Christmas '08

Christmas was a BLAST! Filled with fun family members, great food (thanks for all your help!), and many memories! My Sister, Laura and her family, and my Brother Nate, and his family came to spend the holidays with us - thanks guys!
Some highlights:

*Little boys in dress ups - who altered their identities and referred to each other by their alter egos: BUZZ, HULK, and PUPPY (or princess=).

*Ski Trips - Talie & Dallin's 1st time snow skiing. They went with Nate & Katie and had a blast even though it was only 3 degrees outside!

*Acting out the Nativity - Reading the Christmas story from the Bible. But our Mary & Joseph don't always get along.

3 Pink, toddler wise men:*And an angel who declared good tidings of great joy to 2 little shepherds who weren't the best listeners.

*Kennedi's 1st Christmas, at least that she took an active part in. A visit from Santa.



*Yummy Food! Big Christmas Eve Dinner and Christmas Day Mexican food and Snacks.

*Hot tub sits, Cold Weather - yet no Snow, Hair Cuts, Fear Factor, Games, Strep throat, 4 Dr. Visits - thank goodness for Antibiotics!

All in All, We had a BLAST! And are glad everyone came! Merry Christmas!!!

Hey Santa!

This year, we got to see Santa at our ward party and discovered a few things. Dallin thinks he is officially too big to sit on Santa's lap, but will shake his hand. And Peyton will accept candy canes from strangers, but doesn't know who that red, hairy guy is and why in the world should he sit on his lap! We also got to see real live reindeer, but discovered that comet isn't as friendly as he looks.

Peyton, taking the candy cane and running.

Talie, happy to tell Santa everything on their list, and Kennedi, just happy to be here.

Ashy, super excited to see Santa!


Dallin, ending his wish list with a gentlemenly handshake.

Introducing . . . John Cabot

Talie wrote a report on John Cabot. Who, for those of us who do not even know who he is, was an Italian explorer who sailed for England and landed on the NE shore of North America. Not much is actually known about the explorer - even by historians, but she worked hard and completed the report, complete with a model boat. The second part of their report was a Live Wax Museum, where parents were invited to come, walk around and look at the models they had created, and listen to the students (dressed up as the explorer) as they shared their life stories and adventures. It was a great idea, and Talie worked hard and succeeded! Go Talie!

Talie's fellow explorers.

My Baby's ONE!

So Wednesday, our baby turned ONE! It's amazing how time flies! She has been so fun! Everyone loves her. Even Peyton asks where she is if her nap goes a little long. Here are her stat.s for the year: She weighs in at 17lbs.4oz. (Now at what age is it no longer ok to list her weight=)? and stands (or lays) @ 29 1/4" tall. This leaves her 3% in weight and 56% in height. She still does her gimp crawl, but her little vocabulary is growing to include: mommy, dadda, baby, Ashy, Talie and Dallin (which sound the same to me), uh-oh, anana (banana), peekaboo, doggy and puppy. So she may not be an athlete, but we can hope for a . . . debater . . . or something. Her favorite things are her binki, giving kisses, the basement, the loft with polly pockets and doll house toys, loud music, dancing, peekaboo, baths, Mom, and pulling absolutely everything out of every cupboard she can get to. I like to call her our little tornado. She just comes in, picks things up, and moves them to new places.

I was all excited for her to blow out her own candle, because we practice blowing on our hot food. But instead of blowing she wanted to go for the candle . . . .

OK., I know what you're thinking, isn't this her 5th? Yes, I should have known better, but none of the others have gone for the candle. And I was busy playing photographer.

Luckily, there were no marks and she quit crying in time to enjoy the cake and get excited about her presents.

She celebrated her 1st Birthday party with her family and Aunt Kim, Uncle Jeff and cousin Morgan. For her 1st Birthday cake, we went more for flavor than appearance - caramel fudge cheesecake. And by the looks of it, we succeeded!

