Birthday Wishes to My 30 year Old!

Mark turned the BIG 30 on September 20th! I have been a little bad about blogging lately and haven't had a chance to write about his special day or weekend. Mark's birthday this year fell on Sunday but since I love birthdays and holidays I couldn't wait till Sunday to celebrate. We celebrated Mark's 30th all weekend long. On Friday, after I dropped Kaleb off at preschool, I went and picked up Mark from work and we went out to eat at Pei Wei. It is a Chinese Restaurant and has some delicious food! We had never eaten there but we both enjoyed it! On Saturday, we had some friends watch our kiddos and we went out to eat again to Marc Anthony's Italian Restaurant. When we got back we opened presents and ate a yummy Oreo Cake. On Sunday, for Mark's birthday he requested I make a Roast with all the trimmings!! I am so thankful to my special hubby who does so much for our little family. I am married to the best man in the world! Happy 30th Birthday honey! I hope your weekend was a special one!

Vinyl Wall Art

For my Birthday, my cute sister in law gave me some darling vinyl lettering. I have been pondering on where to put it and I decided to hang it in my hallway and use our newest pictures that we had taken to place around it! I think it turned out so cute! I love crafty things and I love that once you get sick of it, or want something new you can heat the lettering with a blow dryer and it will peel off.

Friends...

We have been fortunate to have some dear friends in our neighborhood(right across the street) that have kiddos the same age as our kids! It has been very nice to have built in playmates that come and go across the street! It is also great because we have arranged a babysitting trade with one another. Each month we alternate watching each others kids so that each other can get out and have a nice night away from the kids!! It works out beautifully! On one particular night while we were watching our friends kiddos, we made homemade popcorn in our old time popcorn maker. Kaleb and his friend fight over who gets to pour the popcorn in the machine and who gets to carry the bowl to the couch to settle down and eat it (while watching their favorite movie-"Cars"). They are too funny! I took some pictures of all the "Kids" even one big kid digging into the popcorn and having a great time! These pictures were too cute not to blog!

Witch Hat Cookie Recipe

As the Fall season approaches and the Holidays draw near, I get a baking/cooking itch. One of my favorite things about the holidays is making fun crafts or goodies with my kids. I get so excited for the holidays and I love to see them get excited just like me. I found this cute recipe for cookie witch hats here. It is very simple and easy thing to make for appetizers for a Halloween party or just a fun little craft to make with your kids to get in the Halloween Spirit. You don't even have to heat up your oven to enjoy these cute little cookies. This recipe is too cute not to share! Enjoy!

Witches Night Out Dress... Plan B

So I ordered my witch dress for Witches night out next month (the classy black one on the previous post) and when It came(this past Monday), as usual, it didn't fit in the bust region! I wasn't surprised because I have not been blessed with the biggest bosoms. In all truthfulness, It really didn't fit anywhere!! Even though I was a little bummed, I found another cute dress online that I ordered tonight! Cross your fingers for me. I hope it fits!! Here it is... I think it is so me! Just call me: "Ashlee, the sassy good witch!" Oh, and I also ordered some witch shoes to match! So excited....

Halloween is right around the corner.........

One thing I absolutely love about Northern Utah is the seasons. We actually have seasons up here compared to Southern Utah! Lately, it has been just a tad cool in the morning and the evenings. I can feel Fall in the air! I am so excited for the upcoming Holidays! Anyone who knows me, knows I get giddy like a little child when birthdays or holidays are near. I love celebrating anything~ I live for it! I have to admit, I know it is only the middle/ nearing the end of September but I couldn't wait any longer. I got my HALLOWEEN decorations out today. I think Kaleb takes after me and we decorated the house this morning. It is so fun deciding where to hang this and set that. We had a lot of fun!

Also, in other Halloween news, Kaleb's Halloween costume came this past week. Once the UPS driver dropped it off and we unwrapped the box, Kaleb had to try his costume on. Here is a sneak peak of our "Warrior Knight" in his gear.


