[Merry Christmas 2013]

With such a late Christmas Eve....it was a slow start to our Christmas morning.  I woke up at 7:30 to find not a creature was stirring.  The Smith's always have breakfast together, so we knew that we had better get the girls going.  I went upstairs first to make sure Santa had come......

 Looks like he enjoyed the goodies Emmrey set out and he left her a note along with our Santa key, which we were thankful for.

 After the girls finally roused...they lined up youngest to oldest and made their way to the family room

 

We let them open their stockings while waiting for Grampa & Gramma to join us..

Santa was good to these girlies as usual....Bailee asked for NOTHING and got some shoes/boots, shirts/sweaters, a little makeup bag with [a little] makeup, Ticket to Ride [so much fun] and an Ipod which she was very excited about. Karsyn was brought a Guitar, 2 LEGO sets, Skylanders, Chinese Checkers, Snowshoes, sweatshirts and a Capitals Jacket.  Emmrey received a Bitty Baby, Roller Blades, Snowshoes, Art set, a box of 64 crayons [she so wanted these], a Puzzle Maker [top on her list] and Pit

It is fun to be able to give Grampa and Gramma their gift in person.  The girls gave them their photo book and calendar for the new year and we also gave them season tickets to Hale Centre Theatre along with my siblings.  

We didn't have much play time before we needed to get dressed and head over to Grandpa and Grandpa Smiths for breakfast.  We ate eggs and waffles and exchanged gifts.  We gave Grandpa a new Sweater and Tie, Grandma new scriptures and the girls gave them a photo book.  It was fun to spend some time visiting with everyone.

We left there in time to get to Jami & Scott's for brunch.  It always amazes me how you seem to find room for more food on the holidays ...even if you just ate.  We enjoyed Swiss Muesli, Homemade Cinnamon Rolls,and delicious breakfast burritos [they really outdid themselves] We got some good family time in and then headed back to my parents for a little more gift exchanging;)

We finished out the day with some LEGO building and game playing.  Among the games we played was a new one Bay received....Ticket to Ride...so much fun!!

We had a very Joyful day with our family in Utah.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS from our family to yours!!

Christmas Eve '13

I love Christmas Eve.....really even more so than Christmas day.  I love the anticipation and excitement that is still in the air.  I love the energy that seems to surround every task no matter how trivial.  I love the magic of the night as family gathers together.  I just plain LOVE it all!!  I also love that this year Bailee and I got to return to the Rescue Mission to serve dinner.  I really can't think of a better way to spend part of our Christmas Eve.  This time it was just the two of us along with my sister Jill's family.  It was another unique experience that we will both treasure:)

 We did a few other special things together and then picked up the rest of our clan to go see the Smith family at their get together.  Sadly, we did not have the camera, so no pictures were taken.  It was good to see Aunt Susan and Tori as well as Kevin and his kids.  We also were pleasantly surprised to find Trevor there, who we have not seen for a few years.  We had dinner [well we just nibbled a little] got our special handmade ornament from Sus [and Tanya this year] and listened to a story or two. After leaving that party, we headed back to my parents for the Fortie gathering.  We ate more yummy food and then Grandma read us all a story.  Not the traditional story of the Christ Child, but it was a good one too.

 There is always lots of playing and visiting and LOTS of noise...It sure is different than when we stay home alone every other year, but I wouldn't want it any other way. 

It is also tradition that we exchange gifts with Grandpa & Grandma [and cousins if we draw names]

{anxiously awaiting their turn}

You just never know what you might get with Grandma;)  We just know it's going to be unique!!  They boys got these really cool pillows that open up with a tray for laptops and snacks inside.

 The girls [daughters] all got beautiful scarfs of all different colors

 And the boys [son and son in laws] got these Christmas ties that play a song and Ear Bags [band-less ear warmers;] Ha

 

The girls ALWAYS enjoy spending time with their cousins

 

Bailee was especially excited to see this little girl.... who really took to her, which made her so happy!!

 It was a fun fun night.....late night ....but magical

 When everyone was on their way, it was time to get ready for Santa.  We saw that he was in Africa already, so we had to hurry.  We layed out our stockings and Santa key and Emmrey got right to work getting him and his Reindeer a plate ready.

 Lets take a closer look at her cute little notes.  I love how she is rationing out the carrots and 1 cookie;)  Oh and in case you didn't know...S.C stands for Santa Claus [they're close like that]

 The girls opened their gift from us......ta da.... PJ's and a book ...

Oh how surprised they were;)

Then we hurriedly tried to get those girls all nestled in bed 

[mind you it was nearly midnight by now]

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!!

Christmas in Downtown Salt Lake

We decided as a family to forgo a gift exchange this year and do a fun family activity along with our service activity.  Monday night we headed downtown to meet up with all those that could make it. 

The plan was to check out City Creek, grab a bite at the Food Court, and go ice skating at Gallivan Center.  Sounded like a reasonable plan to us.....

