Gulbransen Family

Mike Turns 30!

2011-12-20T12:47:00.000-08:00

On October 24th Michael turned 30. Can you believe it we are turning 30? I remember when I was little and 20 seemed so old. Now 20 year olds are the youngins and we are turning 30. I tried to plan something big for Mike for the Big 3 0 (as Kashton kept calling him) but Mike didn't want to have anything to do with it. He didn't even really want me to get him any presents. So we had a small dinner out with Kashton and I and Mike's brother Mathew and a few presents complete with a balloon that let everyone in the restraunt know that he was turning 30. I turn 30 next year and I know it is going to be very hard for me so I understand not wanting to make a big deal of it, but it is a big deal so I wanted to do all that I could.

Boys Camp Out

2011-12-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

Kashton, Mike, Papa and the rest of the church headed out for an overnight campout. Kashton had never been camping before and I was a little worried about him not being able to sleep. While I should have been worried about him not sleeping it wasn't for the reasons that I had feared. He had so much fun with the fire and the marshmallows and all the older kids that he did not want to fall asleep. The next day when he got home he told me all about his trip including the fact that "Daddy woke me up when it was still night time."

His favorite part of the camping trip besides roasting marshmallows was going on a hike with dad. He is all boy.

Mike said he would try to help him but he wanted to hike by himself.

Toys All a Spin

2011-12-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

Disney on Ice happens at the state fair every year. This year it was Toy Story 3 and Kashton was so excited. Last year we went and sat in the nose bleeds and he wa not entertained at all so I decided this year that we would get seats close up. We sat about 4 rows back from the ice and got to see everything close up. Kashton was much better time this year. Seeing all those toys a twril on the ice made his night. The fact that he got a Buzz Lightyear toy didn't hurt either.

Great State Fair

2011-12-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

The fair gets more fun every year. As Kashton gets older and realizes his limits and the things he can do he has more fun and is more wonderful to watch. The excitement on his face when he sees the roller coaster or the fear in his eyes as he goes on the big slide and then laughs afterward are things that I would not miss for the whole world. That is why we make sure and do things like go to the fair or take him with us most places we go. While we too like to have our fun watching him have fun is the most enjoyable thing that I can think of.

Kashton wanted a corndog right away as soon as we got there. We bought him one and I swear it was as big as him.

The roller coaster was his favorite ride. He went on twice before we made him choose another ride to spend his tickets on. He kept looking at the big rides and asking if he could go on those. It still seems like so far away when he will actually be big enough to go on the big rides. And I think mommy can wait!

My little superhero of coarse had to take his picture with the Hulk. And daddy had to get in on the action too.

There is one game in the kiddie area where the kids get to "win" their own prizes. When asked if he wanted dad or mom to win him a prize he told us no, he wanted to win one himself. So off to the kid game we headed. And Kashton won! A blow up Spiderman at that.

This was the ride that he wanted to go on as soon as we walked in the kid area. Mom couldn't go on it with him this year so dad had to substitue and boy did that make for a fun ride. With Mikes weight they zoomed down the slide so fast that I think Kashton nearly wet himself. While he looked scared going down he was very satisfied with his ride once it was over.

We ran into Kason, Kyler, Rafe, Aunt Sarah and GiGi. There wasn't much time for hanging out but any time spent with cousins is a good time to be had.

Seeing The Rest of Branson

2011-12-09T07:36:00.000-08:00

The rest of the trip was spent having fun. We went swimming in the hot tub, headed to main street to walk around the 5 and dime (that was my favorite part, they had paper dolls) and look at the train and the fountain show, and just before we left to head back home we took in a show by the group Six. Kashton and Mike made it through about half the show before we had to leave.

All in all it was a relaxing trip made best by the fact that Kashton got to be there with us.

Palace of Butterflies

2011-12-09T07:27:00.000-08:00

On the second day in Branson we headed to the Butterfly Palace to look at all the pretty butterflies, see some scorpions, toad and lizards, and spend some quality time with GiGi.

Kashton's favorite part, looking through the magnifying glass at nothing in particular.

