They are having this awesome giveaway over at Love Stitched and I want to win so badly. It's a silhouette cutting machine and it is so awesome. It is kind of like a cricut but instead of buying cartridges it hooks up to your computer so you can use any font you find or buy others for much cheaper than cartridges. LOVIN' it. The giveaway ends tonight so go over and enter.
Does anybody love to pack... if so you should come and help me. I am actually procrastinating it so long now that I am going to be up until midnight doing it. I actually don't HATE packing, I am just NOT in the mood tonight. The one thing I really hate about taking a trip is UNPACKING. If I don't do it the day I get home the bag sits in the middle of the floor for a week or two. If you ask my husband he will tell you the honest truth that it has sat there for a month a couple of times. I just dislike it. Maybe one day I will have a change of heart and learn to tolerate the unpacking portion of a trip. Who knows, it could happen. It happened with the Utensils. I used to HATE HATE HATE unloading the dishwasher particularly the utensils. Oh MY GOSH it plagued me. But now I totally have a system and when I do get around to the dishwasher I go for the utensils first.
Do any of you have packing or unpacking tips for a trip challenged girl?
This week has been crazy crazy crazy. I have done hair like a mad woman (apparently everyone wants to look good for the holidays... whatever). We also had a huge activity for R.S. tonight that I was semi heading up. Tonight actually rejuvenated me though.
I ran 5 miles this morning (my first 5 ever besides a 10k I did once when I first got home from my mission which I was totally unprepared for). I have never run like I did this morning. I got to my 3 miles that was my original plan and said to myself, I bet I could run one more. So I did. Once I did that I thought to myself, I could probably run another. So I did. At 55 minutes on the treadmill I had burned 763 calories and I was TIRED and also feeling a little weak from it being so early in the morning with no real food in me. So I stopped. But when my sister asked me today on the phone if I think I could have done one more I said... I think I could have. Crazy I feel like a runner and I think I AM GOING TO DO THE HALF IN JANUARY. Scary. But exciting too. (also I shaved 30 seconds off per mile today). I am really not trying to brag, I just never thought I would get to this point and need to document it.
I don't know what it is about running but it entices me. I cannot run fast, I am not very strong mentally when I run, in fact I often convince myself to walk, but for some reason, I want to be a runner. I actually like doing it and kind of crave it. Sometimes I lay in bed when I can't sleep and wish that it was a safe enough world out there to just go for a night time jog. My sisters are doing a half marathon in St. George in January and I really want to do it with them. Actually what I really want to do is a 10 K but that is not available that day. It's either a 5k or a half marathon. UGH. I only have 10 weeks to train (I sort of started this week) and I am really slow. The most I have ever run on my own is 3 miles.
So I guess I need a little input. What should I do. My mind might get the better of me on this one and convince me that I am too weak and don't have enough time to train. HELP.
Kevin "earned" this garbage truck finally.
It has been at least 2 months since Kevin saw this garbage truck at Costco and begged me to buy it for him. Every time we went to Costco he said that he wanted to see "his" Garbage Truck. This boy has a lot of motorized things just like this and it was NOT Christmas nor his Birthday so I told him he would have to buy it with his own money. He got excited, which really worked out well for us too because at the time he was on a mean streak with Katie and not minding us very well. We needed something to motivate and encourage him to be nice and do the things we ask of him.
My sister Collette set up a Marble system with her kids and Kevin really liked that so we started right away.
He would get a marble for simple things and two for big things (and sometimes Mom was lazy and forgot to emphasize the marble earning) but 200 marbles later he finally got to open his garbage truck. He played with it for 2 hours straight and was very very sad that he had to say goodnight to it. I think this fascination with Garbage trucks all started when Aunt Mandy bought him a little Matchbox garbage truck. We go out every Tuesday and Wednesday morning whenever we hear the trucks coming and watch as he lifts the big can and dumps all the trash out. It's the highlight of his day. I just love him.
Today Adam and I were able to go to the Temple and do Sealings. I must say I can't believe how much it rejuvenates me to do that especially with my husband. Just looking at him makes me happy and I know he is commited to me and the Lord for all eternity. We had a great time and feel reconnected with eachother and the Lord.
