Hey Y'all!

Welcome to our little corner of the internet.

I am Tati. The voice/photographer/dreamer behind Smith Burrow.

I grew up in San Diego, but country San Diego. While most of my childhood was spent in manicured neighborhoods, by most formative youth years were spent on a sweet house on a beautiful acre, nestled against a hill and among more open areas in the North County of San Diego. Think rollings hills, horse pastures, and avocado trees. It was magic.

Fast forward to the end of 2012 where little crowds of people parted and I saw Ashton and we were reunited for the third time over a span of 9 years. It was meant to be. We are MFEO. We have been married for 11 years and have 4 kids. 

7 years ago, we moved to Arkansas. For the last 5 years, we lived in a quaint, quirky, and adorable house we dubbed the Fernstead. It was on 1/3 of an acre which was significantly more than we had with out little townhome. We could have probably happily lived there for the rest of our lives though, though we were getting a little cramped!

It was at the Fernstead that I, like all pandemic mamas, discovered my love of sourdough. And just like those reels we have all seen, sourdough took me down the rabbit hole - looking for ways to be more self sustainable. I really wanted chickens, but that was not allowed within city limits, so we tried quail. It was fun until we wanted to head back to Utah to visit family. Who wants to babysit quail? We lasted 9 months. I loved the tiny, speckled eggs and the trill of our rooster, but it wasn't the right time. I continued to make lots of sourdough though - all the loaves, pretzels, focaccia, cookies, scones. Sourdough is my favorite hobby. 

It was also at the Fernstead that I started homeschooling. Prior to becoming a full-time mama, I was a public teacher. Homeschool was only in my peripheral because my mom kept mentioning it. Then January of 2021 happened and we have never looked back. Also, four kids who are home all day everyday made our Fernstead very squishy.

But, I continued to dream of animals, of land where my kids could safely roam, of gardens that I am too intimidated to start, and away from the busyness of the "city" (though most of you would laugh if you saw just how not crowded Fort Smith is compared to so many other places. It is Arkansas, after all). 

4 months and a few days ago, we moved. Now we live on 20 acres (!!!!) where all my dreams can, and have already started, to come true. My in-laws area planning to build and join us here and my ultimate dream is to get the rest of our families to do the same.

Smith Burrow is our safe haven, a place where we can return to our roots - follow in the steps of my great grandparents as we make things from scratch and raise animals. This is where my kids will learn hard work and take pride in our animals. I can tell you that this is tough and constant work, but there is so much joy and satisfaction found in the small things we have already done. 

Follow along along here as I share it all - the good, the awful, the rough, and the beautiful!