...and to every other resident of Utah apparently:)  Our quick bite at the Food Court turned into a lengthy line wait and the nearly impossible task of finding a table (a table for 5 was hard....let alone a table for 20) This is what dinner looked like....

 City Creek was a pretty neat place....now we just need to go back and actually see it:) 

It actually looks pretty calm from these views, but believe me it was not.

We headed outside to take a peak at the Macy's windows... this was about as close as we could get.

We broke away from the crowds and started for the Gallivan Center.  The little band playing Christmas music on the corner was just what I needed to help recover from the irritability that was setting in :/

Unfortunately, when we arrived we were informed that the ice rink was closed for a private party.  Somehow that failed to get passed on when Kris had called to verify hours and such just a few hours before.....ugh!!  We were all pretty bummed, but none more than Kars.  She had so been looking forward to this activity :(  We let them have some time playing in the snow, which turned into a little snowball action.

Most of them called it a night after that.  We wanted to attempt to see the windows again, but were no more successful than the first time.  We thought about venturing to Temple Square, but decided we had dealt with enough crowds for one night and this would be as far as we went.

 

We did stop in at the Grand America to check it out.  They also have window displays.  There were no crowds, it was warm, and the kids could complete a little quiz about each of the 10 windows for fun.

 The 2 little "creators" especially liked this one:)

 Even with all the obstacles, the night was not a BUST.  We got to spend time with those we love (which is never bad), we celebrated Kris's birthday ... Yep. Yummy cake right there in the food court, and we got to ride TRAX

And when it was all over, we were greeted at my parents home with this beautiful scene.  Now who wouldn't be in the holiday mood after that:)

Rescue Mission

We started off our trip with an opportunity to volunteer at the Salt Lake Rescue Mission.  Our little family, along with most of my extended family spent Sunday afternoon serving lunch to the homeless.  

I did not take pictures inside on purpose.  I really just wanted us all to be in the moment and not feel like I was somehow "exploiting" our time there.  It is an opportunity I do not take lightly and while I know that it made an impact on me, more importantly, I know that it affected my girls.  I can't express how much I value these experiences...they change your soul.  While I wanted to document this for our history, it is impossible to capture the feelings in words.  The true memory will be imprinted deep in our hearts.

Christmas Vacation

We will be spending the next week or so in Utah getting in lots of good family time;) We arrived on Saturday and were greeted by this beautiful mountain scene in Park City.....isn't it gorgeous?  A winter wonderland for sure.  We are looking forward to our little Christmas Vacation and lots of memory making.

Sister Gift Exchange

The night before we left for Utah, we decided to let the girls open their gifts from each other.  They use their very own money to buy their presents and we try to encourage them to pick something out on their own with real thought for the recipient.  As they get a little older it becomes easier to do this.  We wanted their gift exchange to be special and not get mixed in with all the other commotion....which is why we decided to do it on a separate night.  I love when they really think outside themselves and are more excited to give that special something.....

It is better to give than receive can be a hard concept for kids to grasp...some more than others;) But when they do it is the BEST!!

 Okay...here these two were just humoring me.  Turned out to be quite the shot!!

  They really do love each other...even if they do address their gifts to one another like this:)  Can't you just feel the heart behind that?

 We have not set a dollar limit yet, right now they just do what they feel they can spend.  The important thing is that they are learning to give. Their gifts this year included: LEGO building book and Wreck it Journal [from Bailee], Scarf w/ Fuzzy socks and Friend LEGO set [from Karsyn], and EOS with headband and EOS with Pokemon cards [from Emmrey]

Stampede Date Night

A couple of weekends ago, Kars and I had a date night.  She has been asking to go to a Hockey game for so long and I figured this would be the perfect date idea for the two of us.

Before the game we had time for dinner at Pizzeria Venti.  We like the food and atmosphere at this little place, but the service that night.....double thumbs down!! [I think I embarrassed Kars just a little;]

We headed over to the Events Center with plenty of time to pick our seats and people watch as the crowds rolled in.  I have never been a fan of Hockey games because they they seem to attract lots of people with little or no class...this game was no exception! But it was fun because I was getting to spend time with my Hockey Girl :)

The Stampede played the Colorado Jr Eagles, which was fun, but unfortunately the Stampede lost 2-3 [next time we may be rooting for the Eagles;]

I am sure this won't be the last of the Hockey games we get to be a part of;)

Candy Making

Although we didn't really have any reason to make a bunch of goodies this year, it wouldn't seem right to not make any candy. We decided this would be a good year to "cut back" a little and not give to all the neighbors and friends, so we took the candy to share in Utah instead.  It always sounds so good until all the treats start piling in and then it becomes too much.  Oh well, we had fun making them [and eating them]

 We made a few of our favorites which have become somewhat traditional.  I took over Cool Whip Balls, and Mark is our English Toffee maker [didn't get a pic]

 And the girls are great at helping with Belly Buttons;)

Sure wish it was easier to resist those yummy treats:/