Thirteen Random Photos

Happy Holidays! This is a really LARGE posting of random pictures that I've wanted to blog for some time. Enjoy!
Each year on December 1st the kids get to open a mystery gift that has been placed under the tree. The thing is, it's not a mystery at all and they've figured it out. Christmas pajamas! So here are my four little Christmas elves dressed in their new jammies (except for Mitchell who just got a red onesie thrown on him for the photo).

This is Drew and Max with their BEST friends Andrew and Jacob. These boys have lived next door to us for about 3 years but moved to Draper last weekend. There were TEARS! Everyday when the four of them would get home from school they each put their football uniforms on and they'd play until dark. Then when it got dark they would grab their backpacks and go on an adventure or sit around their flashlight "fire" and talk. I adore them so very much and miss them already. It's fun to have good friends!

This is Mitchell with his AMAZING bed head. It's always exciting to see what his hair is going to be doing when he wakes up...it's out of control!
Often times he has twenty or so knots in the back of his head in the mornings so we have to give him a bath and work them out GENTLY with a comb. This baby is so very precious!
This photo is a bit disturbing. The big game was on George's birthday so he told me all he wanted for his birthday was for me to root for BYU. Needless to say, he didn't get his birthday wish...not a chance. Drew couldn't find his BYU shirt so decided to wear red, however, he was cheering for both teams. Our family is split down the middle but that may change when Mitchell has the ability to choose for himself :)
Poor guy is going to need counseling. Cutest UTE/BYU fan ever though!
We went to lunch before the game started to celebrate George's birthday. Everyone asked us if there was going to be a fight later that night when they saw that we were rooting for different teams. There was no fight after but it's fun to see people's reactions.

These are my new ornaments this year. I found these bottles of diet coke at Walmart and couldn't resist. The only thing better than drinking a diet coke is drinking one in this bottle!
The boys playing in the neighborhood turkey bowl on Thanksgiving day.
Iron Chef night with the Gines family. We had 45 min to make a hamburger and the only rule was we had to use the ground beef they provided. Everyone came up with creative and delicious burgers, we were all sweating by the time the buzzer went off. Really fun night!
This is a picture of all the grandkids on the Gines side (minus one who didn't want to be photographed). Twenty grandchildren and my Cambrie is the oldest, it makes for some really fun and very LOUD times! Check out the four baby boys on the couch all born within 7 months of each other. Our kids are so lucky to have so many cousins close by...we will miss these moments when we move.
Cambrie had a piano recital in November and did a fabulous job! She HATES piano so much, it's like pulling teeth to get her to practice. However, she loves recitals so this is what keeps us going. I told her she could quit when she turns 18...we have a long road ahead of us :)

Three Months Old and Goodbye Mullet

Mitchell is three months old today! Crazy how fast time goes by but I'll be honest...I'm so glad he's past the newborn stage. It was so much harder than I remember it being and not as much fun when you have other kids and you can't just sit and stare at them all day. I love this stage because he is smiling and starting to giggle. He loves watching his siblings play and is also getting on a better schedule...sleeping through the night! Yeah!
The hair..what to do with the hair?!?! It sticks straight up in the back...so awesome!
So...he's had a mullet from the day he was born. George, along with all the grandmas, persuaded me NOT to cut it. The mullet lasted about 12 weeks but I couldn't take it any longer. I pulled out the kids scissors and cut it (kids scissors aren't the best for cutting hair. Just FYI)...too short and not quite straight but sooooo much better :)
The damage.

The end result. Look at his chubby neck...something you couldn't see with the mullet. Why would we ever want to hide those rolls?

Cambrie's Halloween Party

Brie decided she wanted to have a Halloween party this year. We talked about it for weeks and I made sure she knew that SHE was in charge and needed to make all the plans. She wanted to hold it on Friday, the 30th and didn't decide to get the invites out until Thursday, the 29th. I really wanted to bag the whole thing but she was so excited...I didn't have the heart to tell her no. It's just a good thing 4th graders don't have any big plans because all three of them ended up coming and we had a great time.
Cambrie served dinner which consisted of "mummy dogs" and some vegetables...
Punch, and brownie coffins.
They played the classic doughnut game...why is this such a hit?
And they also had to find "eyeballs" in a huge bowl of spaghetti with bare feet. This ended up being a HUGE mess because you had to coat the spaghetti with oil so it wasn't sticky. My floor is STILL slippery...lesson learned! All in all it was a success and Cambrie was grinning ear to ear the whole time. She's a pro at throwing parties now :)

Newborn Pictures of Mitchell

I know! I'm about eight weeks too late...these pictures were taken when Mitchell was two weeks old.

