Bring It On Santa!

We've had our DELICIOUS Christmas Eve dinner...

We prepared Santa a little treat (notice even Thomas the Train helped.... he is a very useful engine)...
We even added a little something special to treat the Big Guy right...
And then we inspected our work and made a few improvements. It was decided that the "Heavier" the cookie the better!
Then we posed for one last shot before we toddled off to bed! Nothing but Sugar Plum dreams from here on out!

The Perfect Storm

We all agree that the happiest times in our snug little house are when we are snowed in (especially on Sunday! WAHOOO!).

And the only thing better than being snowed in, is watching your neighbor plow you out! I'd like to congratulate all of you who labored in the walks of your neighbors today. Since we moved in next door to a benevolent man with a kick butt snow blower, we have let him have all of the joy of service.

And then we run something warm and tasty over once the walks are clear enough to make a delivery.

And of course we have plenty of warm, sticky yumminess for ourselves!

I did send the troops out before night fall to finish off the job (and to burn off a little sugar). Abz turned out to be the true snow bunny and only came in after I went out looking for her and found her standing on the shed behind the garage. Still not sure how she got up there or why. It is just her way.

How Do We Tear These Kids Away?

Around our house, we speak of Utah like most kids speak of Disney Land. There is nothing but fun things to do and fun people to see all the time. It kind of makes home pale in comparison. We wish we could play with our favorite people more, but since we can't we just talk about our Disney Land and all of our favorite people all the time.

Thank-you Jupaws for proving yourself every bit the hostess that your Mom is. You know how to throw one FABULOUS tea party! Did we stop eating the whole time we were at your house? ...oh ya, we took a few play breaks too. You may have noticed the 3 little hurricanes that ripped through all of your fun toys!

Ashie and Coach proved themselves super cool cousins, even while battling the sickness of their young lives!

We were all happy to spend lots of time with Bampa this trip. He really knows how to party!

And he is always good for a snuggle and a swig of Diet Coke.

Uncle Chocolate Cake, errrrr... I mean Uncle B is always a good time. We love everything about him and Aunt Melissa (their bakery is just a fringe benefit).

Everybody in the family LOVED the sleepovers. I don't have many pictures of these events, as they were closed to all parents. We snapped these shots on a surprise drop in. From what we can gather there were lots of tea parties, story times, and jumping on the bed. Not so sure about actual sleep (isn't that how it is supposed to be?). Any grandparents with pics to either support or debunk our theory are surely welcome!

And then there is Cafe Rio. We can't get enough.

We were REALLY sad to miss seeing Cousin Nick this trip, but Uncle James made up for it by being extra cool. Tadpole still likes to ask if he can, "Go see Uncle James".

We will never get enough time doing THIS!

It is tough saying good bye to so many people that we love. We wish we could pack you all up and take you with us. Unfortunately we definitely meet our luggage limits these days. We thought maybe we could squeeze one or two of the little ones inside a carry-on. We did our best to squish them inside.

In the end we were so exhausted we could barely drag ourselves back to Massachusetts.

Even when we got here we could barely hold our heads up. Superkid takes the record though, he slept 17 hours the day we got home and only got up then because I drug him out of bed to see if he was up for a day of school. He said he was, but after he got home he went right back to bed for a nap.

One thing we will NOT miss for sure is "The Desert Itch, " in Superkid's words. These Toads all look like scaley lizzards!

Nobody Knows Christmas Lights Like the Mormons

We just don't have ANYTHING like the Temple Square light display around here. We carefully selected our travel times to ensure an opportunity to ooogle at the gazziolions of lights. And it is even better to share the fun with Bampa, Mindurs, Ashie and Coach (and their SWEET ride!).

There is NO Room For Error Santa!

Tadpole marched into the kitchen, where I was cooking breakfast, and insistently announced, "Mac is for Christmas, OKAY!" I unbelieving said, "Okay." He continued, "Lightning McQueen is for Christmas, OKAY!" After accepting that my 2 year old submitted his formal request for Christmas gifts, I reassuringly said, "OKAY!" Satisfied that is request had been understood and approved, Tadpole happily ran from the kitchen yelling, "YEAHHHHH!"

As for Abizella ONLY ponies will do!

And Superkid is resolved in his desire to have a BIG STUFFED DINOSAUR. In his words, "I have always been jealous of Abz's BIG STUFFED UNICORN (Lucky)." How can you blame the kid. All bedtime stories revolve around Lucky (Abz Unicorn), Terry the Pterodactyl (Superkid's Dinosaur), Ducky (David's Horse) and Glittery (our friend Ava's pony) and all the crazy adventures the kids go on when their imaginary friends (Lucky, Ducky, Terry the Pterodactyl and Glittery) show up to take them away flying through the air and sliding down rainbows (and making stops at Dunkin' Donuts).

