The princess and the prince

Ivy and I were playing school this morning. We practice writing letters and we practiced writing her name, and then we drew princesses. After that, she wanted to tell me a story and have me write it down. This is word for word her story! I love the part about the witch being pushed out of business...funny!

She is my little buddy, I love having her at home to play with and cuddle with all day...

Ashley

PS. Please excuse any typos, I wrote this from my phone.

Trip to AZ

We took a road trip down to AZ last weekend (no potty breaks on the way there BTW). We were going for the wedding celebration of my mom and Dave. It was such a nice time! 

Friday night we went to the event and had an amazing steak dinner and watched my mom perform, along with her good friends. They sang some awesome love songs and all of us were enchanted, most of all Dave who smiled sweetly at my mom the whole time!

I was asked to come up and sing "Feels Like Home" with the ladies. Mom and I sang it at Angie's wedding so I knew the words. :)

The next morning we went to the park and let the cousins play together.

We had a nice time gabbing on the bench. That's what moms do!

That evening we went on a date night with our friends Brett, Jacque, Dave and Robin. We rode in Brett's jeep with the top down to Encanterra and had a wonderful meal! I love their company! We actually stayed at the Fergusons house the whole weekend. We had such a nice time and felt so welcome. They even made crepes for us before we left. 

This is a funny wind blown pic of Jacque and I from the evening.

It was a really nice weekend and made me miss AZ a ton!

Daily Hugs

Do I love these two so much?!? I think it's pretty obvious that I do. 

Ivy and I look forward to our daily walk to Wood canyon elementary to pick up big brother. She likes to play around at the front of the school while we wait for him. I always look forward to Ethan coming out so I say, "Oh look, Ethan's class is walking out!" 

One day I noticed Ivy making her way over to his class line and watching him closely. As soon as he left the line, she ran over to him and squeezed him with the biggest hug ever. He smiles from ear to ear when she does this. She's been doing it every day since. 5 minutes later, they are usually getting after each other or tattling about something. But, what's important is these little sweet moments peppered throughout their childhood that make the bond so much stronger. 

(PS: please excuse any typos, I wrote this on my phone)

The Post-It

Dear Ethan,

You really surprised me today. You pulled out this little post-it note all folded up from your back pack. You told me it was a "behavior agreement" for your 1st grade teacher Mrs. Burke. I was immediately curious as to what the chart meant! Then you explained to me that you had been keeping this chart daily since the start of school. You had been drawing different faces to show the mood that Mrs. Burke was in that day. 

Oh buddy! This tells me so much about you! I already know that you are likeable and kind. But this little chart tells me that you are sensitive to the environment around you. It shows me that you are watching the world. Rather than just reacting to the bad moods and ill intentions of others, you are able to step back and see the big picture.

With this gift, you will be able to be a success in so many outlets of your life. You will be the mediator, the calm center that people will turn to for guidance. You will be an awesome husband and father. 

You're probably thinking, how could you know all of this from a sticky-note. Sometimes even the smallest of acts can tell people a lot about our character. Love you big boy!

(PS: please excuse any typos, I wrote this on my phone)

Happy birthday Ethan (7)

What a joy this Ethan boy of mine is! He is so GOOD. Being good is really all a parent wants for their child. Not only is he good, he's also loving, gentle with his sister, funny, sensitive, crazy, noisy, cuddly, smart and driven. 

I remember the day they laid him on my chest after several hours of labor. I was exhausted, and so was he. BUT he looked up at me with his big beautiful blue eyes and we instantly connected. He was my buddy from then on! We had 3 awesome years together just he and I. Lots of blocks and cars. Lots of library books. 

He's an amazing older brother to his little sis! She feels happy to have him stand up for her! 

 

PS: please excuse any typos, I wrote this using my phone. :)

Happy Halloween 2013

What a great day Halloween was! We started out with a parent-teacher conference with Ethan's first grade teacher Mrs. Burke. She had SO MUCH good to say about my Ethan boy. He is so bright! He is ahead in reading, writing, and spelling. He's also doing great in math. I'm such a proud parent! I love my boy.

At about 4pm we got ready and went to a little party some of our neighbors have every year.

This year, Ethan went as a clone ARF trooper from Star Wars, and Ivy went as Sophia the first. The party was a lot of fun and there was a "witch" who came out and did spells on all of the kids. It was adorable!

