Ashlin's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday Ashlin!
Today was Ashlin's 1st birthday.

We had a small family birthday dinner.
Just Jeff, Alex, Ashlin and I.

It was a yummy, moist carrot cake.
Alex helped me frost and decorate it.

"I'm the Birthday Girl"

She really dug into it!

Strengthening Home and Family

"Strengthening Home and Family"
was the message in our Sacrament Meeting
this last Sunday. It has been an ongoing topic, but
this time it really hit home. Jeff and I had an emotional
discussion about our lack of spirit in the home.
So we will be challenging each other with daily
prayer and scripture study. I know that
when I start my day on a spiritual
plateau, I feel better and am more
patient with my children.

bqQB

So last night Jeff and I
had our first FHE in a long time!
It wasn't much, as our kids are so young
and don't want to sit still. But we all sat together
and Jeff read out loud from The Book of Mormon Stories.
Then we sat and said a family prayer together.
After wards I was touched by the spirit,
confirming that we had done well,
and that this is a great start to
teaching our children
the gospel.

Water, Corn on the Cob, and more Water.

Friday night we were visited by Jeff's sister Amy and her two kids, Ethan and Emersyn. Alex just loves it when his cousins come over to play! After an easy dinner of Papa Murphy's Pizza, the kids were running amok, so we sent them outside. To make things more fun, I set up our small tent, and a water mister. The water mister won over!

Yummy dirt Mom!

After a while, the boys were running around and wrestling, while the girls took over the water mister!

Alex did not want to share the tent!

After Emersyn noticed I had a camera, she came running up "Take my picture!" This was her lovely "Miss Diva" pose!

After they were done playing outside in the water and were cleaned up, they wanted to watch a movie on Alex's bed.

PMp

Today after church, I made a yummy dinner of mashed potatoes, pork chops, and corn on the cob. The corn on the cob was of course a big hit! Alex absolutely loved it. So much, that it was the only thing he would eat.

He loved twirling the cob on the stick of butter!

Ashlin wasn't crazy about the mashed potatoes, so she stuck with the pork chops and some oatmeal.

She gets oatmeal on her hands, which she then rubbed into her hair.

I guess that means bath time! It started out with just Ashlin, but Alex wanted one too. This didn't last long because the bathtub barely fits both of them. (We don't have an actual bathtub, it's only a shower. This tub my mom found for us out and Ranch 'n' Home.)

"Splash!"

Daddy got them to smile for me!

Ashlin got out first, but was so squirmy, so I only got her diaper on. She then proceeded to climb on and off Alex's bed multiple times. I don't know if it was because she was sleep deprived or what, but at church and just then she was all over the place and wiggly. (She usually has a 2 hr morning nap, and 2hr afternoon nap. Today she only napped for 1 hour before church.) Ashlin's craziness got Jeff and I laughing to the point Jeff wanted to hear me laugh some more. So he pins me down and starts tickling me! Alex is still in the bath, and hears me screaming and laughing. So he comes running in naked and wet and attacks Jeff! Once Alex was dry and clothed, Jeff became a jungle gym for the kids until it was bed time.
Another night of getting kids ready for bed conquered!

Summer Fun

Here's what's been happening since I last posted:

Brotherly Love

Happy girl in her Easter dress.

Black Eye

Playing "Peek-a-boo"

Constantly commented on her RED hair.

Playing outside in the grass.

Loving to swing at the park.

More swinging.

"Higher Daddy!"

"My turn Daddy"

Remembering my inner child.

Our lives have been pretty routine. Jeff's works 4am-11am, Sunday through Thursday. While a lot of his spare time goes to his calling as Scout Master. I'm home with the kiddos mostly and fill my spare time with the duties of my church calling as the Primary Secretary.
My colitis has been flaring up again, and I don't know what it's gonna take for me to stop feeling tired and weak a lot of the time. Alex is now almost 3 1/2, and still refuses to potty train. Ashlin will have her 1st birthday September 6th! In the last couple of weeks, she has finally been getting in her first front bottom teeth, standing on her own and taking her first steps.
After almost a year of academic probation, Jeff will hopefully be able to finish his BA in the spring. He only needs 9 more credits, which would be 3 classes. He also took the public safety test this summer, which went really well. Unfortunately they wont be doing interviews till next spring after then get enough applicants. If all goes as planned/wished, Jeff will get a job with the Richland Police Dept. Then we could use all that extra income to save up sooner for our own place!

