Christmas Time!

As usual Christmas was busy and wonderful at our house. Ayana is old enough this year to understand about Santa Claus this year, so it was fun to see her get so excited about meeting him and telling him her gift request (5 trains, some train track and a train table). Our Christmas season officially started at our church Christmas party where Santa claus made an appearance. Asher was not fond of him at all and decided he would fill the role of the screaming kid on Santa's lap, though he cheered up pretty quick when he got that candy cane!

Of course we got a real Christmas tree, we found a real pretty Frasier Fir and Trever got some large LED lights for it. I just love Christmas trees, they are so fun! The kids had a blast decorating, though I now understand why Mom had to "redecorate" every year after we went to bed when we were young. The kids sure liked to hang all the ornaments in one spot.

Christmas morning was it's usual mix of chaos, excitement and happiness, here are a couple of pictures of the kids in their new Christmas pjs before all the craziness began. Ayana got so excited to see that Santa had come and filler her stocking and left her some gifts.

They got many wonderful and well-loved gifts, but their favorite was their gift from Santa of a new train set. They could hardly contain themselves as they climbed all around that big box trying to get all the wrapping paper off. Trever got to spend most of his morning playing the typical Christmas morning Dad and putting it all together, but the kids have already spent many fun hours playing with them, so it was well worth it.
No Christmas would be complete if the kids didn't have at least as much fun with the packaging as with the presents, and Ayana and Asher were no exception. Here they are trying to pop some of the air pillows.

All in all, a wonderful Christmas season. I got a really nice, new viking sewing machine for Christmas and I can hardly wait to start my creating. I think my first project will be new aprons for the family along with Chef hats for the kids. Trever got mostly practical things, which is a switch for my kid-like husband, but he is excited to have a new backpack and shoes as well as a few video games.

I hope that all of you had a joyous season as well and that you took the chance to remember the Savior's birth along with all the other things that fight for your attention. Hope your new year is filled with adventure, fun and success in all you undertake!

Halloween Fun

We had a great Halloween! On Tuesday our ward youth hosted an awesome kids carnival, Ayana and Asher had a lot of fun playing the games and seeing their friends. Then on Friday we went to a place called Trick or Treat Street in Idaho Falls. It is an event where some of the local RV dealers loan the use of their RVs for local businesses to decorate and pass out candy from. We went with our friends the Lewises, they have 2 kids close to Ayana's age so they have a lot of fun together. After the trick or treating we all went out for dinner and had a great time. Then on Saturday night our complex had a dinner/Trunk or Treat. I made some peanut butter balls that looked like eye balls and won the award for best presentation, so that was pretty fun. The kids got so much candy at the Trunk or Treat that Asher couldn't even carry his bucket anymore because it was too heavy! All in all it was a great time. Trever and I did decide that we need to dress up next year, we felt lame at all the events in no costume. I made Ayana's with costume, and am pretty pleased with how it turned out. It is the first time I have ever done sleeves or a zipper in clothing. It was far from perfect, but she was the cutest witch ever. We bought Asher a hamburger costume at Old Navy and it was sure a hit, everyone commented on it and thought he was so adorable. Hope all of your Halloween's were as wonderful as ours! Here are some pictures of our little monsters!

5 Silly Monkeys

Someday soon I am going to take the time to put a real post on here again...until then enjoy this adorable video of our little angel Ayana singing her new favorite song!