We learned that butterflies eat nectar, so this outing was both beautiful and educational.

AGH! Frog Boy!

Branson Dinosaur Museum

2011-12-06T16:14:00.000-08:00

We took a mini vacay to Branson, MO in September, for a little time away from it all, with Mercy and Vern (or Gigi and Papa as Kashton calls them). Neither Mike nor I have been to Branson before and it was a very different experience. Mike enjoyed himself as every day we were there was spent golfing, either by himself or with his dad. Kashton also had a great time. We fit a lot of great kid stuff in for him to keep entertained. The first day while Mike was golfing Kashton and I went to the dinosaur/haunted house museum. It freaked me out a little because for some reason I just kept picturing movies like House of Wax.

His favorite was the skeletons because they were real and not just "big fake dinosaurs" like he kept telling everyone.

At the end of the museum was the most fun parts, they had a place where you could color pictures and play on computers and then there was the "dig" where you looked through the dirt for dinosaur bones. We spent most of our time at this large sandbox trying to kill time till daddy got done.

Preschool Bound

2011-12-06T15:51:00.001-08:00

My baby started preschool this year. Yes preschool. He has been so excited to learn and the first day of school he could not have been more excited. He woke up early and when I told him that it was still to early to get out of bed he said "Mom today is school day, I can't go back to bed". He is the cutest little 3 year old in his class.

His backpack is about as big as he is.

His teacher Ms. Bry had her baby only a few weeks after school started so he has had a few new teachers since.

Baseball in the Park

2011-12-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

Time spent as a family is the best time of all so before summer could officially end we headed out to the neighborhood park to play a little ball.

Happy Happy Birthday Mommy Dear

2011-12-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

My birthday this year happened to fall on the last day that the water park was open so Kashton and I packed up and headed on out to get our last sun of the season. We stayed there as long as our bodies would allow and got our last bit of summer fun in.

Leaving the park was a little sad knowing that it would be the last time for a year at least that we got to sun and fun it up together.

After we got home Mike took us out to dinner for a little steak and family time. Kashton loves birthdays so we try not to exclude him from the festivities.

When we got home there was a cake waiting for us (some of us forgot how to use our utensils, or even our hands) and happy birthday to mommy!

8 Years

2011-12-04T09:13:00.001-08:00

On our anniversary this year Mike was very sick, we tried to go out and celebrate but half way through the meal we had to leave. Sad little Mike could not even make it through a meal at his favorite Italian restaurant.

I was able to drink an Italian cream soda before we had to head home and get Mike in bed.

Moving Day

2011-12-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

In August we moved out of our rental house and in with the in laws while we try to find something that fits our family a bit better. Kashton did a lot of helping and a lot more getting in the way but he tried really hard to be our little helper.

Sparklers and Trouble

2011-11-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

We had an extremely eventful Fourth of July this year filled with...

Time at the pool,

a disastrous trip to a carnival in our neighborhood

one that started out fun and ended in tears,

dinner with cousins and sisters and brothers,

lighting some fireworks (the few that were not banned this year),

and watching the firework show in the park across the street. Other then the incident in the park that put a damper on the day we had a wonderful time!

Splashing In The Sun

2011-11-15T13:26:00.001-08:00

As previously stated this summer was HOT! So my friend Jennifer and her son Kolton asked if Kashton and I would like to head to the splash pad in Norman for a little cool down. It was wonderful for Kashton because he sure had fun. Mom was not as smart and wore pants and felt like she was going to die. From now on splash pad will be shorts over a swimsuit.

Kashton and Kolton thought it was really cool that they both had the same drink. They wanted a picture of them both drinking it so they could remember how cool they are.

Barnum and Bailey

2011-11-15T13:07:00.000-08:00

I can remember as a kid going to the circus with my parents. It has always been one of those fun things that suck out in my mind. So whenever the opportunity comes along to take Kashton I jump at it. The week after we got back from our vacation Barnum and Bailey was in town. I plucked up some tickets and took Kashton downtown for a little taste of The Greatest Show on Earth. We went to another circus months before and he was not entertained but at the Barnum and Bailey circus he had full attention on the stage. His favorite part of the whole show was the motorcycles and the pirates that they had doing acrobat tricks. He is definitely a boy.