We lay the kids down at my friend Rachel's and when we returned we found out that niether of them really ever slept... BUMMER. So they went to bed SUPER EARLY tonight. I literally came home from picking them at 4:45, made them dinner, washed Katie up and put her to bed. Then it was stories and bed for kevin. By 6:20 they were OUT cold. THANK GOODNESS. They were both cranky and ready for sleep.
I feel like I haven't really hung out with them a ton because we have had busy busy busy days, but it won't be calming down in the next few day since we have the Gilbert Groundbreaking dedication and Stake Conference this weekend.
I went running this morning specifically to time how fast it takes me to run a mile. I ran 3 and finished at 34 min. 30 seconds which makes my miles 11.30 minutes. I was gestimating 12 so I am pleased with my numbers. I would however like to be able to run 10 min. miles by the end of the year and I don't even know if that is at all possible so I guess we will see.
Adam and I also went to a Cirque Dream performance last night for date night (He has a 4 day weekend). It was SO COOL. I am still thinking about all the tricks and crazy stunts that happened. What was even better was that Adam WON the tickets on the radio so we didn't have to pay anything for our night on the town. When we came out I couldn't believe how cold it was, I needed a jacket... CAN YOU BELIEVE IT... a JACKET in AZ... I was meant for this weather FOR SURE. If I am dying in the "COLD" weather of ARIZONA how did I ever live in CEDAR where you FREEZE just by walking on your tile.
I am going to bed now... sorry for the random post.
We have a major cheeser on our hands with miss Katie bug. She is so freakin' cute I just want to eat her up. So I usually grab the camera instead of taking a bite out of her cheeks. This is the result... a HUGE CHEESY SMILE.
This particular experience really cracked us up. We had pancakes and eggs for dinner and she must have really enjoyed them (or discovered just how yummy syrup is) she sure went to town licking that plate clean.
Here she is just so proud of herself. I personally am loving that there is a bit of egg stuck to her head. Good thing it was bath night.
Speaking of Katie and eating, we had to drive down to Mesa yesterday to exchange some tickets and then we planned to go to Taco Tuesday at Cafe Rio. The kids were both hungry and ready for food so the drive was not too pleasant. The back seat eventually got quiet and this is why... You can't really tell what she is doing so I will illustrate. Apparently there were some snacks in her seat, i.e. goldfish crackers, fruit loops and golden grahams (what can I say she is happy and content when she is eating so she gets snacks a lot when we are on the go). So this is her digging for "gold" so to say.
OOOh Almost got it...
Aha I got it...
YUMMY, an appetizer before dinner. (She ate a ton at dinner too)
Here's her cheezer smile once again.
So life has been pretty basic and boring over here in Endsley land. We are enjoying our kiddos and their cute little personalities and just basically going from day to day.
A friend of mine gets her husband back tomorrow and it reminds me of the times when my husband and I didn't live in the same house, city or State. That is really hard, but this friend of mine didn't even have her husband in the same country... for 6 WEEKS. Ugh!!!
I have come to really rely on Adam. He is a really reliable guy and always makes me feel so safe. He is sort of like clockwork. He comes home, backs into the garage, sits for a minute while catching the last of Glenn Beck or some other mad person, then goes for the mailbox. As soon as he's in the door its kisses and hellos and then he just needs to relax in his chair. Sometimes he goes up and changes into more casual clothes but I think that is only when he has the energy to climb the stairs before getting a bit of a break. He is a basic guy who could eat my simple ground turkey McCormick Tacos almost every night and love it, yet he is so incredibly smart and loving too. He cracks jokes and teases us all the time and I really don't know where I would be without my wonderful, eternal, handsome husband.
I am sorry you all didn't end up as blessed as me!!! (Of course I'm sure you feel the same way about your blessings).
I have so much to post about but my computer only works on SAFE MODE so my pictures don't always come up. It is very frustrating. So here are the pictures from trick or treating that didn't need to be turned (cuz my comp. won't turn them in safe mode)
Katie Bug was our Lady Bug for this year and she was so adorable I just wanted to eat her. This is her "smiling" for the camera. I am in love with how she poses now. It just started today.
