Facing the Sun

Really...

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

And for your next installment of Daisy does the darndest things...
Yep. Here she is, sitting on the printer, chewing on the scissors. Why? I really don't know.

Happy Birthdays!

2012-02-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

(Brent updated our blogger and now it's somewhat hard for me to figure out. Don't worry. I'll get better at it!)

Yes, I really did mean "birthdays". On Friday we celebrated Cami's second birthday along with Marcela's birthday, since they are only a day apart. When we walked in the door, we were surprised to see Marcela's mom and sister there! Apparently not as surprised as Marcela was since Ryan and her family conspired for months to get them here. What a fun surprise!

And now onto the pictures.

Here is one of the birthday girls herself. Cami is a cute little thing. She was so confused by all the fuss for her. When everyone sat down to watch her open her presents, she came and sat with us. And then when the cake came out, she kept hiding her face. It was cute!

And birthday girl #2...Marcela!

I am a fan of her cute little sweater dress.

She wasn't super good at blowing out the candle, but we got it out anyway.

I thought I had some more pictures, but then I remembered that I had taken them with Ryan and Marcela's camera, so ... oops!Anyway...

Happy Birthday ladies!

40 Bags in 40 Days

2012-02-01T08:35:00.001-08:00

Have I mentioned my love of Pinterest? I haven't? Well, I love it. And when I saw this challenge at the end of last year - ie the 40 bags in 40 days challenge - I got all excited and decided to try it.

What is a 40 bags in 40 days challenge you ask? Well, you make a list of 40 places in your house you want to organize/clean out. Then for the next 40 days, you work on one of them a day. This idea is great for me because I have a problem with getting overwhelmed and hiding in my room. Literally.

Anyway, I've been doing my 40 bags for the past few weeks now and it's a raging success. Here are some of the places I've organized...

I've also cleaned out the file cabinet, my shoe bucket, and the pantry, among other things.

It's actually quite cathartic for me! I will never be perfect at decluttering - I can still hear my Grandma saying that I might need that someday - but I am getting organized and I love having a specific place for a specific thing. It's great!

Off to my next bag!

Oh Daisy

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

We have a crazy cat. She has the funniest personality and gets into the funniest things. So, I think this year I'm going to share some of the funny things she does.

Brent has decided to start dressing a little bit nicer for work, which also means he has to iron. This is the pile of ironing. Daisy likes to sit on things, but this time she got into his shirt to take a nap.

Just makes me laugh.

Frozen Mayhem Part 2

2012-01-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

Well, freezing rain has been falling all day, but it's now turning to snow. The weather people were saying that it was going to start getting warmer by noon. Not so much just yet. Still 28 degrees at last look.

We got a little stir crazy and went out to see what it was like. (But not stir crazy enough to go to Costco like one of our friends. He's crazy.) Anyway, here are some pictures of the ice we've gotten. Brent says it's 1/8 inch thick and I say at least 1/4 inch so I'm going to say we have a TON of ice out there.
This is our attempt to show how thick the ice is, but it just wouldn't take a good picture. I'm continuing to take donations towards Ashley-needs-a-digital-single-reflex-camera fund.

This is the road outside our house looking down the hill...

And up the hill...

We could get out but have decided not to chance it. Like I said, we have plenty of food and frozen pizzas. (Hee hee) So we're staying put for now.

And, sadly, Brent and Ryan are going to have to watch the USU game on tv. The monorail is not running today and most of Seattle is closed so no basketball for them. Sad days guys!

Now on to organizing and packing up the craft room. Why you ask? Well, we're going to be doing some home remodeling and getting ready to move our bedroom downstairs. Lots of work ahead but I'm excited.

:)

Frozen Mayhem!

2012-01-19T10:10:00.000-08:00

Well, it's happened. I've been fearing this for years now. A freezing rain storm has struck. So, on top of the 4-5 inches of snow that we got yesterday is now a nice layer of ice. Eek!

This is what the deck looked like last night after the snow stopped. Not too bad. It's what it looks like now too only the top layer of snow is really ice.

And the front of the house. You can barely see Brent's beautiful retaining walls.

I don't know, can you see the layer of ice on top of the snow? I can, but I know what I'm looking for.

And the layer of ice on the blueberry bush on our deck.

But the funniest think I've seen with this snow storm is this hummingbird on the dead fuchsia outside our kitchen window. It eventually flew away but I was so surprised to see it!

Hopefully you're warm and happy where you are. We're warm, but I don't know if Brent's going to be happy...he's suppose to go to a basketball game tonight in Seattle and I'm not sure I'm going to let him. Freezing rain scares me!

It's Snowmagedon!

2012-01-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

Look at what our deck looked like this morning...
I know, that's like 4 inches of snow! IT'S SNOWMAGEDON! The Pacific Northwest has shut down. We are having a snow day. Other places have gotten a lot more snow than we have. And it is still snowing, but...still it makes me giggle a little bit.

Here are the facts:
-This past weekend was suppose to be, what I like to call, a snowpocalypse. Everyone was freaking out and getting ready for a big snow - at least 3 inches. The frozen pizzas were flying off the shelf! And then it didn't even snow an inch.
-The weather people have been saying that we were going to get at least 8" of snow today. All the schools would be closed. It would be CRAZY! SNOWMAGEDON! So people started getting ready - what frozen pizzas were left were flying off the shelf. We woke up to about 4 inches of snow. But...
-Of the something like 166 school districts in Western Washington, as of last check, all but 3 are closed. (Poor kids at those 3.)
-Brent's work went from a two hour delay to a cancellation. (Woho!)

So, we're snowed in. With 4 inches of snow. But it is still snowing. And we have food - no frozen pizzas for us. So we're good.

But it is fun to have a snow day!

**What is the deal with the frozen pizzas, you ask? Well, a few years ago, they were predicting a huge snowstorm right before Christmas - this one did turn out to be a huge snowstorm. We had about 18" at Christmas. Anyway, we had just gotten home from San Diego so we HAD to go grocery shopping. The lines to check out went all the way to the back of the store. It was crazy. So I was walking through the store trying to think of things we could make if the power went out, because, let's face it, that happens a lot here. So I got some soup and stuff like that. But when I walked down the frozen food aisle, there wasn't a single frozen pizza left. Guess that's emergency preparedness for Western Washington. It's now become our joke. We know it's not going to be a big thing if there are still frozen pizzas.**

Hope you are warm and safe where you are!

Let's Start Crafting

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last year, I made a menu board that I never really liked. So, I decided to try again. I like this one.

What do you think?

The Bug Museum

2012-01-17T14:22:00.000-08:00

Remember how I said that I'm going to do more stuff this year, take more pictures and blog more. Well, only a couple of weeks in and here we go...

Court and I took the kids to the Bug Museum on the last day of their Winter Break. I've heard a lot about this place but haven't gone yet. It's small, but it's free so I think it's kind of nice.
Kyle liked the painted lady butterflies. And also the tarantula that he got me to take a picture of before I thought it through.

I am REALLY not a fan of spiders! Seriously. Ick.

Aaron argued with me about whether a scorpion was a crab. He finally conceded that a scorpion was a type of crab...not so much but he wasn't going to believe anything else.

This Walking Stick is from Indonesia. I had Sarah put her hand in the picture so you could see how big it was. Sarah and I decided that Indonesia wasn't on our top 10 list of where we wanted to go.

Emma liked the painted lady butterflies too.

But mostly she liked the stuffed bugs and anything else she wasn't suppose to get into, like the kleenix.

Aaron loved these bug glasses. He said to me, "Ashley, I just wish these could come home with me."

Look...I did something, took pictures and blogged. Woho!

The Last of 2011

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I thought I'd do one last post for the year 2011. Isn't it a little bit crazy that 2011 is over? Am I the only one who thinks that?

With all my pinteresting this year, I have a huge list of crafts that I want to do. So, I thought I'd do one of them with Sarah and Chloe before Christmas. That way they could give the finished pieces to their friends.

We made necklaces out of washers. They turned out cute, but there are a few things I would do differently next time. But, hey, you live and learn.

Day One: We chose the paper, cut out the circles and glued them to the washers with modge podge, as per the directions.
This is the first thing I would change. The modge podge didn't stick very well. I would use a stronger glue next time.
Day Two: We cut the excess paper off, filed the edges and put the dimensional paint on them.
I think the excess paper would have come off easier if the glue had held better. We also learned that getting the bubbles out of the dimensional paint is a PAIN!

And the Final Product. Cute, huh? You can hardly tell that they were once washers. Chloe said that her friends liked them so much that other people who didn't get any were upset.

And...the last thing I took pictures at for the whole year was...Emma's 1st Birthday.

Happy Birthday Emma!

New Year's at our house was quiet. We had fondue...yum...and I fell asleep at 11:30p. Brent did wake me up at midnight, but then I promptly went back to sleep. I am so my father's daughter. I swear, he turns into a pumpkin at 9pm. I'm a little bit better...I can make it until 10pm, but after that, it's just crazy. What a weird thing to inherit!

One of my new years resolutions is to do more stuff, take more pictures while doing that stuff, and blog more. We'll see how I do.

Christmas Time is Here Again

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

See, told you I would. Hah! You didn't think I would.

Christmas dawned warm and green...oh how I love our Northwest Christmas! Since we only had adults in our house, we got up and went to Church without having to open presents. Church was only an hour long and it was one of my all time favorite Sacrament Meetings. They had a few people talk about their favorite Christmas Hymns, then we sang them. Great, huh? Well, the last speaker talked about Silent Night. A great hymn. He talked about how it was written because the organ broke in this small town in Germany. He talked about how Silent Night actually has 6 verses, and we don't even sing the first three. But the last thing he talked about really got me. Probably because he's a choir director and I'm a total choir nerd. But he said that people always seem to want to sing at Christmas time. His theory about why is that we remember singing at Christ's birth and we want to feel that way again. I don't know if that's true but I REALLY like it. Still brings a little tear to my eye.

After the wonderful Sacrament Meeting, we came home, had some breakfast and opened some presents.
Brent got a great new apron, that I made, I might add. Well, I bought the apron but I put the Darth Vader on it. Using vinyl. Have I mentioned how I love vinyl?

Santa was good to us all, even me, who is not pictured. He was even good to Daisy, who got a new toy with feathers on it. She promptly took it down the hallway to attack it.

It was quite hilarious.

Then came Mom's present from us. When we were there at Thanksgiving, we bought the present, wrapped it, and hid it in the house. So, Brent made a word puzzle that would lead her to it when she got home. It was hard stuff but she eventually figured it out.

And then the masses arrived. Ryan and Marcela and the girls came down. Brad, Court and the kids came over. And Uncle Gary. It was a full house, but I loved it.

Brent made an amazing ham dinner. And we opened some more presents.

Finding out that Court and I think a lot a like. We both did family game night-esk boxes. I swear, we didn't talk about it before hand. It was quite funny.

And the little ones went downstairs to watch some Toy Story 2. Aren't they cute all bundled up under the blanket?

We hope you had an amazing Christmas too! If you ever want to have a warm, green Christmas, we'd love to have you. Although we can't guarantee warm or green...

I wanted to share with you the lyrics to the best Christmas song ever!

Christmas in the Northwest
The wind may not blow
Might not even snow
But there's nothing like Christmas
Right here at home

It may not be white
Might be a rainy night
But there's nothing like sharing
The sounds and the sights of ...

Christmas in the Northwest
Is a gift that we can share
Christmas in the Northwest
Is a child's answered prayer

Take away the presents
And they still will have a dream
For Christmas in the Northwest
Is a gift God wrapped in green

That first Christmas night
Under just one light
In a small town, a child came down
The Father's gift of love and life

And so, I dedicate this prayer
To the children in our care
That we teach them of the gifts of love
He has planted everywhere
Just like ...

Christmas in the Northwest
It's a gift that we can share
Christmas in the Northwest
Is a child's answered prayer

If you take away the presents
Why, they still will have a dream
For Christmas in the Northwest
Is a gift God wrapped in green

And I know it may not turn out white
But it's still 'silent night'
So gather those you love
And tell the story of the gift of living
Believe we see from the one who's giving
Giving us ...

Christmas in the Northwest
Is a gift that we can share
Christmas in the Northwest
Is a child's answered prayer

And even if you take away the presents
I still would have a tree
For Christmas in the Northwest
Is a gift God wrapped in green

That God wrapped up in green

Christmas in the Northwest
Is a gift God wrapped up in green

Ok, it may not be the best Christmas song, but it's a little funny, right? Merry Christmas!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

2012-01-11T10:45:00.001-08:00

Now that we're well into January...seriously, where has the time gone...I'd thought I'd wax poetic about our Christmas celebrations this year. Well, technically, last year but you get the idea.

Brent's mom and sister, Julie, came to enhance our Christmas cheer. We had a wonderful time. I even took a few pictures.

Mom and I did some shopping at the mall. I don't shop at the mall so that was interesting. We got there early enough to get a parking space but when we left, it was a little crazy.

We also went to see a few of movies - in the theaters. I know, I was surprised too. I can't remember the last movie we saw in the theaters. I think it was the last Harry Potter.

Anyway, went to see Sherlock Holmes, Mission Impossible, and, after everyone left, The Muppets. I liked all three of them. We even got a scrunch picture with Tom Cruise. Yeah, we're that cool.

We had a lot fun times together. Brent cooked a lot, which is always good. All in all, we had a great time! Let's look at some pictures.

We spent Christmas Eve in Silverdale with Ryan, Marcela, the girls and their neighbors. Reyes donned her dragon costume and had some fun playing with her dad and Brent.

We took some cute pictures...

Isn't that the cutest dragon you've see in a long time?

Reyes showed off her jack-o-lantern smile...
When did she get old enough to start loosing teeth?

Marcela helped me make a poinsettia barrette-thing for my hair (am I a girl or what?)...

Ryan and Marcela made an amazing meal. And Ryan, being the engineer he is, made a time table for when to put things in and take them out. We were impressed.

And for dessert, Mom and I made this awesome cake...

It both looked and tasted good. Yeah us!

Then came the nativity. I really liked how they did the nativity with all the little littles. They played the primary song...um....ok...I don't remember what primary song they played but it talked about all the different people and animals that came to see the Baby Jesus. Great idea! Here are the highlights.
First we have to show Ryan's super awesome Wise Man costume that he ordered on the internet. I especially like the head piece.

Does Reyes want to be Mary? Nope, a donkey. She was a great donkey!

I don't know if Cami knew, but she was the angel.

