Russia!

Brett in thirty words or less describe Russia to me......subways, walking, dirty, porta potty's, red square, walking, people not talking, cold showers, churches, matryoshka dolls, lots of walking.

Look who's 30!!!!

Happy birthday br0ther! Being 30 is great no matter what anyone tells you! So enjoy. I have heard that your metabolism slows down and you gain weight so that could be a plus for you. I have taught your neices already your new age (however everyone is 30 according to Teagan). Dave, you are awesome and a great example to me. I had fun talking to you on the way home from New York. It was nice to hang out. The girls love you and Kirsten. We hope you have a terrific day full of lots of fun and surprises!!! We love you!

"The safest place to ever be is in the Father's Hands."

Happy Father's Day to Brett, Paul and Keith. We love our dads. Who could ask for better fathers. Love, Steph, Kelty and Teagan.

Letters from daddy....

Usually when Brett or I go on a trip we leave each other a note either tucked in a suitcase or on the pillow of our bed. When I got home from Cleveland Brett had already left for Russia and Italy. As I got ready for bed I found three letters on my nightstand. Brett's letter to me was written in the way we wrote each other when I was in Israel and we were reading the Book of Mormon together miles apart. Can you tell I can not wait to see Brett tomorrow at the JFK airport and fly home together.

Dear Teagan

Thank you for watering the flowers with me tonight. I even watered you a little bit so you would grow into a beautiful girl. Daddy loves you and will try to always "fic" everything. Be good for mommy and give her lots of kisses for me. I will be back - I am on a plane. Love your daddy. Kiss mommy!

Dear Kelty

You are a wonderful daughter and example to Teagan. Thank you for always helping me around the house. I can't wait to go to Cherry Hill when I get back from Italy. Take care of mommy and Teagan. I love you and pray for you. Be good and know that mommy and daddy are glad you are ours. Love your Daddy.

Dear Steph

Once upon a time the Brett-ites fell in love with the Stephanie-ites who lived upon a far away land. One of the Brett-ites and one of the Stephanie-ites decided to get married and have a family. They created cute little Stephanie-ites whom they both loved. Their daughters thought mom and dad were the greatest. Mommy could run forever (to them) and Daddy could "fic" everything. One day the Stephanie-ite traveled to the "land of many waters" to check on her sisters and the Brett-ite traveled to the "land of the floating buildings" to check on his brethern. The Stephanie-ite and the Brett-ite missed each other and were brought to a rememberance of their love one for another. For behold did they have a great and eternal love. Therefore they did look forward to a re-uniting in the "land of the skyskraper and liberty." For after their journeys did the Brett-ites and the Stephanie-ites did meet on a flying bird in the land of liberty and great was their joy. So great was their joy from their travels that they did rehearse every word and did return to the land of their inheritance to their children. And their children did rejoice in the Lord. For the Lord had provided them all safety and prosperity. And the Brett-ites and the Stephanie-ites did express their grattitude to the Lord. For the Spirit had comforted them. And this was in the ninth year of the reign of the Brett-ites and they did live in the land in peace for all the remainder of their days. "And they did dwelt in a Tent." Amen.

Friday the 13th in New York City

Yummy Bistro Restaurant in Garden City, New York
Steph riding and talking on the Long Island Rail
Jay in front of HRC in New York
Jay kept laughing at all my strange faces I made. I do not take pictures well.

I have been in New York for the last 3 days for an Arbinger seminar. My sister Jaimie flew out yesterday morning and we went and saw a broadway show and walked through times square. It was quite the experience to take the train into the city and to take it home at midnight. We have become pro's at riding the Long Island Rail Road. The seminar was in Garden City, New York and what a beautiful town this is. I have a favorite little bistro we ate at for the last two days. They make the yummiest wrap sandwiches and I love the New Yorker accent here. Tonightwe took the train into Penn Sation again and walked to Central Park and ate dinner at the park. We took the typical tourist pictures and made a stop at the M&M factory and called it a night.

no fair!

according to Teagan everyone is "30"

your three girls miss you!

who taught them this?

