Happy Holidays!

Hello and howdy, friends and family! As Christmas day approaches all the kids can talk about is how excited they are for Santa to come. And here I thought I was teaching them to celebrate Christ's birth. Drat! Better luck next year I guess. We've yet to nail down any particulars but we are going to be baking cookies for Santa and spending time together. Now that we're on our own, we'll have an opportunity to make up our own traditions. I'm pretty excited about that.

The kids were so excited when it started to snow Friday morning. Vash kept asking if that meant Santa was coming that day and Rhyla would just start running around yelling "Yeah! Santa!"

Once the snow started to stick, we headed outside for a look. Rhyla loves her gloves even though their more like claws and leave her with little to no control over her hands.

Vash continues to crack us up. Last week at church, a pretty girl walked by and waved at him. He covers his eyes and says "Oh coconuts, it's my girl!" He was so embarrassed for some reason. It was hilarious.

As the day wore on the snow started to really come down.

These are our Christmas lights by the way. The kids were really proud of me!

We ended up going out side to try and build a snowman once Craig got home. We didn't quite have enough snow yet so Craig started a snowball fight. I was the only one without gloves and the three of them attacked me! The injustice of it all...

The kids have started playing a game where all they do is say "You yucky!" and spit at each other. I don't see the appeal but it's funny as heck to watch.

Since this week was Craig's first week at work, the kids really missed him. As he drove off the first morning I held Rhyla up to the window so she could wave to him. Once he was out of sight, she looks at me and asks "Daddy come home for lunch right?"

Suckiest moment of the week? When Craig got stuck at work for an extra six hours because the only road in and out of the workshop was blocked to put out a neighboring building's fire. 

Best moment of the week? When the kids saw snow for the first time.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! We love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and thank Heavenly Father for the wonderful gift of His birth and Atonement! We hope you all feel the spirit of compassion and thanksgiving as you count your blessings this holiday season.

The World's Ending! So they tell me...

I'm really not too concerned. The Mayans were men... so I think the "No man knoweth the day" thing has us covered. But just in case, I guess if this ends up being the last blog, I'll try to make it interesting. *Joke*

We didn't take many pictures at our going away party but I couldn't resist this photo opt. Rhyla giving her Nana goodbye loves. 

And this is Vash working on his already impeccable lady skills. It's only too bad that she's his second cousin. LOL. 

We took a few pictures on the way out here, but only in the hotels. Obviously they were feeling a bit cabin crazy. They sure liked sharing a bed though. They were cuddled up quite a few times throughout the night.

Vash loved water while we were traveling. Surprisingly, some states have really delicious water right out of the tap.

Now that we're more settled, the kids love bundling up to go out. Rhyla wanted to wear my scarf and liked it so much that she wore it the whole day.

Went to the mall to do some Christmas shopping and the kids just had to ride the little quarter cars. Rhyla picked the safari car.

Vash wanted to ride the fire engine. He even made his own siren sounds.

Then we let them ride the Christmas train since we'll be missing the one at McKormick park this year.

Since we didn't get our furniture until yesterday, we've been chillaxing on the floor. The kids liked sharing the Lighting McQueen chair. 

We got to go visit Craig's cousin Lisa the other day. And her parents John and Carol, our aunt and uncle, came to bring lunch. It was great to meet them and now we crave the delicious battered fish they brought over all the time. Vash obviously enjoyed a large cupcake while we we there.

They also brought chicken. Rhyla went to town on that drum stick.

I think in about ten years I will end up taking another picture just like this and doing a then and now type of thing. 

Funny stories for the week:

Ask the kids what time it is; I dare you. They'll tell you it's "Sexy clock." (six o'clock) No matter what time it is it's hot in the Smith household, according to Vash and Rhyla. 

Rhyla's newest trick: Whenever we catch her doing something she isn't supposed to be doing (I.E. breaking Christmas ornaments or getting into the trash), she'll literally drop whatever it is and start clapping. Like she's saying "Oh here, I was fixing it. Yey! Don't yell at me..."

Craig has taught Vash a new phrase. I really don't know why, but now Craig likes him to say "Like a man!" in a deep little boy voice. It's funny, I'm just not sure where it originated from.