There is no doubt these kids are excited about Christmas (which seems to NEVER come in their minds). The last few days they have started planning Lucky's Birthday party, which is of course on Christmas (the day Lucky joined the family). The party plans have been going late into the night so Superkid has invited Abizella to join him on his bed (for the last 3 nights) so they can chat about plans until they drift to sleep. Not sure why they have decided to only use the top half of the bed, it isn't to leave a little room for Tadpole. He was exiled early on for throwing Legos over board.

Hurry Christmas, don't be late!!!!

Is It A Tadpole or Polywog?

We interrupt this regularly scheduled Utah Trip Update with some exciting news!

We Toads have been anxiously awaiting my ultrasound to get a little peek at the newest little toad. Much debate has ensued over if the littlest toad would be a "Tad" or a "Polly". In the end the consensus was that we were up for a"Polly", the most convincing argument coming from Superkid who reasoned that Tadpole needs a little sister (you know, like a sibling is a cute accessory). There was no room for debate in Abz book, only a sister named "Minty" would do. You might imagine the surprise that gushed through the ultra sound room when our little Toad positioned itself for prime gender viewing to reveal that we are adding a "Tad" to the Tidepool!

After some initial purging of our feelings of disbelief, the family really rallied around the prospect of bringing our little "Tad" home. You have to admit, we have THE BEST BOYS EVER!

And as for us seriously outnumbered "Pollies", we have a saying around here. As sassy as it gets we say, "We're the girls!" and then we take off and do something fun together.

We are SOOOO EXCITED to bring our new little Toad home! This beach is definitely calling for HIM!

You Have To Be A SMITH Girl To Get Into This Party!

After getting into town, Mindurs and I were reminiscing about the big Christmas parties that Grandma Smith would hold every year for her 9 children and TONS of grandbabies. These parties were THE EVENT of the year, and every cousin's opportunity to let their talent shine. EVERYONE was required to perform a talent before the big present opening event. While these events were golden in our memory, the reality of the moment (which was captured by my family on video tape) is the true reason to celebrate. We decided to assemble the Smith Ladies for a surprise viewing of a talent show from 1982 (and watch them squirm!).

While we all had a great time laughing it up over Cousin Renee's dance rendition of, "Like a Yo-Yo", in the end we all had to concede we were just jealous over her legs (she was one of the lucky ones who didn't inherit the Smith Thunder Thighs).

And while being a Smith Girl may mean voluptuous thighs, it also means GORGEOUS skin (just look a the pic of my Aunties), a sweet temperment, and familial ties with the BEST group of people around. It is hard to escape, considering the gene pool!

My Aunties: Zella Jean, Louise, Diane, Carolyn and my Mom

Nobody was more excited about the party than Abz, who was delighted mostly because boys were excluded. When she heard, she went right to work making "tickets" which she sold to the Aunties and came up with a list of games. Cool Aunt Carolyn was fun enough to participate in a round of hide-and-seek.

Here is a pic of my favorite Smith Girls

I was most excited to see my cousin Heather. Even though I was practically raised with Heather, I have not seen her AT ALL in the 8 years since I have lived in New England. This was the BEST surprise. It has been a LOOOOONG time, but it was like no time had passed at all. She and Aunt Diane stayed late and chatted about the good old days of dancing around in our matching waffle undies and accepting bribes to deliver Aunt Diane's Avon orders. Good Times!

And here are the cousins that made it from Aunt Diane's family. Sheryl (who once had to wipe up my puke at a Weinernsnitzel when I was in her guardianship), Aunt Diane, Heather, and Sheryl's daughter Andrea (who spent her entire time at my wedding reception holding my bouquet. Blows me away that she is all grown up now!)

Another of my favorites has got to be Julie. I think we look like sisters. Maybe it is just because I always wanted to to BE Julie, and looking like her was a good first step. While she is older and obviously cooler than myself, she has always been kind and inclusive to me; even when I was the annoying little cousin that shared a room with her for 6 months.

And here is Julie with her GORGEOUS daughters Mylie and McKenzie and my fun Aunt Jeanie

Another highlight was getting to know Michelle and Andrea better. They showed up with a whole lot of Texas deliciousness including home made tamales (are you kidding me!!!). I say it is fun to get to know them better because before they randomly showed up in my ward in MA (proving that I could recognize Aunt Linda ANYWHERE even after YEARS), I think I only have seen them one other time when they were little. They were always the mysterious Texas cousins. It is a shame it has taken us so long to get together.

This is just a small sampling of the Smith women. How I would LOVE to get EVERYONE together again. ...oh wait, I think they actually do that every year at the family reunion. I will have to make a better effort to show up in the future!