Keith and Pat happy 40 years together today!

a little piece of italy

since the boys are in italy touring then the girls thought they would enjoy some italian food at the olive garden. Kirsten, Ariel, Lyn, Shannon, Teagan, Steph and Kelty all together. Thank you mom.

we love to swim

Kelty had her first day of swim class. She was so funny. She did not want to get her face wet. She would cover her eyes when water was poured on her head or when she had to face down to grab a star on the steps. Teagan kept asking when it was going to be her turn to get in. She even took off her shoes and shorts and started for the stairs of the pool. I can tell it won't be long before she will join the swim class. too bad she is only 2. I took the girls to Cherry Hills waterpark after the swimming lessons and teagan was showing me she could swim. She is a fish and loves the water. the weather has been lame around here and so finally today it warmed up to the 70's. we had a lot of fun.

"swimming in the rain" sung by swimming teacher mary

itsy bitsy spider song by kelty and teagan (kind of)

three little piggys narrated mostly by kelty

missing our nightly routine getting the kids to bed?

after the hassel of getting the kids into bed we read stories say prayers with the girls then brett sings the itsy bitsy spider song with them and he has a tickle war and they love it. so it is not the same but we are sending dad a bed time story and the itsy bitsy song. with love from utah.

Brett my Italian Stallion....

I heard from Brett today by IM and emails and he is safely in Italy. He had an incredible adventure in Moscow for 4 days and will now be traveling through Italy. My brother Dave served his mission in Padava Italy and is being the tour guide. He has spent alot of time planning so I know the boys will have an incredible trip. Brett thanks for your emails with the updates on all the sites you are seeing. To all my faithful blogging friends I apologize if I am posting everyday but I know that Brett wants to hear and see his girls so I will be showing more videos. I love you Brett!

· After settling in – set off to metro – rode train to Red Square and saw the tomb of unknown soldier, St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin. A raincloud caught us by surprise and we ran for the GYM (pronounced GUM) to find something to eat. We ate at McDonalds and returned to the apartment about 9pm.Thursday, June 5th, 2008 – Woke up at 4:30 am –· Left apt by 7am to go to Victory Park. WWII memorial and Arch celebrating Napoleon’s exit from Moscow· Returned to Red Square to tour Lenin’s tomb· Went on boat tour of Moscow – 2 hour ride –saw Bolshoi Theater, 7 Sisters apartment buildings and Soccer stadium.· Cathedral of Christ our Savior & Peter the Great monument (actually was a gift to USA – was Christopher Columbus, but USA didn’t take it and they replaced heads for Peter)· Returned to apartment for 2 hour nap· Returned to Red Square at night – returned to river crossing at 12:16am to find it closed. Walked to nearest road bridge and crossed it and made it back to apartment at about 1am – equivalent to walking on a freeway. · Walked many miles today and my feet are very sore.Friday, June 6th, 2008 - Woke at 7am – exhausted from previous day.· Left apartment about 9am – went to see Hard Rock Café street and passed KGB building. Many vendors on the street and fun things to see. · Returned to the train station to meet Dima, Neuba, & Pasha (Seth’s host family) @ Noon. Walked with them to Statue Park and looked at all the art and had ice cream with them. · Left around 2pm and returned to Red Square to tour the Kremlin. Toured most the cathedrals inside the Kremlin and returned to Apartment about 5pm. · Called it a day and slept for 2 hours; Watched TV for about 2 hours. Sean and Dave slept for 4 hours. Seth returned to host family’s home to collect luggage and visited with Monica.· About 9pm went out to the street and connected to “Adel’s computer” and sent emails with Dave and Sean til about 11 pm. · Went to Anteka (drug store) for supplies.Saturday, June 7th, 2008 – Woke at 5:00am – updated this journal til 6am.· Went out for souvenirs prior to returning to apartment at noon to check out. I got some fun stuff for you all!!!!· Train and bus to airport for 6pm flight to Italy – nice 3 hour trip via train and bus to airport 50 miles away· Arrive in Italy about 9 pm after 4 hour flight (2 hour time change) – we are now only 8 hours ahead of you. It is now midnight (2am Russia time) and wanted to email you. Observations while in Russia: Many people smoke. During our travels it seems many people express no emotion in relation to each other (do not smile or talk and are not reactionary to each other). At night we finally seemed to see people talking and together. Police cars are mostly Mercedes black cars and seem to travel in groups of 2-3 sometimes more. The metro is very convenient and travel times are frequent. Seth did a great job of getting around Russia. We had fun and I have very sore calf muscles and hips and bottoms of feet are tender from the walking. We will hopefully get used to it just in time for Italy.Sunday, June 8th, 2008 – Italy – going to church and then to the Coliseum and the Roman Forum.

