Marcus and Ashley's Pursuit of Happyness

Dear Blog

2010-01-14T09:51:00.000-08:00

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry I've let it come to this. Occasional flings, no phone calls, one night stands...I'm going to have to try better to make this relationship work, aren't I? I'll give it to you straight, I've been seeing someone else for the last month. I know, I hate to admit this to you, but I must. You see, this other being is taller, darker, more flesh-like, and has bright green eyes, instead of the filmy-gray you possess...and when it comes to spending time with you or him, hands down, he wins. But now that he has left me again for Carol (law-slang that they call their study desks), we can probably get together more often. What do you say? How bout lunch tomorrow? I'll try and make it up to you.

Love, Ashley

So You Think You Can Dance?

2009-12-10T13:12:00.000-08:00

For those of you who didn't know, I grew up my whole life dancing from the age of 3 on up: tap, jazz, and ballet. I absolutely love dance, which is why it's only natural that I love the show, So You Think You Can Dance? This year has been no exception because they've had a summer season AND currently have a fall season going on now. And you can watch it too; next week is the season finale of the show. And I don't know about your favorites, but as for me, I'm pulling for Jakob or Russell, or Ashleigh,...who am I kidding? I love them all!. They're fantastic! The show airs on Tuesday nights, and results show on Wednesday.

So when the So You Think You Can Dance Tour was at the Portland Rose Garden two weeks ago, Marcus surprised me with tickets! I couldn't have been more excited because the Summer of 09' show was my favorite season yet! And what really surprised me was all the dances they did from the show! All of the dancers were amazing, to say the least! For those fans out there, and for personal remembrance, here was the lineup (the one's with the * were my favorites):

(*If you click on the pictures you can make them bigger)

Opening Routine

*Brandon & Janette- Disco, by: Doriana Sanchez

Evan & Randi-Contemporary “The Bum Dance” by: Mia Michaels

*Janette Solo-“I’m In Miami”

Jason & Kayla-Broadway, “Mr. Monotony” by: Tyce DiOrio

Ade & Melissa-Contemporary, by: Mandy Moore

Randi Solo

*Jason & Caitlin-Bollywood, “Jai Ho” by: Nakul Dev Mahajan

Superheroes Group Dance (Melissa, Kayla, Jeanine)

Jason Solo

*Kupono & Kayla-Contemporary, “(Twilight) Vampire Dance” by: Sonya Tayeh

*Ade & Janette-Hip-Hop “The hair pick dance”, by: NappyTabs

Ade Solo

Melissa & Evan- Broadway “The Wedding dance” by: Tyce DiOrio

Brandon & Jeanine-Pop Jazz, “Love is a Battlefield” by: LaurieAnn Gibson

Kupono Solo

Brandon & Janette-Argentine Tango, by: Leonardo Barrionuevo

Melissa Solo

*“Calle Ocho-I know you want me” Group Samba Dance

———————–
INTERMISSION
———————–

“One” by, Mia Michaels, Group Routine

*Brandon & Janette-Pop Jazz, by: Wade Robson (favorite choreographer...ever!)

Jason & Kayla-Hip-Hop “Zombie dance” by: Shane Sparks

Evan Solo

Ade & Melissa-Pas De Deux “Romeo and Juliet” by: Thordal Christensen

Phillip Solo

Brandon & Kayla-Broadway “Bye Bye Love” by: Tyce DiOrio

Willy Wonka Group Dance (Brandon, Ade, Evan) by: Sonya Tayeh

Kayla Solo

Russian Folk Dance, Group Dance-Phillip and Jeanine

*Brandon Solo

*Kupono & Kayla-Contemporary “Addiction” by: Mia Michaels

*Jason & Jeanine-Contemporary “Jason Mraz-If It Kills Me” by: Travis Wall

Brandon & Janette-Cha Cha by: Jean Marc Generaux

Jeanine Solo

*Ade & Melissa-Contemporary “Cancer dance” by: Tyce DiOrio

Brandon & Jeanine-Paso Doble by: Louis Van Amstel

“Brand New Day” from The Wiz, Group Routine

We had such a great time, and you know as soon as we got home we were busting out moves in our living room. I love what this show has done for the world of dance. And it was so fun to watch one of the best dance “recitals” I'll ever see! The cast had such great personalities, and you could tell they all just got along. How crazy fun would it be to travel around with a bunch of friends, and dance!

So, do you think YOU can dance!?

Quarter of a Century

2009-11-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

Today is Marcus' Birthday, and he's 25 years old. It sure goes by fast considering I've known him since he was 17! And since it is his birthday, and instead of celebrating he is busy in the library studying for finals, here is 25 reasons why I love him:

1. He works so hard at everything he does.
2. He is kind and caring to others.
3. His testimony of the gospel and his faith.
4. The way he treats family, he'll do anything for them.
5. He's pretty nice to look at!

6. He loves to travel and try new things.
7. How much he adores his nieces and nephews.
8. He's really smart, I mean, he married me right?
9. How athletic he is; he can play any sport--and do well at it.
10. He can run crazy fast, and I love to watch him.

11. The way he can spit out sports stats like it's nobody's biz-naz!
12. His jokes-he makes me laugh, a lot.
13. He likes to bake, and he's great at it!
14. He likes to hold my hand wherever we're at.
15. His blue-green eyes.

16. How loyal he is to his friends.
17. He's my best friend.
18. His ambition.
19. He likes everyone.
20. He's from the same town as me.
21. He's really patient.
22. He likes to help others .
23. He likes to watch tv shows with me.
24. He's a great husband.
25. And I love that it took me almost no-time to write this list because he has so many great qualities. He's pretty much awesome.

Happy Birthday Marcus!

Is it Spring yet?

2009-11-16T08:37:00.000-08:00

Check out this dress giveaway featured by Grosgrain. She's extremely talented and has entered her dress into the Shabby Apple dress competition, and is even a finalist! And did I mention you can win her dress? Who doesn't need an adorable new dress for this Spring? Especially, one as lovely as this.

Trick-Or-Treat

2009-10-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

Little People, Big Pumpkins

2009-10-21T12:23:00.001-07:00

This weekend Marcus and I went to the Roloff Farm. What's the Roloff farm, you ask? Well, have you ever heard of the television show Little People, Big World? The Roloff's own a Pumpkin Farm at their house that is open during the month of October. The family is from Oregon, and when we found out we were going to Oregon for school, we knew we had to go see it. We're HUGE fans of the show!

We were lucky the day we went, because it rained all day (in typical Oregon fashion) but when we made it to the farm in the afternoon, it was blue skies and all of the family was out! Our first stop was the gift shop and when we came out, there was a familiar face we couldn't wait to meet!

Amy Roloff is my favorite from the show. She's hilarious. We were lucky to snag a picture and an autograph with her. Here was our conversation:

Ashley: It's so nice to meet you! We are huge fans of the show!
Amy: I love your sweater, is it from Banana Republic?
Ashley: It's from H&M (I almost ripped it off my back and gave it to her).
Amy: Well I like it because it's smaller, you know me, I like short sweaters.
Marcus: Well Banana Republic is her 2^nd favorite store, maybe you guys should go shopping together?

So basically, me and Amy are going shopping next weekend.

Oh look, there's Zach, driving the tour tractor, and Jeremy. Ain't no thang. Actually, I screamed hello to both, while waving profusely, they looked at me like I was nuts. Maybe it's cause I am.

There's the TLC crew with Matt and Jeremy. The crew was around everywhere!

Picking out the perfect pumpkin, there was only about a gazillion to choose from. Which got me thinking...why do we spend so much time finding the “perfect” pumpkin. In two weeks it'll shrivel up anyways, right?

We took the tour of the place, and saw the house, their sa-weet soccer field (that they made just for Zach's team the Grasshogs to practice on before they went to Ireland, watch the show this season to see how they do!) basketball court, and volleyball court. I'd totally be there friend! And probably never leave. Then we went to Western town, one of Matt's many ideas.

At Western town we met Ma and Pa Roloff, and Molly! They were the nicest people! Marcus spent at least 10 minutes talking to Grandpa Roloff about law school and politics. It was hilarious.

And here's Molly's castle we saw, it was from this year's season premiere. It took Matt 10 years to make it,...Molly's now 16. I bet she'd rather have a cool car now.

We had such a great time! We're definitely making this into an October tradition.

Couponing

2009-10-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

I need your help blogging friends! We're trying to save money in this Henry Home, so I've decided to pick up the craft of couponing. I hit up all the best websites on coupons, printed off coupons from the best places, organized them and then took them to my local Winco to use.

At the checkout I placed each item with it's coupon and the young checker-man said, "Oh we don't take internet coupons, where did you get these?" I almost started to cry as I sat there with all my food! Luckily, he said he'd take half of the ones I brought. But, what I'm wondering is, these were actual, legitimate coupons from websites...

So where can I use coupons and get my grocery shopping done, any ideas?

Any other tips you'd like to give me? I'd love to hear them!

Where Have We Been?

2009-10-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well to start, we've been busy! Over the last few months we've had fun celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and family reunions. These past few months we've felt like our life has been on a roller coaster, literally!

We had fun celebrating our anniversary at this bed and breakfast. Check it out and make your reservations...today! It won't disappoint. It was my first time staying at a bed and breakfast, and won't be my last. From the fondue dessert, to the themed rooms, and fuzzy robes, Cameo Heights Mansion is a dream come true!

The Henry Family Reunion took place at the Oregon Coast this year. It was great to spend some quality time with the Henry's and have the whole family together. We also had the Mathews Family Reunion and let me tell you, this is no ordinary reunion! We had a packed weekend and some of our favorites included the adult family dinner, Newlywed game, family auction, and of course, the Amazing Race. Thanks for such great memories!

A trip to Silverwood was a must this summer as well. We had a great time with the Henry, Haertling, and Cazier families and there really is no place like Silverwood. Okay, maybe there is, but no where has ice cream like they do! And P.S. a big thanks to the Henry family for letting us go with them. They really are the funnest people to travel with! I mean really, how can you not have fun with this little guy!?

The last of our travels took us to the German town Leavenworth and up to Seattle. We had fun at a wedding, seeing the town, and then going to the amazing Melting Pot. So good, I die. This place is unreal. It was nice to have a little getaway for us before we separated for the next month and half when Marcus went to law school while I finished work.

AND NOW...we're finally back together! And in Salem, Oregon nevertheless. Pictures of our apartment to come soon! We live in an octagon. That's right, an octagon. Are you intrigued?

BYU Graduation

2009-06-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This post contains an extreme number of photos. All those who may ridicule or judge, please close browser now.

Here are many of our graduation photos. We were so lucky to have many of our family members drive down, fly in, and travel the 6 blocks, to get to commencement. We were so happy to have all of you there, and all of you who could not attend, we have appreciated all of your love and support!

On Thursday all of the graduates came together for the large ceremony. I love this picture of the Marriott Center because it shows all 7,000 of us (It sure beats the 80 students I graduated with in high school!) And I'm sure we were all thinking and feeling the same exciting emotions..."when's this gonna be over?"Where's Waldo? No, where's Marcus and Ashley!?

FRIENDS

Over the years we have gained so many friends from BYU, these are only some of the people who we couldn't have graduated without. These boys were roommates of Marcus', and have become some of our best friends over the years. We will miss them, and their wives, so much!

Brad and Marcus were also freshman friends, and study buddies in Spanish this year. And while they played together out on the intramural field, Katie and I were their own personal cheerleaders on the side :)This is my Sociology pal Meg, who just happened to have almost every class with me. So it was only fitting that we graduate together too! She helped me keep my sanity during those last few weeks before graduation.FAMILY

Bill and Carolyn. Marcus' parents, they really are the best in-laws a girl could ask for. I'm so lucky to have them and all of their family in my life. They have done so much for us, and I appreciate all that they continue to do. We love them very much!What a great day this was to look up into the audience, and see my family smiling down from above. During my years at BYU, my family was always only a phone call away. You could always count on them to send a package from Cougar Care Packages when I was sick, or be so excited for me when I'd ace a test. I love them so much and appreciate all they have done for me.

Here's a picture of me with my mom and Aunt Vicki, who flew in from Colorado. We had such a good time that day going to the spa, getting lunch, and yes, dinner at Tucanos. She inspires me to become the best woman I can be, and I admire her hard work and love for others. Here are some pictures of us with Marcus siblings, and their families.

Dave, Tara, and family. You inspire us to be the wonderful parents that you are, and you are both amazing examples to us in all that you do!Cory and Jen. You mean the world to us. Thanks for being not only our family, but some of our best friends too.Dallin and Ashley. You are both beautiful individuals from the inside out, and it meant so much to have you both there for graduation. We can't wait for yours next!DIPLOMA TIME

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT GRADUATION? Meeting President Samuelson of course!

