Our Smith friends had us over for a Christmas party the other night and we exchanged "White Elephant" gifts~this was one of them. Our friend Tom Meservy took pictures off of our Facebooks and photoshopped them all in to look like this. It was hillarious. So creative and unless Carson or Evan play for the "Y" one day, this is the only time you'll ever see Dave in a BYU shirt. I love it!!!
For Carson's birthday party we had 12 of his friends meet us at Funquest for a few games of laser tag. This age group is out of control so Dave and I just let them do their thing and played like we didn't know them. The girls did a little roller skating while the boys played. It was their first time. I can't believe that...you all know how skating used to be "THE THING". Dave thinks he's like one of those 80's super skaters...yeah I'm thinking NO!!!! 
Poor Ryleigh was having a rough time. She's a little fighter though. Despite all of her falling and injuries she kept trying.
Cara had just come from dance and decided to give skating a go...she was descent. The difference between her and Ryleigh was Cara thought it was fun to fall and would just giggle, Ryleigh not so much!!!
Carson had a great time and is lucky to have so many good friends. Happy Birthday bud!!!
This day was a little bittersweet for me~Our other kids have all been blessed with lots of family around, making it a big, special event. Evan's blessing was lots different but also in a good way. As many of you know when you live away from home your Ward becomes your family. Dave and I have made some wonderful, long lasting relationships here and having those men in the circle was also very special. Dave did a wonderful job, as always, and it turned out to be just perfect. In the end, no matter who is there, a child's blessing is between him and his Father in Heaven. We're so blessed to have such a beautiful little boy and couldn't be happier to have him in our family. 
Cara turned 7 years old on December 1st. She decided for her party she wanted to have a sleepover, but now days most parents aren't too excited about the idea of sleepovers so I told her she could have an ALMOST SLEEPOVER~So she did just that. We had her friends over, they wore their jammies, brought their pillows, watched a movie, played games, told ghost stories, had pancake sundaes, and they all went home at 9:00pm. It was actually lots of fun and I didn't have to deal with 12 little kiddos sleeping over and keeping us up all night. Never realized how loud 7 year old girls can get...my ears and head were ringing just minutes into the party.
Sweet little faces.....
Crazy little faces....
This was the first year where Cara made her invite list and it was interesting because almost everyone was her age, minus a few. She made it clear that it was HER party and not hers and Ryleigh's. She's wanting to be her OWN person more and more lately and believe me...I get it!!! (no offense to Natalie haha)
We decided to brave the cold and take a trip to the zoo to see the lights. Lets just say....The kids were SOOOO over it about 15 minutes in....they were just too cold. We've become Southern wimps when it comes to the weather. Thankfully my good friend watched Evan or we may have lasted 5 minutes. It was a fun way to start out our December though. I love Christmas festivities and can't wait for all of the others in the weeks ahead. 
We spent Thanksgiving with our friends the Collier's. We love our Southern friends and their Southern dinners!!!
This year we're especially grateful for this little blessing in our lives. Evan is so happy, healthy, and thankful for his mommy (as the shirt says).
All in all it was a great day. We truly have so much to be grateful for~these 4 kids, our home, our health, a job, and the gospel~
As many of you know, Dave gives everyone a nickname...some of you may not want to know what yours is heehee...anyway Carson's is SUPER C. I decided to take my boys over to our cute little town square to get some pictures of them. Evan wasn't cooperating very well so he's not in many but I think they turned out pretty good. (with photoshop doing all of the work of course haha) I don't know how people do this for a living though. After taking their pics, editing them, and posting them, I'm exhausted. So grateful for these very handsome boys. They're both such good little guys...LUCKY ME!!!
Well leave it up to the "Rebel Rees Family" to go Trick or Treating on Sunday. Here's the kids with the Collier's Halloween night.
Evan's first Trick or Treating experience...obviously he loved it....the sounds of kids, mom pushing him in the stroller, and his Binky. Cute little monkey!!!
Carson made this in his class. I love getting fun things from my kids on Holidays. The parents around here never cease to amaze me with their cute school crafts.
We had our friends~the Colliers, Smith's, and Richins over. It was a really fun night for the kids. They were more into hanging out with their friends than they were Trick or Treating. Carson definitely is over the whole candy thing. It wasn't a competition at all for him this year. He retired early and called it good. We'll see if he goes out next year. Glad that week is over. It was exhausting!!!
HALLOWEEN~the new Christmas!!!
My little "ROCK OF LOVE" and me at the Ward party
We don't have any boys at church Carson's exact age BUT do you see Carson complaining???
We got to spend the night with a witch, a shark-bitten surfer, a monkey, and a cheerleader who was MIA...Cara takes off with her friends and we never see her until the end, so no pictures of her that night.
Treats for the ladies I Visit Teach and neighbors....which I managed to stay away from. Trying to get back into my jeans :) :)
On top of the chaos we had to make a poster for Ryleigh's "Star of the Week". I went a little crazy on the pics but it's so hard to choose just a few when she's so stinkin cute.
I never once dipped into any of this either....Pat on the back for me YAY!!!
The girls and I decided to try out the Trick or Treat on the town square...one word CHAOS!!
Like a lot of schools now, we too do not get to dress up for Halloween. I hate it-BOO! Those were some of my favorite memories growing up. Instead we have Western Wear day. It's fun for the kids but still doesn't compare to good old fashioned Halloween parade day at the school. 
