B.A.D.D.

Am I the only one suffering from Blog Attention Deficit Disorder? I just hopped on to write something "real quick" and I get onto my blog and--oh, excitement!--someone has left a comment! Gotta read it!!! Oh, my sweet, long-lost friend--what nice things she wrote... How is she doing, anyway? Hop onto her blog "real quick"--oh, they're up to such fun things... Kids growing up so fast... fun events... birthdays... okay, I have to leave a comment on hers... I click on "post a comment" and--lo and behold--one of our mutual friends (another long-lost bud) has left a comment too... gotta go check out her profile... omygoodness, she has FOUR KIDS now??? How did that happen???!!! Okay, I have to leave her a comment too! How so very exciting this is!!! And look at her links! O wow--I didn't know that was her sis-in-law! Now I gotta check out just one more blog............

(And NO, this wasn't the post I was getting on here to do! Maybe I'll get to that tomorrow...?) AAAAGH! Too much fun!!!

humility, n. knowing you are absolutely fantastic, and giving the credit to God.

I heard this definition given the other night at Ashlee's New Beginnings program, and I love it! So that's my thought for the day (okay, for the month... I know I don't update my blog as often as I'd like to!) =)

My Ashlee

I just have to talk about Ashlee for a bit. This may get long... sorry! Well, first I have to write about a couple moments we had recently. On MLK Day I took her and Blake to the mall to spend some of their Christmas $$$. We went into Wet Seal to look around (an awkward little while for Blake--especially while Ashlee & I went to try on some things... He was such a good sport about it, though!!!) Anyway, we each had a few items, and the first thing I put on was gouchos that looked disgustingly hideous on me!!! I asked Ashlee if she wanted to see something gross, and she said, "Sure, I have some 'gross' to show you too." We were in dressing rooms right next to each other, so we both just stepped out. We shared a moment of laughter, me in my gouchos and her in her yellow ruffles... and then... Ashlee's door shut!!!! The look on her face was PRICELESS. Here we are, both in stuff we wouldn't want a single other human being to see, and it looks like we're gonna have to flip a coin to see who has to go ask the store worker to come open her door. Then she says, "Do you think I can fit under???" I look at the rooms and start laughing. But we decide it's worth a try--definitely a better choice than going out into the store!!! So she comes into my room, gets down like a seal, and goes for it!!! She really did look like a seal, scooting along, and... her butt got stuck for a brief moment... but she made it! I was doubled over laughing, with my hand over my mouth trying to stifle the sound, but not succeeding very well. WOW--that was funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The other moment we had last week was late one night, as I was attempting to help her finish a Romeo & Juliet assignment for her English class. The assignment was to rewrite a portion of the story as if it took place in the '70's. As we looked up some '70's lingo online, we were busting up over Romeo & Juliet using terms like "bogus," "spiffy," "totally," and "Rock-on!!!" I tried to get her to have Juliet ask Romeo if he had "let a gasser" (that term was on the list we found online =)), but she said her teacher told them to keep it appropriate. =) We were dying--it was so funny!!! Rob was in the other room watching TV, and he (later) told me that he had to mute the show for a moment and just listen to us. I guess it was quite a hoot. Sorry if you had to be there.... I just had to share!

lol

This was truly a LAUGH-OUT-LOUD moment. Ashlee was getting ready for a football game (yes, this was back in October or so...) and she was "decorating" herself for the occasion. Our bishop's son, Layne, is one of her good friends, and was on the football team. She got fabric paint and put his name & number on her shirt, then headed for the bathroom to paint the numbers on her face. She came out and hesitantly asked if the numbers looked okay. I fell on the floor laughing at her backward "67." She was less-than-amused as I made her stand there while I snapped a picture. She found out the hard way that painting numbers on your face in front of the mirror is... really hard. =)

Arizona Christmas

A Christmas Day event like this could only happen here in GOOD OL' ARIZONA!!! Chase decided the puddles from the recent rain were just too much to resist! One minute he's innocently strolling down Grandma & Grandpa's nice sidewalk, the next he's soaked from head to toe!!! So what else is there to do but grab the camera???

Just taking a stroll... right???

Moments later...

Forget all the new toys! All a kid really needs is a good puddle!!!

A little mud in the mouth never hurt anybody!

Doesn't this face just sum it all up??? PURE, SOAKING-WET JOY!!!

Making Friends

Shortly after we moved in, while there was still a lot of talk about how the kids were doing making friends, Kaybree came to me one day and told me she had made another new friend. When she told me the little girl's name, I recognized it as one she had mentioned before. I asked her if it was the same girl she had told me about a few days earlier, and she said yes, but then she explained that now they were really friends, because they had asked each other if they wanted to be each other's friend. I realized that each time Kaybree told me that someone was her friend, it was only after an official invitation to be friends had been given. =) A few days later, during another similar conversation, Kaybree asked me, "Mom, how do you make friends?" As we went on talking it was funny to me to think that she thought of me having to go up to other women and ask them to be my friend. So cute!!!

Friends

This is a picture of Kaybree with Ashley and Abby, two of the friends she had to leave behind when we moved. SAD DAYS!!! =(

New House

Over the summer we moved to our new home. It's everything we've ever dreamed of--and more. This picture was taken during the finishing stages, a few weeks before we moved in. Rob was the contractor and did a lot of the work himself, along with the help of awesome family and friends. He wore himself out in the process--we were so happy when we finally got to the end. They say if a marriage can survive what you go through building a home together, it can survive anything. So I guess we passed that test!!! The fact that Rob survived it is amazing as well.

We love living in the "country" now, having so much space for the kids to run and play. The boys take off on their bikes and find jumps in various places nearby, and they can toss the ball in the backyard without it constantly ending up in the neighbors' yards. We have 2 miniature horses that just roam our backyard now, and we've recently planted fruit & citrus trees. Our next big project will probably be putting in a garden, but that can wait til after the Holidays...

Simon Says

The other night the kids & I were jumping on the trampoline, which is a challenge when big kids and little kids are trying to jump at the same time. Chase (our undersized 3 year old) usually ends up on his bum a lot, or landing close to the edge, so I will often just hold him and jump. Well, we were trying to take turns--Chase, then everyone else, back and forth. After a little while, and when frustration had started building because everyone wanted to jump ALL the time, we decided to play "Simon Says." We took turns being Simon, and finally it was Chase's turn. Chase's first command was, "Simon says, everyone sit down." Want to guess his next one? "Simon says, WATCH ME JUMP!" =)

Here's the Deal

Okay, here's the deal...(for those of you who have found it necessary to tease my blog) =)
Ashlee had Fall Break a few weeks back, so I thought that was a perfect time for her to make me a blog (since I would never get started on my own!) Well, she got it up & running, and then I figured I could get going on it when I got around to it. Little did I know the whole world would find it, because Ashlee had a LINK to it from hers!!! I guess I didn't specify to her that it was to be kept top secret until I had it ready! So, tease me all you want--I guess I deserve it! ;-)