So summer finally arrived in full here in Rexburg. Less than a month ago we were still having weird snow flurries, but now we are in the 80s everyday. It is hot, but fun. We are definitely missing our old apartment with the air conditioning. Right now in our apartment it is 84 degrees, that is with the windows open and the fans running 24-7. Oh well though, we'll survive. We have been enjoying the summer sunshine and having lots of fun. There is a program that provides free lunch for kids at a couple of the local parks 5 days a week. So almost every day we either walk or ride the bike to the park for the lunch and to play for a while. At Porter Park there is the splash park that some of you played at with us last summer. The kids love it. There are a lot of different size fountains and a few water slides. Ayana finally got brave and now goes down the water slides on here own. Ayana is still in toddler lab at the University and she enjoys all the different activities they have there. The teachers are very creative and there is always something new to try. Her favorites are playing at the sensory table (usually has water or rice in it), playing outside, and the role play area (mini grocery stores, etc.). Today while Ayana was at class we brought Asher's little push toy that helps him walk and he LOVED having long hallways to walk down instead of crashing into the walls all the time like at home. Our other summer activity is the library reading programs. We go to story time every week and Ayana loves to get stickers in her program book for being read to every day and get her prizes like passes for the carousel at the park, etc. I am in a reading program too and have been able to earn some fun certificates like free ice cream and a swimming pass. We are excited for when Trever is done with school in another month so he can join in more of the fun with us. Other than that we just hang out at home and try not to melt. Last Saturday we went with some friends to some local caves and had fun walking through them. Asher got a little bothered by the dark toward the end, but Ayana loved using a flashlight and did really well walking on the uneven ground and scrambling over the rocks. Anyway, here are some pictures of our latest adventures. Love you all!

Ayana and Asher with their friends at the caves


Splash park fun







Ayana enjoying the country girl lifestyle at a local stores anniversary celebration

Lesson of the day

Today at church a man told a story that really struck me. I though I would share it on here, both so I can remember it for the next time I need reminding and also just in case it help any of you. Here it is:

There was a man who desperately wanted a nice lawn. He spent all his time out in his yard trying to get rid of the weeds that were growing among his grass. Every Saturday he would go to the local nursery and buy another product to try to kill those weeds. When a week passed and he didn't see a noticeable difference he would go back to the nursery again and get another product to try. He did this for a couple months with little success in killing all those weed for good. At the nursery there was an old man who had been a landscaper for many years and was an expert in lawn care. After several months of watch the young man come in and buy weed killers he finally approached him and gave him some advice. He told the young man to forget the weeds and spend his efforts fertilizing and nourishing the grass. Then with only the exception of a few necessary pluckings now and then he would no longer have the weeds. Instead he would have a beautiful lush lawn that kept the weeds from growing in the first place.

The speaker then compared this story to us as parents. How often we spend our energy on the things we see as faults in our children. We put so much effort into plucking out and killing the weeds in their lives that we are out of energy to do the fertilizing. Sometimes we even do the same thing in our own lives. If we focus on encouraging and nurturing the good things we see in our children and ourselves then we will discover that those things will blossom until there is no more room for the bad. So save your plucking for the really big things and otherwise just spend lots of time fertilizing and enjoying the wonderful lawn it produces in our lives.

The Kids' Dance Party

I (Trever) took this video a while back and thought it was a lot of fun to watch the kids get down. Enjoy!

Asher is 1!

So,our little man is growing up, on Tuesday he turned one! He is such a joy to have in our family. His favorite things at the moment are standing up (still holding on though), filling and emptying containers, and anything involving him getting attention from Mommy, Ayana, or Daddy. He finally decided it was okay to crawl on his hands and knees, but still army crawls when he wants to get somewhere fast. He will walk with help and is beginning to cruise along the furniture, but I think it will be a little while before he really walks. No words yet, so maybe he will be a late talker like Ayana, we'll see. He is definitely a Momma's boy, he prefers Mom to anyone else, but will settle for Dad when he has to. I am sure that if Ayana was able to carry him around he would like her best though, he always wants to be where she is and do what she is doing. He is a very happy little boy quick to smile for his family, but a little shy around strangers. He loves to eat cheerios and kix and just about anything else he can get his hands on. He is still my little snatcher who will grab a hold of anything and everything, even when you are sure it is out of his reach. He is a wonderful addition to our family and we feel so blessed to have him!

Here are his one year old stats:

weight: 21 lbs (20th percentile)

height: 28 inches (3rd percentile)

5 teeth

and

The cutest little smile ever seen!

Asher's first picture

Asher at 5 months

Asher at 10 months

Asher as a One Year Old!

So last week we had Weinhard's Root Beer with our dinner. THe kids were enthralled with the bottles. Trever saved the last few sips of his for Asher and gave him the bottle. He couldn't quite figure out how to drink from the bottle, but he sure loved playing with it. So here's some cute pictures of my two crazy kiddos. We are excited for Asher's birthday in a couple of days, and I will be sure to post some pictures of him enjoying his birthday cake.

