Teamwork

We had a big snowstorm a few days after Christmas so Ryan took the kids outside to help him shovel. Good thing I bought a few extras this year, including one Austin's size (it was cheaper than a snowblower). They all worked together and got the job done in record time!

When the work was done we jumped in the van and headed to the local driving range for some sledding!

There was a firm layer of ice underneath the fresh powder and it was difficult to get the sleds and tube back up the steep hill. It took a little effort from everyone. After a few painful falls Ryan discovered he could lower the longest sled and "pull" the kids back up the hill. It was pretty brilliant.

The powder was so fine it flew into our faces as we came down the hill, and then it slid down our necks! Brrrr.

Smith Family Christmas Party

Another family tradition of ours is to have Christmas dinner with Ryan's family and then act out the nativity story and sing carols.

This year Austin was one of the wise men.

And Dallin and Eden were Mary and Joseph.

It's always fun to get together with so many members of our family during the holidays.

Christmas Morning

Austin came sneaking into our room around 7 in the morning and whispered, "It's Christmas time." I told Austin to stay in our room while I went in the kitchen to turn on some lights. When I turned around he was in the living room pointing at one of the surprises Santa left and said, "I want this one." I told him he had to wait and see who each gift was for. We rounded up the kids and made them wait upstairs until Dad was ready with the camera. Then, they were off...

Austin got a baseball shooting toy. He loves it. Unfortunately, later in the day Eden tried to hit the ball and whacked Austin in the eye instead. It's been purple ever since.

Eden got her own camera, finally. The girl has taken hundreds of pictures with mine.

Cameron got a toy veterinarian set. That's what she wants to be when she grows up.

Dallin got an Erector set he's been dying for. The kids were all pretty happy but there were still a few surprises, like this Diego backpack that Austin wore for the rest of the day.

Austin got Eden some Barbie clothes. It's nice to see the kids appreciate each others' thoughtfulness.

One of my favorite toys were these Marshmallow shooters. Not the most ideal thing to shoot around the house but it cracked me up.

We had a wonderful morning lying around playing with new toys and just being together as a family.

Christmas Eve

We always spend Christmas Eve at my mom's house with all my sisters families and my brother. There's always good food, great company, and presents.

With this many people crammed into one living room it's always a little chaotic. But it sure does get the kids warmed up for Christmas day!

Temple Square

Every year, the Saturday before Christmas, Ryan's brother and family go to temple square to see the lights. This year we were able to go with them. It happened to be an unusually warm weekend for December (somewhere in the 20's) which made it even more pleasant.

I'm always delighted by how beautiful the temple is surrounded by all the Christmas lights. It's just another reminder that thanks to Christ our families can be together forever. It's a wonderful place to celebrate the birth of our Savior and to be together as a family.

Christmas Piano Recital

Dallin and Cameron played the finale in their Christmas piano recital on Friday. They've been practicing this duet for two months. When they first tried to put the two parts together I groaned inside. I didn't think they'd ever be able to play it in sync. I was super surprised, and impressed, Friday night. They did a fantastic job.

Santa Clause

Santa came to Eden's preschool on Thursday and stayed outside for a little bit afterwards so brothers and sisters could meet him. It was all Austin and Eden talked about for the rest of the day.

Dallin's Birthday

All Dallin wanted for his birthday this year was to go play laser tag with his buddies and uncles. But I knew something else Dallin wanted...

First, the newest book in the Ranger's Apprentice series...

Then, some targets to go along with the bales of straw I've been collecting in the backyard (he was kind of confused at this point)...

Until he opened this! If you've read any of the books in the Ranger's Apprentice series you can appreciate how ecstatic he was to get this 60" recurve bow and real fletched arrows.

(Now we just have to learn how to string the bow. That's a job for YouTube).

He had a fun, but quick, pizza party with his friends and then headed off to play laser tag. Several of the Uncles showed up to play too and that meant the world to Dallin. Cameron was the only girl but she had a great time.

Five things I love about Dallin:

1. He is the most considerate person I know. He will always put others needs before his own without hesitation.

2. I can depend on him. He has been babysitting for us a lot lately and does a fantastic job. I get to come home to find the kids in bed, the food put away, and the house clean.

3. He's willing to try new things. Whatever I throw at him be it a new dish for dinner, a challenging sport (like a triathlon), a steep hike, or performing in a play, he's always willing to try and he always gives it his best.

4. He has a firm testimony of the gospel and Jesus Christ. He's not the first person to jump up and share his testimony but you can ask him anything about the church and he'll have a well thought out personal answer about what he believes. I'm often amazed at how much he understands and how well he can articulate things I didn't learn until I was in college.