Now, many of you may not know this, but ever since my freshman year, I have had a small crush on this President of ours. I know, silly right? My roommate and I use to joke that he looks like he could have stepped right out of an old western movie, and it has always been a dream of ours to meet him.

Two weeks before graduation he zoomed by in a golf course on campus. I almost reached out and touched him and I thought this would be as close as I ever got to the John-Wayne-Cowboy-of-a-President. Luckily, there was a meet and greet with him for all graduates. How convenient!I decided early on, I didn't want to miss it. We woke up early and when we got there, to our surprise there were only 4 other couples there! So we FINALLY met President Samuelson and his wife, and we actually got the chance to talk to him. I told him of my desire to meet him before graduating, and his wife quickly responded that I sure was "cuttin it pretty close"! She was right, and I got that perfect picture I had dreamed of....or so I thought!

I checked my camera, and I had my eyes closed. I hesitated, this was the picture, the moment, I had dreamed of! And out of all of us, "I" was the one with my eyes closed. I decided I had to get another one, so we stood in the short line again and I got to meet President Samuelson, not ONCE, but TWICE!
This truly capped off graduation. What a great, fun time we had during our years at BYU. We will miss you BYU, but...probably not for awhile!

WE DID IT!

Since We've Been Gone

2009-06-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

"This little blog of mine" has unfortunately not been shining too well for the past few months. Life has been busy! Let me feel you in:

-We both graduated from BYU

-Moved back to Washington to spend the summer living with our parents (Doesn't that seem backwards? Go to college, get married, graduate from college, move in with parents??....)

-Marcus went up Seattle to sell for work

-But then came home 3 days later to spend the summer on the farm (so he works 17 hour days which usually comes down to "me=a widow")

-I've been applying to jobs, lots of jobs...and I finally got hired at a Fitness gym (key word, finally)

-We celebrated our 2nd anniversary (yes, we were actually together to celebrate it this year, but it was close! Which also means new recommends, isn't that right Rachel?...)

-Also, we were called as 6 year old Primary teachers in our ward (I love it, no really I do (no sarcasm intended!) Our kids don't stop talking and ask us for candy every two seconds. It's kinda like being with myself! I've never been in Primary before though, so it has been fun)

-And... Marcus finally made the decision (with the help of a scholarship) to attend Willamette University in Salem, OR this fall for Law School! I'm so proud of him and how hard he has worked. We are so excited to move to Oregon, live closer to the beach, and break bread with all the Oregon hippies! It should be a fun 3 years, and is a lot closer to home than Utah. Which, personally, I am just loving. However, we will miss our Utah comrades and Italian soda, Rook playing, cupcake making, move watching, sport playing, state traveling, best buddies, Jen and Cory though. Actually, we already miss them!

So that has been our life in a nut shell the past few months. Pardon the absence, but I'll post some pictures soon. I mean really, who doesn't want to see the endless graduation photos? This IS (or was) suppose to be like our journal, but at least now you all know that we've just been homeless, jobless, and husbandless. No biggie, right? Hope you're all having wonderful summers!

Salt Lake City Half-Marathon

2009-04-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

Last year my two sister-in-laws, Jen and Rachel, inspired me after they ran in a half-marathon. And although Rachel was able to run in it with little training (I know, she's amazing!), I knew that I would have to train for months to do something like that, if I even could! So for months, Marcus and I have been waking up at the crack of dawn, running countless miles, and have suffered many blisters, aches and pains. And a week ago, Marcus and I participated in the Salt Lake City Half-Marathon.

We started up at the University of Utah and made our way down to the Gateway Mall. It was hard, really hard, but we didn't walk once (which was our goal) and even finished with a decent time! We had such a fun time even running the race, because random people came out and cheered us along the whole way, street performers were there on corners, and the hundreds of people that volunteered at water stations were greatly appreciated! We were also so happy that Tara, her boys and Emiline, and Carolyn could all come down and support us in our race, and that Jen and Cory could come up to Salt Lake too! We had such a fun time with everyone, and seeing their smiling faces at the finish line was a great motivation to finish.

Here we are about to cross the finish line!

Right after the race, standing for a picture. We had to force our smiles in this one! We were hurting so bad and for the next 3 days we could hardly walk. However, this didn't stop us from walking to the food tables of ice cream, yogurts, and bananas! A banana had never tasted so good!

So not only did Marcus and I run in the half-marathon, but Tara, Carolyn, and Jen ran in the 5k and Luke in the 1k. It's a Henry thing, they sure are inspiring!

What an accomplishment this was for me. Months ago Marcus and I had set out to do this, and I'm not a runner by any means! Looking back now we worked so hard to reach our goal. I remember laughing about a mile and thinking I'd never be able to run it. Then it was two miles, three miles, then all of a sudden I was running 12 miles! I still am not a huge fan of running, but it just shows what we can do when we put our minds to something. I'm so proud of us and all we've accomplished. Thanks for being such a great partner through it all Marcus. So what do we do now? Well, we're training for another one for July 4th!

Nothing But Net

2009-04-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

Has it really been a month since my last post!? Oh, the horror! Things have been pretty crazy here, but in a good way! We've had a lot of fun with friends and family these last few weeks as we've prepared for graduation. But mostly, we've been around basketball...lots and lots of basketball...I guess that's what you get for being married to a Henry. Luckily, I love me some basketball.

Exhibit A. This season Jen and I were on the same intramural basketball team at BYU. And Marcus and our friend Jimmy we're our coaches. We had SO much fun, and the girls we played with were awesome. So awesome it didn't even matter that we had a 1- and oh something, season. All throughout the season, a few of us got mistaken for sisters. Can you point out the look alikes?Exhibit B. Some of our friends, Josh and Ashley, had reduced tickets to a Jazz game. I love it when we go with girls to sporting events because it gives me someone to talk to, while Marcus swaps sports stats with the boys! The Jazz were playing the Knicks that night so we got to see Nate Robinson. He's only like 5 feet tall and won the slam dunk contest this year. Ridiculous! He gives hope to small people everywhere, including me.
Exhibit C. Our other friends Megan and Aaron got us tickets to the Utah Flash game. They're the D League basketball team here in Utah. They got us courtside seats! We thought it was pretty cool and Marcus favorite part, he got to meet Jerry Sloan, the coach for the Jazz. He was like a kid on Christmas morning! I think I would be willing to watch a lot more basketball if we could watch every game like that!
Exhibit D. Although I have no picture to prove it, I won our class March Madness basetkball bracket; thanks to my sport savy husband. I even beat out the five boys in our class! We filled out both women's and men's brackets and I came back with an awesome score in the women's to win the overall thing! It was a huge surprise when she announced my name. So, what'd I win? A free Bundt cake. Holla! So we've been eating that all week. I guess you really can have your cake and eat it too!

Proud Owner

2009-03-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today marks a monumental day. Because today, you see,...I became the proud owner of this:
And the answer is no, I could not be happier! You bet your bottom dollar I was there at 10am when Best Buy opened this morning! Although saying this is admitting I didn't attend the Walmart 12am party when it "officially" came out. If any of you've watched movies with me, you know that I fall asleep in 2.1 seconds flat when watching a movie at night (sometimes on dates, I'd even fall asleep at the theater!). So really, I wasn't going to watch it last night anyways. But did any of you rush out and buy your own copy today, or brave the crowds last night? I'd love to hear your stories, cuz I bet you'd have some good ones!

Rex Lee Run Part 2

2009-03-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Ready. Set. Go! Race day went awesome, AND I completed it faster than I've ever ran before ( it must have been from all those comments of support from you all!). I ran the whole 10k in 1 hour 1 minute and 59 seconds. Slightly less than 10 minutes a mile, every second counts! But my favorite part was when I turned into the stadium for my last lap and I saw the best group of supporters ever cheering me on! Two of my sister in laws were both there (Ashley & Jen) with Cory and Marcus cheering away. I am so lucky to have such a great husband who supports me in all that I do, and to have great in-laws to top it off. Thank you all for coming, it meant so much to me. For the rest of the weekend, we got to spend time with Ashley and played board games all weekend. It was so nice to spend time with her, Jen and Cory (although, we did miss you Dallin!). I'm not sure what we're going to do next year if we end up so far apart! Now for some pictures!

Almost There...just a wee bit further!

Done. Finito!Marcus and Jen had a soccer game before. That's why he's in all his soccer stuff, he doesn't usually wear shin guards just for fun!

Not only were they good at cheering, but gorgeous too.

---
On a good endnote, my blogging friend Meghan has finally decided start her own photography business on the side! She is so talented and makes each shot so unique and beautiful. I'm so glad that she has decided to follow her dreams and make her hobby into so much more, she really is amazing in so many ways (I mean really, she has young twins and still finds time to do this for herself)! Check her out here.

Rex Lee Run

2009-03-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

Remember this post from awhile ago. Yeah, that was pretty fun, but tomorrow morning (Saturday) I'm running in the Rex Lee Run 10k at BYU. I'm nervous and excited, and hoping I won't collapse on the side of the road. Marcus isn't running with me because he has an intramural soccer game with Jen at 9, but he promised he'd be there cheering for me at the finish line.

I can't believe how much time I've had to dedicate to this new hobby of mine. Waking up early on Saturday mornings before cars are on the road because the sidewalks are covered in snow-or three times a week having to miss my favorite shows to go...well, you know...run. I know that my running is no where near the amount of miles a certain family member of ours runs (*cough* Brandon), but you see, I'm not a runner at heart. Often times, I hate it when I'm out there, and it's hard. Last weekend Marcus and I ran 8 miles for the first time and it was a huge accomplishment to me. So I know a 10k (6.2miles) is definitely do-able. What's hard is to think that after the run is over, Marcus and I still have to go run 3 more miles to hit our 9 mile long run for the week!

The Rex Lee Run is sponsored by BYU to support finding a cure for cancer. This year, the Rex Lee Run is going to mean more to me though than just running. A few weeks ago we found out that my Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer. It's been really hard on my family, but because they caught it in time, he will only have to undergo some chemotherapy which will actually shrink the cancer, and then have surgery to remove it. I've had two other close relatives die from cancer recently, yet it's still amazing too me how far science has come in prolonging the lives of those who are diagnosed. Tomorrow will be an emotional, and physically exhausting day for me, but I know I can do it! Fighting (or, running in my case) for a cause, will never feel so good.

5 Things You Wanna Know About Me

2009-03-09T16:32:00.000-07:00

I got tagged a while ago by Brianne, thanks Bri. Here are five things I like about you (I wanted to add this in, just because), and then some things about me:
1. You make amazing cookies, and you'd always share them with us (even though you probably didn't want to)
2. You'll go with me at midnight to purchase the new Ashley Simpson cd, and let me cry when it doesn't come out till the next day
3. You still gossip with me about the happenings of our freshman ward
4. Your the only girl I know that's still in love with Clay Aiken, I appreciate commitment :)
5. You'd let me keep 5 gallons of ice cream in the freezer, even if you didn't like any of them

5 Things I was doing 5 years ago:
I was a Senior in high school at CHS
Playing tennis for my last year
Getting ready to graduate
Hanging out with the NAWB crew
Eating out daily at the Hungry Horse getting soft serve ice-cream, oh yum

5 Things on my to do list for today:
Finish up some homework
Go running
Make reservation at Tucanos
Order graduation announcements
Snuggle up with the hubby and watch an episode of Friday Night Lights

5 Things I would do with a million dollars:
Pay off Marcus' future law school
Buy a sweet car
Buy a new labtop
Take my family and in-laws on a awesome vacation
Um...and pay tithing.

5 Places I have lived:
Burbank, Washington
Provo, Utah
Portland, Oregon
St. Louis, Missouri
Lawrence, Kansas

5 Jobs I have held:
Subway sandwich artist
Camp Counselor at Kennewick Park&Rec
BYU Mail Services
Hot Shotz Extreme Laser Tag
Eclipse Marketing office girl

5 Things I want to be doing in 5 Years:
Have Marcus be done with law school
Be back in the Tri-Cities
Have a mini me runnin' around
Move up to at least a two bedroom apartment
Be a good mom

5 People I tag (Or anyone else who has the inner desire to do this):
Laurel
Becca
Ashley C.
Megan
Rachel

The Bachelor Finale

2009-03-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

*SPOILER ALERTS*

Did that really just happen last night? Did he just...? He did didn't he! Can he really get away with choosing both girls!?

I will admit, by the end I was a Molly fan but I felt absolutely TERRIBLE for Melissa. I was floored, shocked, and close to freaking out.... the look on Molly's face during After the Finale Rose said it all...I think Molly should have danced around singing Beyonce's "If you like it than you should have put a ring on it!"

What on earth did you readers think!? Can you blame Jason? Who were you rooting for? Do you think it was Melissa's fault? And how completely awkward was that for the host!?

Are you still hurt and want to talk more about it? Seek further counseling here at Emily's blog. Don't forget to watch After the Finale Rose PART 2 tonight! I'm sure he'll ditch both girls and end up with Jillian by the end.

