Christmas is Coming

So Christmas is only like 6 days away... i know this seem so weird to me. It seems like we were just celebrating New Years and now here we are again celebrating Christmas. We have been running nonstop trying to get ready for Christmas. The kids are out of school as of today for the rest of the year. Chance was supposed to go to his dad's today but because of the storm we set up a time for him to go tomorrow. Anyway I wanted to upload a picture of the infamous "Charlie Brown Tree" the one that looked so much better on the mountain than it does in the house. I think there are more lights then there are branches or even pine needles for that matter. But we are still proud of it and the kids think it is great so that is what matters. Tonight we went to the ward Christmas party, it was quite the outting. We had dinner / dessert, a small musical program and then watched a short movie clip about the birth of Christ. You can tell that Christmas is coming because the kids are getting more and more excited about it. Chance is counting down the days and Peyton is going around singing "Here Comes Santa Clause". I even have a little excitement stirring in me. I love watching the kids on Christmas day. Most of all I love seeing friends and family. We went to a Christmas party for Justin's family. We had a great time spending time with his extended family. The kids got to tell Santa what they wanted expect for Peyton she was so petrified that she wouldn't even go close to him. Chance and Cheyenne felt they were a little too old to sit on his lap but after a little coaxing they finally gave in. However i think this will be the last year that they will do that. After seeing Santa tonight i know Peyton won't sit on his lap.. She is still scared out of her mind. I guess it is a good thing that she doesn't have to see him on Christmas Eve to deliver all the presents. haha Hope EVERY ONE HAS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Thanks giving and getting Trees!!!

Thanksgiving has come and gone for the year of 2008. We spent Thanksgiving in Bear Lake with the Keetch Family. We had to have dinner at the church as our family has grown quite a bit in the last couple of years. We went from 6 kids to 6 kids with spouses and then added 12 grand kids and 1 great grand kid. Yea you get the idea. Anyway it was a wonderful day. We started the day lounging around and then decided that we better go looking for Christmas trees before it got to late. We all dressed WARM but then ended up sheading a few layers as it wasn't that cold once we got going. Last time we went after trees we were up to our knees in snow. This time there was but a skiff of snow on the ground. as we were looking for trees I came across what I would call the "Charlie Brown Tree...But of course that just wouldn't do for my family's Christmas tree... maybe in a few years. So Justin and Kelcee went for a hike and came back with one of the best looking trees i have ever seen... well that was till we got it home.

This is a picture of Justin and the tree him and Kelcee found. It looked so good when we cut it down in and took it back to my parents place. It looks good up it just wasn't as full as we thought it was going to be. But hey it is the thought that counts. We went back to my parents and got ready for dinner. Dinner was a success!!! After dinner Justin, Chance and Kelcee had to come back home to Layton, Justin had to work the next day and Kelcee had to go to Cheyenne's 13th Birthday party. Chance was going to spend the weekend with his dad. Friday Justin came back up to Bear Lake and we spent the rest of the weekend there. We had a wonderful time. We came home and put up the Tree. It looks very well very cute. I am getting so excited for Christmas. Especially since it started snowing today.

Chance's Green Belt

On Thursday the 4th of Dec, Chance advanced from a 2nd Yellow Belt to a 1st Green Belt. He has worked really hard to get to where he is today. When he recieved his belt he made his Master smile by telling him "ThankYou" which was something the rest of the kids getting belts forgot to say. He was really impressed that Chance would have such respect so as to say Thank you. Respect is one thing that they teach in Karate along with Manners and Displine. When he first started karate he wasn't too sure about it, now he loves it. He is working now towards getting his 2nd stripe on his belt and then on to his brown belt. He is doing really good with everything. I'm so proud of him.


Congrats Chance... i love you and am very proud of you and your accomplishments. Keep up the good work. Don't stop doing your best at everything you do!

It's begining to Look a lot like Christmas!!

