Family

We just had Family Photos taken in late October by our wonderful neighbor who has an amazing eye. Here are some of my favorites from our photo session with her. 

I think they turned out pretty well. My kids are pretty much the cutest things on the planet so that helps of course. 

But why stop there? Some of our siblings have also had their family photos taken, and since this ultimately is for posterity I thought it would be nice to include some of their photos too. 

My oldest sister, Janet, did family photos this year in Vegas. She has a beautiful family! My niece and nephew, Thomas and Lauren, are total model material. 

And Shaun's older sisters also did family photos this year:

This is Stephanie's family. They look great! Plus they are tons of fun.

His sister, Heidi, did family photos as well. 

And his youngest sister, Haley, just posted these sweet pics of her and her son:

I know. I married into a beautiful family, inside and out. And my sweet Amelia looks so much like Heidi and her daughter, Madison. She got some pretty good genes. 

No photos of my other two siblings families, Michelle and John Paul, but of the seven families all combined having five isn't so bad. So as we enter into a season of Thanksgiving, I want to give thanks to our family. In the end, that's what matters most, and I'm so grateful to have a loving family that I was born into and that I married into. 

 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Man

 

Have I told you how much I enjoy having a little boy? Especially this little boy. He's happy, funny, easy going, and such a cuddle bug. He loves his family and his family adores him! And his mom, well she just might be completely smitten😍.

Alex loved all things balls. Basketball, football, tennis balls, it doesn't matter. He is fascinated. And he's pretty coordinated too. He could out dribble half of the kids on Amelia's soccer team. 

A few of Alex's favorite things:

eating

his family

music

balls

Alex might just love his sleep the next best. He's a great sleeper. Sometimes the way he passes out cracks me up.

He is so handsome!

So this little post is devoted to my handsome boy! I love you to pieces!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reunited and it Feels So Good

My very dear friend, Veeda, came into town for her sister's baby's blessing in George Town. She took some time out to come visit us in Warrenton. Man how I love this friend. Some friends become more like family, and Veeda certainly falls into that category. She moved into my middle school in 8th grade with her big glasses and fashionable hats. She was different from all of my other friends. She had lived all over the world with her step-dad being in the military. When I found out she was also LDS, I got really excited that there was one other girl in my grade who believed what I believed. We quickly became the best of friends. Going to different high schools didn't even bother us. And then when it came time for college, we were both off to the BYU. Even though our freshman year we weren't roommates. I lived on campus and Veeda lived just a few blocks away at the Glenwood (which we lovingly referred to as "the Glen Hole" to give you an indication of its loveliness). We were still inseparable, and come sophomore year we were ready to be roomies. We were already roomies over the summer when Veeda stayed with me at my house and we shared a room the summers of 98 and 99. Ash, those were fantastically fun times, only to be matched in fantasticness by our many adventures at the BYU. We remained roommates until Veeda left on her mission after our Junior year. I stayed and finished my degree and had moved to CA and back to VA before she came home. Her family had moved over seas again, but we've remained in touch. I don't think I've ever had a friend like Veeda before or since. She is indeed a forever friend. So that's a long intro, but it was certainly fun to have her here with her husband. We reminisced about high school and all the fun times we had together. We may be getting older, but I think we are just as cute as ever.

We had this amazing group of friends in high school. We had regular get together sat the Davies and we had many adventures together. It was a little surreal to all be back together again. 

Jeni, Veeda, and I. 

And Chris, Veeda and I were the best threesome through out high school and college. I owe a lot of who I am as a person to these two. Obviously we are awesome!

So here's to amazing friends that help shape the choices you make and help you become the best possible version of yourself! I love these guys. We had a nice evening catching up. 

 
 

 

 
 

Skyline Drive 2016

We took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and took a trip down Skyline Drive. Hopefully the kids got something out of it more than hitting each other on the long car ride. We tried to make some positive memories and it was a beautiful technology free evening. 
 

 

 

Horse Back Riding Times Two

Ella has been doing horse back riding lessons once a week. Her papa who thinks the sun rises and sets with her has generously offered to pay for the lessons since she loves animals so much. She's been doing a great job too according to papa. It's kinda become their little thing, and quite honestly it's a nice respite for us as Ella has been having some tough challenges lately. 

And on the subject of horse back riding, Alex got to have a taste of riding a horse too this fall. He went with his sitter, Ms. Becky, to her son's preschool field trip. ⚠️ Warning: I think these might be the cutest pictures I've ever seen.

I told you these were cute.

And just one more of sweet Alex with Noah

Okay, you're welcome for your dose of daily cuteness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trunk or Treat 2016, Inside Out Style

Well I'm not gonna lie, I think we nailed it at the Trunk or Treat this year. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. If you haven't seen the movie Inside Out, first of all, you should. It's excellent! Second of all, you may not get our costumes. 

Someone had fun being "Joy". She played the part perfectly. 

"Fear" was looking mighty cute last night.

"Anger" may not have even had to pose for this picture after getting 3 kids ready for the evening. 

"Sadness" was a fun role to play.

"Disgust " failed to be a part of any pictures because, well.. she was disgusted with being a part of a family costume. Note to mom: 8 year olds don't think that is cool, hence the fact that she did not participate in our family costume on Halloween night. She went independently as Cleopatra again this year. 

Halloween Night:

So when Ella went out on her own, we all sort of followed suit. Alex was Yoda again, and Shaun went the whole Santa route. I was mom again and stayed home to pass out candy. 

And the girls had lots of fun joining the other kids in the neighborhood. 

We had Little Red Riding Hood, two green ninjas, a gypsy, and Kit from "A League of their Own."