Christmas 2010: Whimsical Wonderland

It's Christmas a the Smith home.

Since this was our first year decorating together, we collaborated on our color scheme.

I wanted to steer away from the traditional red & green,

and Derek loves fun, bright, and cheery colors.

Here is what we came up with.

Leave a comment! Tell us what you think!

What does your house look like this season?

We would LOVE to see it!

Thanksgiving Break

Derek completed his finals and was given a wonderful two week break from school!

The first week was spent with work & studying for the Boards.

We packed up the car and headed to Carlsbad for a wonderful 9 day vacation with the Jones family!

Major side note- I have way more clothes then the shirts I am wearing in all these pictures.

I just like these ones so I'm in a little of a rut right now. Does anyone else do that?

We spent a couple afternoons just hanging out with Rachel and Dallin.

It was really fun! We headed down to Old Town San Diego one afternoon and ate at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and then converted both of them to the new Mormon Battalion church site!

If you still haven't gone- GET UP AND GO! All of us enjoyed ourselves & love going every time we're there!

Thank you Mom & Dad for spoiling us for a day at Disneyland & CA Adventure!

It was even more fun because Derek hadn't been to Disneyland since he was 12, and never been to California Adventure. We had a great time! We were surprised when we received our Christmas present while we were there: Annual Passes!

Please look at Dallin & Mackenzie in this picture- hilarious! (far left in matching (coincidence?) blue shirts)

Such a fun way to spend our Thanksgiving break! An extra big THANK YOU to Mom & Dad for spoiling us rotten and making our pants a little tighter. Mom also spoiled me with the wonderful Christmas present of: CHRISTMAS! I'm getting the house together and it's looking adorable. This year's theme:

"Walking in a Whimsical Wonderland."

post to follow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving, and all through the house, all the creatures were stirring...

Mom: On the hunt for dinner napkins. You gotta love her.

Dad: Snoring on the couch. Poor guy has been sick all day.

Rachel: Vigorously writing a novel of some kind.

Dallin: Playing xBox LIVE! and yelling at his friends for beating him.

Derek: Laughing at Dallin's craziness.

Becca: Blogging and FBing. Yes, I'm addicted.

Tomorrow we sit down to dinner with friends and family and give thanks for all the wonderful things we have.

My top 5: Family. Carpet. Books. Clean sheets. Warm socks.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all, a good night.

Peak: "Torturing" Rachel by plucking her eyebrows. (Insert evil laugh here).
Pit: Laundry. Does it ever end?

Thankful

Today, I'm feeling very thankful.

Time off from school with Derek.

Happy to see family and friends the next few months.

Adventures in San Diego (temple, Disneyland, Old Town)

New Christmas decorations (especially my new gorgeous nativity)

Kind co-workers & boss who are allowing me time off to visit family for the holidays.

Finally cleaning out my bedroom at my parents house. (I'm excited to see old yearbooks!)

yUmmy food & pumpkin pancakes, muffins, cookies!

Laughing while Derek plays Wii & looses to my 8-year-old cousin Trevor.

Pit: Laundry, packing, and cleaning before we leave.

Peak: A fun road-trip with Derek on the way to Carlsbad!

Library Story

I finally had a FREE Saturday. No work. No trainings. A clean house, and a busy husband studying for finals all day.

I was so excited to finally get to the city Library.

I couldn't wait to come home with a stack of books and dive in.

When I got there, I was prepared with my drivers licence & proof of address.

The conversation between me and the librarian went something like this:

"Okay. Are you ready to pay the $15.00 fee for using the library?"

"Oh, I have a valid Glendale address, I thought I would get a free card."

"Oh no, it doesn't work like that. Although you live within Glendale city limits, have a Glendale mailing address, and pay bills/taxes to the city of Glendale, you are technically in the boundaries for Phoenix."

"So, what does that mean exactly?"

"Well, you can come to this library for the fee, or get free cards at these two locations...."

(looking down at list) "So, instead of driving 5 blocks to come to this library, I have to go 25 miles because I am just shy of 2 blocks of the boundaries."

"Exactly."

So, I am boycotting the library for right now.

And yes, I will continue to read and re-read the same 5 books I own.