Geology in the Fall

Hi everyone! Your pictures of Thanksgiving were incredible! We poured over each one just laughing out heads off, ooing and awing at how big the grand kids are, and were very bummed we could be there. We're glad y'all had fun :)

Here are some updates on our life here in Cowboy country:

At work I've had some awesome opportunities to donate either money or time to the community. For the Thanksgiving season Stillwater does a huge food drive called "Harvest". As a bank we were able to donate over 5,000 lbs! Here is the warehouse were we boxed the cans up to be distributed to local food shelves:



I've mentioned my new hair cut a million times on facebook, so I thought I'd include a picture of Evan getting his hair cut at my favorite new salon: Hello Gorgeous! The gals are just young and fun - you can tell by the leopard print apron:



Our friend's, the McDaniels, visited from Colorado. They surprised us with the announcement that they were going to have a baby! So, Elisa and Tolu surprised them with a baby shower! We had a blast and were so grateful to show them how much they meant to us:



I can't talk about the Fall without bringing up Harry Potter! I was so excited to see this new movie and, like everyone else, wishes that the second half was here already! In some ways it will be nice to have that series done already :) I think the craziest part has been learning that some of my young women weren't even born when the first one came out! I'm not even that old, right?



I hope y'all take the opportunity to scan through all of the pictures from our trip to Arkansas on facebook. We were able to go down for just a day, but it was perfect and we found some incredible specimens:







There are very rare times that I have seen him as happy as he is when we are out checking out rocks.

This is a picture of the most recent slumber party. It was so much fun! We ordered in Chinese food, played Kinect and Wii, watched Elf, and had junk food galore! Those girls are teaching me so much, especially how to have fun and laugh until I cry!



Well as we wrap up this blog, I just wanted to show you a fun project I did at work. I made some "windows" out of construction paper and we're having a department wide snowflake making contest! I mean... we work really, really hard :) I've got incredible bosses that allow me to really explore and be creative within the perimeters of my job and I appreciate that a lot!



I hope the rest of the holiday season treats you well! As always, we miss and love you guys and are so grateful for your continued support as we make our way through this "going to school" period in our little family life, following in some big foot steps. Wishing you well,

Evan and Lacey

Octo-update!

I guess we'll tell you about our lives. We are having some awesome adventures here in Oklahoma. Just between work life/ school life and church we are continually on the move or hosting activities at our place. Speaking of church, Evan just got called to be the Elder's Quorum President, so just when I thought we were busy :)


I love working with the Young Women. They continually keep me on my toes and are full of surprises that just blow you out of the water when you least expect it. It's been especially wonderful working with the Sister missionaries to bring Jordan into the church. It's been only a couple weeks since her baptism and she's already bringing her boyfriend to church and he's asked to take the discussions. I love how you might seem like missionary work can be impossible, but you just have to find the right person and a whole flood of people will follow!

We've (Evan) been carving pumpkins like crazy (2). Our first one we did for a Young Married Adult FHE activity and the second one is for a charity auction that I'm having at work. What do you think?

Last, but definitely not least, we've got a new nephew! Renaud Edward Smith (pronounced: Ren-o) was born October 8th. Both Mom and baby are doing great! Crystal said she was ready to get out of the hospital and on with life! That makes 24 total nieces and nephews for us (22 Bagleys and 2 Smiths).

As always-keep on rockin' in the free world!

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

Summer End

This has been a fun and busy summer for us. Lacey has been working hard at her new job at Stillwater National Bank and Evan has been doing research and sleeping in. Our most recent activities include traveling to the wedding of two of Lacey's friends, Abby and Ben.



We left for Bemidji Thursday after work. Lacey had enough overtime to get out earlier at 3 pm. We drove through the night, swapping drivers a couple times, until we arrived in Duluth at 6:40 am to visit Lacey's brother and his expecting family.









Evan took a 3 hour nap at Zak's house while Lacey played with her nephew Beau. We went to lunch a Subway with everyone and we headed for Bemidji and the wedding.



We spent a total of 43 hours in Bemidji before we left for home Sunday morning at 10 am. A thousand miles and 17 hours later, we were home.



Some of the other activities we've been up to include karaoke, recording music, ward activities at the lake, roller derby, helping out with mutual, and Lacey's family visiting.











Lacey has been working at Stillwater National Bank since May. She has been working in "Document Imaging" which is a glorified mail room. She opens mail, sorts it, prepares it to be scanned, and then indexes everything. After working there for 3 1/2 months, she has moved to customer accounting where she deals with high dollar, short-term CDs. She also deals with taxes and inactive accounts. Her official title is "Operation CIF Analyst". She really loves her new job. She has a cubicle and no one sits over her. She says that it is her first real grownup job. We are proud of her.

School is about to start again for Evan. He has been getting ready for it. We have decieded to stay at Oklahoma State University for a PhD. It means that we will be here until at least 2016, so if you want to come and visit us, you have plenty of time. Mom and Dad Bagley will be visiting us next weekend and we look forward to their visit.

Sometime soon I will give you a tour of our new (as of May) apartment.

