trimming the tree

i was unpacking our tree decor a few weeks ago and asked taylor, "where is the box of good ornaments? these are all crap." taylor replied, "those ARE the good ornaments".  i was shocked. seriously shocked. when did my tree get so ugly? most of the stuff we have has been in the box since our first christmas and it was TIME to update.

so i  made an executive decision right then to have a grown up tree this year. so i picked out some stuff and called my cute neighbor kristie over to get the job done. i saw her tree earlier in the week and she has a gift for sure, so i knew she was the girl for the task.

she worked her magic and i just have to say...I LOVE IT!

it makes me happy every time i look at it.

the photo doesn't do it justice, it's just so gorgeous.

pure elegant joy.

my favorite part has to be that she put whole bouquets of poinsettias in the tree - i never would have thought of this! poinsettias are one of my favorite christmas symbols and this tree is loaded with them.

also, most of what i chose had glitter on it.

i have a thing for glitter.

it's just so...glittery.

i'm realizing now i should've taken more detailed photos.

and just incase you're wondering, i don't have one bit of guilt about not having any homemade ornaments on the tree this year.

not even a smidge.

because i'm feeling so happy when i see it, there's no room for guilt.

add the fm100.3 christmas music playing in the backround and we are definitely ready for christmas around here.

poor kristie should have faked some incompotence, because she did such a good job, she has a job for life now. i love that her philosophy for decorating the tree is "cram it in". who knew cramming could be so gorgeous?

sigh

thank you kristie!

men in tutus

i could have titled this "the moores have moves", but since that was the title of my last post, i'm going with with men in tutus instead. however, it is a video displaying spencer's sweet moves and is giggle enducing for your christmas season pleasure.

for the jr.high boys' choir, they put together a number called, "nutcracker in three minutes". choreography provided by allie and chloe, entertainment provided by spencer and kyle and other eighth grade boys not afraid to make fools of themselves infront of a live audience. backround cackling provided by me, sorry about that, i just couldn't help myself.



i have to say, when allie and chloe showed me what they had put together, it didn't look anything like this. watching these boys made me actually appreciate how much work and talent real ballerinas put into their dances. with that said, i've never laughed outloud at one of allie's recitals. my favorite part has to be when spencer gets "lifted" by his partner who is tiny.

the moores have moves

it was funny when we did it two years ago, and seriously, it just never gets old.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

ethan's favorite part is that rhino made it into the video.
the rest of us all agree that spencer had the perfect face for a vid like this.
have a good laugh.
we did.
happy christmas everyone.

to put you in the mood (christmas that is)

have you heard?


i haven't really used my blog for plugging products, but rick starr's new christmas cd, an acoustic christmas, is really fantastic. it's been playing at my house non-stop for the last couple of days and it's really set the tone for me and made me excited that christmas is coming. my teenagers especially love it, the sounds he produces are just beautiful.

we were lucky enough to have a personal performance of this song, and rick's talent blew me away!
to hear a sampling of the rest of the songs on his new christmas cd (and buy one for yourself), go to rickstarrmusic.com.

christmas is coming!

christmas forget-me-nots

some with photos, some without, and nothing in any particular order, but all things, i don't want to forget....

learning new primary songs to sing to the babe jesus

couples christmas dinner

after the gifts were opened, taylor declaring it, "the best christmas EVER!"
these two cuties who i still have high hopes for marrying

lauri laughing so hard over patsy's travel briefs white elephant gift

the smoking santa statue

the gift table at the thursday girl party

having brandon stay with us while he's home from boot camp
(santa had to leave his hat behind since we didn't have a stocking for bran)

our cards! i loved how they turned out this year

new stockings that i've coveted for years

christmas lights on our house thanks to taylor

getting almost all of my shopping done online this year - i heart amazon

twenty or so rowdy teenagers over for waffles and hot chocolate

little people nativity and teaching ethan about the birth of jesus

the extra long christmas break from school - hallelujah

mom's luminaries in old ball jars - especially the green ones

leah's hidden baking talent

so many lovely happy faces on dozens of cards on our door
(although i should've taken a more recent photo, the number of cards has doubled since i took this photo!)

decorating the christmas tree cupcakes

this funny boy sneaking a taste of the punch

kids in christmas sunday best

three super cute trouble makers

can everyone just smile for the camera PLease!

gingerbread houses with cousins

awesome new boardgames & super hero cape from the fanks

doorbell ringing non-stop with neighbor gifts and friend treat deliveries

addie's (my neice) gingerbread house decor
(isn't this the sweetest thing? i love this)

mom's snowman tree

homemade pajamas on christmas eve

fresh wreath on the door

christmas stories before bed

allie reading the story of jesus' birth

christmas eve family prayer

having to pry the toddler out of bed because the teenagers were chomping at the bit

ornaments hanging from the chandelier

a sweet gift from allie

to: dad from: the kids :)

REAL ribbon on the gifts, i swear i'm never using the curling kind ever again

christmas day rock concert

constant ping pong ball backround noise from the basement

ethan saying, "i asked santa for this!"

grandma singing fleetwood mac
(maybe my favorite memory of the holiday)

christmas day phone calls

and this video: (sorry about allie's obnoxious screaming)

and just incase you didn't catch what all the screaming was about-

merry merry christmas!

if you made it to the end of this post, you must really love us! 

time out

considering my agenda for this week includes:
wrapping
crafting - yes a little more
grocery list making and shopping
a few more gifts
gingerbread houses
baking
hosting
lights at temple square
laundry
painting the bathroom - i really want to cross this off my list!
dinners
neighbor treats
hair appointment - gotta get that in
photos
christmas breakfast party
stuffing stockings
family get togethers
oh and did i mention the laundry?
and at least one trip to costco...