Kevin picked out his own costume which was a Froggie. He LOVED it. I originally went just to the store just to see if we could find something for cheap for him cuz we kept trying to borrow a costume but he didn't love anything we looked at. Tiersa told me that JoAnns was having a sale and he found this costume and wouldn't put it down.
I got home late last night because I went to play volleyball with a group of very talented girls and I sat down on the couch to read my scriptures sort of regretting that I was just now getting to my 15 minutes of reading. I looked up only to find my box of memories sitting in front of me (it was in the food storage closet for some reason and we took inventory yesterday). So I started flipping through pictures which I would TOTALLY post here but my computer won't let me. Then I picked up a notebook I used to use as my journal. WOW... is all I can really say.
It took me back to a sort of unpleasant place but also made me super grateful for where I am and who I have in my life now.
My journal was right before my mission during this 2 year long relationship that was SO DYSFUNCTIONAL. Anyway I found this entry where I wrote down what I really wanted in my future husband and it made me laugh and want to cry and I secretly wanted to just go wake Adam up and tell him how much I love him and how grateful I am for him.
I will share with you what I wrote
6/10/02
"I want the basic things in the man I marry. He has to be a return missionary... not just that but he must have served completely faithfully. Like my Dad. He has to have a good relationship with his parents and family. He has to be silly and know how to tease and how to be tease. Playful and not always thinking logically. Not too serious. But I want to be able to talk about everything with him. And not just that but I have to feel supported by him, and encouraged. He needs to make me feel comfortable about my self but at the same time make me want to become a better person. I want inspiration and love. He has to know where he is going in life, to know his job and love it. I have to see him in many different situations and see his good and bad qualities. Playing with his children is a big thing for me and he has to help his mother with the dishes. Basically I want a perfect man and although there are not perfect men out here I will find the one for me, and I will not just love him, I will be in love with him and won't be able to live with out him. I can see his imperfections but I still love him. I don't have to marry the first person I love.
My parents have to be excited for me but not make the decision for me. I have to feel like he is so wonderful... why is he with me? But at the same time I have to feel confidence in the relationship. He has to love Arizona... and the heat. He has to want my advice but also help teach me things."
If any of you know Adam you will also know that the above description of my "future" husband is EXACTLY what I got... except for one minor detail... HE HATES THE HEAT and does not really love Arizona.
Oh well I think he is perfect for me... I am so blessed and I love my Adam so very much.
It has been staying dark longer here in AZ which has been really great for my beauty sleep. Kevin sleeps until at least 7:30 now but most days it is more like 8. I can't even tell you how wonderful it is to wake up before him and feel ready for the day instead of him coming in at 6:30 wanting to watch cartoons while I continue to shut out the world around me.
Of course then my day gets pushed back further and further and I don't end up showering until 11!!!
Anyway, this morning Kevin came out of his room around 8 and I was sitting right here checking my email. I looked up at him and his face was unusually sleepy-swollen, looking quite shocked to see me awake and didn't know if he was allowed to be out of bed yet. I greeted him with a cheery "Hi, bud" to reassure him and he just stared at me. Finally he pointed to his face and lips and said "take this off". I asked him what he wanted me to take off and he repeated his request "take this off". After a while I finally assumed he meant for me to magically erase his swollen face. Maybe he just isn't used to it being that swollen from sleep... but I couldn't stop laughing as he looked utterly confused as to why I couldn't help him with his predicament. Poor kid just had to let his sleepy face subside and move on with his morning. Not to worry though, it did go away and he had a great day full of smiles, giggles and teasings.
I am doing this challenge and one of the ways you can earn a point is by journeling every day. Blogging does occasionally count so here we go.
This challenge is really opening my eyes to the things I have been somewhat immune to. I have grown accustom to thinking of only me and my family. When I do so I sort of shut down. I eat a lot more, I tend to opt out of hard things i.e. exercise, schedules, cleanliness (staying organized IS HARD for me), even the thought of reading my scriptures tends to make me sort of sigh. I know this is horrible admitting this in public but I need to face it all.
