Our busy December...warning...picture overload!

Wow it's only been just a couple of weeks, but we have been crazy busy, just like all the rest of you!  For the Smith Christmas pary, we went to Fat Cats and bowled and ate!  So much fun!  I love getting together with everybody!  Boston especially loved the bowling!

Then for Christmas this year my parents decided to take our family on a cruise!  It was SO much fun!  We went to Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico.

As soon as we found out we were going on a cruise, my husband decided to grow out his chest hair so he could do the hairy chest contest.  But when it came down to it, he about chickened out until Dustin said he would do it too.  It was so funny!  My husband was definitely the hottest one out there!  I did get video of his dancing, but he wouldn't let me put it on.  He said I already embarrassed him with the last video I put on!

Chillin out watchin the hairy chest contest!

Boston was in heaven being with his grandparents, aunt, and uncles all day everyday.  He idolizes them!  Here he is copying Eric.  Too cute!

Before the ship took sail, looking out over San Diego.

My dad taught Boston how to look into the binoculars, and that was his new favorite toy.

During one of the night shows, Santa came and Boston was so excited to sit on his lap.  It was so cute!

On the top deck, the boat had a miniature golf course.  Boston tried being a big boy like everyone else, and actually he started getting pretty good by the end.  But he loved it!

Playing some mini golf!

Formal night.  Aren't these handsome boys!

I wish I had more pictures of all the food we ate.  This night was the lobster.  A typical dinner for the boys consisted of 2-3 appetizers, 2-4 main courses and 2-3 desserts.  Wow can you say weight gain!!!!  The food was SO good!  And that is not including the 24 hour pizza and ice cream, the sushi bar everyday, the room service, and breakfast and lunch!  Holy cow!  But hey, it's not everyday you can eat like that right?

On the little boat riding into Catalina Island.

We rented golf carts and rode around the whole island.  It was so much fun and it was such a beautiful island!  Eric says it reminds him of an upscale Jamaica.

Looking from the top of the Island to our boat.

The cruise ship won't allow babies younger than six months to come on the boat.  So we had to leave our sweet little Carter boy home.  We sure missed him, but know he was in good hands!  Thanks everyone who helped watch our baby.

The water was way too cold for most of us to get in, but Eric was brave enough to go snorkeling for a little bit.  The rest of us were too chicken!

The whole crew!

Beautiful Catalina!

The next day we were in Ensenada Mexico.  We took a bus ride down to the biggest blow hole in the world.  It was pretty cool.  Boston loved watching the water spray up.

Right next to the blow hole was a mexican flee market.  Here are the boys with the gear they got.  

Boston was scared of this guy!  Thanks mom and dad for the most memorable Christmas vacation yet!  We will always cherish the memories we make together!

After the cruise, me, Ryan , Boston and John all drove home so we could get home to our Carter and John could get home to his family for Christmas.  

Speaking of Christmas here is our Christmas tree.

Christmas this year was so much fun.  Boston was so excited and happy!  Carter got all of Boston's baby toys.  It worked out perfect because Boston didn't remember any of them!

Boston was excited to get new clothes and candy and his uncle Nick's tonka trucks he had when he was a little boy.  

Then we headed over to the Smiths.  We got spoiled like always.  While we were in Arizona shopping all day, we were in Buckle trying to find some cute jeans for Nick.  Then Julie decided it would be fun for all of us to get new jeans for Christmas.  It was pretty cute watching everyone try on their jeans.  Here is everybody with our cute new jeans!  Thanks Chuck and Julie for making this Christmas extra special like always!

Then we headed over to the Randall's house.  Eric got the sexiest musks from Grandpa Randall.  We always love opening grandpa's gifts!  You can tell he puts a lot of thought into them.  So this one was just funny!

Boston got spoiled like always.

Eric got Boston a matching poncho like all the other boys.  So cute!

Travis and my cute boys!

This is usually how you can find Dustin if he's not out running...texting on his phone with the biggest smile on his face!  Hilarious!

What a wonderful Christmas we had!

This is the only picture I got of our New Year.  I made this yummy treat and boy was it yummy!  It had all the goods in it!  

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas like we did and we hope that the new year brings much happiness to all of you!  2010 here we come!

Finally another post!

Ryan had to go to California for work at the beginning of November and we got invited to come.  So we went to Disneyland with the kids while the boys worked.  It was so much fun.  At first Boston was scared of some of the characters, but as they kept showing up, he started loving them.  Goofy was kind enough to let us eat in his kitchen one morning for breakfast:)

This is my favorite ride...It's A Small World!  I love it.  It is so cute...and there's not a height limit so we can get on as a family!  I love how it is all lit up at night too.

We were there for the first day of all the Christmas decorations.  It is beautiful!  Sleeping Beauty's Castle was just breathtaking.  I love the firework show they do for Christmas and then at the end, it snows on Disneyland.  So magical!

We have made it a tradition to get our kids a pair of Mickey ears with their name engraved on the back the first time they go to Disneyland.  Carter still has to grow into his ears.

I just love this picture of Boston.  It's A Small World was starting to put him to sleep I think.