At one point she laid in the manger but she was little too big.

Like I said, cute way to do it. Short, sweet and to the point.

A perfect end to a great Christmas Eve.

Ok, now that I've gotten to this point, I think that Christmas will be coming tomorrow. So check back! Seriously, I really will. I promise. Probably.

Wild Kingdom...Again

2011-12-30T11:00:00.000-08:00

Do you remember how my backyard is a wild kingdom? We've see coyotes...lots of coyotes...or just one lots of time, hawks, snakes, racoons, squirrels, Brent, Daisy, etc, etc? But, we have never seen a deer. I thought this was kind of weird. It seemed like perfect deer habitat. Then, the other day, I was able to catch this on film. Or pixels. Jeez, what would you say now-a-days. We don't have film anymore. Wait, I digress.Yep, that is in fact a deer in our backyard. We think it's a black tailed deer. Not that that really matters, just thought I'd point it out.

I don't mind wild kingdom in my backyard. Well, except for two things. I don't want to ever see a bear or a sasquatch in my backyard. There may not be sasquatch but if there are, I for sure don't want to see one in my backyard. Or an elephant. If I'm going to dream, I'm going to dream big. Or a dinosaur. You get the picture.

I'll keep my eyes to the backyard and my camera handy and see what else I can catch. Who knows...maybe a unicorn next.

Happy Birthday to Me...

2011-12-29T14:29:00.001-08:00

I know, I know...my birthday was a while ago, but, I've been busy, so let's relive it.

The Sunday before my birthday I got to speak in church. Woho! Now that's a fun birthday present. But, after that, it got a little more fun. Our house was full of some of our favorite people. And I put Sarah in charge of the camera so ... well ... you'll see. It's interesting to see the world through a twelve-year-old's eyes.

You see, we were all here for me. Because, you know, it was almost my birthday.

We had some good times just sitting around.

We had super good times eating my favorite kind of cake -

Better Than Anything Cake

I don't know if it's better than ANYTHING, but it is better than a whole lot of things!

Jeez, I'm actually in a couple of pictures...and they aren't scrunch pictures. Crazy!

I opened some presents.

I left this picture in because Aaron's face still makes me laugh. A lot. Thought you could use a laugh too.

Cami tackled Ryan and kept him down for a little while.

The bigger boys talked about bigger toys and engineering.

Ryan and Marcela got me this cute stuffed hippo that you can warm up in the microwave, so the kids had to try it out.

Ahh...Sir Heinrich the Smelly Hippo. Sadly, once warmed, he smelled like lavendar. Which is not one of my favorite smells. But, I have a plan to get rid of the smelly stuff. And it's funny to call him Sir Heinrich the Smelly.

Someone lined the banister with soldiers, even hiding a few in the garland. I'm pretty sure there are one or two left even now.

And we had a few more pictures taken.
Don't worry. Sarah isn't actually shorter than me anymore. She's leaning down. Thanks Sarah.

Kyle and Reyes playing on the stairs. I have a sneaking suspicion that these are the ones who put the soldiers in the garland.

Reyes, who would rather be about any animal rather than be a little girl.

All in all, it was a great day-before-my-birthday! Thanks to all involved.

On my actual birthday, Brent took the day off. We had a nice relaxing day! I love those. Then we took the ferry over to Seattle, went out to dinner at this super floofy restaurant, and then went to see Canadian Brass. What's Canadian Brass you ask? Well, it's 5 guys from Canada who play all different kind of music with only brass instruments. They were really good. If you want to hear some of their stuff, go here.

I tried to take a picture of us with my cell phone but...well...you can see how well that turned out.

Actually, it looks quite a bit better small.

So, there it is...my birthday this year. How old am I, you ask? Well, I'm 36. When did that happen you ask? I have no idea. Time sure flies when you're having fun!

Just Funny

2011-12-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, where are the pictures from my birthday? Well, honestly, still on the camera so I'm working on them. But, I saw this on, where else, Pinterest, and had to share!Oh my gosh, it still makes me laugh!

I am Thankful For...

2011-12-01T16:10:00.000-08:00

We're back from our thankful week in Utah. And I thought that I would share what I'm thankful for while talking about our trip. Get it...because it was Thanksgiving. I know, I'm awesome.

I am thankful for...

...the fact that both flights left on time. That's a lot to ask this time of year, but I was just snotty enough to ask it.

...the gorgeous weather in Utah while we were there. Not too cold, not too hot, not too snowy.

...Italian Village. Never been there? You must go. Get a pizza bender with sauce. It may change your life.

...pumpkin pie. I could eat it every day.

...my family.

...modern medicine. My dad had his hip replaces six weeks ago and can walk around now.

...shopping with my mom, even though it was SUPER early.

...the fact that my mom got her finger out of this jewelry hanger...

...with only minimal damage...

...and only a lot of embarrassment.

I feel this needs some explanation. My mom and I started our shopping adventure at 5 am. Around 6 am, we went to Rod Works, which is a store I am very thankful for, where my mom bought a jewelry stand. She buys her things and is waiting for me as I buy mine. When I'm turning to go, I say to the cashier, "Have a good night ... oh my gosh, it's morning." Then my mom says, "My finger is stuck." So we're both laughing at ourselves as she's trying to get unstuck, but then her finger starts turning purple. So we rush back to the bathroom and put soap all over her finger and she pops it out. It was funny. But the funniest part is when she was telling Brent about it and almost did it again.

...family that I don't get to see that often. I was having so much fun at Thanksgiving that I completely forgot to take any pictures.

...crazy nieces and nephews.

...wheel barrel races, because, well, they're just funny.

...an awesome father-in-law who leaves little presents in the weirdest places. We found this...

here...

Why? We have no idea.

Brent's mom asked Brent to take down the drop ceiling in the kitchen. It was dusty, dirty work, but it will look so nice when it's done. When he was almost finished, he saw the can. We all hoped it had money in it. Nope, just cement. But it was a fun surprise anyway!

...Temple Square. Even though we couldn't go there at night because Brent got sick.

...Julie dragging me out of bed at zero-dark-thirty to go to Music and the Spoken Word.

...beautiful music.

...for my time singing in a choir. I miss it sometimes. I loved watching the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's conductor, Mack Wilberg, tell them "That wasn't very pretty sopranos." It was so cool.

...Brent feeling better. And that I didn't get whatever stomach bug he and his mom had. Sorry guys. I feel badly that you felt so yucky but I'm glad I didn't.

But mostly, I'm thankful for my family. They are all pretty crazy, but that just makes them fun!

I'm thankful for so many other things, but those are the things I'm thankful for from this last weekend.

Over the River...

2011-11-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

Over the river and through the woods
Well, maybe over the river and over the woods?
To Grandmother's house we go
This is more true that it normally would be - we're staying in my Grandma's house
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
The autopilot know the way to steer the plane
Through the white and drifted snow - oh!
Through the white and fluffy clouds - and hopefully no snow - oh!

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

(I have to tell you - I had to look up "steer" to make sure I was spelling it right. I didn't want it to read "The autopilot knows the way to cow the plane." Sometimes my spelling makes me laugh!)

Live In Thanksgiving

2011-11-15T11:59:00.000-08:00

I was looking for a spiritual thought for my presidency meeting tomorrow and I came upon this Mormon Message. It was so great that I wanted to share.

I especially like the little girl who says "the birds." Hee hee.

A perfect thing to think of this time of year!

Look What I Did

2011-11-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Remember how I said that craftiness was not an option for me? Well, I've been proving that lately. I've been on a kick. Do you want to see what I've done? Of course you do...(And if you don't, I guess you could stop reading now, but really, you're already here and everything. And it will be mostly pictures. So, why not stay!)
As a thank you gift for the people who let us stay in their condo on the beach, I made these coasters out of picture I took while in Westport. I know, ingenious!

I got this idea from a craft blog I read.

Do you realize that you can turn this

Into this?

Yeah, I didn't either. I mean, where did I think they got the pumpkin in a can? I have no idea, but I guess I didn't think it was from actual pumpkins.

It's super easy to cook a pumpkin and make it into pumpkin bread. It just takes time. If you need the recipe, let me know. Oh, you do want it? I'll give it to you.

Cooking Pumpkin

Cut up pumpkin.
Put it in your crock pot.
Put about 3/4 inch of water in your crock pot.
Cook for like 4 hours. Until the pumpkin is soft and you can pull it from the skin easily.
Take all the skin off the pumpkin - if you're like me, you have to have Brent do this because the pumpkin is too hot. I swear, he has asbestos fingers!
Smash up pumpkin with potato masher.
Voila!

I know, hard, huh? I'm making a pumpkin pie this week out of the pumpkin we cooked ourselves. If the bread is any indication, it will be awesome!

Have I mentioned, I love craftiness??

I Have a Problem

2011-10-31T15:31:00.001-07:00

Hello, my name is Ashley (Hi Ashley) and I am addicted to Pinterest. It's been like two seconds since the last time I looked at pinterest. (But I did find a funny quote from Joss Whedon. Hee hee)

What is Pinterest, you ask? Well, let me tell you. It's this place you go that sucks all the time out of your day. It's kind of like a black hole. Science hasn't been able to define it just yet though.

Ok, really, it's a little like facebook for crafty, recipe, fashion, etc junkies. You go on Pinterest and see all this stuff that people you follow have "pinned" (PINterest) to their boards. Like cute crafts they've seen somewhere on the internet. Or yummy recipes. Stuff like that. You can also search all the pins in Pinterest.

It's stinking awesome! Especially since I'm a crafty junkie.

So, I saw these owl cupcakes on Pinterest and I pinned them. Then I made them. Yep, I took it out of virtual cuteness into real life cuteness. See...(Sorry about the out of focus picture. I'm currently taking donation towards "Ashley needs a digital SLR". Just send the donations to my house.)

So, if you're on Pinterest, follow me. I have good taste. If you're not on Pinterest, run away! It's a black hole.

But a fun black hole!

Pumpkin Walk 2011

2011-10-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a crazy week or so. My dad had surgery - he is doing really well and in good spirits - then I got pretty sick and have just felt run down for a while. But I'm doing better today so I thought I'd blog.

Last Friday we went to the Bainbridge Gardens Pumpkin Walk with Ryan and Marcela, et al. Since this is the second year in a row that we've gone, it is now a tradition.

Last year, it was cold when we went. This year it was almost warm. And threatening to rain, but it didn't so that was nice.

If you remember from last year, there is a trail lined with carved pumpkins. It smells amazingly like cooked pumpkin...don't know why.

Reyes is a huge fan of Rapunzel. She was so excited to see her as a pumpkin.

Cami was excited to see Elmo.

They also had face painting so Marcela and Reyes got to be kitties. Reyes said that if Daisy saw her, she wouldn't know she was a little girl and not a cat.

It was a fun night. I'm glad it's a tradition!

Update

2011-10-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

Well, just talked to my dad. His surgery went really well, just started really late yesterday. He was up and walking and said that he felt great. Compared to what it had felt like, he feels so much better. Which is great!

The doctor said that he will feel like he's been kicked by a horse for a few days. Little did the doctor know that, since we've had horses for so long, he knows what that feels like.

He'll probably be in the hospital for another day, then just recuperating for a few weeks.

I'm really happy!

Just Waiting

2011-10-19T11:19:00.001-07:00

Here I am, just waiting to hear that my dad has been taken back to surgery. He is getting his hip replaced today.

His surgery was suppose to start about 1 hour ago, so...any time now.

So, any thoughts and prayers sent his way would be awesome today!

Luke, I am your Father

2011-10-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

***Sorry about this, but I guess the person who put this on YouTube has taken if off. Basically, it was his two kids watching when Darth Vader tells Luke that Vader is Luke's father. The kids both react with surprise. Too bad you can't see it anymore.**

Do you remember how much I like Star Wars? I know, it's weird, but hey, that's me. (And, yes, Star Wars has come out on bluray. Great. Another time buying Star Wars.)

Anyway, I saw this video on the news and just had to share. It makes me laugh.

Have a great day!

Westport by the Sea

2011-09-19T13:17:00.001-07:00

Well, here we are...back from our trip to the Washington Coast. It was a FABULOUS week and just what both of us needed. And, as I usually do, here is the trip in pictures.

Speaking of pictures. The picture from my last post is from the deck of the condo we were staying in. Yeah, it's my new favorite place!

When asked what I wanted to do while we were in Westport I said, "Beachcomb." I love to go beachcombing. So we did a lot of that.

When Brent was asked, he said he wanted to fly his kite. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate until Saturday and we were already all packed up and ready to go when the wind started up. And with the wind came rain, so...needless to say, no kite flying this time. But a lot of beachcombing with me!
Look at that...we're the only ones on the beach. There were quite a few times when we couldn't see anyone else. It was great.

This is my new favorite camera angle. I took a lot of ones like this.

See

There were sand dollars everywhere! But I only came home with five of them. Even though I had told myself I was only coming home with three. I was really impressed with my restraint.

I did, however, take a lot of pictures of them!

How come smelly old boats are so pretty in pictures?

Most people would take one of those smelly old boats out on a fishing trip, but not us. I'm not a fisherperson. I cry. I know, it's weird, but...hey...that's me!

These next pictures require some explanation. There is a lighthouse in Westport - the tallest one in Washington - so we went to take a look. The volunteer there was blowing these HUGE bubbles. And he even said it was a bad day for the really big ones. Here is his blog that tells you how to blow your own huge bubbles. I think Brent's going to give it a try sometime.

I think this one looks like the thing from The Abyss.

To get to the ocean from where we stayed you had to walk through some dunes. I think they are so pretty.
One day, Brent and I were out beachcombing...I know, surprising...and I noticed something way out on the horizon. I kept looking at it and realized it was a ship, in full sail. This picture is REALLY zoomed in, which is why it's not too crisp. This is the Lady Washington. The Lady Washington is a full scale reproduction of the original Lady Washington that was the first American ship to make landfall on the west coast. I don't know about you, but I'm reminded a little bit of the Goonies with this picture. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please, watch the Goonies again. It's funny.)

As I said, this is the tallest lighthouse in Washington. We don't have really tall lighthouses here though so it's not too exciting.

What I think is interesting about this lighthouse though is that it's about 3,000 feet from high tide. Which means that the condo we were staying in was between it and the ocean. Kind of defeats the purpose of a lighthouse, doesn't it? (I did read about this...it originally was a lot closer, but over the years, sediment has built up so it keeps getting farther and farther from the ocean.)