Sabbath in Italia

Thought we would make a post from Italy. We have the most awesome rental van - will send an image later hopefully. We have had an amazing 4 days of the trip so far. One memorable memory is reading this blog while sitting on a cement bench along Prospect Avenue in Russia at 11pm. We tapped into a wireless connection named "Adel's computer" and Sean, David, and I sat down on the street for about 2 hours reading and talking and sending you emails. Russian police with sirens driving down the street and Russians walking by looking over our shoulder to see what we were doing. Thanks Adel for the internet connnection! Another memorable experience was going to Red Square at night. What a beautiful site with everyone at the square and the amazing buildings. Seth - thanks for all your responses to our stupid questions or for ordering our food for us. "Batzeba" (thank you) though I am sure that is not how is spelled, but I don't see any Russian alphabet characters on this keyboard. Take care to all of you reading this.
FYI - we are blessed with hot showers and many other wonderful things in the U.S.

Happy birthday to two wonderful people today!

I am sure there are lots of people celebrating a birthday today but I wanted to recognize Grandma Marshall and Rebecca today. I hope you guys have a great day and that both of you start feeling better. Rebecca has had the flu/cold and Grandma was just released this week from the hospital. Our prayers continue to be with you. We love you guys!

happy birthday Mae!

Today is Grandma Mae's birthday. We wanted to wish you a very happy birthday and to let you know that we love you. We are so grateful for you. We named our little Teagan after you in hopes that she will honor her middle name and carry on the legacy that you have given us all. You have raised a family of 8 children, you are a wonderful mother, grandmother and great grandmother, you went to school and became a nurse and it is been neat to hear your stories as you supported Art in all his softball leagues and the both of you golfed together. You have been faithful in the gospel and we are thankful for your example to us. Have a wonderful day. We are thinking of you.

it's your birthday today beautiful

I have known Rebecca for 10 years now and it feels like yesterday when she came out into the mission field envious of her clothes becuase they were new and she just looked great. I am so glad we have stayed in touch. Your friendship means alot to me. You are so talented and you are willing to share those talents with everyone. It's been great to watch our families grow up together and to live so close to each other is a plus. I hope you start feeling better and yes you can always switch your birthday celebration to another day. Heck, I want to have another birthday this year to get presents but not to turn older. Do something for yourself today. Love your guts! Happy Birthday!

they say absense makes the heart grow fonder

I am not sure I believe this cliche. Shortly after Brett and I knew we were going to get married I left to go study abroad in Israel. There were many times I felt homesick and missed him. People would try to comfort me by telling me "absense makes the heart grow fonder". But let me tell you that while Brett has been away I have a small glimpse of what it feels like to be a single mother and it is only a small glimpse since my family has been around but I have done the yard work, took out the trash and cleaned the family SUV (I should be the one since we are making the mess and Brett hardly drives it). It's not that I don't miss Brett believe me I do!!! and I realize how much I take him for granted when he is around. I know that the things he does for me and our family is out of love which makes me grow fonder of him each day as we are together. Brett's absense just makes me more self reliant and I don't know if that is a good thing for me. We both need each other in our relationship. I am so glad that he has this opportunity to travel. It is not that he is entitled to it but he definately deserves it. So it really isn't that hard for me that he is half way around the world site seeing. I am not bitter at all can you tell. I hope he soaks in every minute of it. And Honey, if you are reading this blog at all this time don't forget the camera on the airplane. I want to see all the pictures you take.