I have 10 things everyday that I NEED to accomplish and knowing I have those things to do makes me plan and accomplish my day better. When I do these things my life just seems brighter which tends to make me get out of my rut.
I have to do a random act of service every day and I gotta tell you it has been kind of hard to find things to do that I would consider giving myself a point for. So it makes me look out for ways to serve, when I see an opportunity I usually take it but then later think, I bet could find another more meaningful one. I really kind of like it so far. It sure does get me out of myself and focusing on God's children.
I know this is random, but I just want to interject here and say how much I love my husband. He went back to work full time today and it was really hard for him. He is so tired and also used to being home half of the day. He works so hard for our family and I really want to show him how much he means to us.
Speaking of family, Katie today was so fun. She has been a little fussy lately cuz I think she might be teething, so it was a breath of fresh air to have her happy and lively again today. She is attempting to walk and will try to take just one or two steps then fall down and laugh. Today while we were sitting on the couch she came over and stuck her head in my hands and then I just sort of grabbed her little face and wiggled it a little bit. She laughed so hard over and over and over again. Finally Adam and I were talking and she came over, grabbed my hand and stuck her face in it. She did that probably 20 times, each time laughing a little more than the last. Then she would attempt to walk, fall down, crawl over to the pillow and bury her head in it with excitement. So cute.
Last night after I put Kevin to bed he got out and I sort of got mad at him. He was trying to tell me that he wanted a different toy but I don't usually cater to that sort of thing so I sent him back to bed. He whined a little but did get back in bed only to get out again a few minutes later. He got out of bed again and when I asked him what the heck he was doing out of bed he very calmly said... "I was looking for you" He really wanted his other toy (but he had already picked his allotted 2 for the night) and I told him it was all the way downstairs and I was not going to go get it. He cried a bit and finally I said you can have lightening McQueen if you want (it was in the hallway) and he got mad and said NO, I DON"T WANT HIM. So I said goodnight and let him cry for a little bit then asked him again if he wanted lightning. By this point he is willing to compromise and he said yes. I gave it to him and he said (still kind of crying but with the sweetest little voice) "Thank you, Mommy" That made me want to go get the other toy from downstairs for him. Don't worry, I was strong and just told him "Your Welcome and I love you".
My kids are Priceless.
I can hardly believe that my sweet little baby is now a sweet little girl. Yesterday was her Birthday and I wanted to post something all day but my computer was NOT cooperating. So really quick I will just say how much we love having her in our lives. She always wakes up with a smile and brightens our day. Happy Birthday my sweet princess... you will NEVER know how much we love you!!!
My cute friend from High School posted this on her blog and I am so sad that I didn't look at it in time, so I am sort of borrowing the idea.
Click Here
Over the last 5 months I have managed to gain back 10 of those 30 pounds I worked so hard to get off earlier in the year. The last few weeks have been crazy for us as most of you know and I have seriously lagged in some essential things.
SO I NEED motivation and I need accountability. I have talked to a few of you about doing some sort of motivational challenge to better ourselves and I just found this one and wished I could have gotten on when they started a week ago. Since we can't join now we could do it on our own .
Check the site out 8 weeks to a better you
There are 10 things you can do every day to earn a point. At the end you tally your points and the highest points is the winner (there might be several).
I don't know about you but this sounds good because it is not based on weight loss but becoming better all around. What do you think??? Anyone want to start this with me? (I would love input or any changes you might want to make to it)
I am including a lot of people in this email because it's not necessarily a weight loss thing but a WELLNESS thing... plus the more people we have doing this with us the more money we have in the pot in the end. (I am proposing a $15 buy in)
I would like to get this going by the 10th of October so we are finished on the 5th of December. Let me know your input and tell your friends about it so we can all get "healthier" together.
Thanks
Ashley
I am just amazed at how fast this last year has gone. A year ago today I was HUGE and pregnant and living away from my husband. I am so glad that we are not in that place anymore, but also a little sad that my little girl is going to be ONE next week. Crazy!!!
