Daddy, when can we help?

So Dave, in all his holiday ambition, made a "gingerbread house" out of graham crackers, that cheater, and he is very proud of it. I have to admit it looks pretty darn good. He used butter frosting at first and the whole thing caved in, so I whipped him up some special frosting and he rebuilt it. It's pretty. He wouldn't let any of us help him.

So we made gingerbread men!! I made cream cheese frosting for them and OMGOODGOLLY they are GOOOD!

Then you've got your usual flour mess made by two little you-know-who's and a couple of pretty cute little gingerbread men. Not sure what the deal is with Ashton's 4 eyed alien thing but it is so creative anyways.

Ashton's is on top, Jared's beneath it. So incredibly cute.

beginning to look a lot like christmas..maybe?

I tried to teach the boys how to make snowflakes yesterday.

It was messy. And very "derangerous."

Yes my children are in their underwear 80% of the time.

Can't concentrate without the tongue.

I am very proud of my window painting skills. I painted this on my window yesterday and I'm very happy with how he turned out. Sometimes I surprise myself.

from the inside.

and from the outside.

Yay for the Grinch who stole my neighbors hearts!

And THIS "beautiful" tree display was done by none other than Jared. He is very very proud of himself and says that when Santy Claus sees it he will be happy and hang clothes on it.

No Buddy Like a Brother

All for one and one for all

My brother and my friend

What fun we have

The time we share

Brothers 'til the end.

~Author Unknown

Snow Day

Woke up Saturday morning without electricity. The city was working on the lines for our neighborhood and we had totally forgotten that 'today was the day'. It was a blizzard out. I had pictures to work on. SO much to do. But without electricity, there would be no cooking, heating, or editing. So we bundled up and drove the {scary..icy..slippery..slide-y} 45 minutes out to Grandpa & Grandma's house. Grandpa made a "doghouse" for our "puppies" and we watched The Grinch and had cookies and soda. Dave and I bundled up ("I can't put down my arms!") and shoveled snow off sidewalks and my parents cars..and Davey hauled wood in for the wood burning stove. The only thing that could have made our snow day better complete would have been hot chocolate. 

Right of Passage

I always wondered when the day would come that I would happen upon the sight of one of my children cutting their own hair. It seems inevitable that this self haircut is going to happen at some point in a child's life. I just imaged scissors rather than hair clippers being involved in the scenario.

Yes, Daddy left the cordless clippers out and little hands discovered them. I couldn't even scold him. Those big "deer in the headlights" eyes staring up at me, knowing he was caught redhanded was more than I could stand.

That's not all, throughout the remainder of that day, Ashton managed to spill 2 glasses of milk, pull the shoelaces out of every laced shoe we own, pump every last gooey bit of hand soap from the bottle into the fishtank and stuff cheddar cheese through the windows of every hot wheels or matchbox vehicle he owns..then made me get it all out with a toothpick. For this, I SIGH. I turned off my computer the next day..pictures can wait..clients can wait.  My Ashton needed some attention.

*afternote. Yes, our 3 fish are now dead.

Catch the Moment..put it in your heart..

One small hand to hold in yours, One small face to smile, One wet kiss as he says "good-night" One small child. Catch the moment, put it in your heart The years too soon will fly. These are precious moments, more than money can buy. Two small arms to hold you tight, Two small feet to run, Two small eyes full of love for you, One small son. Catch the moment and put it in your heart and never let it go. Save it for the years to come, when he, too will know. One small hand to hold in his One small face to smile. One small kiss and she says "good-night" One small child. Author Unknown

How Lovely Are Thy Branches..

Look at my rustic skinny 7 ft tree. I couldn't love it any more. The boys had so much fun hiding their hot wheel cars throughout it while I was trying to decorate it. The stars on it are actually paper mache (you gotta love it!) that I spray painted with textured rust paint I found at Wal-Mart. They actually look like tin, I'm so excited! The star on top I've had for about 3 years now, it actually flickers like a candle, it's so cool! My mom found it in the dollar bin at MPS for me!! Yay for cheap cute stuff! Yay for my awesome Mom who thinks of me while searching through dollar bins!! And if you've read this far, yay for you; you just wasted the last 45 seconds of your life and you can't have them back!! Oh well, we both know you would have just wasted them anyway;) xo

Just Imagine..

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try! ~Dr. Suess

{caffeine driven}

Dear blog. It's 12:01-wait-12:02 am. Here I sit eating hot dog quesadillas and spell checker is telling me I spelled quesadilla wrong but doesn't have any suggestions for me. Whatever spell checker. How can I ever trust you again? My point is, I shouldn't blog on caffeine. I get crazy. Anyone who has experienced ME on caffeine knows this. I talk. I talk ALOT. And since The Jones (Davy Jones that is) has an extremely important Netflix to watch and can't bother with my late night ramblings, you, my poor blog, get the brunt of it. Hello, my name is Ashley, and I have an addiction. Don't you judge me. I have roughly 800 images not very patiently awaiting my sorting and editing skills in a cute little folder within a folder within a folder within a folder on my pc. I'm OCD. I organize. And that's why I have to be up late. Thus the caffeine. Makes total sense now doesn't it? You're right. It does.

{Nie Nie's Story}

I just finished reading the first four chapters of the article written in the AZ Central newspaper about Stephanie Nielson's story. If you haven't read this, you should.

The story is here

{..we've been good but we can't last..}

Santa Claus is anyone who loves another

and seeks to make them happy; who gives

himself by thought or word or deed in every gift

that he bestows; who shares his joys with those

who are sad; whose hand is never closed against

the needy; whose arm is ever outstretched to aid

the week; whose sympathy is quick and genuine

in time of trouble; who recognizes a comrade

and brother in every man he meets upon life's

common road; who lives his life throughout

the entire year in the Christmas spirit.

EDWIN OSGOOD GROVER

Last night we wrote letters to Santa. Jared thought we were crazy for doing so. "well...we can just call him..." He is SO his father's child. I'm sure there is some hotline you can call, I know for sure you can just email him or stop by the mall..but I like to do things the old fashioned way..the way I did it as a child. Jared wanted to mail him a page from his favorite toy catalog with his selections circled. Again, so his father.

I had him dictate to me what he wanted the letter to say...then helped him write his cute little name.

Ashton got away with just drawing a picture. When I asked what it was the reply came, "a trampoline!". I had no idea.

Christmas is exciting again. I get so much more joy out of watching them light up...their imaginations flourishing..than I ever could fathom. That's all I want for Christmas. Ever.

{The DAM Tour}

Dave and I went to Las Vegas for a business trip last weekend..

{I'm in LOVE...}

With the way my house smells that is! My favorite candle company here in Logan just came out with their own version of warmers and scents to rival Scentsy and I have to say I love it! I got that whole tube for about $5 and I've had that wonderful tube of "Russian Fir and Tangerine" for 3 weeks now, melting in my warmer 24/7 and it's still half full. My house smells SOOOO good!! They are beads instead of bars and if you still want to use a wick you can. For $26 you can get two tubes and a warmer in black, white, or brown. The only drawback is that they don't have nearly as much selection of warmers or scents as Scentsy but I love that it's local and I get to buy directly from the outlet and sometimes the OWNER! You gotta love THAT! I do anyways. Well, 'nuff said. Ashley, OUT!

{I could do this all day}

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