Francisco! Ooo, that's fun to say! Francisco.

2009-03-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

A week ago, Cory had an interview with the University of Washington in San Francisco. And because Jen and Cory are so cool, they invited us to go with them. We had a such great time seeing all the sights in San Fran and meeting some of the Henry family that Cory and I hadn't met yet. They were absolutely hilarious, extremely kind, and happy to have us; we had such a great time visiting and laughing with them. On Friday we went to downtown San Francisco where Cory had his interview, and Jen and I shopped at H&M while Marcus ~~reluctantly~~ happily tagged along (Did you buy that? Yeah, I didn't think so, he was a great sport though. He managed to get through the San Fran Visitors guide TWICE while he was waiting for us).

That afternoon we checked into our sa-weet hotel (it had bathrobes and Bath&Body Coconut Lime lotion, which made it a 4star hotel in my book), and then went back downtown for dinner. Dinner ended up being Carl's Jr/Green Burrito, which was accompanied with the local bum's in the area and future druggies of America. In order to use the bathroom at Carl's Jr., you had to receive a “coin” from the order counter (apparently this helps to keep down homeless people from using their bathrooms, another way though is just to bang on the door and tell the person that's in there to “Get there bottom out, because you've gotta pee!” or to tell the person that's in there to hold the door when they get done. You'll be happy to know that we witnessed both during our short time there.) Needless to say, none of us were brave enough to use the bathroom to wash our hands before eating. We later returned our “coin” at the food counter; although maybe we should have sold it on the streets outside because apparently they are quite the hot commodity around there! After Cory made all of us nervous by reporting the possibility of getting an STD from using the salsa, we left to try our luck at winning Wicked tickets.Although we didn't win the “pre-show lottery” for Wicked on Friday night, we did go again on Saturday and all of us, including our good friends Jordan and Sunshine, were able to see the show. It. Was. Amazing. Some of the same characters (Elphaba in particular, aka the Wicked Witch) from the L.A. show (that me and Marcus saw last April) were playing in the San Francisco show. It was so cool to be able to see how much she has improved-or maybe it's because this time we were in the 15th row, I don't mean to brag, but it "was" pretty rad.

The rest of the night we spent walking over people asleep in the streets, checking out Chinatown, and driving down the “Crookedest Street in the World” also known as Lombard Street. On Saturday we headed out early to see Alcatraz. Alcatraz is the old federal prison that was used back in the 1930's to 1960's; it held the infamous “Scarface” and other gangsters from the time. It was kinda creepy, but really interesting. They say no one has ever escaped Alcatraz, but actually, three men did escape by cutting holes in their cells with spoons just big enough for them to get out of, but no one knows what happened to them (I would consider this a successful escape). They also say that Alcatraz was the worst prison because it's on an island; the inmates could see the nearby city and freedom was just within reach, and at night they could actually hear the laughing of people coming across from the bay. This would for sure have drove me crazy....that is, if I was in a prison...moving on!

Later that afternoon we strolled Fisherman's wharf, ate clam chowder out of bread bowls along the bay, and then hit up Ghiradelli Square for some dessert. Ghiradelli makes those awesome chocolate squares, but they also make wonderful sundaes too! Topped with oozing homemade chocolate sauce, are you hungry yet? Me too, I'll just leave it at that. After the ice cream, we went to Postcard Row and took pictures. (Have you ever seen the t.v. show Full House? It's the scene at the beginning where they're eating a picnic.)

This pretty much concluded our super awesome San Francisco trip; after driving 12 hours to get back, one hour playing the "Animal Game," 5 bathroom breaks, one hour of old school Mariah Carey, and one In-N-Out stop later, we were home. It was so fun to spend time with Cory and Jen and do something to get out of Provo, even if it was just for the weekend! Thanks for the great memories and good laughs.

Everything's amazing and Nobody's happy

2009-02-27T08:44:00.000-08:00

This comedian spoke on Conan awhile back and Marcus and I haven't been able to stop quoting him since. It's pretty funny, and I hate to say it, but very true as well! (But for the viewers this probably should be rated PG-13)

Do You Know Your Spouse?

2009-02-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

I think I know Marcus pretty well...but let's see...

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
That's an easy one,...ESPN

2. You're out to eat/what kind of dressing on his salad?
Ranch aka Uncle Dan's

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
Spinach, we don't have many (if any!) Spinach salads in this family!

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
Stawberry lemonade, if they don't have that...root beer...

5. Where did he go to high school?
Pasco High School

6. What size shoe does he wear?
Let me go check...that's cheating? Okay, around 9 1/2, I think

7. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Ooo, this is tricky. That one sandwich from Quiznos with the guacamole on it!

8. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Easy, Pizza. Why so easy you ask? Because that IS what we eat everyday.

9. What is his favorite cereal?
Cap N Crunch or maybe Lucky Charms, we like sugary cereals. Hmm, or maybe that's just me

10. What would he never wear?
A man's Peacoat, Like Edward-style

11. What is his favorite sports team?
His own intramural team? j/k um, depends on the sport...probably BYU though. Or Gonzaga, or whoever is the underdog.

12. Who did he vote for?
He (we) didn't sign up in time...I know I know, don't hate!

13. Who is his best friend?
Besides me, his old roomie Jimmy Willis (they just MIGHT have been separated at birth). When we hang out with Jimmy, I become non-existent. No really, I often refer to him as Marcus' "other" significant other.

14. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
Um, refer to Twilight on a daily basis...what? I can't help it.

15. What is his heritage?
Hmmm, good question.

16.U bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
German Chocolate Cake, yum!

17. Did he play sports in high school?
Yeah,...Football, Track, Soccer, and Golf

18. What could he spend hours doing?
Playing Wii.

19. What is one talent he has?
He is a man of many talents, but he is definitely REALLY fast. I think it's a Henry thing. Oh, and he is a tremendous baker. He makes the meanest chocolate chip cookies! That he learned from the Mathews side (his mom) :)

20. What is his favorite ice cream?
Anything with pecans and caramel

21. Will he read this?
Probably :) It is "our" blog

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T10:54:00.001-08:00

A Special Valentine From Me To You:

Bridal Showers

2009-02-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

This past week, I was able to attend my good friend, Brenna's, bridal shower. We've been friends since freshman year, and it was great being able to catch up with her and my other old roommate Brianne. It was a fun shower filled with laughter, lingerie, and Cafe Rio (does it get better than that!? Probably not.)

During my freshman year at BYU, us girls were the 6 crazy chicks (and crazy we were!) of E. Richards Hall #216. And although we've been through our ups and downs-crazy boyfriends, messy Eskimo roommates, many cartons of BYU creamery ice cream and lots of singin and dancin... -we've pretty much all kept in contact with one another! It really is a joy to see how far these ladies have come in life, love, and work!

Here we are back in our glory days:

GOOD TIMES, THANKS GIRLS FOR THE MEMORIES

Winner of the Love-ly Giveaway!!

2009-02-09T08:07:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much to all of you who stopped by the blog and gave me praises of LOVE! Your words were so kind and I hope you all know how much I love my blogger readers! Now for a winner......(drumroll please). The winner of a Love-ly Giveaway brought to you by random.org is......

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2009-02-09 16:19:56 UTC

WHO JUST HAPPENS TO BE:

Bessie Balboa! (aka Meghan Robles!) sorry Meghan, Marcus said I should throw that in there ;)

Meghan is a wonderful wife, and mother of two twin boys and is very deserving of a Valentine for this Valentines day! Please send me an email with your address to: tinyash2300@hotmail.com and I will get that in the mail, ASAP!

A LOVE-ly Giveaway!

2009-02-05T15:10:00.000-08:00

Today I received some love in the mail! A few weeks ago, I won a giveaway from this lovely lady :) I love to get happy mail, and being a college student, it's nice to get things in the mail that aren't just...well...bills.

Everything in this sweet little package was wonderful. Thank you so much Emily, that was so nice of you and I loved everything! Here's a peek of what was inside:

-Handmade magnets and beautiful cards. Your very talented Emily, in so many ways!

-Yummy brownies....”chocolate” yummy brownies....enough said.

-A delightful CD mix of many different songs. I love getting or seeing other's cd's or playlists because I find it SO intriguing to hear other songs that people love. And it's a great way to find new tunes for the iPod.

-And lastly,...LOTS of good recipes to try, this might have been Marcus' favorite thing :)

SO I know what you're thinking...What's with all this “LOVE” talk, right? Well, I've definitely felt loved from a few bloggers recently and I admire there willingness to give. So I thought....I should GIVE SOME LOVE back!

And what a better way to do it, than with a GIVEAWAY! *YAY*

So leave me some love (in a comment please...*all other forms might be denied*) by Sunday at midnight and I'll randomly choose someone to send a lovely lil Valentine filled with LOVE your way! Come out lurkers, come out friends, come out family...I would love to hear from all of you! Because really, all you need is love...

For the Future Posterity

2009-02-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

On this day, two years ago, Marcus got down on one knee and proposed. Where has the time gone? I remember it like it was yesterday…

Marcus and I were planning to drive home to Tri-Cities in a few weeks, and because Marcus had dislocated his shoulder a week previously (which is another great story by the way!) I assumed that there was no way he would propose with his arm in a sling, right? I figured I had a good couple weeks until we went home, THEN he would probably do it. It was a Friday afternoon when he surprised me at my apartment and said to pack a bag, we were leavin. He wouldn’t tell me where we were going, and we headed to Southern Utah. I thought to myself, maybe he wants to elope in Vegas, if so… I’m cool with that. So I sat back enjoying the ride. Jen and Cory lived in St. George at the time, and I soon decided we were probably going down to see them. But then Marcus drove past their exit. What the? Yeah, he just kept on going as I sat their in my confuse-ment (is that a word?) He drove to the St. George temple and as we rounded the corner of a park, there was a gazebo all lit up. Yeah know the type, think Twilight only not quite as good. You see, there was no Edward around. But definitely no Victoria either glaring at us from above, good sign? I think so.

Where was I, oh yes, Marcus parked the car, and we walked out to a candlelit dinner of Pizza, sparkling cider, and a boombox (yes a boombox, don’t know what a boombox is? *sigh*) and it was playing “our” song, from our first date when we were 16. Everything in the evening was going perfect-we danced, we laughed, and right when I thought the proposal was coming, Marcus called Jen and Cory to come pick us up. I wanted to cry...What? I'll admit it. “No ring, no proposal, what was going on!?” That night, we went back to their house, played some games and that was it. I was a little heartbroken, to say the least.

The next day, Marcus and I watched “Father of the Bride” (which just happened to be on TBS that day, oh, it’s on every weekend you say? Oh yes, you’re probably right) and then went to the St. George temple. We walked the grounds, and then Marcus said he wanted to take me somewhere special. The man took me to a jewelry store! He told the clerk, we were looking for a engagement ring. I almost burst into tears (because I had already picked out my “dream ring” in Provo) and this pretty much confirmed my fears that he hadn’t bought it yet. When the lady asked me which one I wanted to try on, I said “None, I already know which one I want!” and we left as I pouted.

After this we went to Café Rio (where we had our first date after his mission) and after dinner he asked me if I wanted it now? “Want what?” I asked, “No way, your going to do it here!? At Cafe Rio!?” I was slightly embarrassed and confused all at the same time. He then removed a box from his sling (yes, he hid it in his sling!) and pulled it out. There it was, a rather large RingPop (yeah know, the big candy on a plastic ring.) Then he just started busting up laughing. I was mad, livid! How could he make a joke of this? So we went home. End of Story.

Okay, not really, but at this point I thought it was never going to come. Later that night we all drove down to the Vegas because Ashley, Marcus' sister, was flying in to try out for HSM2. The night before, Cory even prayed for Ashley to make it safely on her flight, and Marcus' mom kept calling to say how she had just dropped Ashley off and her flight was delayed because they had to de-ice the plane, etc. They TOTALLY had me going! This was all part of their evil ploy to torture me. When we got to Vegas we strolled the Bellagio gardens, watched the fountains, and then headed over to my favorite hotel, The Venetian. Jen and Cory had to buy tickets to the Blue Man group that was playing there. While they were buying their tickets, we strolled around, until a guy from the gondolas came up and said he had two tickets for us to take a ride....Hmmm, I thought to myself, interesting....So we rode on the romantic gondola ride. I had butterflies in my stomach, and Marcus was quiet, until he started stumbling out words and got down on one knee in the boat and asked, “Ashley, will you marry me?” Little did he know, I had bought a fancy-shmancy ring for him (which I had been carrying around with me for the last 3 weeks!) and I pulled it out and said, “Only if you'll marry me.”

