We had a great Christmas and instead of posting a bunch of pictures here's video of Kaleb and Ashton. Ashton didn't care too much to unwrap the presents but once he saw what was under the paper he would get excited.

The present at the house that was too big to fit under the tree was a trampoline. Even though it was freezing cold and starting to snow Kaleb had to try it out.

Thanks to everyone for all of the great gifts.

Why our Chrismas tree still isn't up....

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

It was very unexpected and we weren't going to buy for a couple more years but we couldn't pass it up. We've never felt so prompted to do anything like we were to buy this house. The last 4 weeks have been crazy and I'm glad the home buying process is over. We've started taking down the wallpaper, which is in every room but 1 bedroom and the living room. We aren't going to move in for a couple of months so that we can get the house ready first. I'm still going to manage the apartments we currently live in for another 2 years until Matt is finished with his MBA. So during the week the boys and I will still spend some time at our current apartment, hopefully with a lot less stuff in it.

The house is located in Murray by Wheeler Farm. It's a 4 bed/2 bath brick rambler which is what we always wanted. They were the original owners and he was a handyman and so everything has been taken really good care of. We're hoping to finish the basement in the next year or two and we're excited to have a garden next year.

Christmas is coming...

Yesterday we spent the evening with my aunt and uncle. Kaleb decorated the trees while Ashton pulled them over and we even saw Santa. Winder Dairy during the month of December has scones and hot chocolate for $.50 from 4:30-6:30 and Santa is there. It wasn't busy like last year so for anyone looking to see Santa without waiting in a huge line this is the place to go. And the scones are delish.

Ashton thought it was so funny to watch his brother wearing the antlers...

Ashton's latest obsession is the dishwasher. Usually I leave the racks in as I'm loading it or he unloads everything but yesterday he decided he would just climb into the dishwasher to get the silverware.

Thanksgiving in Colorado

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend in Colorado. It was relaxing and nice to get away. We went to a shooting range and Kaleb had a blast. He's already asking to go again. Here's Ashton eating breakfast with frizzy hair. He loved the leftover sweet potatoes.
I finally was able to take a picture with both Kaleb and Ashton looking at the camera, but Kaleb can't ever just smile anymore. He's always making funny faces.

We played the Wii a couple of times when we were there. Here's Ashton "playing". I have a video of Kaleb boxing with his grandpa but it's really long so it won't load but boy did they get into it.

Disney On Ice

Our new camera came just in time for Disney On Ice. My mom called into a radio station and was able to get really good seats. We had a lot of fun last night. Kaleb LOVED it. He was smiling, clapping, and dancing the whole time. Ashton was dancing through the first half and fell asleep for the second half. Before we left Kaleb thought we were going to Disneyland and that it was going to take us a long time to get there. He's just starting to understand different states and distances so he was bummed when I told him we were only going 15 minutes away. But hopefully in the next year or two we'll be able to take him to Disneyland.

SWEETHEART TAG

What is your husbands name? Matthew Edward

How long have you guys been married? 5 1/2 years

How long did you date? Met in August, engaged in October, married in May so 9 months including engagement

How old is he? 27

Who is taller? Matt

Who can sing best? I do but I'm not good so that's not saying much.

Who is smarter? Overall probably Matt.

Who does laundry? Matt usually puts the laundry in the washer and I take care of it after that

Who pays the bills? Both of us

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? When you are looking from the bottom of the bed I do.

Who mows the lawn? No lawn yet

Who cooks dinner? I do

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I usually do

Who kissed who first? Matt kissed me first

Who wears the pants? I'm sure Matt would say I do

3:07pm: Pick-up Kaleb from preschool
3:12pm: Return to my car to see my window broken and the diaper bag stolen
(wallet & camera included)

Why are there so many stupid people in this world?

Logan's Mission Call

My brother received his mission call yesterday. I've never seen him shake so much. Everyone was guessing where he would go. My dad said Germany or Austria. Well, he was called the the German, Munich/Austria mission. Both of the places my dad guessed! I'll try to get the video uploaded later. We're proud of you Logan!

It's been a busy week...