After that, we came to our little neighborhood and met up with some friends and took the kids trick or treating. It was the BEST candy haul we've ever had. Our neighborhood is a big circle with lots of little houses close together so the kids could get a whole load of candy in a short amount of time. I would say they each got about 5 lbs! Oh what fun! Ivy was so funny this year because she finally "gets it!" She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her all night. Her little blonde curls were bouncing all over the place. I was so happy. 

So now we are on candy overload. And that's okay!

Happy HalloweeN!

(PS: please excuse any typos, I wrote this on my phone)

Campanio and Pop Quats!

My little Ivy was born with a funny sweet endearing little accent. She doesn't ever say her "R" sound. So when she is saying Barbie, she says "Bobbie." She also gets the letters mixed up on some words.

There are two words that are especially funny. Campanio is Piano, and pop quats is Pop Tarts. She knows so many words now that we are trying to hold onto these two as long as we can. :)

Thingers and Incept:

Although Ethan speaks almost perfectly and can read and write, he still says two words in a funny way. Thingers is fingers, and Incept is except. 

I love my children for their little imperfections. It makes them so special.

PS: please excuse any typos, I wrote this from my phone.

Debbie

In an earlier blog post, I talked about "Didgi and Dodgy" who were Ethan's imaginary friends when he was 2 and 3 years old. Now I want to tell about Ivy's little imaginary friend. Her name is Debbie. I think she came up with that name from hearing me talk to a lady named Debbie on the phone who used to be my visiting teaching companion. Anywho, she calls her Debbie. Debbie has pink hair and she's a little older than Ivy. Debbie is also very mischievous. Sometimes when Ivy is caught doing something naughty, she tells us that Debbie was the one who did it, or that Debbie told her to do it! But Debbie is a good friend too. Ivy calls her on the phone often. They talk about Terrence and Eugene and plan parties and what not. 

I LOVE that my kids have had imaginary friends. I encourage it. I love to talk with them about it. It expands their imaginations when they create scenarios in their mind.

Ward Trunk-or-treat

There's something about the annual ward trunk or treat that always gets me excited! Maybe it's the fact that I can visit with the people in my ward in a cool Halloween setting, or perhaps it's that I don't have to traipse across the whole neighborhood with my kids to fill up their candy bowls.

This year, Ivy dressed as Sophia the first, and Ethan was a Star Wars ARF Clone Trooper! Little cuties!

I signed up to bring a decorated pumpkin as a table centerpiece. We put this baby together in 30 minutes! It actually ended up winning the award for "Most Creative" so we were pretty happy! 

We ate yummy chili and corn bread.

Then we went inside for some carnival like games and a costume parade. I LOVE sharing the magic of Halloween with my children. Ethan held Ivy's hand the whole time they walked around the gym. He's SUCH a good boy.

After that we went outside for the trunk or treat. By the end, Ivy was tired and cranky (we don't have her nap anymore) so we went home. :)

PS: I wrote this on my phone so please excuse any typos!

Disneyland for the first time!!

So! After a couple of months of wavering on the idea of getting annual Disney passes, we decided to bite the bullet. Sure, were gonna be dirt poor for a month, but I'd say it's well worth the ramen dinners and date nights IN.

Some of our friends and family were planning on going that same day so that helped seal the deal.

I LOVE my friend Jacque! I have missed her so since we moved the California! She totally "gets me." If that makes sense. It's funny, I'm kind if like her baby monkey because she is often grooming me and picking things off of me, but that's what friends are for right!

So here is a pic of when our family arrived.

It was a perfect day. We loved all of the rides. Ethan especially loved the Star Tours ride. I can't imagine what that would be like for him considering he LOVES all things Star Wars! Ivy loved the Peter Pan's flight ride. That ride is one of my favorite rides too! One of my childhood memories is riding that with my mommy. She rode all of the princess rides with me since those were my favorite!

A funny thing happened when Joe decided that he wanted to ride the Tower of Terror with Brett. I thought I would sit it out with the kids, but Ivy (3 years old) decided that she REALLY wanted to go, even after looking at the ride and seeing how spooky it looks! So Joe reluctantly took her on it! He said she was so enveloped by the story of the haunted tower that she asked at the end, "daddy what world are we in?" She also told me, "when we did the big drop, I didn't even beep!" She liked it, but also said she doesn't want to ride it again...