And now for some just plain old pretty pictures...of the ocean...because I love the ocean...

And now on to our favorite part of the trip. We heard about this glass studio where you could take glass blowing classes. It's in a little town called Cosmopolis. Isn't that a funny name? Anyway, we signed up and had a great time. I brought my camera to the class but to tell you the truth, I didn't even think about taking it out. Brent and I each got to make a float and a bowl.

Here are mine...

And here are Brent's...

I think that we both did a really good job, being that it was our first time. Brent's bowl is a lot better than mine. He really got it to ruffle nicely.

It was really fun. The guy who taught us was really easy going and easy to learn from. He helped as much as we needed and even left us alone a little on the bowl. I'm really thinking about taking another class.

And, to finish off, the obligatory scrunch pictures. (Notice how cute Brent looks in both of these though...I was impressed.)

It's kind of hard to get back to real life after our great week, but it's nice to see Daisy again. And it did turn into fall while we were gone. I love fall!

See Ya!

2011-09-14T09:39:00.001-07:00

All I can say is...someone bring me Daisy, I'm never leaving.

We're off beach combing. I'm so excited, I can hardly stand still.

:)

Craftiness is not an Option

2011-09-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

I've been having some discussions with people I know about the worth of crafting. I really enjoy crafting. Usually, unless it's sewing related, it really relaxes me. But the other opinion is that crafting is just a waste of time. That there are far more important things to do.

I can't help it, I disagree. There are a lot of great things to do. And I do a lot of those things. But if I didn't do something that I enjoyed every once in a while, I would go crazy! So, I've decided that for the dissenters, craftiness IS an option. But for me, craftiness IS NOT an option. I mean, it's not like I do it 24/7. Just in spurts. Like now, I'm on one of those spurts.

I have been wanting some milk glass vases for my computer room, but when I went searching for milk glass I found that it was expensive. I mean, really expensive.

So when I found this tutorial, I thought, hmmm... Then I found a couple more and it really got me going.

Off I went to Goodwill to find some vases.
Check. And they were only $2.50. WAY cheaper than milk glass.

I already had some white acrylic paint, so after figuring out how much water to add, I got this...

Fer cute!

And I really like how they look with my super cute lamp.

See, I'm saving money. Another good thing about crafting. Crafting is awesome!

But, I feel I should show you my failure at craftiness. As I said before, crafting is relaxing to me, except if it's sewing. I am bound and determined to like sewing, but I haven't gotten there yet. Mostly it's just annoying. I don't know what I was thinking when I took on this next project.

I found this tutorial on how to make a case for your camera. We needed a case for our GPS, so I thought, "Hey, I can do that. It can't be that hard."

Yeah, I know, I think I'm delusional too.

So, I made a GPS case.

This is so embarrassing.

You may not be able to tell from the picture, but the GPS doesn't really fit into the case. A key component to a case, if you ask me. The strap that keeps the GPS in the case is crooked. And, I know you really can't see this, but I originally put the velcro in the wrong place. Awesome.

I guess it's better than nothing, but not much. Needless to say, I will not be making one for our camera.

But it was basically free because I already had all the stuff for it. Well, I take that back, I had to get the velcro so it cost like a dollar.

Crafting is not my life. But I do enjoy it and I'm not going to feel guilty for enjoying it. As long as I get the rest of my list done, I'm good.

Happy crafting!

Sad News...

2011-09-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

I knew this day was coming. If I was honest with myself, I would have known how much I was dreading it. But, it's time to announce to the world...
Sarah is now taller than me. Yep, a twelve year old has surpassed my height. **Sigh**

I don't know why I'm so sadden by this. I mean, look at her parents...they're both way taller than me. But it just makes me feel short. Which I know I am, but I sometimes pretend that I'm not.

But, in the interest of not dwelling on my short stature, here are some good things about Sarah being taller than me, ie: my shortness.

1) I now have another person that I can ask to reach high things for me. That's always nice.

There's this girl in our ward who is about 5'11" and barely 14. At camp last year, I called her over and she said, "What would you like me to reach." Well trained.

2) No more wondering when it was going to happen. I now know. In Utah. She was shorter than me when they left and taller when they got back. Seriously.

3) The B**** family now has a new gauge. You see, when you're taller than me, you can use a big cup. Not sure how I feel about this.

4) I don't have to worry about flood pants.

5) My kitchen is set up for a short person. All the stuff that I use every day is low down, and all the things that are used sometimes are higher up. I don't know if you've ever been in a tall person's house but their things are high up.

6) Ok, now I'm just grasping at straws so I don't know what else to say.

7) Oh, yeah, when I fall down - and notice I did say when - it's not as far to the ground.

So...Sarah is taller than me. So what! I'll always be older.

Wait...that's not better.

:)

I See...

2011-09-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...so that's how a vacuum is suppose to work. Amazing!

I love my Dyson!

Just a Little Happy...

2011-08-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things that are making me happy today:

1) I'm a little bit cold, but the sun is shining.

2) My super cute new pot I planted.

3) The fact that I picked two, count them... two, tomatoes today. Alright, they're cherry tomatoes, but since we didn't get ANY last year, two is a huge improvement.

4) Daisy is shedding all over the place and my vacuum is broken. Wait, that's not a good thing. But it's not bothering me too much. I might even get a new vacuum out of it.

5) Yesterday was our anniversary and we got to celebrate it by going to Les Mis - a week ago - and a yummy dinner last night. Our marriage is now a miamaid. Seriously?

6) Other than not being vacuumed, my house is clean. So if someone stops by, I won't have to be embarrassed.

7) I talked to my Grandma today. She is fun to talk to.

8) Went to the zoo yesterday with Court and the kids. I love the zoo but forgot my phone and my purse, which is another story, so there might not be any pictures from the day. Oh well, still fun!

and

9) My person gardener, who was one of the young women I taught and I hired to help out this summer before she goes off to college, swept the driveway and stairs today. I love having it all clean and I love not having to do it.

It's a good day!

A Visit From the Parents

2011-08-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Not long ago, my parents came for a visit. We had a great week with really good weather. And, as always, let's relive it in pictures.

But first...the main thing we did was go to Family Day at the shipyard and since you can't bring a camera, I don't have any pictures. But, if you would like to be reminded of what it was like, go here.

There were a few differences this time. We didn't take the ferry over because it's not free this year ... stupid budget cuts ... and the line wasn't as long but still long. We got to go on an aircraft carrier...where there were a lot of sailors holding guns. And Brent's desk was still barren, but he promises me it's because he had just moved.

Now on to the things I could take pictures of:
My dad wanted to go fishing, but it seems something always happens so he can't. Or they don't catch anything but that's a different story. This year was another year when it just didn't work out. Who knew they closed fishing certain days of the week? So, Brent and Dad went to a Mariner's game instead. There was a picnic for University of Utah alumni beforehand (I know, I don't get it either) so they got dinner and a game for a pretty good deal.

Needless to say, Mom and I went to do girly things ... like a much needed pedicure and shopping.

The rest of the week was spent doing yard work (Dad moved a lot of dirt so Brent can start building the next wall in our front yard), crafting, and playing a lot of Wii golf and bowling.

We did go to Illahee State Park where I got a nice sunburn on my neck. I forgot that the sun comes out sometimes around here.
Can you find the crab in this picture? We went at low tide so we could beachcomb. It wasn't a great beachcombing day but still fun. We found out that Mom is the Geoduck Whisperer. She got sprayed by geoducks about 5 times and got me and my dad sprayed once because we were following her. It was funny.

(What is a geoduck, you ask? Oh, and by the way, it's pronounced gooeyduck. They are these weird looking clams that can get quite large. They burrow down in the wet sand and when the tide is low, they are completely buried with only a hole filled with water above them. If you walk too close to the hole, they spurt water on you. This is the best picture I could find for reasons I would rather not talk about.)

It was a BEEEE-UTIFUL day and the mountain was out...

Mt. Rainier to be exact.

And we even saw an eagle. It's not unusual to see an eagle around here but it still quite fun!

Then we planted some pots and made the corner of our deck super pretty.

And, of course, we crafted. This time we broke out the Cricut and cut some vinyl. What do you think?

This says "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble, Fire Burn and Caldron Bubble."

I started this one when Leslie was here. It's gone through a couple of changes since then, and a whole new set of vinyl, but I'm finally quite happy with it.

You can't see it very well, but it says 'Happy Halloween' on the bottom left hand corner.

(Just a reminder...you could have any of these vinyl beauties, and more, by going here.)

It was a great week! And to finish off the post, here are some pretty flower pictures.

Have a great day!

Hee Hee

2011-08-11T08:05:00.001-07:00

A Lost Art?

2011-07-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

The other night I was helping out at Young Women's and they were making secret sister gifts. (Don't know what secret sister gifts are - well, you are assigned another camper to give stuff to. This stuff can either be funny, practical, or - sadly what I normally get - junk. I don't have a good attitude about secret sister stuff. But this year I got a blow up flamingo for my secret sister. Why? Because it made me laugh. Anyway, back to the story.)

One of the gifts they were making was flavored water. Well, actually, a bottle of water with a stir-in thing attached to it with curly ribbon. You know, curly ribbon. The ribbon you curl using scissors.Yeah, I got that blank stare from the girls and a couple of the leaders too. I mean, seriously, you don't know how to curl ribbon?

So, I thought I would teach them this apparently lost art. I showed them how. And they tried and cut the ribbon. So I showed them how again and they tried and it didn't work. So I showed them how again and they just asked me to do it.

Why is curly ribbon a thing of the past? Is it because you can buy a giant bag of already made bows for mere dollars? Is it a product of our gift bag and tissue paper generation? Is it one of those things that skips a generation - these girls kids will be asking their grandma's how to curl ribbon?

I don't know, but I'm going to single handedly (is that how you spell that?) keep it alive. So, the next time you need to wrap a present, throw some curly ribbon on there. No, not the kind you buy already curled, but the kind you curl yourself. It's easy! I promise.

Ok, just send it to me and I'll curl it and send it back.

Rain, Rain, I Don't Know How Long You'll Be Here, But You're Making Yard Improving Difficult

2011-07-26T08:34:00.001-07:00

While the rest of the country has been experiencing a SUPER hot summer, we here in the Pacific Northwest have yet to really experience summer. Yesterday it rained almost an inch and was about 60 degrees or so at our house. Not that I'm complaining, really. It's just that we have a big old project going on outside our front door and I would like it to be done this year. You know, before the BIG rains come.

For those of you who have never been to our house, we have a weird front yard. It is surrounded by steep planting beds. What is that? You don't quite understand, well, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words....
That is what we look at out our front window. When we moved in, there was ground cover on the slope but it wasn't strong enough to fight off the weeds so we had ground cover with weeds coming through it. So we took out the ground cover and tried to plant some plants. Nothing has ever done well there. It's just too steep. A couple of years ago I said that we might need to terrace it, but neither of us really wanted to, so we conveniently forgot about it. This year though, we both had had enough so we dug up the plants that were eeking out their living on the hill and Brent started to dig...and dig...and dig. Really, here is the HUGE pile of soil to prove it!

That pile is probably 4 feet tall by 6 feet wide. And most of it is going it the backyard to make a slope, but that's a different post.

But, this weekend, amid Ashley making Brent take her to see the new Harry Potter - I cried - he moved around a thousand pounds of rock to begin the first retaining wall. It looks so good! See...

He still has three more rows to put up then it will be a three foot tall retaining wall.

So, once he's done, then I get to plant some stuff that should live. I'm so excited!

If the rain ever calms down for a few days, he might be able to get more done. But, next week is Girl's Camp - yep, still going this year - so he should get sufficiently bored to work some more on the great wall that is going up in our front yard, provided it stops raining for a few days!

Sitting By the Dock of the Bay...

2011-07-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

I was trying to think of a catchy title besides "Baby, You're a Firework" because I don't like Katy Perry, so this is what I came up with. You'll understand.

The Fourth of July was a GLORIOUS day here in the Northwest. MUCH better than last year when it rained so much before the fireworks that we left. I mean, we're Northwesterners, we're use to the rain and it still chased us home to watch the fireworks on tv.

We had a great barbecue at Court and Brad's, then we were off to the fireworks. I love the fireworks here in town. They set them off over Sinclair Inlet, so that's cool. (See, that's kind of like a bay.) Plus, you can buy some pretty amazing fireworks around town so other people put on a firework show over the water before the "big" fireworks start. Which means we had about 2-1/2 hours of some pretty good, and LOUD, fireworks.

Here we all are ready for the sun to go down. It doesn't really get dark around here until about 10 pm this time of year, so the fireworks start late. Notice the sweatshirts. Yep, it's July 4th and still kind of chilly. I love it!

See, there goes the sun behind the Olympics.

Court, Emma, and Brad

Got to love Sarah and Chloe's glow-in-the-dark masks!

Kyle and Aaron enjoying their free pop. The place where we watch the fireworks - no, I'm not going to tell you where because it's a secret - was giving away free pop this year. I thought that was really nice. It kind of made me mad as we left when I saw all the empty cans people just left for them to clean up. Some people, I swear!

See, I was there too!

I have a function on my camera that is for fireworks. I have ALWAYS wanted to try this function out, but I've never had a tripod with me. Until this time. I took a TON of firework pictures. Some worked, others didn't. But here are the best ones. And, yes, there are a lot, but I'm super excited that they worked.

Seriously, that's a pretty cool function!

Hope your Fourth of July was as fun as ours! My ears are still ringing!

WE SAW A WHALE

2011-06-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

I know we did a lot of others things this past week, but the most exciting part for me was when we saw a humpback whale breaching. We were on a ferry. Yeah, a ferry. Take THAT expensive whale watching boats who chase the whales and I probably won't go on them anymore anyway. Wait, where was I?

Oh, yeah...a visit from Brent's mom, sisters - Julie and Jess - and our niece Tayler. And a running of the Rock and Roll Marathon in Seattle. Well, not me. I was a cheerer. But others ran it.

Last Monday, Brent's mom flew in for a week long visit. We were happy to see her and happy to see the beautiful weather that coincided with her visit. Well, at least part of her visit.

We played with Reyes and Camilla.
This is just Reyes here. Cami was asleep. But she was fun when she woke up!

We went on a walk in Manchester State Park on the first day of summer. Which was GLORIOUS here in Western Washington!
This isn't a great scrunch picture, sorry. I was trying to get The Mountain (aka Mt Rainier) in the background but I failed miserably.
A ferry AND The Mountain in one picture - how much more Northwest-y can you get?