i thought it appropriate for a little time out:
merry christmas.

traditiooooon!!

clytie adam's nutcracker is one of my favorite traditions of the year.

the smith girls always get together and go to the saturday matinee - this year laurel was finally old enough to come so all the girls in our family were accounted for.

we went to breakfast this year at doug and emmy's before the show- oh my was it good! 

we waited for ever for our food so we had lots of time for photos.

some how i missed getting a photo of addie at breakfast.

allie, and all the little girls, were especially fond of their hot chocolate.

we were in a huge hurry by the time the food got to us, so i missed getting a photo of the giant scones, i couldn't believe how big they were! we will definitely eat here again, but some time when we're not pressed for time.

we barely got to the show on time, but thanks to april's illegal parking job, we got a spot right up front and ran in just in time. (don't worry, we did not take a handicap space, just "extended" the row by one spot)

we especially love seeing so many of allie's friends in the production, everyone did a wonderful job. next year i need to make a point of taking allie's photo with all of her friends who dance in the production, it really is a highlight for us to get to see them in their element.

i am always completely stunned at the grace and athletisism of the professional ballet dancers. which is good, because you need to have something to distract you from the sprayed on pants of the male dancers. wow. i mean, talk about self confidence.

the lady taking our photo kept moving to the right which accounts for our weird posing.

what was she thinking?

over all it was a wonderful day, yummy breakfast, beautiful dancing, happy girls and of course, TRADITOOOOOON!

i have to admit though, i was sad to be missing ashleigh from this year's photo. sigh.

favorite holiday things - first installment

there's something about thanksgiving that kicks off the start of the holiday season and it seems like over night organge and brown are replaced with green and red, pumpkins for snow flakes, candy corn for candy canes, and so on. with the holidays comes a long list of things we only seem to enjoy around this time of year. we have already begun enjoying some of our favorite things which i am going to try to do a better job of documenting this year. maybe you'll be inspired to document your favorite things too. i love sharing this kind of thing because it always leads to something new....

the movie "elf" has worked it's way into a tradition around this house, i liked it from the first time we saw it in the theater and it only gets funnier ever time i watch it. it's such a hillarious, feel good kind of movie and the sound track is fantastic. over the thanksgiving holiday, i cooked a lot of food and was stuck in the kitchen for most of the day on wednesday preparing. fortunately the living room is attached to the kitchen and rich turned on elf to help get me in the holiday spirit. it worked! i brined, beat, whipped and stirred while singing along with darling buddy the elf. there are too many funny parts to name my favorite but i do love the "i'm singing, i'm singing, i'm in a store and i'm sing-ing" part. i'm sure by the time the season is over we'll have watched it at least fifty-two more times...alright, not that often, but it will probably feel like that much so it's just the same.

this year i discovered candy cane oreo cookies just in time for the girlfriend retreat. (yes this was our junk food stash)

we took one for the team and tested them out...you know, to make sure they aren't poisonous or anything. we give them two thumbs up! just the right blend of yummy oreo goodness with candy cane flavor that was suprisingly not too overpowering - yay! of course, you have to have a tall glass of milk, and if you're ethan, you eat only the insides.

apparently i have a candy cane theme here because next on my list is peppermint ice cream.as you know, i'm very picky about my ice cream, none of the "vanilla in a tub" crap will do for me. my favorite brand for peppermint is schwan's, but since i don't like the after taste of the schwan's guy pushing frozen food at my door every other week - i settle for edy's instead. i've said before that ice cream is really love in the form of food. as much as this must say about me and how i deal with my own issues, it really is true. ice cream is love. and i would feel this way even if i were boney thin and had no issues. for real, i really would. no lying. ice cream is just that good.

so what are you enjoying so far this season? my list of favorites is looooong, so brace yourself for a second, third and maybe fourth installment of wende's holiday faves. and happy holidays ya'll!

nutcrackin' fun

i love tradition. i also love the ballet, so going to the nutcracker with all the girls is definitely one of my favorite things. it's such a fun way to start off the christmas season, it definitely puts me in the mood for thanksgiving, shopping and everything great about this fun time of year. growing up the only girl, i waited a long time for sisters, but they were worth the wait! we definitely lucked out with this group. and if we're really lucky, ashliegh will be in this photo every year because brandon will marry this great girl! i am always in awe of the incredible strength and talent of professional ballet dancers, i have such admiration for what they do and never get tired of watching them perform. one of my favorite moments of the day was looking over at the little girls during the recital, heads huddled together, quietly (?) discussing what was happening on stage, they were just so cute together. on the way home we realized we could catch happy hour at sonic and had to stop for drinks.i discovered a new favorite thing - cherry limeade, yum-o, thanks for the recommendation ashliegh! now i'm off to paint some kitchen cupboards...busy busy busy.

auld lang syne

New Years Eve, what to do, what to do? I always feel a lot of pressure to have this evening be something really fun but I'm not sure why. I don't really have any strong memories of NYE growing up but the rest of the country is having a party so we should too right? Last night we finally figured out the perfect recipe for a fantastic NYE, it includes: four couples, all long time friends gathering at Phil and Lauri's "party house. Tons of finger foods which equaled a fantastic spread which will undoubtedly lead to some guilt and then some January dieting. YUM!Texas Hold 'em with real poker chips and play money - we laughed like children. Sparkling apple cider, noise makers and Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve Party on to watch the ball drop. Mix all of these thing together and we got one of the funnest NYEs I've had in a long time. I was too lame to take pictures of the Texas Hold 'em game, that is my one regret of the evening, but it's small so I will try not to dwell on it too much.

**do you feel like you should be doing something really great on NYE?**

**have you ever played Texas Hold 'em?**

**isn't Dick Clarkt he coolest?**

Happy New Year everyone!