42 and still counting! Christmas at the Sanfords

Traditional Family picture at my parents.

My mommy and I

My Daddy and I

The sisters!

Every year my family gets together to share the Christmas spirit. All 42 of us gathered at my parents house. In this picture we are watching a video from the previous year that my brother Mike had video taped. It is so fun to see how much everyone has changed in just a year.

Earlier that day my parents took all of us to the movies. We went to see Bolt. It was pretty funny. When we got back we had Panda Express for dinner. After that the adults played a game where we exchanged gifts. That was pretty funny because you can still from others and seeing there reaction was hilarious! Then all of the grandchildren open their gifts from my parents. This is a tradition every year. I enjoy having all of my family around. Thank you mom and dad for a fun filled day!

Taylor made it for the snow!

When it first started snowing , I called Taylor to tell her about it. She asked if it would be there when she came up here. I had told her no, being that it was 2 days before we were getting her. Boy was I wrong! She was so excited and was determined to make a snowman.

13 inches of Snow!

Neighbors snowmen.

Backyard 13 inches!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Brandon cleaning Aunt Beths car.

My front yard.

The girls attempting to build a snowman!

Having fun! This kind of snow only comes every so many years! Yea!

Hawaii part two.

The view from the house we stayed at.

Shaved ice. When they say large they mean large!

Sea turtle

Hawaii part two Continued.

Jeff"s oldest brother Robert, his wife Lisa and their two kids, Jake and Lauren. We miss you guys!

The brothers

Dolphin show at the Hilton. Such a beautiful Place. We plan on staying there next time. Of course with his brothers discount.

We tried to go to the Temple, but the one day we could go it was closed. Next time for sure.

Black Sands Beach

Hawaii part one

So it has been a long time since my last blog, but I have had a lot going on. I had mentioned that I was going to Hawaii but yet I have not posted any pictures. I promise as soon as my husband transfers them on my computer I will post them. Anyways Hawaii wasn't what I expected it to be but in the long run it was great to be with family. Jeff was able to meet up with his brothers again. It had been over ten years since he had seen his one brother and over 5 years since he had seen his other brother. He wasn't able to grow up with them, so instead they acted like little boys when we were there. It was so cute. They played football together, went boating, site seeing and most of all they laughed together. Now Jeff thinks he needs to go to Hawaii once a year. I am not so sure about that. Beside the money, plane rides scare me. I am thinking they need to come and visit here.

Well the wedding was beautiful and it was quite relaxing when it was over. Weddings can be so stressful. I am glad we were able to go. Again, I will post pictures soon!

Perfect Timing!

So awhile back I posted stating that Jeff would be going away for 2 months... Well he just left today, but he is supposed to be gone for only 2 weeks. I am totally fine with that, except for the fact that we are moving on the 24th. It looks like I will be moving on my own. I am so excited about moving back that it doesn't bother me if I have to do it all by myself. Anyways I haven't posted for awhile and I am sure it will be a long while before I post again. I just wanted to let everyone know I am still here. I will probably post again after we move. Well... my girls decided to get sick the same day there dad left so my next couple of weeks will be eventful, Because I am sure the boys will get it next. I will talk with everyone after the big move. Yea!

Is it like this everyday?

Well, let see. I started my day of by walking the 3 kids to school. When I got back I called Riverside Preparatory to see if I would be able to get the kids in or not. I was told that it was a lotto, even though the day before I was told it wouldn't be a problem. So feeling a little upset I then took Taylor to Walmart to get her prescription, because she might have strep throat. By the time we got back I rushed up to the school to pick up Autumn and Evelyn and then came back home. When we got home I made the girls some lunch and did homework with Autumn. Then Michelle called me and asked if I could grab Emily, because her work needed her to stay late. That was fine by me because my neighbor had already told me the day before that she would get the boys for me. Well to my surprise as I was walking out the door I got a phone call from the school stating that my boys were in the office. My neighbor was walking up at the same time and realized when she saw me that she had forgotten the boys. It was just a mix up. Anyways I then had to rush and get the boys and then go grab Emily. When we finally got home I had to do homework with the boys and make dinner. It is now 6pm and I am serving dinner to my kids. During this time I put four of the children in time out at least a total of 10 times. At one point Autumn said, "mommy put me in time out". What do you Do?

So by this time the kids all needed a bath. In the midst of all this Jeff had called me and told me he was going on a flight and that he wouldn't be home until late. So finally at 8pm everyone was in bed and I was having time to myself. I got on my treadmill and turned on 90210. I soooooooo look forward to this time. But........ Surprise we had a power outage! So much for peace. My girls were already asleep but the boys weren't. So they were a little freaked out. All of the neighbors were outside and there were a lot of kids running around. I managed to find a flashlight and about 10pm my boys finally fell asleep. Jeff walked in the door at 10:30 and I was still sitting in the dark, but again it wasn't peaceful because someone wasn't watching their kids. We had our windows opened because it was hot, but we are use to having fans on to drown out the noise. About 11:30 I heard some people in the spa (which is right across from us) they were REALLY LOUD! I decided to yell out my door GO TO BED! So about 12am we finally went to sleep. What a crazy night. Anyways I am soooo sorry for the long story, but I just wanted to make sure it is normal to be this crazy.

