School.....is here!!

Here are the 1st day of school pics.

Miss. P started a few days before the others. Dad took her picture....not in the official "1st day of school spot" but oh well. She is loving school so far and even thinking of trying to become a 7th grade Student Body Officer. It should be a fun year for her.

Miss. S is in 5th grade and according to her, "5th graders ALMOST rule the school"

Mr. A....see that spiky hair? He asked his dad to make it look extra spiky so that he would look hot for the girls. HEAVEN HELP ME! I am pretty sure that I smelled cologne on one of his class mates...they are 7yrs old for crying out loud.

Miss. K hasn't officially started yet. She is counting down the days til she can go to school with the other kids and not hang out with mom all day (7 more days to be exact).

And Hubby has started his 2nd yr of his masters program...but surprisingly he didn't want a 1st day of school picture taken. Silly man. So here is to a fun filled yr of homework, piano lessons, dance, reading, helping out in the class rooms, snack time, recess, and friends. Hope we all survive :)

Summer Adventure #14...this really is the last one

If you know the Ashby family, then you know we enjoy a good concert....so it is fitting to end the Summer Adventure series with a concert!

The concert was in Provo, they shut down Center Street and had 5 bands play( by the way, it was FREE).  It looked like it was going to rain, after about 5 drops it moved on, thank goodness. We had pretty good seats...and then after the 2nd band the crowd really got big and we had to put our chairs away and stand.

One of my good friends, Jenna Baker was there (click here to view her blog and read her story), so I had to get a picture with her. She is an amazing person, so honored to call her my friend.

2 of our favorite bands played (Allred and J.Wride), and of course we had to be in the front row.  The girls had on their favorite J.Wride shirts.  They got asked to come up on stage and show them off...they were a little embarrassed.

We also heard a new band called "The Young Electric" definitely a good band to follow.  I am excited to see them grow and get bigger...they look a little scary but they were amazing.

They played an acoustic set, the vocals were very smooth and solid. We will go see them again for sure.

And of course we had to get a picture with the girls favorite band, J.Wride.  The girls had a friend go with us, Sheridan, I think she is addicted to music as much as we are! What a fun way to end the summer....until next year my friends.

Summer Adventure #13

Bear Lake.....oh so fun!

The water was perfect and because a lot of schools started this week there weren't a lot of people...fabulous! The lake is usually a little more Jade Green looking, but it is so full that it looks a lot darker this year. We had inner tubes that the kids loved playing on. 

 Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a tour of the Minnetonka Caves. It was fun to have them with us. 888 steps and 1 hr 45 minutes later we were finished.  We were all glad we took coats, because the inside or the cave was 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Like being in a refrigerator.

This is how you make the PERFECT s'more....patience my friend patience. And that is why I can't make them, only Dad can!

And we always need to add a little ADVENTURE to make our trip fun....lots of that happened to us.

1. This is a picture of a fun "Golf" game...you throw the golf balls and try to get them to wrap around the poles...a squirrel stole one of the balls. They thought it was a nut, crazy squirrel.

2. Miss. K cut her pinkie toe open WHILE we were setting up camp.

3. The camp rangers had a dog....it peed on the tent, grrrrr.

4. During the first night there, we thought there was a cat roaming through the camp...nope...it was a SKUNK!!!

5. The above mentioned skunk stole a bag of rolls...we never saw them again.

6. Last but not least....while I was helping to take the tent down a bungee cord flew up and hit me in the eye, my first black eye! (actually it is already looking a lot better--ice can do wonders)

Even though we had a few bumps on our camping trip we also had a lot of fun. We loved the lake, loved the cave, loved the s'mores, played soccer with the kids, played volley ball with the kids, played cards, sang songs, met some German campers that sang in German...late into the night :) We also played on the little swing set they had at the campground....and this is what won me the "Coolest mom" of the year award!!!

Yep I am still young enough to get up on the monkey bars...although it did give me a little bit of a headache...but don't tell the kids :)

And that is the end of Summer...no more adventures....or maybe we can squeeze one more in?

Husbands 20th High School Reunion

I learned a few things from attending my husbands HS reunion last night...here's the top 10...

10. It's a great reason to get a new dress.

9. Drunk people THINK they are funny.

8. My husband is and probably never will be a huge social butterfly. He enjoys sitting back and listening/watching everyone.

7. If people are truly your friends you really don't need a HS reunion to get together with them.

(Jason and Julie--yep they still hang out with us on occasion :)

6. Most people look the same as they did in their HS pictures, just a little rounder, and balder :)

5. The music from 1991 was pretty awesome.

4. Gas was $1.14 a gallon the year he graduated, who knew.

3. It's really hard to get 100 + people into one picture, but they sure try.

2. I still like the people from my graduating class better than his!

1. I married THE best looking guy from that graduating class, just saying.

It was a fun night out. I am glad we went.

Name that vegetable.....

Question:  What do you get when you plant a pumpkin by a summer squash, and a zucchini?

Answer:  A "Pumsquainni" of course.

This magnificent specimen grew from a pumpkin seed. Kind of curious to see what the inside looks like and tastes like...any one want to volunteer to taste it?

Summer Adventure #12

 The Ward Campout!

Blackhawk Campground up Payson canyon.

 Mr. A told me that all campers were hunters...this is his hunting wardrobe!

 The Bishop brought Otter Pops for the kids to eat...he spoils the kids in our ward.

 See Miss. P with her Otter pop?

 We played a few Minute-To-Win-It games. Miss. S trying really hard to get that cookie in her mouth without using her hands.

And we always need a "Good Morning" picture, right?

After we packed up our camping things we went fishing at Payson Lake. Sad to report we didn't catch anything. It may have to do with the fact that Mr.A can't let a line just sit....he loves to reel it in. We also had a few "chatty" girls that may or may not have scared the fish away. Miss. K said it was OK that we didn't catch anything because we had good snacks. Yes she is my daughter...if you have chocolate you shall not fear!

Just a funny picture to brighten your day!

We call this "TRAMPOLINE HAIR". (note: I have my hair in a ponytail, those are my flyaways...crazy static)

Summer Adventure #11

This is a 2 for 1 summer adventure....

#1

This is what happens when you send your children to my house to play...they fall out of the tree and brake their wrist!!!! I felt so bad when it happened...the little boy it happened to was kind of excited that he gets to wear a cast to the first day of school, that's a boy for ya!

#2

My nephew Mr.B turned 8 and got baptized!! Always fun to see the cousins...so we left 2 of my kids in Idaho and brought 2 of my sisters kids home. 

Only a few weeks left before summer is over....what will we do next?