This year I am planning on heading to Witches night out at Gardner Village with a good friend once night and also my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws another night. I am truly excited. I have found my costume with witch shoes! So excited to purchase it and can't wait to get all dolled up "witchy style."


So excited......
Can't wait for the Holidays!!!!!

A Year In retrospect.....

A year ago, our little family had to make some BIG decisions and we went through some of the most trying months of our lives! In the thick of it, it felt like years.... I had a baby, our baby girl had open heart surgery, spent a month at Primary Childrens Hospital, Mark recieved a pay cut (In half) at work which led to looking for a new job, new job (South Jordan), and move twice in a 3-4 month period and then several months after living in our new home be told that the previous owner was a drug dealer (oxycotin). It was a very difficult and trying time.

I have never dealt with change very well and this past year has really been one of the hardest years of my life. Looking back it was a huge leap of faith to just jump and pray that the Lord would guide our little family to where we have needed to be.

In the first few months of living up in Northern Utah, if you asked me how I liked it, I would have told you I hated it up here. As this past year has progressed, even though it has been hard, it has been worth it. I love Northern Utah (not always the snow) but It feels like home now! Even though I miss my family and old friends in Southern Utah, I have been so blessed and I have made so many friends in my neighborhood and ward! I am also feel so blessed because my children have friends in the neighborhood as well. That is something that I have feared with the move that my kids and myself wouldn't find good friends. We have been so blessed to have good friends (both myself and the kids!).

I have learned many things from this past years ups and downs. The one thing that I have learned the most is that the Lord always provides a way! If we are faithful and if we press forward during hard times and endure those times and best we can, the Lord will bless us. I am grateful for my blessings: Husband, Children, Friends, Family, Beautiful Home (drug free- wink, wink) and stable Work for my husband.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of this past year of my kids with their friends....

Karmindy with her little friend Luke.

Karmindy and GavinKaleb and Emma (My Girl)Kaleb and his Friend Matt playing Cootie Bugs!

Kaleb and Jaxon playing in the Alligator pool in the back yard!

Canned Raspberries and Raspberry Jam

The past two weeks I have been a domestic diva and have gone canning crazy! I made blackberry jam a couple weeks ago and also froze a bunch of blackberries to have for the winter months for pies and such. I am so excited to use my "berry" food storage this winter.

This past Monday, I got together with a friend and we canned Raspberries and Raspberry Jam! It was a down pour on Monday here in Riverton so we had to can in my friends garage with the door open. We have had to can on a camp stove because of our electric flat top ranges(not supposed to can on them because the burner can burn out. It has been really fun to learn how to can on a camp stove and fine tune the canning process.
The picture on the right is a picture of the "fruits" of my labor.
( I know, my dry humor is so funny. Tee hee)
I canned 12 pints of Raspberries in the juice and then 5 half pints of Raspberry jam!! My friend canned 9 quarts of raspberries and 5 half pints of Raspberry jam.

I'm a Material Girl in a Material World!

My good friend, Carlynn, is a wonderful seamstress! She is always showing me all the cute projects that she is working on and it has made me get the sewing itch! I don't know how to sew but she has offered to teach me how! I am so excited to learn! My mom is also a great seamstress and has shown me a few things but I never really had an interest until now! Recently, Carlynn and I visited a very cute store. It is called Material Girls Quilts and it is located just off of Redwood Road and 106th. I think I am addicted to going into this store weekly and have done so for the past 3 weeks just to browse through what they have. They have the cutest fabrics and patterns! I just bought this pattern:

I got the matching fabric to make this cute little sundress for Karmindy for this next summer and I will post the results when I get it done! Doesn't the little cute girl in the picture look like Karmindy? It is a little eerie!

Last night, I sewed this skirt.

