Thanksgiving 2014 aka 15 Hours in the Car

Emmy and I were a little sick the week of Thanksgiving.  Because of this, we did not get started making our Thanksgiving rounds until the morning of Thanksgiving.  The only bonus was that there was minimal traffic on the road with us.




Once we got to Cedar Park, there were lots of happy faces to see.



And lots of yummy food to eat.



There was a lot of family fun time too!



We didn't forget the most important part.





Emmarie convinced the ladies to have a tea party with her.



After our high tea, game night commenced.  Candyland for the littles and Cards Against Humanity for the bigs.



We stayed the night with grandma, and someone woke up earlier than Daddy and wanted to snuggle.



Emmy's congestion and allergies took a nose dive after all of the excitement and outdoor play, so she slept almost the entire way to East Texas.



Her baby cousins seemed to be just the medicine that little girl needed to perk up!





We enjoyed our time outdoors and soaked up some of the beautiful weather.



All too soon it was time to leave, and we hugged this little lady a little tighter than the rest.



Happy Thanksgiving!  I am so thankful for all of the wonderful family and friends that we have in our lives.  I hope that we are a blessing to them as well.

My 28th Birthday

My birthday started off in a very promising nature, but it took a nose-dive early on.  I got to work and before I could finish with my second class, the daycare called and said that Emmy was sick.  I finished my class and went to pick her up.  After a quick trip home for medicine, I went to Mom's house to eat the lunch that we had planned. 

My cousin, Kayela, saved the day and stayed with Emmy.  I had already planned to leave school by 3:00 so that I could make it to my doctor's appointment.  By the time I got there to pick her up, I was already starting to sneeze and run fever as well.

We got to the doctor's office, and the appointment went well.  My family was meeting us in Rosenberg to have dinner, so we decided to brave it.  Emmarie and I were both feeling shaky and not at our best, but we did our best to enjoy our dinner.

I really do have a great family!



Notice the sleepy eyes on grumpy gills in the following photo.



There were lots of presents and singing involved as well.







Even though it wasn't the dream day that I had imagined, it was still a great day.  I was surrounded by the people I love and they made me feel very special.  What more could a girl ask for?

Oliver's Jumping Jamboree

Oliver turned three, and we had a jumping good time at his party. 


Don't you just love how a double chin comes racing out to meet a camera when you are having a good time?


The proud grandparents were so very happy to celebrate their big boy.



We also got to meet a new little boy! (or see him again anyway)









In my quest for a good group photo, I decided to just post them all.  This my friends is what you call chaos.



After the kids were finished jumping, we moved on to the party room.







After eating pizza and juice boxes, opening presents, and having some cake, it was time to go home.  Happy 3rd Birthday Oliver.  We love you so much and we were so happy to get to celebrate with you!

6 Years of Bliss!

Six years have passed since I said "I do" to my best friend.  In that time, we have been through some major stuff--lost jobs, found jobs, Brad worked nights, we bought a house, we had a baby--the list goes on.  During this time, there were a few constants in our lives: our church, our family, and our love for each other (I know. Gag me with a silver spoon). 

As cheesy or cliche as it may sound, I really do love this guy and that is the only thing that has kept us together through some of our rough times. 

Bradley,
The past 6 years have been filled with some of the greatest moments of my life.  I love you to Jupiter and back (because the moon is too close and I want to leave growth to Pluto for another post).  Thanks for the great times, I know our journey will only continue to get better and better.
Love,
Ashley

For our anniversary, we took an overnight trip to Galveston.  My family was out of town, so we chose Galveston specifically with the idea of taking Emmy along with us in mind.  There are a lot of fun things to do there, and we knew it would be an enjoyable weekend.

I had to make a quick appearance at a baby shower before going out of town.  Bradley had flowers waiting for me when I got back.  Sweet boy.



We ate dinner and let Emmy play in the indoor pool when we got to Galveston since it was already dark.  The next morning, we went down to the beach super early to walk along the shore and hunt for shells.



The boy and I sure do love the beach.







This little girl loves the beach as well.



We found the only place open that early in the morning, and we got a little silly.



After going back to the hotel for breakfast, we checked out and headed down to The Strand.



We ate lunch at Fisherman's Wharf.  We've eaten here before and it was super yummy that time as well.



We walked around and explored the shops for a while before making our way to La Kings.  They have the best ice cream and home made floats.  If you can tell, Emmy really enjoyed it.



It was a great weekend spent with my favorite people, and it was exactly what we needed to unwind.