What even makes this story more hilarious, was when he pulled out the ring to put it on my finger, he dropped it off the side of the gondola, into the water. Yes, you heard me right. He DROPPED my DREAM ring, into the WATER. *splish splash plop* Our gondolier got all panicky and said, “We can get it! Don't you worry! Even if we have to fish it out!” At that moment, I thought she might jump in herself to retrieve the ring, but then Marcus pulled out a second ring, and said, “Oh I was just kidding, here is the REAL one.” I couldn't believe him! We laughed, we hugged, we kissed, and got engaged. A real winning story for ya. Marcus, thank you so much for all you do. You're a romantic (most of the time), you make me laugh, cry, and even pull my hair out at times, but nevertheless, I love you.

My Guilty Pleasure

2009-02-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

Last season on The Bachelorette, Deanna let this guy go. A 32-year old, single father from Seattle, who absolutely adores his son Ty. But this season, HE'S the new Bachelor! His name is Jason and he has to be one of the most genuinely nice, down to earth guys to ever be on the show. Jason is down to the last 5 girls, and surprisingly, all of them are terrific! I can't get enough of it! Oh, and did I mention Deanna is going to make a surprise visit on the show, begging Jason to take her back saying that she picked the wrong guy! WHOA. All the drama airs Monday nights on ABC. Be there or be square, or circle, whatever.

Ticket to Where?

2009-01-29T09:09:00.000-08:00

My name is Ashley, and I'm a game-aholic...

Have any of you played this?

I absolutely love trying new games,
(especially ones that I can actually beat Marcus at!)
It looks ghetto, I know...But it's great for kids 10+
Not to mention, you can play with 2 players or 5.
We can't stop playing. So this is my game shout out.
Love.
It.

Sleepless In Seattle

2009-01-22T15:44:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Marcus and I went to Seattle for my Aunt Vicki's 50th Birthday Bash. Although we were only there for 48 hours, we packed so much into our trip and had such a good time visiting with family, dancing till dawn, and eating at Ivar's (never been to an Ivar's? Well your probably not from the Northwest, and I'll be honest, you're missing out!) As for my Aunt, she sure knows how to throw a party! If there's any way to turn a year older, that was definitely the way to do it! On Friday we went to the Space Needle, the Experience Music Project and Laser Show. Then on Saturday we went down to Pike's Place Market where they throw the infamous fish and even got to hit up a little shopping at this favorite place of mine.
Later that night we dressed up for the party on a dinner cruise, and as the boat circled the Puget Sound, we got our groove on.

The first mistake, letting us girls come up and sing. Second mistake, playing "Mustang Sally" and Meatloaf.

The live band was fantastic and they even let my brother come up and play, he did an amazing job! He's the next big thing...
And lastly, a big thanks to mom, thanks for such a great weekend! (Please, ignore the dazed look on my face...I stayed up watching Juno late the night before)

A New Year, A New Look

2009-01-19T20:37:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the hiatus, but life has been busy with new school schedules, lots of homework, and going to class every day of the week. I know, life's tough right? But it is! So for the new year, we decided we needed a blog upgrade. We're still working out the details, but for now, I've missed blogging and have recommitted to updating this more frequently!...We'll see how long it lasts.

The Twilight BUZZ

2008-12-28T00:19:00.000-08:00

Oh No He Didn't! But yes, he did...Movie Edward cut his hair. What do you think!? Love it, hate it? We need to address this! I've heard that the filmmakers for Twilight have told him when he can and can't cut his hair. Does this mean that we have to wait for Rob's hair to grow back before filming New Moon!?

Wedding Bells

2008-12-22T00:20:00.000-08:00

Here is my gorgeous sister-in-law (ya know, the OTHER Ashley Henry) and her new handsome husband Dallin. We had the greatest time at their wedding reception last night and are SO happy for the newlyweds! No more A.Henry "squared," there is now only one Ashley Henry and Ashley Calaway. Congratulations you two, have a wonderful week. We are so happy to have Dallin in the family, and he now brings the Henry total to 26! Crazy, I know...but fun all at the same time. We now are going to rest from the stress, play board games, eat lots of food, and enjoy the rest of our break! Happy Holidays Everyone!

Goodbye Lautner

2008-12-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

Two posts, one day, crazy I know. But I had to pay my respects. Can it be true? No official announcement yet, but this news was on Facebook. Goodbye Lautner. I will REALLY miss you (you became my perfect Jacob)...

Hello Michael Copon. I've seen you in all the One Tree Hill episodes and Bring it On part 12 (and you were pretty good in OTH) I hope you know you have BIG shoes to fill...no literally, I'm pretty sure Jacob has big feet.

So what do you guys think of this change in our lovable werewolf Jacob Black? Also, I've heard the tentative release date of New Moon is November 20, 2009...I'm loving the sound of that! And if you don't have any idea what this post is about, go see the movie Twilight already. Go see it right now!

Finals (Dun-Dun-Dunn)

2008-12-12T09:39:00.000-08:00

One thing I will be happy about when I finish school is not having to take final exams anymore! For the next two days (Friday and Saturday), all classes have been canceled (Really, who has classes on a Saturday!?) and they become "Reading Days," aka prep days before finals week starts on Monday. I don't know anyone at BYU who actually uses there Saturday reading day, ALL DAY, to prepare for finals (There are probably those out there that do, but most likely not friends of mine.).

I really think this policy should change to Thursday and Friday reading days. (I'm sure BYU will probably track me down and say I have to remove my comments, but I do love this school in SO many ways, but I have to admit that their reading days are rather ridiculous.) Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard Harvard gets a week to 2 weeks off to study before Finals? And BYU-Idaho doesn't even have a finals week. My sister-in-law Ashley is done today, last day of classes is the last day of school. As how it should be! Thanks for letting me get on my soap box, and now I'm going to jump down and start studying. Have a great weekend everyone.

The weather outside is Frightful

2008-12-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

It's snowing in Provo today, the first "real" snow. I hate snow, maybe it's because I grew up in a place where when it snows two inches they cancel school. It's cold and wet and when walking up to campus in it, it's no fun. Don't get me wrong, I do like a white Christmas, but I wish it would just come around once a year. I feel just like this bird in the picture, trapped.

Too Hot to Trot

2008-12-05T08:53:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving break my friend Wendy and I ran in our first race, The 5th Annual Turkey Trot. It was freezing, it was early, but it was fun! The race was just a 5k but we were proud of ourselves for waking up early on Thanksgiving morning to run in it. Here we are before the race, about to turn into popsicles...

Then we had to wait for the gun shot. It was PACKED, 2400 people!

3.1 Miles in 30 minutes, no stopping! Here we are still smiling after the race, I promise we didn't smile through the whole thing. Thanks Wendy for being such a good partner and allowing me to "woo" at every mile marker, it was so fun to run with you!

P.S. Marilyn we looked out everywhere for you and Brandon, we figured Brandon would be the first one to the finish line but Marcus didn't see him. How did it go for you!?

Just a thought...

2008-12-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel like you just can't catch up? For instance, you get all the way through all the posts of your Google reader and then right when your closing out, there's 5 new posts? I do, and playing catch up is no fun. I can't wait for the week to be over! Hi Movie Edward, how are you doing today?

Twi-Enlightened

2008-11-25T12:09:00.001-08:00

Are you wondering what I thought? I loved it of course. Okay, truthfully I didn't "love" it the first time I saw it, but the second time was greatness. I went in expecting it wasn't going to be as good as the book, but two hours of Rob would be enough! The first time I saw it, I kept comparing the movie to the book and when the movie ended WAY too soon, I sat in shock that it was over. I couldn't believe it! I'm not going to go into detail, but you know all of us Twilight-obsessive fans were all thinking the same things: Emotionless Bella, Jasper looked pained, Rob had few facial expressions, and the glittering skin looked like sweat (Did anyone else think so too?) etc, etc.

BUT what made this movie better, was seeing it for the second time. I knew what to expect and could sit back and enjoy it. Now, I feel like I'm going through withdrawals, I can't wait to see it again! Here are some of my favorite things from the movie:
ROSALIE: "How do we know she even likes Italian?"
EMMETT: "Well...her name is Bella."

When Edward and Bella step out of the car together. He looks great in those shades. That scene is perfect.

Jasper's skills with the baseball bat. Did you catch those?

EDWARD: "You better hold on tight, spidermonkey." I almost died laughing.

Overall, I just loved the Cullens and the nonvampires. Eric was hilarious and Mike Newton was adorable. I was so impressed by Rosalie and Emmett too. Loved them both, and Alice of course. So if your wondering why you hated it the first time so much, go see it again. And if that doesn't work, third time's the charm, or so I hear.

P.S. Marcus finally read Twilight, I know right? Finally.

Hawaii Revisited

2008-11-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

I've tried to think of the best way to make this post, but no matter what I came up with, it was bound to be one thing: LONG. So because this blog is somewhat like a journal to us, we decided to just post it all in one post. If you want, you could either sit down and read it all the way through, or you can leave halfway through reading it-grab some hot choco, and come back and read some more, or skip this post completely. Whatever you readers decide to do, here it is:

FRIDAY: We had an itinerary. So we did a lot. We left on Friday morning and flew out of SLC on a direct flight to Honolulu. The airline food which consisted of a chicken sandwich and Pringles was expensive, but good. As soon as we got to our hotel, we hit the beach that was about 50 feet away. It was warm and the sun was setting, we were in Hawaii or maybe it was Heaven, I couldn't tell. That night we watched a firework show on the beach and the fireworks echoed off the hotels and made us feel like we were in Pearl Harbor. It was kinda creepy, I'm not gonna lie. But the fireworks were awesome!

SATURDAY: We woke up at 4 in the morning (remember the time change), and we ran on a 3 mile run to Leonard's Bakery (one of the local donut shops you never hear about till after you've gone, luckily we knew about it beforehand). Seems kind of ironic right, running to a donut shop? Yeah it was, but the "malazadas" aka Brazilian donuts were so good (Leonard's was a favorite on the trip, and we must have ate there 10 times)! Later that day after a quick swim in the ocean, we met up with Dave and Tara who flew in. With Emmie too! I could write a whole post on beautiful Emiline but we will have to save that for another time. That afternoon we hit the Aloha Swap Meet and Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor was great, I learned so much about it that when I left I had an even greater appreciation for the men that serve our country. Because the harbor is so shallow, many of the boats are still in the harbor. We saw the USS Arizona (about 1,000 bodies are still trapped inside, making it somewhat of burial ground to many).

SUNDAY: We went to church and got kicked out of the singles ward and over to the family ward. The church building was beautiful. I can't even begin to describe it, luckily Bill (Marcus' dad) took lots of pictures. After church we went to the Iolani Palace, where the Queen of Hawaii lived and was imprisoned in her house. Not a bad place to be held, right? She was also believed to be a member of the church, a book of Mormon was on her nightstand. Then we saw the King's place, a really old cemetary, where he was buried, and some mission homes. Then we headed up to the National Memorial Cemetery. It. Was. Sweet. Gorgeous views, very spiritual and all of the names of the MIA soldiers. Then we drove to the Pali lookout where you could see the other half of the island, it was gorgeous to be that far up in the mountains looking down onto Oahu.

MONDAY: We got our Snorkel equipment from Snorkel Bob and headed south to Hanauma Bay. We snorkeled for hours and saw sea turtles, beautiful fish, oh, and a shark. No way, right? But we did, it was about 6 feet. Luckily it was a vegan shark, like on Finding Nemo, but it did scare us at first! Especially, Jen. I think she could rival Olympian Michael Phelps if you told her a shark was behind her. Hanauma Bay was by far one of my favorite places, when you think of Hawaii, this is the place you think of, it was beautiful. After leaving Hanauma, we went to the Valley of the Temples. It was a Japanese garden/cemetery just like one's in Japan, with a Buddha and everything. It was pretty neat but it had way to many mosquitoes. If you consider 19 bites too many! I must have sweet blood, I bet Edward would like it :) That night we went to dinner at Bennihana's (Thanks ash for the recommendation). It's a teppanyaki grill where they cook everything right there in front of you and our chef did fancy tricks and built us a onion volcano. Check out the pics below! Oh, and the food was good too!

TUESDAY: We woke up and hiked to Manoa Falls, the falls were okay, but the hike up to it was beautiful, very lush and green. Perfect for pictures. Then we packed up our snorkel gear and headed up to the North Shore. The North Shore has some of the biggest waves in the world and professional surfers come during the winter to surf pipeline. These waves were cool to see but, Haleiwa, the infamous beach town, has also the greatest burger and shaved ice place ever! The burger joint was called Kua'Aina, and the pineapple burger was about the size of my face. No really, it was. But the best part: Aoki's shaved ice. I love shaved ice, it's probably my favorite food if you can call it that. It was unbelievable. YUM! Then we went to Shark's cove to snorkel. We swam in schools of fish, and saw tons of tropical fish that you could pretty much reach out and touch. The water is so clear in Hawaii that you can see everything. This time though, no sharks, seems kinda ironic though since we were in shark's cove. That night we went to the Cirque De Soleil show, Saltimbanco. I can't explain how amazing these shows are: acrobats, contortionists, and circus to the extreme. The show was fantastic and we even met up with Ashton and Becca at the show. Yes, they were in Hawaii too at the same time! And no we didn't plan it.