Shauna and her cute family came to Utah for Thanksgiving.  So we got all the kids together one day just like old times (but we are missing sweet Remy).  From left to right...Carson, Jaylee, Ian, Boston and Braelyn.  I can't believe how big they are getting.  They are so stinkin cute.  Boston sure does miss Ian though.  There will be days that Boston comes up and tells me he wants Ian.  My heart feels sad that we can't just call him up and play anymore, but I'm glad he hasn't forgotten him.  

Later that night we let the hubbies take the kids and all of us girls went and saw New Moon.  I was so excited because I hadn't been on a girls night out without kids for so long!  Even though yes I  miss my kids when I'm away from them, it really was so fun!  While we waited in line, we watched Twilight on my laptop until the movie started.  New Moon was just ok for me.  But it was just fun being just the girls.  We did have little Gavin with us and he was so funny.  He decided he needed to relieve his tummy of some gas right during the quietest part of the movie!  It was so funny because he is so teeny tiny, that people didn't know we had a baby with us!  We couldn't stop laughing and people kept looking back at us!  Too funny!  Thanks girls for such a fun night of waiting in line and being the first in line, laughing, giggling, trying to listen to the laptop, the Weber State football team making fun of us, and my little sister being embarrassed of it all!  Love you girls!

This year for Thanksgiving, we went to Arizona.  What a blast that was.  But I'm mad because I took hardly any pictures!  So I need to get them from my mother in law.  So I will have to post more pictures of our trip later.  We had so much fun shopping, eating, relaxing, staying warm, and playing rook!  Can't wait to do it again!

Yesterday we had our annual Christmas party.  Everyone (except Shauna of course) was able to come this year!  (But we are missing Jaisha and Andrea in the picture)  It is so fun to get together and just chat and enjoy some yummy food.  I made Chicken Parmesan and potatoes and everyone helped bring the rest of the meal.  It was delicious!

This year we had a couple more added to the bunch!  This is Treyden (Lauren's baby), Carter and Gavin (Karilynn's baby).  Treyden and Carter are 3 days apart (down to the exact time even!) and Gavin is just a month younger.  Aren't they so cute?!

While we were in Arizona, Boston and his cousin Jane would make little huts all the time.  They were so funny.  They would build a hut and call it their houseboat.  I guess they just can't wait to get back to Lake Powell!  So now Boston loves making his house boat.  This is Boston's house boat.

This one he called his bed house...

Here he is driving his car.

And this one is his room.  What a sweet, sweet boy he is.

The first video is what my Carter's been doing a lot of lately...and the second video is how my hubby gets him to do it...you'll wanna turn the music off for this one!  He thought I was trying to snap a picture, but little did he know that I had it on video:-)  Oh the things we do...or rather, say to get our babies to smile...He would die if he knew I had this on here!  I love my boys!:)

to nap or not to nap?

So I've been debating whether or not I should cut out Boston's nap during the day.  You see here is the problem.  My child is just like his dad.  He can run all day long with little or no sleep and not let it affect him at all.  Normally he takes a nap around 1:30 and sleeps for anywhere from an hour and a half to two or two and a half hours.  Then he won't go to bed until anywhere between 9 and 10.  But he is SO hard to get to sleep.  We started a terrible habit of laying with him to go to sleep and now we have to do it every time.  It gets annoying sometimes especially when it takes like an hour to get him to sleep.  On the weekend, we usually don't get a nap in cause dad is around and Boston cherishes every moment he has with his daddy.  So Sunday,with the time change, he hadn't taken a nap so I decided to put him down at 8 and he was out like a light in 5 minutes.  So here's my question...do we keep a nap and struggle to put him to bed at night, or take the nap away and put him to sleep earlier?  What do all you mommies do/suggest?

A couple weeks ago we went to a wedding reception down in Provo.  The groom is a distant relative.  But mostly we went down to see these guys.  Sunitha (holding Carter) is my mom's cousin and these are her kids with mine.  They live in California and so we hardly get to see them, so when they came for their nephew's wedding we couldn't miss the chance to see them all.  Rachel, Aaron and Hailie are all getting so big and Boston was having so much fun with them.  But Boston couldn't say Hailie's name.  He has a friend in nursery named Kaylee so he kept calling her Kaylee.  Then I would tell him to say H-H-Hailie.  And Boston would say H-H-Kaylee.  The kids got a kick out of him:)

We wished you guys lived closer!  Love you guys!

Last week we had our annual Smith family Halloween party.  Jill and Shawn came as the Swine Flu...hilarious!

Boston saw these guys and didn't dare come in the house until he realized it was Uncle Scott and Aunt Christy.  Scott and Christy have adopted two adorable little boys and just put in hoping to adopt a little girl.  Good Luck guys!  You and your soon to be little girl are in our prayers!

Here are the three little munchkins.  Carter, Gavin and Khloe.  They are so stinkin cute!

For Halloween, we spent the night at my parents.  Ryan's parents were out of town, but Boston had a blast trick-or-treating and getting candy.  But we only did like 6 houses but it took forever cause he walks so slow!  But he was lovin it!

I was looking through my pictures and found this one...this is how you can find Boston quite often...picking his nose.  Such a funny kid!

Aren't these two the cutest pair you've ever seen!!!  I love my boys!