JOY to the world...

We hope you all had a FABULOUS Christmas this year! I still feel like I'm trying to play 'catch up' and now that the little ones are snuggled in bed I thought I'd post a few (or more than a few) of our Christmas festivities! They will mostly be photo collages (cause I always take WAY too many pictures) so strap on your boots and get ready for a picture 'overload'. Seriously....

*Click on any collage to see larger*

On our way home from Grandma and Grandpa's house we made a 'pit' stop at Bass Pro Shop in Altoona, Iowa and Santa was there! So, we had our 'white trash' santa pictures with road trip clothing on! The kids loved it and told Santa exactly what they wanted! I'm still not sure if they were naughty or nice this year!?!

And the annual building of the Ginger Bread house...

Dan's office had 2 Christmas parties. One was adults only with a nice sit down dinner. The other party was for the whole family. It was a fun night! Games, dinner, gift exchange, etc.

The tree has a story this year. I was talking to my mom and she was talking about how she decorated the tree without any of her daughters this year and that she was really sad about it. I told her at least it was going to look like a beautiful tree without little 'helpers' around that love to hang the ornaments in uneven/big clumps down low! She told me that someday I would miss that. Usually I do the lights (lots of them) and let the kids help with hanging ornaments and then when they are asleep, I rearrange the ornaments so that they are evenly spaced out. I think it's the little bit of perfectionist I have in me. Anyway, after I was done talking to my mom I decided to let the kids do the whole tree all by themselves. They picked out large colored lights (I like the little white twinkly ones) and they went thru my ornament box and picked out all the ornaments they wanted to use. The kids did the whole tree by themselves this year and they were so proud of it. It isn't the 'prettiest' tree, it's not color coodinated, but I actually really loved all the imperfections. And our tree is still up, I am dreading taking it down, it still smells delicious!

We had a night out at Chuck E Cheeses' with the kids from our play group and we decided to make it an 'informal' birthday party for Olivia! It's always a fun time and a big waste of quarters! A fun thing to do during Christmas break!

This year, Christmas Eve was a little bit sad because it is the first year we haven't been around family. I woke up that day feeling a little bit down and was worried because I had yet to feel the Christmas 'Spirit'. We still had a wonderful day. The kids picked our dinner menu. They wanted Crepes. So we had our Christmas Crepes and Dan made his own bacon. He bought the pork belly, brined it in a 'rub' for a week, and smoked it in the smoker. It was the best bacon we've ever had. Dan is a total bacon connoisseur, anyone who knows him knows that, and he also said it was the best he's ever had! After dinner we read our usual Christmas stories, played Christmas songs on the piano, sang songs, unwrapped the traditional PJ's, put the kiddos to bed and Dan and I got to work! It was a Santa's workshop til about 1:00am. By the end of the night, I realized that the Christmas Spirit had finally found me!

Drum roll please.....

CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!

The thing I love best about Christmas morning is how 'magical' children make it! We had the perfect day. Everyone was healthy, we knew all our family was happy and surrounded by love, and we felt very blessed to have had a fabulous yet crazy year. We were especially grateful for the true meaning of the day. The day Christ was born and for all that His life means to us. Now is the time to take down all the garland and stockings from the fireplace mantle, I only hope that we can all feel the Christmas 'giving' spirit all year. We are grateful for all the friends and family in our lives and we love each and every one of you!

Pheww....you made it to the end! You deserve a prize for your endurance! Thanks for looking!

My baby turns four...

It's absolutely crazy how busy we have been the past few weeks. The term 'hustle and bustle' of the year is a complete and utter understatement! I just realized that it has been close to a month since my last post, which is unusual for me since I try to post every week or so. It really is the most wonderful, but busy, time of the year. I will cut out a few posts that I had planned on doing, but I HAVE to make time to post about our little Liv's 4th birthday! Dan took my car to work today and since I am stuck at home, I am taking advantage of the computer while the kids are entertained with a Christmas movie on TV. Although it's not like I don't have anything to do...laundry, last minute Christmas cards addressed, haircuts for the boys, cleaning, baking goodies for neighbors and friends, wrapping gifts, etc. etc. etc....

But before Christmas sneaks up on me, I wanted to get Olivia's birthday post done. So here it goes...

Her Birthday was on a school/work day so we had to rush our morning, but we still had time for the 'traditional' breakfast in bed.

This is a girl who knows what she wants...She was VERY specific on what she wanted for Breakfast. Blackberries and bananas, plain toast with butter only, and Lucky Charms. At least she can make decisions, something I have a very hard time with! After Breakfast she opened her 'one' gift. The kids always get something to wear for their birthday. She loves sweater dresses. She would be happy if she never had to wear jeans another day of her life. Like I said...opinionated!

We took the boys to school and the class sang 'Happy Birthday' to her which made her feel special. Then it was date time with her and I. We went to Target to spend her birthday money from Nana, then we went to Dad's office to show off her birthday crown to everyone, then we went out and sipped on some hot cocoa (her favorite treat). It is always fun spending some good quality time with her. I love our 'girl-only' mornings!

Later that night we had our family party. We had Coley and Jason over for dinner, cake and presents! She was completely spoiled once again. She got some very cute things...THANKS to everyone who gave her a gift, the thank you cards are in the mail!

Click here to see the post from her 2nd birthday. It's amazing how quickly time passes. I feel like I just made that list of things she has taught me. Of course, most have stayed the same, but there are also a few new ones to add to the list. This little girl seems to be the final piece of our family's puzzle. She makes us complete and I'm so blessed that she is ours. We all can't get enough of her. Well, at least most of the time! Her and Jack are still like water and vinegar. But I keep hoping that one day they will be best of friends! Only 15 months apart...it's bound to happen, right?!? I prayed and prayed for a little girl and I got her! Attitude, sweetness, drama and all!