Ayana trying to play her bottle like a flute

Dad, this bottle is just too tall!

The Mouse House!

So I am finally getting a time when the computer is available and I am awake and the kids are not needing my attention for a moment, it is a miracle! Life around here is jam packed and wonderful as usual.

A couple weeks ago between semesters we went on a whirlwind vacation to Disneyland, or as Ayana likes to call it "The Mouse House." It was a belated 5th anniversary trip and just an opportunity to do something besides the same old same old in Rexburg. After the LONG drive to California we spent the first night at my sister Shannon's house. The kids did amazingly well on the drives. Asher decided to get 2 new teeth just before the trip and had been super fussy so I was worried, but it turned out to be a blessing because he slept much more than he normally does during the drive. Shannon was kind enough to add my two crazy kids to her brood for a couple of days, so the next morning Trever and I (sans kids) left and headed to Anaheim.

We spent two blissful days just he and I and it was fabulous. This is the first time since Ayana was born that we have been on a date longer than about 8 hours and certainly the first nights without any kids around. It sure was a nice break and made me appreciate them more when they came back. We had a ton of fun riding the rides and enjoying all the fun. We enjoyed a number of the rides, but I think our favorites were Indiana Jones and Toy Story Midway Mania where you ride through and play a bunch of midway games in a video game type format. We thought it was a blast. We also went and saw the Aladdin show that is a live musical theater presentation. It was cool to see and made us excited for the day in the future when we can afford and have time to go t regular theater events. We also swam in our hotel pool, ate at some yummy restaurants and I got to sleep for 8 whole hours 2 nights in a row. All in all it was a great two days.

The third day we met up with Shannon to get the kids back and took them with us to Disneyland. It was sure a different place when you experience it with 2 small children. Asher was too young to do much, but I think he still enjoyed himself. Ayana was a little overwhelmed at first, but once we got in the swing of things she really enjoyed herself. She LOVED meeting Mickey Mouse and going through his house. Her favorite ride was Autopia where she got to drive a car around the track with a little help from her Dad. She also always talks about "going on the boat to see sharks" For some reason she loves sharks and remembers vividly the nemo ride where you go on a submarine and see clips from Nemo as well as some underwater scenes. At the time the ride scared her a bit, but now she talks about it constantly. Asher was a great kid who just enjoyed hanging with his mom a lot and the few rides he was able to go on. Now every day Ayana asks "to go to the Mouse House."

It was a wonderful vacation and we had a great time. Now we are counting down till the end of July when we get to go camping in Utah for a week. Vacations are always the best, especially with Trever who can make anything fun and enjoyable.

Other than that, life is the same as always. As you saw, I cut my hair pretty short, I don't think it looks very good in the picture below, but I've figured out some other ways to do it that look better. All in all though, I have now had short hair and know for sure that it is not the look for me. Though short hair is amazingly convenient, and to never have it in your face is great!

My very smart husband finished another semester with straight A's and only has another year and half to go. Now we are beginning to look into Grad school and taking the GRE and all that fun stuff. Right now he is thinking about either MIT or BYU in Provo. We'll see what happens.

Anyway, after all my jabbering here are some pictures from the mouse house...

My Wonderful Life

Today I just feel blessed, I am not sure if it is because of conference reminding me of what's important, or why I feel it so strongly right now, I just know that I do. I have the most amazing husband. He takes such good care of me and the kids. He doesn't fill the traditional breadwinner role right now, but he does so much more. He cooks dinner almost every night and breakfast on the weekends. He is so great with the kiddos, even doing things he doesn't want to (like reading Dora books to Ayana). He is the glue that holds our family together. Whenever I am in a bad mood or something he is always understanding and when there is even the tiniest bit of fault in his corner he is always the first to apologize. My favorite thing about Trever is how he can always make us smile. It is such a blessing in my life to have a fun-loving husband. We don't get to spend more than an hour or so a day together right now, but he always makes it count. We are so looking forward to the time when school is done and I don't work overnight and we can see each other more. He is my greatest blessing and I am so grateful to have his love in my life.

