Ashlyn saves Kronk!

So two Saturdays ago, Ashlyn and Logan were taking their daily bike ride.....It was after we got home from the lake. Enterprise had a terrible rain, thunder and lightning storm! Well, as they were riding, Logan noticed a kitten laying on the side of the road in a puddle of water in some gravel. They rode over to it and were excited to find this kitten. Right away, Logan rides to the house as fast as he can and asks me what to do. We told him they should go around that neighborhood and see if they can find his owner. After about an hour, they came home with the kitten. Ashlyn had him zipped up in her hoodie to keep him warm. They were very cute with him. They took baby wipes outside to clean him up. They brought him back in the house and we realized something was wrong with him. He couldn't stand up, he wouldn't eat or drink. We were worried he maybe had distemper. We stressed out as we have two other kittens already. So Ashlyn and Logan found a box to put him in. We figured we see how he was in the morning. Ashlyn could not go to sleep. She just cried and cried and was thinking about how he was all alone outside in a box. My mom and I fixed up a little bed for the kitten and brought him into the garage. The next morning, he seemed a little better. Better meaning, he actually lifted his head. He still could walk. Ashlyn had to give him water by dropper every hour. Slowly but surely, he was getting a little better everyday. By the time we left on our trip on Thursday morning, he was starting to walk. He was crouched down, but walking. He was eating canned food. So big improvement! On Tuesday I had made some flyers with his cute picture on it. Wednesday morning my mom and Ashlyn hung flyers all over Enterprise. We were sure it was someones pet. In the meantime, Ashlyn had named him Boots. She loved boots a lot and was hoping we would not find the owner. He was a very tame cat! He just hugs you and loves you. The cutest thing! Well on Thursday as we are driving through Grand Junction, the owner called. It was indeed their cat. He got scared during the storm and took off. We still don't know how he got hurt....anyway. His name was actually Kronk. While my mom was on the phone with her explaining how Ashyn had nursed him to health, Ashlyn was in the backseat crying. She just kept saying, she didn't think that was going to be the last time she ever saw him. The other family ended up picking him up on Sunday and agreed to have Ashlyn over to visit him anytime she wanted. She was happy about that. She also decided to become at Vet! I am so proud of her for rescuing the kitten. She is very sensitive and loves all animals. It was hard to see her cry, but she had a good experience. She now knows what a good deed she did!

Ashlyn's Obsession!

So Ashlyn is totally obsessed with the internet! She has my mom calling me each day to see if she can stay on longer than 3o minutes. Of couse she does get to. She sits with the laptop at the kitchen counter when my mom is in the kitchen with her. She worked for grandma to earn a one month membership to Club Penguins! Her and my nephew Logan love it! It's hard to pull them away! Now Ashlyn has to read 10 books to earn a month membership to Pixie Hollow. She loves Pixie Hollow!

This reward has worked so well. Ashlyn pops up early (on most days) to get her chores done to get on the computer. I'd rather have her do that than watch snotty Hannah Montana! haha

Back From Colorado

We travelled last Thursday to Colorado to visit Mike in Sterling. It was a good visit. I haven't been to see him in almost a year! We played so much scrabble! I am really over this game, well until next time we visit. Ashlyn was mostly sick of the game because I won! haha Visiting hours are from 9-3:30 so we had time to do other things while we were in Sterling. After the visits, we usually went back to the hotel to relax a little bit. We ate at some local favorites and saw Aliens in the Attic at the old theater downtown. Sterling is a small town with a roller rink, old movie theater, and other old treasures. We had a fun time and enjoyed seeing Mike again. It was hard to leave him, but we hope to visit him again in October.

On our way back, we stopped in Denver to eat at Casa Bonita's. I remember going there when I was younger.....it was a special treat for our family to go out to eat and especially there. I wanted Ashlyn to have the experience. She loved the cliff diving shows and of course the arcade. She found a dream catcher at the gift shop she had to have. (She told me and my mom that she always has bad dreams!) So my mom bought it for her to hang over her bed. She had a good time there. The food isn't as good as I remember, but overall we had a fun time.

We pulled into my other brothers (Josh) around 10:15 Sunday night. Josh had already gone to bed as he gets up at 4:30 am to go to work. We got to spend some time with Brianna (his wife) and their almost 9 month old Cayson. We stayed up late and slept in. We just sat around chatting for most of the morning. We all went to a place to eat called My Favorite Muffins. It is my new favorite! We will have to stop there every time we go to Grand Junction. We walked downtown for a while and browsed through some cute shops.

