Mary Olsen Farm

 Last Saturday we went and saw the Mary Olsen Farm in Auburn. The White River Valley Museum keeps it all going and runs it. It is this old time farm that you can go and see the old homestead how it looked back in the day and also animals on the farm.

You park about an 1/8 of a mile away from the farm and walk on this hilly path and while we were waiting for Anna and Scott and their family we stopped by the creek for which was freezing cold and Paige didn't like her feet in it though she didn't cry just lifted her feet out of the water.

The farm consists of the house, an orchard, a garden, a shed in the back, a smoke house, an outhouse, a huge barn, a chicken coop, and lots of grass and land to explore and look at.

Paige was so excited when she first spotted the cat and kept on making meowing noises and wanted to go and get it and once we finally got to that point in the house tour she probably could have petted that cat for quite a while. (By the way she now is really good at making a cat's meow, a dog's woof, and a cow's moo and recognizing them when she sees them)

 All the kids loved the chickens and especially giving them bits of grass to eat once Papa showed them how to do it and how they reacted to it.

 Besides the cat and the chickens there was a couple goats, cows, and horses which were all fun to see and reminded me of home.

Ducks and Lobster Tail

 We love to go over and feed the ducks at the lake. Paige has no fear when feeding the ducks and this past time she even fed them out of her hand. She loves to chase them around and just enjoys walking around.

 The new thing that she figured out is that there is this huge grate at the park that she likes to put sticks and stones in.

 We also like to walk across the street from the park and walk on the trail that goes along a stream that has little fish in it.

Paige loves to throw rocks into the water.

 Last week Nate and I went grocery shopping and we saw some lobster tail that was for a really good deal and we figured why not buy some and try it out. Neither of us have ever ha lobster tail before and we didn't even know how to cook it. So we found a recipe online that seemed good and set out on a little lunch adventure.

 Grilling away.

 Scared.....

 Digging right in- it was not too bad but probably just a one time deal that I am glad we did.

Cuteness

 Paige loves her cousins and just to be around other kids. Brett comes over a lot which is fun for her and she likes to follow him around and do what he does.

Love that smile. :)

 Where did it go? This is a common thing that Paige does when something drops on the ground or when we are hiding something from her.

 Playing in her favorite dirt hole.

 Relaxing in her own chair.

 She is so cute and such a fun little girl!

Meridian Mini-Marathon

 Last Saturday Peyton, Scott, Nate, and I all ran in the annual Meridian Mini-Marathon. It is quite the tradition in the Smith/Hanis households and I was excited to run in it for the first time this year. It gave me great motivation to start running again at least a little bit more than I was before. It was so much fun and I my only goal was to beat Nate and I accomplished that goal. :)

Ready to race

Peyton finishing strong- he even beat his dad and uncle. :)

 My kind of reward for finishing a race- an otter pop!

 Close up of the some of the finishers- can you find all four of us?

 Paige enjoyed being outside and now loves to put my head band on whenever she finds it.

 Peyton got second place in his age group!

 I got second place for the adult women. It was fun to have ribbons together with Peyton.

This is what happens when you have a lot of boy cousins....

Twenty-Eight

Happy Birthday Nate! I love you so much! I will always love you for eternity and am grateful that you found me. You have made my life better and you are the best husband a girl can ask for. You are such an amazing daddy to Paige. She is one lucky little girl! I am so glad you were born twenty-eight years ago and are the man that you are today.

The first picture was taken about ten years ago and all the pictures were taken in the same spot. A lot has happened to Nate in the past 10 years: First pictures-2003 (graduated from high school), went on a mission, Second picture-2007 (after he broke his face), Third picture- 2008 (right before going to BYU-Idaho), got married, Fourth picture- 2012 (right before Paige was born), Fifth picture- 2012 (right after family reunion), and Sixth picture-2013 (starting his internship and final semester at BYU-Idaho).