July 2013: Wolf Creek Weekend with the Family

 There is something great about all being in the same place at the same time! Lisa planned a fantastic get-a-way for our family. I was impressed with the location, cool weather, swimming, and plenty of room for the entire family. Wolf Creek was a success for sure.

 Lots of time to just chill... and spend time with everyone. 

JJ learned how to eat whip-cream from a can straight into his mouth... thanks to Aunt Brenda and Cousin Tyler. He wasn't too sure at first... but oh, man it only took one lick and he was hooked.

Also, JJ and David loved paper airplanes being tossed up into the loft... good times.

 So, so, so glad there was a pool. Being 8 mo. preggo there are few things to enjoy doing. But the pool was a hit for me and for all the kids too. Actually I am pretty sure everyone like it. No fear with these nieces and nephews... jump right in.

 Trying to find a little something fun to do... took us to Golden Spike National Park. A little bit of a drive, but it was fun to see the trains, and again the kid-os sure liked it.

FUN and more FUN! Good laughs, and good food, good company.

Sadly I didn't take many photos. And what I did was with my phone. I am getting bad at that.

We also celebrated Kevin's 18th birthday while we were there. (Which he wasn't photographed by me at all.) Fun to have Justine join us... welcome to the family. ;)

What else... hum... so many good times. 

David (3 yrs old) told us all about Wonder Woman and her nice boobs. LOL... that was hilarious.

Emma girl (3 yrs old) was up for the pool at anytime even though she wasn't feeling that great.

JJ was his usual self FULL of ENERGY... if I could bottle that up and take for myself... WOW!

Candace and Tyler cooked some delicious pizza cups, I was impressed. Ty said they learned how in Foods class. ;)

Games with the siblings in the evening... We played Uno LISA style. Tricky business.

Alan and Joe did bike rides, Cruz did a long run/walk to the lake one morning.... And me... I just tried to relax and be as comfy as a 8 mo prego lady can be.

For Cruz and I it was a lot of driving, 767 miles! But it was worth each one.

I like this yearly family get-a-way... can't wait for next year when we have a almost 1 yr. old. 

Adventures for sure!

Cruz's Parents Visit SPRING 2013

The same day we returned from our HAWAII adventure we picked up Cruz's Parents from the airport.

 We were all very tired from all the flying that we just did... so it was a quick trip to see the flowers at the Bellagio, and some delicious dinner before we headed home. Seriously... I was exhausted, we had flown all night... and I didn't get much sleep.

 The next day we had all sorts of adventures. My boss, from Covenant was getting MARRIED... (see pictures below) and it was in St. George... so we went to her beautiful wedding. Sadly I forgot my camera, and so only got cell pics, but it was so fun to see her walk down the isle. Such a HAPPY day for her. LOVED it! Afterwards we took Cruz's parents for a little adventure around St. George, what a pretty place we live in!!

It was really fun to see Margaret get married, I am so glad we were able to attend!!! She was gorgeous.

While Cruz's parents were here, both Cruz and I had to work... so during the days they had to find their own hobbies! Cruz's Mom made lots of things for our baby! Booties, and a dress, hair band, some hats... she is very talented!! They also love to shop, they spent hours at home depot, wal-mart, and other places. Great time to stock up on things that are A LOT more affordable in the states. It was fun that we had our ultrasound while they were here. 

Cruz's parents are both super excited to welcome their 3rd granddaughter.

 We went to the Tuchan street fair... and then went to the Kayenta Street chalk art festival. Lots of fun, stunning works of art drawn on the ground! They also had yummy Mexican tamales... which were fun to have the in-laws try.

 Weekends were all about adventures while they were here... ZIONS! Cruz's Moms personal favorite. :)

From Zions we went straight to BRICE. So pretty and though still chilly there... we loved the view! We didn't visit here last time they visited... so it was all new for them!

 Cruz's "Uncle" was in Vegas for the weekend... so it gave us the perfect excuse to go there.... AGAIN! It was really nice for us to just have some fun with each other. We had dinner with him... but didn't take a picture.

 Hoover Dam! Wow, it's been forever since I had been there! They have totally revamped the visitors center etc... This was a great adventure, and Cruz's Dad really liked it. Nice to have something new to show them.

We had a great little weekend in Vegas... and then went back just 4 days later to take Cruz's parents to the airport! What a great vacation they had. We are so glad that they like to visit us! Cruz's Mom is always so nice and she cooks delicious meals for us while she is here. We are excited to have them come back when our little baby is born.

We had such a FUN time, I think we were all worn out by the end. :)

YAY! For lots of adventures!!!

august and september birthdays!

We have a lot of birthdays in august.

So, we have a big birthday party.

Gerald's is the 11th

Candace's is the 14th

(Who was on her honeymoon... so we gathered her gifts for later.)

Alan's is the 26th

and our Mom's is the 29th.

Let's eat cake!

... and we did.

Alan and Lisa hosted a little family gathering. 

We had good times, with good laughs.

Some funny things...

J.J. sticking his face in the air when the camera is out, and closing his eyes in case the flash goes off. Too cute, and really funny. He did want his picture taken.

Emma wanted to wear... a tutu, scarf, jacket, gloves, hat and a towel dress that you you use after a bath!  Needless to say she is into dress-ups. (When we were leaving she was wearing a red church dress.)

Happy birthday all of you!

And... speaking of family birthdays...

these guys have birthdays in September!

Since we won't get to celebrate in person... we will celebrate via blog style.

