Christmas ~ 2013

Christmas morning *finally* came, and can I just say how excited we all were!  The kiddos even slept in a little bit, which was nice for Doug and I :).  

After much anticipation, we finally dove in and started unwrapping our goodies.  

Our elf, Elfie, decided to spend Christmas day with us, and he even let us love on him all day long.  Well, Kate was thrilled about this and pretty much took Elfie wherever she went.  She sure does love that little elf!

Noah had such a wonderful day and was so happy to get everything on his list :).  He got a Back to the Future lego set...

...a snow cone maker...

...AND a long board!  He was SO happy to have his very own longboard :).

Leah was overly excited about every little thing!  She requested some smelly markers (takes me back to my childhood!)...

...a Digital Makeover thingy, which is seriously the coolest little thing ever!  It looks like your putting on makeup, but your really not.  So cool, and non-messy!

...a jewelry box!

...and...

...and art kit!  She was beyond thrilled for this gift.  She is definitely by budding artist :).

Leah was also good at wearing everything she got and claimed the family game that we got as her own.    This gal LOVES to play games!

All Isaac wanted for Christmas was dress ups!  And he got what he wanted with a football uniform...

...and a Batman costume!  That was all Isaac really wanted, and he was so happy and wore it majority of the day.  He also got a Ninja costume and guitar, which he loves!

Kate had more fun watching everyone open their gifts than her own...go figure.  Although, she was happy with her new little flip phone.

And she took her precious little time opening every gift...this drove us all nutty ;).  

Santa brought her a new baby stroller, since our old one was broken.

And she also got a Build a Bear from Noah, which she loves...almost as much as Elfie ;).

Oh boy...these two were overjoyed all day long :).

They were even happy with their new toothbrushes :).

Christmas is such a magical time, especially when we get to spend it with these precious kiddos!!!!  They seem to make it all that much better!

And the kids had a blast playing with their goodies the remainder of the day!  So fun!

It was definitely a wonderful Christmas in the Smith household.  I think we're already looking forward to next year.  

Christmas Eve ~ 2013

We had such a magical Christmas Eve with my parents this year.  The kids have been SO excited to open presents, so I was thankful that they were able to get a taste of Christmas!  We were able to have a yummy dinner before the party really started, and then the fun really began!  Noah was grinning from ear to ear the entire time!  Doug and I kept telling him that all he needs for Christmas is his 2 front teeth ;).

Everyone got a turn to open their stockings from my mom.  Kate got this darling little apron...SO cute!  And she insists on wearing it often!  It was definitely a favorite :).

And Isaac LOVES to play dress up, and that's what he thought this face mask was when he opened it :).  Love him!

Then each of them had a turn to open their gifts from my parents.  Kate got an awesome pink tricycle and a fun music mat.  We all loved the fact that she spent her precious time opening each gift ;).

Leah was THRILLED with a nail polish kit!  Oh boy...this little gal is all girl!  She also got a darling little outfit for her doll, Charlotte.

Noah was so happy to get the big lego set that he has been eyeing.  

I was so happy to *finally* get the bedspread that I have been eyeing forever.  So pretty :).  And Doug got a coin card...pretty cool little thing!

Now...my dad is the *hardest* person in the world to shop for!  We usually just give him Amazon gift cards because we have NO idea what to get him!  Well, this year Doug came up with the idea to get him the Samsung Galaxy Watch.  My mom and I agreed and my dad was THRILLED!  We FINALLY got him something that he doesn't have and something he was excited about!  It's a pretty cool watch and was perfect for him!  I was happy to make his Christmas even better with this surprise!

And then the highlight of the night came.  My parent's gave Isaac his very own tablet, and Noah and Leah their very own laptops!  Holy cow...talk about SPOILED!  They even gave Doug and I a touch screen desktop computer.  We were all pretty thrilled and surprised.  We owe them big time!

Needless to say, it was a fabulous Christmas Eve.  The kids were even that more excited for the following morning.  

