A Renewal of a Friendship

When I was growing up I had a lot of changes happen in my life that were not so fun. My mother past away when I was eight years old and we moved shortly after that. I started a new elementary school and it was hard. I had to find new friends and I basically started a new life. I wanted to fit in and have a lot of friends. Most people do. When I got in Junior High I still hadn't found my place but I was not giving up. I had friends but they were not that great of friends. There were some girls that I just thought were so cool and I really wanted to be friends with them. One of them ended up being in my science class. Our teachers name was Melvin Barnes which was a great set up for me.

Anyhow one of the girls I wanted to be friends with ended up sitting next to me due to alphabetic seating. I thought well if I can be really funny and bring lots of candy she would for sure like me. So I began saying funny things in class and calling my teacher Melvin. The teacher was awesome and put up with it. He knew I was just needing to show off and be crazy. Anyhow I became friends and hung out with this cool chick a lot after being in that class with her. Her name is Heather (Sharples) Griffin. She was such a fun friend and always treated me really good. We had lots of fun times together. She made me feel like I was cool and always inclueded me in everything. Which is important for a girl in Junior High.

After Junior High, we did not see each other as much. We had separate things we were doing. She was a cute little cheerleader and I was a basketball, softball, and soccer player. We just kind of drifted apart but not because we did not like each other. I thought of her many times after high school and wondered what she was doing with her life.

A few months ago I found her Mom and sisters blog. I would read them to find out about her and what she had been up to hoping eventually she would do a blog. Well one day she finally did one so I told her hello. Since then we have e-mailed each other, talked on the phone, and most recently her and her cute kids and niece came to our house. Come to find out we have a ton of things in common now in our adult lives almost freakishly things and it has brought us together once again. I am not a huge fan of being friends with people from school and most I would rather avoid if I saw them at the supermarket but I was really happy to find Heather. She is great.

Okay I know this is a long blog but I have a lot to say. Yesterday Heather and her kids and Niece came over for a fun play date. We had lunch and my favorite cookies from Schmidts pastry cottage (thanks Heather). Then the kids just played while we talked. It was really cool because it was not awkward at all. We felt comfortable just talking about whatever and hanging out. The kids did the same. Ashlyn loved Ayana and MiKayla. They were so nice to her and they just had so much fun. Zeke and Josh mostly played on their own but by the end of the day they started kind of playing together. Zeke is the cutest little guy with a very cute personality. He is the first boy Josh's age that didn't run the other way when he saw Josh. Josh usually scares other kids away. As for Heather's baby Kingston. He is one of the cutest babies I have ever scene.

All in all it was a really fun day. I was so happy to meet Heather's beautiful children and get caught up with her. Ashlyn enjoyed having some fun friends to play with and really loved that fact that Ayana looked like her. That is so important to her. She has already asked me when they are coming again. Thanks Heather for coming and I can't wait for the next time we get together!

4th of July

I know its late but I wanted to post our pictures form the 4th. The kids had a great day. We spent the day at Marks parents. We celebrated the 4th and also Grandmas birthday. Josh loves to be thrown down the slip and slide and Ash likes to walk around in her swim suit to see how dry she can stay. Both kids had some fun and love spending time with their cousins. Here are the pictures from the day.

New Pet

Well we decided to get rid of Manny. We traded him in for a Peacock. Josh was literally choking the dog as he picked him up to play. He loved that dog so much. The dog did not like him. He would growl at him and one day Manny just snapped and went into attack mode on Josh. I knew that it was not time to have a dog anymore. So i put in on KSL to sale him. Luckily he sold in 1 day to a couple that had 1 other dog and no kids. Their dog was their child. I think Manny and us are better off for now. We will try again when Josh is older.

The Peacock however is totally easy going. He does not growl at Josh. He loves it when we feed him and he hardly ever poops on our lawn. He sleeps outside in the tree and only wakes us up in the morning at about 5:00. He is big, so Josh can't choke him. His name is Peacock, for those of you who were wondering on his name. He can come and go as he pleases so we don't have to entertain him all the time or get a babysitter when we leave to go somewhere. Did I mention he was free to. All you have to do is move to the area we live in and they just become your instant pet. We sure love Peacock. Sorry you were not here to see this Mandy. I know you wanted to see one.

5 Years Old

Yesterday we celebrated Ashlyn's 5th birthday. Mark and I were quite excited for her birthday and we decided to plan a big party for her. Ash woke up at about 7:00 and we all went down stairs and opened her presents. She got so excited over each one of them. She spent time playing with each new thing for about 10 minutes and then would move on to the next. It was really cute.






