SCHOOL IS OUT......AHHH FOR 3 WEEKS!

Well, today was the last day of school before Christmas break. I did get a bunch done while Todd kept the girls at home. Oh boy, what do I do with the kids for 3 weeks. Thank goodness for our little trip that will help in entertaining them.

Casey enjoyed wearing his pajamas for Pajama day today. Mitch was a bit too worried and embarrassed to wear his pajamas. He said, how will I do PE in pajamas. He worries about things not being right. Casey, on the other hand, had his pajamas set out last night next to his bed to put on this morning. They both had fun at their holiday parties and came home with a bunch of loot. They made such cute ornaments for the tree. I love that each one made an ornament with their picture on it. These are the ornaments I will love to look at 20 years down the road when I am still putting them up on our tree. The kids are ready for Christmas, that's for sure. I think we will do the gingerbread house this evening or tomorrow.

I have a few more items to get but for the most part, I am done. It's nice to be done and know that I will not have to hit the post office another time before Christmas.

I better go and fold the mass amounts of laundry that have been screaming at me since earlier this week. UGH!!

Busy Week, Busy Month. Good Mail,December Activities

I am still alive.......barely. This month has been a whirlwind for sure and it's not over yet. Here are a few photos to document life around here.


Here is the gift I came away with at our annual ward Christmas ornament exchange party. It is so fun and I just love the plate. It was so fitting for me and my house. I love to bake the cookies and the family loves to eat them :D.


Thanks Becca!! Here is some good mail that I got yesterday. How sweet of Becca to send me such cute surprises. It was so fun to open up a package before Christmas.


Here is our Christmas tree. I think Casey took this shot. We have many pictures of our tree this year :D. The kids love to take photos of it. It is still alive. I am happy about that. I love having a Christmas tree. There is just something about the soft glow of the lights on a tree at night that is just magical. I love Christmas time and all that goes with it. The hot chocolate, the music 24/7, the shopping, the secrets, the food, the treats and the anticipation that the kids all have.


Here is a picture of what we did on Sunday night. The bishop invited our family over to join in their annual Christmas sing along/ egg nog taste testing party. It was so much fun and such a nice party. Their tradition is to go around the room starting with youngest to oldest and pick a favorite Christmas song. We all sing the song and then the person gets to go light a candle. They told me this is a Scandanavian tradition. The bishop started by reading out of Luke which was nice and then the singing began. We had a great time and found a new tradition that we will do in our family. The kids enjoyed and sang right along with everyone. There was another family from our ward there as well so it was a good group. The egg nog taste testing was serious. They mean business. Very fun idea/tradition.


Here is what we did on Monday evening....went to see Santa at his house. I love it up here. There was no wait in line and all I had to spend was $5.00 to get a 5x7 picture of me and the kids with Santa. There are many bonuses to living in a smaller city.

Life has been extremely busy this month with so much going on and so much to get done that I feel I haven't been able to document my feelings of each activity the way I would have liked. Oh well, there will be a day when I have too much time on my hands I'm sure. Some of the activities this month that have kept me busy.......

-Relief Society Christmas Dinner - very nice. Todd joined me since the Bishopric was invited. It was really nice.
-Ward Christmas Dinner - made treats for.
-Emily's Preschool Singing Program
-Emily's Christmas party - made Sugar cookies
-Scouts
-Tithing Settlement
-Casey's party-Friday - bringing Orange Juice
-Christmas cards/Addressing and mailing
-Shopping, shopping and more shopping
-Making toffee and distributing to friends/teachers
-Trying to keep up on laundry. It's the folding/putting away that is killing me.
-Keeping Ellie from pulling down the ornaments that I thought she wouldn't reach.
-Helped a friend clean her house. It was an answer to my prayer. It was a really neat experience. I had asked in my morning prayer that if there was anyone that I could be of service to that I would know who and what I could do. My friend tried calling that day but wasn't able to get through to me. She called the following day and asked if I would come over and give her support and help her out in her house. I was so happy that she would call and ask and was more than happy to go and help her. In return, I was able to wash a huge blanket in her new front loading washer/dryer while I cleaned. It felt good to help another sister. :D
-Cleaning
-Working Out

I forgot to mention that our other addition to the house is a piano...not another baby. I have so enjoyed sitting down and playing. It is so fun to practice and practice and hear yourself get a little bit better each time.