Christmas Sing

Noah and Leah had their Christmas Sing during the last week of school.  Noah was actually looking forward to it this year...he's not a big performer, but he enjoyed the songs that he learned this year.  And Leah...well, she eats this stuff up!  She was SO excited to sing her songs in front of everyone.  Her expressions made me smile and laugh...love that gal.  Each of them found me in the audience and were waving at Isaac, who was so tired and just wanted to go home and take a nap.  Thankfully, they both performed early on so that we could jet out of there and head home.  I really do love stuff like this and it was so fun seeing them sing with their grades :).

All bundled up...

It has been SOOOOOOO cold outside!  I'm definitely not a fan of the cold weather and will avoid it at all costs.  So, majority of the past 2 weeks has been spent inside...in my warm comfy clothes...under a blanket...drinking hot cocoa!  I honestly have only left the house if I absolutely have to.  This means that Doug has done most of the grocery shopping on his way home from work, which is fine by him!  He agrees that it's better I stay home with the kids since the roads are so slick.  Such a great husband I have!  

Well, the kids apparently have no idea what the cold means.  They all absolutely LOVE getting all bundled up in their snow gear and playing outside...and it doesn't even phase them how cold it is!  It's crazy to me!!!  Just thinking of going out there gives me goosebumps!  But, I guess I was the same as a kid...so, I guess I'm thankful that they are enjoying all of the snow.  

I'll enjoy watching them from inside ;).  I let Doug be the "fun" parent and go outside and play with them.  

How cute are my little snow bunnies!  Love them!!!

Santa ~ 2013

The kids have been looking forward to seeing Santa for a while now, so they were pretty excited when we decided to go see him the first week of December.  The weather was supposed to turn to the single digits the following day, so I was excited to go while it wasn't completely freezing outside!

To my amazement, all of the kids sat on Santa's lap and told him what they wanted with no problem.  I only have one picture of a child crying with Santa, and that was Leah when she was just a babe ;).

Noah asked for a longboard and some legos.

Leah was SO excited to finally ask for a makeup kit and a jewelry box.

Isaac was the cutest little thing and brought his little reindeer to show Santa!  He also asked for a Batman costume and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume.

Kate obviously didn't know what was going on and she was such a good sport to sit quietly with Santa for a quick picture.  And she's such a good little gal that she's content playing with ALL of the toys at our house and doesn't know what she wants for Christmas ;).

We were lucky enough to get a decent picture of the family too :).  Good times indeed!

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Little Helpers

Lately, Leah has been jumping at the chance to help with whatever I'm doing around the house. It was no surprise when I found her outside helping Doug rale up the leaves. I'm so thankful for her willingness to help...without whining!

And Kate is all about anything new, so she was thrilled when I let her help vacuum the kitchen. Best toy ever!

Thanksgiving ~ 2013

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year.  My favorite part was having the kids home from school for 5 days straight!  I seriously LOVE having all of the kids home with me.  They are my world.  

We decided to spend Thanksgiving day with my parents this year.  That meant that I was in charge of making all the food!  I was thankful that I didn't have to make everything for a ton of people...I can't even imagine how long that would have taken!  I actually really enjoyed spending the afternoon in the kitchen cooking up all the sides...and it smelled so good!  

Of course, I had to take a quick shot of the kiddos before dinner.  Man, oh man, they are so adorable!  

My parents showed up, and after a little while longer, we were ready to eat!  And we were SO hungry! We had no problem filling up our plates to the rim...everything looked so good!  

Noah and Kate were such good little eaters and ate ALL of their food!  Smart kids...it was yummy.

And then we had the joy of dealing with Isaac!  This child doesn't like to eat much at all...he was actually disappointed when he found out that main thing about Thanksgiving was eating dinner!  His response was, "but I don't like dinner!"  No surprise there!  Here he is, actually looking scared of his food!  Such a joke!  BUT, as soon as he actually tried his food, he liked it!  Oh boy...this child drives me nutty sometimes.  Good thing he's cute!

After dinner, we all sat back and relaxed...watched football....and laughed at Kate as she ran around with Isaac's spiderman mask on.  She knows how to make us smile :).