WEDNESDAY: We went to the Laie LDS Temple and did a session. It is a beautiful temple and after the session we had lunch on the beach. After lunch we went around BYU-Hawaii and considered transferring there on the spot, trust me, you would have too! After that we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We went to all of the "villages" and saw natives from the islands of Tonga, Samoa, and Aotearoa put out fire with their feet, climb palm trees, bang on drums, and do the haka (if you watch the BYU football team, you might recognize this!). That night we went to a Luau, ate roasted pig, watched some entertainment, and had as much POG (passion orange guava-deliciousness) as we could handle. Then was the Horizon Night Show. I find this really interesting, everyone at the cultural center goes to BYU-Hawaii and in the afternoon students work at the cultural center to help pay for tuition. At night they put on a show of dancing and flame throwing. Unbelievable. These students had SO much talent.

Check out these girls and guys shake it from the PCC-Tahiti, it's unreal.

THURSDAY: As our trip started coming to an end, we went back to the North Shore. More Aoki's and more snorkeling. Although the waves were too big that day so we couldn't snorkel, so instead we rented boogie boards. We saw some sea turtles at Waimea Bay and about a half hour later got called out of the water for a shark spotted in the bay. They said it was about 7 to 8 feet and this was no vegan shark! So for the next hour we watched the crazy surfers and big waves roll in. These waves were unbelievable! After awhile we were adventurous enough to go back in. After we practiced our boogie boarding skills on the smaller waves, Marcus, Cory, Jen and I took our chances on the big waves. We almost died. No really, we were really luckily, we were also really stupid. Crazy. That's what we were. After awhile we went back to our kiddie waves. In the afternoon, we went back to the PCC to see some more of the villages and then that night we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, it was delicious, as always!

FRIDAY: Came too quickly. At sunrise we went to Diamond Head and watched the sunrise, and then during the morning we played on the beach. That afternoon we hit up the Premium Outlets, found TONS of great stuff, and then went back to our hotel to watch the fireworks again on the beach. Our flight was a red eye and didn't leave till 10:30 PM! So we had an uncomfortable sleepless night on the airplane, went to Seattle and had an uncomfortable sleep on the airport floor, and then jumped on the plane to SLC.

I can now say that we've officially recovered from our trip. I'm sorry this was so long, but it IS for memory purposes. We loved every minute of our time spent with family members and want to give a BIG thanks to Bill and Carolyn for everything they did for us. Also, thanks to Marcus for my the early Christmas present (SLR camera!) so that I can finally document our trips like I remember them. As for now, we are still suffering from Hawaii withdrawals and in the market for a Snowie machine.

Aloha

2008-11-09T15:23:00.000-08:00

We just got back yesterday from our amazing Hawaiian vacation. And amazing it was, but also very exhausting! We went snorkeling a few times, did the Polynesian Cultural Center, saw a Cirque de Soleil show, and tried our luck on the Hawaiian pipeline. But as for right now, we have to catch up on a lot of missed homework and sleep. As soon as we're caught up though, we'll fill you in on all the details and pictures from our trip! But here's a few to tide you over until then...

Here's the group, minus Tara and Dave. They came along with little Emiline too, but this was our first night in Waikiki and we couldn't wait to test out the waters.

Autumn

2008-10-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

It's officially fall now at the Y, and we're going camping tonight with Jen and Cory. Apparently it's suppose to get down to 28 degrees, so we all might come back looking like Snowmen.

We Are Still Alive and Kickin

2008-10-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

So, it's been forever since we've posted, I'm sorry for our absence, not abstinence but ABSENCE. Let me catch you up on all of our happenings, we've been busy with Schoolwork...and well, Schoolwork...and, what do ya know, more Schoolwork... See, I told you you haven't missed much. We're trying to get everything done before our trip to Hawaii! I can't wait, and I'm not trying to brag about it, we're just really excited. I'm just sure one day I'm going to come home seeing Marcus with his coconut bra and grass skirt swaying to the Island Beats. He's stoked about it too.

We leave next Friday and already in class my mind is on Hawaii: "Social control theory is...'I wonder how warm the water will be? I cant wait for the cultural center and temple, will it be humid there? Should I really bring my straightener then, oh I can't wait for shaved ice!'...What is social control theory again?"

Last FHE we went over to Jen and Corys and carved pumpkins, it has become sort of a Halloween tradition for Marcus and I. So in honor of our current BYU Football status, say hello to our pumpkin...

For those of you who missed last Thursdays' game (first, you didn't miss much), and second, "The Quest" of BCS Bowl Game dreams was diminished

Here's a group shot of everyone, the other two in the picture are Jen and Cory's friends The Housleys. Not to mention she is also a student in the Sociology Major with me, so just for that she's pretty cool. Have a fantastic day everyone

Run, Ashley, Run

2008-10-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. I've given myself a thousand reasons to quit running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."

Okay, so I have been frequently asked, if I'm still running? For the record, I'm not a runner, in fact, I've never really enjoyed it. It's hard, kinda boring, and tiring but I have stuck to it AND I even enjoy it now! I anticipate and get little butterfiles about the next time I'm going to run and of course by the end of it, I'm dead tired, but it's getting better. I have finally worked up to 2.5 miles! I know it's not much, but this is coming from the girl that couldn't even run a mile; probably not even a half a mile! My sister in law Jen, pointed me to a great website, MapMyRun and you can figure out your mileage before you go. It's a great way to push yourself to just go a little farther each time.

Me and two of my girlfriends from back home are working towards a Marathon or half Marathon in May...whichever we end up feeling most comfortable with. So if any of you know of any good ones to race in this Spring, let me know! We've all been working really hard, and it's something I've always wanted to do.

So if your thinking about running, JUST DO IT, as Nike would say. One thing I've learned, running is a mental game! Oh and having a good partner (like Marcus) is definately beneficial too! But sorry ladies, he's not for sale!

The Big Day

2008-10-04T08:37:00.000-07:00

Marcus takes his LSAT test this morning! I am excited/nervous/and relieved it's finally going to be over and I'm not even the one taking it! I can't imagine what he must be feeling, please keep him in your prayers :)

Luckily we have this to look forward to after it's all said and done, and you can even watch it too!

Tag!

2008-10-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

So I was tagged a few weeks ago by my sister-in-law Rachel, and because it was my first tag I couldn't stand her up on it! So the rules are to tell 5 things that are unique about you. It took me awhile to think about it because the things that I do, don't seem that unique to me; however, then I asked Marcus and he seems to think I'm very unique because he came up with a list full!

Here they are in all their glory (don't hate):

1. When I go in to use the bathroom, I have to turn the water facet on. Call it stage fright, nerves, a waste of water, whatever. I just can't go without it, even if I'm in a restroom or at my own home! This has become one of my biggest pet peeves about BYU campus bathrooms, they are SO quiet. I'll go into the restroom to only come out five minutes later not having gone.

2. My freshman year in college I would often tease my roommate about her color coordinated closet. I thought it was pretty funny at first, but then she came and helped me with mine and it has forever changed my closet! I don't know how I got by with 18 years of my life without it. It's the only way I am able to find anything. So if any given day you come over to our apartment, there you can see my clothes in rainbow order. It's one of the only things that's organized all the time!

3. I love random foods. My obsession: frozen gummy bears, cherry pie filling (yes right out of the can) and Jello (preferably raspberry). Marcus loves Jello so much too that when we make it we have to cut a line down the middle and claim our "sides." That way he won't eat out of my side and I can't eat out of his. We're a very politically correct couple.

4. For those of you who know Marcus really well, you may know that he has one of the smallest bladders known to mankind. Even in his youth on family trips, he was often the "butt" (pun intended) of getting picked on for stopping every hour to use the bathroom. I, however, am on the opposite end of the spectrum. I have made the trip from Provo to Pasco (10 hours) many a time without using the bathroom. It's not like I hold it in misery, I just don't have to go! Marcus was proud once when he only had to stop twice on that same trip, (he ain't got nothin on me!)

5. When it comes to bacon, I love it, but not like most people! I love when a bacon is crispy on one side and has the bacon fat along the other. But in my household, we don't call it fat, we call it "the skinny." I don't know when I started calling it that but when my mom would cook bacon I would ask for the Skinny pieces, now my brother does it too...how contradictory is that, skinny bacon? Oh well, whatever makes you eat it with a little less guilt!

Thanks Rach for making me realize just how weird I am! Now I tag: Laurel, Kristina, Brenna, Brianne, & Megan

Is It Christmas Yet?

2008-09-17T09:50:00.001-07:00

Well my good friend Megan posted on her blog a great idea that her Stake is currently doing, and she was gracious enough to share it with all of us blogging buddies. From today (Wednesday) there are 100 days till Christmas...
The challenge: For the next 100 days leading up to Christmas you have to give 100% of yourself to the gospel. It's a lot, I know, but it is already things we should be doing. I think it is a great idea to remind us what is really important in our lives. So here is the list of requirements:

Daily
Individual and family prayer
Individual and family scripture study
Acts of love and compassion to spouse (roommates or family)

Weekly
Date with spouse (or girl's night out...for my sassy single friends :)
Family home evening
Sabbath observance at ward of record
Magnify your calling

Monthly
Fast and payment of tithes and offerings
Temple Attendance
Home and Visiting Teaching

So, are you up for the challenge?

Rise and Shout, The Cougars are Out

2008-09-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

WE LOVE BYU FOOTBALL!

Now that we're back to the swing of things at school, we have become fully immersed in Cougar Blue fever. Marcus pretends he's a BYU football player on the intramural field while I participate in the First Wives Club along the sidelines, (We rarely watch, and mostly talk, but dedicated to our men nonetheless). Even though they're not really BYU football players they did look a lot like them winning 54-7. Meanwhile, the real Cougars are unstoppable this year, and this weekend was nothing different! After this weekends game, we left with Snowies, Sunburns, and Good Stories. BCS Busters? We think so.
After our controversial win against UofW last week, one look at this weekend's scoreboard should be plenty of proof that we deserved to win, controversy or not.

Back to school, Back to school, To prove to Dad that I'm not a fool

2008-09-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

And no, this picture is not of me. Although it is what I feel like at the moment; which definitely counts for something.

One last year! Yes, it is finally here. After many years, Marcus and I are finally at our Super Senior year of BYU. However, Marcus starts Law School next year so he's not quite done, yet. What a past few days we have had. After an enjoyable one week (summer break) back at home, Marcus and I drove to Provo then unpacked into our apartment on Monday.

Yesterday we started classes bright and early and they went much better than expected. In the years past, I would walk up to campus and try to avoid any people (bad roommates, old exes, etc.) that might be lurking on campus. But this year all of them have graduated. Yahoo! So I can now walk around campus in bliss and not be afraid of running into an old foe. (For example, When walking into a grocery store, you see someone from high school, and instead of saying hello, you turn your gaze and walk the other way.) I do it all the time. In fact, me and one of my college roommates, Brianne, would often do this and when we would see someone on campus, we would send out the text message "Code Blue!" to each other. It's not that I don't like to be friendly, it's just that by avoiding those "people-you-don't-want-to-see" you avoid any awkward confrontations. Do any of your do this? It's a terrible habit, but hopefully I'm not alone.

As for our classes, Marcus and I both scheduled all of them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we only go to school two days a week! Sounds like a breeze right? Well, truth is that means we are on campus (in classes) from 8am to 6:30pm which are some LONG DAYS I tell ya. By the end of the day, my brain is fried. Poor Marcus, he is taking the LSAT on October 4th so he goes to classes on Tues and Thurs. and studies all day for the LSAT on Mon, Wed, Fri, and Sat. So again, I am faced with the dilemma of not having a husband around. So what do I do all day? I study a lot, I'm starting a new workout program (Okay so I just started today, but trust me, it's an accomplishment that I even started), and I can now spend my days on campus, avoidance free! I'm excited to see what else this semester will have in store for us.

