Ridin' Dirty.....

Mr. Smitty surprised his girls with a Cali get-away.....puppies and all!

It started out lovely.....we drove at night after a long day of work for both of us.

James snuggling with Sookie while he was driving, NICE!

Calista kept us entertained by her mad rapping skills....

Who knew she knew every word to several rap hits such as: H to the Izzo, Ridin' Dirty, Jiggity Wit It, Busta Move, Run this Town, New York, Slim Shady......

She was so cute singing all the lyrics and when the song was censored you would hear her sing BEEP.

When we asked her what Ridin' Dirty meant she said, "Well obviously it means he needs to take a shower."

Right, obviously!

Mr. Smitty and I held hands the whole way there, like we always do (please don't vomit in your mouth).

The puppies were very good in the car they loved it.

Sookie laid on Calista and my lap was Martini's safe haven. 

Part Lab part Bat maybe??? We still love her.

Yes she is a scraggle muffin, but we love her too.

We stopped more than normal for pit stops....James hates pit stops and normally only lets us stop once.

BUT we had the puppies, and Calista and I didn't mind the extra stops one bit!

Sookie didn't go to the bathroom at any of the stops, she only likes to go potty at home or at Nana's.

Calista and I had mini photo shoots at each stop...don't tell Mr. Smitty he doesn't need to know.

Calista rapped to us while we tried to fall asleep and on Saturday morning at about 4am I think all of us including the puppies finally made it to dreamland.  My stomach was already sore from laughing so hard, that kid cracks me up!

Saturday morning I woke up to Sookie laying on top of me snuggling (this is my usual wake up) only this time while she was on me she found the window right next to us and looked outside.  It was the cutest thing ever when she realized what the world looked like in they day time, so much to explore.  Her tail never stopped wagging the whole weekend.

Saturday we spent the day at Del Mar and Carlsbad checking out their several dog beaches and comparing which was better.  Sookie wasn't sure of the water and Martini just wanted to snuggle me....

Calista was of course in Utopia....she is a dolphin at heart.

Sookie discovered she could dig in the sand (and not get in trouble) so she was the happiest dog in the world!

When Calista came up to dig with her, she was even happier!

Then Cali started a boogie boarding marathon and Sookie and Martini didn't take their eyes off of their girl the whole time.

That is Cali with her board while Sookie is watching and Cali drawing in the sand with the watchful eye of Tini.

We were there all day, Calista didn't skip a beat with her board, she was a natural.  I was so proud of her, proud to be her Mom because she rocked it!

After a LONG 8 hours on the beaches, we decided to head back to the hotel and rest a bit before heading back out....fun was had by all.

Calista discovered snails, and we made a friend, which James was scared of.

The snail made Sookie happy....she didn't want to eat it, she just liked watching it.

Later that night Calista and I had a case of the laughs and couldn't stop.

The next day we decided to go to Coronado Island for the 4th.  It started off rough....
Sure we had to park 2 miles away and carry everything I packed (which was way too much)......
Also, Sookie finally decided to go to the bathroom #2!  In front of a 2 million dollar house, while James was carrying the canopy and the cooler full of ice and drinks.
While they stopped to "drop the kids off at the pool" Cailsta dropped half of the things she was carrying.
I set everything down to help her and I left something important, MY PURSE!
I didn't realize it was gone until we finally got to the beach and we set everything down to figure out where we were going to set up.
James went back to find it and I decided I was going to be super woman and drag everything 1/2 mile down to the dog beach to help out. 
It didn't work out very well.
I found a spot set the blankets down and had Cali walk over to save it.
While I tried to drag the rest of the things through the sand I fell down because the load was too heavy.
That is when I decided to stop and wait for James.
James came back upset because my purse was GONE.
We walked over to Calista with the rest of the things and I decided to do some Nancy Drew action and find my purse.
While I was walking back to
 the scene of the crime, my Mama called James' phone VERY upset.
She said somebody had called her and said they had my purse and she was worried out of her mind...she thought I got kidnapped.
Thank goodness for honest people.
I walked back to the house and there was a very nice rich couple, their house keeper found my purse and brought it inside.
They called my Mama and then got upset because she was so upset and thought I had gotten kidnapped as well.
Thank goodness for my Mama as well!
All of that happened, but we were still together and having fun.