I think all my kids have picked Red Robin for their birthday dinners at one point or another. Of course, I think they just like the balloons, and the fact that they get a song sung to them with their birthday Sundae!

And for reminiscent purposes, here are Olivia's Birthday photos from the past!

Starting with her real 'BIRTH day'....

I have said this before, but the first moment you see your baby for the first time is hands down the best moment in the world! I get teary when I see this picture...I wish I could go back and have that feeling again. Thank goodness for photos that can bring you back to those sweet and precious moments.

Her first birthday...

it's my party I can cry if I want to...

Her second Birthday...

Can't get enough of her baby blues!

Her 3rd Birthday...

Okay, you can stop growing any time now! Thanks Olivia for making the past 4 years so much fun! I love all the pink, spunky, frilly, sweetness you bring to our lives (and the sassiness too!). We love you to the moon and back!

A week full of Thanks....

-God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today,

have you used one to say "thank you"?

- William Ward

We've had a lot to be thankful for this past week.

First off, it was Dan's Birthday! We are definitely thankful for him! We took him to Buca di Beppo, his favorite restaurant for a delicious dinner. And he chose Peanut Butter Cookies instead of a birthday cake. (Don't you love his plaid pj's?!) Happy Birthday Danny Boy, we LOVE you!

For Dan's Birthday gift he got a ticket to go to the Oregon/Cal game with my dad, pops Smidt, Jess, Jason and Shawn. It was definitely a 'guys' weekend and they all had a great time. Everyone knows what a BIG fan Dan is of Duck Football so it was a good thing they were victorious! (still undefeated) He kept saying it was the best week of his life having the Duck's ranked at #1 in the BCS polls and also that the McRib was back at McDonalds. (yuck) What a nut! The game was special for Pops Smidt too because he actually used to play for Cal Bears back in the day! So they were able to walk thru campus with pops and learn some history about his college days.

We made the long drive to Illinois for Turkey Day. We were so lucky to have dry roads the whole week, which made the trip nice and easy. The kids were fabulous and we found a couple of good hotels (one with an indoor water park), so they were in heaven. I'm just so thankful that we have a DVD player in the car, I think that makes all the difference! We had such a nice time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was so much fun to have everyone all together, it's been a long time since that has happened. Dan's brother and his family are back living in Illinois after living in Japan and France for the past 7 or so years. So it was really nice having all the cousins around to play and get to know each other better. They are all best buds now! I also had a great time hanging out with my cute nieces and nephew! Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for the wonderful week! And all the DELICIOUS food! By the end of the week we were back to wearing our elastic sweats!

I know we all try to be thankful all year round, but I really love that this time of year we all take the time to reflect on what we have all been blessed with in life. It's great to just pause and have a whole day of Thanks. I am so thankful that we had such a great Thanksgiving week.

(click on collages to enlarge)

Favorite Picture of the year...

I just finished making our Christmas cards on the computer and as I was scrolling thru the past year of pictures, I found my favorite picture of the year, it makes me laugh every time I see it.

I just love Jack!

This was taken in Steamboat Springs, CO.

Let it snow!

The weatherman said there was a chance of snow this afternoon and I checked the temp and it said 60* around lunch time, so I figured he was just about as accurate as every other weatherman and didn't believe him. We came home from school with no coats, and within 40 minutes, the weather dropped 20*. The clouds started rolling over the mountains and BOOM....snowflakes started to fall. The kids were extremely excited, and I was....well, I was so NOT excited. I am not ready for the cold, wet, winter weather. I like it in the mountains, but hate the hassle of driving in it. But it was cute to see the kids excitement. So, in the kids' minds, this is the highlight of our week.

The kids played outside for a few minutes while I finished making dinner.

I sent the kids upstairs to get their snow stuff on while Dan and I cleaned up after dinner. We had this much snow fall so quickly! But please notice their choice of 'snow attire'. Jack's just cracked us up! That kid sure has an imagination!

They came inside and were so cold, so we warmed up with some hot chocolate. Automatically they started asking how many days until Christmas. The snow always lets them know that Christmas is always right around the corner. So, we made the traditional paper chain.

Excited for Christmas?? We are!

Only 45 days or 1,082 hours or 64,967 minutes 'til Christmas!!

Sugar Sugar....

I am so exhausted. We had an extremely busy week chock-full of all things Halloween! I am seriously in a 'fun-sized-candy-bar' induced coma. Let's just say that the 7:00am alarm this morning came WAY too early. I had a love/hate relationship with my snooze button this morning. I'll spare you all the details of the week, but just know that there were a few too many parties, and WAY too much candy involved. I think my kids will be on a sugar high til next Thursday.

The cast of Super Mario Brothers!

Jack as Luigi - Olivia as Princess Peach - KJ as Mario

no re-takes this year...

When I try to take pictures of my kids....I usually get something like this:

Where they are not paying attention.

And sometimes something like this:

Where they are trying to be silly.

When what I usually really want is something in between the two!

So when Jack and KJ had school pictures last month, I was a little bit worried that they would sport their infamous 'cheesy' smiles. Well, we got the pictures back last week and I was pleasantly surprised! They actually turned out just fine! Pheww...no re-takes this year! Yay for OTHER people taking my kids' pics!

Jack - Kindergarten

Keaton - 2nd Grade

So Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles....look for these to be arriving in your mailboxes soon!