Getting ready for the show to start.

Kashton's excitment as the tricks and amazing feats were being performed. He just could not believe his little excited eyes.

Rainbow snowcones were one of my favorite things about the circus. Kashton enjoyed the syrup but didn't really touch the ice.

Kashton liked the motorcycles so much that the motorcycle light up toy was his trinket of choice. We left a few minutes before the show was over missing the crowds and feeling more then fulfilled by our time spent at The Greatest Show on Earth!

A Little Time In Utah

2011-11-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

We hung out in Utah for a few days on our way back to Oklahoma from Las Vegas. We spent our time with my family, Mike's family and our wonderful friends catching up and feeling like we never left. We had family dinner after family dinner and spent a very chili day at the water park. Even though it was June it was still in the 70's which is definately not water park weather. We also spent a wonderful afternoon letting our little monster play with his friend Talan while I played with my friend Kara.

Meeting Nikson

2011-11-10T10:14:00.001-08:00

Since we do not live by my family in Utah we did not get to meet my nephew for a little while after he was born. For me that was very sad. It was sad for Kashton too because he loves babies. We are still missing out on a lot while he grows his little personality but he has such great parents that I know when we see him again he will be an amazing little person!

Vegas Baby!

2011-11-01T08:54:00.001-07:00

We went to Vegas this year for our family vacation. I know what you are thinking, Vegas with a 3 year old but you can find fun family things to do while anywhere and we sure did. Vegas was filled with time spent at the pool, a night on Fremont Street and pictures with Sponge Bob, a Knight show with jousters and eating food with your hands.

A day walking down the strip and seeing all that we could, including the M&M factory, the Coke a Cola shop and a little stop at H&M for mommy and aunt Brynlee.

Days spent at "the beach" that our wonderful hotel had at their pool.

A wonderful dinner and night of lights on the strip. Also a ride on the roller coaster at New York New York.

And a day spent at the amusement park in the Circus Circus hotel and casino. All in all it was a wonderful vacation spent with my family and my wonderful husband and son.

Kashton's Castle

2011-09-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

While in Vegas we spent a night at The Excalibur, or as Kashton called it "our castle". Great fun for a little kid on his first big vacation. Walking up his was the most excited little kid you have ever seen.

Kashton insisted on bringing his own luggage in.

After Kashton showed the lady at the front desk how cute he is she changed our room from a bottom floor with no view to the 16th floor with a view of the pool. While we waited for Grandma and Grandpa to show up in Vegas Kashton spent much of his time staring at the kids playing in the pool and getting all excited to go swimming with the family.

Kashton's first night in a real hotel. Every time that we go on vacation it is to Utah and we stay at Grandma and Grandpa's so this was really special for him.

Kashton really wanted to climb up there with that knight and take his sword and be a knight thats right. Sorry buddy can't do that!

Dam!

2011-09-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

On the way to our Vegas Vacation Mike and I decided to stop at the Hoover Dam. Mike had never been to Vegas and had never seen the Hoover Dam so we decided to be tourists and enjoy our time. We did not take a tour but just showed ourselves around and enjoyed the sights.

After a long ride in the car it was great to walk out the kinks. Sight seeing was a great way to do it.

Kashton thought the hights were wonderful. He kept wanting to stand on the wall so we had to hold on tight.

After all the walking around we were ready to head to our hotel and for Mike to see Vegas for the first time!

Sprinkler Time

2011-09-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

This summer has been hot. And by hot I mean H O T. All summer long the temperatures have reached over 100 degrees and there feels as if there is no relief from it. So to cool ourselves off we have spent many days running through the sprinklers for as long as we can be outside.

But I Want To Live At the Waterpark

2011-07-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

This summer I got a season pass to White Water Bay here in Oklahoma City. The only waterpark that Kashton had been to was when we went to Great Wolf Lodge last year so being at a large outdoor waterpark was very exciting to him the first time. He wanted to run around and look at everything.