All in all it was an amazing tiring day! We can't wait to go back and have more fun!

PS: I wrote this on my phone so please excuse any typos!

NEW BLOGGER APP

I am so excited to be blogging from my phone! This is an amazing tool and I can't wait to use it more often. My issue with blogging has been that I don't have time to sit down to my computer to write a post, also that I don't have time to Upload my photos from my phone to a computer. Now is the time to get back to it!

Here's a recent pic of my kiddies to start. Talk to you soon!

Ashley 

PS: I wrote this on my phone so please excuse any typos!

31 days of Random Acts of Kindness

My Christmases lately have been amazing! We been blessed to have gifts stacked high. My kids are always happy to continue with our annual traditions of lining our sidewalk with luminaries on Christmas Eve, and learning about Christ's birth. But of course by December 26th, I'm always chomping at the bit to rip down the Christmas decor and wipe my slate clean of it.

If Christmastime is such a joyful happy season, then why am I so joyful when it's over? When I ask myself why, what comes to mind is: TOO MUCH. It's all just too much! My calendar is always jam packed with events promising family togetherness and good ole fun! There's nothing wrong with that! But you can't go empty handed to the family Christmas shindig! You must bring a plate of cookies! And I want to send out 100 Christmas cards this year, but that means 100 cards ordered and envelopes licked and addressed and 100 stamps purchased! 

So before December 1st rolled around this year, I knew I wanted to do something different. I wanted to make the season count in a way I never had before. My friend Lindsay Hardison started a Facebook page dedicated to doing service for others and then reporting about it. I hopped over to there to find ideas and came across a link to THIS BLOG detailing 'Random Acts of Christmas Kindness'. I knew this was for me and my family! This was our calling for the month of December this year. I went over to Lindsay's Facebook page and I posted a pledge for 31 days of Random Acts of Kindness in the month of December 2012. 

I would like to journal this, not to toot my own horn, but so that me and my children can remember the things  we did for others, and refer to it in years to come!

Day 1: Deliver cookies and smiles to a retirement home.

We brought 6 plates of cookies, homemade cards, and Christmas Bell necklaces and delivered them to some sweet lady residents of this retirement home. They were outside soaking up the sun and reading when we surprised them and their faces lit up when they saw my kids wanted to say hello and give them a homemade treat. Ethan was a little afraid at first, but he warmed up after he could see how happy they were that he was there. :) One of the ladies teared up when she realized what we were there to do. :)

Day 2: Pick Up Trash at nearby park

Several times a week, my kids play at this park just down the street from our house, and so we thought we'd pick up the trash we found there. My kids caught on after a few minutes and would yell "trash!" whenever they saw something! It became a race as to who would pick up the trash first!

Day 3: Give 'Smarties Awards" to houses with pretty Christmas Lights

I made a little card that says, "Thanks for being 'smarties' we loved your Christmas Light display this year!" and we taped smarties candy to the cards and then just put a few extra smarties in a baggy. Then we drove around our neighborhood and found houses that looked that the owners had put a lot of extra time into making their house look pretty for Christmas. Ethan and Ivy SO enjoyed choosing the houses to give the cards too. They would go knock on the door and give them the card. The homeowners were SO overjoyed to see two cute kids smiling at their door. 

One sweet lady that we delivered to just happened to be baking Christmas cookies when we came so she gave some cookies to my kids as well as a candy cane each. That sweet gesture made my kids feel warm allover and they felt happy to do something nice for her too!

Here's the card sheet I made, just click on it to get the full resolution image and print if you'd like!

On a side note, this morning Ethan woke up and asked, "Mom, what good deed do we get to do today?" I was overjoyed to see that he is catching on to our little plan and that he is looking forward to what's in store! LOVE IT!

Day 4: Deliver thank you notes and cookies to church teachers

I'm always thankful for the wonderful people who show love and care and kindness to my kids each week at church. They spend time planning lessons for them during the week, and pray for them. They welcome them with open arms when they come to class. Especially Ivy's nursery leader, Brother Asay. He genuinely loves being with the kids and you can tell! Ivy lights up when she she sees him! Neither of them were home when the kids dropped off the goodies, so they just left them on the porch. 

Here's the page I made for the kids to write/color on. Feel free to click to enlarge and print!

 Day 5: Suckers at the park!