The Life of a Seller's Wife: Volume 2

2008-08-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

If you really want to know, yes, I(Marcus) am finally posting on this blog for the first time. Sure I put in a thing or two here and there when Ashley posts but this one I'm doing on my own. Sorry to dissapoint but there won't be any pictures but I wanted to share some insights into the life of a seller's wife from the seller's point of view. Honestly, I just want everyone to know how amazing Ashley really is, here is what she's been through. We drove 1700 miles out here, she didn't complain. She was immediately thrown into cheap living conditions where she would sit all day, and didn't complain, she just made it work. Most of the conditions, which most of you know, were gross hotel rooms. She was surrounded by guys all summer long without having any girls to spend time with, and she pulled it off with ease. She lived off of food that could be made in a microwave, stored in a mini fridge, or bought at a fast food restaurant (Might not sound too bad but trust me, you get sick of it REAL quick). She had to deal with 15 not-always-pleasant-or-cooperative secretaries at the end of each month, and then got back into the car and drove 1700 miles just to hear 3 days later that her husband was driving 1700 miles back to where they just came from for 2 more weeks. As I sit here in a motel room in Kansas for one more night, I think of what an awesome wife I have and how amazing she really is. I must say that I put her through the ringer this summer and she pulled it off as smooth as can be expected. I know tomorrow will be the longest day as I wait to get back to Washington and to her, who, has to drive 2 hours to Spokane to pick me up:) That is the REAL story of "The Life of a Seller's Wife" that everyone should know about. More than anything, that's the story of my wife who I love so much for everything she has done this summer and who I want to say "Thank you" to.

Top Things We Love About the Olympics:

2008-08-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

It's an addiction I tell ya. The Olympics not only bring countries together but us to our television screens as well. I can't stop watching. And now as the Olympics start to come to a close, here is some of our favorite Olympic moments.

10. Countries joining together as one. The opening ceremonies were filled of President Bush checking his watch, never-ending drum solos, and countries, countries, and more countries. But when the earthquake survivor joined Yao Ming around the track, it was priceless. I was excited to see the much anticipated Ralph Lauren Parade outfits and they were clean and classy; however, they did resemble sailors and I would have preferred the women in skirts to pants. But did you know this is a 9 piece ensemble! I could only count 5...
9. United States vs. Brazil..Volleyball! Both the men's and women's volleyball teams are playing Brazil on Saturday and Sunday for the gold. Don't miss it! The men's team is SO fun to watch and a member of the team (Ryan Millar) is a graduate from BYU and has high hopes to coach there one day. I think an Olympic gold medal would look great on a resume, don't you?

8. Lying around watching TV, but not feeling guilty about it. 10-2 is the daily schedule on NBC, then all afternoons on the Oxygen Channel. By 8 o'clock it's back to NBC. I just can't help myself, no matter what the sport.

7. Ryan Lochte (aka Mr. Dimples). He won the gold twice in swimming, but more than that, he is great eye candy (on the right).

6. Men's Basketball. I just couldn't put an image of the team on the blog because they all have a big enough images already. I will admit that I made fun of Lebron for "guaranteeing" that the U.S. basketball team would win the gold; however, Lebron and his teammates are proving themselves right. Who would have thought all of those egos could play together so well and actually win! Final game is this weekend.

5. Beach Bums...Did you see these two (Rogers/Dalhausser)? To put it simply: Amazing, and oh so fun to watch. I thought this picture fit perfectly to sum up all of their games. He's huge! They went for the gold and got it too, along with the girls team as well! 4. It's just a Marathon. Okay, so she's not from the U.S. but she is inspirational. She's from Romania and ran the marathon in 2 hours and 26 minutes. I couldn't help but cheer for her. Oh yea, and she's 38. Incredible, right?

3. Women's Gymnastics. I loved every single minute of drama from this years women's Olympics. From debatable scoring to age requirements, its been quite the event. Overall though, I couldn't help myself but to cheer on this adorable gymnast, Shawn Johnson. It's always hard to come in second to a great gymnast like Nastia Liukin but when she finally won the gold on the balance beam I couldn't have been happier for her. What amazing teammates and friends these girls are.

2. Seeing dreams come true. Although we were robbed of the gold a few times, Nastia Liukin finally accomplished her dreams of winning the Women's All Around competition in a tight race with China. She also walked away with a total of 5 medals tying the most ever in gymnastics. Her father (who was also an Olympic gymnast) was so proud of his daughter that it could make anyone shed a tear.1. Michael Phelps. Eight gold medals. It was just a walk in the park, or history in the making, Hello! Phelps is the epitome of the American dream-With hard work and discipline you can accomplish anything. Look at his arm span. It's basically, as long as my body...

We are so proud as Americans for all our athletes have accomplished.
So have you been keeping up with the Olympics and what are some of your favorite Olympic moments?

There's no place like...Kansas?

2008-08-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

The Life of A Seller's Wife. Volume I.

Yep, Portland sure didn't last long, a whooping 3 days to be exact. All of you who doubted us staying in Portland for long... well,... you were right.

So what now? Let me tell ya, Marcus and a few other guys are going BACK to Kansas for 3 more weeks. Shocking, I know.

I couldn't believe it either, which is why I'll be working from home until he gets back. I've been a very dedicated wife this summer, but I'll be honest, I couldn't bear the thought of driving back to Kansas either! Now I am all alone while my other half is all the way across the country. How lame.

There was one good thing though that came out of going to Portland. After her post about these cupcake delights, I just couldn't help myself. They. Are. Divine. I tell ya. If you have a chance to stop, do it. And then take some to go too! They don't disappoint!

Team Marcus

2008-08-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for the recent blogging absence, but I have been a bit preoccupied with reading Breaking Dawn. I made a promise to myself to slowly read every chapter, every small detail and take in all Bella and Edward moments by savoring it! I also didn't want to read any spoilers so I have restrained myself for the past few weeks to not just jump on the internet and read them all. I have now finally finished and have enjoyed every minute of Bellward Bliss! It was all I hoped for and more!

Now to my delight...I get to share these pictures with you from the Breaking Dawn Release Party at midnight that I went to. (For reals though, was there any doubt that I wouldn't go?) I went to the local Barnes and Noble's party in support of Breaking Dawn, and of course, they were having a costume contest.
The contest was based upon who could be the best bridesmaid and groomsmen for Edward and Bella. I, personally, thought we were the best dressed. Did I say "we"? Oh yes, my amazing, ~~I can't believe my wife is making me do this~~ , talented and loving husband even dressed up as a groomsmen. The winners received Twilight t-shirts and got to receive their books first at midnight. Before I get all of your hopes up, we didn't win. We lost to the Satanic groomsmen and the bridesmaid "who looked like she stepped out of the 80's" but it was still fun to think of us as Cullen's for the night. Team Edward or Team Jacob? Puh-leez,...I had my very own Marcus Cullen! (Kinda has a nice ring to it.)
Here we are crouching ready to spring on the nearby humans. What can I say? It's a newborn thing.My mom, she's such a great Twilight fan, as well as a fellow Team Edward Member. We love her dedication to such a great cause. Here we are with my younger cousin Jennae (a beautiful bridesmaid, who I think would make a great Rosalie) and my Aunt Caryle. My aunt is a Twi-hard. She started the book and finished it on Saturday...and, oh yeah, did I mention that she almost had it finished again by Sunday!? Definite Twi-hard material.
With my great newborn eyesight and sense of smell, I was able to find another member of the Cullen clan. Here's a picture of me and fellow twilighter, Alicia. We have gone through every Breaking dawn quote, every aching countdown minute and more to finally get our books. Here we are FINALLY with our prized possessions. This final picture was all of my excitement in one. Being number 45 in line never felt so good. We were out the doors reading by 12:13am. What a fantastic night! Hope you all enjoyed the book as much as I did!

We're Moving Again....

2008-07-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

NOW CAN YOU GUESS WHERE WE'RE GOING?

CLUE #1: This city has a lot of these...CLUE #2: It has many people like this...CLUE #3: This cities favorite color is...
CLUE #4: And it has one of these!...

Have You Made Your Guess?

You got it! We're moving to Portland, OR! YAY! Closer to family, closer to friends, and closer to Forks (Maybe now we can actually make a weekend trip)! For once, we're very excited about this move!

P.S. I just have to brag a little about my amazing husband. He sold 8 sales yesterday! Normally we get really excited for 4...but it wasn't 5, 6 or even 7, it was 8! I'm so proud of him and how hard he works. He's always up at 8am and doesn't get done till 9 or 10pm (oh yeah, AND it's 6 days a week). Congrats Marcus, you deserve it!

Jayhawk Day

2008-07-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

In Kansas, whether you recreate the Wizard of Oz or visit the World's Largest Cornfield, you have to come up with your own things to do here! That's why we declared this past weekend as National Jayhawk Day! Currently our Pest Control adventures have landed us here in Lawrence, KS and that is where the University of Kansas is. So on Saturday we went down to the bookstore and bought ourselves some Jayhawk gear, and then yesterday we walked around campus in 98 degree heat (+ humidity=death) to tour the sites. Nevertheless, we were still able to smile in all of the pictures, but don't be fooled! Here are some of our favorite memories...

The boys are posing in front of "Strong Hall" in that last picture (and no they don't just go around posing like that naturally; although, maybe they should, what beefcakes!) and YES, the UofK has their very own Jayhawk Coke Can! I could hardly contain myself...

As many of you probably know, the Jaywawks won the NCAA Championship this year so the trophy is on display in their Fieldhouse. Unfortunately, out of all of the buildings we went into, the Fieldhouse was the only building closed on Sundays...So instead, here's the boys on display after we found out...

Happy Jayhawk Day!

We're down to the Teens!

2008-07-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

You heard me right, only 18 more days to go until the release of Breaking Dawn! Come on, I know you're excited too. Last night I had a dream about Edward (My friend calls me obsessed, but I call Edward wonderful). I think it was preparing me for this that came out today...

So, what do you think of this cover picture? A lot of people are reading into it, but as much as the little things about it bug me, I LOVE IT! Even though Edward's lipstick is a bit overbearing and skin is a little too pale, he looks amazing. He's even pulling off that "rugged hair on his chest" sorta thing he has goin on. As for Bella, we still love you, but lets face it...you are not the seducing temptress you are trying to portray on the front of the cover...therefore; I think this picture is much more fitting...Can you name all of the character's in the background of Edward and Bella?

(*SIGH*) Okay, if you weren't excited before, who's excited now!? Check out this fellow Twilighter's Blog for daily quotes from the new book Breaking Dawn until the day of its release. Not to mention, one of my favorite Twilight blogs, Lauren's bite! which specializes on all things Bella and Edward related (more so Edward, than Bella, but I'm not complaining!) Read all about her latest trip to Forks, WA! Wanna check out Forks, WA too? Click here. I'm thinking road trip. Happy hunting...I mean, reading!

Controversy?

2008-07-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

Blog:
Part of Speech: n
Definition: an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page

Although I am not allowed to discuss it, I was approached the other day about something offensive I had previously written on OUR blog. It has since been removed, but of course what is the first thing I wanted to do after all of this controversy occurred...Blog about it! Unfortunately, that is what got me in trouble in the first place...

Because of this matter, I would first like to apologize to all of those corporate parties that took offense. I never meant to do any harm to your business, nor your corporation. However, I do believe that a blog is a way to express some of my (and my husbands, what am I saying? Mostly My!) inner most thoughts. Many of the things we/I write on here are personal, but we wish to share it with all of you because we think it is important to express one's opinions and feelings, rather than keep our mouths shut and wonder around aimlessly through life. But apparently you can get in trouble with that sort of thing! And apparently I have a much larger audience than I once thought! Who knew nationwide companies got on and read our blog, I think we're pretty cool. So to all of my dear friends, loved ones, and bloggers in the blogging world, watch out what you blog about, because you never know who might be reading...!

Redneck, Midwest Fourth of July

2008-07-07T11:24:00.001-07:00

10 Reasons Why We Love the Fourth of July:

1. BBQs: This fourth of July, all of us in the Topeka group took off half a day and went down to the park for the traditional American BBQ. Loaded down with hamburgers, hot dogs, a charcoal grill and chips... we were set!Here's Josh, Marcus and David chowing down on the food

2. Spending time with Family and Friends: Since we didn't have any family around this 4th of July, friends are the next best thing! Lucky for me, Ashton's wife Becca came out for the fourth too! She's hilarious and we're way too much alike for our own good.

Becca, Me and JackieHere's the group, we look like such wholesome kids (this

is before we got yelled at by some guy)

3. Watermelon: What's a fourth of July without Watermelom and seed spittin contests?
5. S'mores Cookout: First you take the Mallow, and then you take the graham...a very American Treat!

4. Fun Times & Fireworks: This year the boys bought a bunch of fireworks because in the state of Kansas all fireworks are legal. The guys' were thrilled about this, while us girls stuck to the Classic Sparkler. Once we finished, we went down by the lake to check out the real show aka The Spirit of Kansas. Apparently, it's pretty much a big deal around these parts... Marcus has decided to try out for Harry in Harry Potter 24 and some boys thought it would be a good idea to take a blanket and fling us girls up in the air...fun...indeed.

6. A day off work: And with that a trip to the Worlds of Fun amusement park in Kansas City! Okay, so it was actually the day after, but our group had a blast riding the Mamba, one of the tallest, fastest roller coasters in the World (but aren't they all?)

