I've only taken 1 picture and 1 video in the last month so there isn't much to blog about.

Ashton is at such a fun age and does the funniest things but also is at the terrible 3's and the destructive, trouble making stage. (In my experience 3 is worse than 2 so I call them the terrible 3's.) He loves to dance in the car, make funny faces and is constantly making us laugh. And his "karate" is funny to watch. But he also will color on ANYTHING in sight if he finds a crayon, pen, etc. and he is stubborn. For example, yesterday he wouldn't clean up some toys he dumped out and it took 4 hours of fits and crying before he cleaned it up because I wouldn't give him milk until he did. Kaleb was never this stubborn. But I was proud for not giving in, 4 hours almost broke me though.

The other morning he asked me to turn up the radio and I looked in the rear view mirror and he was wearing his safety goggles and dancing to the music. Would have made for a better video but I was driving so I snapped a quick picture.

This video was to explain why most of my pictures of Ashton are of funny faces and not of him smiling. As soon as I say I'm taking a picture or smile he starts with the funny faces.

What else...

• We're excited for Disneyland/San Diego next month. So excited that I think that's my first bullet on every 'list' I make.
• I'm running the Thanksgiving Point 1/2 Marathon at the end of April and Kaleb is running the 1 mile kids fun run. I signed up for the Odgen Full Marathon (back in Oct. after the 1/2 marathon sold out in 5 days) and between the crappy weather we've had on most Saturday's and the fact that our trip is right before I didn't really dedicate all of the time I needed to for a full marathon. But since I paid for it I'm going to go and run as far as I can even if it's just another 1/2. It's one of the top 10 marathons in the country and I'm sure the scenery will be worth is.
• For the first time ever my birthday is on Easter this year. I don't understand how they determine when Easter is, sometimes it's in March, this year the end of April, I guess I should study up on it sometime.
• Kaleb smashed his finger a couple weeks ago in a door and had to have it wrapped up for just over a week and then the next night had food poisoning, poor guy. But he recovered quick and is excited for his big race. He went running a couple of weeks ago with me and we went 2 miles to my parents and he did pretty good. He even wanted to hold my hand for part of it. It was sweet, especially since I know that won't last forever.
• Have you ever had a Dole Pineapple Whip or Float at Disneyland by the Tiki Room? My cousin and I were talking about it and he told me you could buy the mix online from Dole and in doing a little research there are copy cat recipes but they usually call for some sort of milk product to make it creamy. But their product is a lactose free soft serve so I didn't even want to bother with trying a copy cat recipe. I bought the mix and have it at home waiting for me to try it out, hopefully this weekend. Again, can you tell we're a little excited for Disneyland and anything and everything Disney. And there's enough mix to make 75, 1/2 c. servings so I'm sure we'll be having alot of it this summer!
  

February

It's sad that this is my first post this month and today is the last day of February.

We had pictures taken of the boys for Ashton's 3rd birthday the beginning of this month. This was the first time Ashton has cooperated and would sit still so we had quite a few good pictures to choose from.

My brother Logan came home from his mission (Austria/Germany) on the 10th of February and we were all excited to see him. Eight missionaries were on the flight so it was a crowded airport that night. Kaleb painted this sign to hold up and Ashton warmed right up to Logan. He turned 1 right after Logan left so we made sure to talk about him and show him pictures while he was gone.

Here's everyone at the airport.

We've been trying to make sure we do fun stuff with the boys but everything seems to cost so much money and so I started signing up for the Build and Grow Clinics at Lowe's. The boys have LOVED doing this and it's free. They have them twice a month on Saturday's at 10am and you can register online. Also they have extra kits there first come first serve. This was a couple of weeks ago when they made music boxes and when the lid is opened the music plays. Last Saturday they built pull back race cars and we've already signed up for the 2 clinics in March. They get an apron, safety glasses and patch for each clinic that they can put on the apron. (Home Depot also has monthly clinics too.)

And that's a little of what we did in February.

Other random things:

* We're excited for a San Diego/Disneyland trip in May. Kaleb is excited to go to Sea World and Ashton wants to see all of the characters again.