The kids have been so sweet lately and I am feeling bad that I have not documented the SWEETNESS.
Kevin is downstairs right now giving life to his trucks by talking for them. One of them is apparently sick and the other one is tired. He is loving stickers lately and we had some fun yesterday spelling our names on our shirts with them. I unfortunately forgot they were all over me when we walked to the store last night... the cashier thought it was quite an interesting fashion statement and wondered where she could get some. Ha Ha... the joys of being a Mom.
Kevin has been learning his letters and doing so well with it. Although he insists that his name starts with an A just like Mom and Dads do. Yes he knows our first names and calls us by them sometimes (thanks Curtis).
We have been doing a co-op preschool with 6 kids and this week was my week to teach. They are all such good kids and they learn really fast. I am NOT a natural teacher so sometimes I struggle but they are forgiving and don't mind playing with toys while I get myself together.
Katie is such a doll I find myself just wanting to be around her all day long. She sleeps awesome and is so happy to see me when she wakes up. She bobs her little head to music and bites Kevin's bunnies. She teases her brother by pulling on his hair or ears. My favorite is that she blows kisses. When we were saying night night to Daddy he blew her kisses and then she tried to do it back. She put her hand to her forehead and then extended her hand while making a clicking sound with her mouth. So CUTE!!!
I can't get enough of them.
My friend Lauren Goodrich is just getting started in photograghy and she took these pictures of the kiddos. I really love them and every time I look at them I fall in love with my kids all over again.
Thank you Lauryn, they really capture their little personalities. Too bad it was so dang hot... they probably would have been more photogenic if it were more pleasant out.
Most of you already know what has been going on in our lives lately, but I will inform the rest of you now that I have a second to myself.
Last week Adam was feeling yucky and then finally on Wednesday he went to the Dr. They thought it was either Gastritis or the Flu minus the fever. Thursday he woke up and had major pain in his abdomon so he didn't go to work. Friday was the same thing but worse pain. By the time 4:00 hit on Friday he had tried so many different things to see if he could get the pain to go away and we had exhausted our options for what "normal" sickness could have him so dibilitated so we went to the ER. As soon as they saw how much pain he was in they gave him morphine which BARELY took the edge off. They gave him something called Diladed and took him for a Cat scan.
Right away they came back with the diagnosis that he had Pancreatitis which they said is something usually caused by excessive drinking (obviously not the case) or Gallstones. Long story short he does NOT have gallstones, a blockage or any other reason why his pancreas got so mad at him. The GI doc said that 75% of all cases the cause is never known. So he must fit into that category. He was admitted and told that Pancreatitis is extremely painful and the only way to fix the problem is to let the pancreas rest by not eating anything. He was put on a strict water diet for 2 days then they let him have some other clears which he is still on now.
The hardest part about this whole thing is the pain of it all. He seriously would go from extreme pain to extreme drowsiness (from the pain stuff) to extreme nausea. For 5 days it was like this. The Diladed finally wasn't even working on him so we decided to switch to pills by mouth rather than the IV drugs in order to switch it up and get him better. (Apparently the more you take narcautics the more you stop your insides from working properly and the harder it is for the pancreas and its swelling to go down.) The nights that followed I stayed with him at the hospital and it was HORRIBLE. He was literally in so much pain it was all he could do not to scream. They would give him his pain meds he would sleep for an hour and then we would walk the halls for half hour or so to get his mind off it and get his stomach working again. It was traumatizing. He could not find a comfortable spot and everything ached. It was so hard to watch him go through it and know that there was NOTHING I could do about it.
To make a Long story a little shorter I will let you know that I started giving him herbs and he started to feel better. They released him yesterday afternoon and he is doing better here even though he is still in a lot of pain. We still have a good stretch of road ahead of us but we must say we feel stronger and closer to our Heavenly Father and Savior now more than ever. That journey is for another post, but it will be coming.
I love all of you who stepped up and helped with the kids and our house and made the effort to be there for us. Even for those of you who fasted and prayed because you couldn't be here to physically do something. It would have been a complete nightmare had we not had all of your support. Instead it was a very trying time with a lot of comfort and love.
