Ashlyn's Birthday Party!

Today Ashlyn had a Hannah Montana Birthday party. About six boys and girls came to her party. We started off by having the kids choose a Hannah Montana color page or crossword page. Then we had a Disney Sing It competition boys vs. girls. It was great to see the kids having such a great time singing various songs from Hannah Montana, Camp Rock, Cheetah Girls, and High School Musical 1 & 2. In the end the girls beat the boys. We then ate pizza, fruit and veggies for lunch. Soon after we opened up presents by playing pass the mic. It is just like hot potato except with a mic and when it lands on you instead of being out you get to give your gift to Ashlyn. It was a lot of fun that kept the kids busy and still as she opened her gifts. Last but not least we sang and cut into the guitar cake that I made for Ashlyn. I had a great time decorating her guitar cake and was much easier than I thought it was going to be. Once the party was over our day was not. Ashlyn played with her new toys while we cleaned and rested from the busy morning. Later that evening we took Ashlyn out for a birthday dinner at Lumpy's Diner. We then headed to the movie theater to watch InkHeart we enjoyed the movie and Ashlyn let us know that she had a great Birthday Day!

Making a Guitar Cake

Ashlyn wanted a Guitar Cake for her birthday party and wasn't sure how to go about making it with out a pan, but I found a way. First I baked 2 1/2 boxes of cake to fill a 12x18 cake pan. While the cake was baking I used our guitar hero guitar to trace a template for the cake. Once the cake was baked and cooled I inverted it and then used the template to cut it out. I pieced the cake together and the put a thin layer of icing on it to seal the crumbs. Then I had fun decorating it. I frosted it all white except the fret board. Then I used a purple spray mist to get a swirl effect. I used black icing for the fret bar and the sound hole. Then I added the pick guard with a stencil and spraying it twice with the purple mist. The last ting I did was add the white strings, flower candy, tunning knobs, and add Ashlyn's name. I think it came out pretty good. Ashlyn loved it and that's all that matters.

Digging for Dinosaurs!

For Christmas Grandma Smith bought Ashlyn a Dinosaur Excavation Kid Kit. So Saturday afternoon she sat with her glasses on and tools in hand ready to begin the dig. As she picked and brushed away at the mound she started to reveal the dinosaur bones. Ashlyn worked hard to dig up the dinosaur bones. Her sisters really enjoyed helping her dig out her dinosaur. Autumn loved helping her every chance she got.When she was done she carefully washed her dinosaur bones and her daddy helped her put it together to show what dinosaur she had uncovered. And...Ta-Da she has excavated a T-Rex. Way to go Ashlyn you could be a Paleontologist someday!

Sewing Costumes

Ashlyn's class is preparing to perform the play called "Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock". They asked for volunteers to help with the costumes and I let her teacher know that I could help out. She asked if I knew how to sew and if I would be willing to sew head pieces together for their costumes. I told her no problem and she let me know she picked the easiest costume to put together "Bush Deer". I used a pattern she had to sew an example of what it would look like. Then I helped cut out fabric. Ashlyn came home with a bag full of patterns that needed to be sewed. I sewed ten head pieces for her class. It was a lot of fun. Ashlyn helped me model my work when I was finished. All they need now are some finishing touches and poof they will have 20 Bush Deer running around on stage.

It's A Beautiful Day!

Saturday was so Beautiful and so Warm that Noah and I thought, we need to take the girls outside and enjoy the day. We packed some drinks and food to go with a bucket of chicken that we picked up at KFC and headed to one of the many parks in our area for a picnic lunch.(hard to believe it's the middle of January) We had a great time playing and laughing with our girls. It provided so much needed down time. The best part was when we all started racing each other down the triple slide. Noah racing the girls is pretty good, but the three girls racing each other was fantastic.

After an hour of fun in the park we headed to Big Break Regional Trail for a little nature walk. We walked to the Delta Shoreline and observed the marsh land. There were boats off in the distance, people playing with their dogs, bike riders, marsh birds, and people fishing . What a great day.

We Love Park Day!

Every Friday our ward gets together to take our little ones to the park(we pick a different park each week). The girls really enjoy being with their friends and I enjoy being with my friends too. It was such a nice day yesterday. The girls were really cute climbing and having a fun time that I thought I would share a couple of pictures from our 3 hour morning at the park. What can I say We love Park Day!