Enjoy.

Mitchell's Blessing

I love baby blessings but I usually get more emotional when it's not my baby being blessed. I think when it's one of mine, I'm too worried for my husband and stressed about the luncheon afterwards to feel the spirit of what's happening. However, the moment George, followed by all the wonderful men in my life surrounded Mitchell, the tears began to flow. George gave him a beautiful blessing and Mitchell didn't make a peep. Sweet baby. We had a luncheon at my mom and dad's house after complete with blue candy, blue pumpkins, and a blue chocolate fountain!
We looked and looked for a simple white polo shirt for him to wear which proved to be much more difficult than you would think. However, George's brother and his wife found one for us at Dillard's a few days before the blessing. Thank you David and Aly!
The Gordon-Smith/Gines family staring into the sun, trying to look happy and at ease after the boys had been threatened with their lives to behave and be good listeners :) They were SO wound up with all the family and friends we had there...I was literally sweating by the time I got them to cooperate long enough for a picture. Mitchell was equally as thrilled...poor guy.
Mitchell had three sets of grandparents at his blessing. These are Joel's parents, grandma and grandpa Gines, and Mitchell is their 20th grandchild. Cambrie, who is nine, is the oldest so it's lots of fun when all the grand kids are together!
George's parents, grandma and grandpa Gordon-Smith, were here from Prague which is why we blessed him when we did. We got to spend a lot of time with them and are grateful they were able to be here for Mitchell's special day.
So...my dad is MIA. Not sure where he was when I took this picture, you would think I would have a picture of the very person Mitchell is named after but no such luck. This is grandma Mitchell representing both she and her missing husband. They are always such good sports about hosting our events as our two bedroom town home really isn't good for entertaining. Thanks mom and dad for all of your help! My mom is the one who came up with the blue pumpkins which were a perfect touch...very clever.

And I end this post with a picture of the MAIN MAN. Mitchell is such a joy and it was so much fun to have our family and friends around to celebrate his birth and this special day with us.

Happy 5th Birthday Max!

Max is turning FIVE tomorrow so we celebrated with friends and family on Saturday.
He wanted a Star Wars party with a light saber cake. The cake turned out cute but on the way to the church our stroller fell on top of it. It has a big hole in the back but we managed to cover it up with some stars. It looks a big rough but Max was thrilled anyway :) Check out his face in this picture...this Darth Vader doesn't need a mask to be scary!

All the cousins and friends. We had a lot of family in town for this party so it was fun to visit with everyone. The kids got to fight Darth Vader multiple times and some of them were in tears but each of them defeated him in the end.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX! WE LOVE YOU!

Mitchell Update

Mitchell at 2 weeks.
Okay. Having problems posting pictures which is why it has taken 6 weeks for me to do it. This picture didn't upload so well but you get the general idea. Dad and baby naps...precious!
As you can see, Mitchell LOVES his baths :) The child doesn't like to be tampered with.
So, I'll be honest. I was worried that George and I wouldn't have a very cute baby and here's why. We know that he and Summer make cute babies, and we also know that Joel and I make cute babies.

However, there was no way of knowing that George and I would be able to create something equally as cute. Needless to say, I am so thrilled he turned out to be so very handsome :)
Mitchell at six weeks old and me looking very tired. I was very used to my 8+ hours of sleep every night...this has thrown me for a bit of a loop! It's been over 5 years since I've had a baby and I forgot how very tired you get. So very rewarding though. Love this baby!

Mitchell is clearly so very happy to be six weeks old :) He always has this concerned look on his face...deep in thought I suppose. He'll have wrinkles on his forehead very early in life but at least he'll be brilliant like his daddy. Oh, the quizzical brow.

We love you Mitchell!

We Love Soccer!

Soccer is coming to an end this Wednesday but it's been a GREAT season. The boys have had so much fun playing on the same team together and having George as their coach.
This picture makes me want to cry. Drew is always so good at watching out for his siblings and this is a candid picture of him doing just that. Look at him running along side Max making sure no one else gets in his way. I love my boys!
Drew and Max were the best players on the team and the first to admit it :) They never wanted to be taken out of the game and always played hard...all while their teammates were doing cartwheels. It's so entertaining!
Can't wait for Jr. Jazz basketball!

GO ORANGE TIGERS!!!