No Pics-Slow Internet Connection

Hello world! We have had the craziest past couple weeks and are so glad they're over! After Evan got back from his trip to WA (which was a success because they settled it in full and it has been dismissed with prejudice-meaning no other claims can be brought against him!) we finished our move. Our new apartment is incredible and we are so happy to be in a much safer environment:) As a bonus, the place comes with some sweet amenities, one being a pool! We got our young married adult group together for a fun Saturday afternoon just hanging out. Turns out you can't spend all day in this southern sun-it bites back! I've never in my life experienced a blistering burn like it'll give you. I'll have to change my whole swimming philosophy:(


Then my parents came for a visit! They also brought my brother Eli-who has never been to Oklahoma before. My Mom served in the Oklahoma Tusla mission in '76-'77 and got to see some of her old stomping grounds while they were down. Another fun adventure was taking my family to Pops on Route 66. We had a lot of fun:) The best adventure was when Evan, Eli, and my Dad went Armadillo hunting! Yes, they tried but failed. However, they did find one on the road and had to take pictures for good measure. We also took the opportunity to see the Oklahoma City Memorial and go to the OKC Temple for a session. I had a fabulous time while they were here and I'm so glad they were able to come.


However, time doesn't slow down and I was off to Girl's Camp-just for the last night. We had 3 Beehives go from our ward. It was amazing and I'm so glad I got to spend some time with them. The best had to be the road trip back: 3 girls, 2 hours, 1 giant bag of candy-it was incredible!

Well, we're still going strong and, as always, I'm off for more summer fun-hope you guys are having great summers too!

Words...

Hello everyone! As we sit watching Larry King Live, I just wanted to update you on how things are going in our lives.

I just got a new job and am loving every minute of it! I work for Stillwater National Bank as a document imaging clerk. The actual tasks are pretty repetitive but my co-workers are really great and make work so much fun. Just after starting work, we started moving. We were just moving three miles away, but it feels like a whole new world! We're definitely still in the middle of moving, but we're passed the hump and getting to where the majority of our things are put up in our new place. Also! I just got called to be the 2nd counselor in the YW Presidency, just in time for camp:) I'm really looking forward to this calling, we've got a small, but great group of girls that will really bring some fun into my life! A lot of changes are going on, but they are all for the good. I'm really enjoying the direction my life is taking right now.

As for Evan...



I'm not going to say much because you guys are going to get to see him in just a couple of days!! Hope you'll take great care of him for me:)

We love you all so much and wish all the best for you!

Respecters of Life

We were up twiddling around our apartment this morning, when a knock came at the door. There were some maintenance men out front chopping holes in the ceiling. Apparently the men who have been working on the roof of the complex poked a wire and cut off electricity to our neighbors. So... they had to find it and fix it. Since they couldn't find it outside, they had to come inside our apartment and make some giant holes in our ceiling! No big deal, until...



...we walked outside and found a bird's nest destroyed on the cement landing. It would have been okay had there not been four newly hatched baby birds laying there too! We were irate! So, we scooped them up and took them to the vet clinic on campus. One of them did not make it... we just hope the other three are okay.



The holes are now all fixed just like the little birds will be... we hope.

Legacy

A lot can happen in a week and a half... especially when two people are at either end of the Mississippi River. Here are just a few photos to represent the reason I went to Minnesota.


This is my Grandpa, Robert Dean Smith.


This is his boat storage.


These are his woods.


This is his son, my father, in his woods.


And this is the procession to his funeral.

Despite all of the sadness, I can honestly say that I came back from Minnesota a stronger woman. There is a legacy that we leave for those walking behind us on the path of life. My grandfather left a strong legacy of loyalty and I cannot do more for him than step into my place, into his footsteps, and continue what he started. As my dad described it, he used a metaphor of a ladder in hopes that we will take from where was left off and only continue improving what we were given to work with. I hope I can live up to their expectations.

Easter

It has been a while, so here is whats new:

School has being busy for Evan. He is taking three classes, teaching a lab, research, and thesis work. One of his classes is the "Imperial Barrel Competition". Graduate programs around the world are given data and students have to figure out if there is oil or gas and if it is economical to drill. The OSU team won the regional competition and they will be competing in the international AAPG Conference in New Orleans this next weekend. Evan will be flying out on Thursday the 8th and will come back on Tuesday the 14th.

Lacey has been looking for a job with no luck. There have been some promising interviews and great jobs, nothing has worked out. She has been busy developing her talents. She has been painting pictures to decorate our apartment with. She also has been busy sewing. She has made a few skirts for herself and the sister missionaries.

Saturday, April 3rd, Lacey's grandfather Bob Smith had what appeared to be a stroke. He has been battling cancer for a while. The stroke was so severe that the doctors decided not to attempt to stop the internal bleeding. At about 12:30 am Sunday morning, he passed away.

Evan drove Lacey to Tulsa to catch the 1:15 am Greyhound. She will arrive at 7:45 pm in Bemidji today. She will be in Minnesota for eleven days so she can be at the funeral. She then will catch the Greyhound on the 14th and Evan will pick her up in Tulsa Thursday, April 15th.

Our New Addition

Many of us have taken notice to the craze in America: the snuggie. I may have been a little bit jealous... but I kept that to myself and kept cozy with a blanket. That all changed when this showed up on our doorstep! Enjoy the photos:




Yes he is wearing a robe with his snuggie... why? Why not.




Now grab your own and snuggie up!