Updates

So, a lot has been going on in our family recently.

Little Eli who was just born on Saturday, is in the NICU with pneumonia. He seems to be doing better, so that's good. They have the best video of him. He's so tiny to be so sick. We're praying that he will continue to improve and be able to come home this weekend! You guys are in our prayers!

The other "goings on" is a lot more fun. My mom got here today and will be with us until next Wednesday. Luckily, the sun came out for her and by the afternoon, she had taken off her big coat - although she still had on a sweater. Ahh...the Pacific Northwest...it's not as warm at the rest of the world.

Tomorrow we're heading up to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. One of my absolute favorite places this time of year. Did I mention I have a problem?

:)

Since I was tagged

Jess tagged me with this and since it's easy and then I will be able to check off "blogging" from my list, here you go...

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Brent, we're such dorks!
C- Cake or Pie: Cake - chocolate
D- Day of Choice: Hmm... I think Saturday because that is normally just me and Brent
E- Essential Item: I love my bed!
F- Favorite Color: normally purple
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: yuck! Where's swedish fish on the list?
H- Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
I- Indulgence(s): Hello, my name is Ashley (Hello Ashley) and I'm a plant-a-holic...it's only been 24 hours since my last plant purchase
J- January or July: january, because I'm not a fan of warm weather
L- Life is incomplete without: family
M-Marriage Date: August 29th - Judgement Day according to Terminator 2
N- Number of Siblings: A big zero there!
O- Oranges or Apples: since we just can't get good oranges here, I'd have to say apples.
P- Phobias or Fears:I am deathly afraid of sharks. I mean, ridiculously afraid
Q- Quote(s): today, it's "just keep swimming"
R- Reason to Smile: a lot of things make me smile. Right now I'd have to say...the fact that my tulips are starting to bloom! It makes planting 500 bulbs last year almost seem worth it! Did I mention I am a plant-a-holic?
S- Season: I love spring and fall. I'm not a fan of the hot weather and winter just gets boring - nothing is growing and everything is green - well, at least here in the Pacific Northwest. The driveway is green, the house is green, the stairs are green - you get the picture.
T- Tag 4: I'm not a fan of the tag, so whoever want to...go ahead
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I can curl my tongue and whistle through it.
V- Very favorite store: Costco - Costco dates are another thing that makes me smile.
W- Worst Habit: If I see hair on someone's clothes or their tag out, I have to fix it, even if they're a stranger
Y- Your Favorite Food: A pizza bender from Italian Village. Yum!
Z- Zodiac: I'm a Sagittarius - the wanderer

Enough about me! Have a good one!

Welcome to the World

We would like to announce the birth of our newest nephew Eli!

Welcome to the world little Eli. We can't wait to meet you!

Mom, Jenny, is doing great! And his three older sisters, along with his dad, are so excited to have a little boy in the family.

Eli is our 3rd nephew. There are 6 little nieces just waiting to have some fun with the boys! We just love them all! :)

:)

Boy, That Sure is a lot of Pictures

Finally, something blog-worthy. (As I said, I needed to get away!)

We took a long Easter weekend and headed over to Denver with our friend Brad. Brent and Brad went to the NCAA Basketball Tournament and I hung out with Julie, Jared, Katie and our newest nephew Cayden. I think everyone had a great time.

Here are a bunch of pictures of the 4 days.

Here we are (Katie, Jared, Me and Julie in the front) at Jared's school. (I'm sorry Jared, I can't remember the name of it...something about Rocky Mountains??) Jared is almost ready to graduate with a degree in animation. It was fun to see where he spends most of his time. And to have an opportunity to see what he's done. You're amazing Jared! I was very impressed.

This is our newest little nephew, Cayden. He's three months old and I just met him. The first day we met, he wasn't too sure about me. I'm pretty sure it was my hair. My hair HATES THE DRY WEATHER and WIND that it had that day, so it looked a little big. After I got my hair under control, me and Cayden got along just great! (He does smile a lot, but my camera has a stupid red light that goes off before it flashes and babies always look like this!)

On Friday, when there weren't any basketball games in Denver (there were games on tv, so we were lucky to get Brent out), we went down to "The Springs" (what Colorado-ites call Colorado Springs) and went to the Garden of the Gods. It's a great park with hiking and beautiful red rocks. And the day was GORGEOUS! Not a cloud in the sky!

This is the first view of Garden of the Gods that you see. Isn't it gorgeous? The snowcapped mountain in the background is Pike's Peak. Did you know that Pike's Peak is the most visited mountain in North America and the 2nd most visited mountain in the world? What's the first, you ask? Mt Fuji in Japan. Isn't it amazing what stays in my mind. The name of Jared's school - gone, the most visited mountain in the world - there it is!

If you ever find yourself in "the Springs", you really should stop by the Garden of the Gods. It's free!

It was a gorgeous day, but the wind was blowing. Julie was cold. I cropped this picture the way I did so you could notice the girl behind Julie with crops on. I think she even had flip-flops on. At least Julie had enough clothes on to be warm!

Here we all are in a scrunch picture - my favorite. (Brad, Julie, Brent, me)

Since both Julie and Brent are graduates of Tooele HS, go White Buffaloes, they felt they needed a picture on the bison. Julie said that it wasn't too comfortable. Well, yeah, it is made of metal. :)

Then we went to Cave of the Winds (also in the Springs) where we had to climb down this ladder to see the inside of the cave. Ok, that's just a joke. There are stairs now, but this is how people used to have to get in. I don't think I would care that much, what do you think?

Another picture from the Cave of the Winds. When you open my camera, it chirps like a bird - an annoying setting that Brent keeps turning back on. Anway, when we were in the cave, I opened my camera and this mom said to her daughter, "Did you hear the bat?" Ok, I was embarrassed, but seriously Lady. That's not what bats sound like!

Julie had a great time riding this bear. When Kyle saw the picture of Brent on the same bear, he said that the bear was naughty because he was growling. Silly naughty bear!

And finally, here's me in front of the Denver Temple. I don't know if I've ever seen the Denver Temple, but it was beautiful! After we took this picture, we went running back to the car - it was snowing and windy and really cold. But we did see the temple!

I just wanted to say thank you to Julie for keeping me company. I hope you like the outfit you got and I also hope you will eventually like your phone - I still want one. Thank you so much to Auntie Annie and Uncle Steve for letting us stay with them. They were so nice to deal with our late nights and early mornings. Thanks to Jared and Katie for dinner on Friday. It was great! Thanks to Jared for taking time out of his busy schedule to spend some time with us! Thank you to Cayden for finally deciding that Auntie Ashley wasn't so bad - once I got my hair under control. And thank you to the NCAA Basketball Tournament for giving Brent an excuse to go to Denver!

Anyone want to go to Portland next March??