Christmas 2010

Christmas has come and gone and once again, we ended up spending WAY too much on our kids!!  I am pretty sure that they get much more than they should.  The problem really is me, they would be happy with HALF of what they get, I always shop on the impulsive, so I buy a movie here and a video game there and before you know it I've spent a heck of a lot of money:)!!
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We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  This will be the last Christmas with James before he leaves for his mission.  We have spent so much time together and it has been so nice to just be able to relax, play games, watch movies, and DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!  Here is what we spent our money on this year.......
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JAMES

~Snowboarding Pants

~Snowboarding Jacket

~Watch

~The Patriot

~Mario Kart

~Gift Cards

~Money

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JAKE

~Halo Reach

~Super Smash Brothers WII

~Unleashed II

~Inception

~Hoodies

~Lots of Jeans

~Gift Cards

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ASHLEE

~Black Pea Coat

~School Pants

~Jeans

~Carrie Underwood C.D's

~David Archuleta C.D

~Super Mario Bros Game for WII

~More Clothes

~I-Tunes Gift Card

~Panda Express Gift Card

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~Family~

~WII

~WII Fit

~Games

~WII Accessories

~WII Games

~Movies, Movies, Movies

There you have it.....PROOF that Santa came to our house:)!!

Traditions:)!

Christmas Eve at Grandma Smith's is one of our very favorite traditions!  We love the time that we can spend with our Smith cousins......Grandma is such a gracious host and she feeds us way too much!!!  

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 ~Every year since I was little my mom would buy us Christmas pajamas. We were allowed to open one gift Christmas Eve, our pajamas.  It was so fun to wear brand new jammies, so when we had kids that was something we wanted to continue for them,. They LOVE it!

Christmas past:)

~~First, let me say that I believed in Santa Claus way longer than I probably should have!  

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When I was putting stockings together for my kids, I was remembering  when I was a little girl.   I remember year after year , the excitement and wonder I felt as I walked down the  stairs on Christmas morning, KNOWING that Santa would bring me exactly what I had asked for......AND.....seriously I never felt sad or disappointed
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@ 7 years old  

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My MOM was the best Santa ever!!

One Christmas I remember asking for a Barbie and Ken doll, seems like a pretty simple request,  I'm sure my mom must have looked everywhere., BUT  she couldn't find the one's  that I wanted, obviously they were also on lot's of other little girls  Christmas lists too......so like most parents she bought something similar, hoping that it would be appreciated!!. As if that wasn't bad enough (changing your mind on Santa a.k.a mom is never a good idea), a  few days before Christmas, I saw a commercial for the Sunshine family. It was even better than Barbie and Ken!!!  PLUS, they had a baby!  So I told Santa that was what I wanted instead. I mentioned it to my mom also.  Christmas morning sitting in my Barbie Townhouse was the Sunshine family!!!  I knew that morning that there was a SANTA!!

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Years later, as an adult, I was told by my mom that she had bought the Sunshine Family dolls  days before I changed my mind.  I think about that Christmas often and smile... I had such fun memories growing up.  Christmas was always a favorite.....and still is thanks to my mom  I still wonder how she did it, she had 10 kids, had to be Santa all alone, and still  made each one of us happy!! 

I am GRATEFUL.....
to have had such a blessed childhood:)!

 

"For unto us a child is born.............

....unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father , Prince of Peace. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I have to admit it has taken me a little longer than usual to get the Christmas spirit.  This year I have felt so totally overwhelmed with getting things done.  I guess I was a little caught up in the shopping and presents and I wasn't as focused on the true meaning of Christmas.  As I started reflecting on that I started to feel it more.  I do REALLY love this season.   We finally got the decorations out and the Christmas spirit is finally in the Hulet home:)!

Christmas Card '10

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my photoshop and digital scrapbooking! I decided this year I could make my own Christmas Card... So here it is.....

I loved this idea, unfortunately, I didn't come up with the it on my own,  (thanks Erin). 

I thought it turned out really cute!!   

....just to warm your heart......

.....on a COLD day!!!

The Utes vs. The Cougs;

The BYU~Utah rivalry is very much alive at our house.  Someone is always upset every year. This year it was Don and James who came out the winners of the game!! James wanted a "close" game.....I guess he got what he wanted.(it was a real nail biter)!!!!!