5. He's just wonderful. When I found out my first baby would be a boy I was so nervous. I only had one brother growing up and I often misunderstood him and feel like I let him down. I'm no expert on boys and didn't even change Dallin's diaper until he was a few days old. In my heart I wanted my first son to be responsible, caring, helpful, and loving. Those were things I could understand, not cars, sports, and goofing off. For the past eleven years I've been thanking Heavenly Father for sending Dallin first. He is everything I asked for and more. He eased me into parenthood with his gentle personality, love, and patience. Austin is the boy I always dreaded but I find I enjoy his recklessness as an added spice to life. And, I can always run to the store and let Dallin babysit if I need a break from that crazy kid. What would I ever do without Dallin?

Pioneer Day Dance

Cameron reminded me at 9:00 pm on Tuesday night that she needed pioneer clothes for her class dance the next day and told me if I wanted to come watch it would be after lunch. (I have to confess she wrote it on a sticky note and left it on the counter for me to see because I kept telling her all day that I didn't have time to talk to her about it.) I frantically called some young women in the ward and fortunately found a shawl for her to wear. Wednesday was very busy but Eden, Austin and I managed to make it to the school in time to see Cameron and all the kids in her grade participate in the annual pioneer day dance. I remembered her telling me she didn't particularly enjoy the practices with her partner but I guess he missed school that day because she ended up dancing with one of her good friends. Then I stepped in and did a round with her which was really fun.

Kissing Santa

Eden confessed yesterday that she thought the Christmas song, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause" was really weird. She said, "I don't think anybody's mommy ever kissed Santa Clause. Do you?"

"Happens all the time," I said. She just scrunched up her face and shook her head.

Jammy Surprise

A few months ago I was shopping at the outlet stores and found some super warm, super soft Carter's jammies. I thought they would make great Christmas gifts so I picked some up for Cameron, Eden, and Austin. Well, a few weeks ago, when it started getting really cold, I realized the kids current jammies just weren't warm enough, or big enough (my kids never seem to stop growing). I discussed giving them their jammies early with Ryan and he agreed it was a good idea. He told the kids if they cleaned up all their toys before bedtime that we would have a surprise for them. I was sitting down working on Christmas presents when the kids came up after they were done so Ryan brought out their "surprises". There were lots of oooh's and ahhhh's and trying them on. It was great.

Finally, it was bedtime. Ryan sent them upstairs to brush their teeth and as Austin got to the top he stopped and very enthusiastically yelled, "These jammies are AWESOME!! THANKS DAD!!"

Wait a minute. I looked at Ryan and he started laughing hysterically. Why is it that I do all the work and all he has to do is hand it to them and he gets all the thanks? He thought it was great, of course but did explain to Austin that mommy bought the jammies just for him and I got a belated "thanks mom". It wasn't as enthusiastic as the first one though.

Just For Me

I've decided to try to make some space in my office to get some work done and while going through a large stack of papers on the floor I came across this...

I guess Eden had a lesson in her primary class on fasting. This picture she drew says, "I would fast for my mom if she had bee stings." Then she colored a picture of a tree house with bees and I imagine that's me in front. I really appreciate that she would be so concerned that she would fast for me if I happened to get myself stung by a bunch of bees.

First Snow

Yesterday we had our first big snow storm of the season. We got about a foot. I almost went off the road taking Eden to preschool because I could hardly see and I spent 3 hours shoveling the driveway and sidewalk. I also got stuck just taking Eden to a friends house. It was crazy.

Today, as soon as lunch was over, Eden and Austin headed outside. I'm so glad I took Austin and Dallin to get snow boots on Monday! It looks sunny and beautiful but don't be fooled it was about 8 degrees when I took this picture. They still lasted about two hours!

Peter

For Eden's birthday she got a cat. (It has a little something to do with the mouse we found running around in our bathtub at 2:30 am.) We spent a few days looking at different kittens. I knew this little guy was the right one for us because he was very patient as Eden and Austin took turns holding him. As we drove home with him sitting on Eden's lap I asked her what we should call him. We discussed a few ideas but I told her maybe we should wait until Dallin and Cameron were home to see what ideas they had. Eden says, "or maybe we could just call him Peter." So we did.

Peter has been a very good cat. He's incredibly patient considering how the kids handle him (especially Austin). Eden has taken at least 100 pictures of him. I narrowed it down to these two. I think he's actually "posing".

The other night we checked on Eden and found Peter sleeping above her head. He takes turns at night jumping in bed with the kids. He's tried ours a few times but was swiftly removed. This particular night I went back upstairs to check on Eden one more time and saw that she had actually rolled over and was sleeping on the cat. Like I said, he's very patient.

He's also very playful and will roll around with anything that's fuzzy. He's destroyed a few toy mice I've gotten him but has a particular fettish for a snowman ornament on the Christmas tree.

This morning Eden had him wrapped up in several blankets and was snuggling with him in the rocking chair. Did I mention he's a patient cat? He's been so easy to take care of and fun to have around but the best thing is... I haven't seen another mouse.

Crazy Kids