Moms 60th Birthday Getaway!

Mom (Sheila) turned the BIG 6-0 December 14th (and you still look as beautiful as you did when you were 21!). We stole her away to Tucson for a GIRLS weekend at Felisa's house. Mom had never had a pedi/mani so we thought what a better time than Moms 60th for a weekend getaway with the kids! We had a GREAT time having our feet and hands pampered, lunch out @ Macaroni Grill, and doing some Christmas shopping!!! Note to "Smith Girls" - GIRL GATHERINGS IS A MUST AT LEAST 2-4 TIMES A YEAR!

TAG!....I'm it!!!

Thanks to Rayna I got tagged. So here we go with a few things you may or may not have known about me!

1: I love this time of year. Not only this time, meaning Christmas, but the entire fall/winter season. When tempertures begin to drop, leaves begin to turn into beautiful displays of art, and the nights are cool enough for sweaters and jackets. When Halloween begins to creep upon us and the kids get excited to carve pumpkins and get dressed up. The smells of ThanksGiving coming along....the pies, turkeys, and the sense of service that seems mute until this time of year. When in December the Christmas tree & lights outside go up, warm fires are necessary, and snow flurries are about. This is the time of year that I feel draws so many of us together. It is truly the "warmest" time of year to me!

2: I am so grateful for the "boys" in my life! Crew is so full of love, always giving hugs and kisses, screaming "I love yous" throughout every random minute in the day, and Wrestling mom down to the ground cause she is one of the "guys" too! Trip for his little smile that seems to be planted on his face permenatly, for his little laugh, and the way he just idolizes Crew and his dad! And for Jason. Words cannot and will not ever be enough to express my love and appreciation for the man he is in my life. Lets face it, you know he is a good guy when he has to put up with me!!! I love you boys!!!

3: I secretly have O.C.D. I clean my house EVERY day. We are talking sweep, mop, vacumm, dust, clean the pee off the toilets (you'll understand IF you have boys OR husbands), dishes, etc. etc. etc. I think it is engraved in my DNA (thanks mom). Not only that BUT at night I think I check the locks on the doors 2 or 3 times before I go onto the next check point to make sure the boys are nice and warm, tucked in, and okay. This too is engraved into my DNA (thanks Dad). The list can go on BUT I don't want want to be put in a straight jakcet and locked in a padded room! HAHAHA!

4: I love the feeling of accomplishment. Whether it is dreadfully training every morning for the 1/2 marathon (which is less than a month away and I am no way near ready) and stepping off the treadmil smothered in sweat, or accomplishing the daily tasks of motherhood, helping Trip to walk, having dinnner on the table for Big J when he walks through the door, helping Crew with his pre-school work, getting ALL the laundry washed & folded (which is the most dreadful chore for me to do), surviving to the grocery store w/ both boys. In all these small efforts I feel a certain degree of accomplishment at the end of my day.

Francoise de Motteville:
The true way to render ourselves happy is to love our work and find in it our pleasure.

5: I love to get 'invovled' in a good book. Taking a little time here and there when the little monsters are napping or the husband is busy watching the game on TV or even staying up late after everyone has fallen alseep just read one more chapter. I love finding GREAT books that I can fall in love with and read over & over. Getting caught up in a book is my secret escape from the daily duties of motherhood!

6: When people ask Jason & I how we met we always tell them, "He got my brother a job, my brother got him a wife!" Jason and I became friends when I was introduced to a group of St. Johns boys at a missionary farewell with my brother Steven. At the time Jason and I didn't have much to do w/ eachother, after all I was one of those 'snotty Snowflake girls', right J!?! I dated one of his best friends and was always trying to set him up with my roomates to go out on double dates w/ us (he was always the life of the party and kept us laughing). Time went on as we both moved in and out of realtionships. It wasn't until I had left the Valley and moved home when 2 little match makers decided for us that we would get married. Steven and Amy must have been inspired, bored, or just needed some entertainment. So it was set, our first date!!! We went to the IMPROV, dinner, back to his place for a movie and a kiss (AHHH) and the rest is history!!! Thanks Steven & Amy!

Thanks Rayna for the TAG!!! Now its my turn!!! I Tag the following: The Smith Girls (this means you: Mom, Celia, Felisa, Becca, Traci, & Amy)

Just write down a few fun facts we may or may have not known about you!!! Have fun, you have officially been TAGGED!!!

The Whiting Family gets ELFED!