Dresses and Sunshine!

Recently I had to go clothes shopping for Ashlin as she is growing! I found this adorable dress at Kohl's. I love the pink and orange with her red hair! I also got pastel checkered one for her Easter dress. Pictures to come of that one!


Then yesterday we all enjoyed some sunshine in the backyard. Jeff and Alex played with Alex's new T-Ball set he got for his birthday from Gma and Gpa Larson. I did some pruning on our hydrangeas and played with Ashlin and took a bunch of pictures. Here's just a couple of the good ones.

Things will be different the next few weeks. Jeff will be starting a couple of classes next week. Also my sister and her kids will be in town next week for spring break, so I'll probably be at my Mom and Dad's a lot :) We won't be going to church for the next 2 Sundays because of General Conference then our Stake Conference. So I won't have to have my weekly primary meetings for a while. And Jeff won't have Mutual with his Scouts for the first 3 weeks of April. 1st because of spring break, then because of Savior of the World practices and performances (Richland Stake is putting on a play about the Savior's life and resurrection). So with all this going on I sure hope we have some more warm and sunny weather to get out in!

Long Time No Write

Where to begin? I'm so terrible about updating this. The holidays have come and gone, during most of which I was sick. It started after Thanksgiving. At first I just thought it was hemorrhoids because of having Ashlin. Wouldn't have been the first time. But then things got worse, running to the bathroom several times a day and upset stomach all the time. I finally got in to a gastroenteroligist beginning of January (as he was out of town for the holidays). After a colonoscopy and an upper endoscopy, we found out I have ulcerative colitis. Because of the medication the doctor wanted me to start, I weaned Ashlin to formula and a bottle. Thankfully the meds work great! Once I started felling better, I couldn't believe how sick I was! For over a month I was eeking by, just doing the bare minimum. I was finally able to do my housework and take care of my family.
Ashlin is now 6 months, and we just celebrated Alex's 3rd birthday! I'll post some pictures of the party later after I get them from Kiersten, since I forgot to bring our camera. Other than that, I'm keeping busy with my church calling as the Primary secretary. I get to work with a great bunch of women and kids. I took it upon myself to start a blog for our ward's primary. I thought it might be a good way to announce upcoming events and talk assignments. We used to put what was happening for the month in the ward newsletter. But since that calling got switched to someone else, it hasn't been consistent. I wish I knew how to, or what to use to put a calendar on there. There's one on the ward website through lds.org, but you have to have an account to get on, and I just don't know how many people would go look and that one. If anyone has any ideas please fill me in!
Can't think of what else to write, so I'll just post some pictures from the last few months!
11/17/2010 Autumn Decor.

11/23/2010 Alex having fun in the snow!

12/17/2010 Christmas tree and decor.


1/14/2011 Loving brother and sister! Ashlin's 4 months.

3/9/2011 Alex loves to help me with dishes. Mostly so he can splash in the water!
3/9/2011 Happy girl Ashlin! 6 months.

I told Alex to gives sister kisses, and he blows a raspberry instead.

Halloween

Halloween this year was fun. The weekend before, our ward's primary threw a carnival at the church for the kids. I helped at one of the booths while Jeff took lots of pictures and Alex ran around playing games and getting candy. Alex was dressed as Tigger, and Ashlin was a bee.

The day before Halloween, Jeff's brother Trevor threw their famous Halloween party. Jeff dressed up as Steve Irwin: Crocodile Hunter, complete with rubber snakes and sting ray. He even took it a step further and bandaged his head and hand to look like he was attacked! I had had a crazy day that day, and didn't take the time to dress up ( I know I'm so lame!), and Alex took a late nap and didn't want to wear his costume.