This is the kiddie part of the park and where we spend most of our time.

Kashton's favorite slide is the whale slide because his head doesn't go under water and he really does not like that.

When I told Kashton that it was time to leave he cried and told me that he just wanted to live at the water park. I tried to explain the logistics of water park living and told him that when it got really hot or really cold that it would be miserable to live there but he just would not hear of leaving.

I Should Have Been A Cowboy

2011-07-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

My wonderful sister in law Leslie had free tickets to the chuck wagon festival at the Cowboy History Museum so her and I, Kashton, my nephew Ross and my cute little niece Jillian packed up in Leslie's van and headed out. There were so many fun things to see and do there that the kids didn't even know where to start. There were crafts and food and horses to look at. There were bands playing and people everywhere.

Kashton enjoyed coloring on the mural and did not want to leave to try something else.

The had beaded necklaces and leather working for the kids to do. Kashton made some very nice items to wear around for the day.

They could also color their own kerchief's and Kashton wore his around like a badge of honor.

The only thing that could have made this day better was if the head would not have been so unbearable. We only stayed for a little while but packed in a whole lot of fun. Thank you Leslie for inviting us.

Smarter Than A 5th Grader

2011-07-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

So I did it! I finally got my Associate degree. It took many years of not knowing where I was going in life to finally settle down and do it right. I graduated from OCCC on Friday May 13th with a 3.8 GPA. I was and still am proud of myself and made a very big deal of it. We told Kashton that Graduation was a celebration for mommy. I really wanted Kashton to see that the work that I put in to studying and to going to class paid off with something for me. I want him to grow up and not think of all the time that was spent away from me but will think of the accomplishment that I made in going to school even though I have to work full time and take care of such a wonderful child. I am so grateful for such a wonderful husband and child who make it possible for me to study and get good grades. I love them both very much.

Kashton got very bored during the ceremony so Mike's mom took him out in the hall. She made sure to bring him back in when they called my name so that he could yell for his mommy. He was dressed nicer than some of the graduates and everyone kept telling me what a doll he is.

Mike and Kashton met me outside with flowers and a card and a bunch of love, felling very proud of me for all of my hard work.

Not many people could be there for the actual graduation so my mother in law planned a wonderful dinner. The whole family came, it was a good thing that we had pretty much our own private room because we are a big loud and wild bunch!

Mercy planned a wonderful surprise for me. She got everyone (young and old alike) to write me a letter and tell me why they are proud of me. It was amazing to have acknowledgement from all the people that I love. My husbands was a wonderful tribute to how much he loves me and my child's was a wonderful tribute to how little he is. Kashtons said:

Hugs. You are a kiss mommy and read me books!

Yep that's my kids praise for me.

Is This Mothers Day?

2011-07-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

Mike and Kashton tried to make mothers day as wonderful as possible for me this year despite the fact that I spent most of my day doing homework. We went to church, I came home and studied.

We gardened and planted our new flowers, I went in and studied.

We spent time as a family, I studied studied studied.

We went to G.G.'s house and helped her celebrate her birthday and mothers day. And I spent the whole time studying. But Kashton told me days before that I had to stay away on mothers day so that he could make me a surprise. He said that he wanted to give me play doh like his favorite. So he gave me play doh. Mike kept Kashton away from me while I studied which helped me out a lot. And Kashton and I sang "Lean On Me" on Glee Karaoke which made my whole day even better. All in all it was a day of studying and feeling very loved.

Close Your Eyes As You Walk Out The Door.

2011-06-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

We have church at 9am, I get of work on Saturday nights at 2am, The Easter Bunny got done with everything about 5am. Therefore on Easter morning we woke up in just enough time to get to church dressed and ready to go. I am the queen of strange when it comes to holidays. I don't think that my kids (or as of right now kid) should see what he got, under the tree, in his Easter basket, for his birthday, before it is time to open it and really look at everything so poor Kashton got ushered out of the house Easter morning with his eyes covered wondering what was going on. Church on Easter Sunday was wonderful as always and I was excited for Kashton to get home and see all the wonderful things that the Easter Bunny had stayed up all night doing.

