A boy and his boots

 

He wears them rain or shine, summer or winter, no matter what. I just bought him a new pair for Christmas and the heels are almost worn completely down. This boy loves his boots!

 

Ashton May 2013

 My Ashton is crazy, fun, happy, sneaky, fun, energetic, hilarious, fun, entertaining, fun, did I mention fun? There is never a dull moment with him. He is just so much fun, this does not even begin to describe him. The internet cannot contain all of what he is, so I won't even try.  :)

Nanananananananananananana....BATMAN!

 I'm back! So I have been taking a lot of pictures lately, and I have been thinking about starting a photography blog...then I thought why not post my pics on the blog I already have that I never use anyways? After all, most of my pics are of my own kids. And whenever I post adorable pics of my kids I simply must tell the whole adorable stories. So here I go.....BATMAN! I think this is possibly one of the funnest stages of childhood. He wears his pajamas every day (Yes, with the cowboy boots) no matter where we go. This particular day he went to a superhero birthday party where he got his face painted. He loved it so much he slept with it on so he could wear it again the next day. By the end of the second day it didn't really even resemble batman so much as an army sniper, but he still protested when I washed it off.

Family Pictures 2012

One big happy family!

Love these boys!

Big Blue!

 On May 21, 2012 we closed on our new house in Pleasant View (woot, woot!) which we affectionately refer to as "big blue" The only drawback is that the builder is still using it for a model home, and we can't move in until they are done with it, which could be up to a year, but we are hoping it won't be that long. And no, we don't get to keep all the furniture.

You can go to  www.tourfactory.com/796987  for a virtual tour of the inside.

Christmas 2011

My tree...

 Ashton's tree...

Evan's tree!

Nate sooo did not approve!

UGLY SWEATER PARTY!!

The family that hunts together...

 In December we all took a trip to Southern Utah with Nate to hunt a deer. He promised me it would be quick, and he didn't disappoint. We pulled up to the mountain, Nate got out to put the chains on the truck, I started getting bored already, and he looked up and saw deer...everywhere! So we unloaded the boys, he shot a deer, and we were done! Almost as quick as a trip to the grocery store, but you can't get this free-range organic meat at the grocery store! Evan got a great first lesson on how to gut an animal while Ashton and I dry-heaved a few yards away. (Some day I hope to have girls so I can drag Nate to some fancy tea parties!)

The great wind storm of 2011

 Early December we had a wind storm the likes of which we hope to never see again. The power on our block was out for 2 days, and man oh man was it cold! I begged to go to a hotel, but Nate was too excited to test out his zero degree sleeping bag. (He was also quick to point out what a terrible pioneer I'd have made) The tent heater he bought me last summer saved the day in the end and we survived, all the more thankful for our modern conveniences, as well as the fact that our trees, roof, siding, fences, and cars made it through safe and sound! Some of our neighbors weren't so lucky...

Evan sang in the children's chior at the last General Conference. He's the handsome guy in the very bottom left corner of the screen.

 

 I was going through some video clips on my computer, and this was too cute not to share. We were coming home from a camping trip last summer, and Nate and the boys insisted on listening to John Denver the entire way! I don't know which one I like less-camping or John Denver...

Jedi Training

Evan vs Darth Mal

Ashton vs Darth Vader

 

That's Ashton on the upper stage battling Darth Vader

Disneyland!

The first week of November we skipped out on the first snow of the season and headed to sunny California with Leone's sister and our families to visit the happiest place on earth. No kidding, it really is!

We went to Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast with some disney characters

The Yoda Gang

The storm troopers patrolling Tomorrowland chased Evan around trying to arrest his Yoda backpack

Since I don't have any little princesses of my own, I got to live vicariously through my sister when we took my niece to The Bibbity Bobbity Boutique to get the royal princess treatment, complete with pixie dust and magical mirrors. It was so much fun!

Ashton was so excited to see Tigger, he kept yelling "TIGGER!!" and waving the whole time we stood in line.

JEDI TRAINING: the highlight of the whole trip for my boys! Evan got to battle with Darth Mal and Ashton fought Darth Vader. They are now certified Jedi Padowans (whatever that means)

family pictures October 2011

Yay! A new blog post! And nothing could make a better update than some family pictures...taken by my awesome sister-in-law Mikki Grimley. Thanks Mikki!

Goat Hunt 2010

This year, Nate drew out for a once-in-a-lifetime goat hunt on Willard Peak by our house. He took me and the kids there a few weeks ago to scout out the goats, which were everywhere, and the hike wasn't too bad, so I decided to go along hoping to get some good goat photos. Nate's friend Mat and his brother Andy also came along.

It was so rainy and foggy we couldn't see much, and some us us are not equipped for outdoor activities (me) so I was sloshing around in soaking wet sneakers and drenched Levis the entire time. But as long as we were hiking I stayed warm at least. And Nate gave me his army poncho so at least my upper half was dry. After a few hours I was wondering why I ever agreed to go along because I hate being cold and wet and falling down hills and rocks. Twice we had to sit under trees waiting for the rain to let up. But then just as we were about to head back to the truck, we found some goats.

This one posed for me so perfectly, but it was so foggy I was afraid none of the pictures would turn out. If it was clear, you could have seen the view of the whole valley off to the right. But I think the fog looks kinda cool too.

As I was taking pictures, Nate was getting ready to shoot. I was standing behind him when he shot, and it was so loud, I felt it hammer my chest. I couldn't tell which one he shot at first.

The second after he shot, the fog started to lift and I could have gotten some great pictures, except that all the goats were gone. This would be a good picture if the goat wasn't bleeding all over the place out her nose.

The saddest thing was when these 3 little baby goats hung around crying for their mom. I had thought about this already, and I thought I was prepared for one baby to be orphaned, but 3?!? And just look at the sad looks on their little goat faces! I almost cried, but I knew Andy would make fun of me, so I held it in.

Proof that I was there! The goat looks so much smaller than she did up on the cliffs!

Nate carried his goat all the way down the mountain, climbing down rocky cliffs and over trees. If I had known he could do that, I would have made him carry me up!