So far we've been to 2 pumpkin patches, 2 Halloween parties, and a Halloween carnival and it isn't even Halloween yet. Friday Kaleb has his preschool party and we have our trunk-or-treat. Kaleb is perfecting the pirate Arrrgh and Ashton loves saying ooo-ooo-ooo with his banana. I'm Dorothy and you can't tell but Matt is a tornado. I'll have to get a better picture of his costume this week. We had a lot of fun on Saturday starting with the carnival. Kaleb decorated pumpkins and cookies, tried to eat a donut off of a string, threw pumpkin seeds and darts, and won the cake walk. It's become a tradition to go the Carnival at SLCC. And the best part is that it's free! Then we had our first party and the Pidcock's house. We had yummy soup and and it was fun seeing everyone all dressed up. Then it was off to the Quinney's for some games, caramel apple making and more food. That's what I love most about this time of year is hanging out with family and friends. And with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming I'm sure there will be many more get-togethers.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Ashton is getting his front 2 bottom teeth and gets around pretty quick now. Although it's nice that he can get around and keep himself occupied there is a downside to it.....he gets into things and can make more of a mess. I haven't had to "put things up high" or "out of reach" for 3 or so years. But it's cute watching him crawl/scoot everywhere.

Kaleb made a "My Feelings Book" at preschool. They have the kids fill in the blank and they write their responses down. This is how it went:

I feel sad when.....my dad puts me in time out. (at least he didn't say mom!)
I feel scared when.....driving on all the roads. (I promise I'm not a bad driver!)
I feel angry when.....I don't ever get angry. (ha, yeah right)
I feel happy when.....I'm all by myself. (almost sad)
I feel surprised when......I don't want to be surprised. (so I guess no surprise parties)

Matt and I laughed when we read it. Kaleb is getting excited for Halloween. He insists on being a pirate again which saves me from buying a costume. And Ashton is going to be a monkey that we found at Thrift Town for $3.

What not to do...

Matt works at the Zion's Bank in Smith's and when he walked in the door last night this is what he was carrying....The odd look on my face made him realize what he had done. We both laughed and then I of course had to take a picture.

I try to keep Ashton awake until 12:15 when we take Kaleb to preschool. Otherwise he'll fall sleep around 11:45 and I have to wake him up and he won't go back down for a nap. Today the poor guy just couldn't wait, I turned around and he was sleeping on his bottle in the middle of the floor.

Tagged by Traci

My 3 Faves

What are the last three things you purchased? (aside from groceries...)
1. New scarf and hat (I'm excited for snow!)
2. An awesome (or at least I think so) orange coat from D.I.
3. Ribbon for Christmas presents

What are the last three songs you downloaded for your ipod?
1. Viva La Vida by Coldplay
2. Fergie
3. Leona Lewis

What are your three favorite movies?
1. Phantom of the Opera
2. Pirates of the Caribbean
3. Italian Job

What are three things you have not done yet? (I'm guessing they want things I would like to do?)
1. Purchased a Home
2. Traveled outside of the U.S. (I don't count Tijuana)
3. Lost all my baby weight

What are three things you can not live without?(excluding people)
1. Camera
2. Baby conveniences (disposable diapers, formula, toys, etc...I don't know people did without!)
3. With how much I'm on it I would have to say the internet, although I could live without it if I absolutely had to

What are your three favorite dishes?
1. Lasagna
2. Cheesecake
3. Mashed Potatoes (or potatoes in any form)

What are your three favorite T.V. shows?
1. Survivor
2. The Office
3. Amazing Race

What are the last three places you traveled to that were more than one hundred miles away?
1. Leadville, CO
2. Monte Vista, CO
3. Havasupai, AZ

What are your three favorite desserts?
1. Cheesecake
2. Brownies
3. Molten Chocolate Cake

What are three things you would buy if money were not an issue?
1. House
2. A vacation house in Hawaii
3. A private jet, to get to Hawaii of course

Three people I tag
1. Stephanie
2. Heather
3. Sarah

Comparison

I thought it would be fun to compare Kaleb and Ashton so far. When Ashton was born he looked a lot like Kaleb. I think Ashton doesn't look as much like Kaleb anymore. I'm sure part of it is the extra cheeks and chins he's sporting. What do you think?

Curls

I love Ashton's curly hair after he takes a bath. I think I just love that he has so much hair (at least to me). The second picture is of Kaleb at 9 months. He was pretty much bald until he was 18 months.

