Christmas 2009

Steve and I always get the kids pajamas that they get to open on Christmas Eve. So after, I wanted to get a picture of all 5 before they headed to bed. (not as easy as I thought it would be!)

Take 1......oops, forgot Reagen!

Take 2....

Take 3......

Take 4.....anyone wondering why we call him "Wild-Guy?"

Take 5.....

Take 6....ok, I give up!

The children we nestled, all snug in Mom's bed........The kids have made it a tradition to sleep with me on Christmas Eve, which is actually kind of fun because we sing carols and then wait to try and hear the reindeer hoofs on the roof! Low and behold, I don't get much rest that night!

Oh the surprise on their faces in the morning when they see that Santa has come!

Wyatt got a new toy garage that goes along perfect with his love of anything that rolls!

There were boardgames......

And watches.....

And luckily there is a Santa to bring the boys their Nintendo DS's that they wanted so badly, cause they know that mom is highly against gaming systems and would never buy them one! (when they wanted a PlayStation, I made them buy it with their own money!)

Averi loved her new ponies and petshops!

And Reagen was just cute and slept through most of the opening of presents!

We played it easy for the day, since it was Steve's first day off in awhile, and enjoyed our Smith Family traditional breakfast that Steve stayed up very late cooking on Christmas Eve after he got home from work. It was a wonderful time, and I found myself disappointed a couple of days later when Steve took down the tree to make space in the living room!

Reagen

My little Sweet Pea waiting for Santa!

Ethan's 9th Birthday

On December 2oth, Ethan turned nine years old! He looked forward all month long to his birthday. Matt, Jo, Ben, and Dylan joined us up at Pappa and Grandma's house for the celebration. Of course, we started by opening up his presents, because I thought Ethan was going to explode if he had to wait any longer!

And yes, this was the year that I gave in and agreed with Steve to buy him a BB gun that he wanted so bad. He was really surprised, because he knew that I would never buy him one! But, I also got him a NRA gun safety video to go along with it.

Birthday cake.....

And then the crew headed out for a wonderful evening at CALM to see the holiday lights....and of course enjoy the traditional apple dumpling!

Averi's First Dance Recital!

On December 15th we went to Averi's first dance recital at West High School. she has been taking a tap/jazz/ballet class at Dancers Turnout since September. The biggest hurdle was getting her hair up high on her head with a big green bow, which was the requirement to be in the recital. I ended up looking like a fool, having to also put my hair up high on my head with a big green bow, cause that was the only way Averi would wear her hair that way!

She was so cute, and we were so proud that she actually went in front of a lot of people on stage and did her dance!

She told me afterwards that she was a bit scared, but she was so excited that she did it and that we were so proud of her....and of course that she got a candy cane for performing from Santa!

Our Christmas Tree

The first weekend of December, our family went to get our Christmas tree. I came up with the bright idea that we should go to a farm and cut it down......let's just say that there shouldn't be Christmas tree farms in a place where it gets over 100 degrees for an extended period of time! The kids were having so much fun hauling around the tree cart and trudging through the dead grass that at places was almost as tall as Wyatt. Most of the trees were already yellow, but the kids didn't care, so Steve and I made the best of it, often times chuckling behind out backs at how pathetic the situation was.

I kid you not that we went through the entire farm before we found one that looked descent! But once we got it home, we turned it into a beautiful tree! I just think next year, we will be hitting the local Lowe's instead of driving all the way up to Shafter! In a funny sort of way, the whole situation set a good spirit for the Christmas season!