As always Kashton was spoiled and got way more than any kid needs in his Easter basket. Yet again another strange quality that I have during any holiday. Over giving. The Easter Bunny left each of us a new Wii game along with the candy that we got in our Easter baskets and that he lead to many days of fun since.

The Easter bunny always leaves a trail of Jelly Beans from our doors to our Easter baskets in our house. Just in case you had any question which basket is yours he lets you know with a trail leading strait to it. Kashton ate almost the whole trail of Jelly Beans by the time we left for an Easter get together at his GG and Papa's and you could tell.

The Easter bunny also hid candy filled eggs all over the living room in slightly harder places than he hid them last year. Kashton ran around finding every egg and shaking it to see if he could figure out what was inside.

The dinner at GG and Papa's was fun filled (except for the homework that I spent most of the time doing). Mike and I brought Just Dance II and we all had fun dancing around and laughing at each other. I got the highest score out of everyone there because I am pretty cool like that.

Oh and I even cooked some cupcakes for the occasion. I never make anything for any occasion so this was a pretty big deal for me. They even turned out delicious and somewhat cute.

What Color Does That Make The Eggs?

2011-06-26T18:05:00.000-07:00

Every year since Kashton was born we have colored Easter Eggs. Every year he is completely uninterested in the proceedings. This year, however, he was very intense about the way his eggs turned out. So I let him have as much reign over the eggs as my inner Cheryl Bishop would allow. It turned out to be a great time.

Every time he would drop an egg in Kashton would ask "What color will that one be?" He would watch the whole time to egg was in the dye hoping to see it work its magic.

Both Mike and I took turns coloring eggs and being the photographer, so we actually got some pictures of me doing this activity. ;)

These are some of the end products. We each made one with our name on it and decided which color it should be dyed. We also made a few dedicated to the Thunder as they had just started to play in the NBA Finals.

Neighborhood Block Party

2011-06-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

During the week of Easter I tried to do as much with Kashton as my school schedual would allow. I still had a lot to do the week of Easter but I did not want to let Kashton down. The first thing we did to celebrate the holiday was head to a block party at the park down the street.

Before we left the house I wanted a picture of the two of us because we never get pictures together. We sure do love each other.

He did really well on the relay course. He even did okay at waiting in line for the relay course. After making it to the top of the "rock wall" he slid down the big slide with glee.

This is the second time we have gone to a block party at this park and both times he had to have a spiderman face. Superman with a Spiderman face, can you tell that he really likes super heroes?

We waited in line for a balloon animal for a good 45 mins. I was ready to leave but even after waiting this whole time Kashton was excited and laughed the whole time the clown made his sword.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-06-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

I was so worried that we would not get an Easter Egg hunt in this year. Thank goodness for the wonderful women in my ward who got all the kids together for a hunt a few weeks before Easter. It was much more fun than the Easter Egg hunt that we did the year before where Kashton did not get any eggs at all. He was very good at sharing and helped his friends who did not have any eggs find the rest of them. I was so proud of him.

We figured out while we were there that all of these kids are going to graduate together. They are going to be such a cute graduating class.

Here are the kids getting ready for the egg hunt. They were actually pretty good at waiting for the eggs to be hidden and everyone to get pictures and get ready, especially with how young they all are. I think there was not a kid there over the age of 5.

Cotton Candy and Rainbow Snowcones

2011-03-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

Kashton has been telling me for weeks that he wants to play soccer in the circus when he grows up. That and being a super hero is pretty much all he ever talks about. So when I found out that the circus was in town I jumped at the chance to take him. He loved the clowns and the acrobats the most. I am sure that he would have loved the tigers but we were so far away he couldn't see them.

When I was little I remember getting cotton candy and rainbow snowcones at the circus so I had to get him one of each. He wasn't a big fan of the cotton candy but he sure did love the snowcone.