8. Love: It's the first holiday for Marcus and I where sparks flew between us at a Ward BBQ and Dustdevil baseball game (how American right?):

9. Summer: It's the only holiday in the summertime (minus Pioneer Day in Utah)

This is the sunset where we watched the fireworks. Be-A-Utiful!

10. Lastly, we love the fourth because it is a day where we can spend all day being thankful for the country we live in. We get to celebrate our military men, forget about gas prices and work, and rejoice in the blessings we have here in the United States. We hope all of you had a fun day as well!

Working Woes

2008-07-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been awhile since the last post. But this week has been CrAzY and I've felt like this all week...For anyone who has experienced Pest Control Reconciliations, I know you can relate. No worries though, I have finally finished! And I even finished before the deadline!

I guess things could be worse right? I could be in a Motel 8 in the middle of Kansas, with fleas on the carpets, housekeepers who walk in without knocking and don't speak/understand enough english to understand what's wrong with what they're doing, and bums aimlessly waiting around outside all day,...oh wait, I am! No, I shouldn't complain, it's actually not too bad (minus the fleas and bums). I've learned to live for the free continental jelly donuts in the morning, oh the finer things in life!

As for Marcus, he's doing great here in Topeka, Kansas. He's been selling up a storm! Everyday I sit in my air conditioned cell and think how miserable he must be out there in that humidity and rain; because in Kansas, it's always one or the other. Yes, things could be worse. Remember this cool guy, yesterday he had 4 wisdom teeth pulled out AND 4 other teeth! Too bad it's not Halloween season yet, he'd make a killer Jack o Lantern! The poor kid, he's 14 and is about to get braces. As if the age of 14 isn't hard enough? Sorry bud, I hope you feel better!Luckily, tomorrow is Fourth of July...my favorite holiday!

She's So Lucky (courtesy of Britney Spears)...!!

2008-06-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

The Results Are IN for this giveaway! I just wanted to give a BIG thanks to all of you who commented and for all of your kind words and birthday wishes! It was so great to hear from all of you! I used the number generator to pick a number at random...

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2008-06-27 14:34:45 UTC

And #11 is Rachel!! My apologies to everyone else, blame it on the Lucky Fridays that Rachel seems to have! Congratulations Rach! I will get that package sent off to you asap. Thanks again everyone!

Birthday Giveaway!!

2008-06-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today is one of my favorite days of the year, my birthday! And in celebration of it, I want to share this special day with one of you as well! Come out family, friends or lurkers....! Just leave a comment on this post by Thursday at 8:oo PM, and you could receive all of the items pictured below. I will announce the winner this Friday Ashley's Favorite Things:
-Gummy Bears: Not just "any" gummy bears, but Haribo Gummy Bears are the BEST (try them frozen, a delicious snack while being out in the hot, summer sun)

-Uno: Because it's America's Favorite Game

-Banana Boat Chapstick: Nothing better than sunblocked (or sun-kissed!) lips

-A Cinderella Story (and Sisterhood of Traveling Pants): 1. I love Chad Michael Murray (and you soon will too in this movie!) and 2. I could watch it a dozen times, in fact, I probably have

-Cards: One can never have enough homemade cards on hand during all these summer celebrations! (and it's also my favorite new past time...)

-CD: Made with love, by me, with all of my favorite songs for those lazy days of summer

-Trident Gum (Tropical Fruit!): a.k.a. Pure bliss in your mouth

-Edward Cullen: Okay, so he's not included in the pack, but he definitely IS one of my favorites...

Good Luck!

June 23rd

2008-06-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

I share my birthday with a special man. In honor of him, I wanted to share this quote with you:

"My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we 'accentuate the positive.' I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort." -President Hinckley

This is What I'm Thinking about Today...

2008-06-20T10:38:00.001-07:00

What's On Your Mind...? Happy Friday!

P.S. Make sure to stop by on Monday for a Treat! You won't want to miss it

You Learn As You Go

2008-06-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

Things I Loved and Learned during my one week visit home:

- I learned never schedule a trip to Tri-Cities for only a week, you'll only be left wishing you could stay longer

-I love that my brother is now a mature high schooler. The poor kid...those high school years can be the worst of times and the best of times. He got asked to speak at his Moving Up ceremony and I was SO proud of him. He's such a great kid and I look up to him in so many ways (literally, because now he's now taller than me, I can't believe it!) Sometimes I still see him as that 5 year old who would chase me around the house and I could dress him up in my dance costumes to make him cry. Good Times.-I love my family and all that they do for Marcus and I. They all took a day off work to spend time with me, even my extended family! I am very blessed and loved. Thanks Mom and Dad for a great week filled with good dinners!

-I learned (was reminded, cause I already knew) that I have some of the greatest friends who will always be there for me (like talking to me till 2AM on my one year anniversary because I am away from my husband). They are the type of friends I can hangout with even AFTER high school is over; yet when we're together it feels exactly the same.

-I learned that my in-laws are very forgiving. I didn't get to see them nearly as much as I wanted to (*cough* gas prices!) but they were still very understanding. I'm still kicking myself for not getting a chance to see four beautiful girls and a handful of Henry kids. I'm also bummed Marcus and I missed out on the camping trip...luckily you can go here to read all about it though!

-I also learned that Jen was in Pasco for 12 hours too? Yeah, I missed out on that too. Sorry Jen! -I loved having time to finish reading this book. I won't spoil anything, but it was good to finally have some time to finish it.

-I learned never to miss your flight at the airport. On a non-stop trip that was suppose to take 7 hours to get back, actually ended up taking 14 hours when I had to ride standby through Dallas. What a pain!

-Lastly, that I loved and missed my husband! Although it was a great week (especially when a dozen roses were dropped off by my mother-in-law from Marcus), it was a good feeling to know that someone was waiting back in St. Louis for me!

It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. -Rita Rudner

2008-06-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

I will try to keep this as anti-cheesy as possible, but today I want to express my love for my husband! Why? Because today marks our one year anniversary! I can't believe its already been one whole year, and I also can't believe we're not together on this day (because I am currently visiting my family in Tri-Cities this week but that's another post at another time). So I just wanted to take a moment and write about how we met and share with you everything from "my" perspective of it all:

During the summer I was 16 (June 2002), I walked into church with my best friend Laurel. She talked me into going with her because she had just recently moved to Pasco and had not yet met anyone her age. Me, being the good friend that I was, decided to go with her. We sat down and immediately she pointed out a boy (yes they were boys back then, not quite men) she had her eye on. Myself, on the other hand, couldn't take my eyes off this dark haired, green eyed boy sitting up at the sacrament table. I then asked her, "Who is that!?" and she said "That's my cousin Marcus," at that moment I knew I had an in. After a few weeks at church and a couple of mutuals later, I asked Marcus out on a date while we doubled with Laurel and Ben Fox. Sparks flew between us at Red Robin and bowling, and we even got scared by a Finley Ghost. I knew I was in love...and from that moment on, I came home and said, "I'm going to marry that boy someday!" This was before I found out that he had a girlfriend...

After this, I spent the next two years pining for him: begging Laurel to drive by his house with me just to get a peek of him and giggling relentlessly behind him during sacrament meetings. Of course we had gone out a few more times but all in all he said I just wasn't his type, tears were shed and hearts were broken. All of my friends in Burbank knew of the crush I had on the infamous "Marcus Henry," so it was a surprise to one of them when he came into her work at RealLife to have his senior pictures taken. After finishing his photos, she grabbed and extra one that was thrown away and surprised me with my very own Marcus Henry, an 11x14 senior picture! (which I still have today). The picture sat in my room because it served as a good laugh to many. It must have rubbed off on me, seeing his face everyday for two years, because six months before he came home from his mission, I quickly started up the letters and packages again (assuming my competition of girls had probably dropped off writing him by now). When he came home, I was glad to see that my efforts were not in vain. I called him the day after he got home and we talked on the phone for 3 hours (I knew I had to get to him before he gave his homecoming talk and all the rest of the girls tried to snag him) and this began our year long courtship. A summer filled with love and jet skiis, two semesters at BYU, and one grand proposal and wedding later, we were married.

Most couples say they married their high school sweetheart, but Marcus' is even better, he married his high school stalker! Okay, not literally, but everyday I am so glad that that black haired, green eyed boy took a chance on me. What a loving, caring, and patient husband I have. Even though today we are not together, it is not the big events in life that continue to keep us together but the little everyday things that occur that just make me fall in love with him more and more everyday. Thank you Marcus for all that you do, I love you.

History of Nauvoo, IL

2008-06-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Marcus and I took a trip to Nauvoo, IL. The reason for this trip was because a lot of our Church History comes from Nauvoo. It was an amazing day and it really made me appreciate all the pioneers and what they did before heading out West to Utah. We took a lot of photos and heard a bunch of great stories. I learned so much from this trip and decided that I wanted all of you to read about it and learn as well!

Our first stop was the Nauvoo Temple. Originally the temple was built in 1841 and was completed in 1846. Church members only used the temple for 2 years before the mob drove the church members out of Nauvoo. I can't even imagine how hard the early saints must have worked to complete this beautiful temple, only to have to leave it two years later. The mob then burned the temple and years later a tornado took some of the walls down. In 2002 a replica was built of the temple from 1846. The only thing that was left of the original was 31 Sunstones. (Fact: One of these being held at the Smithsonian Institute!)

We than began to tour some of the original houses back from the 1840s. One of my favorites was the home of Sarah Granger Kimball. She took part in organizing the women's relief efforts during that time until the Relief Society was organized shortly after. She was often alone, while her husband was away on business, and took care of her family and mother. Her husband was not a member of the church and she became so tired of his unwillingness to move to Utah, she gathered up her children and mother and took her whole family out there by herself. Her husband joined the church right before she left and he passed away shortly after while leaving to serve a mission. What an AMAZING women! This was her original home, floors and everything! (Fact: Notice the ropes on the bed sides. They would use these ropes to tighten the bed, or put slack into it. They would then use a stick to hit the straw mattress to get rid of bed bugs. Hence the saying: Sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite!)

We also got to visit the home
of Brigham Young and John Taylor. The second and third president of the LDS Church. Two extraordinary men. These two men endured so much throughout their lives and it was very emotional and spiritual to be where they had served the Lord. We also visited the local blacksmith, bakery, hall of the seventy (basically the Missionary Training Center of their time), and brick maker (Fact: A bundle of bricks took 6 weeks to make!).

Most of the homes and business we saw were made of bricks; including Wilford Woodruffs (the fourth President of the Church) who used 60,000 of them on his house! Can you imagine how long that must have taken to make,
as well as all of the hard work that went into it? He only lived in that house for less than 100 days before him and his family were driven out of Nauvoo. (Fact: He
served a mission in England and after that, he decided he never wanted to be cold again. Thus, he had 6 fireplaces in his home. One for each room!)

We also went into the cultural hall. This is where shows would be performed and gatherings would take place. This is where Joseph Smith mapped out the route to Utah in chalk on the floor. A very touching and spiritual room to stand where a Prophet of God stood. Among other places we stopped was Joseph Smith's mother's home, the grave site of Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and Emma Smith, as well as Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith and others were martyred.

I just wanted to share briefly his death because I believe it demonstrates his excellent character and
also how he gave his life to serve the Lord. Joseph Smith was called to the jail under false allegations of destroying a printing press. Joseph and a few others kissed their families goodbye, knowing this was the last time they would see them. He went to Carthage willingly, yet was never put on trial. While in Carthage, himself and eight others, including his brother Hyrum, John Taylor and Willard Richards, all were serving in the dungeon room upstairs in 125 degree heat! The homeowner and his family took pity on them and placed them downstairs in a cell. In this downstairs cell, the men prayed, sang hymns and worshiped. The homeowner became nervous for the men when the mob started to circle the jail. He then placed Joseph and the others into his own room upstairs. When the mob rushed into the house, his brother (who was very tall) tried to barricade the door of the bedroom but was shot through the door where the bullet went into his cheek. Joseph went to the window and was shot by two bullets in the front and two in the back, where he then fell out of the second story window. Willard Richards was the only survivor who was not shot and John Taylor was shot by one bullet that hit his pocket watch and another that hit his hip. When the mob rushed from the house, Richards and Taylor covered themselves in straw inside the dungeon room in order to hide from the mob. The Lord must of had more work in store for them because they both became two great leaders of the church.

Throughout his life, Joseph Smith was a humble, caring, and great man who could have easily denied his beliefs; yet, he stood by them until the day he died. The mob thought that by killing Joseph, it would also end the Church; however, they were wrong because the Church was not Joseph's and it has continued on because it is our Heavenly Fathers. Because of this, it has lived on today. I'm so grateful to have the gospel in my life, and that I had the opportunity to visit such a spiritual part of our history. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and I will be eternally grateful to all those early saints and pioneers who endured and suffered so much.

