Happy 1st Birthday Ashlyn!

My camera is still broken. So we only got video of Ashlyn on her birthday. I couldn't not post anything about my little girls very first birthday though. Since Ashlyn's birthday is so close to Christmas, we feared we may overlook the details of her special day sometime down the road. The fear come true... THIS year. The poor girl, didn't have much planned for her special day. I didn't realize how hard it would be to plan something for a couple days after Christmas. I think next year I'll have to have everything together before Christmas. I knew we would do cake and a present or two no matter what. The holidays came and went, and left us with no real plans for Ashlyn's Birthday. Although we did give her a gift on her birthday, and spent the next evening with family for some cake, ice cream and a few more presents. It was good enough, just not what I had imagined my little girls first birthday being like. Good thing she doesn't know any better. She had a good time anyway, and loved opening every gift, and especially loved her chocolate cupcake.
I wanted her to know, someday, some of the things I love best about her, through her first year.
1. The great big hug you give me every morning when I get you out of your crib.
2. The cheesy smiles you give everyone.
3. Your beautiful eyes. Not a single person can pass you by without telling you how pretty you are.
4. Your kind spirit.
5. Your love for your brothers. You light up when you see them.
6. You are very obedient for a one year old. It only takes once or twice for you to obey.
7. You have always been a good eater. I appreciate that. It makes my life so much easier.
8. You sleep through the night. THANK YOU!
9. You get so excited to see your daddy. You bounce up and down and say "da da" until he picks you up. It's very sweet.
10. I love you for all you are. I'm looking forward to all the times we will share. The laughs, the cries, the ups and downs, the teenage years too. I will treasure it all.
Happy Birthday Ashlyn Kate! We love you.

School's Cancelled!

Dylan was showing off his moves.

Gavin and Ashlyn going for a sled ride.

Dylan talked me into giving him a ride on the sled if he held Ashlyn. It worked fine. Ashlyn wasn't a huge fan of the snow though.

Ashlyn in her snow suit. She looks so cute!

We've had a lot of snow here the past few days. The kids have really enjoyed themselves. Although, yesterday I had to keep them inside for awhile because we have squirrels that live around our neighborhood. One of them kept jumping on the kids and I couldn't get it off of them. I was trying to use my foot to knock it off, but it just hung on for dear life. It was a crazy squirrel! I went out once, and as soon as it saw me, it started running for me. I screamed and ran inside like a was about to be attacked by something very scary. It kept running after me until I shut the door and it stood there at the glass, just waiting for me to come back out. The neighbor boy came knocking on our front door, I opened the door and, to my surprise, there's the neighbor boy with the squirrel on his shoulder, like a pet or something. Again, I screamed and shut the door quickly. Man...I guess it's Attack of the squirrel's around here!!

Tagged By Honor
Here's how it works: Bold all the things that you have done in your life.

1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo’s David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing- 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie- 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone’s life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee

I tag anyone who wants to!

Have a Cute Day

You all have to check out this super cute blog http://www.haveacuteday.blogspot.com/ by a friend of mine. She is very talented in the fashion department. Her blog is full of really cute fashion ideas. I check it out every time I am blogging. It makes me want to "have a cute day" every day.

It's true...there are some really good days too. Today was one of those days where I got a lot done. So I'm feeling like I actually accomplished more than just taking care of the kidletts. The kids were very helpful and good today. We actually had a lot of fun today without too much fighting. We read lots of stories, played outside at the park and in our back yard, cleaned the yard up of toys and leaves. I cleaned the whole house, everyone got a bath, kids down at 8:00 for bed, checked my email, blogged a bit. The only thing I'm missing from my wonderful day is my husband. He left for work this morning at 7:30 and won't be home until 10 or 11pm. What a trooper. He is amazing! Besides missing him, today couldn't have been much better, and I am so thankful for that. The lord knows how much we can handle, and I think I was at my breaking point. It's nice to know we can always count on Him to help us when we are having a hard time. It's also nice to have great friends too, who give a little encouragement. So thanks guys!

The past couple weeks, have been nothing but sickness, messes, laundry, house cleaning, cleaning up Gavin's pee and poo messes (he's potty training),dealing with Ashlyn teething, Brennen working late and on the weekends, and the list could go on and on. I don't know about you, but being a mom and wife is so much harder than I ever imagined. Of course way more rewarding than I could have imagined too. (Most of the time) :) Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing wrong though. Especially when my kids are acting like crazy people, hitting, punching, wrestling, throwing things, calling each other names. They get in trouble every time, but it doesn't seem like it gets through to their brains that that behavior is not OK. They continue to do it again and again. Am I not being strict enough? Or not punishing them enough? Are time-outs not enough? I wish that I had a manual on how to be the perfect parent. I feel like so much fighting and anger is larking around here. I don't like that feeling at all. Maybe I need to focus more on spiritual things. So the spirit will guide me in how to mother my children better. It couldn't hurt trying I guess. I wish I had 10 times the energy I have now. That would do me a LOT of good.

Trick-or-Treat

We went to Brennen's parents trunk-or-treat this year. We know a lot of the people there. We used to be in their ward. After trunk-or-treating we went for some good food at Moctezuma's. A family favorite! We can never get too much moctezuma's. Yummy!

Before trunk-or-treat, Dylan really wanted to do the traditional trick-or-treating. So we met up with Cameron, Lisa and Merrick and went door to door for a few minutes.

On Halloween, Dylan didn't have school. So we met Kylee and Brett and the Puyallup YMCA for their annual pumpkin parade. They had fun coloring pictures, playing in the gymnastics room, and collecting candy on the parade through the gym.

Kylee and Brett. Isn't he so cute!

I thought this picture was really funny! The chances of them making this face at the same time and me capturing it...was pretty slim to none.

Poor Gavin without his costume. I forgot it at home. We were in a hurry and left Gav's costume and Ashlyn's Witch hat on the table. He didn't care. He just wanted to play.

Our little witch without her hat. I was sad because I got her this costume just for going to the Y. I knew that her snow princess costume would be too hot for the indoors. So she never got to wear her witch hat that day. :(

Dylan had a good time playing on all the gym toys. Our favorite thing to do in the gymnastics room is the "pit". It's where the vault is. It's a big pit full of foam blocks to cushion your fall while practicing the vault. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the kids in there.