One day Craig gave Vash a thumbs up and Vash thought that was pretty cool. He tells me: "Did you see mommy! Daddy gave me a *thumbs up*" Yep. Didn't know what to call it so he just did it back.

And Vash got in trouble for kissing a girl in nursery! We had a little talk; now he walks around saying "I want to kiss, but I'm too little."

The other night I gave the kids a bath and we brought the tea set in. Vash and I were pretending to drink, but Rhyla, who's still too little to understand pretend, just sat there and drank the bath water. Things that make you go "Buh...."

Craig and I have jars of pennies. Usually there in a vase that we display but we put them in jars for the trip. Well, Rhyla wanted to stack them up like a tower and when they fell she says: "The pennies are broken!"

I wrapped all the present recently and I coded them with paper: princess paper= Rhyla. Mickey paper=Vash. Rhyla grabbed each princess package and said "For Rhyla" over and over again. Darn cute.

Vash has become such an affectionate little thing. Whenever he gets excited about something he'll say,"For me? Oh thank you, I love it!" And the other night when I made dinner, he said, "Oh mommy! It's my favorite, I love it!" 

So, we're doing well. Still adjusting a bit but that's to be expected since we're still pretty new out here. Hope everyone has a great week, or end of the world, depending on how things go. Just for funsies: if the world ends, I won't miss: doing dishes.

What won't you miss?

Welcome to Pennsylvania!

Well, we made it. We made it here on Wednesday actually, but we've been so busy that this is the first chance I've had to write and tell you all about it. No pictures this week, because, well, even though we crossed the country (approximately 2100 miles of it) all I saw was the inside of the truck cab. LOL. The kids were real troopers though. Entertained themselves with books, coloring, and a portable DVD player. Oh, and Vash learned that eating silly puddy will actually induce vomiting. All over the back seat in fact. It's ok though; Tuku soaked up the majority of it.
Rhyla got to be adored by people from seven different states. Every restaurant we stopped to eat in along the way had people coming up to the table and telling us what a doll she is. Then the next thing they'd ask was if she and Vash were twins. I probably had to say, "No, they're 19 months apart," about 19 times. But twins do run in my family and even though their exponentially difficult, I wouldn't mind a set someday.
Vash got to ride in the Penske will Craig for a few of the days. He kept saying how excited he was to ride in the big truck. Rhyla just seemed excited to have the back seat to herself where she could enjoy her back pack of goodies without Vash taking everything from her. I found out that she likes the same music I do. I'd plug the flash drive into the truck adapter and she'd konk out listening to the Civil Wars. Then she'd wake up and cry if I turned it off.
I almost got to meet my Aunt Paulene when we stopped for the night in Oklahoma City, but Craig's GPS misled us and we had to cancel. It wasn't the first time. Our first night, it led us almost an hour away from our hotel instead of towards it. And several times since we've been in town it's tried to lead us to the middle of nowhere saying that it's taking us to Wal-Mart. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was doing it on purpose, trying to kidnap us and become our evil overlord. *JOKE*
We got to stay the night at Craig's cousin Julie's house our last night out. Her kids are about Vash and Rhyla's age, so we're pretty excited to be just a few hours apart. She might even make it down for Rhyla's birthday. (I'm planning on inviting the entire nursery in hopes that we'll make some friends and it'll make up for the lack of family around to celebrate like there usually is.)
So about Pennsylvania, or Pensin-nane-ya as Vash calls it. The first thing I've learned about it, is that you have to pay a toll to go anywhere. We went to Ikea and we had to a pay a toll. We went to Walmart and we had to pay a toll. And it's always at the Turn Pike. Papa warned us about the Pike but I didn't understand that when he said we'd get to know it, he meant that we'd be getting to know a financial threat. *Also a joke... but only sort of* Our town is small but has everything you can imagine here. We live on a hill right by a river and a train runs right along side it through the town. There are trees everywhere and even though their crackly and dead looking now, it's still kind of hauntingly beautiful in a way. Right at the end of our street is an Italian food restaurant that is always packed. Rather serendipitous, seeing as how pasta is my all time favorite food.
The Wal-Marts are different here. The bags are grey instead of white. You can buy boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts right out of the aisles. And you can buy anything you can imagine with a Steelers symbol on it. True story. Oh, and all the malls sell coats and boots instead of shorts and flip flops.
It's rained every day since we've been here but I don't mind at all. The kids thought it was an outdoor shower so Vash kept rolling the window of the truck down to try and get a drink. Rhyla is loving all her new clothes and protests putting a coat on because she wants to see the characters on her shirts.
Our little place here is great. Three stories, if you count the basement. I do because it's huge. It's like a garage/laundry room/ storage room thing. Mind blowingly large. The kitchen is smaller than what I had before but it's ok because we stored everything I don't have room for in what we've nicknamed the "Harry Potty Bedroom." That's right. We have a room under the stairs; but it's full of pots and pans instead of a teenage wizard. Some times, I think about just popping my head in there and yelling "Lumos!" though just in case. All the rooms are huge too. The dining room, the living room, and the bedrooms all look so empty because we have no furniture still. (It's getting delivered on Monday. So excited!) We share a front porch with the neighbor and we have a tree in the front drive. We don't have a yard but right up the street is an enormous field where we can take the kids to play.
We've put most everything way. The kitchen and bathrooms are entirely done. Everything else will get done quickly once we have dressers to put stuff in. The living room will be the biggest change since we'll have a new couch and entertainment center to put all our movies and things in. We'll need to get book cases eventually but right now we're just going to keep the books in their boxes, stacked against the wall. That's kind of the same thing right? I can't wait until we get the wall mounting stuff so I can put all our family pictures up and the kids' birthday collages. To me, that's really the finishing touch on making this feel like home.
We went to our new ward's Christmas party tonight so we had a chance to meet some of the people we'll be getting familiar with. Our Bishop used to be in the Marines so... let's just say he's all business. I've talked to him for less than five minutes and I got yipped at twice... I'm mildly terrified of him and that's all I'm going to say. Every one else seemed very nice.
So, that's all for this week. Super excited to start the Smith Family adventures in PA. It's been interesting so far.