Thank you... please continue to pray for Adam to heal.
Love Ashley
I can't believe it... my child is growing teeth like CRAZY. One more popped up this week. That is 4 teeth in 2 weeks. She now has 4 on top and 4 on bottom. She has been an angel with NO complaints beside one little short nap yesterday. I am in love with this girl. For all those who knew how on the fence I was about having a girl... I TOTALLY LOVE IT.
Here are some pictures of past events that I just need to get posted.
How cute is this. It was on our way home from St. George. Kevin made her happy the whole way. Love that they love each other.
Yes those are Kevins toes. He says "I lika my toes painted" Daddy was not so thrilled.
My Mom with Andi and Curtis' twins. Its been 30 years but she still looked like a pro holding both at the same time.
I haven't had a computer to post anything so I have been writing a lot in my journal about the kids. Now I can post a bit about what we have been up to lately.
It is really hot here in AZ so on Friday I blew up a little kiddie pool for Kevin and put our little slide right into it. He had a blast and I could see him out our sliding glass door and I kept it partially open in order to hear him while I cleaned the house and fed Katie. At one point while I was out there with him, he tried jumping off the top of the slide down to the pool. He didn't quite make it and instead landed right on his bum at the bottom of the slide and then bouncing into the pool. He looked up at me with this look like... "okay that hurt and I don't know if I should cry or laugh" Needless to say he didn't try it again.
Katie has been just growing so fast. She is 10 months old now and so lively and cute. She is constantly going and can crawl so fast. She pulls herself up on everything and wiggles into tiny corners. The newsest news about her is her teeth. Here are a few pics of what has happened within the last month.
Here she is with her vampire teeth (which Kevin had also. Hers are a lot more prominent than Kevin's ever were.) She also had the bottom two center teeth in this picture but you can't see them.
Here she is with her big ol' teeth. She got 3 teeth in one week. I couldn't believe it. And she was still an ANGEL. A couple little fussy moments but all in all you would not have known she was teething. She got the two front teeth and one on the bottom next to her other two teeth. 
7 teeth at 10 months. All I can say is that I am REALLY glad I am not nursing anymore cuz this girl likes to bite EVERYTHING. 
Check this out... a rival to the CRICUT and they are GIVING IT AWAY. I want to win win win!!!
Just click here
We have been around a lot of CUTE CUTE babies this week and I thought I would post a few.
Logan and Vicki's baby Addison
Kennedy (Curtis' and Andi's little girl)
This is baby Cooper (Andi and Curtis' little guy)
Landon (Erin and Jesse's little man)
Katie bug
My good friend Chauntelle gave Katie this little photo album thing when she was born and I just now put pictures inside. It's really fun and she totally loves it cuz she can chew on it but the pictures don't get wet. Thanks Chauntelle.
This is Daddy, Mommy, Kevin and Katie
Aunt Mandy... I mean Queen Amanda
Both Grandparents
Katie is of course the front cover and she just happens to be wearing the same shirt in both the picture and the picture of a picture.
I am ashamed to admit that Katie's room is STILL NOT COMPLETED. I know I know she will be 8 MONTHS old on Monday... I'm crazy. But it is almost there. I just need to do two more things then it will be done. She might be a toddler when it is all finished but I will do my best to get there.
I knew before we ever got pregnant with Katie that I wanted a Damask print combined with another color (I really wanted it to be a boy so that I could do green and damask) Then I thought I would do red or purple but when I saw this room at Carousel Designs I LOVED it but couldn't fork over the money for it, so I worked it out with my beautifully talent client Jillayne that I would do her hair if she would make the bedding for me. YEAH!!! Doesn't it look great. My wonderful sister in law Summer provided the vinyl for us and the rocking chair in the corner is Adam's Mom's from when her kids were little. I really love the way it is coming together and I am so glad I went with pale yellow rather than the deep red that I originally wanted because she is so delicate and petite I think the yellow just fits her personality. 
Sidenote... LOOK AT HER PONYTAIL!!! So much fun.