Snell Baby #3

I thought this would be interesting to see if their version of "our baby" was at all like the cute boys we already have. The only similarity I see is the pirate hat; Kaleb is going to be a pirate for the second year in a row. Although he's not a bad looking kid!

Oh, and here's our girl.

Daddy...are you going skydiving?

Last Thursday Matt flew to New Mexico and these are some pictures as he left Salt Lake. Kaleb was sad that he couldn't go on the airplane. Matt came home Tuesday night and it's nice to have him home.

Matt made pancakes this morning and this is all that's left of the HUGE pancake Matt gave him (minus the crumbs all over the floor). I can't believe how much he can eat! I'm sure everyone else can when they see him but he eats as much as Kaleb sometimes.

Stupid Drivers!

Last weekend Matt's parents were in town. We had a lot of fun and did so many things. We went to Swiss Day's in Midway, hiked around Silver Lake, watched the Joseph Smith movie downtown and much more. We're glad they were able to come.

Matt took a picture of this neat house in Midway. The roof is so unique.Yesterday was Kaleb's first day of preschool. It was an open house for the first day and so Ashton and I stayed to watch. After preschool I ran to Harmon's because they're having their case lot sale and just as we were going down the last isle to checkout I told Kaleb to come back by me. He likes to run to the end of each isle. So as I'm pushing my cart full of cases of heavy cans he started running towards me and looked up just as his nose smashed into the cart. Of course there was screaming, blood, etc. and I finally calmed him down a little and we continued to check out with Kaleb and Ashton both crying.

(I tell Kaleb he doesn't need a bandaid unless it's bleeding so as soon as we got home he went into the bathroom and did this.)

Than later I wanted to get a couple more things from Harmon's. I ended up picking up some stuff for my parents and running it to their house. As I left my parents house at 11:00pm I stopped at a light behind a truck. As the light turned green they almost hit oncoming traffic. So as I continued to watch the truck swerve back and forth I started calling 9-1-1. Just then the truck hit a dirt embankment. I pulled over but the truck drove off so I continued following the truck as I explained to police where we were headed. The truck almost hit oncoming traffic so many times and hit a couple of street signs down along the way. The driver at one light even got out to look at the damage and then continued driving. The cops caught up with us in the Olive Garden parking lot in Sugarhouse. The lady didn't want to do the tests and kept complaining about her pants or something. Anyways, I ended up ending my busy, hectic day chasing a drunk driver and writing up a police report.

I just can't believe the things people do and they put so many people's lives in danger. And all this happening after Saturday where we almost were in an accident. Another truck (I don't know that I'll ever want to drive behind trucks!) was carrying a huge ladder and it wasn't tied down and so on I-15 with me right behind him the ladder flips out of the truck, which looked like it was happening slow motion to Matt and I and my reaction was to swerve but I turned too hard so I swerved the other way and luckily we didn't flip or hit the ladder. If there had been any cars in the lanes next to me we wouldn't have been so lucky. Then later that day I almost hit a deer. Life can be so exciting sometimes! Here are some cute pictures of Ashton playing before bedtime.

Summer is coming to an end and our pool will close on Monday. We will definitely miss being able to swim all the time but I won't miss having to babysit the residents using the pool. Ashton had a doctors appointment last week and weighs almost 21 lbs. I actually thought he might weigh more than that due to how heavy he is to carry around. He's really good at sitting up now which I'm thankful for because I don't have to carry him around in his carseat now that he can sit in the shopping cart. He still prefers crawling/scooting backwards but he can go forwards now. He just doesn't do it very often.

Kaleb starts preschool September 3rd. I keep telling him it's a different preschool and teacher than he had last year and he says he doesn't want to go to a different one. I'm sure he'll change his mind once he starts going. This preschool is in the same building where they teach gymnastics and so once a week they let the little kids go into the gym to play with all of the toys and equipment. Matt just started his LAST semester this week! At least his last semester at the U of U then he'll start his masters at the University of Phoenix (here in Salt Lake). As for me I just play all day with Kaleb and Ashton! If only it were that simple. But with the apartment market as good as it is my job is pretty easy right now so I can't complain.

Ashton's 6 Month Pictures

These are some of Ashton's 6 month pictures. He didn't smile as much as the first time we took his pictures but he still looks cute.