THINGS I STILL HAVE TO DO IN DECEMBER:

-shopping - just a few more things. Does it ever end?? :D I love buying gifts.
-One more batch of toffee
-Dr.'s appt. tomorrow
-tons of wrapping
-clean house again and again and again
-pack up my family for our trip
-travel down South after Christmas to be with family for Mom's 60th b'day, New Years Eve and go to the USC game at the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. I am looking forward to the little vacation.

I better post this since I started it a few days ago. I will try and post as I go so there isn't so much to catch up on. I have just refused to stay up way late to blog since I get up so early in the morning.

Christmas Tree Outing

Why do I have the hardest time coming up with a cute title?? I hate that. Saturday night we put the kids in the car and were off to get a tree. Our drive to Home Depot is about 15 miles on the freeway and so naturally, Emily was out cold. It was nice for Todd and the boys to get out and pick out our tree. I think this is the first year since we have been married that I haven't walked on the tree lot and helped to pick out our tree. I was ok with it since the temp was reading 45 degrees. Em stayed asleep and the guys picked one out pretty quickly. We were off to run a couple of other errands and then stopped by Del Taco for dinner. It's great to feed a family of 6 for only $10.00. By the time we got home, the kids hit the sack and Todd brought in the tree. I love how much the kids get into picking out the tree and having to watch dad tie it on the top of the truck.

There was just enough time for Todd to go get YC (frozen yogurt) before they closed. :D I got on the treadmill while he made the run. It is so nice to have a treadmill right in the house. I will post about our newest additions to the home tomorrow....

This evening, once Todd got home from Sunday meetings, we had dinner and then decorated the tree. The kids just have a ball. I let them do it all. This year I didn't care how they were situated on the tree if it was even with one side or another. We all put ornaments on where we thought looked good and everyone was happy. They just love to put the ornaments on. I read the boys a Christmas story and then Mitch thanked me for such a fun night decorating the tree. I love that he is that way. He thanks us for things like that all of the time. I'm glad I am creating memories for them to remember forever. The ornaments are pretty much on the upper part of the tree. Miss Ellie Jayne girl loves to touch but has been pretty good about just looking and not pulling them off. I know it's coming. I'm sure tomorrow will be a different story. My eyes are tired and it's way passed my bedtime.

MY EMAIL :D

Here is my email address....stephiesmith@sbcglobal.net

Thanks for responding!! We are planning on getting out in the morning to attempt another photo shoot with the kids. Hopefully, while they are happy first thing in the morning. Emily and Ellie were in bed asleep by 7pm tonight so I can only hope Emily will be in good spirits for a picture.

I NEED ADDRESSES!!/Attempted pictures for our Christmas card...

PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR ADDRESS FOR CHRISTMAS CARD PURPOSES!! THANK YOU!

I attempted to take pictures this afternoon for our Christmas card. Why do I even try?? It was awful as usual. I always walk away from the scene so frustrated and angry inside. I'm not sure I can attempt another day at it. I may have to make one of the 40 shots work. Ellie was so grumpy, Casey and Emily kept looking to the side or away from the camera, and Mitty was great. Oh, it was frustrating. Now, I have a blistering headache and I still have a pack meeting with these kids to endure this evening. Wish me luck. I'm off to start dinner and get the boys under control.

