Three Kids, 5 Days... Oy Vey (Catch up #4)

Jen has always wanted to go on one of Jeff's business trips with him (I think). Anyway, her time came nearly two weeks ago when she had the opportunity to go to New York with Jeff. They went to some Church History sites and had fun (I hope). I decided that I would be adventurous and take the kids for a week...okay, five days. It felt like five weeks. I love those kids to death, but staying home with three kids all day is HARD WORK. Please, appreciate all that stay at home moms do. It's utterly ridiculous how little time you actually get to yourself and how hard it is to come up with things to keep kids entertained. Pat on the back to all the mom's out there.

We DID have fun. Melanie, Kimby, Katherine, Malorie, Jamison, Becky and Sarah all joined us at McKee's petting zoo,

we went swimming,

went to Outer Limits,

had ice cream, did a scavenger hunt, decorated picture frames, did science projects (an egg floats in salt water and dish soap repels pepper, by the way :) P.S. You should know that first one), played at the park, and did everything that I could possibly think of at the time. Phew. It was exhausting, but fun.

It was hard...

but totally worth it.

Catch Up #3--Bear Lake

My mom's family had their reunion at Bear Lake this year, so Melanie, Mom, Dad and I decided to go down for a day. Melanie and I stayed in her friend's condo, which (conveniently enough) just happened to be right next door to one of the condo's that the family had rented. Melanie and the girls and I went down through Logan, so we were able to get some ice cream, go to the Pepperidge Farm place, and eat at Olive Garden. It was nice. :)

Once we went through the canyon and into the Bear Lake area (I couldn't say into Bear Lake, now could I?) we pretty much just hung out. Most of the adults (sans Melanie) went to the Pickleville Playhouse and saw "Annie Get Your Gun". I thought it was very well done and I really enjoyed it.

I didn't sleep overly well that night, and I wanted to see the sun rise over the water, so I decided to get out of bed and watch it. It was really nice. I got a TON of pictures. Melanie joined me after awhile and got some hammock chairs that Jeff (her friend) had. Katherine soon joined the fun, and we just sat in the hammock chair enjoying our morning. :)

We (Mom, Melanie, the girls and I) were leaving that afternoon, so we went the the beach a little earlier than the rest of the family. We had to walk quite a way to the beach (it was $7 to park there, and we didn't have that much cash). It wouldn't be too bad if you weren't carrying things and or kids. I think the kids had fun, though. Katherine was a little more daring than Kimby with how far out in the water she would go. We never went too far, but Katherine went farther than Kimby.

I felt bad for B. We didn't bring any beach toys for her or Katherine to play with, and she kept eyeing the toys that belonged to the kids next to us. I felt bad, so I showed her that you didn't need toys to have fun. Sooo...Kimby and I made little alligators out of the sand. The teeth consisted of rocks and shells found in the sand. I think she had fun (at least I hope).

Katherine got really sleepy while we were at the beach. She almost fell asleep on my shoulder. After that point, she was no longer interested in the water. :)

And then we had to walk back to our car...

Anyway, we left Bear Lake early that afternoon after getting Raspberry milkshakes. They were good, but seriously too much ice cream for one person (unless you're dad, I guess).

The end of part three, please scroll up and read part four. Ding.

Catch Up #2--Katherine's Birthday

Katherine...two years old. Crazy. ItI think that she had a pretty good birthday. She loves her new Mr. Potato Head. It has 4 different potato heads of different sizes that she can attach silly body parts to.

(I had to put this one in because of the look on her face. Hilarious.)

She sticks things in weird places, and then laughs hysterically. This, in turn, causes anyone in hearing range to laugh hysterically. All over a Mr. Potato Head. The power that this kid holds over all around her is amazing.

ARIZONA (and WICKED!) BABY!!

I know that it has been ages since I've updated my blog. It can be a pain to transfer pictures onto my computer, so I've just done that today. Jen, I know that you've wanted my post on Arizona, so here it is!

We left on Monday morning (July 20th) and drove as far as Page, AZ before we stopped for the night. We got mediocre (at best) food at an "Italian" restaurant. The service was slow, the food was not that great, and the prices were much too high. My fettuccine was okay, but I wouldn't go there again (should I be in the area). It was pretty stormy while we were there, but I was still able to get a few pictures (not great ones, mind you).

Anyway, we stayed in Page that night and headed for Tempe early(ish) the next morning.

This was the view outside our car. I prefer water myself, but this is okay too.

When we got to Tempe, we were able to visit with Steve and Peggy (my uncle (dad's brother) and aunt, for those who don't know). Peggy took Mom and me on a tour of the city. Ooohhh...I love Tempe! If it weren't so far away from everyone and if the weather weren't so ridiculous, I would love to live there. I can't say enough nice things about the city. Anyway, that night we went and saw Wicked for the first time (well, the first time in Tempe).

I had heard that Donna Vivino (who plays Elphaba) was going to be on vacation that week, so I was extremely disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing the same cast that I saw in Salt Lake. I had hope, however, that she would be there...and guess what?!?!? She was there! I was so happy and excited!

Peggy works at the theatre as an usher, and she suggested that we get (I forgot what they're called) laser headsets for the hearing impaired. All you have to do is hand them your drivers license, and they're free. I felt a little self conscious at first, but after hearing the difference that they make...I didn't care one bit how silly I looked. It was totally worth it! The sound was incredible coming through those headphone (like) things. Anyway, the show was (of course) awesome!

