Heber's Work Christmas Party

We had SO much fun at Heber's Company Christmas Party. They had a Photo booth, a character drawing, and other fun things, and lots of good food. It was alot of fun.

Here is the first thing we did, the Photo Booth.

Next we did the Character picture, Heber's Picture looked exactly like him. I will have to post it sometime.

Next Heber got a great idea to do the photo booth again with a plan.

It was cute, but I felt like it was a little too Brady Bunchy for me.

Thanks Fishbowl for another great Christmas Party!

Hot Chocolate Morning

I love hot chocolate mornings, especially in the days of summer. It such a nice surprise to wake up and have it look dark and cold but really be warm outside. Hot chocolate with a chocolate muffin, I think so!

I have been really loving the thunder and lightening the last 2 days. It is so beautiful to see and listen to. I love that Scholar wakes up and comes looking for me and says, "I'm Scared" with a worried look on his face. We snuggle up together and wait for the storm calm.

I love that Majestic sleeps through the thunder and lightening storm and when we ask her in the morning if she heard the thunder she said, "no, all I heard was the sound of silence." then shows me what that sounds like. I really enjoy it even if it only last for a few seconds.

So I sit at the window drinking my hot chocolate, watching for lightening and listen to the thunder. I haven't heard thunder or seen lightening like this in a long time, I hope it visits us again soon!

Drive to Sundance

(Random picture of Meg last year on the 4th of July making a face)

I have declared Saturday and fun day for the summer. Its the day we can all be together and do fun things as a family. I wrote up a list of things that we can do as a family and we are going to try to fit them all in this summer.

Today we decided to drive to Sundance. I have never been there before and wanted to see what is out there. We packed up the car with snacks and took off for a drive.

It was beautiful. There was so on the ground. It was weird to see snow in May.

On the way home Meg was upset that we didn't get out of the car at all. She wanted to walk around. She asked me. "why did we even go up the the mountains anyway?" and I said, "because I wanted to." and she said, "so we all had to go just because you wanted to?"

I was speechless, and laughing at the same time. She is so smart.

And yes, we all had to do it because I wanted to. I am the mom.

Good Things / Bad Things

Good thing: I got my garden planted
Bad thing: A few plants are looking like they aren't going to make it

Good thing: I finally tried the new Dominoes pizza tonight
Bad thing: Probably wont try it again

Bad thing: Q got sick and had a fever of 105
Good thing: He is now feeling better

Bad thing: Now Meg is sick
Good thing: I just took her temp and it was normal finally.

Good thing: I got some plants to finish a bed in the front yard
Bad thing: I am too tired to plant them

Good thing: My house is clean
Bad thing: I will have to clean it again tomorrow

Good thing: Meg was so cute at her school program today
Bad thing: She is growing up way too fast

Good thing: Q is interested in potty training
Bad thing: I have to start potty training him

Good thing: I got a lot of fun pictures to post
Bad thing: I cant get them off my camera right now

Good thing: That's all I have to say
Bad thing: Its not bed time yet

The good thing is that all these things are learning experiences and really, Life is good!

Hawaii!!

So a few weeks ago Heber told me that we were going to Hawaii. I asked when and he said on Sunday! I knew for less then a week that we were going to Hawaii for 10 days. He arranged the babysitting and everything and told me after he got it all arranged. We went with our friends Kevin and Katie. I was really glad because they had been there before and knew all the tricks of staying cheap in Hawaii.

It was the best vacation I have ever been on! I dont have all the pictures here I am going to try to get the rest later.

We went to Kauai which is called the garden island and has many water falls. We did so much site seeing of waterfalls, it was amazing! In Hawaii, its still winter there, so it wasnt as flowerful as i was expecting, but it was still warm and sunny. The ocean was still rough so when we went on our raft trip, we couldnt go into the sea caves because of the swells. But we did see whales which if we were there even a month later, we would not have seen them.

baby whale on mama's back showing off for us.