Thanksgiving 2008

This year, the week of Thanksgiving Celebrations began with a cute pilgrim play put on by Ashlynn's kindergarten class, where she played the very important role of an Indian woman, and her lines consisted of, "shhh".
Wednesday morning the kids were huge helpers and helped me clean and get ready for company. I'm thankful for my big helpers. Then, since it was about 60 degrees outside, we ran to the park and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather. I'm grateful for children who still enjoy going to the park, and for my older three who find joy in playing with Peyton and Kennedi. We then began baking the goodies: cheesecake and pumpkin pie - I'm thankful for sweets. Afterwards, Dallin and I ran to Sam's Club to get the few last things on our list - he sat in the cart and ate pizza and a berry shake as I raced around (with an extra 75lbs. in the cart) filling the cart, trying to beat our guests home - I'm grateful for one-on-one time with my kids. Then people began arriving at 6:30. Grandma and Grandpa Smith, Scott, Bart and Holly, and Shannon, Hailey, Andrew and Aaron and Indie came from Idaho and Utah. I'm grateful for family that will drive a long ways to spend Thanksgiving with us. The week was filled with card games, movies, kids playing, hot tub sits, great baby news! water plant tours, the Aquarium, pizza, Imaggiano's, laughter, snowball fights, and lots of good food! As we sat down to Thanksgiving dinner, Aaron (5) spontaneously started praying - I guess the food looked so good he couldn't wait any longer=). Then we all said what we were thankful for and the spirit of gratitude filled our home. I am thankful for Thanksgiving and how it helps my family and I remember our loving Heavenly Father and all the blessings that he so graciously gives to us.

The 1st Snowfall

We had our 1st snowfall this morning, and there is just nothing that compares to waking up to a white wonderland! Fresh, clean snow that is just begging to be tromped through. We all jumped out of bed to search for our clothes from storage and throw them on! Unfortunately, by the time I got everyone dressed, the first ones were already cold and coming back in to get warm, so I didn't have time to get bundled up and take the prize-winning photos I had hoped for. (Instead I get one of Peyton, coming back in cold and grumpy)
Last year the first two times it snowed, we weren't aware that school was delayed an hour, so this time I made sure to check the website. Thinking we had an extra hour, we made cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate and had a nice relaxing morning, only to realize that we were actually an hour late for school. Oops! oh, well, the memories are more important than perfect attendance, right?

The Double Date

Last Friday night, Benson and I went on a double date with Talie and Dallin to the Nuggets/Mavericks game (that's basketball, for those that don't know). First of all, Jeff volunteered to babysit so that we could go - thanks uncle Jeff!
We started the evening off by riding in the Denver light rail, where Talie entertained the other passengers by doing flips on the handrails and Dallin entertained them by, well trying to do flips on the handrails=). We got off and went to find our tickets (company tickets that were upgraded to 4 seats together on the 7th row!) The seats were great, but the kids were only interested in Rocky the mascot and even got to pet a real live, baby tiger. The game ended with the Nuggets winning by 1, and we look forward to many more double dates!

The seats were great, but the kids were only interested in Rocky the mascot and even got to pet a real live, baby tiger. The game ended with the Nuggets winning by 1, and we look forward to many more double dates!

The baby tiger Talie and Dallin got to pet


Ashlynn has a CD of nursery rhymes and fairy tales that she likes to listen to, so she curls up on the oh-so-comfy granite counter top and listens to them in the kitchen CD player.
Peyton can't miss out on the fun! If any one is laying down, it's TACKLE TIME!



I can tell Kennedi is going to be a problem solver already. She's still lacking in the hair department, so she decided to take matters into her own hands and take care of the problem.

She's obviously happy with the results, and they sure are a lot cheaper than extensions!

Good Kisser!

So Kennedi has become quite the kisser! And of course, everybody wants one from her, but you never quite know what you're gonna' get. So when you say, "Kennedi, give me a kiss." You may get a pucker, an open mouther, or even a little tongue. It reminds me of the good ole' college days when I came home from my first kiss date (not 1st date=) with Benson, and my roommates interrogated, "Was it a peach, a plum, or an alfalfa?" - Kennedi is definitely an alfalfa!

Ok., so I guess we still like to kiss, just nobody's interested in interrogating us anymore=).