And we ate good food and sat on the deck in the beautiful weather.

Then Julie, Jessica and Tayler got here and even more fun started!

Four of the contingent - Brent, me, Julie, Mom - drove up to Vancouver, Canada to get a little wicked. Or to see Wicked, I forget which. The drive was WROUGHT with traffic, but we had a good time at Wicked.
But, did I mention that we saw a whale while we were on the ferry. I didn't? WE SAW A WHALE! We were sitting there in the ferry watching the water because, really, what else do you do on a ferry? And Julie said she saw a splash. Then all of a sudden, Mom screams - quite literally, it was kind of funny - and I look out in time to see some sort of marine going animal splashing back down in the water. Then it breaches again and I see that it's a young humpback whale. It breached about 4 or 5 times in total. None of them when I had my camera out, but we did see it. So cool. Although, I'm a little bit worried about it. We were on the Kingston ferry which is still in Puget Sound - no where near the ocean where the humpback should be making it's way to Alaska. I hope it finds it's way out.

Since I couldn't get a picture of the whale, I took a picture of us instead.

The really sad part was that Tayler REALLY wanted to see a whale - or a shark - from the ferry. And we saw it without her. Sorry Tay!

Then the real craziness started.

We met Jess, Tayler, Ryan, Marcela and the girls at their hotel in Seattle to "exchange prisoners." They were getting Julie and we were getting Tayler. Why? So that Julie, Jess and Marcela could run the Rock and Roll Marathon in Seattle. Jess and Marcela ran the half marathon and Julie ran the full.

The next morning we had to get up at zero-dark-thirty to catch the 7:20 am ferry to Seattle. Yep, I said 7:20 am. It was an early morning.
This picture was taken when I dropped my camera at the ferry terminal at 7 am. I think the early morning had something to do with my clumsiness. It's not like I'm clumsy all the the time.

See, it still works. Phew!

When we got to Seattle, we found the perfect place to watch the runners go by. It was right when the marathoners and half marathoners split so we knew we would see everyone if we just stayed in this one spot.

First to pass us was Marcela. There was a tall person in between her and us, so we didn't see her soon enough to get a really good picture, but...

Then Julie ran by.

We were on the right side to get a good picture of Julie. And her bright yellow shirt helped quite a bit too.

Then Jess came by. Sorry about the bad picture, Jess. I'm blaming it on the fact that I had dropped it not long before.

After that, we headed to the finish line. Marcela finished in 1 hour and 59 minutes. Jess finished in 2 hours and 31 minutes (that while she was really sick, on antibiotics and hadn't trained in two weeks). Then Julie came in...
at 3 hours and 52 minutes - we're guessing. Unfortunately Julie had a run in with a know-it-all runner who broke her transmitter so we don't know for sure. But it was under 4 hours. And that was her goal.

And this is what she looked like a few minutes after finding us:

She wasn't dead though...

Just VERY tired and sore.

Here a few other pictures I took as we were waiting...

After some time, they all rallied for a picture with their medals.

We are SUPER proud of them. They all did great!

After that, we all relaxed for a couple of days, had dinner at Uncle Gary's and enjoyed each other's company, but then Monday came around and it was time for everyone to go home. After I dropped Mom and Julie off at the shuttle, I met Jess, Tay, Ryan, Marcela and the girls for lunch at Red Robin in Seattle and a quick trip to the Market.

It was sad to see them all go, but it was great to get a chance to spend some time together. There is a crazy rumor that I'm going to walk the half marathon next year. (This rumor was not started by me.) I have to say, that is a crazy rumor and I do like cheering much better. I guess we'll see. That's all I'm going to say.

Did you see this???

2011-06-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

We saw this video on the news tonight and it just made us laugh. Good thing the glass is thick!

Wild Kingdom!

2011-06-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned that I love where I live? Well, I do. I love living in the trees. Except for the spiders. I don't like spiders. But I like that Daisy eats spiders.

Anyway, I have seen a bunch of animals in and around my yard. LOTS of hummingbirds, racoons, coyotes, snakes, voles, mole holes, but never a mole, I've heard an owl, but never seen it, other types of birds, slugs, Brent, etc, etc. But today I saw something that I had never seen in my yard before.

I saw a hawk swoop down and grab a snake and fly off. It was kind of cool to watch.

Next think I know, Wild Kingdom will be filming in my backyard!

Look...

2011-06-10T16:14:00.001-07:00

Brent blogged.

Having Fun With the Family

2011-06-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm back to the world of the almost living. I hurt my back - I have no idea how - and I've been down for a few days. But I'm back to being semi vertical.

But the sad part was that I had to miss the U2 concert over the weekend. I surprised Brent with tickets to the concert for his birthday (well, it was suppose to be a surprise at least, I spilled the beans because I was so excited that I had gotten tickets). But, Brent took another date - ok, Brad - and met Ryan and his date - ok a guy named Leo. It was a boys night out. But they had a blast! So that's good.

The date thing reminds me of a story. One time Court and I went to the Flower and Garden show over in Seattle. So Brent went over to their house to have dinner. Kyle prayed. He said, "Please bless Mommy and Ashley on their date..." Hee hee.

Do you think the boys will be mad I said date? Oh well.

Now onto what I was really going to talk about...the rest of our weekend in Denver.

We played a lot of games and played outside and ate some good bbq and bbq'd some good burgers. And now onto the pictures.

We went to a fun park and had a picnic and played and played and played.

See, I really was there! And so was Katie.

What is Cayden looking at, you ask...

His silly Daddy, of course.

Then we spent time in Jared and Katie's newly grassed backyard. Unfortunately, I think Cayden may have inherited Brent's aversion to cameras, so it was mostly just silly.

Ok, so these aren't in their backyard...but near their house. On Monday, it was suppose to be really windy so we tried to fly a kite...it wasn't that windy but windy enough to be kind of annoying.

Houdini

And so ends our fun trip to Denver. Thank, guys, for making our stay so much fun! Even if getting there was annoying!

Oh, and, we went and saw Brent's Aunt Annie and Uncle Steve too plus some of their kids but I didn't take any pictures. Sorry. It was fun though!

Now I'm just looking forward to my back feeling better so I can get back out and weed. Not that I like weeding, but I REALLY don't like all the weeds.

Now On To Happier Times

2011-06-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm feeling better now. A little less shell shocked and annoyed at our crazy travel day. And extremely thankful that we came out of it with just annoyance and no lasting injuries!

And, to answer Jenny's question, no we didn't get the extra insurance. So we'll see how it works out and I'll let you know!

And now onto happier times. After a slow morning, we met up with Katie and the boys to head to the zoo.

Jacob was asleep when we got in the car, but Cayden had a lot to say. He had to tell his mom first what he wanted to tell me, but then it always got to me. It was cute.

When we got to the zoo, we ate some lunch - we had very nice sandwiches from the food court. I was surprised...zoo meals are not normally that good. Anyway, Jacob hadn't really said anything since we had gotten there, but about half way through lunch, he looked up and me with this face that said, "Wait a second, who are you?" After that, we were friends.

Here are the highlights:

I just love watching kids watch the animals.

This gorilla even interacted with them.

Thanks for trekking up the big hill with us Katie!

Cayden got some cotton candy and shared it with his little brother. Jacob definitely looked like he had fun!

My camera is just not fast enough for pictures of kids, but I think this one turned out pretty good even if he's not looking at the camera.

Julie wanted to show how far she could jump. It was about 6 feet - like a Jack Rabbit.

Then Brent jumped - he's also a jack rabbit.

And Cayden was the smartest - he just ran. Made it all the way to fox!

Giraffe's are Julie's favorite animal.
Oh, yeah, Julie met us at the zoo after her three hour run. Yep, she ran for three hours straight. She's getting ready to run the Rock and Roll Marathon in Seattle this month. Go Julie!

Brent's favorite animal is a polar bear. Kind of fits, doesn't it?

I forgot to take a picture of Katie with her favorite animal - a zebra. My favorite animal is an okapi and Cayden's is a frog - also not pictured.

There were a lot of cute baby animals and not many people - once the 42 buses of school kids left. But a great day at the zoo.

The rest of our trip was mostly just playing around. More on that tomorrow.

Our Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and We are NOT Moving to Denver!

2011-06-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

So, last Thursday, we flew to Denver to visit Julie, Jared, Katie and kids. It was not the funnest travel day that we have ever had. And we travel quite a little bit! Even in the last month!

We get to the airport in plenty of time and go to check in at the kiosk. It says that it can't check us in and we have to talk to an agent. We stand in line FOREVER - amid all the agents going on break, crazy. Anyway, we finally get to an agent and we're telling her what it said. She asks for our paperwork and as I'm handing it to her, I notice that it says Wednesday on the top. Not Thursday. You know, Thursday, when we were at the airport. But Wednesday, when we weren't at the airport.

Yep, turns out, somehow I either made the reservations for the wrong day or remembered wrong or something but we missed our flight. **Sigh**

She starts looking to see if we can get on another flight because the 1p, which we were suppose to be on, was full. She couldn't find anything until the next day at 1p. **Another sigh**

Then she says that since we missed our first flight, it automatically canceled our return flight so she had to see if she could get us back.

She's on the phone talking to someone and keeps making faces and saying things like, "A 100 dollar change fee, uh huh, and different in the ticket, uh huh." I can see the amount going up and up. Brent and I agreed that if it was too much, we were just not going to go. Sad, but true.

Then the manager came over.

After a little bit of teasing, you know, about missing our flight because it was on Wednesday and we were there on Thursday, he found us two seats - together even - on the 7p flight to Denver. And he found us two seats - not together but on the same flight - coming back on Tuesday. Woho. Then he looks at the agent and says, "What do you think is fair, $25?" I didn't realize what he was talking about until he walked away and she charged us $25 to change our flight. That's it. It was amazing!

(He did says, "Bet they'll fly Alaska again after this." He's right. They were awesome!)

So, it's now noon and we're already at the airport for our 7 pm flight. We went to lunch at Anthony's and walked around the WHOLE airport and still had time to sit and wait for a while.

The flight was bumpy but fine and we got in 1/2 hour early. Woho!

We get our rental car and start driving to Julie's. Then as a car is cutting us off to fly across three lanes of traffic, they hit a piece of semi truck tire on the road, rocketing it into the air and it smashes our windshield.
Notice how happy I am as I'm on the phone with the roadside assistance for 40 minutes.

It was scary! Brent had little pieces of windshield all over him but luckily it didn't implode.

So, we had to wait at the side of the road for about an hour for them to bring us another car. After getting to the airport at 11 am, we finally got to Julie's at 1:30 am. It was the absolute worse travel day we have EVER had.

But, here are a few things I'm thankful for - because I'm still kind of annoyed and am trying to look on the bright side of things.

We did get there. Eventually. And only had to pay $25 for my brain fart.
The Seattle Airport is HUGE and had a lot to keep you busy for 7 hours.
The windshield didn't totally break. I mean, Brent could have been hit by the actual tire. (On a side note, our insurance says that since it was airborne, it is technically classified as a missile so we were hit by a missile.)
Brent didn't lose control of the car and crash.
We had a great time with the Denver contingent of the family.
And, we ended up being able to sit by each other on the flight home anyway. Because a guy switched seats with Brent. He didn't seem like he wanted to, but he did, so I'm thankful for that!

I think I'll wait until tomorrow to post all the good things that we did in Denver. Because the bad things were kind of bad.

But, another positive, our flight home was completely uneventful!

Why oh Why Do I NEVER Listen

2011-05-23T11:36:00.001-07:00

I have to say, I'm kind of annoyed at myself today. Let me explain.

On Saturday, we were driving around running errands - one of which was a new thermostat for our water heater, but that's another story. As we're heading home, Brent notices that my car was overheating a little bit. This is VERY unusual for my car. As he was commenting on that, I remembered that it had started a little funny when I was leaving my RS thing that morning. Hmmm...

So, we got home and Brent looked and couldn't see anything wrong, so we chalked it up to a fluke and went about our way.

We have 9 am church. Love getting home at noon, HATE having to get up and be presentable before 9 am. And to add to my fun yesterday, I had a 8 am meeting. I swear, I'm always up by that time but I'm not always, or really ever, church presentable by that time. So I was a little bit grumbly. As I was getting ready, I kept getting this feeling that I should take my cell phone to church. I never take it because I know that I would forget to silence it and Rock Me Amadeus (my ring tone) would entertain those in the chapel. Or, more likely American Woman when I get a text.

And, in my normalness, I didn't take my phone to church. And Brent drove himself. Which also meant that he could get out of there before 12:45 which is when I normally get out of there.

Imagine me, in my car, turning the key, and having the car just sort of chug, then nothing. Crap. So I finally get it started. No worries. And try to back out of the spot and every time I put my foot on the gas, it dies. Sigh. I'm thinking, "Man, I do NOT want to have to ask the nice Elder's Quorum president in his nice suit to help me push my car back in the parking space." So I take a big breath and try again. And it starts moving forward...woho! But then gets all chuggy again so I park it and go in to call Brent. Remember, I don't have my cell phone. Which I always have with me. Except at church.

I try to use the church phone and it doesn't work. Seriously? I mean, I know everyone has cell phones now-a-days but it would be nice to have a land line just in case. Just in case you're stupid like me, and don't listen to the promptings to bring your phone with you. But, luckily I find my friend Paula and she lends me her cell phone and I call home. I just really didn't want to try to drive home, without a phone and end up having to walk because my car died. I mean, I had my cute church shoes on. No my walking home shoes.

I'm sitting in the parking lot trying to figure out what's wrong with my car. (Because, you see, I'm my dad's only son and he did teach me somethings about cars.) It's not the battery. Not the starter motor. (I will FOREVER know what a blown starter motor sounds like because of my camaro.) What could it be? So, as I'm waiting for Brent to show up, I think, "Maybe I'll just start it up and see what it does." I start it, with a little bit of chugging. So by the time Brent gets there, I've had a revelation - the fuel injector. That would make sense, right? He comes to my window and I explain what's been happening and he says,"Maybe the fuel injector is dirty." Hee hee! Told you I know a little about cars.

So he drives it home. Of course, it drives fine but I really think that's because I let it warm up. And this evening will be spent **hopefully** fixing my car.

But, it all comes back to, why oh why do I NEVER listen? I keep saying that I would love revelations. I would love to have a gentle nudge in the right direction every once in a while, but I always ignore it until it is no longer a gentle nudge.