Cruz's sister Armery's birthday is TODAY. ¡Feliz Cumpleaños! Big hugs. Hope you have a wonderful day. This picture was from when we went to Venezuela. She is such a good little Mom to her little one. She has a big beautiful smile, and a contagious laugh. Miss ya. Hope your day is fantastic.

and... little Emma had her 3rd birthday on SUNDAY. Love ya silly little girly.
I know she was excited to have a birthday. She wanted pink cake! 

We hung out the weekend before, when her family came to St. G. and while on a hike I learned that PINK is her favorite color, and She doesn't want to get married. I asked if she knew Cinderella? She said nope. I told her after she gets to know Cinderella she may change her mind. She said, I don't think so. LOL.

Now that I am living in St. George, I am sure we will miss out on some birthday parties. Something that I will have to get used to. I've always lived around my family, except for when on a mission... and when I went to college for the 1st 2 years. I love a party, and love my family more. I'm going to miss little gatherings. But I am happy that I am in the same state, and I could go visit them at anytime. It makes me think how amazing my husband is. His family lives in another country. So far he only sees them every 4 years. Thank heavens for Skype, Facebook and email.

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Humphries

Candace and Corey got married!!!

Three cheers!

It was a beautiful day.

Candace looked beautiful and Corey looked very handsome.

They were both very, very happy.

I loved watching her dad walk her down the isle. 

They had a lovely little ceremony under a large tree filled with blowing pink ribbons 

with their closest family and friends. 

Later that day they had a fun reception that was cupcake sweet.

All of the planning and handwork paid off, everything was perfect pink.

The happy couple then escaped to a mexican cruise honeymoon.

So excited for my niece to be married.

I also go to design her wedding announcement.

She knew exactly what she wanted.

We spiced up her idea with some damask and bright pink.

She loves pink, and loves bright pink even better.

Love ya Candace.

Hope you are enjoying married life.

all designs © Christina Marcano

Let me know if you need a wedding announcement designed. :)

fantastic week { cruz's b-day, 4th of july, family, etc... }

I was so happy that Cruz's birthday was on a Saturday this year... so we could spend it together.

I was able to go down to St. George on Friday and stay until the 5th. It was the best.

Cruz wanted to go to Vegas for his birthday. I told him it would be too hot. He said he still wanted to go, so we went. Happy 29th birthday love. We had a good time... cheesecake factory, pools, freemont st., etc... Cruz's co-worker also gave him the awesome hamburger cake.

 While in St. George for almost the whole week...
Cruz still had to work on Monday and Tuesday... so, I spent a lot of time at the pool. I especially loved visiting in the morning before it was too hot, and it was just me. It was completely relaxing, and got a pretty good tan for me that is. ;)

It was our first time to celebrate the 4th of July in St. George.
It didn't disappoint. They had live music before the fireworks. Then the fireworks had music and words to go with... I loved it. Made me proud to be an American. They let off the fire works from 4 locations. This was fun, because it was like they were surrounding you.

 Oh, man is it hot in St. George. Good thing they have this yummy place to help you cool down.

I headed home on the 5th of July, and went back to work. Cruz came down on the 6th to Orem because the following day we had a little family reunion on the 7th. (That means I got to see him every day of the week.... FANTASTIC!)
We celebrated our Christmas in July party at the Mt. Timpanogos Park. At first it was super windy... but after a bit it wasn't bad. We had lots of yummy food, and lots of good chats with cousins, aunts, uncles.... It was fun to see everyone. Thanks Mom and Dad for planning everything, it was enjoyed by all.

Thank You.

Got to hang out with this little girl a few times last month (June). First was when her parents went on a date night. Since Cruz is gone, it was nice to have someone to be my side-kick for the night. She loves the camera, and always wants to take a picture. I was lucky to get a shot of her before she wanted to be the photographer. :) Em is in a fun stage, her little vocab is growing... sometimes she will say the funniest things. She will also repeat everything you say.
Also, her parents invited me for dinner the other night too. Which was nice. Lisa did a lot of the work since Alan has a hurt foot... and we added my parents to the table at the last minute... so thanks Lisa for being flexible and having me over for a delicious dinner. They also served Marion Berry Pie Ice Cream...WOW! That stuff is good!

Since Cruz has been in St. George and work has been less crazy busy... I've been a little bored... so it was good to have something to do with people.
Thanks Guys.

family get-a-way

Sometimes we just need to take time out from the busy life and relax!

This was a very over due Ashby Family get-a-way.

We rented this beautiful home up in Heber. It was quiet and the perfect weekend get-a-way place.

 Not far from the home, was a cute little pond/park. A good place to take the kid-os to get out of the house for a bit.

 during our stay we had 4 batmans... (Joe, David, JJ, Tyler!) We also had 3 supermans... (David, JJ, Kevin) Oh, and one supergirl... (emma)

 The little kids were loving their goggles they got for swimming... they wanted to wear them all the time. So, Grandpa joined them.

all and all it was a hit. Thanks Lisa for finding a great place to stay, and making it all happen.

jj's first birthday...

We celebrated JJ's birthday last weekend, but his actually birthday is TODAY.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JJ!!

The best thing about going to a one-year-old's birthday is watching them eat cake.

 JJ, was a pro.

 Nichole's friend made this adorable cake. Everyone said it was super yummy and very moist.

(I skiped cake, because I am not having sugar right now.)

 oh, boy! It was cute to see David help, he was so excited for JJ's birthday.

 First you smash it a little...

and then dig right in.

Happy Birthday little JJ. We love you, and hope you are having a great birthday.
Remember when JJ was just born... look at how small, here.