The Smiths in 2024

by Jeremy Smith

Confused by the postcard picture? Well, it's a combination of two things that are usually pretty big parts of a normal year with the Smith's: 1.) Our neighborhood goes all out on Halloween, and we host a block party. Our family’s costume contest entry this year was 'Astronauts.' It's also meaningful because I wanted to be an astronaut growing up, and space in general has also had such a big year in 2024 (in case you missed things like chopsticks catching a 23-story building that fell from the sky). This year the Smiths also got to go to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and in Austin even got to tour the Firefly Aerospace facility that makes the NASA lunar lander!

And I didn't forget, I know there was a … 2.) Enchanted Rock ... It's kind of our family place. We usually make at least one or two annual pilgrimages, and this year was no different. One thing we still love about it is how much it always looks like an alien landscape. It's like taking a spaceship to another world, and being back by bedtime. This year we just so happened to have costumes to complete the whole fantasy. :-)

Hmmm, what else happened in 2024? The kids got to see Chicago for the first time and visit Indiana Dunes National Park. It was tons of fun, and they only have four continental states to go!

We also got to see lots more alien landscapes in beautiful Southern Utah, visiting “The Mighty Five” national parks. These few pictures definitely don’t do it justice.

Among other things, I somehow found time to add a science degree to my resume this year too. The kids are also excelling at all sorts of new things, really picking up steam in piano, writing, robotics, coding, and even gaining at least beginner proficiency in something like 7 different computer languages (I’m losing track). We just wrapped up our second robotics season, and the kids had a lot of fun.

Both kids have advanced about one belt level in Jiu Jitsu, Addie is working her way up in gymnastics, and Logan has found a new love– the Dungeons & Dragons game! Of course he hasn’t left his first love, video games -- and even gets Addie involved sometimes when he can pull her away from crafts and puzzles. They’re kickin’ all kinds of tail in academics, but I’ll spare you that trophy “show and tell.” I will say though that it was VERY cool to see a writing teacher light Logan’s fire earlier this year. He even published a kid's book, and you can purchase it on Amazon!

What else is going on?... Addie now routinely saves up her money to dye her hair rainbow. Hillary continues her passion toward all things small, furry, and feathery. We even accompanied her to a the HummerFest in Port Aransas in September, where host homes hang feeders to nourish hummingbirds along their yearly migration to Mexico. Hillary also continues new milestones in real estate, despite a rough industry with lots of changes this year. She's expanded her staging services and has a legit warehouse now to organize all the furniture and accessories.

We also enjoyed some great visitors from out of town. Early in the year we were able to see the Bjorks from Africa, and during the solar eclipse, our old friends the Robinsons were able to come down from Maryland. Our friend, Valerie, from Tennessee, was even able to drop by as well! The biggest treat of all is that, after coming last year, my in-laws –- Faith, Robert, & little Scout– never left! They live four doors down! That makes our local life cool in so many ways!

One other big change for me this year is the degree I’ve begun to integrate AI into my daily lifestyle. If you haven’t delved into this yet… I’d say you don’t know what you’re missing! It can really enrich your life, if you begin to work it into your routines. What’s more, I’d suggest that things are moving so fast that if you don’t get on board soon, it will be hard to catch up.

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