During intermission Kashton rode on an elephant. Since that was pretty much the greatest thing that had ever happened to him he was done after. We went straight home and told daddy all about our fun time at the circus. He keeps telling me that he can't wait to go to the circus with his Grandma the next time its here. At least he enjoyed himself.

Our Day With A Dog

2011-03-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week my sister and brother in law decided that they just did not have the time they needed to devote to their adorable little puppy Rowley so they started looking for a home for it. Kashton begs me for a dog all the time and tells me how much he misses Chief at every dog sighting. I decided that we would take the dog in.

Look at this cute little face and tell me how I could not fall in love with him. But he was a biter and Kashton was scared of him and Mike did not want him and we were going to have to train him and and and... so we decided after only one night of keeping him that he had to go back. I sat Kashton down and had a very grown up discussion with him about it. I told him that we could not keep the doggie and he got sad and said then I wont have any doggie. I asked him if he even liked Rowley and he told me no but that he really wanted a dog. So I told him that he could play with him one more time and then we would take him back to Sarah.

They played in the front yard and Kashton told me that he was mad at me for taking Rowley back but he was okay about 5 seconds after we dropped him off. We went to Target from there and...

This is the dog he came home with. Much more managable for mom and dad and he takes care of it all on his own. He even made Superman (yes that is what he named his dog) his own bed. He made sure it was right next to him at night because he didn't want the dog to get lonely.

Green and Black and Blue

2011-03-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

I always think of fun things to do for holidays just a bit to late. This year on St. Patricks day Kashton and I went for a picnic at the park with his friend Kolton. I should have got food for it earlier but I didn't think about it and then I was scrambling around looking for something green to feed him. Yes I am that mom who wants to give her son green food for St. Patricks day. I found everything that I could, dressed my kid in green and headed off.

Not only did I get green grapes and green cookies but I found a green juice and put it in a green jug.

After we ate Kashton played on the park for a long time. Unbeknownst to me he hurt himself but we will get to that in a minute.

We came home and I gave him some St. Patricks day pictures to color. Again I didn't think ahead, I wanted him to do a craft for the holiday but I didn't get anything for him to do so he had to settle for coloring.

I left for work and after a few hours I received a frantic call from Mike. He could not get Kashton to wake up from his nap. He had a lump on his head and his eye was black and he was acting weird. Kashton said that he was chasing his friend down the slide and he went down head first and hit his head on the ground. He never cried or told me anything at the park. Weird. So Mike called a nurse and she said to keep him awake for an hour and see how he acted. Poor little kid wasn't feeling so well. His swelling has gone down and he is acting much more normal now but it was quite the scare. And how did he not tell me anything when it happened? Crazy kid!

Busy Day and No Camera

2011-03-19T08:02:00.001-07:00

Wednesday of spring break we had all sorts of fun and so of coarse I forgot to put my memory card back in my camera. We started out the day at the Jump Zone with Rissy, Braxton, Avery and baby Ian. The Jump Zone is a wonderful place that has a bunch of bounce houses that kids can just run around and go crazy on. And boy did Kashton go crazy. From there we went to Kashtons first dentist appointment, it went really well and not only does Kashton have great teeth but he acted like a big boy in the chair too. His reward was going to Chic-Fil-A to eat and play in their playplace. We were there for a good long time and he still wanted more so it was home and to the park for Kashton and daddy.

Kite flying &

Playing in the back yard.

Followed by some BBQ and family time made this a greally great day for the whole family. I am so greatful that I get to spend some time this week with my wonderful little boy and my amazing husband. I don't know what I would do without them.

I Love Babies and I Love Elephants

2011-03-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

The weather was warm enough on Tuesday to go to the Zoo. Kashton was so excited he couldn't contain himself. We pulled into the parking lot and it was as full as it could get. We had to park across the street and walk over. If it were up to me I would have turned around and gone home but I knew Kashton would never have it so we found a spot and hiked on over.