Recap of Times Gone By/ Good Times :D

I'm so behind in posting my pics. There is so much going on and I have really kept busy pretty much for the last month. I will start with the most current and work my way back. My mom and dad came up last Thursday night to stay with us for a few days. They came to watch our kids while we attended a commemoration day for the temple on Saturday, Dec. 1st. Todd and I both went. Our Stake had been planning this day for a year. The temple extended the invitation to our stake since the 50th anniversary of the LA Temple was last year. It was about a 12 hour trip all said and done once we got back. It makes for a long day but worth every minute of being in the temple together. Thanks mom and dad for making it possible!!! Two of the wards in our stake did an endowment session together and then our entire Stake met together in the Solemn Assembly room for an hour. The temple president and his wife spoke and our Stake President. It was incredible to hear that many people singing The Spirit of God together in the temple. If your testimony was wavering at all, it sure wasn't after that. The stories the Temple President spoke of about the temple were so neat. Many facts about the dedication of the temple 51 years ago were spoke of. Many interesting bits of information that the different prophets of that time spoke of and prophesied. That temple is for us today in so many ways. The prophets knew that the LA temple had to be that big. It is the largest one of this dispensation. I wish I could get there more often. One of my 2008 goals will definitely be going to the temple more often. It is where I want to be as often as I can. The blessings that come from being there and doing the work of the Lord are tremendous. I don't want to miss out on any blessings. I know there are so many people on the other side just waiting for their work to be done. I don't want to make them wait any longer. It was a wonderful experience! I enjoyed being there with so many friends. It was so neat to see so many people that we knew in there with us. It was a little glimpse of heaven that really made me feel happy.

My mom and dad came up on Thursday night and so Friday we were able to do some work out in the yard. I had done a bunch of work prior to them getting there but my mom helped me plant the rest of the flowers that were waiting and some camilias trees/bushes that look so pretty. My dad broke up all of the nasty roots of some really ugly plants that were in our yard. It was so nice to get all of that bagged up and in the back of his truck. Our green waste bin is way too small for what all we had to put in. My dad hauled back the bags to his dumpster. Thanks Dad!! I sure hope your back isn't killing you. We made it look so much better and that makes me so happy when I look out the back windows.






I love this picture of Emily and Grandpa. She had to be right there with him helping with her shovel, rake and especially had to be wearing her gloves. That's my girl. She just loves Grandpa :D


My mom really did a number on the front but I haven't taken a picture yet. She did a wonderful job and I appreciate that so much!! It looks good. I sure hope I don't kill everything off.

We took a break from out in the yard with a good lunch at Taco Loco and a little ice cream from Doc Burnsteins. Emily was in heaven with it just being her and Ellie with me, grandma and grandpa.




Ellie was loving the ice cream and couldn't get enough.

While my mom was busy planting some tree/bushes, Emily and I did some housework. Well, more like laundry. I came out to the washer and dryer and found this little worker. She can do everything. She had the washer emptied and the clothes put into the dryer by the time I brought out another sorted load. Thanks Em for doing so much to help. There isn't anything that you can't do. She is so able. I love it!!


Here are some random pictures of Ellie in the refrigerator and the kids being goofy with Grandpa. Note: Emily's pajama's. She loves to wear her brothers jammies. I find it cute that she wants to do so much of what she sees them doing. When my dad comes to visit, Emily usually finds her perch right on his lap and can sit there for hours telling him stuff and playing games on his cell phone.


My parents went to leave on Sunday afternoon and there truck wouldn't start. Oh darn, they have to stay another night. That made Mitty's year. He was so excited. He kept saying, "this is the best day of my life" or this is the most awesome-ist day of my life." He was jumping up onto my dad hugging him. It was pretty cute. Mitty doesn't like good-byes and asks me all of the time why we have to live so far away from our family and cousins. It's sad since we lived so close at one time. The kids were happy and so was I. I love having family here. My brothers called later that night and said that they would come up and help my dad put in a new fuel pump since that is what they thought it was. They left right away and were up here by 10:00. It was so fun to have us all together again. The kids just love my brothers and were making sure they got their autographs before they left. Too funny!! Danny entertained us with the guitar. He is good. At one point, he had the kids sitting on the couch quietly, listening to him play some chords. Danny, I need you around more often. We had a great time with everyone. I had to bust out a batch of molasses cookies per their request before they left. I enjoyed having everyone here. Let's do it again soon!!

I better finish this post up in another post....it is getting too long. I need to get the kids ready for today. Emily is going on a fieldtrip to the tree farm today. She is so excited to ride the bus. How cute is that! Good day to all.