Thanksgiving Week

Just a quick update, my sisters family left today and we had a fantastic time with them - as well as going to Tucson for our family reunion/Thanksgiving dinner! We went to the Zoo there and it was so nice! All the kids enjoyed playing together and it was great to see my own cousins on my moms side of the family! When we got back Blake was able to go shooting with his brother Trent and I had lots of fun doing Christmas and Birthday shopping for Ashlyn, I can't believe I'll have a 1 year old in a few weeks! Here are some photos...

Party Time

This past week we had the flu bug that has been showing up everywhere and were out of commission on Tuesday (well at least Blake and Ashlyn) I was the cleaner, sanitizer, and laundry lady! It was a long, busy day...thank goodness everyone is feeling better and we've had a fun weekend - Friday night was "Girls Night" with some great friends from my junior high/freshman days and we had a fun night eating dinner at ZTejas and then over to Cold Stone for some ice cream! Even though the night began around 6PM, after dropping the girls off I didn't get home until after midnight! (Thanks Blake) We laughed SO hard and just took a walk down memory lane! We had some great times together and I must say I hope we are able to spend more time with each other! Some girls I hadn't seen in about 8 years others 6 months so it was nice to catch up either way... Today we tried to sleep in and after doing some chores headed to my parents to visit with my moms parents! We quickly went to Sportsman's where Blake splurged and purchased a rifle he's been wanting for over a year (he totally deserves it) and then off to my nephews birthday party! This party was unlike any other, the "Reptile Guy" was there and brought lots of awesome animals for us all to learn about and touch! Even Ashlyn enjoyed the snakes and lizards... tomorrow we're looking forward to my sisters family arriving for the Thanksgiving Holiday and spending some quality time together! We feel so blessed in our lives to have so many people who love and support us, and it's a HUGE blessing to have the gospel in our lives! I'm so thankful for my little family and my wonderful husband! Happy Thanksgiving

{JOY}

Who does Ashlyn look like?

I tried this with about 5 different pictures and I got the same result no matter which age Ashlyn was! I personally think she looks more like Blake and that is what most people tell me, but it is nice to see that a "meter" thinks she looks equally like me being that I carried her for 9 months (haha!) It's fun to get others opinions!

PLAYING AT THE PARK

We went to the park with some friends from our ward on Tuesday and we had so much fun! Ashlyn enjoyed the swing but wanted to watch the other kids next to her most of the time...







The slide was a big hit and she did pretty good at climbing up the steps!














The thought of eating sand crossed her mind I'm sure but I'm happy to report that it never entered her mouth! She would pick it up and look at me like this!

Live....Laugh....Love

I really enjoy being a mother! Ashlyn is becoming SO vocal and is trying very hard to communicate with Blake and I! She is coming up with all kinds of noises and sounds and of course of few actual words... Her favorites include "No No No" - "Bebe"(baby) - "Go" - "Hey" - "Sssss" (shhhh) - and "Ohhhh" (Uh-Oh)... It's so fun to watch her as she learns to play with other kids, she likes to play chase and of course wants whatever they are playing with. I had to share a few pictures that were funny - I heard Ashlyn coughing while waking up from her nap and when I went to get her she had spit up all over her face, it was pretty gross and she was a trooper while I snapped a picture. Another is of her wearing fun necklaces at my friends house, she is such a girl and knows exactly where they go! On to our weekend, Saturday Blake participated in a Mini Triathlon and did the swimming part of it! We had an early morning to get there on time and we had a great time watching everyone in all the events! That evening we went to see Melissa and Gregg to celebrate Melissa's birthday with her family and had a BBQ! Later that night we met up with my grandma (dad's mom) and my aunt, I hadn't seen my grandma in over 2 years as she was away on a church mission in Mexico City - Ashlyn's middle name is after her so it was fun to have them meet for the first time! I love spending time with family! Happy November...

1st Halloween

Of course my child is the one distracting the others and trying to stand up during pictures! We went to Bart & Dusti's in Queen Creek and they drove all the kids around on a trailer full of Hay behind his Ranger - it was a lot of fun and we had tons of yummy food! The kids were, pirates, a chicken, a Bee, Spider Man, Mater, Penguin, Ladybug and a Transformer - such a cute group of kids...






Our little
Ladybug











-Her first house to
Trick or Treat at
-She did really good
walking up and down
the sidewalks














She was SO curious
as to what they put
in her bucket, she had
to check it out!
















She wouldn't
let go of the
handle on her
bucket - and loved
to carry it ALL
night











"This candy
looks tasty"!


















"Dad let me eat
my animal crackers"
















I'm tired and
ready to call
it a night!!
Can't wait until
next year!