CHRISTMAS IN FLORIDA

I know, I know, It's about time I posted up our pictures from Christmas. I've been feeling under the weather and haven't had the energy to post anything until now.

Where to start.... We left Virginia on the 19th and drove to St. Louis where we stayed the night at Lacey and Ryan's place. We drove out with them to Virginia the following day. We stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Smith for a day and got to have a little Christmas of our own. We were able to go to church and see all our old friends, which was wonderful to say the least. It felt like we hadn't really left. I was able to try out Ryan's new Rock band game, and found out that It took me like 4 or 5 times to get the hang of the guitar. Lacey put me to shame as she was more of a natural with the guitar. The boys had fun opening their presents and riding on Grandpa Smith's bull. :) Owen was a little roughed up after his first ride, but then he decided he wanted to try it again. We left the next day to Florida and made it in good time and without running into any traffic. We were all too happy to be out of the car and done traveling for a while. Owen was at first shy with my parents since he hasn't seen them in 2 years! But it didn't take long for him to warm up, and he was bouncing around all over the house, jumping on Grandpa and asking him to throw him in the air over and over again. :) The following day we went to Disney World. My brother's friend's mother works for Disney and got us all free tickets to go there! We were so excited! We went to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. Ethan and Dallin went on a Dinosaur ride with Heber and my brother and sisters, while My mom and I went on a flying Dinosaur ride with Owen. We found out after our rides, that Ethan and Dallin just about peed their pants during the dinosaur ride, especially the part when the T-Rex comes into view and tries to eat them. :) They were able to laugh about it when it was over. We weren't able to go on many rides because the park was SO packed, but we had fun with the rides we were able to go on. We all got pooped out around the same time and decided to go home. The rest of our trip was filled with playing bump at the basketball court, volley ball in the sand, tennis, a trip to the beach, a ride on my Dad's new motorcycle, and R movies played on my parents new clear play DVD player. Ethan was in 7 year old heaven while at my parents, because they had the wii and the new x-box 360. Dallin also played some video games and played with his toys from Christmas. Owen was the entertainer during our whole trip. There is never a dull moment around that kid. :) He mostly entertained us with his hulk impersonations. My sister, Kelly and her husband Nathan brought their dogs, Zoey and Buddy. The boys absolutely loved them and couldn't get enough of them, especially Owen. The weather was great there, 70's-80 degrees. I was not ready to go back home to our 20 degree weather. All in all we were blessed to have been able to come see my family. We missed them terribly and are so thankful for letting us stay with them during our trip and letting us wreck their house with all our stuff. :) Thank you Bethanie for letting Heber and I stay in your room and trash it. (I over packed). Thank you to all of our families for all of your love and support. We miss you and can't wait to see you again.

As for our pictures... Our pictures were erased from our memory card because it wasn't ejected properly. So we do not have pictures from our christmas in Florida or Virgnia, or our trip to the beach or Disney world. :(

P.S. I couldn't figure out how to get my pictures to look neater and well organized!

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

I saw this on my friend Megan's blog and I just loved it.  I'd like to print it off on a nice sheet of paper and have it framed so that I can look at it every day. :)  If I could check all of these off on a daily basis, plus keep my house clean every day and have my kids on daily schedules.... I'd be the ideal me.  

1.  Take a 10-30 minute walk every day.  And While you walk, smile.

2.  Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.  Have a chat with yourself about what is going on in your life.  Buy a lock if you have to. 

3.  When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement,

"My purpose today is _________________. "

"I am thankful for ___________________. "

4.  Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5.  Drink green tea and plenty of water.  Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

6.  Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7.  Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control.  Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8.  Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9.  Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10.  Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11.  Don't take yourself too seriously.  No one else does.

12.  You are not so important that you have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

13.  Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14.  Don't compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15.  No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16.  Frame every so-called disaster with these words: " In fiver years, will this matter?"

17.  Forgive everyone for everything.

18.  What other people think of you is none of your business. 

19.  The Universe heals everything-but you have to ask it.  (Instead of Universe, I think of the Savior). 

20.  However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21.  Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends will.  Stay in touch!!!

22.  Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.

23.  Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:

" I am thankful for ____________________."

" Today I accomplished _________________."

24.  Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25.  When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings.  You'll be smiling before you know it.