MANY MANY THANKS THIS YEAR

Cole on his way to his audition for the Village People 

Chris, Cole, and Catherine (these were the years prior to the arrival of Carter)

Cole circa 2004 first Halloween

5 generations on my Mom's side

* my hair is ridiculously short in this photo too

Moment of sweetness with the Smith Boys. 

Catch these fast....they are both going about 90 mph these days....

Happy Thanksgiving. 

Chris and I are so fortunate this year. 

A WEEKEND WITH THE SMITH FAMILY

Ah...so I have exciting pictures here to show you all. What we have up first is Stone Soup with Cole. This here is Carter and the rabbit, Pancake. Chris is here in the photo too. Chris has a looooong week and was so glad to be home. He worked a few extra days and went a few days without sleeping at all. No sleep. Whatsoever. He's a very hard worker. We made sure to have a relaxing fun weekend to celebrate (really...I'm not kidding...night shift and day shift is tough) that we made it through the week...that was until we turned on the tv and watched Notre Dame lose to UCONN.

Not A. Good. Time. Guys.

Anyways...happy thoughts...happy thoughts....

here is Carter. He really loves animals. Alot. In fact. He calls them his "babies".

Here is Cole's classroom. I was trying to get a photo of Cole's cubicle but I was getting some strange looks from parents...so I'll try another time. He wrote his entire name on the outside.

Cole and his buddy Blake Campos. Blake usually sports a mohawk so of course...in Cole's book that is awesome! (his Mom is a pretty neat lady too.) And on Friday when I picked Cole up from school he reported to me that Blake was going to Arizona and we weren't going anywhere and that is "boring Mom!" Oy vey!

Carter and Chris checking out the pet birds, Speedy and Tweety.

So this is Cole's favorite toy. This is Patrick and last year for Christmas we gave Patrick to Cole...Carter has now decided Patrick is his "baby" and as you can see Patrick is around 50 inches long. He's a big baby.

So that brings us to lovely Saturday morning. The boys in their "usual" spot watching videos on YouTube.

I am cooking here. Eggs and ebelskivers. Yum.

Yum. These are delightful with powdered sugar.

The kids are preparing for the Notre Dame game. Here is Carter in his game hat from Grandma Lee Ann and Grandma Gil

Breakfast is ready.

And Cole is ready for the game. These jerseys are from Aunt Julia...from Notre Dame. Hello. It just isn't any cooler than that. Between the lovely hats from Notre Dame (from Chris' grandparents) and the jersey...the kids have some nice ND things.

So...I have photos of the boys during the Notre Dame game...but I'm not going to post them. Chris was...hm......mad for lack of a better word so we'll just move along to Sunday morning.

Orange Cranberry scones.

Cole here is helping me transfer them to the baking sheet.

Back to the computer for some more videos....because.....

this happened.

So we went outside to play in the snow a bit....

Then we went to the mall so Chris could get some new jeans...and while he was trying them on at Macy's.....the boys and I went to buy Salt Water Taffy. Oh ya.

And Carter is a stinker because he likes to take his shoes and socks off.

Then I made this...first time I've roasted an entire chicken.

P.s. we really need a Whole Foods. I hope one will come to Idaho Falls. I'm doubtful though.

This is Cole setting the table for dinner. He's a great helper. (he set everything himself....seriously!)

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

I was organizing all my photos this afternoon and was just amazed at how much we have all changed and grown. Chris and I have both had a few different hair styles. I think Chris wins for "most drastic" change. He went from no hair to alot of hair. (and I mean alot!) So I thought I would share these with you in my moment of nostalgia.

Chris holding Cole. Cole was 16 months here. Carter now wears those exact pajamas. Every few months I go downstairs and get the next size of clothes out of the appropriate bin and swap out Carter's closet. Voila! New wardrobe! Excellent!

Carter a few weeks ago. He is always "all smiles" and giggles.

Carter trying out some new pajamas. These I actually bought. He's a bit of a high stepper too. He likes to walk around the house and look at everything...high stepping the entire time.

Cole in his pajamas preparing his reading book for school in the morning.

Cole is 2 years old here. This morning sticks in my memory very clearly. It was a Saturday and Cole climbed into bed with Chris and then arranged all his Tonka trucks in my spot! It was "boys and trucks only, Mom"

This is me and Coley. We were in Boise at my grandfather's memorial service about to leave for the cemetary. Cole was a very good boy that entire weekend.

This is Cole and Chris at the SLC airport. We are waiting for our flight to San Francisco, CA to visit my Grandmama. This was the last time I saw her and I'm so glad she had such a wonderful birthday celebration. We were there when they were having an extreme heat wave and it was 110 degrees in the Bay Area. After we got checked into the hotel in Lafayette, CA Cole snuggled into bed and went right to sleep in the cool sheets. We then spent alot of time in the pool and of course visiting with my Grandmama and the other family that was there. It was really a great time.

In fact here we are in the POOL. Ah...it was really wonderful. P.s. it was so hot that when Chris got out of the pool and walked over to get a bottle of water from the bar the tiled area surrounding the pool burned the bottom of his feet. It was just insane!

This is from our photo session at the Blue Studio in downtown Idaho Falls. Cole just started to squeeze me and gave me a huge hug. It was great.

Cole 2 summers ago getting ready for his 1st theatrical performance at his school.

Cole on his 4th birthday.