Kashton was really good the whole time we were there. In years before he has always tried to run off by himself and I end up feeling like I am having a panic attack by the time we leave but he stayed right beside me the whole time and just looked atthe animals and told me all about them. When we were walking between exibits he would pretend that we were in a parade and would march and tell me that I needed to march in the parade too. We got to see the bears wrestle and growl at each other and we got to see two monkey chasing each other around their cage. He thought it was wonderful.

When we were talking about going to the zoo his aunt Sarah told him that there were baby elephants at the zoo. He turned and looked at me and said "Mom, I love babies and I love elephants so I am really going to love baby elephants." Well he wad correct, he loved the baby elephants. He told me it was his favorite part of the zoo.

The last stop on our way out of the zoo was to pet the goats. We got all the way through the line at up to the gate and Kashton told me that he had to go to the potty. So off the to potty we went. The womans restroom was closed for cleaning and the family restroom had a line of about 20 in front of us so a woman told us she would watch the mens room and we could go in there. Kashton walked right up to the sink and said "I want to pee in a urinal mom" I had to pull him away before he actually started peeing. He is so funny. It was such a wonderful day at the zoo and Kashton can't wait to go back.

My Day Got All Tangled

2011-03-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

Since I feel like I don't have a whole lot of time to devote to just focusing on my wonderful son I decided that the week of Spring Break was going to be spent of things that he would enjoy. We made plans on Monday with my sis-in-law Sarah and her boys to go to the zoo and enjoy the new elephant exibit, but alas the weather did not cooperate. So instead...

I took Kashton to the dollar movies and we saw Tangled. It was his second time seeing it but my first. I really enjoyed it and for the most part he did a good job. He always has to have popcorn and a drink when we go to the movies but this time I brought candy for him as well. He seemed to really enjoy this addition. I even taught him how to use his licorice as a staw in his soda.

When we got home we spent the rest of the day playing candy land and wrestling with daddy. This is by far daddies favorite past time, he can not get enough Kashton wrestle time.

How I Know I Am Getting Old

2011-03-15T12:45:00.001-07:00

I go to 1 year old's birthday parties instead of 21 year old's birthday parties.

My idea of a fun day is gardening with my child.

I got so excited about these measuring cups that I bought at Pier 1 that I wanted to tell everyone about them.

Sledding

2011-01-24T18:48:00.000-08:00

We got to go sledding while we were in Utah. Kashton loves the snow after the little taste that he got in Oklahoma last year so he was all ready. When Mike was getting his snowboard ready for the trip Kashton couldn't stop talking about buying a snowboard just like his daddy's. So with the money that he got for Christmas from his Great Grandpa and Grandma he bought himself a snowboar.

This was about the most standing up that we got out of him on his snowboard.

My mom and dad and Brynlee came with us sledding too. I felt bad cause Kashton got cold fast so they drove all the way up the mountin for about 30 mins of sledding.

My bestie best Ellie and her son Colin got to come too. Kashton and Colin are the same age and they could not be more oposite.

After a few times down the hill with me or Mike, Kashton decided that he was all ready to go down by himself and spent the rest of the day speeding down the hill.

The other morning we woke up to snow (and by snow I really mean frost and ice). I told Kashton to go look out the window because there was snow on the ground. He came back in and told me "Mom, snow is not fun unless there is mountains because how am I supposed to go snowboarding". So I guess we are just going to have to move to Utah so he can have his mountains.

So Much Christmas So Little Us Part 2

2011-01-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was quite the extravaganza. Before we even left for Utah we had Christmas with Mike's parents. Kashton got a lot of fun things from them including a Buzz Lightyear snuggie and I got a Kindle from Mike. That was all I wanted for Christmas this year. In Utah we got to enjoy all my family traditions. It was a great Christmas.

Christmas Eve at my Grandpa and Grandma Bishops house where there was great food and lots of fun family time. I have missed my grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins and it was so great to catch up.

We went back to my parents house and opened our Christmas Eve presents which included PJ's, slippers, books, movies and for Kashton a stuffed Grinch since all season long he had made me call him the Grinch.

