Utah Trip

We did a three-way trip this year between Texas, Wisconsin, and Utah. That allowed us to save a little on airfare as well as group Joseph's vacation time. It does mean Ashton and I were away from our beds and home for a month but it was worth it to see family so much.

On the flight to Utah, Ashton was excited to see mountains. She was pretty upset that she couldn't "touch them." She kept crying on the plane to touch the windows and the nice lady in the window seat was not willing to let Ashton touch the window. How rude! Actually, if I didn't have a kid, I would probably be the same way. Overall, it was a great time in Utah. We prefer Texas still but it is always nice to visit for a little bit.

Here are the highlights in the order in which the pictures loaded.

Ashton opening a birthday present with cousin, Oliver. She got little figurines/play dolls of the characters on Daniel Tiger. They immediately went in the bath with her. We had a big family party for her birthday, which was fun.

We spent a day at BYU. We went to the Bean Museum, Brick Oven, and the bookstore as well as walking around the new buildings and all the changes. Ashton was excited to find Cosmo and to sing the BYU fight song.

Joseph and I went away for a night to Park City. We did a little kid swap with Joe's brother and sister. It was great! We rode the gondola/ski lift and hiked around Park City. I was hoping to sleep in. Nope... body woke up at 5:45 just because. Ashton and I survived being apart for 24 hours. It was good practice for Spain next month.

A little nervous on the ski lift.

Joe's brother got us some passes to Thanksgiving Point. Ashton loved riding the pony and petting some animals at Farm Country.

At the children's museum of Thanksgiving Point. They had this cool water table with seats to play in.

In the water area of the museum. She loved wearing the rain boots.

We also went to the aquarium. They had this cool rope bridge to cross, which Ashton loved doing and did so about ten times!

To kick off our night away, Joseph and I went to Boondocks and went mini golfing. Then Joe decided to do the batting cages. It has been several years since I played softball but I hit more than I thought I would.

Feeding the ducks at BYU.

Cheering for BYU on game day!

Walking around the hardware store in Nephi. This store is owned by Joe's brother-in-law and Joseph worked there for a few years in high school Ashton enjoyed using a plunger as a hat.

The turtles are a huge hit for her at the aquarium

More aquarium exploration

We went hiking near Lehi and Ashton loved throwing rocks in the creek.

 

 

Our hike to the waterfalls.

Halfway to Baby #2

If you aren't aware yet, we're expecting another little bundle of trouble joy in January!

Here I am at 20 weeks. Mind you, this is in the morning when I haven't eaten much. By 7pm, it's a whole different story!

Impromptu picture while hiking in Park City

This is me at 20 weeks with Ashton.

I feel a lot more tired as sleep is harder to come by. I seem to wake up early most mornings just because. Compared to my pregnancy with Ashton, I was a lot more sick this go around. That stunk. Ashton was lucky as she got to watch a lot of Daniel Tiger for several weeks while I laid on the couch for hours on end. Unfortunately, I am well aware that I will only become more tired as the weeks and months wear on. And then comes January when I can throw consecutive hours of sleep out the window for a year of my life again. My doctor is convinced the baby will come three weeks early like Ashton. I doubt it. I'm betting this baby comes two weeks late in February just to make me suffer. However, I am aware this time around that keeping the baby inside you is a lot easier compared to when they are born.

We have our anatomy ultrasound on Monday so we're hoping they can tell the gender then. I have no intuition on this one. I was fairly certain Ashton was a girl before her ultrasound but this time, I have no clue. It will be a big surprise! I'm hoping the ultrasound makes everything feel more real. I still don't believe that we'll have another baby in January. I suppose the bulging stomach and weight gain will help with reality too. Hooray for another baby!

The End of Our Trip

We spent the last week or so in Wisconsin enjoying time with family.

Ashton and I went to the local farmer's market one morning. They had yummy raspberries, which Ashton promptly ate all of them. She also got a little pumpkin to carry around for 50 cents. I wish our town had a weekly farmers market. We'd go every week. It makes me happy to buy fresh produce from farmers.

The downtown square had Pier Pups come and do a demo on Thursday. We went and watched dogs jump off a dock into a big pool. It was part of a special event they do every Thursday downtown so the local children's museum had a bunch of activities out. I would have come earlier had I known that. I could barely get Ashton away from the cool sand and toys. That night, Ashton and I went out to eat with my cousins and aunts and uncles.

 

 

Friday, we picked up Joseph from the airport. Ashton and I both were very excited to see him. Then we made the trek down to Madison again to help prepare for the wedding.

First time painting her nails. She sat so still. I was pleasantly surprised.

We visited the zoo again in Madison the morning of the wedding. Ashton loved riding the train and carousel again.

Happy girl at the wedding. Once I told her Aunt Trescha was married, she kept saying "married" throughout the day.

All the girls in the family.

Our side of the family for the most part.

 Ashton has also adopted some of Molly the dog's habits. Such as drinking out of her water dish and eating her food.

We stopped at my grandma's house one more time and finally got the four-generation picture I have been wanting since Ashton was born. Hooray!

Mad-Town

We spent the day in Madison to see my sister and her fiancé, Charlie. Ashton took to him very quickly, especially since he would swing her by the arms. We played with her dog and cat, which Ashton thought was cute. Then we went to the zoo in town. It's a huge zoo and it's free, which makes it even better. Ashton's highlights were riding the carousel, feeding the goats, and walking with anyone but me. We're excited to go back this weekend for the wedding.

High-fiving the polar bear

She loved watching the seal swim around. This entertained her for quite a while.

