Boxing Day

On Boxing Day (the 26th), we had our Penner extended family get together at my parents house...
Lots of appetizers and desserts,
variety of different games were played,
little kids giggling,
gift exchange,
the return of the boat gift,
catching up,
sharing stories,
just a relaxed, quality family time.

Below is my dad's side of the family. There are a total of SIX kids in his family and three families live in Fresno. Everybody else is in Canada (or heaven)! :( We miss the others tremendously! My cousin Chelsey...best babysitter EVER! Aubrey Rose loves "CC!"
My cousin Jon, his wife Andrea and their boy Christopher.
Christopher, my cousins...Charity, David, his wife Arris, and my sis Christy, her husband Aaron

Allie (sis in law), Aubrey Rose and myself

Another cheeeeesey smile....love it Aubrey Rose!

My cousin Jeremy is so cute with Aubrey Rose. They were being silly together.
We have been doing a gift exchange for the past 5 years. Our first year, someone brought this boat. Second year the boat came back. Last year, the fish was added. Kind of a bad tradition, but it is always a crowd pleaser! Ha! (A gift card to somewhere is usually included....this year, however, not so much.)
Yeah, I think my cousin David would have rather ended up with these candles. In the end, he was the recipient of the boat and fish!
Aubrey Rose was helping my mom open her gift.
My cousin Luke and his fiance Becca. (They are getting married on our anniversary in March! Not sure if you picked up on this, but a couple of posts ago I mentioned Blake's cousins are getting married on our anniversary. Yeah, two cousins getting married on the same day...one of Blake's and one of mine...same time too! Not sure yet how that will work out for us. God knows though. No need to worry.)
My sister, Arris (my cousin's wife) and my cousin Charity
Game Time!!
More games!!
My cousin Charity, her husband Neil and my mom
Can't wait until our next family get together!!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning began early for us. We were at Blake's parents house by 8...
eating breakfast,
a visit by Grandpa Smittcamp,
stockings,
opening gifts,
boxes and wrapping paper everywhere,
lots of thank you's, oooo's and aaaaahhh's,
tons of excitement and expressions from Aubrey Rose,
wonderful family time together.

Just a year ago...Christmas 2008...I can hardly believe how quickly kids grow.
Aubrey Rose with her new stocking Mimi handmade for her! Aubrey Rose, Mimi and Big Papa

Auntie Blair was showing her how to pose with her hands on her hip. You know, like the celebrities! Here is Aubrey Rose trying to copy Aunt B.
And then these priceless expressions...


Aubrey Rose LOVES her new tea set. Come on over ANY time and she would love to have tea with YOU!

A bowling ball set made with adorable penguins from Mimi and Big Papa
I LOVED our new leopard plates Linda picked out for us!
About 9:30 we were back at my parents house...
eating breakfast together,
celebrating Jesus' birthday,
reading stories,
laughing, having fun with my cousins,
relaxing, sharing,
singing Away in the Manger,
loving family time.
At noon we were back to Mimi and Big Papa's house...
opening gifts,
wrapping paper everywhere,
adorable excitement from Aubrey Rose,
celebrating with aunts, uncles and grandparents from Linda's side,
sharing stories,
catching up,
more sweet family memories together.

Oh, my "cheeeeeesey" smiley girl...I just love her! Aubrey Rose in her new jacket from Uncle Gary that mommy and daddy LOVE!

Aubrey Rose got a baby doll from MomMom and PopPop (Linda's parents)...it is her new love...
She was more than excited!

Christmas evening we celebrated at Blake's uncles house with the Smittcamp's...
Absolutely delicious dinner,
Extended family time,
Adorable kids to be entertained by,
Wonderful cousins,

and one TIRED little girl from all the days festivities.
Goodness, if only pictures could talk...
However, all those little talks to try to reason with Aubrey Rose simply drift out of my mind when I see her sweet smiles in these pictures.

I know right...how could this sweet angel make any kind of fuss? If you look closely at Aubrey Rose (in the picture below) you can see a little of how excited she was to be sitting CALM at the table. Not sure if it is obvious or not, but this would not be the time to be running and playing around the beautiful house. But, hey we made it!Here is Aubrey Rose's "CHEEEEEESE" smile with Aunt Blair
I am so thankful we have this picture with Grandpa Smittcamp. Aubrey Rose is so blessed to have such a wonderful GREAT-grandpa!
Nicole and Aubrey Rose showing their talents.
Cousins...Aubrey Rose, Nicole and Jack The night ended early...
Aubrey Rose was in bed by 7:30
After four Christmas celebrations in one day,
it didn't take us too much longer to make our way to bed.
We all slept good that night.
We are so blessed and thankful for the sweet memories of Christmas 2009.

Christmas 2009 memories...

I have a lot to catch you up on. I will do my best!
I can’t believe Christmas has past.
We are beginning a new year, in just a couple of hours.
The 2009 Christmas memories are wonderful.
Thank goodness for pictures!
Christmas week festivities began on the 23rd for us.
Smittcamp Cousin Party…

Blair, Blake, Aubrey Rose, myself and BradleyBlake's cousin Katie, her husband Rob and their little man Logan Blake's cousin Courtney and her fiance Andy...(they are getting married on our anniversary in March! Yeah!) Blake's cousin Jessica, and her boyfriend AndrewMore fun cousins!
Nathan, Brent, Brandon and Rob

We had a little gift exchange
Then, we played the awesome game of Left, Right, Center
Ever played?? You NEED to!
Everyone brings $3
Depending on what you roll...

• You either get to keep your dollar
• Give your dollar to the person on your LEFT or RIGHT
• Or if you roll C for CENTER, your dollar goes in the center for the pot.

The person with the last dollar gets ALL the money in the pot!
This game is a crowd pleaser FOR SURE! Even if you don't win!

Our game began with everyone sitting down...and ended with everyone on their feet with anticipation. Great game!

When sweet, little Nicole would roll, she knew EXACTLY what was at stake! Adorable!!

She got soooooo excited if she got to keep the money!

In the end, Rob MADE IT RAIN!!!

We all agreed Rob had home court advantage, since he and Katie hosted this year.

Bring on 2010 Baby! I see more fun memories ahead for us!!