As of today, I'm going to start listening. I'm going to take my phone to church if I feel the prompting to do so. I'm going to pick up the phone and call that person that I've talked myself out of calling. I'm going to do better! I am.

I hope.

"No one mourns the WICKED..."

2011-05-16T10:12:00.001-07:00

Not that any of us are wicked or anything...you'll understand.

So, I'm back from my super fun 3 days in beautiful Boise. Why was I in Boise for three days you ask? Well, let me explain.

A couple of years ago, Court, Brad, Brent and I went to Wicked (the Wizard of Oz musical - you know the one) in Portland. It was AWESOME! My all time favorite musical. Then my dad went to Wicked while on a business trip. (He really liked it, but it's not his favorite. I think Lion King is. Anyway...) So, my mom was starting to feel a little left out and grumpy about not seeing it. She tried to get tickets when it came to Utah but they sold out in an hour so she didn't get any.

So, last year I was looking at where Wicked would be playing this year. It was going to be in Boise around Mother's Day. A plan started.

Here's The Plan...

I talked to my dad and we agreed on The Plan. He would give mom a airplane ticket for Christmas. Where to...I don't know. Then for her birthday, he would give her a hotel. What hotel...well it was suppose to be I don't know, but that didn't work out. Then for Mother's Day, the Wicked tickets. Then she would open her Mother's Day card from me and I would say, "And my gift is that I will meet you there!" Sounds awesome, right? Well, it would have been SUPER awesome if she hadn't guessed what it was all about around her birthday, but...oh well. Still fun!

We met in Boise on Wednesday, went to Wicked on Thursday and flew out on Friday. Whirlwind!

Here are the highlights of our time in beautiful Boise. (You should hear our GPS say Boise. It's hilarious!)

The Beautiful Boise Temple.

Our hotel was right across the freeway from the Temple so that was kind of fun.

This picture requires some explaining. When we were shopping, we saw these press on fingernail paint things. I have seen press on nails, but never press on nail polish so we gave it a try. I don't normally paint my nails so it was kind of weird, but sparkly! It was REALLY hard to get off though so I don't know if I'll do it again.

We also went to the Idaho Botanical Garden. Because, well, I am the plant lady!

And the reason for going...

Not a great picture but I took it with my cell phone and it doesn't do good in low light. We weren't suppose to take pictures...which a woman behind us said very loudly, but we didn't have the stage in the background or anything so I thought it was ok.

And so ends the funnest Mother's Day gift my mom ever has or probably ever will get. Because my dad and I can only come up with a Plan like that once in a life time.

:)

Time Out for Women

2011-05-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

I have just had a jammed packed life lately. That's both good and bad, I guess. But that also means that I have a lot of blogging to do.

A mere 14 hours after getting home from Hawaii, Court and I were on the ferry heading for Seattle to go to Time Out for Women.

I've had a lot of people ask me what Time Out for Women is. It's hard to explain, for me at least. It's a two day event with a bunch of speakers who talk about church-y things. But it's fun. Not like General Conference, which is great. But fun. Laugh out loud, crying, thinking fun. I love to go. And, since I didn't take any pictures this year - it was in a hall that didn't allow flash photography and I'm not good at keeping the camera steady, and I forgot the camera in the hotel - I'm just going to go through and give you some of my favorite paraphrases (I would say quotes, but I'm not that fast of a writer).

The theme of the whole conference was "Choose to Become."

John Bytheway
-If we marinate in the filth of the world, what will we become?
-Is there a guilty pleasure that I can swap out for something good?
-The sacrament prayers promise us that we will never be alone because He will always "be with them."

Michael McLean
-Be thankful for those moments of joy

Mariama Kallon
(By the way, Marcela served with Mariama on Temple Square. Small world.)
-We often ask Heavenly Father for things and then we just sit there. We need to run. (She told a story about when she was serving her mission. She is a survivor of an atrocious war in Sierra Leon. She prayed that she could teach someone from West Africa. She said she would be at the South Gates of Temple Square. So she ran there. And waited about 5 minutes until a man from Ghana came through the gates. Still makes me choke up.)

Dean Hughes
-Life is not a contest - there's plenty of sugar water out there. (He told the story of how he feeds the hummingbirds at his home in Midway, UT. There are two feeders with 4 flowers in each feeder. But if there's a hummingbird at one feeder and another hummingbird comes to the other feeder, they fight. They just don't realize that there are 8 places to eat and that he will always fill up the feeder.)
-It's ok to be average at some things - just do your best. We can't all be great at everything.
-Isn't it better to be meek like Jesus Christ than to be like a woman of the world?
-He also talked about his life being a little like spiritual wack-a-mole. He stamps one thing down, then something else pops up.

Mercy River (This is a singing group.)
-It will be ok eventually, but how lucky are we that we have a Savior to carry us now.

Deanne Flynn
-Her definition of motherhood is the selfless offering of someone's heart to another living thing.
-When we hurry less, we notice more.
-When we talk less, we hear more.
-We can choose to become less complicated.

S. Michael Wilcox
- learning and knowing is the secret to becoming.

Merrilee Boyack
B - Bold
E - Eternally Minded
C - Creative (we were meant to create, not to conform)
O - Outward Focused
M - Meek
E - Enlightened
U - Unique

Emily Freeman
- We can't be almost committed. We need to be completely committed to Christ.
- What is the signature in your life?
- What would someone know of the Lord through you?
- What is the sermon of your life?
- Remember, you are His

So, that about wraps it up. It was a really fun weekend. There was laughter, there were tears, there was staying up way to late. I'm glad I went. And I'm glad I got to go with Court!

If you want to see some more stuff about Time Out for Women, go here. And if you ever have a chance to go, go. It will be worth it! It's coming to Denver in October and Salt Lake in November. Just putting it out there. :)

Go To Hawaii...oh do...You Want to Come Along With Me

2011-05-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here we are, back from our whirlwind trip to Hawaii. We were only there about a week, and Brent was working quite a bit so we didn't do too much, but we had a wonderful time! It even rained a couple of times for us so we could feel at home.

But, whenever I went to take a picture, I thought, "I already have a picture like that." And I really did. So, I didn't take many pictures this time around. But we did have a wonderful time. I spent a lot of time reading and enjoying the beautiful weather. I even floated in the ocean for a couple of hours, during which I got a sun burn on my hand, but hey, I was floating in the ocean!

So, here are all the pictures I took in Hawaii. I really need to start taking pictures again. You're going to start thinking something is wrong with me. :)

See, we were in Hawaii and it did rain. It actually started raining when I was all the way on the other side of the beach from our hotel. I would have been fine because it was a warm rain, but I had my camera and nook with me. I was a little bit afraid that they might have too much fun in Hawaii but I'm happy to announce that they did in fact make it through the drenching!

I couldn't quite figure out how to get a scrunch picture showing our feet in the ocean, but our feet are in the ocean in this picture. I wanted to go out snorkeling so bad but we just didn't have time.

Ahhh...shave ice. It's so good. And we saw Dog the Bounty Hunter's son while we were waiting in line. I wouldn't have noticed him but someone else yelled his name so I did.

The swap meet was so quiet that there were probably more vendors than shoppers. Made for some good deals though so we didn't complain.

So, that's about it. Sorry if you wanted more pictures. If you did, you can go here, or here.

Aloha!

Just Made Me Stop and Think

2011-05-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

The other day I was in the car with Aaron, Kyle, Emma and their parents. I hadn't seen them since they got back from Utah so there was a lot of excited talking. I was sitting by Emma so I looked down at her and she had a snot bubble that kept getting bigger whenever she breathed. So I said, in a kind voice,

"Emma, you have a snot bubble, but I'm not going to get it because you're not my baby."

Then Aaron says,
"Emma is my baby. She lives at my house."

Me:
"Yes, she does live at your house."

Aaron:
"You don't have a baby that lives at your house."

Me:
"Nope, I don't have a baby."

Aaron:
"But you have a cat. Her name is Daisy."

This just made me laugh. In my mind, maybe not Aaron's, he was equating his baby sister who lives at his house with my cat.

Crap.

I try not to be a crazy cat lady. I do realize that she is not my baby. She is in fact a cat, not a person. But I do quite like that annoying ball of fur. And I do like having another living thing in my house that I can take care of - Brent gets kind of annoyed when I try to mother him too much. So, I've come to a decision.

I am the crazy cat lady and I'm proud. I still know she's not my baby, but I do love her. And she does live at my house. And I don't have a baby here. Say what you will, it's nice to have a cat around.

Ok, so now I'm publicly a crazy cat lady. But I'm working on never being a SUPER crazy cat lady...

Wish me luck!

Craftapaloosa

2011-04-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from Hawaii and getting ready to go to Seattle for Time Out for Women, but I have a few minutes and thought I would blog. Because, really, what else do I have to do...pack. Seriously.

So, my mom was here for a week. Being that she had hurt her knee and that the weather was rather, well, yucky, I thought it would be a fun week to do some crafting. And shopping because, really, my mom likes to shop and I like to tag along.

First off, we made this super cute button for Sarah's birthday.
It took a couple of trips to the craft store and some thinking, but I think it turned out great.

Why would Sarah want one of these? Well, a few years ago, we went to Disneyland for my birthday. Last year, I was talking to Sarah about the button and how much I liked it and she said she wanted one. I tried to modify my button but couldn't so I promised her a new button for her birthday.

Then we made these...
(That is also a sneak peek into our new guest room, which isn't quite done yet but will be as soon as Brent gets home.) A friend of mine showed me this blog with the super cute wreath. Once again, I improved the idea, for me anyway, and these are what came out of it. They took FOREVER and a lot of fabric, but I really like how they turned out. Brent says they look like brains, but I think he's crazy. They look like cabbages, duh!

Here's a close up.
It just doesn't look like it would take that long, but it did.

Then we tried to make some beeswax lip balm. I got the recipe from a show on PBS - Katie Brown's Workshop. It looked so fun and easy. Well. Nope. They turned into some really great candles. Ho hum. Now I have a ton of beeswax to make candles out of. Maybe for the new computer room.

Then...I know, a lot of crafting...we were going to make these Easter Eggs. This is what we ended up with...
They look more like Easter balls than eggs, but they turned out cute. I'm just waiting to find them all over the house...because of Daisy who likes to hide Easter eggs.

And, finally, I made a new skirt on Friday for Easter. I used some Hawaiian fabric we bought LONG ago and didn't really know what to do with. It turned out cute. However, I didn't take a picture of it and now it's in Hawaii waiting for Brent to pack it and come home.

And so ends Craftapaloosa 2011. I really think this should be the thing every year! As I said, I'm a crafter through and through and so is my mom.

Do You Remember...

2011-04-13T16:02:00.001-07:00

Do you remember Hawaii?I do!

Do you remember the beautiful sunsets?

I do!

Do you remember the shave ice?
I do!

Do you remember snorkeling at Shark's Cove even though it's called Shark's Cove and you hate sharks?
Ahhh...I do!

Do you remember the view of Diamondhead from Waikiki Beach?
I do!

Are you going to be in Hawaii in a couple of weeks?

We are!

Sometimes you have to love the shipyard! Well, other than for a paycheck.

Hello There

2011-03-28T13:07:00.001-07:00

I just really want to blog about something. I don't know exactly what to blog about though. So, I'm just going to talk. This should be interesting.

We've been getting ready to update the, what we'll now call, guest room. This room was formerly the computer room. So, see ya popcorn ceiling, blue paint and holes in the wall. Hello beautifully redone non-popcorn ceiling, hole-free walls and orange paint. Woho!

Because of working on the guest room, we've had to move everything out of it. That's been fun. Now my tomatoes are growing in our bedroom, the futon is on it's side in the new computer room - and also Daisy's new favorite perch - and the plethora of other things are strewn about the house. Sigh. I guess it's a good motivation to get that room done! Then we can go to Ikea and get the new furniture I want. I love being organized!

Last week it was beautiful! I worked out in the yard and found some gardening muscles that I had forgotten about. This week is not yet beautiful, but maybe soon!

We've been starting our plans for terracing our front yard. It's going to be a LOT of work, but it will be great when it's done. I hope. Both be great and be done.

Our neighbor is moving. Anyone want to buy the house next door?

And, Brent didn't predict a single of the Final Four! This is not a banner year for him! But all I can say is...go VCU!

Oh, and check out my new thing I'm doing for Made by the Sea.

I can't wait to do all the before and after pictures. We just have to get some stuff "after" ready.

:)

This is Why March is Not Always My Favorite

2011-03-17T20:57:00.001-07:00

You may think that I'm going to say that March isn't my favorite because of March Madness. That wonderful time of year where Brent is glued to the tv, watching game after game with bracket in hand.

I don't really mind that. It gives me a chance to catch up on my tv watching - I've even been watching a little Roswell on Netflix. (Yeah, I know...I like weird shows)

I also don't mind because Brent really loves it and he really doesn't watch that many sports the rest of the year. (I know, I'm the nicest wife ever!)

What I hate about March is watching my team lose. Granted there is still 4:22 left, but they're 10 points behind. I'm just not good at this.

Go Aggies!

Good For Them

2011-03-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

I have to admit something...and I apologize now for any feelings that will be hurt by this statement, but...I'm not a fan of BYU. I went to Utah State and the University of Utah. My grandpa would probably come back and haunt me if I ever cheered for BYU. Not to mention my husbands feelings.

Having said that, I have to say...good for you BYU! Their star basketball player violated the honor code and they threw him off the team. That takes A LOT of guts this close to the tournament. But, a rule is a rule and everyone should have to follow them.

Then I saw this clip. The title said, "Are BYU's standards too high?" (or something to that affect.) See for yourself what these gentlemen thought.

Wowie!

This will probably be the only time you will ever hear these words from my mouth, but...

Go BYU!

Teaching

2011-03-02T11:52:00.000-08:00

I love to teach.

When I first got married, I would never have thought that I would say something like that. My first calling as a married person was to teach the 7-8 year olds in Primary. Brent was the other teacher. So, for the first few months, I made him teach all the time. I was just so scared. Then I FINALLY opened my mouth and, well, it's been downhill ever since.

Now I would rather teach than just about anything. I only get to teach about four times a year in my current calling so when I do get to teach, I'm all excited.

So, why am I saying this...well...I'm sitting here wondering what to teach on Sunday. I have some ideas but they don't seem to be gelling into a complete lesson. I really need to buckle down and just start writing stuff down, because it's a great idea. I really feel like it's what I should be teaching about. I just can't seem to focus.