Ashton was worn out after lots of travel and a day at the zoo. On the way home, we stopped at a restaurant. Ashton got some fries and ketchup. She kept asking for tabasco sauce so I put a small drip on her ketchup. Evidently, she saw where it dripped and proceeded to dip a French fry in it. She screamed to say the least. My patience was shot for the day so my only reaction was to laugh. I didn't think she would get just the sauce on her fry. After a few minutes she settled down. No residual effects as she ate ketchup the following day. Hopefully that will teach her to choose wisely what she wants on her plate.

The next day, she took a three hour nap to catch up on lost sleep. Hooray! My aunt and uncle came over for a shrimp boil and we played Spades. Ashton was very excited to help play and helped us win! She really liked playing "hearts" because it's the only shape she knows of the card suits.

I got some free time Monday when my mom watched Ashton for me. I like this one hair salon in town so I always get my hair cut when I come to Wausau. She was shocked how much my hair grew since the winter. Bad picture of me but at least you can see the hair. I find that if I keep it shorter, I don't get as lazy and pull it back every day. Now, I actually have to try to be girlie and do my hair.

Cold Wisconsin

I was very excited for our Wisconsin trip partly because it meant the escape from the heat of Texas summer. Well, my wish was granted and then some. The first weekend home, the high was around 90 degrees. Not bad. Then the next couple days were rainy and a high of 60. We were freezing to say the least. Ashton just wanted to play at parks and be outside. She doesn't quite understand what it means to be too cold to go outside.

We went to visit my grandma. Ashton enjoyed seeing Great-Grandma Ashton. Every time we see her, I wish so badly my grandfather could meet Ashton. Although he passed away when I was five, Ashton seems to remind me of him a lot and of the stories I hear about him. The same curious, inquisitive mind that always seems to be running. And I know my grandfather would have adored little Ashton. My grandma also has a cat, which Ashton loved seeing.

That same afternoon, we met up with Janet and her husband and girls. Ashton's middle name is after her so I hope Ashton continues to know who Janet is. She has a little girl a month younger than Ashton so it was fun to get together. They played at a park despite the chilly weather. They didn't really play together that much but hopefully that will change over the years. I'm hoping they become roommates at BYU so they better start getting along soon.

Friday, my mom had the day off so we explored the town. We went to a new nature center/gardens called Monk Gardens. It has a cool treehouse that Ashton enjoyed climbing. Then we had a picnic there and walked on some trails. After that, we got ice cream at the legendary Briq's and Ashton got her first ice cream cone. Typically, I just feed her ice cream from my sundae. But my mom spoiled her by getting her own. She loved it! That is probably the most ice cream Ashton has eaten at one time. That afternoon, we took my parents' dog to the dog park in town.

Ashton asks for "tar" and then dances with Grandpa.

Always willing to read one more book as long as it's with Grandma and Grandpa

"Cheese" with her baby doll.

Walking with Grandma at the gardens.

Running around at the dog park. She likes to think of herself as one of the dogs.

Agility training

Loving life on the merry go round.

The Start of Wisconsin

We made it! A few more plane rides under our belt. Ashton did great on the flights. She loved watching the planes move at the airport. As long as the DVD player was on Daniel Tiger on the first flight, she was happy. A little boy sat behind us so we shared toys and then a dog was two rows behind us. Between that and special markers, we made it to Minneapolis. The second flight was nap time and she fell asleep before take off and didn't wake up until the gate in Wausau. Wonderful!

We went out Friday night to a local music festival and saw my sister, aunts and uncles. Ashton enjoyed running outside and getting some energy out. She wasn't too impressed by Wisconsin cheese curds but I'm hoping it is because they were a little too hot. Saturday, my dad watched Ashton so we could have a girl's day with my sister, mom, cousins, and grandma. It was a blast. Ashton had fun at a local park and rode a train, visited the splash pad, and played on the playground. We went to church Sunday and it was fun to see some families. The ward continues to change a lot so I don't know too many people anymore.

Monday, we headed to the library to see the fish tank my uncle helped design. Ashton enjoyed that. That night, an old friend from high school and her parents came over for dinner. It was great to see them as my friend and I haven't seen each other in about four years. Today we spent the morning at the local art museum as they have toddler Tuesday activities. Ashton loved painting. After that, we went to get a repair done on my mom's truck and they had a pretty cool play area. Ashton keeps saying it is cold here, which it is. The high today is 68 degrees. She enjoys having a reason to wear her coat though.

I think the only bad thing so far is Ashton's wake up time seems to be bumped up to 6am as opposed to 7ish. She's pretty grumpy in the morning. Oh, and Ashton fell off the bed and hit her head. Poor kid. But she loves it here. Hooray!

We made a stop at a grocery store. They had little carts and she loved pushing it around.

Painting and Cantaloupe

I'm painting Ashton's big girl room. It's funny what you remember your mom doing while growing up. My mom always painted our rooms in themes. I had pink stripes and roses once. My brother had a Utah Jazz room. My sister had an ocean room complete with her bed on the floor. As we grew, our room design would change so I wasn't stuck with roses in high school. I loved it and now want to do it with Ashton. Since this is probably the only room I'll get to pick the design/colors, I enjoyed it. However, if you ever need some free marriage/conflict resolution therapy, I would advise you and your husband tape a diamond wall in your house. It was a lot harder and much more frustrating than I thought it would be. But the finished product is worth every moment!

With all the tape lines that rarely wanted to stay up.

Up close of the diamonds. Some touch up work is needed.

The whole wall. The other walls will be just lavender, no pattern.

 Our cantaloupe are finally ready! We're so excited. Ashton asks for it all the time, which is great since we have six in our refrigerator right now! She brought this in last night and was so proud of carrying, "a heavy cant-lope."