Camara man snorkler tries to get in close to get a better picture of the whales

He's waving to us

This was one of the sea caves.

sea turtle

Spinner dolphins

as the sun was rising on the ocean

kayaking was really fun once we got the hang of it. it took us a while and Heber was sure our kayak was broken. it wasnt, it was just me. Had no clue what i was doing :)

sitting at the water fall that we hiked to. not sure why the water fall isnt in the picture.

beautiful waterfall

resting on one of our hikes

We had to cross 2 rivers. look at hebers face as i was going to drown in the river. he was just laughing at me. That was a really fun picture to get.

Chickens!!! everywhere! they roamed around free and careless. they were all over the place.

checking out the beaches

light house.

We had such a good time! it was hard to come back. There is a 4 hour time difference there so I was waking up at 4 in the morning there where it would be 8 here. i am still not adjusted back to Utah time.

We also saw coconut trees, banana trees which were so cool!, and orange trees, and papaya, and guava trees. i think there was even an avocado tree.

we rode bikes all over the town, that was so fun! I tried a Hawaiian Ice it was good, and we tried puka dogs, they were awesome! The name was interesting, but the dogs were good!

Trying to say the names of the streets and stores and everything was so fun. It was a really neat experience to be able to go there and learn about the history. It was amazing!

Spring is here!

I am really excited to do my gardens this year. I have been able to get an early start and get some things out. I am all done until May it will be complete!

I have my pot under my mail box! LOVE IT!

My raspberries, heritage and fall gold!

flower gardens full of pansies!

Strawberries!

They are starting to look awesome!

peas, they are still sleeping

my beautiful pansies brighten up my whole yard!

I love spring!

Things are crazy around here!

Since school started, I have been super busy! Homework takes up my life. I am hoping to find a balance and get into a groove soon because its exhausting! I am in the 3rd week and I have already written a paper, done 2 quizzes and a math test. I got an 88 on my test and I am happy and sad. I think 88 is good, but for how much I studied, I should have done better.

I do have some things to look forward to, to get me through the tough times...
Meg's 4th birthday in February
Valentines Day
Heber and my 7th anniversary in March
and A quick trip to Vegas for Spring Break!

As much as I complain about school, I totally LOVE it! I am learning a ton and accomplishing so much! Its a great feeling!

Its official!

I am going back to school! My classes start next week! I am going to UVU and am going to transfer the credits to Weber to get my Associates. I am going to take 2 classes at night, and then 2 next semester and then I will have it! Wish Me Luck!

I got a cell phone!

I know nobody thinks its exciting because I am probably the last person on earth to get one, but I am sooo excited!

My sister Raylene said I could join her plan and its been awesome! I got a cute phone for free, and got the activation fee waived, and even talked them into giving me a car charger for free! What a blessing!

6k

Yesterday Raylene and I ran a 6k together and it was great! We reached all the goals we had set and had so much fun! Those races seriously kick my butt, but I love the feeling of accomplishment when its all over! and I got a shirt!

Afterwards we went to Maglebys for breakfast and it was soo good as usual! It was so fun to be able to run and spend time with my "sister" Raylene!

I did it! My First 5k!

38 minutes later I crossed the finish line with my dad. We held our hands up high to celebrate our success. It was AWESOME!

Heber got us just as we were putting our hands up!



Before the race began:



Meg, Q and Heber came to Cheer us on!






My dad and me before the race. My dad can do a 5k in 20 minutes, but he stayed with me and went at my pace. As we got to the finish line, he said he felt like he could do another 2 miles!



I am just behind this lady way back there.

I decided to just do the 5k by myself. I kept calling my dad and telling him my progress each time I did my practice run, he got excited and said he would do it with me. I didn't have to do it by myself, yay! It was so neat to be able to do a race with my dad. He has done so many races and marathons, It was so much fun to be able to do one together!

We didnt finish last! We had 2 goals for the race, 1, not to finish last, and 2 to beat our times, I beat my time by 2 minutes or so, so I was happy about that. We finished about in the middle of all the people, that was pleasing! I wont know the exact time until they post it on the net, but I know it was around 38 minutes!

It was snowing, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be in the snow. I had so much fun. I am totally up for doing another one, I am thinking the Utah Valley one in June.

I love the shirt they gave out. I love having a shirt that says, I did this, I ran this race. I am going to wear it proudly! I cant wait to get more!

