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| Boxing Day 2012 |
So welcome to 2013! I'm not sure why, but I am not exactly 'pumped' for the new year. I can't put my finger on it, but I just don't feel great about the year. Sorry to be a Debbie-downer, hopefully ol' lucky 13 will prove me wrong :) Maybe that is it - I've never been a fan of the number 13! But, as with age, I think I should forget about the number and concentrate on making some goals and enjoying this wonderful life!
We had a great holiday season and it's not over yet! Cal goes back to work on Monday, so we get to enjoy a few more days together! We've all been sick off and on. Colds, coughs, sick to our stomach's (and the other nasty stuff that often goes hand in hand with this), sneezing and stuffed up. No fevers thankfully and thankfully we were all better (for the most part - at least enough to enjoy the coming celebrations!) by the 22nd.
We had fun at DWS Consulting's 1st Christmas party on December 22nd! Emerson was super excited to play with her friend Danielle! The girls were very cute and we had a chuckle when Emerson and Danielle started comparing outfits and got excited that they were both wearing black tights ;) Too cute!! Reese enjoyed tagging along with the girls and Grandma pulled out a new Lego set to entertain Blake ... he didn't complain but it was obvious that he wasn't enjoying dancing and playing Barbies with the girls!! It was nice to visit with some of Mom and Dad's closest friends and people I have gotten to know over the years, and it was nice to meet some new people and put some faces to the names I often hear! AND great to see my sister and her family, especially cutie-pie Connor :)
The 24th brought a busy day, with last minute wrapping and preparing to host some of the Cameron family on Christmas Day (yes, I made 2 trips to the grocery store due to forgotten items. Yes, I did make a list ... don't ask ;) lol!!). That evening, we enjoyed the pj service at St. Albert United Church, the kids were quite excited to attend Church in their pj's and even more excited when at the end of the service, we all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and enjoyed birthday cake ;) The kids spread their reindeer food before bed, set out cookies and Christmas milk (a.k.a. egg nog) for Santa and carrots for the reindeer and headed off to bed. They slept great, I was wondering if Blake and Em would get up in the middle of the night to see if Santa had arrived but they didn't. That is coming soon though!!! Cal and I both remember sneaking downstairs to see our stockings in the middle of the night :) It was very sweet to hear Blake and Em talking about Santa and his reindeer after we had put them to bed. Brought back many great memories of sharing a bed with my sister on Christmas Eve! I think in the future Reese will sleep with Em on Christmas Eve so they can all be together, excited and chatting :)
Christmas morning began in our house at around 7:15 am. Which for us, is not too early!! The kids were all bursting at the seams to open their stockings and gifts. Blake's Lego City Forest Fire Police Station, Emerson's Baby Butterscotch and Reese's Baby Doctor (a.k.a. Baby Alive Feel Better doll) were the Santa gifts and all caused a lot of excitement!! My favorite part of 'gifts' is the stockings! I love stuffing the stockings with all the fun, little things and the kids always enjoy them! Let me tell you, Captain America and Hello Kitty toothbrushes can cause quite the excitement ;) Mom and Dad brought breakfast over around 10 am and the kids enjoyed showing them their new toys and gifts! Gerry and family and Bev and Bruce joined us a little later in the afternoon for dinner and more visiting, playing and gifts! It was great to see everyone and nice to have Bev with us on Christmas Day :)
The morning of Boxing Day, we loaded up into the van and picked up Grandma Kelley on our way to Stony Plain! She recently moved in with my Aunt and Uncle (Mom's brother), who live just a few minutes from us. We haven't spent Christmas with Grandma Kelley in many, many years, so it was great to have her with us for our 'Smith' Christmas :) We had a great day at Mom and Dad's - a delicious wife saver breakfast, opening gifts, visiting, playing, relaxing and a delicious turkey dinner! The kids had fun with Connor, especially the girls who like to treat him like their baby ;) And Connor was a champ, he didn't mind at all!!
Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful gifts we received and for sharing the most important gift of all, the gift of time, with our family :) We had a really great Christmas, each year gets better and better and easier too, with the kids getting older and more resilient to later bed times and missed naps!
We had a few days of rest before a fun night out for a friend's 40th birthday party! His wife hosted a hall party and we all had an absolute blast! We visited with so many friends, some who we don't often see due to how busy all our schedules have gotten since having kids (a.k.a. reduction in partying!!)!! Blake, Em and Reese had a ball playing with all the other kids. Emerson put on quite the performance on stage, dancing away, complete with high kicks ;) A few parents were taking pictures and video of the kids on stage and Emerson ensured she was near the camera! Every time the camera would move, she would follow! She's quite the little performer! We also had fun with the photo booth that was at the party! Em 'photobombed' many pics and we got a kick out of all the props and accessories, having fun taking family pics and pics of the kids with friends!
To round off a great 2012, we spent our last day of the year ski-dooing and tobogganing at my parents lake lot. It was a beautiful winter day and we had a great time, having a hot dog roast, riding Dad's ski-doo (hard to get the kids off!) and Blake made a few trips down the hill on his new snow racer (and Grandma tested out Em's flying saucer!)! We had pizza at Mom and Dad's that evening and headed home with some tired out kiddo's! We thought we might partake in the Family Fest in Stony Plain, but the kid's were pretty much done for the day!! Maybe next year! We were invited to the neighbours for some New Year's cheer but our baby monitor wouldn't reach that far :( Cal encouraged me to go on over and he would hold down the fort, so I did and I really enjoyed myself! We visited and played Scattagories, it was fun! I made sure I was home before midnight, with cheesecake in hand, to ring in 2013 with my hubby ;)
In between all these parties and celebrations we have enjoyed some tobogganing and outdoor skating and spending time all together. We hope you have had a fun Christmas season and wish you all the best in the New Year :) I still need to work on my goals for 2013 ... more on that to come!
xoxo
Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese
PS: Here are a few photo's I've taken throughout the holidays:
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| Our sweeties in their pj's, ready for the Christmas Eve pj service! |
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| Emerson, Jenna, Reese, Colby and Blake on Christmas Day, in their new pj's made by Grandma Bev :) |
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| Our Smith family with Grandma Kelley, on Boxing Day :) |
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| Cal and the girls, ready for some ski-doo'ing! |
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| Grandpa and Blake, heading out on a ride! |
