Cole and Mindy Smith

March 12, 2013

Merry Christmas!!!!

Christmas is SO magical and wonderful with kids! We had SO much fun this year! It was so nice, because Cole and I made the executive decision to stay put for all of Christmas Day, and that we would pack up and head to utah on the 26th, and I am SOOO glad that we did! It just makes for such a wonderful day with our little family with absolutely NOTHING to do but play with our new toys! Stockton even slept for a few minutes longer than everyone else, so he was able to have a nice Christmas Snooze!
Cole surprised me with a new iPad Mini this year! Holy smokes! He really spoiled me, and I have really enjoyed having it! I surprised him with a new T.V.! We have been needing (well, not really needing- let's be honest!) one for a while and I found a killer deal on one! Unfortunately, when Cole tried to get it all set up, it totally didnt' work!! What the devil?! So that was a total bummer. :( But when we got back from our travels, he took it to Best Buy (where I got it!) and exchanged it for one that actually worked.
The kids loved their new toys/books and stuff! I love Christmas! It is such a magical time for me- and I love everything about it! So...enjoy the picture dump of our lovely Christmas Morning!

Those are some seriously sleepy faces!

Excited to see if Santa came!

Paytons most favorite present!

Morgan was pretty stoked about her new Doll bunk beds! Yahoo! Funny story- when Santa was putting it together the night before, he noticed that there were no dolls and got REALLY upset! He thought that Costco had stiffed him! He got all huffy and was so upset and almost started to cry! After we got back from our trip, I called Costco to see what could be done about this- we can't have Santa crying, or be out some dolls!- to which the Costco worker said to me- "Oh- it says right there on the box- dolls and accessories not included!" Epic Fail...

Another funny story- the kids next to favorite gifts were the boxes of cereal that santa brought them! Haha!

Cutest baby in the LAND!!!! Seriously! Ah! I could eat him!

His doting siblings were SO excited for his new table toy!

And he loves his new stacking toy as well! Doesn't everyone have to have one of these? I think it's a requirement of childhood.

Like our dressups much?!

Loungin playin the new toy! Yahoo!

Merry Christmas! We had the greatest day and hope that you all did too!

Christmas Eve 2012

Wow! What a FANTASTIC Christmas Eve we had! It was SO much fun. We did a LOT in just one short day, and had a great time doing it. We still had NO snow, so instead of going sledding like the kids wanted to, we improvised and went ICE BLOCKING! It was really nice because we were the ONLY ones at Ruby Hill Park. Imagine that?! :) The kids were skeptical, and a little bit tired, but after a little while, they really warmed up to the idea- and we ended up having a great time! It helped a little bit that I brought a GIANT thermos of hot chocolate and some cookies to snack on! It was an early Christmas present to Cole- I hit the jackpot with that one! So we might be doing this more often!
     After ice blocking, we headed to a church by our house that was having a LIVE nativity! It was pretty cool. It was a little bit different story than the one that we know- but it was really good nonetheless and got the kids into the Christmas spirit! We were even able to meet the Wesslers there for some fun before Christmas! The kids enjoyed running around the venue alot, and didn't pay too much attention to the program, but it was alright- they were getting some energy out! :) After that, we stopped by the grocery store for a few last minute things for our delicious Christmas Eve Fondue dinner, and headed home to prepare!
    We had a blast at our fondue dinner, and the food did not disappoint! This is by far my favorite dinner of the year, and it was so much fun this year! I'm always amazed by how much food Payton eats during this dinner, and this year was no exception! He is so funny! I have about 50-70 shrimp, and between Payton and I (Cole has a few too!) we finish off almost the whole bowl! It's my favorite for sure. But it is just so fun, and magical, and the kids each look forward to different things, so it makes for an even funner time! I love Fondue! We were absolutely STUFFED after!
    After we cleaned up a little bit, the kids found the box with their new Christmas Jammies in it! Christmas Eve- as with almost everyone!- is filled with so many fun traditions! We read stories, dance to christmas songs, read the Christmas Story from the Bible, and just have a wonderful time! It's also nice, because we can get the kids into bed really early, and they are fine to go to bed! This year was no exception! They got into bed by 8 and were asleep by about 8:20! Nice!
     Cole and I always have grandiose plans for Christmas Eve- like watching a movie, setting up Christmas, playing games, etc., but we are always SO tired, and end up falling asleep watching the T.V.! What can ya do I guess?! But we were PUMPED for Christmas Morning!

Lincoln actually had a REALLY fun time ice blocking ! He was skeptical at first, but then once he understood what it was all about, HE was all about it!

Enjoying some Chocolate Chunk cookies..mmmmmm.

Payton was NOT into the iceblocking! Good thing we brought the food! Silly boy!

Check out that tongue action!

Stockton enjoyed watching from the sidelines

Lots of races ensued, and Lincoln mostly won! He got FAST!

Our dinner spread...SO yummy!

I made a special treat this year- Strawberry Santas! They were so cute- and of course- delicious ! My cute hubs was the one that documented these- without me even asking him to! Wowee!

SO excited for dinner!

Full diaper much?!

Also extremely excited for dinner to commence!

The coveted layered Jell-o! Lincoln eats 2 or 3 of these for dinner- that's it.

Stockton even got to try the Jell-O! it was a huge hit with this one!

Grandma B and Grandpa Dick sent us this BEAUTIFUL carousel from Germany this year! I have REALLY enjoyed it all season long! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Reading the Polar Express. My mom used to read this to us each Christmas Eve, so it's a fun one to pass along to my family! Cole and the kids bought it for me last year for Christmas, so we were able to read it all together this year!

She believes...

Oh yeah- and Gus was there too!

We had a rip roarin dance party! Stockton LOVES to dance!

Merry Christmas Eve 2012!!!

February 27, 2013

Georgetown Christmas Train!

Something that Cole and I have been wanting to do with our kids for YEARS is some sort of Christmas Train! So when a Groupon came up for a train in Georgetown, we hopped right on it! (Pun intended- of course!) The day finally came and the kids were SOO excited! We pulled Lincoln out of school a little bit early and took the 2 hour or so car ride up to Georgetown. The best part of this all was that it started SNOWING as soon as we almost reached Georgetown! It was so magical and wonderful! It was all that I could have asked for. It just isn't Christmas time without snow. I LOVE the snow- and I LOVE Christmas! :)
The train was SOOOOOOO much fun! The kids LOVED it, and it was one of the most fun things that we have done. We had so much fun together. The kids even got some Hot Chocolate before! They loved it. But the beat all and end all was that Santa and Mrs. Claus were on the train! The REAL ONES! It was SO awesome! The kids were totally pumped about it. It really was magical. It was so wonderful! Merry Christmas to all!


SO pumped about the Hot Chocolate! Even better- it was FREE!!!

Getting excited to start the ride!

Also excited about the Hot C!

Such a charming little train! It was so neat!

This kid is a goof! He was really into having his ears stick out. For EVERY picture in the past year or so that Lincoln has taken of him, he is ALWAYS making a face! What a nut.