It was definitely a day that will be remembered.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Twins

Leah and Kate definitely have different personalities, but in terms of appearance, they look so much alike to me!  I will look at Kate all of the time and am reminded of Leah when she was the same age.  They have the same eye shape, face shape, smile, hair...it's crazy.  I took a picture of Kate in October that reminded me of a picture of Leah at the same age...I put them side by side...and there you go!  Twins!  I'm glad my girlies look alike.  They are so beautiful!

 

Halloween ~ 2013

Happy Halloween!!!

My kids have been looking forward to Halloween for quite some time.  Over the course of they year, they will randomly bring up what they want to dress up as...and then change their mind a bit after that.  It's always fun to see what they decide to be and then then the fun of making it real comes into play :).  

We started our Halloween off by going to the school parade to see Noah.  It was so fun to see all of the creative costumes!  Then we went in the afternoon to see the little parade for the afternoon kindergarteners :).  Cute kids!

Once the children came home from school, they wouldn't stop asking when they could go trick-or-treating.  The patience of these kids is close to none!  After waiting a few hours, we got dressed up in our Halloween attire so that we could attack the real meaning of Halloween...the candy!  But first, I had to take some pictures!!

Noah, the Jedi!  This boy has had his heart set on dressing up as a Jedi since last Halloween.  He's such a handsome Jedi too ;).

Leah as Snow White.  She was SO pretty...as she is every day, but, oh boy, this girl really takes my breath away :).

Isaac as a Spot, the puppy!  This boy has been waiting for over a month to dress up in this costume for Halloween.  Such a cutie!

Kate as a Ladybug.  And, isn't she the cutest little ladybug ever!!  Love this precious girl.

And I was successful in getting a picture of all of them together.  My kids are growing up way too fast! Love them to pieces!!

Carving Pumpkins

As in years past, we decided to carve our pumpkins on the eve of Halloween.  The children were *very* excited to finally carve their pumpkins...but it was proven that this little tradition is a lot more work than fun.  Here we are at the start of the night...all happy and ready.

Then the fun really started!  It took a while for us to finally empty the pumpkins, which was accompanied by a lot of "ewws" and "this is so nasty".  I was able to snap some pics of the kids with smiles on their faces though ;).

Then things turned a little south.  Noah could not decide what he wanted to carve on his pumpkin, even after a lot of ideas given to him by both Doug and I.  He didn't seem happy with anything that we threw his way.  And Leah wanted me to do some elaborate *thing* on her pumpkin...first it was Cinderella, and then Tinker-bell.  She wasn't happy by my answer, which was "no".  I didn't have it in me to do something like that.  After much discussion, Doug and I finally convinced them of what they needed to do, and all was well in the Smith household once again.  Although, I don't think I'm going to be doing this tradition next year...too much work!!

And Isaac proved to be the star of the show...he didn't fuss once about anything and was happy as can be the entire time.  Thank goodness for him this night.

And Kate was a total champ and just sat and watched us the entire time.  Love this little gal of ours :).

And here are the finished products.  Here's Noahs...

Leah's....

We have a tradition of always carving a Utah pumpkin, and I had it in me, after all of the drama, to do it.  I'm glad that I did :).

Smith Halloween Party

We had our annual Smith Halloween Party the weekend before the big day.  Doug was out of town to the Utah vs. USC game, so it was just me and the kiddos.

The food was obviously one of the highlights of our party, so I had fun making the veggie tray very Halloween-y!

We also had some other fun food...mummy wrapped dogs, courtesy of Andrea :).  And the chili and other goodies were so yummy!

All of the little ones all dressed up :).

I, of course, had to get a picture of Elizabeth and Leah together.

I also made some sugar cookies for the kids to decorate, which was a hit...as all sweets are with little ones :).  Noah, Leah, and Isaac had a grand time decorating their cookies, and Kate had a grand time stealing any cookie left unattended :).

Doug's mom's birthday was the same day as our party, so, of course, we had to celebrate her special day.  These grandkids adore their grandma so much! 

It was definitely a great day to spend with family!