To top it all of. The next morning Taylor had a fire down the street from her school. She called me to come and get her but the school was on lock down. When I went to pick her up me and 5 children parked way down a hill thinking Taylor would be able to walk to us. NOPE! A lady came to my window and informed me that I needed to walk up the hill to get her. I had Autumn, Summer, Evelyn, Erik and Brandon and NO stroller. Not to mention it was about 90 degres out. Well we are all safely home and I hope for a better day tomorrow.

So tell me, is your day like this?

Another Dineyland trip!

So yesterday I decided at the last minute, (like I always do) to go to Disneyland with just the little girls. I have been watching the little girl upstairs and she is sooooo good. She loves playing with Autumn and Summer and she is right in between their ages. She hadn't been to Disneyland yet, so I decided I would take her with us. She was very daring and wanted to go on everything, except she wasn't tall enough . Of course the girls were all really good and I enjoyed every minute of it. The weather was great and it wasn't crowded.
Being that I paid for a ticket, I wanted to make sure I got my moneys worth. We only spent 4 hours there and managed to ride 11 rides, meet the princesses and take a picture with Mickey. It was well worth it. The girls were really happy. I am going to miss Evelyn (a.k.a. Dora). She is like one of my own.

Going back Home

Well it's official! We are moving back to the High Desert. Most people wouldn't think that was all that great, being that we live by the beach, but for our family the High Desert is great. We plan on being there by November first. I am so excited because I feel like I am in a foreign country down here. Even though it is beautiful and I actually was getting a little more comfortable we decided that the best thing for our family would be to move back. Jeff is still in Santa Ana but he work out a deal with his boss so that his drive wouldn't be so crazy. I can't wait to be back in a home with a backyard, minus the $1000.00 more a month for our little 3 bedroom apartment. Wow! It is amazing how much more you pay just because the name of the city.

Look out the Smeltz are back!

Oh yea as far as Jeff being gone, well, he is still here. He is still going away for a couple of months but we are not sure when. It could be tomorrow, next week, next month. Who Knows? It makes me crazy. But again I am very thankful for his job.

Back to School

Today is Taylor's first day of 6th grade. She is going to Niguel Middle School. She actually has a locker. Scary! Erik is going to 3rd grade and Brandon is in 1st. It was a good morning and everyone was very excited. Now it is just Summer and I for a couple of hours. Maybe I will actually have some sanity.

Autumns first day of kindergarten. She was so excited!

I had to add this one because Summer thought she was going to school. I had to pack her a lunch as well.

Before Daddy leaves again.

Jeffrey is leaving again! This time it is for 2 months. So we decided to do something fun as a family before he left. Last night we rented "Nims Island" and ate pizza and had icees. It was a really cute movie. The pizza was from Upper Crust and it is the best pizza. Today, we went to the beach. It was the perfect beach day. It was nice to have daddy go along because I am afraid to get in the water. The kids all dug for sandcrabs and Jeffrey and Taylor were brave enough to go out into the big waves. Yikes! That was a little scary for me, but they did survive. We plan to go again Monday before school starts and Jeffrey leaves.

Jeffrey leaving is a huge oppurtunity for him. We are very proud of him. Not to brag, but Boeing requested Jeffrey go back and the president of GE's Military Division accepted. Even though two months seems like a long time, we are excited for him to grow in the company. Good job Daddy! We love you!

While he is away I will be busy with 4 of the children going to school. During the day I have to go out 5 different times to pick up and drop off. Good thing the schools are close. When he returns Jeffrey and I will be going to Hawaii for his sisters wedding. Yeah! I am a little scared because I have never been on an airplane. But by that time I am sure I will be over it. Wish me luck on my next couple of months.

Counting the days

Well it has almost been three weeks now that my husband has been gone away on a business trip. He had the opportunity to go to Kansas to show the big people what he could do. During his time gone I have managed to keep myself busy. The first week my brother Chuck came down and stayed with me a couple of days with his wife Jewel and son Zander. The second week me and the kids went on our family vacation that we go on every year with my family. I really missed Jeff being there but again this is a great opportunity for him. Unfortunately as I was packing for my vacation I realized that my camera was in Kansas with Jeff. Even though I bought a disposable one sadly enough I still didn't take any pictures. Jeff is usually the camera man. My sisters did take pictures so hopefully I can post some later. We had a blast. Now I am on my third week counting down the days for Jeff to come home. My sister Bridget was so kind to come down and help me out for the week since it was my first week of all seven kids home ALL DAY. So far we have made it and I am glad tomorrow is Friday. I am so thankful for family and the support they give me. I am also very thankful for my husband and I am so proud of him. It has been a rough couple of weeks but we both survived. I can't wait for Sunday to pick him up. I Love you Jeffrey. Thank you for everything you do for our family! Hugs and kisse from all of us!