We left Grand Junction a little after 2:00 pm. The car ride home seemed to pass by quickly which was a good thing. My mom got to relax in the passenger seat and I even let her listen to talk radio! haha

All in all we had a great trip and can't wait to do it again in October :).

Ashlyn goes Techno.....

So the weekly allowance thing wasn't working so well to encourage Ashlyn to do her chores. She told me last night, she doesn't want to spend her own money so she doesn't need any! I told her she better marry a rich man then....haha I came up with a new plan and so far it is working. I got my old laptop configured for internet. I blocked every website other than the ones I approve of. Right now she only cares about pixiehollow.com and her blog. She is still trying to figure out the whole email thing. So anyway....when she gets her chores done for the day, she gets 30 minutes on the computer. I can't believe how excited she is for this! She isn't very quick at typing things yet, so the 30 minutes goes pretty fast, but I promised her she'll get faster. I told her she can earn extra computer time with extra chores. She said she doens't need more time yet...guess she doesn't want to do any extra chores. Just expect Ashlyn to be visiting your sites and leaving comments! Ashlyn's email address is..... dancinashie@gmail.com

Pictures from SOF Practice & Dress Rehersal

Stadium of Fire with The Jonas Brothers

Ashlyn was part of the Stadium of Fire Dancers for the 4th of July. Stadium of Fire is a huge 4th of July celebration at the BYU stadium. The main performer was the Jonas Brothers along with SheDaisy, Glen Beck and David Osmond. Stadium of Fire Dancers performed two routines. They had some long grueling practices a few days before the actual performance. While the girls were hot, sunburned and dehydrated among other things, the performance was well worth it. They all had a good time. Ashlyn' dance studio, the Southern Utah Stars, were able to dance in the VIP section during the first routine. SheDaisy performed in between their two routines. After their final routine, the Jonas Brothers were on.....the girls got to sit on the field right behind the VIP section. They had a blast. I got to sit on the field with them and all I did was scream and yell for them. They thought I was crazy, but it made them all laugh so it was worth it. I think the best look on their faces was when I screamed...."I LOVE YOU NICK!!" Their eyes were huge at the thought that I had a crush on the same boy they all did. It was hilarious. The fireworks were awesome......nothing like St. George. The whole program was amazing. Even if Ashlyn doesn't dance for the Stadium of Fire next year, I think we will still make sure we have tickets. Well worth the money.

The life in a small town......

I'm starting to love living in a small town! I can't even believe that came out of my mouth!! I love the big city.....but I guess it's the fact that Ashlyn is having so much fun roaming the town during the day that makes me love it.

She got a bike for her birthday a few years ago....she never rode it. Maybe 3 times a year at most. Well, she has put the miles on it! Every day, she hops on her bike and tears up the town. Her and her cousin Logan ride to the local market to get snow cones, she rides with her friends to play group, and she even rides by herself to baseball games. I can hardly believe it! She told me she is addicted to her bike and keeps showing me her "leg" muscles. Now, if I could only get her addicted to doing her chores.....hmmm......

Her bike is getting pretty small for her, so I'm guessing she will be asking for a new bike for Christmas. I hope hers will last her that long....she can't wait to start riding it to school. She's already decided she needs to upgrade to a backpack for school in lieu of the messenger bag to make things easier. She's been discussing what kind of school shoes she needs to be able to ride her bike easier....I keep telling her that school is still a couple of months away, but she doesn't care. Of course, she did decide that the days she wears a skirt/dress, she will just make her friends walk to school with her! ha

It is nice to live in the small town for these reasons....but there are times on the weekend I wish I didn't have to drive 45 minutes away to cure a food craving or watch a movie :)

Ok, I know....it's been forever!

I need to start keeping up the blog.....I know, I know. It just slips my mind a lot. Kristin reminded me a couple of weeks ago that I still needed to get it updated, so........

We went to Vegas this past weekend for Ashlyn's dance Nationals. She did awesome. She took 2nd Runner Up in her solo, their team took 1st place with their Hip Hop proving that white girls can hip hop! I'm so proud of all her hard work and determination. It was a busy weekend, just running from the hotel to the school and back and forth, but we did manage to hit PF Chang's and Cheesecake Factory, both my favorite places!