I am also blessed to have two of the cutest kids that ever existed. Ayana is so sweet and is always telling me that she loves me and giving me kisses. It is so much fun to watch her learn and grow, and always exciting to see what she'll come up with next. Asher is so quick to smile and always makes you feel special when you do the littlest things for him.

My life is far from where I dreamed it would be at 28 years old. However, it is more full of happiness and blessings than I ever imagined it could be.

Anyway, just wanted to post my happy thoughts of the day; hope all of you are feeling much the same!

We found one!

Well, we are officially van owners. I am a little sad about not having my car, it was the first vehicle I ever owned that I really loved and it was very reliable and great mileage. However, I am very excited about the van that we got. It is a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country Limited. It is really in great shape with only a few small scratches, and no stains or anything. It has lots of fancy extras like memory seat positioning, heated seats, DVD player for the kids, etc. I would probably never pay for those things if I was picking all the features myself (especially the DVD player) but when you buy used you just get what you get as far as that stuff goes. We feel really good about the deal we got. They took $3000 off the original asking price (which was the blue book value) and gave us $1500 more than what blue book said to expect for our trade in. In the end we got a much nicer van than we were expecting to be able to get and we are very excited about it. I already love how much space we have. It does feel really strange to be way up high in the van instead of really low like my car. We will probably take a picture or two this weekend and I will post one for you all to see

Well, it seems like it has been forever since I posted on here. Not much is going on in our lives, The kids are growing like crazy and are more fun every day. Asher is still working on the crawling, but I know it will be any day now that he is an expert at it; he is so close! He started waving a few weeks back but now he just loves to wave at you, especially if you wave at him first, then he tries to copy the way you waved at him. He loves to be held, and gets mad if you ever put him down, though the other day at church he thought being down was alright when there were two little girls on the floor to watch and steal toys from. Ayana is turning out to be a real character. She loves to play the xylophone that Dad made for Christmas and sing at the top of her lungs "La, La, La" Her latest thing is whenever Dad asks if she wants a piggy back ride, or to ask for a ride she starts oinking like a pig, it is pretty funny. She loves to play ghost, and to be outside, luckily the weather has finally started to warm up. She likes to crawl around the house to try to show Asher how, or to push on his bum to try to get him to crawl. She is not good at sharing toys, but in every other way is a wonderful and helpful big sister. Trever and I have just been doing the same old thing. He is doing well as always in his classes. He is also getting very excited for the warmer weather because that means it is almost time to get his RC truck out again! We spent a good few hours yesterday getting our car all cleaned and ready to sell. Hopefully by this weekend we will be able to trade it in, and between that and some cash we have end up with a van. I always said I never wanted a van, but now I can't wait to own one! If any one has any recommendations for a good type of van let me know.

So Asher had his 9 month checkup yesterday, and he is doing great, he weighed in at just over 16 lbs. Still very small for his age, but he is finally actually on the charts. I am amazed that the kid is not huge, he will eat anything we are willing to give him and if Ayana leaves her snacks in his reach for even a few seconds he is doing everything he can to get them He gets more and more active every day and is turning out to be a real crack-up. He is a total Momma's boy, he wants very little to do with anyone other than me. Even when Trever is holding or playing with him he spends most of his time watching me to make sure I don't get too far away. He is still doing his Army crawl, but occasionally lifts up on his knees when he is really mad at me for walking away from him.

Ayana is doing great, she is finally starting to really get the talking thing. Still not many real sentences and still a few of her own invented words, but there seems to be at least one new word in her vocabulary every day. She is definitely a kid who likes to do things at her own pace and I guess talking just wasn't appealing before. Lately she loves to have stories read to her, luckily, I also love to read stories so sometimes we will sit and read books for an hour or more at a time. She loves the library, and almost any book is a hit, but she especially loves those with bears and "Boots" (the monkey from Dora the Explorer) She had her first real primary activity day on Saturday, and won her first black eye in a game of tag with the big kids. She took it pretty well all things considered.