Each team was very well represented........Don and James are on a high right now.The University of Utah is Mine and Don's Alma Mater.  That is where our loyalties lie.  Actually I do have to say I have some loyalties for BYU as well!    Basically,  I just stay out of it!

James showing Ashlee who will come out on top!

Two very cute "underdogs".....such good sports:)

Giving Thanks

Another successful Thanksgiving day, We all had good company, ate way too much good food,  played games, and gave thanks for our many blessings:)!!
                                                               

                                                                       

A= Outstanding

After the first Semester in 7th grade Ashlee did AWESOME.....She even got an award for having outstanding behavior at school. Her Grade point average was in the high 3's. Way to go Ashlee!!!

One Eagle down......One more to go!

James had his Eagle Court of Honor this last Sunday!  After a lot of hard work and time, he finally got it!!  He has learned many valuable life lessons from Scouting, and even more from the men in our Ward who serve our boys.  We love him so much and he has made us so proud:)!!  

He chose to give the "Mentor pin' to Earl Whitmore

...Although every leader there was a Mentor to him!

Tying his Neckerchief...Thank goodness he knows how to tie a square not...Phew!

The Eagles Nest

These are the men who have been such good examples to my boys... We are grateful for all of them!

~Kade , Sean, James, Nate  Jake, and Anthony~

James and his Primary class:  Hopefully future Eagles.

This picture is just how he feels when he is with these boys..He just loves teaching them...and they all love him too!

To read about James' Project click here

Happy Birthday to me: (

This year I gave myself a gift that I really wish I hadn't.  Last Thursday after taking Ashlee and Jake to school, I was involved in a very minor traffic accident.

The X-ray.  11-11-10

Because I was wearing flip flops....(.yes, flip flops in November, I know Crazy,) I didn't have the protection of shoes and broke 3 of the metatarsals and fractured 1 in my left foot!!!  

 My foot 7 days later  11-18-10

I have learned a very painful lesson....ALWAYS wear shoes when you drive!

***On a positive note, I have been the recipient of a lot of acts of kindness from  many friends and family!
and I couldn't have made it without the help of my husband and kids!!!  Dinners, lunches, phone calls, running errands, cleaning &  going on Diet Coke runs. etc!!!

Left foot~~~~~~~~~~Right foot

I guess by looking at my feet, you can see that I didn't get my Birthday Pedicure.  I guess when I do go in for one it will really be SWEET!

Sugar and Spice.....and everything........

SILLY!!

Ashlee and her Friends at their YW activity!!  We are so lucky to live in such a wonderful neighborhood with so many good friends.  Oh, to be "13" again!

Every Rose has it's Thorns!!!

Needs no explanation!!

Grandma, James and Holly sporting sweatshirts from their favorite teams:)!!

Trick or Treat:!

I love that Ashlee is still interested in Trick or Treating, and that she likes to dress up in a costume!!  She was a Bee this year and she looked DARLING,  as usual!  She went with her 2 best friends from Elementary School.  Boy those girls can get crazy,,,,,it was funny,, my kids know which houses give the best candy, and they make sure that they hit them all... After they came back for Pizza and cupcakes:.

Spooky Fun!

I love Halloween!!  It was the first year that not one of  my kids were in a parade at school..  I always loved them, but I have to confess, I didn't mind not having one to go to!!  Friday night was Grandma's Halloween party!!  We look forward to that every year.  She makes is such a fun tradition, and it's fun to spend time as a family too. 

I love the creativity involved with the costumes,,,Marsha, was little Reeds Prisoner....Everyone looked so cute:)!

Thanks Grandma,  We love you!!!

How'd ya like them apples?!?

It's a tradition at our house to make Caramel Apples in the fall, I don't know, it's sort of like Gingerbread houses at Christmas time..my kids still have fun doing this activity, but to be honest I'm pretty sure that I LOVE  it more than they do, which is probably why they cooperate!   I kept putting it off for other activities, until I realized that this is the last week of October.  So we planned it for last night and invited the Crawford's over too, we played a very competitive game of Apples to Apples, and then had the apples that we dipped for desert.  I really LOVE this time of year, before ya know it Winter will be here!!!  I know I say this all the time, but I wish time would just slow down a little..  I love my children and I am so grateful for the fun things we do together!!!

My Disneyland poster child!!!