After the race we went to our new favorite restaurant for breakfast, Maglebys. It is soo good! I cant get enough of that place! They have the best pancakes and syrup, yum yum..

And we got home just in time to watch the first session of conference! What a great day!

Valentines

I was very very busy this valentines.

Meg and I made valentines for her class.

Meg colored on them and put the heart in the middle. She had so much fun making these for her friends at school.

I made chocolate covered strawberries.

I wrapped up some to give away.

Then we put the kids to bed early and had a romantic dinner. I made Heber's favorite foods.

Provo's 5k - Anyone up for it?

Provo is having a 5k on April 4th. Its only 15 dollars to enter the 5k. I (Ashley) really really want to walk it, but I am a chicken and don't want to do it by myself. Does anyone want to do it with me? run13.com.

Let me know, I think it will be a lot of fun!

I never Regret...

Here is a story I found some where on the internet that has motivated me. It has made me think about the things I do during the day.


I never regret...

I stood in my kitchen one evening, debating whether I was going to wash the dishes and shine my sink before I went to bed, or wait and try to get up a little early to do it. It dawned on me that I have NEVER regretted biting the bullet and just doing it before I go to bed. Yes, I may be tired, but I have never plodded into my clean kitchen in the morning and thought to myself, "Boy, I wish I hadn't cleaned the kitchen before I went to bed last night. I'm really in the mood to scrub a pot or pan while waiting for the coffee to brew."

On the flip side, I ALWAYS regret waking up to a messy kitchen when I have not hunkered down for the 15 minutes it takes to just get the job done before I go to bed. It's like getting a slap in the face first thing in the morning when I walk into the kitchen dreaming of that first cup of coffee, and then BAM! Oh yeah, I have this mess to work around to get the coffee started and then try to clean up while I'm feeding the kids their breakfast and pack lunches. YUCK! It just gets my day started off on the wrong foot. 

When I started thinking about it, I realized that this regret/no regret thing pertains to other areas of my life as well. For example, I never regret getting on the treadmill or playing soccer with my kids. I always feel remorseful when I have passed the day away without spending any time in physical activity. I NEVER regret having a salad for lunch, but I ALWAYS regret having a Big Mac and fries with my diet Coke. I never regret turning down that piece of chocolate cake and instead opting for a fresh pear. I never regret making the healthy choice.

As we head toward the end of the month, think about the little choices we make every day that put us on the path to health. Every time you're faced with a tough choice (to walk or not to walk), remember that you'll never regret being the fit and fabulous person you want to be!

My family is so great!

So a few weeks ago, Heber decided to take me out to dinner and he and the kids gave me a few gifts. I blogged about going out to dinner, where we should go. We decided to go to Chilies after all. We didn't want to go there, but we didn't have a lot of time to do anything else so we went to Chilies with one condition. We had to order for each other.

We got to Chilies and sat down. We looked at the menu, but not for ourselves, for each other. What would Heber want for dinner? Well the watress came and laughed when she found out what we were doing. Heber ordered first. He ordered me a fajita, and it was the exact fajita I was going to order for him! we were laughing so hard at this. We must know each other very well!

Heber said, I dont want a fajita, and I said I dont either! We had to send the watress away again, and pick another dinner for each other. I ended up ordering Heber steak and monterey chicken. Heber loved the steak, but not the chicken. (I have the recipe for chilies montery chicken, we like it homemade much better)

Heber ordered me a chicken sandwich. It was good. I usually get hamburgers so this was a nice change.

Heber is so nice to me, he and the kids, made me this. I love it. He even put the ribbon on it and everything. He is so talented. I didnt know he could make things like this. This means more to me then I could ever say. I will always cherish this. so sweet!

He also gave me this. Its a jewelry mirror cabnet. I have been wanting one of these for about a year now.

What a great birthday!

Another Great Deal

I just wanted to show off another great deal I got today.



5 Duncan Hines cake mixes

3 bags of chex mix

=
$2.96

Smiths had the cake mixes on clearance for 1 dollar and I had coupons for 75 cents off 1. Making each cake mix was .25 cents. Chex mix was reduced to .99 cents. I had coupons for .50 cents off 1. So .49 cents for each chex mix. 24 cents in tax. Life is good.