Calista boogie boarded....ALL day.  She loved it, loved it so much she didn't care that the water was cold and it was in the 60's outside...she also didn't want to stop.  I had to make her stop and get her warm clothes on before the fireworks.

She also got burried in the sand by her father and puppy.

Sookie still just wanted to watch at the water and not touch it.

Martini decided she was sick of sitting on my lap and loved chasing the waves.

I love it when she decides she wants to act like a dog and not a human, those moments are few and far between.

When I finally was the mean mom and made Calista change we decided to go for a walk through the fancy neighborhood and maybe find something hot to eat.

The something hot to eat was not found, but we had fun walking and dreaming about living in the fancy houses, they all look like a craft project from Hobby Lobby.

White fences, red and blue shutters and flowers everywhere.

The fireworks were amazing.

We could see all 7 shows at once.

It was great, also we were the only ones left on dog beach.

We had a private beach all to ourselves!

So, Calista and I had a photo shoot and we all ran around the beach like crazy people (and dogs).

After this picture, I am sad to say my camera died.

Calista trying to be helpful, packed a bag with my camera and an open bottle of water.

We will be having a funeral any day now.

When we woke up the next day, we all could barely walk.

Calista from the boogie boarding.

James and I felt like we were in a boot camp walking miles in the sand.

The car ride was a VERY long one on the way home, 9 hours to be exact.

We were ALL ridin' dirty, even though we showered, there was so much sand in the car, we may never be clean again.

However, we are the Smitty's and much like the Lampoon's our craziness always ends up fabulous.

xoxox

Mrs. Sparky

1095 Days.....

It has been 1095 days since Heaven gained our Angel.  We miss our Jeanine Renee Baker more than words can say.  There hasn't been a day in those 1095 days that I haven't thought about her. 

Jeanine was an Earth Angel while she was here.  I remember admiring her style, her laugh, and her amazing clothes from afar.  One day before starting my shift at AT&T I was waiting in line at the lunch counter for my tuna melt, Jeanine was behind me waiting as well, she was wearing a pair of amazing red wedges, form fitting jean capris, a white top, and carrying a tan Coach bag (sure it may seem weird I remember what she was wearing but if you knew Jeanine you know what I mean). 

She tapped me on the shoulder and said "Your eyes are so blue, are they real?"  I wasn't sure if she was talking to me because why would somebody that pretty be so nice to compliment ME?  I said, "Um, are you talking to me?"  She responded by saying, "Girl, who do you think I am talking to the cook?  Of course I am talking to you, your eyes are great, I like your make-up too." Stunned, I simply said, "Okay, thank you....I like your eyes too." Then we both started laughing hysterically....from then on out we were forever friends.

Jeanine was the kind of girl you wished you could hate.  She looked like an exotic Princess Jasmine Barbie Doll, as a matter of fact I used to tell her that her feet were just like the Barbie Dolls she collected....so perfect.  I swear even if she wore flats her feet looked like she was wearing heels.  Her laugh was contagious and if you heard it you couldn't help but laugh yourself.  Her hair was something to be envious of, always perfect.  She had the most amazing EVERYTHING, purses, shoes, clothes, make-up.  Jeanine had all of this, but it was nothing compared to how pure and sweet her heart was.  If you were her friend, she made you feel like you could rule the world. 

We had such good times together at a job I hated.  Danielle, Jeanine, and I were connected at the hip.  We would take turns deviating from our schedules so we could take lunches together (sorry Jean Casey if you are reading this).  We played Uno and put customers on mute to cuss at them for being mean.  Jeanine would walk in on Saturday mornings when our start time was 4 am and look like she just stepped out of a salon.

One of my favorite memories was one day when I pulled into the AT&T parking lot, I drove by a HUGE sparkly white Yukon and I saw Jeanine standing in the back of it waving and posing like a super-model in her heels and shorts.....I had never seen her smile so BIG!  That infamous day after she got her brand new Yukon we decided to take our lunch at Taco Bell.  Danielle and I were so happy and completely in awe how cool it was.  We sang to JT on the way there and laughed and laughed.....after a fabulous Taco Bell lunch we left in good spirits and got back into the fancy ride.  Houston we have a problem!!!  Jeanine was in a tight  parking spot and couldn't back out.  That is when a random man appeared from out of nowhere and decided to help her, he directed her out of the spot like he was landing a plane.  We thought we laughed on the way TO lunch.....I think we all almost peed our pants on the way back after a random man helped her.  Really only Jeanine could make a random man stop what he was doing and stand in a hot parking lot to help a life sized Barbie out of her parking spot!