October

Ok., it's been about 5 weeks since I have blogged, and for most bloggers, that could only mean 1 thing, that they are dead. Thankfully that is not the case, we are still well and alive! October has been a whirlwind! It started with the kids being tracked out for two weeks. We kept busy hanging with friends, bowling, concocting Halloween treats, carving pumpkins, decorating for Halloween, celebrating Benson's birthday, tying quilts for project Linus, planning our costumes, trips to McDonalds, swimming, and being monkeys at jungle quest (thanks Erika). The kids then went back to school for a week which ended in the big Halloween celebration, complete with a parade, classroom parties, and a night of trick-or-treating and candy trading and gorging (what isn't there for a mother to love about Halloween!)

Happy Halloween!

Wow, this crew is big enough to scare anybody! Atleast make them afraid they didn't buy enough candy.

Kennedi was Rudolph (all the others were at this age, but she didn't fit into the full costume because she's so tiny, so we settled with the antlers and a pink sweater), and the entire night was spent with me putting the antlers on and Kennedi tugging them off.

Peyton and his cousin Morgan are obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so we thought it would be cute if they were Mickey & Minney and trick-or-treated together. Aren't they adorable! We sure have enjoyed having them close.

Ashy was a (toothless) cheerleader. She couldn't get over the fact that she could actually wear makeup!

Dallin decided to be a BYU football player (with two cheerleaders by his side). He's my little spooky decorating buddy - we had so much fun stringing cobwebs and setting up headstones - I can't wait 'till next year to do it again!

Talie(with her BFF Megan) was also a cheerleader - The SRE stands for Saddle Ranch Elementary - great school spirit; Gooo Talie!

The morning started out with everyone getting dressed up and ready for the parade, which was really exciting because we didn't celebrate Halloween in school in NC.

The weather was beautiful, and it was so fun to watch for Talie, Dallin, Ashlynn, and other friends in the big parade! Then off we went to 3 Halloween parties.

After that we drove up with Kim and Morgan to meet Benson & Jeff in Golden for lunch to celebrate their ONE-YEAR-ANNIVERSARY of owning Treatment Technology! Way to go Benson! After 11 years you still amaze me! I can't believe it has been a year! I guess it's like they say, time sure flies when you're having fun! Afterwards, we met the kids at school and came home to the begin the big night of Trick-or-Treating!


Poor Mickey was so tired after such a full day that not even the sugar he overdosed on could keep him awake.

Pumpkin Carving

I love the holidays and all of the fun things you get to do as a family to build traditions and create memories. When Talie and Dallin were really little and we first started carving pumpkins, the pumpkin guts grossed them out and they wouldn't even put their hands inside - one of my biggest disappointments as a mom=). But now they've outgrown that, and even drew and carved their own faces.






The kids had friends over and made witch's hats, li'l jack-o-lanterns, and witche's fingers.

Benson's BDay.

The kid's were out of school on their fall break on Benson's Birthday, so we all loaded in the car and drove up to Evergreen to meet Dad for lunch. We went to Beau Jo's pizza where the kids filled up on pizza and fed the ducks (that live in the creek behind the restaurant) 1/2 their food- I'm not sure who ate more, the kiss or the ducks=). Then we lit a small bonfire on the scotcheroos (his Bday cake). He blew out the candles after a few huffs and puffs and is officially 34 - that sounds old, boy am I glad that he robbed the cradle!

History . . . by Dallin

So tonight, Dallin and I were reading Tuck Everlasting - one of my all time favorites - and he started using a half southern/half hillbilly accent when he was speaking for the characters. I asked him why he was talking like that, and he said, "That's how they talked then. In the olden days, that's how they all talked back then."

The other night, he was asking me questions about when I was younger, and asked me if there was color back then. Completely confused, I asked him what he was talking about. He said, "You know, like in the old movies that are black and white, because there was no color back then. Everything in the whole world was just black and white." Even as I tried to explain that it was just black and white in the movies, but the world was full of color, he didn't believe me because it was on TV and, well, we all know if it's on TV, it's gotta be true.

Funny Girls

Ok., a couple weeks ago I posted a blog about Kennedi crawling. Which she is continuing to do, but I guess I need to clarify when I use the word crawl. She can get anywhere she wants, but she has her own way of doing it. She takes both her front arms and sort of hops forward with them landing at the same time, like a bunny rabbit, and then crawls with her left leg and drags her right leg (still in sitting position) forward, and then starts the whole process over again. She's kind of half rabbit, half turtle - so I guess she ends up at with an average speed between her front and back ends. Here is a video - not the best, but it's a pretty cute crawl.