The Traveling Orkin Act

2008-05-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday someone asked me what my address was...normally, not a very difficult question. However, these days we really don't have an address because we are currently living here. Yep, that's where you'll find us, in O'Fallon, IL. And next week we'll be in Eastern St. Louis...and the week after...Columbia, MO...and the week after, who knows! In relief society I was asked where Marcus and I were currently living and I had to admit sheepishly in the extended stay down the street. Oh such joys lie ahead of us this summer...

Speaking of relief society, this past Sunday we had a male teach our class! His wife (who was suppose to teach) was at home sick, and so he taught our class on prayer. It was definitely a first for me! Have any of you been taught by a male in relief society before? That poor man, how intimidating!Well for the next couple of days I will be working on some of these. My sister in laws decided that we should start card making once a month. Luckily for me that means I now have something to keep me busy with during the days...! What are you doing today?

The Two Ashley Henry's

2008-05-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

Although many of you might not know this, but when I, Ashley, married into the Henry Family I knew that I must always do my best to uphold the Henry family name. Of course any of the original Henry's will deny this, but lets be honest here. When thinking of the Henry's, what are some words that come to mind...Cheerful (Bill)....Great genes, ex;Beautiful daughters (Rachel, Tara, Jen and Ashley)...Wonderful Cooking skills (Carolyn)...and Hardworking boys (Nate and Marcus). However, I had the privilege of not only having the Henry name tacked on to my name, but I also share my first name with my sister-in-law (Laura Ashley Henry) who goes by Ashley Henry. Yes, you heard me correctly, two Ashley Henry's in the same family! The Ashley's.

Fortunately for us, we really get along great! Sure the whole family differentiates between the two of us by calling us either Ashley Bauder-Henry or Marcus' Ashley and Ashley Henry or Laura Ashley Henry (including Emma) and Cory still never knows which Ashley Jen is talking about when she tells him a story about either of us,... but up until now we've gone almost a whole year without any problems!

So last week my mom went to Marcus and I's bank to deposit some money into our account. She filled out the deposit slip and the name as going to me: Ashley Henry. For the last week, Marcus and I have been waiting for it to turn up into our account, but it never showed. We finally started to get worried and I called the bank to ask them where this "missing money" had gone. Finally after 3 phone calls, 2 phone transfers, 30 minutes, and one very unhelpful bank teller later, she finally determined that the money had been deposited into Laura Ashley Henry's account and not ours; even though my mom had written the right account number on the deposit slip! I then asked the women why she couldn't just transfer the money from Laura Ashley's account to ours and she said she couldn't without Laura Ashley Henry's permission. After my annoyances began to settle, at that point I was just grateful that I actually "knew" the other Ashley Henry and she could give the permission that was needed to withdraw the money back from her account into ours. What a mess right!?

At the end of it all, the bank teller politely said, "Sorry about all the confusion Laura, have a great day!" I grumbled a mere "Thanks," and decided to leave it alone. Nevertheless, even after all of this, I just wanted to post proudly that I love sharing a name with the other Ashley Henry, almost as much as I love her... even when it complicates things

Welcome to St. Louis

2008-05-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well here we are in St. Louis! Marcus is working Pest Control for Orkin this summer and I am running the office for Daryl Kelly who is the manager out here. Besides misspelling St. Louis wrong a dozen times, living with only a microwave (no stove), and working 6 days a week 10 hours a day, things are going great! Marcus has done really well with sales, and I have been busy reading blogs and catching up on my favorite television shows. What a life! This summer we are going to be moving around the Midwest to a new city almost every week. So although moving our stuff will be a pain, we are looking forward to seeing this part of the country. Although, we have quickly determined that there's not a whole lot to see in between cities! St. Louis is beautiful. It is surprisingly VERY green, but there has also been a whole lot of rain. Right now we are currently on the Illinois side of St. Louis in O'Fallon but we are enjoying our time in Extended Stays and Motels...and yes, we know, crazy right? We have become "those people" who stay for weeks at a time in armpit motels...But what an adventure! This is the only time in our lives where we'll actually have the opportunity to just get up and go while living in new cities every week without worrying about anything. Or at least that's what we keep telling ourselves to make this seem bearable.

Marcus said the other day, "Remember when summers use to be fun?" and I thought back to those lazy days of summer out on the Columbia, staying up late at friends' houses, and looking forward to getting off work just in time to go on that special date with a certain someone. Man have things changed! However, there's nothing better than actually being able to go home at the end of the day "with" that special someone :) Now...Does anyone have any ideas on things to do here?

It was Wicked...and we liked it!

2008-05-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Along our travels, we stopped in Hollywood to see the Broadway play WICKED. What a great show. The play itself was pretty good, but the music was phenomenal! We prepped by learning the songs beforehand, but we were afraid that we would be disappointed once it was in person. Luckily we were not let down! Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch) had a better voice than anyone we had ever heard and Glinda (The Good Witch) was a close second! All in all, the show was wonderful and we definitely recommend seeing it. After the show, we had a chance to meet the stars as they signed autographs and took pictures. And you bet Ashley was rubbing elbows with all those kids to try and get autographs and pictures! We had a chance to talk to the Wicked Witch and asked her how she becomes green for the show. For all of you who wonder the same thing, they actually use a powder base and it takes a half hour to apply. Shesays it is really easy because it comes off with soap and water and she just sits there while others apply it! What a life? We would have never suspected that she actually did look normal until we saw her after the show! So the next time any of you are in L.A., Chicago, or New York, it is worth the time and effort to get tickets and to go see it! BEFORE

The Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba)

The Good Witch (Glinda)

Life of a Beach Bum

2008-05-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

We're finally back from our trip and finally in St. Louis! Our cruise was everything we hoped for and more. We tried to think of the best way to write about it and decided that we would just post everything in one post. So bear with us!

The Ship: We had too much food, met some interesting folks, and even got sea sickness to boot! It's actually harder to adjust to than we thought, but our ship was beautiful and the entertainment on board was hilarious!

Cabo San Lucas: The water was amazingly clear, the locals were...interesting (to say the least), and the snorkeling is the best in Cabo. We took a water taxi to Lover's beach and had the greatest time looking for tropical fish.

Mazatlan: Had a great beach, but was pretty ghetto in some parts. We took a boat to a secluded beach on Stone Island, where there was all you can drink pina coladas and daquris. Unfortunately they couldn't make them without alcohol, SO, we didn't have any. We took a banana boat ride (which was kind of like tubing, only on a banana), and it was pretty scary to be so far away in the middle of an ocean. Our food wasn't so hot, but it was definately authentic. Right before they fed us they said how many people in Mazatlan feed iguana in the place of chicken because supposedly it tastes the same. We can testify that it doesn't because we ordered the chicken and it didn't taste like chicke! Luckily, our cruise was having all you can eat crab that night.

Puerto Vallarta: Was so much fun except for the sleazy Latin men. We took a Canopy Zip Line Tour in the middle of the jungle over canyons and waterfalls....we even did it backwards while hanging upside down! We became quite the adventurous duo! The beach was okay, but the markets were the best for picking up souvenirs!

Overall we had a great time! Luckily Marcus spoke Spanish, otherwise I don't know what we would have done. So many people tried to rip us off just because we are American tourists. Mexico has a completely different culture and it was really hard to get use to their way of life.

They have no set prices and barter over everything, and when we had a large bill in pesos, they thought it was a fake!
Nevertheless, we were glad to get back to the United States and are so grateful for all that we have, more beach and snorkeling pictures soon to come!

We're off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

2008-04-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

To Do List:

Finals. Check!
Actually, getting Good Grades on finals. Check!
Sunblock SPF50. Check!
Packing.
Sweetest Vacation Ever.
Longest Drive Ever...

Alright, so Marcus and I are finally finished with school until next Fall. What a great feeling to be done with tough classes, hard assignments, and no time spent together! We are definitely ready for a break! And to congratulate ourselves for a great year we decided to treat ourselves to this cruise to celebrate our one year anniversary and my birthday since we're doing the whole Pest Control thing again this summer in St. Louis.

We leave tomorrow (friday) to go to Las Vegas to stay with Michael and Laura Rawlins and then head to L.A. on Saturday to see this musical! I've read the book, heard the reviews, and now we're finally going to go! I'm so excited, and am so grateful to Bill, Carolyn, and Marcus for surprising me with tickets! Then on Sunday we leave from San Diego for a week to Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. What pure bliss I tell ya...I just hope we don't get sunburned, motion sickness, or food poisoning on the first day and have to spend the rest of the trip in our cabin.

Downside to all of this...after the vaca we have to drive from San Diego to St. Louis. Mapquest says 26 hours and 33 minutes for 1,854 mi. and yes that is more than half way across the U.S. Did I mention that we have to make it in 3 days, Oh joy!

Finals week...Here we come!

2008-04-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

(A Typical Study Session)

So yesterday was BYU's final day of school for the semester. We are so excited to have a few days off for "Reading Days" aka mini-vacation days, to get ready for finals that start this Friday thru next Wednesday. I can't believe it's already the end of the semester, Winter semester always goes by faster than fall...but, we sure are glad it's almost over!

We had a good visit with the Henry Clan last weekend as we mentioned in our last post. Jen had a BYU Alumni soccer game she played in and although she didn't put any points on the board during the game, she sure scored BIG at the after-party! BYU pretty much outfitted her from head to toe with new soccer apparel. After a night of dancing in the street, with honking cars driving by, we finally had to say goodbye until we meet back up with them (Bill and Carolyn) in Missouri next month. Overall, we had a great weekend!

Here are some of our favorite things that are going to get us through till next week:

A well stocked candy drawer, to keep a sugar coma going during those late night study sessions...

My new, darling shoes for walking up to the Testing Center with from here.

Nice, warm weather!....

New Episodes of my favorite show!

And lastly, a little more sugar!

...Now what are some of your favorite things?

Wild, Wild Weekend

2008-04-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for all of the supportive comments...Ashley's glad to know her tears were not in vain. This weekend the Henry's are in town (Bill, Carolyn, and Ashley) to visit and watch Jen's soccer game. But we know why their really here, to watch their favorite daughters game ;) Last night we all had dinner at Jen and Cory's and watched the heartbreak on American Idol. Unfortunately we were out numbered by American Idol fans, which meant that we didn't get a chance to watch Survivor (wish you were here Rachel, we needed some numbers!), so currently we don't know who got voted off the island. Nevertheless, it should be an interesting, fun filled weekend!

For example, the first Henry outing consisted of six hours of bra shopping! Luckily it wasn't for Bill, Marcus, or Cory...BUT they were good sports about it and we treated them to some ColdStone to make up for it! We ended up leaving with a lotta goods consisting of 3 bras, 6 pairs of shoes, 3 shade shirts, 2 crazy exchanges, a pair of swimshorts and sweat-shorts. You can just imagine the hours of fun the boys had, and this is only day 1!

Also, a BIG Happy Birthday to Aunt Caryle!! We have been blessed to have her as our accountant, Desserts by Kelly specialist, fellow Twilight addict, our Harry and David supplier and most of all, a wonderful Aunt! We love you very much and hope you have a great day!!

A Tribute To Mom

2008-04-10T15:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Mom!
Thank you for everything that
you do, I love you!

Top 10 Things I Love About My Mom:

10. Waking up Saturday mornings and always knowing that mom had made a breakfast buffet of eggs, pancakes or waffles,
bacon, and hash browns. Who wouldn't love waking up to that?

9. When all of us girls wanted to drive up to a Royal baseball game (two hours away) to watch our High School boys play, out of all the mom's we asked to take us, mom volunteered!

8. And she didn't even get mad when we got all the way up there and the bus was leaving because the game was over!...She then had to drive the two hours back to Burbank.

7. How much my mom cares for everyone! She has the biggest heart and whenever we go anywhere, we run into past patients she has worked. She'll then "always" stop and say hello and ask them how they're doing.

6. For the past 21 years she still goes shopping with me, even though I'm one of the hardest people to go shopping with on the planet!

5. She'll call the gaming stores every morning, then leave work early to drive out in the snow and freezing rain just to get a Wii for someone for Christmas

4. Standing in the dressing room, with a very expensive homecoming dress on, realizing you'll never be able to afford it, only to have mom say, "Alright just get it, but don't tell dad!"

3. Renting a tent the day before your wedding because you just have this "feeling" that it is going to rain

2. Always buying extra snacks so that my friends and I could have a variety of options for lunch and sleepovers. (Laurel could always count on Spaghettio's for lunch and being caught by Marilyn driving to my house without a license at the age of 15)

1. All of the little things she has done to motivate, support, love, and put up with me throughout the years. In the end it's all of those little things that make the biggest difference!

We Finally Joined the Throng

2008-04-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

So after several hours of blood, sweat, and Ashley's tears...we're finally done working on this thing! Now we're trying to decide if it was at all worth it. We're hoping between the two of us that we can keep this blog as alive and kicking as possible, as we let all of you enjoy the awkward moments and quirkiness of our lives! Enjoy!