I have been going through a mountain of pictures, trying to get them scanned into the computer  and ready to scrapbook.  I came across this adorable picture of Ashlee in Disneyland 3 years ago.  It makes me smile just to look at it..  With the Mickey ears, the sucker and the sweatshirt she is a walking advertisement, the only thing that was missing was Mickey himself:)!!

Hello Autumn....

Autumn is my very favorite season. I LOVE the way the leaves change colors and the chill in the air.  But I think the real reason I love fall is that we all love decorating our house and doing fun things as a family.  Last weekend we decided that our Halloween decorations were a little sparse, so the kids and I got in the car and headed to the craft store. We had so much fun (James especially got into it this year, I think because he'll be gone for 2 years)  and we even saw his creative juices flow!!! 

Goodbye Summer..........................

 I can't believe the days of going on canyon picnics, and warm days are almost gone!!!! On Labor Day, we packed up the family and headed up Mill creek Canyon for one last BBQ, picnic.  It was really quite cold up there, but we had a fun time roasting hot dogs and marshmallows around the fire.  Benji and Casey had fun going for a long walk/hike with us.  I can't believe that this is the last Summer that James will be here for a while, he will be leaving for his Mission in June.  Wow....I guess we'll take advantage of every little thing we can!!

"29" already?

Today is Don's Birthday....For his Birthday he was able to wake up and head to the Airport, so he could WORK!  We ( me and the kids) felt really bad about this, we were hoping that we could celebrate his birthday on the day of his actual birthday,  instead of waiting until he gets home 3 days later....(story of our lives).  Anyway, we are so grateful that we have him in our lives he is such a blessing to us.  

Here is a little Birthday wish from all of us:)!

A Splash of Color

I am the kind of person that likes to mix things up a bit & ;make changes around my house quite often.  I don't like to make huge changes, just a little paint here and there, new towels or comforters etc.  Don made a deal with James, that for every room he paints he gets $100.....although I am sure that it's worth more, but he was more than willing!  So far he has done his bedroom and our upstairs bathroom.  I have been feeling really unorganized during the painting process, but today James finished the bathroom.  It looks so nice and it feels  great  to have things in their place once again.  

"Master Bedroom/Bathroom....

with the exception of a few pictures, curtains, it's pretty much finished.  

I'll take suggestions here also!

Upstairs bathroom.....It's really yellow...

~~any ideas(BRANDY) on accent colors to tone it down a bit or decorating tips?

suggestions would be much appreciated:)!!

Above the tub~I have a white shower curtain but I think that it blends too much with the 

walls.  I'm thinking I may need to go with one that has a pattern on it to stand out.

*****Next on the list......Ashlee's room!!  YIKES!!!

~~WISH US LUCK~~~

we're gonna need it!

~~Remember~~

A friend of mine (Joy Williams) is always finding craft blogs and posting the links on facebook, and I really  love them all, however, this morning she posted  THIS LINK',  and I felt that I needed to share..,it  is by a woman who visits New York City frequently.  On her last visit she went to the Ground Zero Museum.  The pictures really speak for themselves!  Very thought provoking.

**NEVER FORGET!

Happy Anniversary. . .

Happy Anniversary Don!

James in Washington D.C

James in front of the Washington Monument

Last week Don and James went on a little trip to Washington D.C.  Don planned to be there that week for work, so he could take James.  They left on Thursday morning.  Friday James took the Subway to the mall and did some sightseeing,  I think he was a little nervous(how could he not be?), although he wouldn't tell you if he was!  Saturday afternoon after Don's seminar was over, they spent the rest of the trip together walking the city and seeing the sights.

The Washington D.C Temple

 The doors of the Temple

The White House

The Tomb of the unknown Soldier

Don said the "changing of the Guard"was amazing 

The Smithsonian Institute

Now all three of our kids have taken a trip there, I haven't but  I told Don that it was okay, because for my birthday I wanted to fly to New York to see "WICKED".  To my surprise he didn't say no....So I guess we'll see if I can work my charm(fingers crossed)!!!

***Of course they forgot the camera, so the only one they had was Don's phone, which means the pictures aren't really high quality....Better than nothing though!

Pictures in the Park.

Before Ashlee's Birthday party, my niece Becca came and took some darling pictures of Ashlee and her friends!  They turned out so cute.

Sadie and Mikayla were late so they weren't in any of them but they did stay over two extra nights, so the next day we went to Memory Grove and took some of our own..Actually they turned out okay:).