Trever is doing well in school as usual. We decided to have him quit his job because to tiny amount of money was not worth the amount of time he missed with the family and the time I missed sleeping, etc. It has worked out well because now most days I am able to get about 5 hours of sleep, and still see him for at least a while during my waking hours. He is very good to me and cooks dinner almost every evening while I am asleep so I don't have to wake up early. That's about it for us.

So, I finally have some time at the same time as the computer is available to get a post on here. Life here is going great. Since my last post we had a wonderful Thanksgiving (If you ever want a really good turkey recipe try Emeril's Funky Bird, delicious). The weekend after Thanksgiving we went to Salt Lake to have a mini vacation and to do some Christmas shopping. We got a lot done and had fun as well, Ayana loved staying in the hotel and the pool was as warm as a bath tub, it was great. We also stopped by Temple Square and enjoyed a few hours there. Christmas was great as well. Our tree and all the presents pretty much took up our whole tiny living room, but that's okay. We missed all of you on Christmas especially, but we had a nice quiet family Christmas just the same. Since then Trever is back in school and I am back to the regular schedule, but that's okay, only 2 years to go!

Ayana seems to be learning more everyday. She talks a lot, and though we still can't understand a lot of it there is at least one or two new words every day. Some of the words seem to be her own made up words, but we at least know what they mean now. She still adores her brother, and always wants to give him hugs and kisses and get him toys, though she gets mad at him if he takes a toy she was playing with (even if she hasn't played with it for the last 10 minutes). She is just about the silliest girl in the world and now refers to herself as "the me" As in "the me's toys, theme's juice, the me's beep beep (nose). She loves cheese, so anything that she eats that she likes automatically gets called cheese. She definitely has a two year old mind of her own, but is still a great kid, who listens very well to the things we ask her to do.

The Asher man is growing like crazy, he is still tiny for his age, under the 5th percentile on the growth charts, but he's getting there. He's got one tooth with a second just starting to break through and can now sit up by himself. He hasn't really showed any interest in crawling yet, but can get just about anywhere he wants by rolling there. He loves his food and when you are feeding him if you take too long between bites he wrinkles up his nose and pokes out his lips and huffs and puffs at you through his nose, it cracks us up every time. He still gets mad if he is not being held or played with every waking moment, but that's okay. He is much more active and curious than Ayana was at this age. His nickname is Asher the snatcher, because anything with in his reach he snatches. For example when we go to the store I have to be careful not to get him too close to the shelves or he knocks everything off them trying to getahold of it. He babbles quite a bit and I think that he will probably be an earlier talker than his sister has been, but we'll see. They are a lot a like, but so different at the same time. I think he is going to give us a run for our money once he starts walking.

Trever got straight A's again in his classes and is generally enjoying what he is learning. This semester should be nice because his schedule is less spread out than it was last semester so he is able to be home more which means more family time and more sleep time for me. Trever got some new parts for his monster truck (remote control) forChristmas so he is super excited for it to warm up enough that he can get out an drive it again. I got a couple new games that I am excited to play too, though they are all more than 2 player so we need to get some friends over so we can play them. Anyway, sorry about such a long post, but I guess that's what happens when there is so long in between. Here's some pictures for you to enjoy. We love you! Amber

This was one of Ayana's favorite Christmas presents this year, we found it for a great price at Ikea, and she loves it, this was her attempt to copy what I drew on the board for her.
Here's Asher the reindeer on Christmas Eve, I think these pajamas are just adorable, Ayana didn't want to cooperate to get her picture taken in her Christmas PJs
Ayana loves to wear her Daddy's headphones, but this time she insisted that Asher get a turn too.
Grinning away in his sister's chair
Look at me, I can sit up all by myself!
Ayana loves to eat sour cream, just hand her the spoon to lick after you are done with it and you have made her the happiest girl in the world
We stopped at Temple Square on our trip to Salt Lake,Ayana was very cute here, she was full of energy and very noisy the rest of the time, but when we got here she got quiet and just kept whispering "Jesus" over and over again.
Ayana loves her bubble baths, though she still hates to get her hair washed