White Gloves & Black Light

I'm sharing this YouTube video because it is so beautiful and well done. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT7x3VnrqbA

Gone to the Dogs

Tony & Elena & Ana & Nikita & Kowboy came up to visit this weekend. We all had a great time--but I think the two Golden Retrievers had an even better time! Sandy has been asleep ever since they left this morning. Kowboy had a big time with all of Sandy's toys, but he especially liked the stuffed goose and duck. He even managed to carry both of them around in his mouth so Sandy couldn't get them from him.


We took them both to the lake yesterday morning for a swim and then to the park to run a while. They both love the water and jumped in and out and chased sticks like crazy. Here they are---both bringing in the same stick to shore! Once Kowboy just dunked Sandy's head under the water so he could get the stick. They were fun to watch. It was hard to tell which one was which with the wet hair. Sandy has been tuckered out since Kowboy left. David even took him outside, just so he could see that Kowboy wasn't in the backyard, that he was really gone. He misses his buddy.


I had to take some pictures while we were at the park.

By Any Other Name

Phone call from Ana (4 1/2 years) on Thursday:

Granny, did you see the Olympics?

No, what did you see?

We watched the gymnastics and she won, she won! She's so pretty. She won the gold medal.

Oh, you mean Nastia (pronounced 'NAWS-T-AH)?

No, I mean 'ANA'!

Our 4 /12 year old Ana's given name is Anastasiya Antonovna Smith, she is called Ana (AHH-NA) or Nastia (NAWS-T-AH). Her middle name comes from the Russian female version of her dad Tony's name. So I looked up some info on the 18 year old Nastia. So our Ana figured that the other Nastia was called Ana, too!

Liukin was born in Moscow of the former Soviet Union and goes by Nastia, the Russian diminutive of Anastasia. Liukin is fluent in Russian and English, speaks some Spanish and would like to learn French. Nastia's parents are products of the Soviet gymnastics machine. Nastia's father, Valeri Liukin, was a double gold medalist (team, high bar) at the 1988 Seoul Games, and her mother, Anna Kochneva Liukin, was the 1987 rhythmic world champion with clubs. Citing their personal experiences (in wedding photos, Valeri is sporting a cast), Valeri and Anna were reluctant to let Nastia begin formal training. But since they could not afford a babysitter, Nastia tagged along to the gym. From the sidelines, Nastia began imitating the moves of gymnasts she watched and was soon outperforming them. Unable to ignore their four-year-old's natural talent, Valeri and Anna relented. Nastia Liukin captured the Olympic gold medal in the all-around competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics defeating teammate Shawn Johnson who finished in second. She added this medal to the family's trophy case exactly twenty years after her father captured two golds at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. A rising freshman at Southern Methodist University in Texas, Liukin plans to study international business.

Sandy at the Lake 2

Saturday we took the boy to the lake again. He had so much fun. And he's getting braver. David threw sticks out for him a good ways out and he jumped right out there and retrieved them. He'd bring it back to shore, shake on us and beg for more. This is a picture of him soaking wet--and nearly dry at the same time!

Happy 15th Anniversary!

Kelly & Tami are celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary today. Wow---how in the world have they been married that long when we're still so young? Tami has been sharing photos from their past on her blog http://smithacademyforgirls.blogspot.com/ and they have been fun to see the changes in them. I'm adding 2 that I found of them. One is of the dress that Tami didn't have a whole picture of, so you can see the skirt. The other is of a blue number that she showed up at our house to wear around our innocent son. And get this-----her grandmother made these dresses! She should have been in advertising, because the dresses certainly had appeal and looked great on Tami! Congratulations, you two.