I found the material at Walmart and it is sold by the panel. It was a really easy thing to start on. All you do is hem and sew up the side and then hem the bottom and sew. It was truly the easiest thing to start sewing on! Now I have a winter skirt to keep me warm on those upcoming Cold Snowy Sundays! What is also nice is that the waist is stretchy so you can pull the skirt up around your bust and wear as a dress as well during those spring and summer months! It is multi faceted!

Blackberry Harvest

Over Labor Day weekend, My Auntie Linda called me up and invited Mark, myself and the kiddos up to pick Blackberries at her home in Kaysville! We had a fun time picking berries. It was like a treasure hunt. Mark and I picked about three flats in 45 minutes. After picking Blackberries my Aunt fed us a yummy lunch of oriental wraps and chicken salad sandwiches. We had a great time visiting with her and I also got to visit with my Cousin Tiana who was also there picking blackberries. Kaleb really enjoyed playing with Levi (my cousins little boy) and they had fun exploring around my Aunts property.
On labor day, I canned 18 half-pints of Blackberry jam with my Friend Carlynn. We used her camping stove to can on because our Kitchen stoves (electric flattops) can't be used to can on. I have never used a camp stove to can on before and it was a fun experience to can outside! We had fun and at the end of the day we split the 18 half pints! We are both excited to see the blackberry jam sitting on our shelves in our pantries! I also had a lot of berries left over and have frozen several baggies and Tupperware containers. I can't wait to make fresh berry pie this winter! It will be such a yummy treat to have! I will post the recipe at a later date. It is too good not to share!

Best Buds and Siblings

Lately, Kaleb and Karmindy have been playing so good together. Of course they have their moments like any brother and sister, but for the most part they really enjoy being around one another. I hope it stays like this for many years to come. Karmindy has learned a new skill and sits in her brothers toy bins or my laundry basket and then grunts until someone scoots her around on the floor. Kaleb has taken it upon himself to make sure his sister has a fun time gliding across the floor. He is really such a great big brother to her and I am glad that he looks after her. It is moments like these that warm my heart as they entertain each other and play nicely together. I am so lucky to be their mom. I have some of the best kids in the world!

Tickled Pink Baby Shower Invites....

My baby sister Tiffany is expecting her first baby(girl) in December and I am so excited for her and I am very thrilled to FINALLY be an Auntie! I can't wait!!! My mom and sisters and myself are throwing Tiffany a baby shower the first part of October and I took it upon myself to help my mom with the invites. I like doing crafty things but I don't feel like I am the most crafty person. The invites I made are simple but I think they turned out so cute! I hope my sister will like them and I can't wait till me, my mom and sisters can get together in about a month and celebrate this new little life. I can't wait to meet my neice!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication

This afternoon, Mark and I had the opportunity to go and watch the broadcast of the Oquirrh Mountain temple dedication. It was a really special experience to go with Mark. It has been awhile since either one of us have been to a temple dedication, so we have been looking forward to attending the dedication. We were very fortunate to have one of my dear friends and neighbors in our ward watch Kaleb and Karmindy. We are very appreciative of her for giving us the opportunity to go and sacrificing her time so that we could attend it!

We attended the ninth and concluding dedicatory service!!We were able to hear some wonderful Speakers. Each speaker talked about the importance of attending and the blessings of the temple. I loved hearing each of their different stories and talks about the temple. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Pres. Monson! I have always thoroughly enjoyed listening to him because of the beautiful way he tells stories. Pres. Monson always captivates my attention and helps me to understand the simplicity of the gospel. He told of several stories that touched me.

The first one he told about was how his daughter was working in the temple one evening helping entertain several small children that were their waiting to join their parents in the sealing room. After the Sealings took place the children came back to the nursery area to get dressed back into their street clothes. As the children were headed out of the room to meet their parents, one little girl looked up to one of the workers dressed in white and said, "Good Night Angel!" This little remark really touched me. I really love little children! I love how this little girl thought of the worker in the temple as an angel! I never really thought of me as being some one's angel as I have done Temple work in the past. This story really touched me and helped me to recommit to making more time to do the work of my ancestors and those have gone on before me. By helping in the temple We can help be someones saving or guiding Angel!

