Our Trip to California

I can't believe it, but I've already been home for a week and a half since my trip home to California. None the less it was a really fun trip and Ashton had a blast. My sister Trina came down and dropped her kids off for a night and the three of them had so much fun together. My mom bought them new PJ's and because they are so cute I had to take a picture. We pretty much just played the entire time we were there. Even my mom was riding scooters with the kids. Ashton loved feeding the chickens and going for a tractor ride. Papa even let him drive the tractor too! A highlight for me was being able to see my sister sing in a special church choir. It was a fantastic program and I was very proud of her for participating in the show. My mom also finished a fantastic quilt for my grandma while we were there. Last I saw it, it was in a thousands pieces. It was fun to see her finish the final touches. I am hoping to make the same kind of quilt when I am there over Christmas. For pictures of her quilt check out her blog. The trip seemed to go to fast, but it was nice to relax a little and get to visit with many family members. Ashton always cries when we leave and asks when we can go back. We will be back again soon :) Thanks for the great trip everyone.

Let It Snow

I know it's early in the season, but yes folks we have snow in the Las Vegas mountains. No it isn't quit cold enough, but the local ski resort decided to start making their own snow. Since Ashton has never seen it before, we decided to drive out and play in it. Krystal, Luke and her friend Dan also came with us. We all decided to take the scenic chair lift ride, which was really awesome. You could see all the way to the dessert floor from the top of the mountain. It is always so beautiful there and it will always be one of our favorite places in Las Vegas. After the chair lift, we let the boys play in the snow, had some lunch, and went on a beautiful hike. Aaron made Ashton another walking stick, which is necessary for any hike. One of these days we will remember to bring one from home now that Ashton has three of them. It was a lot of fun spending time all together and exploring another side of the mountain. It was also fun to see snow! It's been a few years since I have even been in snow and now its less than thirty minutes away. Hopefully we will get our first real snow fall soon!

Pumpkin Patch

We are fortunate enough to live in town that is very festive. A couple miles from our house is a pumpkin patch with rides, games, and food. Every time we have gone to the store, we drive by this pumpkin patch and every time Ashton asks if we can go. Finally we decided to take him knowing he would love it. It almost felt like we were at a fair. I got my snow cone and Aaron got his corn dog. There was a bounce house, petting zoo, a big slide, trampoline, and a small ride. I thought Ashton would want to do it all, but as soon as he saw the slide that was the only thing he wanted to do. We bought him tickets and he went down it 20 times in a row. Aaron had to take him the first time, but after that he was on his own. Ashton laughed the whole time and loved all the pumpkins. Of course we bought a huge pumpkin, which we have yet to carve. It was a really fun afternoon! Now every time we drive by, Ashton says slide mom. Next we will carve our pumpkin and make a pumpkin cheesecake to celebrate Halloween.

Ashton the Builder

One of Ashton's favorite shows right now is Bob the Builder. He is always trying to help Aaron fix things around the house and LOVES his tool set that we got him last Christmas. Against my best efforts, Ashton has never been a hat person. I was working on chores around the house and decided to peak in on Ashton and see what he was up too. He had pulled his tools out of the closet and was quietly working at his work bench, safety hat and all. I get such a kick out of the things he does. Every time he is playing with his tools, he puts his hat on. I try to get him to wear other hats and he refuses, the only one he will wear is his construction hat. Can we say that he is taking after his papa? Aaron is very handy and I'm sure that is were he gets it from and both his grandpas are as well. I just thought he was so cute and had to take his picture, especially since its the first hat he's worn since he was a baby.

Recipe Exchange

As I mentioned, I went to a recipe exchange this past week. Since I share recipes on my blog, I thought I would share all the wonderful recipes I received from this exchange. The theme for this month was Mexican food. While looking through the recipes, I realized I didn't even try all the food! Silly me, I don't know what I was thinking. What I did try I loved and I hope this helps me organize my recipes a little better. Hope you enjoy. Don't forget you have to click to enlarge the image and then re-save as a PDF. But if you want I can email the file to you, just let me know. :)

Ashton's First School Picture

Ashton had his first school pictures this past week. One of the moms is a photographer and was nice enough to take the pictures of his class. Ashton just wanted to get inside and get going on his projects instead of posing for pictures, but not bad for his first one. He loves school so much and is always talking about it. He is really upset the days he doesn't get to go. I am so glad he likes it so much and he loves his teacher. She does such a great job with them. It has been such a great experience, I am glad we started this year.

