Daddy & Lauren Day

When I (Ryan) first started thinking about coming to St. Louis with the family on vacation I couldn't think of anything to do in town other than just hang around the house. And then it donned on me - the Arch. Of all the times I've been to St. Louis, I've never been myself. I honestly thought that you just stood underneath it and thought to yourself, "Wow, that is tall!"

















But the Gateway Arch turned out to be much more than that. And, as I tend to be the history-geography-civics nut in the family, I take my responsibility very seriously to introduce the kids to places like this. A few days ahead of flying out here, I showed Lauren some pictures of the Arch and told her that I was going to take her there. She was very excited. It was all she could talk about leading up to our trip, she spotted it out of her window on the plane as we flew in Monday night, and was nearly screaming with anticipation as we spotted it on the horizon driving towards it today.

















It was a beautiful day, which is what you need for a good visit to the Arch. But for me the highlight wasn't really the Arch itself, but getting to spend the day with my little girl doing something that kept a smile on her face the entire time. She was a little nervous in the small tram car heading to the top, but stayed brave and was in wonderment on the observation deck as she looked out over the city and the Mississippi River. Lauren thinks the word "Mississippi" sounds funny and laughs every time she says it.

















We also spent a good amount of time in the Lewis & Clark Museum located underground, then walked down to the river's edge. For some reason Lauren is big on touching water, and she couldn't pass up the chance to touch the water of the Mighty Mississippi. She said it was cold, but it, too, made her smile. At the very end of our time there, as we walked back to get picked up and head back to our host's house, we made a pile of leaves and she jumped in them over and over again. It was one of the best Father/Daughter outings we have ever had and I'll hold onto it for a long, long time. Thank you, Lauren, for making your Dad's day!

Good News

Thank you so much for all of you who have been praying for me this week! For those of you who don't know, I went in to see the doctor on Monday because of a lump in my throat. It turned out to be a nodule on my left thyroid. They were concerned that it could be cancer based on my symptoms, so I went in Wednesday to have some tests done. I was able to breathe a sigh of relief today when they called and told me it was benign. They will keep a close eye on it and have me come back in for ultrasounds every 6 months to ensure it isn't growing. But, at this point at least, no surgery or treatment is needed.

It made for quite an overwhelming week because Lauren was diagnosed with pneumonia and Nolan with whooping cough (which he got from Lauren). So, between the three of us, we spent the majority of our free time at the hospital. Ryan certainly had his hands full caring for us! Thankfully, we are all on the mend now and should be completely healthy for our trip out of town on Monday (we are going to my sister-in-law's parents' house in St. Louis for the week of Thanksgiving). Never a dull moment in the Smith house!!

Full Speed Ahead!

Family Pictures

Here are some recent pictures of us & the kids :)

Happy Halloween

Last night we headed out with Lauren and Nolan to do some trick-or-treating. She decided to be Cinderella this year and we dressed Nolan as a little lamb (a hand-me-down from Lauren's first Halloween). We got some cute pictures of them before we left:































































Nolan and I were only out for about 45 minutes - it was SO cold! But, Lauren and Ryan kept on going - she had fun, but every time she saw someone with a scary mask or costume, she would scream bloody murder and run the other way. After too much of this, she finally decided she was done being scared and wanted to come home. The funniest part about taking her out was that she didn't just say "trick-or-treat" when she got to someone's door. This was how it went: "Trick-or-treat! My name is Lauren, but I'm dressed up as Cinderella. I got my flu shot today and I have a pink bandaid... (and then she would launch into any number of things including how old she was, introducing Nolan and on and on) That's my daughter!!