A Smith Family Christmas!

We went to Iowa this past weekend to celebrate with Josiah's family! It was lots of fun... presents, food, Vallarie's Christmas concert at church, photos, and lots of playing!

The cousins played so well- we're looking forward to lots of fun years ahead!

Thanks to my in-laws for hosting us- it's always a great time- wish we didn't live

6 hrs apart! But I am thankful for portable DVD players for car trips... you saved my sanity!

Merry Christmas!

Fish Faces!

Who doesn't love a cute fish face? Just had to share!!

Pumpkin Carving

We had a play date with Grammy & Grandpapa today! We played at the MG Maze, had lunch at Biaggi's (yum!) and carved pumpkins while Naomi napped. Sorry Nomi- we still have 2 pumpkins that need carving tho!
This is our tradition with G&G- so much fun- and this year was the best so far. Ethan was very excited to carve and used his carving tool very carefully. We made a good team! Grammy helped Ethan scoop out all of the pumpkin seeds/guts and Grandpapa carved his pumpkin all by himself- with Ethan's approval of course.
Such a fun day inside- despite the dreary rain outside. We love you G&G!

Pine Tree... a family tradition

A perfect breeze, warm sun, and apples. What could be better?! We love Pine Tree Apple Orchard and spent the day having fun after a yummy brunch at Keys Cafe in White Bear Lake. Yummmmm....
First, a little posing in the face cut-outs (always fun!), then we took a walk up to the orchards. We made E pose for us (cheesy smile pic) and then saw the tall corn. That was Ethan's favorite part- he is addicted to corn! Pumpkin-picking was next on the list- and the patch just opened today so we had the whole patch to pick from (usually we go later in the season when the pickings are slim!) and E & J picked some top-notch pumpkins. Back down the trail for the real fun- eating and buying apples! J LOVES the yummy apple treats they sell- so he made his way to the food. I bought some Honeycrisp apples and apple donuts... oh, and a caramel apple for me!
A folk duo entertained the crowd outside- so we joined in! Great music, a little dancing, and then, some tired kids. Back home with everyone asleep in the car. It was a wonderful day for our yearly visit to Pine Tree. See you next year!!

Fun with Dad

I asked J to return a CD to the library last weekend when I was working... so off he went with the kids. As he was getting closer to the library he saw the Champlin City Center was alive with activity! The firetrucks were out, police cars, jumping things for the kids, food- what more could a dad ask for when he's single-parenting?!
The kids became jr. fireman and policeman (very cool!), they jumped and jumped their hearts out, E got an ice cream cone painted on his face (boy, did he love that) and they went on a tour on the tractor.
The very boring errand that mom asked them to do turned out to be a great day of fun- plus a long nap time- which makes for a happy dad!

The Smith Family Band

Well, more accurately, the kids/dad family band. Ethan told me I was in charge of macaroni-making long ago, so that's my role in the band... I guess. Such a sweet family moment to watch my very talented husband jam with Ethan and Naomi. They were in music-heaven! Maybe someday they can actually play as a family! I'm a very proud mama of my rock-star fam.

Vintage Toy Fun

There's nothing better than Vintage Fisher Price toys... in my opinion. Luckily, Stacey and Dana- the Master shoppers with Happy Day Vintage find all sorts of great stuff for me to buy!

This time around- the xylophone and record player.

The kids were delighted! Naomi loves the xylophone and Ethan adores the record player- trying out the different records and bopping his head to the beat!
A great morning to play with some great toys!