My baby's Three!

For Summers birthday we took her to good Chuck E Cheese. I just can't believe it. No more babies. It is great to walk out the door with just my purse.

Summer is to busy looking for chuck e cheese. She still is very afraid of him.

4th of July!

We decided to stay the weekend up at my moms. My parents weren't there because they didn't think anyone would want to spend the gas money to come up. Well... it turned into a bigger party than expected. Anyways the kids went swimming all day and then at night we were able to watch the fireworks from my parents backyard. It was so relaxing because all of the entertainment was right there. Thank you Mom and Dad for the use of your home!

Singing Time

Taylor is in choir at school, so we went to her performance on Monday. It was really cute. Emily, Taylor sister was really into it. She watched and copied every move they made. I told Michelle, Taylor's mom, that she probably would be good in a play. Anyways she was the only one that was really paying attention out of the kids. Taylor did a great job and looked really cute. It was a great night out with the whole family! Good job Taylor!

Update on the towing.

Well Jeff took it all the way to Corporate. They decided they would pay half of the towing fees for all three cars. We decided it was better than nothing, so we are happy. We did learn a lesson though, Park at your own RISK!

Come visit, it will only cost you $217.00

Last night we had some family come over for fight night. We were all sitting around waiting for the main fight. Pat went out to get something out of his car and to his surprise his car was gone. Not only his car but my brother Tim and my sister -in-law Rebecca's car as well. Jeff and I were told that you could have guest but they needed to park outside of the gate but not to worry until after 9. Well either the rules changed or I was misinformed because it was only 8:45 and all three cars had been towed. So after a bunch of complaining and scrambling around for money we got all the cars back at 11pm.

FOOD $30 -FIGHT NIGHT $45-CARS $651-FAMILY PRICELESS!

Jeff and I are going to fight it, but of course no one was open at 11:00 last night and they are still not open today. Go figure!

Tide pools

So my sister -in-law, Kristen, is really good at finding things to do for free or cheap. We took the kids to the tide pools at Laguna beach yesterday and the kids had a blast. We ended up seeing a lot of crabs. There were a few other things that I wasn't sure of but Kristen knew what everything was and filled us in. There were a ton of rocks that the kids loved climbing over. Usually I am a freak about the kids climbing on rocks but they were having so much fun that I didn't care. Thank you Aunt Kristen for a fun filled day! (I posted more pictures on My Space).

Brandon not only found shells he found a ramp,
at least thats what he called it and a long pipe
that he wanted to bring home.

A big ugly crab

Cloud

So today I had to take all of the children to get their blood drawn. Of course I went in two different sessions. Autumn and Summer went this morning and Taylor, Erik and Brandon went this afternoon. Talk about torture. It involved a lot of kicking and screaming. It makes me sad to see them go through this but I know it is for their own good. Anyways earlier today Summer wanted me to take her bandage off. When I went to take off Autumns she started screaming at me "Don't take my cloud off!" I thought that was the cutest thing. But the cuteness is wearing off because she keeps crying about taking it off but won't let anyone get near her. To add to all of this, this evening she was running outside and ended up getting scraped up pretty good. When it was time to get in the shower, between her cloud on one side and her scrapes on the other I manged to get her hair washed but she was very upset. I hope she feels better tomorrow because she has been sick for a week now and she is very needy! Oh yea and these pictures I took were another challenge. She is very dramatic.

Romantic Getaway

So Jeff and I are off to Laughlin Thursday evening. I will be away from the computer but I will be back on Monday to post our pictures from our romantic getaway. I am so excited. I have needed this break for awhile now. Being with 7 children everyday can make you a little crazy. I plan on laying out by the pool, sleeping in and eating while sitting down (if you know what I mean). See ya!

Mexican Corn.

Well I know there is another name for this corn but I forgot what it is. Anyways it is the best corn. Everyday a man comes by selling corn and ice cream. Of course I never have cash on me so my kids usually don't get it. Well there is always Autumn and Summers way. If they stand there long enough the guy feels bad and ends up just giving it to them. However yesterday I had cash on me and me and the boys got some of this really good corn. This was the excitement of our day. We ate this out on our porch and in the background is the spa that is right across from us. How convienent.

Brandons Bike

Brandon got $40 from his grandma and grandpa Sanford for his birthday. First he said he wanted a bike and then changed his mind and wanted a paint ball gun thanks to his Uncle Austin and his Dad. After talking him out of it he decided that a bike would be great. He and I went to Target today mostly because we needed milk and I wanted to check out the sells, but he talked me into looking at the bikes. We weren't able to find one there so I told him that we would look at Wal mart another day. Of course by the time we got out of Target he had talked me into going to Wal mart. We were able to find him a bike but $40 turned into $55. He is very good at getting want he wants.

Becoming a blogger!

Ok. So I know I don't have any pictures on , but I soon will. After spending the weekend with the Belew family Jenni made me promise that I would start posting. So I just wanted everyone to know that I am officially becoming a blogger.