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Sleep Walking

So Craig bought me extra storage space, which means the pictures are back! Personally, I'm very excited about this advancement. Honestly, the blog is just not the same without pictures. Well, we had our annual trip to the Zoo for Thanksgiving. We're hoping it wont be so cold out in PA that we'll be able to continue this tradition out in the East Coast.

First stop; We checked out the giraffes that we'd be feeding later.

Vash was navigator and official map holder. Mostly he just pointed and kept asking to see the alligators. (We never did find them. Shhhh!)

Rhyla's favorite exhibit was still the monkeys. She was telling a stranger how much she liked them. Vash's favorite thing was the safari train ride, but I didn't manage to get a good picture of  that.

"I used to think that we were forever- ever." What am I saying? Of course we're forever! Love ya Snap Pea!

Smith Family and our pet giraffe Zumi.. or Zundi? I can't remember, but it started with a Z. 

This is Vash explaining to Rhyla why he get's the last drink of the ICEE. There were tears all around when it was gone.

I'm 99% sure that I got an exact picture like this last year! It'd be fun to put them right next to each other and compare how big she's getting.

And of course, we've got Vash here who's sprouting up so much that he's already more than half my height. Yeah, he's going to be taller than me by the time he's ten. So much for disciplining him after that... LOL.

Well, we braved Black Friday this year. Craig got up early and hit up JC Penney for winter coats. He said that the women's floor was crazy but that you could have lain down and taken a nap in the aisles of the men's section and no one would've cared.

My mom helped me with the kid's later that morning and we got some winter church clothes at Kohl's. I saved over $113 dollars. Gotta love that. 

I know we're not very hardcore, but what can I say? I just don't care for pummeling people to death over a toy or electronic. Maybe I'll psych myself up for it and try harder to at least bruise somebody next year or maybe throw myself onto something expensive and tell people they'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.  

