Our Christmas

We had a great Christmas at our house. It was a lot of chaos and a little bit of work for Santa to get presents for 5 kids, but it was a lot of fun.

I decided this year not to worry about taking too many pictures at all the Christmas celebrations. I was trying to simplify our lives, cause lets just face it, Trent and I are having a hard time handling things right now.

So, sad to say, I don't have a picture of the Johnson Progressive dinner, which is always the Sunday before Christmas. We love this tradition-always good food and good company. And I got a great new appetizer recipe. Thanks Celeste!

We also got to celebrate with the Veigel's on Tuesday. Another great party with awesome food and awesome company. The kids had a great time playing in the play room with their 2nd cousins (?). Afterwards we drove through a park that has a ton of lights shaped as different things and, new this year, a flashing light tunnel to drive through. The kids loved it.

The last party was Wednesday night with the Jensens. This is such a fun one. We get to eat breakfast food (always a fave) and open gifts from Dodee and Pap (always so generous). An added treat this year was a 'reciting' of The Grinch That Stole Christmas. It was awesome.

Christmas Eve was celebrated with Trent's family. Another delicious meal (thanks Teri). It was a pretty relaxing night with only part of the family there (when you get ALL the cousins together it gets loud and crazy pretty quick!). Afterwards we drove home and got the kids into bed and got to work on organizing Christmas

Christmas Morning-

Please don't judge the dirty, greasy mirrors...like I said Trent and I can't seem to get on top of things...


Stockings-

I love stockings and so do the kids.

Presents-

Presents are always fun aren't they? The kids had a great time ripping through their gifts. Except Paige. She was hilarious. If you notice in this pic she has only a tiny corner of wrapping paper torn off. She is getting up to put it in the garbage. She was more worried about getting the wrapping paper in the garbage than getting excited over her gifts. I wonder where she gets it...

Trent gave me an awesome gift. A girls weekend in St. George. Aaaahhh.

And I gave Trent an even awesomer (I know that is not a word) gift. Trent and I have issues. Lots of them. One of them is Trent's unhappy funk that he has been in for a couple of weeks. So, I always joked that we needed 'happy pills' at our house. So, Christmas Eve I decided to give Dr. Sunshine a call and get a prescription for some ProHap. Trent has yet to try them because he is afraid he will get addicted...

Thanks to everyone that made our Christmas a memorable one. We appreciate all the work that went into parties, food, and gifts. We hope everyone had as good a Christmas as we did!!!

From all of us to all of you:

Merry Christmas!!!

Best. Present. Ever.

On Monday night I got the best birthday present ever. Back in March my kids got their pictures taken by the oh so talented Karina (you should see her latest post). One of my favorites was the foot picture. I thought it would go perfectly in my upstairs TV room. Well, unfortanately for me, but fortunate for Karina, everyone else realized how awesome she was and she was booked from then on out. But Kim pulled some strings and got the picture, then she and Trent had it framed. I was so surprised to say the least. Trent said he has never seen me react that way to a gift before (and Trent has given me some pretty amazing gifts!). I was screaming and jumping and couldn't be any happier.

I love it. Absolutely love it.

Doesn't it just go perfectly in that space?
Thank you, thank you, thank you Kimmy for thinking of this gift. I find myself just sitting in the kitchen staring at is. It is perfect. And thanks to Karina for taking and editing the pic, even with your super busy schedule. And thanks to Trent for helping Kim put it together. It really made my 30th birthday one to remember!!!

Temple Square

I just love this picture. Enough said.

Sweeping Sam

I am loving the gift that Santa decided to give Paige this year.

She actually does a pretty good job too.

ChristmasParty-1

We had the annual Smith party on Monday night. My favorite part is that Santa gets to come and see the kids. I am sure my kids would say that is their favorite part as well. The kids were so excited when Santa finally got there and they couldn't wait to get on his lap and get a present.

Not a single one of them was afraid. It was awesome. Oakley, Paige, and Morgan even gave him luvs. It was pretty cute.

The excitement of the gifts. They couldn't open them fast enough.

Side Note: I got a call from work 45 minutes before we were supposed to be at the party, hence the reason my girls look like orphans...and extra points for Trent for taking them all by himself until I could get there.

9

Well, Trent and I have been married 9 years today. Sheesh. We are getting old. If you want to see my post from last year click here. Its a little more sentimental and stuff. I don't feel like doing that this time. As most of you know we celebrated my birthday and our anniversary in St. George kidless. It was awesome.
As soon as we dropped Paige and Morgan off Trent and I could feel our vacation start. Even something as simple as driving is so much easier without our crew.

We ran in the mornings. I know I look dumb. I felt like an Oompa Loompa from Willy Wonka, but it kept me warm. 30 degrees in St. George isn't right. And don't you love the drastic difference between our clothes of choice? And just for the record I was able to run a total of 5 miles over the weekend. A HUGE improvement from before which was nothing at all. I still have pain, but it isn't to the point where I want to chop my leg off. Although I still can't run hills. That does make me want to chop off my leg.

We got to enjoy the hot tub down there. It was actually really nice with the cold weather. Although, still bugged that the water ruined yet another one of my swimsuits. Why don't I learn to rinse my suits after I get out?