Where in the world is Dad?

girls weekend in cleveland

this past weekend I have had a lot of time to reflect on my mission since I was hanging out with two of my fabulous companions in Cleveland. Not only were they my mission companions but they are my dearest friends. We often tell each other that one of the reasons we went to Peoria, Illinois on a mission was to meet each other. I served with many wonderful companions. They each taught me something. As I was flying home from Atlanta this morning (after missing my connection last night and staying over) I remembered when I came home from my mission and reported to the high council and there was a person who asked me this question, "Do you have any regrets?" This was my reply, "The only regret I would have had is if I hadn't gone on a mission." and of course I got all emotional. There are many reasons why I served a mission. Many things I gained from my mission. I feel privileged that I had the opportunity to serve in Illinois and to share the gospel message, and to bear my testimony to probably hundreds of people but the most important testimony that was born was born to me . As I shared my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of his atonement and the restoration that was accomplished through Joseph Smith I benefited way more then our investigators. I know I made a commitment to Heavenly Father before I came to earth that I woud serve as a missionary. I was fearful of going because of my weaknesses but I did feel angels accompany through my good and bad days. It was a small sacrafice to serve for 18 months but I know this prepared me for things that have happened in the 10 years I have been home and is the foundation I continue to build upon. Leckie and Rawlings thank you for letting me feel the missionary spirit again as we talked and shared stories of our mission and visited Kirtland and the sites out there. And my dear sweet Leckie you don't even know how proud I am of you. As I sat in Releif Society this past sunday watching and listening to you teach as your ward's newly called relief society president I was overcome with so much joy and happiness for you. President Sorensen sent you to me to train but you didn't need any training at all. You trained me and taught me more then you will ever know. You are still teaching me just by how diligent you are in serving and the way you love your sisters. Thank you for your example. I know you and DJ will have a wonderful life and will be blessed not only financially because well DJ is going to be a doctor and you are successful at your job but spiritually with the promptings of the spirit.. And especially after your lesson on prayer and the conversations we had coming home from Niagra Falls that the promptings of the spirit will not be difficult for you to understand and when you pray you will have that strongest feeling if it is right. Thanks for letting me spend most of my post bearing my testimony. Wow it has been along time since I have. I just had so much fun with you girls. Jen you sure know how to host us. Your meals were delicious and your hopitatlity was great I felt at home. Rebecca thanks for bieng my travel companion and I hope you had a nice early birthday staying overnight in Atlanta compliments from me. hee hee. Don't ever travel with a smith all chaos happens. Rebecca you are a spiritual giant to me. You have lots of knowledge and wisdom you share with me and for making me have courage to stand up to those Delta agents even though I don't have it in me to get mad at them. I hope Rebecca and Jen that we always have the fun times we do. Lets plan on the cabin getaway next winter. My turn to host. Love you guys! IPM sistas rule. WHO GOT THE MOST WET ON THE MAID OF MIST? Let's not forget! and Rawlings remember next time when you go to Honolulu where your priorities should be... the beach!!!!

Happy Birthday Jen!!

Happy Birthday to Jen Dagley today - we hope you did something fun with the family. We are thinking of you growing younger and younger every day. Here is a fun photo of you having fun last summer with the fam. Hope you like it.

tagged...

My sister tagged me. I really don't do these things. When I get them in an email I just delete. But here we go ( I should leave all my sister's answers cuz we basically have the same likes).