So I know you're wondering; what's with the sleep walking? Well that would be Rhyla. Papa woke up at four this morning, which is normal, but came downstairs to find Rhyla, standing at the coffee table, reading the family history book Grampi assembled. Yep... all by her onesie. Woke up and toddled out to read a book at four am. I was both amused and terrified. She can't be up walking around and letting herself out. Can any one say padlocked doors?

Moving Prep

Yeah, so I can't post any pictures this week because I'm apparently out of space... so yeah. Just deleted the entire first year of the blog for nothing... good thing Craig turned it into a book for me. So, we'll have it but it's lost to the world. *tear*
Anyway... We've mostly just been getting ready for the big move across country. Have everything set. Got the job, the place to live, and the moving truck to get there. Been working on overhauling our wardrobes from constant summer to intense winter...So now all we have to do is pack up our clothes and the kids' toys and we'll be set to go!
I've been making mix tapes for us to listen to on the way, and the kids are stocked up on color wonders and etch-a-sketches. Hopefully between that and the portable DVD player we'll be good for the five days it's going to take us to get out there. Is anyone else excited about eating at the places on Triple D that are on our travel route? I'm pretty stoked. I only wish the place that serves bacon covered doughnuts was on the way. It sounds weird, which means it's probably delicious.
As for stories of the week: The kids and I met up with my cousin Brooke and her kids for a farewell play date this last Saturday. Brooke has always been the cousin I'm closest to, because our birthdays are just days apart, we're both married with kids, and we actually got married just a month apart, too! She's the one I shared every birthday with until I was like ten or something. We both realized how much we're going to miss each other and how sad we are that we didn't take more time to get together while we lived so close. The kids got along so well. Vash just loved Hunter and Logan. Tatum, Brooke's daughter, apparently loved Rhyla so much that she kept asking Brooke where she went after we parted ways. I'm torn between thinking that that is the cutest or possibly saddest thing right now. Well, you rarely appreciate what you have until it's gone...sometimes. Not always, but it's definitely the case here.
I've been helping Santa work on the kid's Christmas presents. (Home made Toy Chests... Shhhhhh!) We're trying to have them done before the move obviously, so we can just bring them with us. It'd be awfully expensive for Santa to ship them out to us, otherwise... LOL. So I've been covered in paint the last few days, trying my hand at being an artist. They obviously won't look professionally done, but they're still pretty cute. What can I say? The elf Santa had build the things (An elf named Grandpa) is super talented but not much with a paint brush. Or so he tells me. :)
Tomorrow will be Craig's last day at his current job. Yey! I know he's sorry to go in a way because they were super nice to him, but I know he's thrilled about going into a job where he can use the degree he worked so hard to earn.
Every one at school keeps asking me if I'm ready to go, or if I'm freaked out. They want to know how I'm feeling. I keep telling everyone the same thing. It doesn't feel real yet. I don't feel any differently because it doesn't feel like anything's going to change. I wont truly believe it until we've pulled up into our town home and we start unloading into our new life. Then... I'll probably burst into tears. Shocked tears, not upset tears. Then I'll get the house set up, eat a box of Twinkies (since it turns out they're going to be OK after all), and just get on with our new lives.
Here's to change and here's to tolerating it with grace, dignity, and hostess snack foods.
Hope every one has a Happy Turkey Day!

Less than 3 Weeks!

Well, today we found out that our application has been accepted and we now have a town house to live in when we get out there. That's always a good thing; having a place to go. And Craig put his two week notice in at his current job. He was expecting them to be mad, but actually, they're all just telling him they're going to miss him.

Took the kids to a fancy cupcake place this week. It was right next door to the place where we get the kids' haircuts, so we decided to try it. Super yummy. My mom and I shared a salted Caramel one and the kids each got a cake pop. Well, Vash got two. He's so darn cute that the woman running the place let him have a second on the house.

Enjoying the cooler weather here. Vash is going to be really upset when we get out to PA and he can't wear shorts and sandals everyday any more. He's been playing this new game lately where he pretends to be hiding from a robot. I really don't know where he got the idea from though.

Rhyla has perfected following Vash around. She imitates his every move. And she likes being silly. I call the kids silly gooses, and she must like that because occasionally she'll come up and ask, "Mommy, I'm Gooses?"

