Ashlyn's threatening prayer

Tonight was quite a night. The missionaries were coming to eat at 6:00. We were all ready at 6. At 6:10 they called and said they were going to be another 15 minutes. Then they didn't show until 6:40. Needless to say, we started eating without them. We still had a good chat and we were glad to have them in our home but we weren't thrilled with their punctuality (or lack thereof). Well, the girls went out to play at 6:00 and when it was time to come in they were nowhere to be found. This has happened more recently as Ashlyn has begun riding her bike with friends. When they were finally found, we found out that Ashlyn told the mother of the kids she was playing with that her parents said she could play over there. So Ashlyn was told that she would be grounded and wouldn't be able to play with friends. She wasn't thrilled about this.

In her prayer she said,

"Dear Heavenly Father,

I love my family even when they are rude to me.

I'm glad I'm in this family. But if they are mean, I'll join Mindy's family..."


Gotta love being a parent. Some days are bitter, some days are sweet. And some days are bitter-sweet.

Milestones for the 3 girls!!!

I can't believe how fast time is flying.  This cute girl started preschool at the zoo a couple of weeks ago.  She really enjoys it!  She is also working so hard on her reading skills during Mommy School. Way to go Ashlyn!

(She is also so excited about her sparkly shoes we bought at the store.  Ashlyn said to me the other day that she needs to call Grandma Martinson so she can buy her new shoes, so I figures I should buy her some her.  Mom- thanks for the many shoes you have bought for her!)

This little chunky monkey has started crawling everywhere, clapping her hands, got two front teeth, and is starting to say "Mama" and "Dada" in the last month.  She is definitely a keeper!  We love our Claire Bear!

Little Miss Independent has had a successful two weeks of being potty trained.  I can't believe how easy it was (knock on wood).  She goes on her own without being asked!  This little one dresses herself and is very opinionated in what she wants and likes.  I hope the phrase "Terrible Twos" is a myth. She has discovered her new hobby- gymnastics.  She asks everyday if she goes to gymnastic class. She also will be starting preschool this week. 

Because of the LONG first day of potty training, we did a project for the second day.

Brinley stamped an apple with red paint on our apple tree.

The master blow dryer!

Project complete!

Over the summer break the girls got their picture taken.

The gallery wall in the kitchen. 

I love it!

It has been so fun to see these two because the best of friends.  They are playing in the Secret Garden (the side of the house).  They are making me dinner with the cherries they picked for the tree.

We also went to Mud Pies with our friends the Van De Graaffs.  

The girls love their friends!

Claire found a marshmallow and really enjoyed it! 

It was sticky everywhere.

 For Family Night we took a walk to the gardens. We love watching these two together!

I bought some magnifying glasses for preschool and we wanted to test them out.  We did an activity as a family for the Friend magazine and were looking for small bugs. 

A Groove

Its been a good week getting back into the groove. Been kind of rough with the girls trying to get back into a routine and have actual discipline. 

My parents gave us this Dave Ramsey book and we have been reading it together. We just finished Chapter 5 tonight and we have enjoyed it. We started a budget on everydollar.com. I like the way Dave explains to do it. You set a budget at the beginning of every month. "I don't care what you spend your money on, as long as you do it on purpose." I think we are pretty prudent with our money but even this week having a budget has helped us to think twice when making purchases. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Spencer here gave me  a haircut a couple months ago. He has started doing this as a hobby and I was the first non-family person that he cut. It turned out great so when we got back I told him I needed another. Our first day of class was pretty rough so during pharmacology he texted me and asked if I wanted a haircut, NOW. I stood up and walked out of class. He had the clippers in the men's locker room so we did it and returned to class to hear the end of the lecture.

I was going through videos on the iPod and uploaded these to YouTube. Here is Ashlyn riding a horse.

Here is Brinley as a cute little baby. Crazy how time goes so fast!

Ashlyn is a great sister and always asking if she can help do different things to help out her sisters. Here she is helping to feed Claire.

Summer Vacation

We have had a lot happen since our last post! It's been a busy, fun summer break. And some other stuff before the break.

The best thing about having a season pass somewhere (like the Zoo) is that you can go anytime you want and don't feel bad if it's only for an hour or two.

Ashlyn has been working to help clean the clubhouse with Mom and she gets $1 every time she does. She had been saving up to pay $5 to ride a camel at the zoo. She did it! Her remark after it was over, "It was bumpy."