Maybe I'm hungry. Why do I want KFC mashed potatoes? Seriously.

:)

Happy Birthday!

2011-02-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Brent! I love you so much and even like you almost all of the time! I hope it's a great day!

I am a Crafter, Through and Through

2011-02-25T14:34:00.000-08:00

I love to craft. I just don't always have the time to add it to my list of ever increasing things I need to do. But I do love to craft.

So, way back in January, I saw this on a crafty blog I frequent. I thought it looked pretty cool. So I found some cheap frames at the W store...and then I got busy doing other things. Valentine's Day came and went and I hadn't done my cute crafty project.

This week I realized that there would be another Valentine's Day next year - I know, duh - so why not make it anyway. I broke out my trust-dusty Cricut and voila...
It's not exactly the same for a couple of reasons...1) I am an "improver," not a copier. 2) I couldn't find the same fabric for the background. And 3) I'm not good at straight lines. Because it they aren't perfect, I get annoyed.

But I really like how they turned out. And they were SUPER easy. I already have an idea of for something for spring. I includes my favorite Cricut thing - vinyl. We'll see.

As you can see, I am Ashley, a crafter through and through.

Oh Yeah, I Remember

2011-02-25T14:23:00.000-08:00

I was sitting there thinking, What HAVE I been doing these last couple of weeks? I just couldn't figure it out. But then I realized...I was blocking it out because it was very annoying! Let me explain.

About a week and a half ago, I was making my breakfast. It was one of those mornings that you just need chocolate milk, so I made some in one of my favorite cups. It's my favorite, not because it's a Disney cup - although that is pretty cool - but because it's really thick. I **thought** there was no way I could break it. But then I dropped a cereal bowl on it and found out which one would win in a fight. Yep, the bowl won. Which meant that chocolate milk and glass EXPLODED all over me and the kitchen. After the bowl fell, I stood there, frozen to the spot, watching the milk drip on the floor. Then I got to work. The milk went everywhere. I hope that I got it all cleaned up, but I'm a little bit afraid that it got down the side of the oven so I'm hoping when it gets hot we don't start smelling milk. That makes my nose wrinkle even thinking about it.

The glass went everywhere too. I found shards everywhere - one with my finger. And big old chucks all the way to the carpet. It was an awesome morning.

Then, last week when I was doing the laundry, I washed some gum. Not only did I wash it, I dried it too. Gum doesn't like to be dried. It was a MESS! I worked on it for what seemed like hours. By the time Brent got home, I was ready to go out and buy a new drier, so he finished up the clean up. I'm not even 100% sure where the gum came from. I mean, I chew gum, but I'm normally so good about cleaning out my pockets.

So, you now see why I couldn't think of what had been going on. I had blocked it out. You would too if all that happened to you in the same week! Or was it two weeks. Jeez - I don't remember. I must be blocking it out!

We Really Are Still Here

2011-02-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

I hate that I just have nothing to blog about. I know that I've been doing stuff these past few weeks...I just don't know exactly what or why I can't remember what they are.

So, I'm just going to ramble on instead for a few minutes.

I've gotten my hands in the dirt already. I love living here. It was only planting primroses, but still...my hands were in the dirt. Hooray!

We were told that we were suppose to get 2 - 10 inches of snow yesterday and today. That's quite the range. But then the funniest part is that we only got about 10 flakes. It's freezing out there but not snowy. Silly weather people.

Yesterday was Brad's birthday. The big 3-5! My favorite quote of the night was from Kyle. "You're not old, Dad. Now throw me in the air!" Hee hee!

Well, that's about it. I need to go switch the laundry and get ready for my meeting in which I pass along all my camp information, so I'm going to end with my all time favorite tv ad. Enjoy!

So Much Going On, So Little Energy

2011-01-20T10:42:00.001-08:00

Well, the past few weeks have been filled with very different things!

On December 29th, Court and Brad welcomed their newest little girl, Emma, into their family. She is a cute little thing who makes a lot of noise, all of the time. Not crying, just creaking.

This is not one of my pictures. I took it from the blog of Court's friend who took Emma's pictures. This one didn't say "Marie Photography" on it so I thought it would be ok to put on my blog.
Marie takes amazing pictures. If you would like to see a few of the others, go here.

While Court and Brad were in the hospital, we got to have the other four kids. It was fun. Tiring, exhausting, but fun.

Then, as soon as everyone was home, I got a cold. Brent says it was because I knew everything was done for awhile and I could rest. Probably. I didn't enjoy it though and I can't seem to get over my stupid cough, but...it will eventually leave.

What else has happened...hmmm...Brent started working on our new computer room. We have three bedrooms in our house. It said four when we bought it but the one downstairs doesn't have a closet so I don't think of it as a bedroom. Anyway, our computer has been in the far bedroom with the futon, but it just makes it squishy when people visit. So, I wanted to move the computer desk into the closet, but it wouldn't fit in that bedroom, but it would fit in the middle bedroom. But why just move the computer when we can make it a HUGE project.

So, Brent took off the popcorn ceiling - so much work but so worth it - I fixed some really bad patches the previous owners put in and we primed the whole thing. Last night, Brent painted the ceiling and got it all ready to paint the final coat tonight. Woho! When it's all done, I'll post the before and afters.

I took Daisy to the vet this week and he said that her leg has healed better than he ever thought it would. Woho! She is a pain in the butt, but she is a really cute pain in the butt that we like having around.

Hmmm...what else. Lots of meetings for Relief Society. I don't think those will ever end. I did get released from being the YW Camp Director. I'm sad to be done, but at the same time kind of glad because it was a lot of work.

And now January is getting close to being over and I'm just getting used to the idea it's 2011. Time just flies.

Hopefully next week, I'll feel more like doing things. We'll see.

:)

Aquarium...A..quar....ium

2011-01-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

Oh, wait, I think that's Aquarius, but you get the idea.

First of all, I have to say that I'm kind of in love with the picture of the primroses at the top. I just found it on my computer - note to self, get a little more organized on the computer - and had to put it on. I can't wait until the primroses get in the stores. It should be in the next few weeks. Woho!

Second of all, I'm sort of sad to say that this will be my last post about our trip to the South. I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it but I'm not tired of reliving it. And I don't know exactly what the next post will be about now.

On our final day in Atlanta, we all piled in the minivan and headed into downtown to go to the aquarium. It was a chilly day that day so I was kind of glad that everything was inside.

The Atlanta Aquarium is only five years old so it's a much more state of the art sort of place. When it opened, the Today Show went there and showed how cool it was. That was when I knew I wanted to go. Why, you ask? Two words. Whale Sharks.

I know, I know, I have a unhealthy and somewhat crazy fear of sharks. I know I do. I sometimes joke that in my previous life I must have died by falling from a great height and being eaten by a shark. But, whale sharks are different. I don't know why, they just are.

Whale Sharks are the biggest kind of shark. They can get to be about thirty-five feet long. But, they eat krill, just like whales, hence the name.

The Atlanta Aquarium has four whale sharks. The only whale sharks in captivity in the U.S. Their biggest is only 23 feet long so far, but that's still just crazy. It was AWESOME! Here are some pictures.

Ok, not a whale shark, but still a cool picture.

This year they also got some manta rays, which are the biggest ray, which can grow to 25 feet across. Another cool oceanic animal!

All told, we probably spent well over half of our time there just watching the big tank. It was so cool. We even saw them feeding the whale sharks and manta rays. It's sort of hard to see
but they would go out on a boat and dump krill into the mouths of the waiting whale sharks. That might be kind of scary. I mean, a 23 foot animal could easily accidentally knock your boat over.

The rest of the aquarium was PACKED and we all know how much I LOVE crowds, so it was a little bit harder for me to enjoy myself. I did get a couple of good pictures though.
This little school of fish sort of adopted Alyssa. And I mean that literally. They sat and watched her for a LONG time. Then went away. She moved. And when they came back, they found her again and sat and watched for another LONG time. It was kind of weird.

I love the aquarium function on my camera.

Thanks you guys for going to the aquarium with us! I would love to go again when it wasn't so busy!

We loved see you guys! Thank you for letting us stay for so long. And thank you, Em, for giving us your bed!

With the close of the day, we bid a fond, and somewhat teary eyed, farewell to our Southern adventure.

And so ends another travel journal. Where will we go next? Actually, I have absolutely no idea. But I'll let you know.

Family Fun Week!

2011-01-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

After our Florida adventures, we took a quick flight up to Atlanta to visit the M* family! We hadn't seen these guys for WAY TOO long and it was a great week. Unfortunately, three of the four kids ended up getting strep throat, but it was just fun to be together.

I didn't take a ton of pictures, because, well, sick kids don't make for good picture taking, but here are the ones I did take...This one will probably never be repeated! I am up and dressed and ready to go shopping at 4 o'clock in the morning. I didn't even know there was a four o'clock in the morning. Why did I do this, you ask? Well, I have some really cute nieces who really wanted to go - I know, I'm a push over. And my inner clock was already messed up so I figured what the heck! We did have a good time and there are a lot more stores close to Jenny's house than my house. Maybe that's part of my problem. I fall asleep in the car when we go to Costco when it isn't 4 am.
There were a ton of leaves in the backyard so Emmy started to rake them up. Apparently she wasn't raking fast enough because then we saw Alyssa out there with the rake twice as big as she was. Eventually the pile was big enough to jump in, but those pictures come later.

Cute Alyssa

Eli has an addiction to Jenny's hair. He is CONSTANTLY playing with it. Then I caught him brushing Brent's hair. It was funny.

I said let's get doughnuts, not a flat tire. When we came out of our last store, we noticed that the tire was completely flat. Not to worry...I am my father's only son, I can change a tire. Then I realized that I didn't even have a CLUE where the spare tire would be since I have never had a minivan. While we were trying to find it, a very kind man came and changed the tire for us. He had a van that was the same year so he knew where everything was. That was really nice of him. Unfortunately, the spare tire was flat as well, so we got to see how many people we could fit into Steve's Mini. Turns out 5, but not very comfortably or legally. But we got home and everything got fixed. But my question is, why does it always have to start raining when you have to change a tire?
Isn't Eli about the cutest two year old you've ever seen? He really is. Right up to the point where he screeches, "MOMMY DO IT!" Then you're reminded that he is, after all, two. But still cute!

Em and I had some fun that week since she was the only child who did not succumb to the sickness. Here she is doing nail art.

We also made these super cute turkeys to decorate the Thanksgiving table. It was a lot of fun!

Meg was so excited to do some shopping after Thanksgiving. And she did really well, almost the whole morning. She is a great little shopper and not at all shy about telling you what looks good and what doesn't. I appreciate that. :)

Not a good look, but funny!

The pile is nearly finished and ready to be played in!

Brent and Jenny made us some amazing meals while we were there. Jenny shared her recipes and Brent told her basically how he makes things since he doesn't use recipes, nor is anything ever the same twice. But usually good.

We had corn bread stuffing for Thanksgiving because I thought that sounded a bit more Southern. Then we were told that people in the South call it dressing, not stuffing. My Grandma called it dressing. Interesting. It was really good. I don't care what you call it, it is now my favorite kind of stuffing!
Since the kids didn't think it would be good to get sick all at the same time, we had quite a few visits to the clinic to get antibiotics, so Brent got to stay with the remaining kids. They played Wii. And had a lot of fun doing it.

And so concludes the random pictures from Atlanta. On our last day, we did go to the Atlanta Aquarium. It was awesome! I took A LOT of pictures. It deserves it's own post.

:)

What Animal Names Start With 'A'

2011-01-03T11:04:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you've ever realized, but I'm a bit of an animal nut. I can tell that you are just shocked by this statement, but it's true. So, when I was thinking about what else we wanted to do while we were in Florida, a couple of animals came to mind.

Namely - alligators and manatees. I was DETERMINED to see an actual wild alligator! In the wild. On the side of the road. It would be awesome.

And I sooooo wanted to see a manatee ... just hanging out in the water with it's little manatee nose sticking up. That, too, would be awesome.

So, what did I do? I began researching where to go. Because, well, I like to research. And I found a couple of interesting places...namely Merritt Island and the Manatee Observation Area. Both of which were nearly guaranteed to bring me my long awaited animal sightings. Not to mention the fact that Merritt Island is on the Atlantic coast. I have flown over the Atlantic Ocean, but have never actual stuck my toes in the water. It was going to be a great day.

Here we are, driving out to Merritt Island and I'm watching ever body of water that I see because I am going to see an alligator - did I mention that?

I'm pretty sure I saw a small alligator in a ditch on the way there, but it was hard to see and I keep talking myself out of the fact that I saw it, but it could have been.

Merritt Island is a cool place. It's actually owned by NASA so they have a good buffer space for the shuttle lift offs. First stop was the visitor center where we were almost guaranteed to see the resident alligator in the pond behind the building.

Saw a turtle.

And some pretty scenery.

Doesn't that spanish moss in the trees just look southern??

Alas, no alligator. Ho hum. But, we still have a little bit of time.

After driving on a VERY bumpy road for about a half an hour, we stopped at the bathrooms because, well, you can probably imagine. Anyway, just as we were getting ready to get back in the car, this woman says to us, "There a big gator down there if you want to see it."

Boy, do we!
Our very first wild gator. It was pretty big....probably 6 or 7 feet. And it was only about 20 feet away, which in retrospect was kind of close, but it didn't move at all so at the time I didn't think about it.

WOHO! One animal down!

Then we continued on our drive and I saw another gator...
I can't remember how big Brent said this one was, but we were just across a small canal from it. Again, in retrospect, maybe not the best idea.

Then I got bit by a fire ant. At least I'm pretty sure it was a fire ant. Something bit me and made my whole foot feel like it was on fire. Just a guess.

So, that's two animals that start with 'A'.

Then we headed to the beach.
Strangely, it looked much like the Pacific Ocean.

But there were a TON more shells...

A beach comber's paradise!

Now I can say that my feet have been in two oceans! Well on my way!

And as an extra bonus, you could see the shuttle on the launch pad.

As we were driving out of the beach road, we saw this little guy:
An armadillo! (Three animals that start with 'A') When I worked at the zoo, we had armadillos that we took care of. They ate the little pinkies - baby mice that haven't gotten their hair yet - and made crunchy sounds. It was kind of gross. But I've never seen one in the wild. He just looked at us and went on his merry way. However, he should have a tail, which he does not have. I wonder what happened.