So my dear sweet husband started putting up the Christmas lights on Saturday and finished with the majority of them tonight. Saturday I left him on the roof and went to a jerwlery party and when I returned home Justin came walking out of the house limping.... so imediatly i thought he had fallen off the house. I asked him if he was ok and he was like yeah i'll be fine. Then he proceeded to tell me that he fell off the house.... as I asked him if we needed to go the hospital he started LAUGHING... I didn't find it funny at all!!! He is such a joker. Anyway we recently traded in our old lights for a few new sets of LED lights. They are smaller yet they give off twice the light and they use less energy...I'm starting to get excited for the Christmas season. We are going to Bear Lake this weekend to pick out our Christmas tree. Everyother year my husband allows me to get a Christmas tree permit from the forest service and then we go out for a good old fashioned Smith Family Christmas tree hunt. We went up to Bear Lake 2 weekends ago and started scoping out the "good ones" . No Charlie Brown Trees in this house. So after this weekend we will be putting up the Christmas tree. Justin get's so excited about Christmas. This is his holiday to decorate. We will be putting up a few more lights on the house as well we are going for the "Grizwald" look if ya know what I mean. Here are just a few pics of the house as it is now... i'll post more pictures after we get all the lights up. We are looking for an Inexpensive snow man to finish the look in the yard... but have yet to find one. Guess we will just keep looking. I tried to talk Justin into buying one of those light show kits but then decided against it. I'm getting in the Christmas Spirit!!!

Cheyenne is turning 13

It is hard for me to believe that Cheyenne is going to be 13 in less than 5 days. When she came into my life she had just been baptized and now she is going to be a teenager.... scary yes it is. Tonight we took her out to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Smith. We went to Chili's to celebrate her birthday as we wouldn't be here for her day... which is Friday the day after Thanksgiving. So Justin and I had decided to buy her a Rip-Stick for her birthday cuz she had been saying since Chance got one for his birthday that she wanted one. So when we got to the restaurant I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she mentioned that she really wanted a Rip-Stick. I kinda smiled to myself and then asked her what else she wanted. She has grown up so much in the last couple of years. Peyton was so excited to see her and Kelcee. All day she kept saying..."go get Kelcee and Chey", it was just cute. Peyton loves her two sisters and her brother. I truly love having all 4 kids together. They just make my life complete. So anyway it came time to open presents, and she opened Grandma's first. It was a cute pair of Jammies. Then she went over by Justin to open her gift from us. She started ripping the paper and ripped it just enough to read the "Rip" then she grinned from ear to ear. She was so excited. After dinner we came back to the house and let her ride her new Rip-Stick. For those who aren't sure what it is - it is a sort of skate board with only two wheels. When you ride it you have to twist your lower body to make it start to move. Anyway her and Chance played outside both riding their Rip-Sticks even though it was so cold out side. She was a pro rider right a way. She was having the time of her life. We only wish we could have her over more often. She is such a joy to be around. All my kids are the greatest ( i may be a little biest but oh well). Happy Birthday CHEYENNE!!! We love you so much.

Sweetheart Tag!!!

1. What is your husband's name? Justin

2. How long have you guys been married? 4 Years and 5 Months (to the day)

3. How long did you date? Well - Justin and I knew each other for 3 years before we even dated - we started dating on Valentines day and got engaged March 23rd and married on June 18th

4. How old is he? 33

5. Who is taller? He is by almost a foot...

6. Who can sing the best? He doesn't sing... except for Korn songs...

7. Who pays the bills? I take care of the bills... he just spends the money I make.

8. Who does the laundry? Are you kidding... I do I'm kinda cranky like that....

9. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do!

10. Who mows the lawn? We all take turns. I actually like mowing the lawn.

11. Who cooks dinner? He does 99% of the time.

12. Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? He is cuz i'm not wrong...

13. Who kissed who first? I kissed him first...

14. Who wears the pants? He wears them but I WASH them....

I now tag Mindy, Erin, D'Neil, Mandy, Angie

Chance's Tenderfoot Award

Tonight was the first of many Court of Honors for our family. Chance had been working so hard on all his scouting projects and was awarded his Tenderfoot award tonight. Friday night the 11 year old scouts had their winter camp out. We had to go buy a new tent for this camp out. The boys had to put up their own tents and get them ready. I thought I packed a lot but WOW you should have seen all the clothes that kid packed. I was going through his pack and found he had 3 pairs of pants, 3 shirts, 3 pairs of socks and 2 sweatshirts. So I narrowed it down to 1 pair of jeans, 1 set of warm jammies and 1 shirt and 2 sweatshirts. Along with all his clothes he packed some extra "treats", newspapers (just in case) and a few other odds and ends. It was cute. He was so excited. He got home around 11:45 the next day. He said he had a lot of fun and couldn't wait to go again. he really likes scouts and he is doing great in all he is doing. Last Thursday night he tested for his GREEN belt in karate. If he passed he will be receiving it the first week of Dec. I will keep you posted.