Had a play date with one of my good friends. Our oldest two are three weeks apart to the day, and our second ones are three weeks apart to the day. Girls older than boys, both times. But now she's due in January and I'm not even pregnant! Threw off our groove, lol.

Chelsea and me. It's hard to believe that only nine years ago we were taking a ballet class together and trying to get good parts in the Nutcracker. Now we're both married and mamas! Time really has a way of changing things. 

Vash woke up ridiculously early the other day. Sun wasn't up. He was so proud, he says to Craig," I wake up like Daddy! When it's dark!"

Oh, and he was so angry when we took our first walk after Halloween was done. All the decorations are down, right? Well, Vash had a favorite door and it was normal when we passed. He says, "Hey, where's my spooky door?"

We told him it was all done, and wouldn't be back until next year.

"Oh, fine. Good idea," He starts, sarcastically, "Take the spooky down. It's fine!"

So much attitude. It was hilarious.

Rhyla has figured out what ear buds are and since she loves music and dancing, if they're plugged in, even if the computer's off, she'll put one in and dance around.

Vash said this was Mickey. (Disney Rocks!) Vash has also started thanking me differently. When I do something he likes he says, "Thank you, mommy. You're my hero!"

Didn't get any pictures, but we visited with Grandma and Grandpa for a bit who came down to say good bye. They wished us the best and I felt like crying. All I could think about was all the holidays we spent together growing up, my family and my cousins that are more like sisters than cousins. I thought about my grandmother teaching me how to sew, embroider, and bake cookies. I thought about me and my cousin Megan sneaking into the kitchen and peeling the crispy skin off the turkey. And how Brooke and I shared every birthday party until I was ten. I remember my grandpa teaching me to Tango in their living room, and thousands of games of Mexican train. I remember joking with my uncle Brian about being the scapegoat and not being able to take me anywhere! And of course, there was the time we toilet papered a neighbors house for killing Brian's best friend's dog. Ha ha. I remember a camping trip with hours of swimming and ants getting into all the cereal one night. I remember my grandmother teaching me to pray for comfort when I got panic attacks. I love you both so much and I'll miss you every special moment for as long as we're apart. Thank you for so many beautiful memories to take with me and share with my children.

Old Hallows Eve

Did everyone have a good Halloween? We did too. In fact, we did a whole three days of celebrating. Monday with the pumpkin carving and all. Tuesday night I had class, (I'm sketching pretty good croquis now! Should post a pic...) so my parents took the kids to a block party around the corner from their home.

They had games, food, and dancing. I'm assuming this was a bean bag toss of sorts. Rhyla wanted to hold my hand the other day and she says, "Give me dat! Hands..." 

My dancing babies. I'm going to vote Rhyla is upset because someone else wore the same costume! But she wears it better don't you think? More authentic ;)

Ok, so I'm NOT a Twi-hard or anything, but does anyone else think my son looks like a baby vampire in this picture? The crazy blood red eyes... Kinda Creepy. But this is the sweet boy that was kissing my arm the other night and telling me to have sweet dreams. Definitely not vicious in behavior.

Not sure what's going on here, but I liked the picture.

Wednesday was actually Halloween so Vash insisted on wearing the costume the entire day. Rhyla settled for a Snow White shirt.

Aren't they darling? By the way, Vash is Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

When we were out and about he tells Craig and me, "Thanks for letting me play outside after the moon is awake!"

These are the pumpkin's faces. Jack was looking pretty sinister... not gonna lie. Ariel was probably freaked out. (Can't imagine why they had two pumpkins together *joke*)

Some trick or treat action. I wanted to get video but my camcorder died right at the beginning of the night. Sad day. Vash was knocking and asking for candy like a pro, but Rhyla refused to say anything except "Happy Halloween!"

Do you see him? Just over Craig's head. Jack was hanging out at a neighbor's house. Vash was pretty excited but I think he freaked Rhyla out. I'm pretty sure they wanted to know what Jack was doing out of the spooky house.