The day she found out she was having a baby girl she was beside herself.  She came in late to work that day (which NEVER happened).  She walked in with a smile from ear to ear (it was bigger than the Yukon smile) and I just knew what it meant.  I had bought things for a boy and a girl so we would be covered either way and she could have a prize on her special day......when she said  she was having a girl Danielle and I were just as happy as she was.  I took pictures with the little girl dress and bib sitting on her stomach and her face was glowing like never before.  Danielle and I  both knew that was going to be the luckiest little girl in the world to have a Mama like Jeanine.   Amerie only got to have her Mama for a short time, but those years she got to be a Mama were years I am sure Jeanine cherished. 

Words can't express how everybody who knew Jeanine was saddened by her death.  We were sad for her Mama, Mary and her daughter, Amerie.  We were sad that her baby girl would never be able to remember the way she smelled or how her laugh and smile would pull you in.  We were sad we wouldn't be able to get texts and phone calls out of the blue from such a special friend. 

I am sure we all remember where we were when we found out Jeanine had left this earth....I remember where I was and I remember falling to my knees, crying and praying it wasn't so.  I remember calling everybody I knew to see if it was true and trying to sound brave and not sad on the phone speaking to them.  I remember calling her cell phone just to hear her voicemail and leaving two messages just in case the news wasn't true, because it couldn't be true....I just talked to her 5 days earlier and emailed her the day before.  I remember trying to get in contact with Danielle and being so sad that I couldn't find her before the funeral.  When Danielle and I finally spoke we knew we had to go see Jeanine and just be together.  We visited Jeanine just the two of us and laid by her grave and laughed and cried and told story after story.....I know it meant a lot to the both of us.  We both decided she was where she was meant to be in Heaven.....also on a side note you can see the Cardinal's Stadium from her grave and anytime they score a touch down, the fire works are in perfect view, she would love that.

A week before she had been gone for a year, I lost a baby.  For months after I would dream of her holding my baby telling me it was all going to be okay, she had this......I believed her then and still believe her now....she has this.  She has us all and watches and helps us through the hard times.  We all miss her and need her, I strongly believe He needed her more.

See you on the other side sister.

She swims with a smile....

She really does.

Every Monday and Wednesday morning before my work day begins, I get to watch my blue-eyed dolphin swim her heart out with a huge smile upon that lovely little face of hers. 

Waking up an hour earlier and sitting in the hot sun in my work clothes, doesn't seem so bad when I see how happy it makes her to be in the water, it makes my heart smile.

She has never competed before this year, but she has been swimming since she was 2 (we love you AJ Parks and Rec).

She now LOVES competition.

Every Saturday it's up at 5 a.m.,

Team Smitty is ready to go cheer on our littliest of the Smitty clan.

AJ Dolphins (can you spot our dolphin)

Daddy Smitty couldn't be prouder of his little dolphin, his face beams with excitement every time she finishes a race.

I have promised this little lady that I would not scream her name on the side of the pool as she swims.

Instead I use Smitty as a code word and scream that instead....nobody could be the wiser.

I did make a Team Smitty shirt just for swim meets......I haven't promised I won't wear it to EVERY meet because I would most likely break that promise.

Her favorite strokes are the breast stroke and the butterfly.

She has finished 3rd for each of them at both meets so far.

I think Team AJ holds their own since the teams we have swam against are teams who swim year round (and I think may take performance enhancing supplements).

I am kidding, no judgement here!

James and I are so proud of her.

Words can not express how proud.

This little dolphin is also playing basketball this summer.

She is so cute when she plays....I think we may need to work on her "mean" skills.  She doesn't want to be mean to anybody on the court and take the ball from them.  It is really funny to watch her from the side lines. 

We love you Coach Loftis!

Nick has mad skills.

Let's go Sun Devils!

xoxoox

TEAM SMITTY