Baby Kelsie's Blessing

Early this morning we drove to Noah's sisters home to take part in going to the blessing of our little niece Kelsie. It was a nice blessing. We took some family pictures after wards and then got lunch ready at Rachel and Kurt's home. We had a wonderful time with family and friends and enjoyed being together. We were glad to be able to go over to celebrate such a special day.

Date Night

One of our Goals for the New Year is to have a one on one date night with each of our girls once a month. Autumn gets to go out with her dad this month and Ashlyn gets to go our with me this month. Autumn was so excited when I told her that she said,"Tonight!" I told her it was fine with me, but she would have to wait till dad came home to ask him. Well she had decided it would be tonight and took a bath, got all dressed up(changing her clothes twice) and then brushed her hair. She combed and brushed it in the bathroom and kept coming in and out getting frustrated, because her hair was not doing what she wanted it to do. Then she sat at the table and began to tell me what her plans were for their date night. She said, "1st we will go eat Chinese food, then we will go to the movies, and then we will eat ice cream at Coldstone. It was so cute to see all her excitement. She even had her purse on her shoulder waiting for dad. They did not have enough time to do everything on her schedule, but they did go and see Marley and Me. They had a wonderful time together.

Being Sick

It is no fun being sick, especially when your the mom. It started off as the dreaded sore throat that turned into a cough. A week of this and it seemed I was getting better, but then it got worst and settled into my chest. So with the kids back in school and me feeling miserable with no energy I sat around the house and rested every chance I got. I felt like I needed to get up and do something, but my family wouldn't let me. Noah helped me out so much and the older girls did a great job trying to make me comfortable. I am glad that they helped me out so much. I can't wait to feel better.

Our Year in Review

We have been the traveling family this year going to Maui for two weeks, seeing the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and visiting family in Colorado. We have camped in the redwoods (Gualala and Santa Cruz, CA), visited different zoos, and went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. We celebrated 10 years of marriage and took advantage of alone time by going to Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and San Francisco (not at the same time). We had an amazing time and did some cool things on all of these adventures. We have truly been blessed.

Noah celebrated 8 years working for Neil Anderson and Associates and was able to take his sabbatical. He took his 8 weeks of paid vacation in July and August. He got some much needed rest and play time. For the past 2 years he has been the 1^st counselor in the Young Men’s Presidency at church and the advisor over the 14 & 15 year old boys. Noah enjoys being with his family, especially his three little girls, going places(like Maui), being outdoors snorkeling, and camping, playing his guitar, reading, watching BYU football, and playing guitar hero or rock band.

Anissa has been working really hard on keeping our family running smoothly. She takes our girls to school, to park days, to parties, to friends, and to other fun activities. She trades babysitting once a week so that she can help out in Ashlyn’s class. She is also the Art Docent for Ashlyn’s class teaching them art once a month. She attends all of Autumn’s preschool activities, and plays with Aubrey every chance she gets. Anissa is teaching the 11 year old girls in Primary and is still the Activity Day leader for the 8-11 year old girls in the ward. Anissa enjoys being a mom, scrapbooking, blogging, reading, camping, and snorkeling (in Maui).

Ashlyn is seven and is a 2nd grader. She has been having a great year so far. Her favorite subjects in school are math and art. Ashlyn started gymnastics again and loves it. She officially can swim by herself which came in handy while in Maui. She learned 2 styles of swimming. She likes to help cook, sing 80’s Singstar Karaoke, tend to the garden, and babysits her little sisters. Ashlyn is excited that she has learned how to climb across the monkey bars in the backyard. She is really growing up and maturing.

Autumn is four and attends the Busy Bee Pre-school three times a week with Miss Becky and Miss Susan. She loves preschool and has made some really good friends so far this year. She keeps her teachers entertained daily. She took swim lessons again and can hold her breath for 10 seconds underwater. Autumn likes to ride her bike, draw pictures, sculpt with playdough, play in the playroom, and is always loving and kind to everyone. If you ask her where she would like to be, she always wishes she was on Baby Beach in Lahaina, Maui.

Aubrey is two and is mommy’s little sidekick. She is fully potty trained, sleeps in a big girl bed, and is talking in full sentences (she says the dandiest things). Aubrey is the family clown and always finds a way to make you laugh. At church, Aubrey usually enjoys going to Nursery. She loves to wear necklaces (multiple at the same time), carry purses/backpacks full of toys, and color (on everything, including all the walls throughout the house……and herself).

We want to wish your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We are extremely grateful for the love and friendship that you give to us. We send our love to you this Christmas Season!