The other story Pres. Monson told was about how he met with a Brother for a calling in a third world country. He asked this brother if he had been to the temple. The Brother told Pres. Monson that he had. Pres. Monson asked if his wife and family had been to the temple. This brother took several moments to respond because he had only been able to take his wife and only 4 out of their 10 children to be sealed to them because he lacked the money it would need to take all his children. This brother told Pres. Monson that he would work the rest of his life if he had to to earn the money he needed so he could take the rest of his family to the temple. President Monson was troubled by this and while sitting down to dinner with his family that night he told his family about this man and his concern for him. He explained to his children that this family was only able to take several of their children to the temple because of their lack of money. Without knowing it, Pres. Monsons Daughter suggested to the seminary council she was apart of and other councils in the area to hold fundraisers to earn money that Christmas for families that were living abroad. When Christmas came the seminary councils presented Pres. Monson with a check which allowed the Brother and the rest of his family to attend the temple. Other families in the area also benefit from their fundraising and were able to attend the temple as well.

I am so grateful for the blessings of the temple in my life and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be sealed to my wonderful husband for eternity and for the knowledge that our children can be ours for eternity if we keep our sacred covenants.I am really grateful for the opportunity that Mark and I had to attend the dedication. I am really looking forward in the upcoming weeks to attend our new beautiful temple that is located so close to our home.

Families Can be Together Forever and I am so grateful that Temples can help make that possible!

Hi Ho Cherry O!

Some of our dear friends a few weeks ago invited us to join them this past Saturday and go to Cherry Hill. It was a down pour Saturday morning here in Riverton so it deterred us from traveling up to Kaysville early in the morning like we originally had planned but we joined up with our friends by mid-afternoon. By then the weather was perfect and it didn't get in the way of us having fun. Kaleb enjoyed hanging out with his girlfriend, Emma a.k.a "my girl" for those of you have read previous posts and Mark and I enjoyed catching up with our friends Brooke and Aaron. After hanging out at the water park we hung out in their RV and had a cook out. We had a lot of fun on our little Stay~ cation! Thanks Dunyons for a fun afternoon! We miss you guys! Here are a few pictures of our day:Kaleb and Emma having fun!Karmindy and Me going down the Pirate Ship slide. Karmindy loved this~ Check out her face!Kaleb going down the pirate ship slide.

Mark and Kaleb going down the Dragon Slide!Mark and KarmindyKaleb "Cheesin' " It!Me going down the Dragon Slide with Emma!Kaleb and Emma Trying to pull the Sword from the stone! Did they succeed?Cute Emma!Emma, Heidi and Kaleb watching their dads be Boys and go down the tube course!Cheese!Lovin' That Pirate Slide!Brooke with Baby Grace!Karmindy~ Our Water baby!Brooke and Me!

Off to Preschool...

Gasp! I don't know if I am old enough to have a preschooler!!!I can't believe that Kaleb is starting Preschool!! I don't feel old enough to have a child in any type of school! It is hard to believe that he is growing up and I am a little sad about it. I have to remind myself that it will be good for Kaleb and it will also be good for me to have a little break. It will also be nice to have a little extra time in the afternoons to work with Karmindy while he is away.

Today was Kaleb's Preschool orientation! Kaleb loved meeting his teacher, Miss Whitney, playing with the puzzles and toys and seeing his new classroom. He also enjoyed playing with the windmill Miss Whitney gave him while his she talked to Mark and me about what to expect and the curriculum. I am excited about the Preschool we picked and hope that Kaleb will learn a bunch and be ready for Kindergarten next fall. Kalebs first actual day starts on Friday and he will go until next June!! Seems like a long time but I know that time will fly and then he will be off to Kindergarten! Sniff**Our little man is growing up but we are so excited to see Kaleb excel and learn!


Kaleb with his preschool teacher, Miss Whitney!