Tis The Season

So it's that time of year again. Christmas tree hunting with the Belnaps...and my sister who wanted to tag along because she had never been. This year was fun..well sort of. First of all Ellie was sick so she stayed in the car in her pj's singing Christmas songs and Sophie was asleep for the intial cutting of the the tree. But as you can see, she found some fabulous boughs for decorating. Usually it takes us a while or I should say it takes my OCD husband a while to find the perfect tree. But this year we literally got out of the car..walked about 50 feet and there it was. Our perfect tree. Nate didn't even want to look further (What!) So who was I to argue. It really was the perfect tree and really cold so we cut it down and were on our way. I love this tradition and with more and more people putting up those non-smelling artificial trees (no offense to all of you), it just wouldn't seem like Christmas without the pine smell and needles all over the carpet. So Merry Christmas and Happy tree hunting...and thanks to McCall who lugged all the boughs around the forest for my decorations.

For Reals

She did it...after months of pestering, we finally decided to let Ellie get her ears pierced. I always thought my girls would be eight..because I was. But after talking to Nate about it, (He let me know that just because I was 8 didn't mean that it was the rule of the universe :) we would let her do it. I decided it was ok as long as she knew all that was involved. Sitting at the shop, she kept saying "But is it gonna hurt?" She asked that 100 times and I thought she might bail out. But she was a trooper and did great. Only a few tears. So Happy 6th Birthday to my cutest oldest daughter. I thought only 2 seconds about getting Sophie's done. she'd have those suckers ripped out faster than they could be put in.

Yeah for me!

So on Saturday, I ran my first 5k ..I know what you're thinking..Ashley?? Run?? That's right I did it. Now before I get into details, let me first tell you my running history. I hate running. I hate everything about it except for how good you feel afterwards. It all began in middle school when i was fat and we had to run the cross country mile. I always had anxiety..tried everything to be gone that day.. I always finished last and it took me 21 minutes. and I am not exaggerating. you don't forget humiliating things like that. Ok so now to the present. I have 2 girlfriends i started walking with this summer and we started running..little by little. I was up to a mile and a half without stopping..don't laugh that's good for me. Well next thing I knew i was signed up for the Turkey Trot and so nervous..like diarrhea nervous (more info than you wanted..oh well) So i did but did not want to do the race but there I was Sat. morning all decked out in my running gear. So all in all, I finished the race which was my goal. I was not last and after I was pretty darn proud of myself..And to top it off, they had extra turkeys (that's what you win if you actually can run) so they drew names out of a hat and i won a turkey. So there you have it..yeah for me and my turkey :)..p.s people say you get addicted to these races...me ..not so addicted. And I did have my camera not but my friend took a pic that I'll try to post later. Power to all the runners out there!

Trick or Treat..Smell my Feet

Here we are..already to trick-or-treat. Sophie and Ellie are witches and Connor picked this random army dude. you should have seen all his sweat when he took of his helmet. Whoa! And all of you who know how much Sophie loves to wear clothes, will be proud to know that she made it half-way around the block before it was off. Happy Halloween!

MEET JACK!

We finally carved our pumpkins this year...the day before Halloween. Nate gets so worried if we do them to soon..cause they start to sag and all. Anyways here is our great art work.

Connor's pumpkin..artwork and all
Sophie's pumpkin

Guess whose this is???

Now in honor of Twilight, I did this. Edward and Bella. It might be hard to tell. for those of you who can't figure it out it is just thier profiles...Get it yet?

Captain Nate and his Pirate ship..nice work babe.

Elli's slightly monotone Singing debut

So I am obviously not techno savvy..I mean really look at the quality of this great video. I had to use our old camera cause Nate says our Cannon Rebel doesn't do videos..which I can't believe because it was so expensive. Anywho..I had to get Ellie singing this song. Of course she only knows the chorus. But she sings loud and proud!

LEGO-LAND

Happy Halloween to all the girls!

Don't you worry..those giraffes in the background..made completely of legos

OK so I'm not gonna lie..for all of you who are thinking "should we go to Lego-land" let me help you out. Nope! Not gonna lie it's kind of ghetto. I mean there were a few cool parts but overall I was disappointed. First of all Sophie was like 1/2 inch to short for any of the rides (like they were even scary). The coolest part was seeing this part called Miniland. They have the Las Vegas Strip, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC and lots more all made out of Legos..it's insane really. They used 24 million Lego's just for New york and I took a photo of the UPS truck in honor of Nate since he couldn't come. The other fun part was the water park..ok and if you do ignore my warning and go, take your swimsuits. Because of course we didn't and then the kids see it and want to swim..and then you end up buying swimsuits and towels. I was cheap and bought Sophie a swim diaper and called it good. She had a blast. Thanks to Uncle Rob for getting all soaked just for her.