Then last night, we took the kids to our ward's chili cook off. Vash is trying to crack a peanut over his head. Turns out Rhyla is a pretty adventurous chili eater... loves her some tortilla too.She's been eating a lot lately. So much in fact, that when Vash is finished eating, she'll hop up into his seat and clean his plate!

So, fun was had by all. The kids ask if we can go trick or treating every night now. Hard to explain the concept of 'once a year', but we'll try again after Christmas I bet. I guess the best way to expand Halloween would be to start celebrating Dia de los Muertos. We are a bit Hispanic so actually it could work. And who wouldn't eat a sugar skull if given the chance? (They'll all candy and not at all real skulls by the way.)

We Set A Date!

Craigery has a start date! His first day at the new company will be the second week of December... Which means we'll be moving in just under five weeks! Can you believe it? I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. In less than a month we'll be living somewhere with four seasons, and have our own place again, and we'll be nearer to new theme parks. Yep, decided I'm pretty excited about Universal out there too. BTW, any chance we have some fans in Pennsylvania? We'd love to make some friends out there.

These are Rhyla's new pink boots. I'm glad she likes them because our flip flop days are about over. 

We found out recently that Vash doesn't like caramel corn... only cheddar popcorn. He threw all the caramel on the floor. 

Been enjoying the park while we can too. I'm excited for sweaters and a white Christmas, but I have a feeling our slide days will be minimal this winter.

Vash is turning into quite the artist. He enjoys chalk drawing, pens and pencils, and of course, sand painting!

These are my gooses doing a sand run. They fell more than they ran. 

I asked Vash what he wanted to do today and he says to me,"Nothing. I have no monies. I have no energies."

LOL. I didn't realize I said those things often enough for him to remember and repeat them. 

Chalking it up together. Rhyla's become an escape artist. Every night at bedtime she hurls herself out of her crib and comes toddling out to find me. I thought if I sang to her, she would stay in there and fall asleep. Well she stayed but she didn't sleep. She stood there and cried/sang with me. I'd sing," A dream is a wish your heart makes," and she'd cry/sing "Dweam.... Ma-ake-akes."

Me: "When you're fast asleep."

Rhyla: "Asweep..."

Me: "In dreams you will lose all heartache, whatever you wish for you keep."

Rhyla: "Ke-ee-eep!"

And so on. It was so cute. I'll try and get a video of it to share sometime.

The other night, the kids got into the teddy grahams before I was able to pick up some dinner. So I walk in with McDonald's and they hardly ate a bit of it. I asked them: "Did you fill up on cookies?"

Vash runs away, but Rhyla just stands there and grins at me.

My sweet boy. He was trying on some fairy wings and jumping around saying he was a bug. Earlier he grabbed a heart pillow and hands it to me saying: "Oh Mommy it's your heart. A beautiful heart!"

Craig and I took the kids to Uncle Jim's annual pumpkin carving party. I brought these cute rolls for an appetizer. I nicknamed them Spider Bites. I think if I make them again, I'm going to fill them with that spray cheese.

Craig and Vash carved an Ariel Pumpkin for Rhyla.

Rhyla and I carved a Jack Skellington pumpkin for Vash. (I'll put a picture of the pumpkin's faces next week.)

After we ate and carved the pumpkins, the kids played a game called Dunkin Doughnuts. If they wanted the doughnut they had to eat them off the swinging strings. So funny. Vash didn't want to try it, and eventual got Craig to take one down for him. Rhyla almost went for it, but I think she got intimidated by the older kids.

This is the whole bunch of pumpkins. Ariel is third from the left and Jack is the one just to the right of her in the back row. That's Marshall lighting up the coolest of the pumpkins: Spiderman. It looked SO GOOD. Not kidding. Serious pumpkin envy.

So here are a few more fun Halloween Videos to hold you folks over until next year:

My longtime celebrity crush Jimmy Fallon singing Halloween Carols:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fTnGH6pGqc

Mickey's Halloween Parade at Disney World. I love the grave diggers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHWUSGfmCOI

And finally, though it's not Halloween exactly, I LOVE the Epic Mickey game and think a Wasteland song is appropriate since it's a demented Disneyland. So here's Epic Mickey Theme Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN1gx3tP26M

Happy Halloween!