Before and After

Sunday Kaleb told Matt in church he wanted his hair short and spiky like his. I came back from my meeting and Matt had cut his hair.

BEFORE

AFTER

Last weekend we went to the Murray Outdoor Pool. Kaleb loves the diving board and slide. He also started swimming lessons this week. He is definitely the most comfortable in the water in his class. One boy in his class hates getting in the pool. We're pretty lucky that both our boys love the water.

This is how I found Ashton this morning. He always sleeps on his side with his head arched back but this time he made it to the end of his crib and had his feet hanging out. I always wonder when in the night he does all that moving around. He's slept through the night 3 times this week which is awesome. Ashton is really close to crawling. He gets on his hands and knees and tries to move forward but doesn't make it very far.

I thought I would let any new moms know about these Baby Mum-Mum's. These are Ashton's favorite treat. I never saw these in the stores when I had Kaleb but they're rice rusks that dissolve really easily so he can eat them without having teeth. He loves them. I would always give Kaleb Biter Biscuits to chew on but they're really messy and hard to eat. These are really cheap at Wal-mart.The other day they took a bath together for almost an hour. Almost half of that time was filled with Kaleb spitting water on Ashton. He loved it and couldn't stop laughing.

Ashton

I've tried so many times to get Ashton on camera shaking his head "No" but can't seem to get it. If we tell him no he shakes his head at us and it's really funny. Here's Matt and Ashton playing last night.

Bummer!

Saturday I took Ashton to JCPenney's to take his 6 month pictures. I took his white diaper cover so that I could get pictures without the tacky diaper in the pictures. I LOVED how they turned out. I was so excited because out of the 4 years we've been going there I thought they were the best pictures yet. Well, here comes the bummer part. They called me just now and said that their server crashed Saturday night and lost all the pictures they took on Saturday. They said its never happened before and are giving me lots of free pictures to make up for it but I'm still really bummed out. I hope Ashton takes just as good of pictures this Saturday. I scanned in the printout they gave me since it's all I have to show. Here are some that were taken, P7 was my favorite shot. But as bummed as I am I can't beat the price and I've never had any problems before so I'll keep going to JCPenney for our pictures.

Ashton is 6 months old already! I can't believe how fast the last 6 months have gone. I'm not sure how much he weighs now but he was 18lbs. at 5 months so I'm sure he's close to 20lbs.

I came home from the gym this morning to find Kaleb in our bed. He said that I can't workout when he's still sleeping. I asked him why and he told me because the birds haven't woken up yet. He's always good for a laugh. Kaleb starts swimming lessons the beginning of August and then preschool the end of August.

Matt has finals next week and then he'll have a couple weeks with no school until fall semester (his last semester!) starts.

I don't mean to be a downer but while searching through blogs there have been a couple of blogs I always look at. I don't even know the people but they have all recently lost a child. I think I am so drawn to their blogs because of the strength they have. I couldn't imagine going what they've gone through and yet they're so strong and positive. It has helped strengthen my testimony of this gospel. I think the biggest effect it has had on me is that I enjoy every moment I have. I have been a lot more patient since following these families' stories. I don't mind the crying and the messy diapers as much as I use to. My prayers are with the families of James, Lucy, Camille, Joy , and Daxton.

Ashton's Dresser

I was all excited today to post my "before" and "after" pictures of Ashton's dresser but I only have the "after" picture. Matt uninstalled and reinstalled everything on our computer this weekend because we were having problems and my "before" pictures seem to have disappeared. But it was really ugly before. It was white with huge black wooden round knobs and the paint was coming off exposing the beautiful yellow color it use to be. I spent $20 on the dresser and with some new hardware and a small can of paint I think it turned out pretty good.

This weekend we had a lot of fun at the Murray Park Outdoor pool. Kaleb jumped off the diving board and went down the slide the whole time. He would have stayed all day if he could. Ashton also spent his first night in Kaleb's room. He usually only wakes up once a night to eat and then he's back to sleep. I was worried Kaleb would wake up with Ashton in the night but he didn't.

Big Brother

Ashton has to put up with a lot from Kaleb but yesterday he didn't seem to mind this. Kaleb thought this was the funniest thing ever. We also picked up Kaleb's 4 year pictures today.