My mom got to come with us this year. I think she had some fun :) She made some friends so she didn't have to be alone while I was busy running with the team. She got to see how these trips aren't really relaxing!! ha She drove home Saturday after we had lunch so she wouldn't have to get home so late. I decided it would be a good idea to drive home after awards on Saturday night.....not sure getting home at 2:45 am was worth it! I think next time, I'll spend the extra money to stay an extra night!

Ashlyn also decided she wanted to chop her hair off while we were in Vegas. I've begged her to for the past 2 years, but no, she wanted long Rapunzel like hair! All of a sudden, she asked me if she could cut her hair right before awards so she could "shock" her team. So her and her teammate/friend Olivia had haircuts. We were lucky enough to find a supercuts across the street from the school which let them even have time to eat pizza for dinner! They are sooo cute!

I've got a lot of catching up to do, but decided I better write about one subject at a time.....at least it will keep the blog going for a while! ha. I promise to write more this week...........

All Work No Play!?

Ashlyn came to work with me today. For some reason, she loves it! I think it's because she has been coming to work with me since she was 3 days old! She came with me every day until she was 6 months old....she was crawling around, eating door stops and pulling plugs from computers. Ever since then, she has come to work with me here and there depending on the day. The other weird thing is that she loves to lay down under my desk...could that be habit from when she was younger too?

She loves to sit on the computer and play games and go next door to Iceberg....maybe that's the reason she likes to come to work with me!

We are counting down the time until we leave the office today to go join our friends in Vegas. Vegas isn't really that special, considering it's only 1.5 hrs away, and I make frequent trips there.....but it is nice to just get away. We are staying with my friends at their time share, Tahiti Village. Ashlyn is looking forward to the lazy river and I'm looking forward to the sandy beach and pool area. I just want a tan!

Hopefully, we will leave around 4 to get there in time to do something.....probably eat at Cheesecake Factory (Ash loves!) even tho, I am craving PF Changs. Of course, Ashlyn has to visit the M&M factory to buy overpriced m&m's with her hard earned money!

I'm sure we will post some pictures when we get back......

Love the Spring Break Weather!

This is the time of year that I am so happy to be in St. George! I love to be in the warm weather! This week is especially nice because I am housesitting for my friend, Julie, and I am able to enjoy St. George without the commute.....so I get more time in the sun this week. Laying out by her pool in the middle of the day is especially wonderful!

Ashlyn is so upset....she thinks we are the only ones not going anywhere for Spring Break! The thing is, we never, ever do. We usually go to Disneyland on her birthday which isn't til next month....so where did she get the idea that we have to go somewhere for Spring Break?? We are taking a day trip to Vegas this week though. Julie and her family are there at their time share and we are crashing the party! Ashlyn could care less! All of a sudden, she hates Vegas. She is becoming a teenager and hasn't even hit 8!

Speaking of 8.......Last Sunday, I found out Ashlyn's baptism will be on April 25th. I was thinking it wouldn't be 'til May! Ashlyn is obsessing over her white dress! She freaks out daily that we don't have one yet. I keep telling her there is plenty of time, but I guess I better start looking before there is a major melt down!

Happy Spring!

Catching Up!!

Seriously, I can't believe how time flies! It has been so long since I updated my blog!! I get constant reminders from Ashlyn who gets them from Raelie to get this updated....so here I am. I'll just post a few pics and some verbage...then I promise to keep it updated in the future!

Last Thursday, we ended up in the InstaCare for Ashlyn. She had a dancing accident and hurt her knee badly. Luckily, it only ended up being deep tissue bruising. So just a litte sore. She thought it was awesome that she got to have her knee wrapped. The doctor also printed out her x-rays for her to take to school for Show & Tell.

Friday, February 20th, Ashlyn got to dance with her team for the girls and boys basketball half time shows for Dixie College. She had a lot of fun...mostly excited that it was televised. After the games, Deja got to come to Enterprise for the weekend. The girls had tons of fun. We still had plenty of snow up here, so they spend some time playing outside.

On Sunday, February 22nd, we met Deja's mom and went through one of the Parade of Homes. Ashlyn is now begging me for her own nail salon!!

February has been a hectic month!!