After that she went on to ask me about every 20 minutes when her "party guests" would be arriving. It was cracking me up because she was so proper about it. She was so excited for her party. I told her that we first needed to go and pick up your cake and candy for the Cinada (pinata). So we went and got her cake and some candy. While at the store Ashlyn in her manipulative mind frame says to me " Fireworks would be really cool at my party". So I bought her some snaps. That entertained Josh and Ash for about a half hour and then it was on to when were the party guest going to arrive again. Well they arrived and the party was started.






Ashlyn's Cousins Alyssa, Ryan, Ethan, Ben, Tommy, Riley, Mack, and McKayla were there. She had so much fun with them. They did the slip n slide, played a ton in the bounce house, played pin the tale on the donkey, and had a pinata filled with lots of yummy candy. They all seemed to have such a good time. Ash enjoyed every second of them being there. Her Great Grandma Hughes came as well as Grandma and Grandpa and her Aunts and Uncles. She had all of her favorite things to eat but I am not sure she ate any of it. She had chicken legs, hot dogs, watermelon, pineaple, potato salad, and potato chips. It all turned out well. She is having a party at her other Grandparents house today so I will post that later. Overall it was a great day. Thanks everyone for making it such a special day for her and for the fun presents your brought for her. She really had a fun day.

New addition to the family

I just wanted to post this announcement of our new family member. His name is Manny. He is a Mini Pincher/Boston Terrier mix. He is so freaking cute I can't stand it. Ashlyn and Josh went with me to pick him up today and were both so excited. When we got home Josh wanted to just pick him up and hold him and if we tried to take him away he shoved us away. I was afraid he was going to choke him to death. Ash is more gentle and loving with him. Ashy decided on the name because she thought Mark would like it. Of course he likes it. He is named after Manny Ramierez of the Red Sox. Anyhow here he is!

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Well lets start with the good. Last night as Mark was putting Ashlyn to bed she said one of the funniest things we have heard come out of her mouth in a while. Ashlyn has a stuffed unicorn that she named Polly. She sleeps next to Ash every night. Last night she told Mark that Polly was really sad because some hunters shot and killed her mom. We were laughing hysterically. She was a bit embarrassed after saying it but I did manage to get some pictures. Poor Polly!




The Bad and the Ugly are combined into one story. On my counter the other day I had my onion chopper out. You know the ones with two blades that go in circles and chop onions in a container for you? Well Ashlyn decided it would be fun to play with, so she got it down to play with. I had no idea this was happening or I would have taken it away immediately. I thought they were playing with the many toys scattered all over the floor back there. Next thing I know, Josh is screaming like I had never heard before. I get up and see a lot of blood coming from Joshy's knee. Then I look down and notice the blade sitting inches from his foot. I then grab Josh and run upstairs to get the firs aid kit. I Wrapped him up and headed for the car. I knew that he would for sure need stitches. The little trooper stopped crying by this point so I wondered if he cut through the nerves or something. The cut was pretty deep.

We got to the Doctor and they agreed that he would indeed need stitches. several of them in fact. They gave him seven shots of litocain and started stitching. they had to do stitches in side the wound and then on the outside totaling about 17 to 20 stitches. He was good for the inside stitches not making much of a fuss and then as they did the outside ones, I don't think it hurt but he just kept saying "done, done, done" The Doctors and Nurse thought he was quite the character. They also had to have 3 nurses and the doctor to hold him down. They just said he is really strong. Josh was pretty tough through it all though. He was giving the nurses fives and knuckles.

After he was all done we went to Grandmas to get Ashlyn. He stayed there while I ran to the store to get him some band aids and neosporin. When I got back he was swinging and smiling. I knew he was probably just happy cause the litocain had not worn off yet. He was running and having a great old time.

The next morning was a different story. He stopped walking and just cried all day saying owie, owie. He has pretty much sat in my lap since then. He really doesn't want to walk or move. He keeps saying stuck to me. I think he means his knee is stuck because he does not want to move it. All I have to say is I did not have need stitches until I was 28 years old and Josh was the cause of those. Mark on the other hand had several throughout his years as a kid. Lets hope Josh starts taking after me a little more Mark a little less.

Back Yard Fun

Just some pictures of the kids in the back yard and some not in the back yard but were to cute to not put on. We are enjoying having grass and not changing Joshy's clothes 4 times a day from the dirt and mud.

Ashlyn enjoys the trees and the birds that all visit to eat out of her bird feeder. She keeps asking when Kindergarten is going to start. She is so confused from going to preschool and then now not having any school. I hope she enjoys school more than I did.

Josh loves the patio and driving his Yucks (Trucks) on it. He likes to put rocks in each yuck and drive them around. His life is complete with yereal (cereal), bottles, and playing outside. As long as he has those three things he is happy. He really enjoys walks in the stroller and splashing in water as well. He is a very happy boy.

We are most excited about this summer and having a yard to play in. We are going to have a fun summer birthday party for Ash and just have lots of barbeque's.