Ashlyn sure has fun with Hailey. They are great friends. 

I was walking to my car the first week in July and crossed the street and was walking to that driveway by the red truck. All of a sudden I heard a loud crack and turned around to see that a tree had been knocked down by a jeep only 15-20 ft directly behind me. At first I was in shock and in defensive mode. "Had someone just tried to run me over but hit the tree instead?" I slowly walked up to the car and saw a man passed out in the passenger seat with his legs hanging over in the driver's seat. I called 911 and I think he'll end up okay. I'm still not sure what happened. He wasn't very coherent. It really shook me up and reminded me how fragile life is. 

For FHE we made testimony pots and planted seeds. The girls loved the activity. I am thankful for how creative Jenny is. 

Every year since we've been in Omaha, we've gone to the home run derby for the college world series. Well, this time our seats ended up being right behind the dugout! It was super fun!

For the Fourth we went to a small parade in Omaha. It was literally about 4 blocks and they turned around and went the other direction. So we ended up watching the parade 2.5x. It had a small town feel though and we had a great time. 

Ashlyn fell while riding her bike. She was really brave. I did everything I could to not let her see this bruise until the following day. She is one of those kids that if something is bleeding, it must be bad. 

At the Gardens after the children's museum.

I played in a golf tournament the day before heading for Utah. We had a great time. It was a beautiful day on a beautiful course.

Aren't kids so cute when they're asleep?

So happy to see Aunt Minnie and cousins Parker and Sawyer!

Helping Grandpa wash Pepper.

My FOUR CUTE GIRLS! At Maren's wedding. 

  

What a beautiful bride!

Can I just say, look at that hair!?

These girls caught part of the bouquet! OH NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

And, I'm off to San Antonio!

We went to a place called Top Golf. It's like a supersize bowling alley but for golf and so much cooler! They have tons of free games, good food and pure fun.

Breakaway! I was so excited for this! I have been planning on going for over a year and it was so great to be there. I actually got a little teary-eyed when walking in. I absolutely love this company and the principles they teach.

Eating out! The bacon-wrapped jumbo shrimp was AMAZING!

I have been following this dentist (Mark Costes) for some time now. He is in Chino Valley, AZ and is one heckuva guy. He walked in on the first day of Breakaway and I felt like a celebrity had just walked in. It was a great honor. 

At the Riverwalk! (with Steve, Tanner Applegate, and A. Random Asian)

Sabina's wedding! We are glad to have Mike in the family. 

The CONDO! Up in Eden, UT. We always look forward to the time that we get to spend each summer as a family. 

Fun with Maren and David! The girls loved getting two new uncles!

Love me some Clairey-Claire.

The girls LOVED the floaties that Grandma Martinson gave them. 

Frisbee Golf! We had a blast! For some reason we hadn't noticed or thought to play in recent years. Dad had Maren and David go buy a bunch of cheap frisbees and we played this course and had a great time! It was beautiful!

The guys went out for some golf at the courtesy of Dad. We had a great time. This was my favorite hole, and the only one I got a picture of. 

I actually ended up 15ft beyond the hole. Ended up with a par. (You can actually see my ball in the air in front of the green in this picture.) Credit for this picture goes to Trevor Williams. 

Credit for this picture also goes to Trevor, but not because he took it. We broke several glasses while at the condo. Trevor happened to break one in the sink so Dad and David took it upon themselves to take it apart and get things working again. David became the official handy man.

Salem Pond! 

I told the girls that I used to climb on these rocks when I was a kid and they immediately wanted to do it.

A very helpful Uncle Dennis!

Soaking up the sun

Claire loves climbing trees!

Brinley helping Grandpa blow his nose.

Nana and Grandpa Williams are moving! Don't worry, it's only around the corner. We are excited for them! It should be a nice upgrade! As we were helping to move some things, Ashlyn was quick to find a "nice and cozy" spot (as she would say) to spend time drawing some pictures.

Gangstas. Nuff said. 

This girl is so sweet. Any time I am rushed, stressed, angry, etc. she can quickly calm me down and bring a smile to my face 

On our way back to Nebraska, at our first stop getting gas, I noticed this flying felon in my grill! 

It actually took some effort to remove it. 

Our lunch time break was mounting this dinosaur in North Platte, NE. The girls were so great!

Home sweet home!