A White Christmas!

TUB TIME!

WHAT A TALENTED FAMILY! part I

WHAT A TALENTED FAMILY! part II

Thanksgiving morning!

Eli, Brian and I ran in the annual Orem city Thanksgiving Day Run. Brian pushed little Eli in the bike trailer which caused him to have a slow start, but on mile three they ran past me with ease. Brian ended up taking 9th in his age division and I took 5th in mine. It was a great way to start the day and made us reflect on how thankful we are for our healthy little family!

Jumping for joy!

Spare time=Stars

As soon as little Eli's eyes are closed I see STARS! All my spare time is being devoted to the making stars as of late. So not much else is getting done around here, but it will pay off in the long run, pay off my student loan that is.

Antelope Island

Brian, Ann, Brendon, Mary Deane, Eli and I made a drive through Syracuse onto Antelope Island a week ago. We spent too much time eating lunch at Caputo's Deli and didn't have much daylight on the island, but this is what we saw:

Majestic Bison. We saw several groups of them along the East side of the island. They do a big round up to the South end of the island in October to count them. Wished we could have seen that!
This is the causeway as seen from the visitor center. They center was run by some great old people that treated us like we were just as old, annunciating the common giant spiders there very slowly for us to understand, "o r r r b b   w e e e b b b   w e e a v e r s". Ann and I laughed about it days later.

This is the Island seen from the 7 mile causeway to the island. On the way there we saw what Brian called a "swamp boat". It had a fan with a 6' diameter attached to it, we couldn't figure out what they were doing?!

Big Springs Canyon, Pleasant Grove

We're enjoying what is near! Our latest excursion was up the beautiful canyon Big Springs, only a 20 minute drive from our home. The hike was a total of 3 hours (Brian was a trooper  and carried Eli the entire time!) and as you can see from the pics included  a wide range of terrain. I've decided to take advantage of what is near instead of longing for what is out of reach. While I'm here in the great state of Utah I might as well enjoy every bit of it, even my own backyard! Next stop : Antelope Island, SLC!

THE THREE BEARS

Frolicking Fall Fun

JUST LIKE HIS GRANDMA, FOR ELI ITS ALL ABOUT THE FOOD AS WELL

The Guilty & the Wounded

                                     LOOK AT THAT GUILTY FACE!!!!!!

yummmm celery

YESTERDAY AFTER CLASS WHEN I PICKED ELI UP FROM THE BAKERS HE GRABBED MY FACE AND STARTED CHOMPING ON THE SKIN ALONG MY JAW LINE. HE CLAMPED DOWM REAL HARD AND NOW I HAVE A PRETTY BRUISE. SO I'VE FOUND MORE PRODUCTIVE THINGS FOR HIM TO CHEW ON!

Eli eats puppy!

Eli seems to have an affinity for soft fluffy things! He especially loves this little puppy from Grandma & Grandpa! We sure do miss them!

QUIRKS!

This was hard...that is why it has taken me so long to post.

ONE > I CAN  TOUCH MY NOSE WITH MY TONGUE

TWO > I LIKE TO HAVE CLEAN MOISTURIZED FEET BEFORE I GO TO BED

THREE > I LOVE SALTED BUTTER

FOUR > I GO RUNNING, NOT BECAUSE I LIKE TO RUN, BUT BECAUSE I LIKE THE FEELING OF STRETCHING AFTERWARDS

FIVE > I DON'T LIKE BREAKFAST FOOD FOR BREAKFAST...I'D RATHER EAT REFRIED BEANS AND CHEESE OR A JUNIOR WHOPPER

SIX > I HAVE LOTS OF GAS AND I THINK I'VE PASSED IT ON TO MY SON

Eli loves these two!

We are going to miss these two! The people of Korea are lucky to have them for the next 18 months, but their absence will definitely be felt here in Utah. Grandpa can get a smile out of Eli any time of day and Grandma knows just how to comfort and soothe him. 

Sunday delights!

Eli is loving food and will eat anything, just like his dad!
Anagrams after Sunday dinner in our backyard. It's quite educational!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!

Megan is the person you want around! She always has something interesting to add to any conversation, and it's usually pretty funny, but more importantly she is a good listener. She's not afraid to try new things, like making bread for the first time, (which was an amazing success) and she's not afraid of riding the fastest horse (which is definitely not pictured below!) I'm glad Jacob added her to our family! Love ya, Ash

Whirlwind of a Week

hj

Well it's never been this clean since the day it was built almost sixty years ago! We gathered in the empty living room late Saturday night and sat in a circle with heavy eyelids and heavy hearts sad to say goodbye. Lots of memories in this beautiful house, but we'll make more in North Carolina?!

Chilly Morn

Don't you love when the weather turns a little cold and you can pull out your fall sweaters! Well that's what we did for Eli this chilly morning! He takes his morning naps outside lately, but his toes and nose were feeling the chill so we found this cute outfit M&D gave him! It was an instant comfort, he fell asleep within minutes!