SHA-MUU

Sea world was definitely the most fun for my kids. Honestly the dolphin and whale shows are incredible. Sophie was in awe as she watched "sha-muu" And Connor along with the rest of my brave family sat close enough to get drenched. Us smart people sat high up. We got to play with sting-rays, starfish, see penguins, dolly the dolphin and tons of other great stuff. The weather was great and there weren't tons of people so it was a great time to go. Thanks mom and dad!

Dodger Blue

So last week for UEA my family went to California. Our first stop was LA for a Dodger game. They actually had made the play-offs. Anyways it sounds like fun right..the hot dogs, peanuts, 7th inning stretch (where you actually sing "Take me out to the Ballgame"..yes I did not know that), new T-shirt..all that great stuff. Oh but the part you didn't know was that we arrived 2 hours early just following a 6 hour car ride with 3 kids..one of which is almost 2. So after it was all said and done, i think I saw about 3 batters. And the photo of Sophie drinking was about the longest she sat still. Then after the game we travelled another 2 hours to San Diego. I was so tired that night I fell asleep holding Sophie's sippy cup and woke up in that exact same position. But Connor loved every minute and I think he is converted to the true blue religion. Go Dodgers!

Lucky, Blessed or Both?

Is this the hottest guy you've ever seen or what? I mean seriously..just look at that hottie :) While my brother Robbie wakeboarded, Nate wore is Aviators..and I had to take a few shots. I think he looks so good, we may have to steal them. I know I am the luckiest and most blessed to have this man in my life. Not only good-looking but so amazing..love you babe!

Lake Powell

So we just got back from Lake Powell, and this time Nate got to go! Hooray! It was a quick four days but we managed to cram in lots of fun. The kids had a great time...Sophie my 21 month old has no fear, runs right in, "swims" and then turns onto her back to float. She is crazy! Grandma and Papa Belnap even went for a Banana ride. Thanks to everyone..especially Rob and McCall for coming to help with the houseboat and to my parents for letting us use everything. What a great time!

School Days

This was Ellie's first day of official school. Kindergarten. I always take a picture before they go and Sophie was not about to be left out. So here they both are for the first day of school.

Seriously..kids!

So am I the only mother who has kids with a love/hate relationship? I swear these two either play so great or scream and yell at each other. So tonight I had had enough. ..even reminding Connor that he had just been baptized didn't work so I remembered my neighbor who had done this. I made them clean up their mess with their hands tied together. Connor took it okay..obviously Ellie thought otherwise. Anyways it worked..they cleaned up, brushed their teeth and are now watching cartoons quietly together. Maybe I'll do this forever:)

It's Great to be 8

Connor's special day. I can hardly believe I have a child old enough to be baptized. Crazy! Thanks to all of our family who came to support us!

WORTH A SHOT

So about 12 years ago when Nate and I were dating, we went hiking and came across this beautiful meadow. It was filled with flowers and a had a brook that ran through it. Picture perfect. Well a little while ago I started thinking about getting Sophie's pictures and I remembered this place. After so long, I started to wonder if I remembered it right and if it did exist. I talked Nate into going for a hike when we were at the cabin this past weekend. He carried Sophie the entire way, Connor and I did fine and Ellie whined the entire way. It was a rocky path (if a path at all) but when we stepped into that clearing, it was all worth it..almost. I changed Sophie into this tutu and headband and that's when she started being a stinker. You know how you get this preconceived idea in your head and then it doesn't turn out like you wanted. Well Sophie didn't think this photo shoot was fun at all..and Ellie cried about all the bugs. Oh life with children!! Well we managed a few salvageable shots..enjoy

YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT

Ok so Connor turns 8 on Saturday but we had a family celebration a little early and look what he got. So I was not all for this but my husband insists he's old enough. Connor has been asking for a BB gun and he got it. He was so excited he opened his present first thing in the morning and after a few "safety" pointers from his father (the man who shot himself) he was on his way and shot empty pop cans and targets all day long. What am I getting myself into???

JULY FOURTH

So here we are on a tradtional Richfield Fourth of July. A parade, fireworks and lots of candy. Does it get any better? The kids love getting the candy and Sophie caught on quick, picking up one piece at a time and shoving the whole thing in her mouth..wrapper and all. Happy Freedom Day everyone.

This past Saturday, we all got to go to Seven Peaks with Nates family. We had a great time other than the fact that Sophie smashed her big toe...enough to turn it black and blue within minutes. But she toughed it out and loved the water. Connor went on the big rides with Papa and Nate and I waited for like an hour to hit the new Vortex ride (think really big toilet) Anyways we had a great time and the kids loved it! Thanks grandma and grandpa..and I've decided I don't look half bad in a swimsuit..at least next to some of those people there. But don't worry not good enough to take off the boardshorts.

For those of you who know Connor, he kind of struggles in doing things by himself..like hanging up his clothes, tying shoes, etc. Well the other day I come upstairs, and lo and behold he was making himself a sandwich. I almost pooped my pants. This was a shocker to me..enough to get the camera out and take a few shots. See Connor you can do it!!