A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? I do have a soul mate and happily attached.
B. BEST FRIEND? Today it is Brett.
C. CAKE OR PIE? Angel food cake
D. DAY OF CHOICE? Sunday! Just a nice relaxing day.
E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? Highspeed Internet, deoderant, gum, running shoes (it use to be contacts but not anymore).
F. FAVORITE COLORS? Blue
G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? neither cant stand the texture
H. HOMETOWN? Anchorage, Ak
I. INDULGENCE? Dr. Pepper, pedicures
J. JANUARY OR JULY? July of course!!! Bring on the heat!
K. KIDS? 3 including Brett.
L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? The gospel and my family
M. MARRIAGE DATE? Summer of 1999
N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 3 brothers and 2 sisters
O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Apples
P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? sight of blood or an open wound.
Q. QUOTE? The longer I run the smaller the problems become.
R. REASON TO SMILE? Why look so gloomy. Life is too short
S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? Superman. Brett wears a superman shirt and Teagan loves Superman. She tells everyone Her dad can fik everything. Probably because he is superman in her eyes. She says Fik it.
T. TAG 5 PEOPLE Pay attention! Heather, Rebecca, Jen and One person who really wants to do this..
U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: Use to roll down in a tin garbage can on a commercial street with my friends when I was about 6. Loved doing this.
V. VEGETABLES? Green beans, carrotts
W. WORST HABIT? bitting my nails
X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? Never had an X-ray so Ultrasound.
Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Love Sub sandwiches.
Z. ZODIAC SIGN? tauries

jay and josh one year later...

May 29, 2007 Jaimie and Josh were married for time and all erternity in the Bountiful Temple. Her sibilings could not believe that she finally married the guy of her dreams since she was 15. Jay had a crush on Josh for 8 years. It was a beautiful day and Kelty loved Jay's dress. I think Kelty is still on her getting married stage because of this wedding. Jay and Josh moved to Las Vegas 4 days later where Josh is attending UNLV in the physical therapy program. This is good because we may need a physical therapist with all my running and Brett's back. Jay is working full time and attending school part time. I think they have adjusted to the warmer climate because they complain how cold it is here in Utah when they visit. Happy Anniversary and we love you both.

happy, happy birthday Ariel dear!

happy days will come to you all year... Hope you have a fun birthday at work. We will try to make it fun. Sean told me not to out do him. What is he talking about he is taking you to St. George for the weekend to celebrate your birthday. The girls are so excitted for you to open our gift. We have had it for a month now and Kelty keeps asking me if it is your birthday yet and then reminds me she wants the same gift for her birthday. Best wishes! Love the dagley family

Newton, UT

Usually in our household when the weekend approaches or a holiday is coming up we make plans ahead of time partly to keep busy or to stay entertained. There is also that long to do list to start and finish projects around the house. Today was an exception. We had planned to go to Logan to the cemetary around 9am to take flowers to our relatives graves and have a family barbeque. However we woke up to a rain storm which lasted all morning. So instead we were very lazy in the morning. I felt homesick this morning for Alaska. I grew up in Anchorage and the weather we are having this weekend is exactly how summers were for me. I quite enjoyed this morning and smiled as I ran in the rain. After the weather started to clear up Brett's parents called us and asked us if we wanted to come join them in Newton to visit relatives. We all had a wonderful time and the girls had so much fun. Ken and Pat have a horse corral and there was one horse named Dundee. Teagan was fearless when it came to feeding the horse.
The girls ran around the property chasing a cat and looking for fish in the pond. They were having the time of their life. Teagan really belongs out in the country among farm animals. She is so fascinated with horses.
Ken and Pat have such a beautiful place. Thanks for letting us visit and for the cute books you gave the girls.
Later we went and visited Grandma Marshall in the hospital and Grandpa Marshall at Terrace Grove. Our prayers are with you both so that you can soon be back together again.
As we were leaving we left the hospital first and Kelty didn't want to leave without grandma swing but she was talking to family so she stopped in the parking lot and told us she wasn't coming home with us and she was waiting for Grandma. She was pouting but when Brett brought out the camera she started smiling.

Semper Fidelis - Always faithful

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies. Moina Michael

In honor of Memorial Day - I just want to say how grateful I am for the many thousands of brave men and women who have served and are currently serving on behalf of our Nation for our freedom. I honor and respect them. May God Bless each and every one of them. Thank you!