My Curly Cutie Sister

Happy birthday to my dear sister Megan!

Look at that adorable face!

You survived growing up in a home with four less-than-perfect brothers.
I know we weren't the ideal playmates.

Who knows how many of your Barbies I buried in the sandbox.

Exhibit A: the Barbie

Exhibit B: the sandbox

Thanks for only body-checking me into the refrigerator once.
I probably deserved it a lot more than that.
(Note to other readers: if you want the backstory on that one, ask our brother Adam. He tells it masterfully.)

You have taught me so much, from Ferengi rules of acquisition to how to tease girls without pushing them over the edge to crying (took me longer than it should have to learn the latter).

Our friendship continues to grow, and I love that we've become travel buddies.
Here's a quick reminder of some of our great adventures:

Disneyland - December 2006

Mr Toad's Wild Ride - one of our favorites

Maybe the best pic of all time; I just had to share it 

Washington, DC - September 2009

 At the US Capitol Building

Kings Dominion for your birthday

Caribbean - January 2010

Soaking up some rays

New York City - May 2011

One of our several shows that trip

You are an incredible woman and I'm very lucky to have you as my sister.
Love you so much, Megan! Happy birthday!

7 Tips for a 7-Year-Old

Today my nephew, the G-man, turns 7 years old. Happy birthday, little buddy!

Here's my favorite recent photo (thanks to your folks for sharing), and it's just how I imagine you every day:

Okay, enough monkeying around.

Since you're now 7 years-old, here are 7 tips of your uncle's hard-earned wisdom.

1. Every time you see them, give Grammy and Bopbop the biggest bear hug you can. We Smyths have a knack for giving a good hug, and they'll appreciate it more than anyone.
2. Tell your parents you love them. You won't know just how much you mean it until you're much older, but you just can't ever say it enough at any age.
3. Treat your sisters like princesses, because that's exactly what they are. For now, you'll have to trust me on this one. It took your dad and his brothers far too long to recognize that truth about our sister.
4. Say your prayers. The Big Guy listens and cares what you're going through and how you feel about things.
5. Go outside, play, and get dirty as often as you can. You'll miss it someday if you end up working in an office. Also, start golfing now. Or at least by the time you're 12. Again, trust me on this.
6. Don't expect to figure girls out 100%. They're not math problems that can be solved. Like a puzzle or a mystery book, the joy is found in figuring out small things one at a time and in seeing the beauty of their complexity.
7. When you're on a cruise, and there's ice cream available 24-7, go-crazy-go-nuts. What? You say you already did that? Well played, young sir. Then you're well on your way to being a savvy 8 year-old.

Love you oodles and oodles, G-man!

-Unkie Aaron

Cruisin' the Caribbean

I've never been on a cruise, so what better way to have my first cruise experience than with 300 other LDS young single adults? We left from Miami for a full week of fun and (mostly) sun with stops in Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Isla Roatan, Honduras; and Grand Cayman.We had a day of travel on the ocean before reaching Cozumel and another day at the end, so we took advantage of a lot of the ship's amenities, such as mini-golf on the top deck, shuffleboard, basketball, ping pong, hot-tubbing, and the water slide. Now, playing mini-golf on a cruise ship is a little different, as the ship rocks a little bit from side to side and the wind is a lot stronger on some holes that are more exposed. That just adds to the challenge. It was a tough battle, and in the end Devin eaked out the win over Laura.
Each night, we had assigned seating for dinner, and these are my tablemates. The guys were my roommates, too. Three brothers from Heber, UT. Good guys. The girls were also from Utah and were characters, so we all had a good time eating our dinners and ordering a little of everything (since food is included in the flat cruise rate). Favorite meals: lobster, escargot, salmon, steak, and assorted desserts--too many to mention.

Cozumel, Mexico
Here's me with the ship in port in Cozumel. Most of us went to a beach where they had volleyball, sea kayaks, a sea trampoline, and a whole lotta beach chairs for catching rays. Ah, that's the life!
At night, our group enjoyed several on-board activities more than the rest. Karaoke was a big favorite, as was dancing in the White Heat disco later in the evening. Above, Kizzi and I sang a duet of "A Whole New World" that made us famous for the rest of the cruise. We didn't sing together again, and I suspect it's because we both knew a repeat attempt would only disappoint our adoring fans and taint our legacy.

Belize City, Belize

We had an un-Belize-able time in Belize. I joined another large group in going cave-tubing, and it was a very cool experience. Pretty chill just sitting in a tube and floating down the river. Only bummer was that my camera isn't water-proof, so I had to leave it on the bus, and I haven't been able to get pictures from anybody. So you'll just have to trust me that it was great. Oh, and we had a little excitement by almost not making it back to the ship in time, so that got our hearts beating and had us running down the dock to get to the ferry.

Isla Roatan, Honduras
Though we'd had a great time in Cozumel and Belize, the weather had been so-so. In Isla Roatan, Honduras, the weather was what we hoped for and expected in the Caribbean. Well, after some short showers in the morning, anyway. My cousin Shelby (below) invited me to join with her and her friends for a tour of the island and then a little frolicking on the main tourist beach (above). I think we also loved Isla Roatan because the sand was super-soft and the water was that beautiful blue you want to wade out into and swim.
This picture of Shelby and I is from the second formal dinner night. Don't we look smashing? Well, it was good to hang out with my cousin, especially since my sister Megan and I didn't even know Shelby was going to be on the ship until we got there. Imagine my surprise when I was looking at the "phone/room list" and saw my cousin's name. Definitely a pleasant surprise.

Grand Cayman

Our final destination did not disappoint in terms of thrills and beautiful scenery. A small group of us did our own excursion to 'Stingray City', where we got to swim with stingrays, hold them, let them give us a neck/back "massage", and even give one a little smooch if you wanted to. Again, my camera isn't water-proof, so I don't have pics, but I'll keep trying to get them. After our time at 'Stingray City', our little fishing boat took us to a spot where we could snorkel for a bit. Mostly there were just little fish, but we still liked getting to kick around for a few minutes before heading back to shore and to the cruise ship.
I really owe my sister big-time for telling me about the cruise and inviting me to go with her. She'd had a good time on one of these before, and I can now add my own stamp of approval on the LDS singles cruise experience. Thanks, Megan!