Vinny and Heather's Wedding

This past weekend, Aaron's best friend Vinny was married in Big Bear, California. Since Aaron was the best man in the wedding we decided Ashton would have more fun staying with family than coming to the wedding. This also was the first weekend Aaron and I have left Ashton since he was born! So Thursday we started the long journey in the car. My favorite stop is the halfway point where the outlets are. Since we were going to a wedding and Aaron would be in a nice tux, it was a perfect excuse to buy myself something new to wear. We stopped at the Anne Taylor outlet store and I was able to buy two new dresses for an awesome price. Their clearance rack is the best and the dresses are adorable. We kept on trekking and dropped Ashton off with my sister in Orange County. Ashton was so excited to see his cousins Jayne and Ryan that he didn't even notice that Aaron and I had left.

This was Aaron and mines first visit to Big Bear and it is beautiful! Of course we love anything in the mountains with lots of trees and a lake. We didn't get into Big Bear till about 7 at night so we ate dinner and went to bed. The next day we didn't have any wedding stuff until the evening so Aaron and I walked around the cute little town and decided it would be a good idea to get full body massages. They were fantastic! It was fun being able to spend time together alone. We had fun looking at houses and just walking around. That night Aaron had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We went to this really cute little Mexican restaurant. I had never met any of Vinny's family because they are from North Carolina, so it was really nice to meet his family and Heather's family as well.

Finally the big event arrived. The wedding ceremony was beautiful. Unfortunately the sun was so bright I couldn't take any pictures of this part, but they were married in a gazebo overlooking the lake. The reception was a lot of fun, even though Aaron and I didn't get to sit together for the first half of it. I was sitting with some wonderful people that Vinny had worked with in the Marines. Aaron gave a beautiful speech, I was so proud of him. The dinner was great, everything looked beautiful, and the dancing was my favorite part. It was the first wedding I actually got Aaron to dance with me. Of course it's a lot easier when you don't have a little baby between you. We missed Ashton terribly and called to check on him all the time, but we knew he was in good hands. It was a wonderful wedding and a wonderful weekend.

P.S. The bride and groom were always on the move, so I never did get a good picture of them! I am hoping I can get a couple emailed to me and then I will be able to post them.

Aaron's Family Visit

Last week was such a fun and busy week for us. In fact it has taken me all of this week to recoop! Aaron's parents were able to come down to visit us last week. We were so excited that both of them were able to come down and see our new house and spend time together. Ashton and I went to pick them up from the airport. Ashton was overwhelmed by the airport and was so excited to walk around. He was a little shy when we first picked up Dan and Vicky, but by the time we got home his shyness was gone. We spent the first day around the house giving everyone a chance to relax and just enjoy each others company. Vicky surprised us by bringing us down many wonderful gifts. They are always spoiling us, especially Ashton, and we are very grateful for the things we received. It's a good thing we finished our yard before they got here. It made it a great place to play and hang out for most of the evening. Ashton had a blast playing with everyone.



The second day they were here, we were able to take them up to our favorite spot Mt. Charleston. We went for a wonderful little hike and then had a fantastic lunch at the lodge. The leaves had started to turn on the trees and it was beautiful. This is the first time I have seen the seasons change in years. Ashton had so much fun on the hike. He took turns holding every one's hands and spending time with each person. We were able to find him the perfect walking stick which he thought was the best thing ever.



The final day, Aaron and his dad were able to sneak away and spend most of the day together. They went to Aaron's favorite store, Bass Pro, and then went shooting out in the middle of the desert somewhere. Aaron's been itching to go shooting so I am glad his dad was here to get him to go out. While the boys were away, Vicky, Ashton and I went to a recipe exchange at my friend Becca's house. There were lots of ladies and three times as many children. All of the food was fantastic and it was so much fun trying new food items. The best part is that you get all the recipes too! We had fun eating and playing.


We were so glad that they were able to come visit. We only get to see them about once a year, but are always grateful for the time we get to spend together. Thanks mom and dad for making the trip and making it such a fun week.