FAMILY!

Don't we look like we're having fun!? Once the semester starts I'll have access to the photo lab and I can print each family an 8X10 photo (one where we are smiling, unless you'd rather have this one) Let me know! Love you all, ASH.

The harvest begins!

They may be small but they're tasty. My cucumbers are short and stubby because I planted pickling cucumbers. The beets were golden beets, but they seem to have stopped growing (according to my dad they needed more fertilizer). We've only had one zucchini thus far due to some earwigs with ferocious appetites. I think we've had the most success with the tomatoes, I did fertilize those well! I planted the spinach a little too late in the season so they ended up going to seed and not producing much. My peas...not quite sure what happened with those?! It's been a learning experience, by experience, which for me is the best way to learn. 

I just started reading ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE by Barbara Kingsolver. It has given me even more of a resolve to grow a vegetable garden and succeed at it. 

Ambitious!

You name it, she can do it. Everything from making homemade marshmellows  to changing her own oil. She can make a wedding dress in three days flat. She plays the harp like a pro! But most impressive of all she is the mother of five beautiful girls, a most ambitious endeavor and she does it marvelously. That is my sister KATY! Happy Birthday! Love, Ashley

FIRSTS

IT'S BEEN A WEEK OF FIRSTS FOR ELI!  A HIKE TO Y MOUNTAIN, ANDREW BIRD CONCERT IN SLC, A MOVIE AT THE $1 THEATER. ELI WAS WELL BEHAVED FOR ALL THREE!

100 Things About Me

• I like to eat saltines with the salty side face down on my tongue.
• I take much better care of my vegetable garden then my flower garden.
• When I was 11 I was the only girl on my basketball team.
• I love containers, boxes, bottles, etc.
• I've been to Tonga three times.
• I've gone 7 days without showering.
• I was working out in the West desert of Utah with troubled youth at the time.
• I had some embarrassing hairdo's growing up.
• I hid my brothers toys and then told them if they gave me a quarter I'd find them.
• I failed my driving test twice.
• I've never wanted pets, they stink and just cost money.
• I had a blue wedding dress.
• I am a go, go, go, multi-tasking sort of person.
• Becoming a mom has slowed me down and surprisingly I'm enjoying it.
• I research things thoroughly before I buy them.
• Half of my wardrobe comes from my mom and sister. (I was the oldest so I didn't have hand-me-downs as a child)
• I like to plan...trips, meals, the day.
• I like grocery shopping.
• I'm a realist.
• I like the anticipation that comes with using film rather then using a instant gratification digital camera.
• I was the jump-roping queen of my kindergarten and...
• the pogo stick queen of elementary school.
• My grade school coach instilled in me a love for obstacle courses.
• I'd rather have cookies then cake any day.
• I'm more an observer then a thinker.
• I just look at magazines, my husband reads them.
• I am the oldest and I am bossy.
• I am a pleaser.
• I floss my teeth every night due to the example of my husband, but I do it twice as fast as him
• I love discovering new music.
• I wash my hair every third day.
• I like to be on time.
• I met Brian on a blind date.
• I've hiked Utah's three tallest mountains: King's Peak, Mount Nebo, and Mount Timpanogus.
• I'm a tomboy.
• I made my own longboard.
• My friend Emily Owen Manwaring and I painted the rival mascots in our high school gym.
• I worked a summer in Glacier Bay Alaska with friends from high school.
• I saw a cow's throat slit on the streets of a small town in China.
• I've eaten horse, dog, chicken feet and pigs blood.
• I'm a morning person.
• I love to go backpacking in southern Utah.
• I like to make Brian laugh.
• Because I love his laugh.
• I'm starting to have a hard time thinking of things.
• I don't like talking on the phone.
• I like to go skinny dipping.
• I don't like cheap ice cream.
• That's one thing I splurge on, a pint of Haagen-Dazs is just the right size for Brian and I.
• Sometimes I stutter.
• When I give a talk in church I have to write it all out.
• One of my favorite restaurants is Veil in Seattle Washington.
• I've always wanted to go hang-gliding.
• I like comfortable shoes, no high-heels please.
• I'd rather have my back rubbed then scratched.
• I've been dinosaur bone digging.
• It's not hard to make me cry.
• I like carob.
• I make smores in the microwave often.
• I speak mandarin chinese.
• I've forgotten a lot of it.
• I don't remember my dreams.
• 38 more to come....

Photo Shoot

I pulled out my medium format camera and did a photo shoot with Eli! He loved the checkered basket and was intently focused on it, I was lucky to get him to look at the camera. The following day I did a photo shoot with Ben & Olivia, some engagement photos. You'll have to wait to see those.

Earplug

Eli has discovered a new use for his pacifier!