VEGAS

We went to Vegas to see the Newlyweds and to check out there new pad. It was really fun to be guests at Jake's (& now Candice's!!!) place. It was great to have the roles reversed!

One of the best things I learned over the weekend was that they are going to be putting a Max Brenner in Caesar's Palace!!! For those that have no idea what I am talking about check out my New York post here & here. Now I have another reason to go back to Vegas!

We had to get a pic to document our night out. Oh and I got to see a Jimmy Choo shoe in real life. I have no idea why anyone would want to spend that much on a pair of shoes. I didn't even see a cute pair either. Not that I think any heels are that cute...

Trent had the best steak he has ever tasted that night in Vegas. We walked the strip forever to find a place suitable for Trent. Yes, I said Trent. I know everyone thinks I am the picky one, but I always argue Trent is worse than me!

The fountains. It was so amazing to watch. Very Oceans 11. Wouldn't that really be something if Brad Pitt, George Clooney, or Matt Damon were standing next to us? Although, both Candice and I would agree that we had 2 much better guys with us!

And to end the post with my favorite phrase from the weekend, "We're outta here!"

Sin City....

isn't as bad as I thought it was. I mean, you put a dollar in a slot machine and you get 72 back? Nice. Here is how it all unfolded:

The Gamble:
The Victory Dance:

The Celebration:

The Golden Ticket:

The Winnings:

The Video:

Just notice how many times Trent says we are cashing out/leaving/done during the video. I think we counted 6 or 7?

*Dislaimer: I really don't believe in gambling, I just wanted to try it one time. *

I LOVE PRESCHOOL!!!

You know, just the other day I was thinking that I should get stuff to make gingerbread houses, but as soon as that thought came, the thought of the overwhelming mess came as well. Ya, that was all it took for the nice, fun mom to be overpowered by the not so fun mom. So, how lucky am I that my boy's amazing preschool teacher did the job for me?!? Or should I say how lucky are my boys?

Thanks for the pic Kim!

I feel like Pheobe...

...from the Brad Pitt Thanksgiving episode when she sees Brad Pitt come for dinner, looks up to the Heavens, and says, "well done." That is how I felt when Jacob Black took off his shirt. Make fun of me if you want, but you cannot deny that his body is "well done."

Now if only Edward could follow suit. I was definitely on Team Edward when I was reading the books, but after seeing New Moon I may be changing teams. Wait, what am I saying? I am for Jacob all the way. Why couldn't Edward bulk up...or at least wax for the movie???

Just look at how much better the fake pic on the left looks. Not as big as Jacob, but still very nice, a little more cut and no hair. Not a huge fan of the real Edward on the right.

Now this is well done:

They didn't have to use a fake pic for Jacob's movie poster (although I am sure this picture is not entirely real). I'll just say it one more time..."Wow...well done."

***

If you couldn't tell, I finally saw the movie last night. It was good. Obviously, Jacob did not disappoint. I still like Edward, I just think he needs to get his body in gear.

We hit up Rumbi before the viewing. Me, Kristen, My Mom, Emily, Mindy, Alyssa, and Tracy. Always good food.

This is us after some eye candy.

Thanks for those that came to celebrate my birthday with me. It meant a lot to have you there!

I just don't get it...

Picture all my kids sitting/laying/standing/jumping in front of the TV when Sponge Bob comes on. I am sure most of you know the opening theme song for the cartoon. My kids love to sing along to it. Actually they don't sing, they scream. It is lovely.

TV: Are you ready kids?

My Children: Aye, Aye, Captain!

TV: I can't hear you!

My Children: AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN

TV: Oh, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

My Children: Sponge Bob Square Pants!

TV: Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!

My Children: Sponge Bob Square Pants!

TV: If nautical nonsense be something you wish!

My Children: Sponge Bob Square Pants!

TV: Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish!

My Children: Sponge Bob Square Pants!

TV: Ready?

My Children: Sponge Bob Square Pants. Sponge Bob Square Pants. Sponge Bob Square Pants.....Spong Bob Square Pants! HA HA!

Seriously, is this what cartoons have become? What happened to Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse (not the new Mickey Mouse Club House, I mean the old classic), HeMan, and Thundercats. Now those were some good cartoons...

The Tree

We finally got our tree up this week. The kids love it. All of our ornaments are on the bottom half of the tree and I actually might just leave it like that. Once again, I just don't have it in me to rearrange them all to their perfect places. I really must be in a rut...

Our Thanksgiving

Better late than never right. I have been a major slacker in the picture taking department. I just don't have it in me right now. So enjoy this pic!
Here are the highlights of our long Holiday weekend:

* Turkey dinner at Dodee's church. Always, always good food. The kids had a great time playing with balls and getting a ride from Jill too.

*Black Friday. Yes, I was one of those crazies that got up early, stood in long lines, and went to multiple stores for multiple good deals. This was a first for me, but I enjoyed it. It is always fun to hang out with the Jensen girls!

*Craft Day. Every year Dodee & Lori get a craft for all the girls to do. Seeing how I had to work I got there late and didn't get to enjoy the fullness of craft day. Still love the craft and I am going to finish it someday...

*Football. We watched The Game at Trent's parents house. I just went for the people and food seeing how I don't care too much about the Y or the U...

That's it in a nutshell. I am hoping to get back into the world of pictures and blogging. I just have to figure out how to get out of my rut...