We were out and about for Ivy's birthday yesterday so we brought some dum-dum suckers with us and handed them out to the kids who were playing. I made sure to get confirmation from the parents before giving them to the kids, and some parents wanted the kids to wait till they were done playing before eating their suckers. Makes sense, you don't want your kid to fall and choke on a sucker stick! But the kids were happy to get a special treat!

Day 6: Put grocery carts away

We've learned that you can do random acts of kindness wherever you are! Today we were in the Walmart parking lot and saw a few stray grocery carts around so we put those away. Then we decided to take it one step further, so we would find people who were putting their groceries in their cars and ask them if we could put their carts away for them. One sweet lady got this huge smile on her face and them she crouched down on Ivy's level and said, "Thank you so much!" She then pulled a dollar out of her pocket and gave it to Ivy. Ivy was so overjoyed. Another lady was limping as she walked so we felt happy to be able to relieve her of having to push her cart all the way to the cart return. 

Day 7: A gift for our mail lady

We're grateful to our mail lady, who delivers our mail each day in the SMOLDERING heat of Arizona. So we wrapped a gift and left it in the mailbox for her today.

Day 8: Tape Candy Canes in the toy section

What better place to find children than in the toy section of the grocery store! So we got a box of candy canes ($1) and taped little kindness notes to them and dispersed them all around the toy isles. The kids helped us choose where to put them.

To be continued tomorrow...

Day 9: Show support for a Family Member

My angel of a mother was invited to perform with her former singing group, Notations, for their farewell performance at the Mesa Arizona Temple. I am so proud of her for saying yes! We rounded up all of her kids and their families and went to hear her sing! It was a night to remember. They sounded so wonderful!

Day 10: Put money in slots at arcade.

 The kids enjoyed loading the toys and games with money. 

Day 11: Tape candy canes to ATMS:

We thought some people would enjoy a little Christmas Cheer while at the ATM, or perhaps they had kids in the car to share them with. :)

Day 12: Flowers to Primary Presidency

I couldn't help but tear up when I saw Ethan standing that the door holding these sweet little flowers. We delivered 3 sets to the president and her counselors of the primary. Ethan would say, "Thank you for your help in primary," as he handed them the flowers. It was very heart-warming.  The ladies were so grateful! One lady wasn't home, but she made a phone-call to Ethan the next day and told him thank you! It made his night!

Day 13: Cupcakes to kind friends! 

Our friends, the Oberly's, always do kind things for us. We spend time with them often and appreciate them as friends. We have since moved away from their neighborhood but they continue to invite us to things! We delivered cupakes to their home.

Day 14: Ringing Salvation Army Bells



I don't know why I usually walk past these people when I'm pushing my cart into the grocery store!?! This time I gave some change to Ethan and he was happy to put it in the slot. :)

Day 15: Hold doors open



We LOVE our gym Lifetime Fitness! The only problem? The doors are SO heavy to open! I guess they want you to start building the muscles in your arm the moment you walk in! The doors to the child care area are also heavy and difficult to open, so we stood at the door and held it open for a few minutes, with a smile.  A couple of ladies with strollers walked in, as well as lots of mommies and daddies with their kids. Most of them smiled and said thank you. :)

To be continued...

Day 16: Pay it forward!



I'm sad that I didn't take a photo of this, but I taught a lesson to my Young Women today on the topic of service. PERFECT! The lesson went great! At the end I handed out 16 treats with sweet messages attached for the girls. They were to give them to a friend at school who may be struggling and tell them, "Thanks for being my friend!" The girls were so excited about the idea of doing a good deed for someone else!

Day 17: Make a video interview for Grandpa Brian


My kids miss their Grandpa Brian who lives in Utah right now, so we wrote some questions down and did a little video interview with them! We asked questions like, "How old are you?" and, "What do you miss about Grandpa Brian?" Then we emailed it to Grandpa Brian so he could see how much they are growing!

Day 18: Make a video interview for Grandpa Steve


We couldn't leave out Grandpa Steve! He has spent a lot of time creating memories with our kids even though he lives in St. George, so we made a video interview of the kids and emailed it to him too. 

Clementine and again...

Love this color scheme!! I found it though google and I knew I needed a blog design to match! This little collection is called "Clementine and again." I will be adding it to the site soon. I LOVE my job! I get to do what I love and make a few bucks while doing it. :)