Now, on to the Manatee Observation Area.

We looked and looked and looked and we saw...
A big old river. Not a manatee in sight. Bah! We did see a couple of captive ones at EPCOT so now I have actually seen a manatee, but not in the wild. Bummer.

Did you know that the closest living relative to the manatees are elephants? That's kind of interesting.

Oh, and another interesting manatee fact. Manatees live in warm water. In fact, they only live in this little area of the word. (There are dugongs in Australia that are closely related.) Amazingly, a manatee was spotted in the Chesapeake Bay, which is up near Maryland and Virginia. Definitely not warm water. So they got this HUGE campaign going to save Chessy! (That's what they named him.) They spent thousands of dollars to rescue him and take him back to Florida. The next year, he was back. And for quite a few years after that. Guess he needed a vacation too.

But, we did see three animals that start with 'A'. Well, technically 4 if you count "A lot of birds."

The Second Happiest Place On Earth

2010-12-22T14:52:00.001-08:00

The first being Disneyland, of course.

Today I conclude our wonderful Disney adventures. I figure that I will just put up some pictures and explain as I go. Because, I don't know about you, but I'm getting somewhat bored with all the Disney pictures.

Here I am on the Dumbo ride. We waited in quite a long, and noisy, line to ride this one. And, I didn't even really like it. I'm not a fan of spinny rides.

One of the favorites - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

I have to say, the castle is much prettier at WDW.

Pretty!

While the background is pretty, I wanted to point out how many people there were on Main Street that night. We learned that you never get there right before the fireworks! Ever!

My question is, how the heck do they do heart shapes? That is so cool. They had the smiley face ones too but I didn't get a picture of those.

We watched the fireworks from across the lagoon at the transportation center. It was a great place to see them and then you didn't have to fight your way through crowds to get out of the park. Disney DOES NOT disappoint with the fireworks. Unfortunately, my ability to keep my camera still while taking pictures did disappoint. I forgot my super cool little tripod.

The Haunted Mansion looks a lot different at WDW. It's longer too.

Ahh...my favorite ride! Always fun! But there was no one saying, "Dead men tell no tales" just before you go down the drop. I missed it.

Hey, we really are there.

WDW is HUGE! And fun, but HUGE. I almost think, if you're going to do all the parks, you would need 2 weeks. Then you could break up your Disney fun with other fun things. But that would kind of be insane too. Ok, let's think. Maybe go back every few years and just do a couple parks? Or maybe just fly to Disneyland? I haven't decided yet.

Check back next time for our adventures with alligators and armadillos!

Merry Christmas!

Just Like Betty Crocker

2010-12-21T16:56:00.000-08:00

Well, not quite, but I digress.

To take a break from our super fun travels, I thought I would tell you what I did today.

Since Courtney is SUPER pregnant, and all the kids are home, I said that I would take the girls for a day of baking yummy treats.

Here was my plan:
cookies
lollipops

Sounds simple enough.

So we start the cookie recipe. It's a new one but I'm a pretty good baker so it's going well. Then the dough has to sit in the fridge for 2 hours and we begin the lollipops. I don't have any lollipop molds, nor could I find any in our little town, but I wasn't worried. We could just free hand them and make them somewhat amoeba shaped.

Ok, Step 1 - bring the corn syrup and sugar to a boil. Easy peasy.

Step 2 - boil with the lid on for 3 minutes. Done.

Step 3 - continue to boil until it reaches 300 degrees. No problem. You see, I've made candy before so I have my trusty candy thermometer. I set the alarm to go off at 300 degree and kept telling the girls how hot it was so please don't spill any on you.

I checked the thermometer and it said that I still had about 20 degrees to go. And I looked at the candy and it looked good. I'm so amazing, I thought.

Then, as it got closer to the desired temperature, Sarah said, "Hey, it looks almost red." Oh no!

So, step 3 - umm, check?

Step 4 - pour onto aluminum foil in pretty amoeba shapes. Done.

What do you think?
Amoeba shape - no problem. Non burned, yummy flavored lollipops - ummm...not so much.

The girls didn't like them much either.

But, the cookies were a raving success!

Maybe I should have checked my candy thermometer like it said to in the recipe. Oh well, live and learn.

"If the ride breaks down in Disneyland, the pirates don't eat the tourists."

2010-12-20T15:52:00.000-08:00

Jurassic Park is always good to quote. However, at this Disney Park, if the ride broke down, technically, the tourists could get eaten. Let me explain.

The next stop on our long ago but still fun adventures in Walt Disney World was Animal Kingdom.I love zoos and I love Disney, so this should be a GREAT fit. It also had what turned out to be Brent's favorite ALL TIME Disney ride - Expedition Everest.

We saw some great animals...

Then we took a safari and saw even more animals...

Including a baby giraffe that I didn't get a picture of. As we came driving up to it, it started running down a hill where it kind of slipped, but it was ok. It was neat to see one moving around. They normally just stand there.

But enough about animals...there was also that super great ride. Expedition Everest.
There it is in the background. I think it's WDW's answer to the Matterhorn in Disneyland, but it is WAY better. You even go backwards for a bit. Very cool ride.

The big symbol of Animal Kingdom is this huge tree that has carvings of animals all over the trunk.
I have to say, I wasn't super impressed. It was pretty, but I thought the leaves looked really fake. And this is Disney where they can do anything.

And to finish it out, here is a cool view of the park.

I liked Animal Kingdom as a Disney park but not as a zoo. It had some cool animals, but everything was a little bit too staged. But, it is Disney.

And no, the ride didn't break down and we didn't get eaten, but it was close a couple of times.

Next stop, the Magic Kingdom!

This is the Amazing Race

2010-12-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

I've told you before about my obsession with the Amazing Race. I LOVE watching it. I, however, know that I would NEVER be able to be on it. For one, I have no need/want to be on tv. And for two, I don't always do good under pressure.

But, while we were at Epcot, we got to play a game that was kind of like the Amazing Race. It was based on the Disney Channel show Kim Possible. Since I don't watch the Disney Channel, I don't really know what the show is all about, but the game was cool. You got a kim-municator that told you where to go and what to do.
When Brent was looking through the pictures later, he said, "I didn't even know you were taking a picture." I'm so sly.

So, our kim-municator took us all over the world. We went to Mexico
where we made a guitar play all on it's own and saved the world from a killer rocket that was shot out of a volcano. (And had really good Mexican food.)

Then we were off to Japan
to have some sushi and catch a scary baby robot inside a department store.

Our next mission was to Germany
where we made a huge cuckoo clock go off outside.

After the mandatory 12 hour rest, it was on to China
where Brent had to say the code word to a sales person to get our next clue. (Obviously, this was his favorite mission) But we found the jade monkey!

Just a hop skip and a jump to Norway
where we found where we were going by the smoke coming out of the chimney.

Ah, Paris
We even got a picture taken from the top of the eiffel tower.

And, last of all, we got to go back to England
where I had to say to a salesperson in a tea shop, "Danger is my cup of tea." To which he replied, "This is my cup of tea, good luck agent." It was embarrassing, but we again saved the world.

It was a long day of traveling, but well worth it! I think this might have been my favorite part of Epcot! It was, after all, just like the Amazing Race!

Da Da Da...Hollywood

2010-12-14T09:46:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I can't think of the words to that song, but it sound something like...da da da da ta Hollywood. Anyway...

Hollywood Studios is all about shows with a couple of rides thrown in.

There is the Rockin' Rollercoaster featuring Aerosmith (wow, that's a mouthful)
I don't know if you noticed, but my super cool Minnie Mouse ear-poms are missing from this picture. The Rockin' Rollercoaster wasn't that fast of a roller coaster, but apparently fast enough to pull one of my ears off. It was very sad. I love those ears!

There is also the Tower of Terror. I don't go on things that have "terror" in the title. Brent didn't want to go without me so ... we have never experienced the Tower of Terror.

Then, there are the shows. We saw Little Mermaid...and Beauty and the Beast...

Ever since we saw the stage show of Beauty and Beast, I've been wanting to watch the movie version again. There are some good songs.

I was impressed how they shortened the musicals and made them live action, without really cutting out any of the important parts. Some of the songs were a little faster, but we really enjoyed them!

Then there was Brent's favorite area...Star Wars.

Neither of us can ride Star Tours without getting a little queasy, so we weren't too sad when we found out that it was being redone. However, there was an Imperial Walker there...

And a show that, if Brent was just under 12, he would have LOVED! You can become a padawan (is that how you spell it?) and learn how to fight with a light saber. Then Darth Vader shows up with a couple of Storm Troopers and you fight them off.

Sorry for the bad picture. I'm kind of short and we were far back.

Seriously, though, Court, don't you think Kyle and Aaron would love this? I don't remember how old you have to be to do it, but Aaron is so tall he might be able to fool them.

There is this area called Streets of America and it was all decorated for Christmas. And when I say decorated, I mean decorated!
Look at all those people. It was my favorite place!

They said that the lights danced to the music, but they didn't dance while we were there so I don't know what that was all about.

And to round out the post, here is the symbol for Hollywood Studios...Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat.

What did I think of Hollywood Studios...hmmm...I'm glad we went that one time. I almost forgot. In Hollywood Studios, they have the Toy Story Mania ride. I LOVE THIS RIDE! It's based on Toy Story and has a bunch of carnival games. And, you can get fast passes to this one, unlike the one in Disney's California Adventures, so I do like this one better.

Anyway, it was good, but not my favorite park.

Next stop, Epcot's World Showcase...and a little game we like to call the Amazing Race..

Shopping

2010-12-13T15:25:00.001-08:00

I am not much of shopper. Don't get me wrong...I'm a fan of Costco, Black Friday and After Christmas shopping, but that's about it. But, today I needed to do some serious shopping. I wanted to finish buying Christmas presents, so I headed North to the shopping mecca of Kitsap County. (It's not much of a shopping mecca, but it does have all the stores I needed.)

I had two major things on my list. Just two. I had other things that I was going to get since I was going to be there anyway, but just two major things. Did I find those two things. Nope.

So I went to another store. Nope.

And another. Nope.

Basically, I ended up driving all over - as my grandma would say - h-e-double hockey stick's half acre and couldn't find what I needed.

At this point I gave up, came home and looked on the internet. Found both of them, plus one other thing that I was excited to find. And, free shipping. Woho!

Why did I ever try to shop in an actual store? This is so much easier:
- I can do it in my jammies. (Well, I do live in a small town. Technically I could shop in my jammies, I just think it's kind of tacky.)
- I don't have to find a parking space. (Brent says that finding good parking is my super power. Unfortunately, my super power seems to take December off.)
- It's just so much easier!

I think I'm sold. No more getting dressed, finding a parking space and shopping in an actual store for me. Hey, they even have grocery shopping you can do online. I may never have to leave my house again!

Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow

2010-12-10T08:46:00.001-08:00

**SIDE NOTE: I wrote this the other day, but I just wasn't feeling too funny so I thought I'd wait a couple of days to see how my funniness improved. I don't feel like it has, so I'm just going with the original. You do remember, I cannot always guarantee funny posts!**

Yep, that's right, Epcot. We actually spent two days in Epcot since I've heard that one day just isn't enough. The first day we were there, they had a Food and Wine Festival going on so it was SUPER busy. But, we did have THE BEST Mexican food we've had in forever! My mouth still waters when I think of it.

People kept telling me that Epcot was their favorite park and I must admit, I didn't get it. I do now. It is pretty cool. Not my favorite park, but worth going.
This ride is called Mission to Mars. Brent really wanted to ride it. I've read about this ride. People have actually died riding this ride. I don't know why exactly, but they have. (There's something about the spinning aspect of it.) So...I didn't want to ride it, but Brent has a much stronger constitution than I have so I knew he wouldn't have a problem. He didn't. Which was nice. Because I have a problem with throwing up. Mainly, if I hear anyone else throw up, I throw up. It's a vicious cycle. That's kind of a gross story. Sorry. He thought it was good but not as fun as landing on an aircraft carrier.

We also found my dream car - the 2010 Chevy Camaro. I had a Camaro, a 1977 one to be exact, back in the day. (Well, technically, my dad had it, but I drove it for quite a few years.) Alas, all I could do was get my picture taken in the Camaro, but someday, I will drive one. Entirely too fast. It will be awesome.

Inside the Spaceship Earth ride - the big golf ball looking thing that pretty much represents Epcot -
(there it is in the background) they take your picture, then let you know how your life will be in the future. It was funny. When we rode the ride this time...
we said that we liked scuba diving. This is the what our future will look like. Hee hee

This next picture is because I am, and always will be, The Plant Lady...
Look at those cool hanging baskets!

We did have a somewhat frustrating time on one of the rides. There's this one about energy that Ellen DeGeneres narrates. We had time, so we thought we'd go on it. They tell you about 100 times that once you're seated, you cannot get up or move seats. Literally, 100 times. So, they say for the last time that after this announcement, you cannot get up until the end of the ride, which takes approximately 25 minutes. They finish the announcement, you know the one about not moving, and this lady gets up and walks out. So they have to shut down the ride and make us all get off. What? It was weird. We did end up going on the ride the next time we were at Epcot. It wasn't that exciting. But at least it was aggravating!

There is also this ride called The Land that I really enjoyed. It was all about the future of crop production. Right up my alley! I would have liked to take the behind the scenes tour, but it was kind of expensive and lasted quite awhile and I didn't think Brent would have been as excited.

The second Epcot day was spent mostly in the World Showcase. There will be another post talking more about that, but I thought I would whet your appetite with these pictures.

Next stop...Hollywood Studios!

Downtown ... Where all the Lights are Bright

2010-12-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

I have been hemming and hawing about how to go about documenting our trip to the Southeast. Do I just do a couple of posts....do I do a lot of post...

After much thinking, I have decided to inundate you with our trip. Why, you ask. Well, for one, this is kind of my journal and I especially love writing a travel journal. And two, I took a lot of pictures and what else am I going to do with them? Make a scrapbook? I don't think so.

I also decided that I'm just going to let you see Florida/Walt Disney World in the same order that we saw it.

You may also be thinking, "Ashley, last year when you were in Washington, D.C., you blogged nearly every day and it was almost like we were there with you. Why didn't you do that again?"

To which I would reply, "Good question. Well, you see, you have to pay for internet access in Walt Disney World and Brent's feeling on paying for internet access ranks right up there with his feeling on paying for parking. Which is to say, he doesn't."

