Happy New Year!!

This year, we decided to welcome in the New Year with a BANG! For the first time, we decorated for New Years, and it was so fun! We just took down all of the red and green and strung clear lights all over everything- I couldn't get enough! We lit candles and had gold balls everywhere - so fun! We had a bunch of families over to celebrate with, and if this picture seems busy, then, that's how the night was! The kids all played around the world ping pong, Quelf, Balderdash, karoake, hide and go seek in the dark, and watched a movie, while the adults visited and played Apples to Apples and the sign game - apparently you need alcohol to get adults to agree to karaoke=), because we couldn't get anyone to take on to the idea. We ate all night, including an ice cream bar. Believe it or not, but the evening went so fast we forgot to make our party hats and barely got the sparkling cider poured in time for the count down. And, we finished the night with some loud fire works that we picked up the last time we drove through Wyoming. Happy New Year!!

Poor Kennedi! She was so tired, she tried so hard to stay up for the party, but crashed, sitting up in her chair trying to eat her ice cream, about 11:15pm.

Talie and her BFF Megan and Erika Glatt.

Ashy, with her posse, Chelsea and Madison.

Dallin and his buds Aaron and Ryan are in the background and Megan and Emma are checking out the ice cream.

Merry Christmas 2011

Christmas was preceded by our Christmas Eve dinner. Of course, yummy ham, potatoes, rolls, and our favorite jello pretzel salad. We then went down to the stage to perform the Nativity (directed and produced by our very own Ashlynn Smith - a little chaotic, but all the important parts were there). Grandma & Grandpa Smith and Kim & Jeff came to celebrate with us.

Then it was time for an early bedtime - we put out Santa's goodies, of course, and opened Christmas pjs. It is pretty fun now that Talie and Dallin know about Santa - they get so excited to stay up and help us get ready for the big day. They are cute and cut our time in half!

At 5:00am, Peyton, who is always the last one awake in the mornings, woke up all of his siblings - except Tanner - phew, and came running into our room to ask if he could see if Santa came. We climbed out of bed and everyone went through their stockings. Santa was too lazy to wrap presents this year, so they all played with their present from Santa. Since Christmas was on a Sunday this year, we saved the rest of the presents until after church, and Benson and I went back to sleep until it was time to get up for 9:00 church. It was a wonderful day just to spend together as family and, as always, kind of sad for the whole holiday to be over. Merry Christmas!!

Although Tanner missed some of the festivities, he did join in on the rest. He was more interested in eating the paper than what was inside.

Talie & Dallin opening up tickets to a Brian Regan comedy act - that was the present I was most excited for them to open.

Christmas Break 2011

Over Christmas Break, we had lots of fun! We . . .

sang lots of karoake,
played lots of ping pong,

attended white elephant parties - complete with a Lobster white elephant gift (he even made it on facebook),
ran into Justin Bieber at the mall,
ate lots of good food,
had some quarrel and apology sessions,
had lots of late nights,
a wedding anouncement (my brother and fiance Maddie),
played lots of Christmas games (especially Quelf and Balderdash)
had photo shoots with my camera,
and basically, just hung out.

Steak & Shake!!

This last October, we were introduced to the chain, STEAK & SHAKE - can we say, Mmm Mmm good! - when we went to St. Louis to visit my sister and her cute family. It was such a hit that we ate there again in Independence, MO on the drive home. Then when we got home, we learned that they were building a Steak & Shake right here in Highlands Ranch! Could life get any better!?! I submit, it could not. Ok., I have to admit the only thing that I've actually ordered is their guacamole burger, so maybe all the other food on the menu is gross, but the guacamole burger is amazing. It truly was the best burger I have ever eaten. I swear there is an entire avocado on top of the burger. Warning: It is pretty sloppy, so maybe not the place to go on a date if you want to impress the guy with your table manners, but it truly was love at first bite.

Well, Steak and Shake opened up right before Thanksgiving, and apparently the wait was 2 1/2 hours to get a seat, there were 24 cars in the drive thru lane, and a policeman was there for crowd control. So we didn't even attempt eating there until after Christmas. We decided to go at 3:00, when nobody eats, to try to miss the crowd. We got there and told them party of 8, to which they said probably 30 minutes - not bad - or until the big booth opened up.

We went outside to wait, and before 5 minutes was up, they called our name and we were sitting down! It was a good day!

Kennedi turning 4, going on 16.

Kennedi is our little peanut! She is now four, but still weighs about 27lbs. (1/2 of that is probably her big, blue eyes). She has spoken like a little adult since she was 18 months old. I think she has definitely benefited from Peyton's speech as she is very careful to enunciate every sound. She also is very expressive. She loves people and is extremely friendly. Every day we take Peyton to school, she goes into the office and visits with Miss Sarah. One day she told a friend, "Oh, you've got to meet Miss Sarah, she's my friend."
She is also pretty funny. One day in the middle of sacrament meeting, she says, "Mom, I'd be pretty scared if that chair started talking to me." Sometimes I'm not sure what's going on in her little head. We were driving in the car and she just started praying out loud. After she finished, she said, "I just felt like talking to Heavenly Father." She also asked me the other day,"How old do you have to be to change your name?" When I asked her what she would change it to, she said, "Crystal Flower Rose." Someday I think she will thank Benson & I that that is NOT her name.
Kennedi also has a flair for style. Here are some of the fashion rules that Kennedi lives by:
1. Nothing goes better with pink than more pink. (pinkish purplish is her favorite color).
2. Pigtail braids are great for every occasion.
3. A skirt is the perfect accessory to every outfit.
4. You can never have too many layers. (One day she put on 6 dresses at once).

Kennedi also has the gift of complimenting. She is always telling people nice things about them. She is a great babysitter-although Tanner may disagree. Whenever Tanner is headed for danger, she holds onto or sits on his legs and yells, "Mom! Tanner is in danger trouble." Of course this makes him scream, and I come running - I'm not sure how much longer she'll be able to weigh him down.
For being tiny, Kennedi is packed with personality! She is very entertaining, and almost every time we're at the park, I will look over and she has a crowd of pre teenage girls doing whatever she asks them to.
Kennedi hates being in trouble. She bursts into tears just at the thought of sitting in time out, so disciplining with her is pretty easy. Kennedi is very sweet and is very happy. We love having her in our home!

She loves Rapunzel, like every other four year old girl in the country, and this is the Rapunzel cake she wanted.