One of the things I enjoy most as a Mom is watching my children enjoy each other (maybe because it's so rare=) The other day, Talie took a handful of chocolate chips and placed one on the kitchen floor in front of Kennedi, who instantly put it in her mouth - of course. Then
Talie scooted back and placed another chocolate chip on the floor - which, again, was quickly gobbled up. Talie continued to go around the whole house, with Kennedi closely behind. The end result was a very happy Kennedi. And, who says chocolate doesn't make a girl happy?

Ashlynn is known in our house for her little one liners that keep us laughing. She loves princess movies (ok., I know, what little girl doesn't), but Snow White used to be her favorite. She would watch it and when the wicked Queen turned into the old lady, Ashy would hide behind the couch and peek around the side to catch little glimpses. The other day, she asked, "Mom, witches are extinct, right?"

She also lost another tooth and asked, "Mom, is there really a tooth fairy?" I asked her why she wondered, and she said, "Well, I was thinking, parents stay up late, and they could just put the money under the pillow."

Ok., one last one. The other day, she said, "Mom, I know what you and Dad do every night after you tuck us in. You watch movies and eat candy." Boy will she be disappointed when she becomes a parent.

Although Ashy is funny, she is not the only one that makes us laugh. We went four wheeling a couple of weeks ago for FHE. We went to Rampart Range, which is full of dirt trails meandering through trees - kind of a natural forest area. We got out of the car, and Talie looked around and said, "Mom, this is cool, but who would plant a bunch of trees in the middle of all these four wheeler trails?" Yes, her hair is naturally blond.

My little genius =)

Ok., so I know that everyone thinks their kids are amazing. And don't get me wrong, I love my kids and think they're definitely great, but I am also a bit of a realist, and realize that they will never be the next Einstein, or Michael Jordan. Knowing this, I thought it would be fun to teach Peyton, my two year old, the answers to generic questions that people will ask him in the grocery store or in the halls at church. You know the ones, they don't really expect him to answer, and then when he answers them and answers them correctly, he'll not only knock their crocks off 'em, but he'll also appear to possibly be the next - I don't know - John Grisham. It was a fun little project, and I hope you will enjoy the results as much as we have. (I have to end by saying that we have enjoyed hearing his answers so much, that he has gotten to the point that - after the 5th or so time - we'll ask him a question, and he'll just look at us and say, "No."=)


By the way, he usually gets the last question right, maybe just suffering from a little stage fright.

Indianna JOOONES!

Peyton has seen a few of the Indianna Jones movies with us on family movies nights, and is quite hooked. After the last viewing, he came home and was ecstatic to discover that we had a real, live, Indianna Jones' HAT! (a cowboy hat from last year's Halloween). Now he runs around the house with it on, telling everyone that he's, Indianna Jooones. Then he will put the hat on Kennedi and say, "Kenneni like Indianna Jooones!"

Ashy turns 6!

When Ashy turned 4, Benson used to say that she would always be his little 3yr. old. Well, now she's 6! Crazy how time flies! For her birthday, she came home from morning Kindergarten and made her very own birthday cake (with only a little help from Mom), and then we went to Chick-filet for dinner with Aunt Kim, Uncle Jeff, and Morgan, and came back home for her delicious birthday cake and presents!

Yummy Cake! Chef Ashy! (Mint Chocolate Brownie Trifle)

The thing Ashy wanted most was a robe. (And Uncle Jeff, in the background, is excitedly waiting to see what Ashy will open next!)

Right before Ashy blew out the candles, she lost her 3rd tooth. What a great day: Chick-filet, birthday presents, AND a visit from the Tooth Fairy!(And a great day for mom, she got to pull it out=).


My kids think they get a family birthday and a friend party. Aaahh, we've created a monster! Ashy had a Camping Birthday Party. She made little tent invitations, Dad set up the family tent, and we told ghost stories, roasted hot dogs, smores, made mud pies (complete with worms), and went fishing for goody bags.

Mmm Mmm, mud pie!