We took the red eye to Orlando. What is a red eye, you ask? (Well, you might already know, but I'm on a roll.) A red eye is when you take a flight that flies all night. So when you get to your destination, your eyes are red from lack of sleep. This is the first time I've taken a red eye. What did I think of the red eye? It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it wasn't that great. I think I would do it again though because it is kind of nice to not waste a lot of daylight on a plane, especially when you're flying cross country.

Anyway, we had some time to kill before we could check into our hotel, so we drove around Orlando a little bit. Then, we headed to the temple.

I did take a scrunch picture at the temple, but we both look like we had been on a plane all night, so I'm not going to share it.

After we checked into our hotel and returned the rental car, we went to Downtown Disney. If you've never been to a Disney property, Downtown Disney is a place with a lot of shopping and eating. You don't have to pay to get in and there is always a HUGE Disney store, so it's nice for Disney shopping.

There's always a lego store, which Brent loves to look in.

I got to meet Buzz outside the Disney store:

Then, we got to Brent's favorite store, ever. It's called Ride Makerz. It's basically like Build a Bear for guys. You can build your own remote control cars. They had a ton of different kind of cars, but Brent chose a Lightning McQueen because we were in Disney World.

Here he is making his car. They have you tighten all the screws and everything. But no kissing the heart as you stuff it in the bear. After all, this is for guys!

And here's the finished project.

It's pretty fun to play with!

They also had real cars in the shop. Brent said we had to take this picture for my dad. Apparently they've had a discussion about Vipers. They are cool cars though!
By this time, we were EXHAUSTED! So we caught the bus back to our hotel and fell asleep almost before our heads hit the pillow.

Oh, and here's the wildlife counter so far in Florida:
2 Deer
2 Turkeys
1 Gopher Tortoise

Next stop - Epcot

I Know, I Know

2010-12-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

I know you're all on pins and needles to see some pictures from our Southeast adventures. I have pictures, don't you worry. I just haven't had time/energy to get them on the blog just yet. But they are coming. Oh yes, they are coming.

So keep watching. It was a fun time. :)

Grrr...

2010-11-08T14:45:00.001-08:00

Please tell me...why did I think I could actually sew? Because I can't.

I hate sewing!

Grrrr

Cue Graduation Theme...

2010-10-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

I can't even think of what the graduation theme is. Whenever I try to think of it, I'm pretty sure it's Dark Vader's theme from Star Wars. I know, I'm weird.

Well, last night was our graduation from our cake decorating class. It has been fun and informative, but A LOT of work. I do NOT want to make another batch of icing to save my life.

So, for our last class, we learned how to write on cakes and make ribbon flowers. Both of which will require A LOT more practice than we got last night. The rest of the night was spent on decorating a cake.

We were told that we could decorate our cake however we wanted to, we just needed to bring whatever we needed. This is how I went about preparing for my cake.

1) I thought about it. What did I want the theme to be? They had a bunch of cakes you could do in the book, but I didn't like any of those so I decided to venture out on my own. Eureka! It's almost Halloween, I'll do a Halloween themed cake.

2) I thought of a cute way to make pumpkins be the border of the cake.

3) Since the dimensional piping was my favorite thing to learn, I decided to use that on the cake. So, I took out my trusty PrintShop program and found some great Halloween-y things that I wanted to put on the cake.

4) Then Brent helped me with this spooky tree I wanted to put on the cake. (It was a lot of work and he was so patient...he's great!)

5) I made my icing to exact specifications. (The gray of the cake did not turn out exactly how I wanted it to, but it was my first time using the black coloring. It's a pain. There's a stain on my rug to prove it.)

6) I decorated my cake. Drum roll please....

And the pumpkin border...
I have to say, I love the pumpkin border. It came out exactly how it was suppose to!

(Again, these were taken with my cell phone camera, which doesn't love to do close ups, but I was afraid it would get damaged on the way home.)

I'm reasonably happy with how it turned out. It's not exactly how I planned. And there are a few things that bug me when I look at it - why do all the pumpkins tilt the same way - but for my first try at designing and decorating my own cake, I think I did well.

To contrast my obsessive compulsive, control freak way of designing cakes, this is how Marcela designed her cake.

1) She knew she wanted to put flowers on it.

2) She made some icing.

3) She decorated her cake.

And here it is....

Another fine example of a beautiful cake.

I just chuckled at the differences in our personalities.

Our teacher was trying really hard to get us to take the next class in the group. It's mostly royal icing flowers, which I'm pretty sure is my mom's favorite thing in the world. There's no way I can take it until the new year, so we'll see.

Let Them Eat Cupcakes

2010-10-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

Well, by them, I probably mean me, but anyway.

Last night in my cake decorating class we learned how to fill and frost cupcakes and make some different flowers. I admit that I am NOT good at the drop flowers, but I think I'm pretty good at these...(sorry the pictures are so bad - they're from my cell phone and apparently you can't get good close ups.)
And, instead of doing the stuff I need to do today, I'm planning the decorations for my graduation cake next week. I'm so good at budgeting my time.

Pumpkin Walk - aka Standing in Line for Fun

2010-10-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

I am on a roll! And I have the time, so I'm going to finish out our pumpkin exploits!

About a week ago, I was reading this email I get about fun things to do in our county. Normally they are things I already know about or things that don't sound too fun to me. But, this time, I hit the mother load! It talked about a Pumpkin Walk that you could do at Bainbridge Gardens. I didn't exactly know what a pumpkin walk was, but it sounded fun so we talked to Ryan and Marcela and decided to go on Saturday.

When we got to the nursery, we saw the line for the pumpkin walk. It was REALLY long, but we were there to have fun so we parked the car (in a super close parking space thanks to the small children we had in the car) and got in line.

While in line, Reyes posed for a couple of pictures. She also did this really great dance where she shook all over and skipped around. I guess she was excited?

Ryan and Marcela ready for some fun.

Don't forget Camila all decked out in stripes.

And then we entered the pumpkin walk. Let me try to explain. There's this trail through the trees and it's lined with hundreds of pumpkins. It was really cool. And smelled oddly like cooking pumpkin. Yummm...pumpkin pie!

This one says, "Welcome to Bainbridge Gardens" but it's kind of hard to see.

That giant pumpkin is eating the little one. Poor little pumpkin.

Hee hee...pack man. I admit, I didn't get it either at first.

And now for some of the other pumpkins we saw...

We got a kick out of this one. It says it's an "Mexican Alien Skellton" (and that is how they spelled it.) Hee hee

Who wouldn't love seen Toy Story in person?

I think Marcela wanted to hold Camila to keep warm, but that's just a theory.

Here we are with our obligatory scrunch picture...wait..who is that in the picture with us? It must be like that ride at Disneyland....

Seems like a good one to finish on.

We really did have a good time at the pumpkin walk. I think this might be a tradition as well. And, we found out that you can donate a pumpkin that you created too. What do you think, Wewa Peeps - next year a Star Wars Theme?

Although, I do have a mental note for next year: Bring 1) gloves and 2) small children so we can get a close parking space.

Pumpkin Picking - aka Slugging through the Mud

2010-10-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

It has become a little bit of a tradition for us to go to Hunter Farms on Columbus Day to pick out our pumpkins for the year. We have yet to carve any, but we really enjoy picking them. Columbus Day was a gorgeous day this year so off we went with Brad, Court and the kids.

Here we are taking the hay ride out to the fields. You can just see the top of Brad's head but he's in the picture.

And here are the first pumpkins we saw. Hmmm...maybe that 3 inches of rain we had over the weekend was a bad thing. Luckily there were more that weren't in the water, just the mud. So off we went to find them.

Chloe and Kyle go off to the far end of the field, and promptly get stuck in the mud. The mud even sucked off Kyle's boot so he wasn't too happy. Thankfully a nice passer by helped them out of the mud since it was taking us so long to get to them.

I know you can't really tell by this picture but Court is, umm...let me count, I don't know - really pregnant. She's due in January. Getting around is not the funnest thing for her these days so she brought her chair and supervised the fun. I think that might have been a good idea - have I mentioned the mud?

Brad, Sarah and Aaron finding the perfect pumpkins.

Brent found my pumpkin. He knows the kind I like!

"Look, it's shaped like a heart."

Those are some good looking pumpkins.

Have I mentioned that Sarah is 5'1". Yeah, and I'm just under 5'4". Do you know what it does to your psyche when you look a 11 year old in the eye? ***I have been informed that Sarah is now 5'2". Great! That's much better.***

Someone sent out a memo - it was blue sweater day. I had on a blue sweater too. Funny...

Then we had a somewhat windy and cold picnic lunch. After our lunch, we explored a little more of the farm.

Aaron can always be found driving something or wanting to drive something. He's such a boy.

I didn't get a picture of it, but Kyle got in this old truck. When I walked passed he said, "Umm, Ashley, could you open the door?" He had closed the door of the truck but he couldn't get it open. So I tried...and tried...and tried to get the door open to no avail. I went and got Brad and he promptly got him out. Jeez, engineers, always making us regular folks look silly.

Chloe is an animal lover like me. She'd coming running back to where ever I was and say, "I found a baby goat!" or "I found a reindeer!" (I have to say, I wasn't sure it really was a reindeer, but it was. She's good.) The farm also had ponies, donkeys, LOTS of chickens, pigs (that chased everything else), llamas and alpacas. And a reindeer. Where do you get a reindeer? Not that I want one. Really, Brent, Daisy is good enough for me. For now...

This pony was so sweet. It would just sidle up to the fence and let you pet it. I think it liked a good scratch.

And to prove that I was really there...

I think this tradition will continue as long as Brent gets Columbus Day off!

Utah...Some More

2010-10-19T10:28:00.001-07:00

Here are more pictures from Utah. I'll just explain as I go. They are in no particular order. (As I'm loading these pictures, I'm realizing that there are A LOT of pictures. Sorry if it makes it slow to load.)

Oh, and just in case you hadn't noticed - Brent blogged again.

We went to the community pool by Jess' house. The kids loved it. I hid from the sun. It was HOT - like 90 degrees - and SUNNY and I live in Washington. Enough said. This is Cayden and Rylee.

Rylee and Jayson playing with the toy that was the hit of the party. It's funny how the favorite toys kind of go in cycles.
Brent and his mom. Now remember - Brent had just had ALL four of his wisdom teeth out. (I'm happy to say, he's still just as smart as he's always been.) A woman Brent works with wanted me to take a picture to show how funny he looked when he was all swollen. He really didn't swell that badly. You could only tell when he smiled. I can tell he's swollen, but I don't know if anyone else would be able to.
Cute Cayden. We just don't get to see enough of him. He is the cutest little guy! And LOVES to help his dad. Jared is so nice to always let him help. I'm sure sometimes it would be easier to do on his own.

The fairy wings were also a huge hit. There goes Cayden.

He was flexing to show his cousins how big his muscles were.

Here are all the cousins that were there. We sure missed Steve, Jenny and their kids. I will tell you - trying to take a picture of all these kids is like trying to take a picture of a sack of squirrels. Somewhat impossible!
Katie was nice enough to have a birthday coming up, so we had a little birthday party for her. She and my dad share a birthday so it's easy for me to remember.

Jackson - I love your little smile!

This is Jacob. I hadn't ever gotten the chance to meet Jacob, which was really hard for me. But I instantly fell in love with him! He is a STURDY, SMILEY, FUN little guy! He sees a camera and he cheeses. I love that!

Jake again.

Jacob and Jackson are only about a month apart, but Jackson still looks a little worried.

Really Jared. Really.

Jared donned the fairy wings as well to teach them how it was done.

Jayson is not a fan of getting his picture taken. Reminds me of Brent.

I put this picture in for two reasons. 1) Julie looks really pretty. And 2) Jackson is sucking on his toes. I am both grossed out by this and mildly impressed.

Umm...ok...it must be a twin thing.

Look at that family all decked out and looking good for Tay's baptism.

I may have to go back to...Really, Jared. Really?

These little guys were born within six weeks of each other. That's Jacob, Camila and Jackson. I think it's so funny to see the difference in sizes when they are so close together in age. Won't that be fun for them - to have cousins that close in age? We're already planning the combined baptism.

Hee hee hee

Katie

Reyes used to not let me take pictures of her. Now she LOVES it. And after I take the picture, she wants to see it. What did we do before digital cameras?

Reyes is a fairy too!

Reyes' wet hair makes her look different, don't you think?

Quick - what do they have in common?

Love the pig tails Rylee!

Tayler is a little fish. She loves the water. I understand that! It's the sun I don't love!
If Tay is anything, it's a performer. She loves to put together a routine and perform for everyone.

Jared and Tay kept trying this trick. I don't think they ever got it completely, but they had fun trying.

Again with the favorite toy.

Doesn't she look pretty in her baptism dress? Thanks, Tay, for getting baptized so that we could all get together and have some fun!

Wow, she's strong!

Super cute D* family!

This was Brent and Ryan's "going to the pool". Brent still wasn't feeling too good after the wisdom teeth removal and Ryan had a stomach bug. I stayed with them because, well, I'm not a fan of the sun.

So, that pretty much ends our trip to Utah. As I said, I'm sure it's going to be another 5 years before we drive again. I'm pretty sure I'll have amnesia by then and think it's a good idea.

Utah...

2010-10-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

I have a ton of pictures to post from Utah...in September, so I might as well get started. (I probably should have gotten started a month ago, but...)

Here are some pictures from my Dad's birthday party.

The Man of the Hour...

Adrian and Linn

Danny and Jen

Brent (with his "Why are you taking my picture" face) and Mom

and..Sarah showing off her jack-o-lantern smile

Sadly, those are all the pictures I took when we were with my family. I don't know why I'm so bad at taking pictures when we're doing stuff. I enjoy the stuff we do. So, my goal for next time is to TAKE MORE PICTURES!

Brent and I drove to Utah so that we could bring some stuff back with us. We figured that we hadn't driven in over 4 years, so it wouldn't be too bad. I hate driving. I think we'll just ship stuff back from now on.

But, we did a lot of fun things with my family. Ate a lot of good food. Put together a great computer. Enjoyed each others company. And just had a great old time.

Plus, my mom and I found my new favorite store - Rod Works. It's AWESOME! If you are ever near a Rod Works, go in and think of me because I love that place!

My Beee-utiful Cake

2010-10-18T15:11:00.001-07:00

I told you how I'm taking a cake decorating class with Marcela. Well, here is my very first cake that I ever decorated. Ever...
I know! I must be an idiot savant or something!

This week ... cupcakes!

:)