The next day we did a little shopping around one of the huge indoor outlet malls that Tempe is home to. We spent a long time in that mall. :) I had planned to go to Wicked twice while we were in Arizona (I didn't want to drive 14 hours each way just to see it once!) so Mom and I went to the show that night (this was Wednesday), Peggy was ushering at the show, and Dad stayed behind to visit with Steve. Our seats were a little (okay, a lot) higher than the previous night. I swear we were sitting on the ceiling. Once the show started though, I didn't care, because I was there.

We left early the next morning and drove all the way home. I know it was kind of a whirlwind trip, but we were all pretty tired. We'd just had our family reunion the week before, and I didn't want to stay in Tempe longer and be tempted to spend more money that I didn't have. ANYWAY...BIG shoutout to Steve and Peggy (should either of them read this post) for letting us stay with them. I hope we weren't too much of a pain! Thanks guys!

So that was it. I don't think anything else happened, but I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

Thank you for choosing Ashley's blog for all your reading needs. Don't read another post until you've come to the very end of this one. Thank you. Goodbye now. Goodbye, goodbye. Thank you, goodbye.

Jerome and more Jerome

I know it's been a long time since I've posted, I just haven't really had too much to post on. I have been enjoying this summer so far. I've gone to Jerome twice so far, once for Kammi's birthday and once for Sullivan's...week. It's been fun to spend time with the kids.

Sullivan is just freakin' adorable. He was still in his jammies for Kammi's birthday breakfast.
Kammi said it was the best day of her life...along with all of the other "best days of her life" that she's had (every day).
This was when Melanie and I were in Jerome before everyone else got there for the sealing and blessing. We went for Sullivan's court hearing, so we were able to spend from Thursday morning-Sunday with them. It was a lot of fun!
Katherine and me at Hop2It. It terrified her, but she enjoyed seeing me go down the big inflatable slide (as long as she wasn't with me).




The whole crew at the temple.

I love the look on Sullivan's face. Priceless.





I love this little boy. He's so happy all the time!
This is one the best pictures...ever.

Wicked!!

We had an awsome time in SLC this weekend. We were able to take Friday off and go up to Park City to the outlets. I was finally able to find new shoes, and got a couple of shirts and a spring jacket. All in all, it was a productive (though expensive) trip to Park City.

After we went to Park City, we decided to stop by The London Market and the bakery. I got an eclair at the bakery, and a TON of stuff at London Market (that's shamefully almost gone, I'm afraid). We went to Red Iguana with Melanie, Spencer, Justin and Callie (and the kids, of course). The restaurant was pretty packed, but we were lucky enough to be in the back where there weren't as many people. 

After Red Iguana, we parked near the theatre and walked to Temple Square for a few minutes. I'd like to come up with a sign to put around my neck that says, "I'm a member, I don't have referrals, and I don't need a tour. " I appreciate that they are there to help, don't get me wrong (especially Jen :)), you just see too many people that you have to repeat the same thing over and over to. 

About an hour before the show started, we headed to the theatre. It was pretty crowded, but not too bad. Things were so expensive there, but I finally decided to buy a mug and a souvenir program. 

Wicked was SO awesome!! The only problem is that now I want to see it again!! Dang it! I've had the songs stuck in my head since Friday night (including in my dreams). I got a CD of the music, so I've been able to listen to the music A LOT. Some may call me crazy, but I don't care. :) Now I'm considering going to Denver this fall to see it! :) 

My birthday and Easter

My birthday was awesome this year. It happened to be on a Saturday right before Spring break. Sweet!! I was expecting a pretty low-key birthday (Jamie and Malorie were headed to Rupert, Jeff and Jen were in Jerome, etc.). That left Melanie and the girls here to celebrate with me (which was fine, really). I am not surprised very often, but I do have to admit, they pulled it off. Jamie and Malorie decided that they were going to come over for a bit before they went to Rupert. I thought it was cool, but didn't think anything else of it. Around noon, the door opened (which was strange, because I didn't expect anyone for cake and ice cream until around two). All of a sudden, Kammi and London walked in the door. That was a shock! I think my reaction was, "What the?!?" It was pretty funny. Jamie and Malorie had to leave, but it was fun having nearly the whole family together. Thanks everyone, for making my birthday special! 

Jeff tickling the girls. I don't know why they like it--his fingers are long and bony. It hurts, but they seem to enjoy it!! 

Mom saw this in the newspaper and I had to put it on here. It is hilarious, and very fitting!! :)

I was able to go to Jerome and spend some time with Jeff, Jen, Kammi, London and Sullivan during Spring break. It was really fun. Before I left on Wednesday, Jen, London, Sullivan and I (Jeff was at work and Kammi at school) went to Twin Falls to the museum attached to the Planetarium. I would show pictures, but Jen has them all. :) Anyway, it was fun, and I was able to spend more time with them. :)

Last Sunday the kids decided to redecorate my bathroom. Benjy's kitty litter, food and water all sit in my bathroom. The kids decided to take the tupperware containers (that I use for her food and water) and scoop her kitty litter onto the floor and into my bathtub. Nice. They also destroyed my shower puff (poof? I don't know). That is the dark blue stuff that you see. Crazy kids! :)

Hunting Easter eggs was great this year. It's nice that all of the kids are guaranteed twelve eggs, instead of "You get what you get". It was Katherine's first Easter Egg hunt. Here's a picture of last year, and this year. What cuties!

Last year--

       

This year--

Last year--

This year--

         

What a difference a year makes!!

Look at that little grin! :)

After the hunt, it was time to dye eggs. Kimby had fun, even though she spilled yellow dye on the counter and Melanie. Funny stuff.