Okay, so I just couldn't resist doing this! I saw this on my sis-in-law, Julies, blog and laughed so hard!!! So I did one for the Whiting Family. Just trying to spread a little holiday laughter and spirit to all.


Hey, I just made a total elf of myself. Check it out by clicking the link below.
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1195776255

A Very Merry Christmas Fiesta.

Trip * Mr. C. * & Crew

Last night we had our ward Christmas Fiesta!!! Good times. Every year they have a fiesta for Christmas (because they figure everyone is probably so sick of eating turkey and ham by now, and we are, that Mexican Food is a nice change of taste before we delve into the Traditional turkey and ham for Christmas.) And as always a SPECIAL visitor payed a visit to check up on the primary children! We didn't know how our boys were going to take Santa this year. Crew was terrified of the Jolly Man last year and even in the mall he didn't want to sit on Santa's lap...and this being Trip's 1st Christmas we weren't too sure on how he would take to being held by this strange Red Man. BUT, to our surprise Crew ran right up to get in line to make sure he got his order in to Mr. C. It was too cute! I think he told him 5 times that he wanted Transformers for Christmas then continued by telling Santa ALL the Transformers names!!! And Trip was a pro!!! A little hesitant at first BUT he took a liking to Santa and his big white beard!!! Jason and I are looking forward to seeing our boys faces light up when they come in the family room on Christmas morning. Seeing the boys GLOW melts my heart!

Merry Christmas!

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ThanksGiving

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Love - The Whiting Family

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Mini Vaca. filled full of fun!

Crew & Kedzie

Yet another weekend we paid a visit to the Valley! As much as we are there (for J's work/meetings w/ clients, visiting family, shopping, & going out with friends) you'd think we live there! Oh well, only in MY dreams, BUT we do love getting to go and visit everyone! We had an AWESOME time! The Agenda: left Snowflake (before the sun was up) Friday morning - Jason dropped me and the kiddos off @ The Wilhelm's - Big J went to his meetings - Kristen & I took the kids to the Scottsdale train park w/ some of the gals in her ward - J took care of business @ the dealership w/ our truck (long story short : I got pulled over and TICKETED because my windows tint was too dark!!! So J called up the dealership, gave them what for, for selling us an "illegal" truck and thank our lucky stars they took care of it all = new tint & paying the ticket!) anywho, back to the weekends agenda: Kristen & I put together princess wands (for Kedzies party) kids took a nap :) - Went out to eat w/ Davis' and Smith families - Dropped boys off with Steven & Amy (thanks so much for watching the boys for us!!!) - Went to Ammon's BIG "hooray cancer gone party bash", played some mean games of musical chairs & mellow fights :) - picked up our monsters from Steven & Amy - on to day 2 - went to little Steven's t-ball game - Amy took Crew w/ after the game (thanks again Amy) - Big J & I went shopping for Christmas & grabbed lunch - picked up Crew - went to Kedzies "Princesses & Knights" B-Day party - ate some yummy cake - cleaned up - and said our thank yous & goodbyes and headed up the mountain home :) Its always a fun time for Mom & the boyz to get away and have a good time! Our little mini Vaca's to the Valley hold some of our favorite memories in them :)

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Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!

Treats, treats, and more treats! Crew is stocked for the rest of the year AND the next and so on and so forth! We had such a fun Halloween! First it was off to school for Crew (dressed as SpiderMan) taking along his cupcakes to share w/ his class (he was convinced it was his b-day). After he got his sugar fix at school he came home to even more Halloween treats.....my visiting teachers paid me a visit and brought us yummy yummy cookies (thanx girls). My monsters were literally bouncing off the walls of our home! FINALLY there was a lull in Crew's sugar high and I took advantage! He was out for the count along with the other little monster that reeks havoc in our home AND I went to work! ( I guess I was Cinderella for Halloween after all the cleaning I did! ) Then it was party time! We transformed our boys into SpiderMan (Crew) and The Bug (Trip) and we were off to Grandma's house! Knock Knock...trick or treat.....BOO! Grandma was a WITCH! Then off to the church we went (ward dinner & trunk or treat party). Crew loaded up!!! And as if that wasn't enough treating we went to the Halloween Carnival that the Chamber of Commerce put on at the school! (BIG J is the Chamber Pres. so we are an on the go "show" family to nearly EVERY function). Good Times! Good Memories! Glad its over with! Now who wants some candy!?!