lip sync and have strange lyrics, but she puts on a great show!

Thanks Brittany for putting this together it was awesome having a girls night! And thanks to Ryan for taking Camryn on a Daddy-Daughter date to a dinner party so I could go!

10 lbs in 6 weeks...wanna bet?

My Dad bet me $20 (he's cheap) that we could lose 10 lbs in 6 weeks. Needless to say I took him up on the challenge. Now many of you are saying, "Ryan you don't need to lose weight, you're not fat." I am not saying I am fat, I am saying I have fat. This fat gathers around my belly button, my love handles and my hiny. Please don't roll your eyes, I know it does, because when I go fast over speed bumps or run down the stairs there is a jiggle that lasts slightly longer after I have stopped. Not to mention that my stomach hangs safely over the seatbelt like a hen gathereth her chicks. I also now have a nervous habit of cupping my fat gently in my hands when I am laying down and squeezing it in a passive aggressive nature. But if you still don't believe me ask my pants that I can't wear or the ones that gave a slight tremble and cry the last time I tried to put them on. 10 lbs--not that much, but a big difference.

I have more reasons than just this bet as a reason to get the weight off, here they are:

1. This is what I looked like a year ago...not too shabby

2. My 10 year highschool reunion is in June--need I say more

3. I am training for a triathlon sprint in August at Camp Pendleton. It is not a triathlon at a sprint pace, it is a shorter triathlon. I would die instantly in a real triathlon

4. I was invited recently to join a group on facebook of all the Ryan Smarts on facebook. This is the profile of one Ryan Smart. Now I am sure when many of you searched for me for the first time, you accidentally clicked on this image thinking it was me....thank you. I am sure this Ryan Smart doesn't have a beautiful wife, baby, or the everlasting gospel, but he has abs and I would like some.

5. My wife keeps freakishly losing weight and I gotta keep up

Here is how I am going to acheive my goal:

1. Running--I hate it, but it works so well, and I do feel great when I am done

2. Little to no carbs-I love me a carb, but everytime I eat them they rear their pudgy heads in the aforementioned areas.

3. I drink my breakfast. Usually fresh fruit, juice, flax seed, and a little yogurt...delicious

4. A lot more salads. I always hate when people say they'd rather eat a salad or fresh fruit than candy or dessert. If natural foods tasted so good then why did we spend billions of dollars and scientific brain power to make articial flavors, oils, and other confectionaries? They taste better.

5. p90x-Best and most difficult work out in the world-I hate it and I love it.

6. Get tan-tan fat is better looking than white fat--and like poultry it is all pastey and fat when it's raw, but when you cook it it gets golden and shrinks a little--I'm looking for similar sciences.

7. Drink a lot more water-I use the bathroom every 15 minutes because my body rejects this clear, foreign substance void of carbonation, carmel color, and traces of aspertame and lime, along with other natural and artificial flavors.

8. mild starvation--it works

If anyone out there has any other great advice for my 6 week endeavor, please share. I'm down 3 pounds in 2 weeks--7 to go.

Monokinis

What is your take on them?

Youth Conference and Easter Weekend

We volunteered to be host parents for Youth Conference this past weekend. We were in charge of 5 teenage girls from Thursday to Saturday night. It consisted of a talent show, service project, dance, devotionals, EFY classes, dinners, firesides, and lots of girl talk.

Our girls...hands down the best group of YW women anyone could have asked for!

On the last night they wanted me to take them to TP the boys house but instead we decided that decorating their car with sticky notes, straws and plastic wrap would be a better idea. We could see the boys talking in the front room through the glass door but we were very stealth and sneaky they didn't even hear us ( a balloon popping and all!) This made me want to be in YW even more than I already did. I had so much fun with these girls.

They put the remains to good use. And yes they painted each others faces.

Ryan and I were very nervous about being Host Parents but after having such a great experience we will definately be doing it again next year. It also made us realize that when you have kids this age 5 does seem like a lot of kids...uh oh!

Easter Sunday

We went to San Diego for Easter to be with family and listen to Ryan's dad speak. It was a great Easter program. Afterward Ryan and I exchanged Easter baskets, napped in the sun, had a delicious dinner and great conversation. It was so much fun getting to dress Camryn in her Easter dress from Grandma Smart and she has another one from Grandma Motley for next week too...so spoiled!!!

The Smart Happenings

We have been pretty busy the past week so I thought I would just summarize what we have been up to.

We were able to get together with Tom and Alana (Ryan's HS friends), they were down for a vacay and were nice enough to let us intrude for one day. It was so great having lunch at Canes where we spotted tons or dolphins, walked along Misson Beach, had delicious frozen yogurt and great conversation around the firepit and in the hot tub.

I did a little home improvement project.

Before:

Or should I say...before:

After this project I spilled nail polish remover all over our coffee table.

After:

So with a little sanding and $3 can of spray paint this is what we got. Not bad.

Then Brittany came up to visit one day. We were able to have some great talks while the kiddies were napping, go on a walk and play at the park.

Cam's first time playing at the park. Too bad everyone was hogging the swing so she didn't get to try it out.

No, it is not 3 Smarts and 2 Dogs, but Ryan came home from work with this dog. Now I am not a fan of Chihuahuas but this dog...I called her Dusty and Ryan called her Chicken (yes chicken and nugget) was so nice! We thought Nugget was a good dog until we had this one spend the night. Too bad we can't have another dog otherwise I would have been ok with keeping it.

After dropping her pacifer over and over in the streets of Spain I decided I needed to come up with a solution. This is what I came up with.

They ended up being more fun than I thought they'd be so I just kept making 'em. I think they'll make cute gifts.

Then Saturday we watched Conference and then went down to San Diego and had lunch with Brittany and Derek and Mia and Nate. Nate and Ryan went to Priesthood while Mia and I chatted. Then the Watson's came in town!

Camryn with her adorable cousins Dylan, Carter and Jake. It was so cute to see the boys interact with her. Too bad it was a quick visit since they were off to Hawaii. But it was still fun to see them and watch conference with them.