* We took advantage of an upright freezer on sale at Costco because we also just received our yearly rebate check from them and so it was a really good deal and we've been debating for awhile now about getting one. I'm excited that now I can do more freezer cooking and make it easier when it comes to dinner during the week. Plus I love to save money and stock up on things when they're on sale and now freezer space isn't an issue.

* Running...love it [and sometimes hate it :)]. I wish I had more time to commit to running but between the lack of time and bad weather it's hard. I can't run very far on a treadmill (even with t.v. and music) because it feels like time passes so slow. But send me outside and I feel like I can run forever...not really forever but it was easier to run 8 miles outside than 3 miles on a treadmill. Weird, I know.

* I feel grateful to have the job I do with my kids being with me and how well they treat me but sheesh can people be mean sometimes. January and February have been hard months for me as far as work is concerned. It's hard not to take stuff personally just because people are mad about the situations they put themselves in. Especially when they take personal jabs directly at me...I'm sorry, I guess it is my fault you're 2 months behind in rent...not.

*I'll end it there now that I realize I'm just complaining and venting. I guess that's real life though and everyone goes through it. I'm excited spring is coming, at least that's what my tulips think so I hope it starts warming up. Until next time....

This little boy....

(little compared to what he is now, he was never "little" for his age except for maybe the first 2 months of his life)

..had a birthday last week. His 3rd birthday!

He had a little bit of a cold over the weekend but he loved going out to dinner and ice cream and opening presents on his birthday (no pictures) and then on Sunday he had cake and cupcakes to celebrate. Where has the time gone...they just don't stop growing!

Christmas & New Year's

We were gone for both Christmas and New Year's and so we're still recovering from the mess we brought home. We've been cleaning and getting rid of things we don't need and trying to get things organized and put away. It will be nice when it's done but right now it's pretty messy at our house.

The Monday before Christmas we celebrated with my side of the family with a dinner and exchanging gifts.

Tuesday night it was off to Colorado, we didn't leave until 7pm and then got lost in Spanish Fork for an hour due to the construction and exits being changed. We stayed the night in Fruita, CO and spent the next morning swimming heading to Matt's parents. John (Matt's brother) and Jamie and their kids Steve, Kendra and Joshua were able to come down too. We had alot of fun and everyone got along great.

The boys all had haircuts the next morning (Ashton was overdue) and Kaleb requested a mohawk after. There were crafts for the kids to make and Matt and I even made something too.

Ashton and Kendra are really close in age and were so much alike. They were milk buddies with their sippy's and they both love to help cook. They helped make the rolls for Christmas dinner.

Christmas Eve Joshua was blessed. It was nice to be able to be there since we usually can't make it for the cousin's blessings. We decided to take a family picture and pictures with the grandkids, which was hard since someone was always moving.

Usually about 4:30pm Ashton and Kendra would crash from all the fun. Ashton loved Ginger, John and Jamie's dog and loved running around with her.

And then there's Christmas morning. Cookies, milk and carrots were left for Santa and the reindeer and they were so excited to see what he left. The boys started sorting the presents into piles right away. It's so much fun to watch kids on Christmas morning.

Thursday of the next week we had our annual trip up to Sherwood Hill's Resort just outside of Logan. We look forward to this trip every year because it's our relaxation after the holidays. We spent alot of time at the pool and went bowling and saw Narnia.

It's been a busy, crazy couple of weeks but we've had so much fun with family and wouldn't have it any other way! We're excited for a new year with new adventures!

I know Thanksgiving was a month ago but we had a great time with family. There was some pin the hat on the turkey....

and busy bee game playing.

Our ward party was the first weekend in December and Kaleb loved watching Santa do magic tricks. Ashton didn't want to leave Matt's side. He didn't want to sit on Santa's lap and tried to get off quickly but as soon as he was given a candy cane he was fine. Anything for candy.

We haven't taken a trip to temple square to see the lights since Kaleb was 2 so we decided while it wasn't too cold last Tuesday to go. The boys loved riding Trax for the first time (does anyone else think $4 for a round trip ticket is a little much) and we even stopped in to see where Matt works. Kaleb thought it was pretty cool that daddy works in a big, tall building. We enjoyed looking at all of the lights and then grabbed a treat before heading home on trax.

The boys have been spoiled already with all of the Christmas parties we've had. We're excited for Christmas this weekend and spending time with family.