Christmas morning we woke up and were ready to run down stairs and see what Santa had brought. And boy was he generous this year. Kashton got way to much and everyone seemed so happy with their haul this year. Kashton actually looked at every present and told us all what it did and that it was exactly what he wanted.

I don't know if you can tell that Kashton got spoiled or not but this is my parents extra bedroom covered in all of Kashtons presents.

Christmas night we went to my Grandpa Dee and Grandma Audrey's house for a Japanese Christmas. Every year my wonderful Grandma shows us the different traditions of Christmas around the world. We had a lot of wonderful food and we got to meet my cousins new baby A'Mya.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Not just the presents but the time spent with family and the traditions. I missed Christmas with my family last year and this so made up for it.

So Much Christmas So Little Us Part 1

2011-01-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

So this year I would like to blog enough to actually be able to make a blog book, so I am going to document as much as I can, starting with Christmas and our vacation to Utah.

We got to Utah on the Wednesday before Christmas but we got there really late so we just caught up with my parents and went to bed. We decided on Thursday to go see the lights at temple square, and so did everyone in Utah. It was very busy and very pretty and while Kashton's teeth chattered and he said he wasn't cold we enjoyed the sights and the company.

Time spent with my wonderful siblings is the best.

Family picture minus dad since he was taking the picture.

Since we are all couples Brynlee decided that Kashton would be her couple. They spent a lot of time together.

After the lights we went to dinner and had some fun with my family.

3 Years Old!

2010-11-30T08:39:00.001-08:00

Kashton turned 3 a few weeks ago, making him an official "big boy". I planned a party for weeks in advance, did my shopping and got all prepared to make his birthday a happy one. I had told Kashton weeks before his birthday that I would take him to Megamind on his birthday but thought for sure that he would forget about it. The night before his birthday he told me "My birthday is tomorrow mom, we get to go see Megamind". So...

To Megamind we went. We saw it in 3D although Kashton didn't want to keep his glasses on at all. The whole time we were watching the movie I spent the whole time thinking of all the things that I needed to get done for his party and wondered why I always do this to my self.

For his birthday party we decided to do a superhero theme. We had superhero baloons, superhero confetti, superhero's everywhere. Tons of people showed up and piled in to my tiny little house to celebrate Kashton getting older. All his friends and all his family crammed in to one space. We made superhero masks, all the kids did a great job on their masks.

After the masks we sang happy birthday and ate his Spiderman cupcake cake that I let him pick out at Sam's Club. All the kids had stained faces and full bellies for pin the "S" on Superman. They all made it really close but the winner was..... Tayte! We put temporary tatoos on the little one and let them run wild for a little before they all went home with a goodie bag.

Kashton had an absolutely wonderful birthday filled with friends and fun and birthday presents galore. In fact I believe I have made a monster of him!!

Going to the Lodge, Great Wolf Lodge. GREAT WOLF LODGE

2010-09-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

My nephew Ross turned 6 this week and for his birthday his mom and dad planned an abslolutely fabulously fun couple of days at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine Texas. They invited us to go and I was lucky enough to get a few days off work and school to take Kashton down there for tons and tons of fun. Great Wolf Lodge is this great hotel that has an indoor waterpark that you can play at. Kashton had such a great time on all the slides. He went on some really big ones all by himself and thought that it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He played in the toddler pool and went down the two big slides that he could go on for two days straight and still didn't want to leave. It was a great time!

All the boys getting ready to start having fun on the slides. Kyler, Keaton, Kason, Kashton and Ross, half of them look so excited don't they!

For dinner that night we went to the Rainforest Cafe it is a huge forest with fish every where and motorized animals. The kids had a blast!

The whole hotel was awesome. Even the hallways were fun for the kids.

Kashton had so much fun that at the waterpark he fell asleep for a few hours cause he was so pooped! I couldn't believe that he slept so much with so much excitement all around!

We bought him wolfy wolfy as a present to remember the trip by. He hasn't let go of him since we left

Kashton was so brave! Here is him going down one of the big slides all by himself

A little late on the Utah post

2010-04-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

We went to Utah a few months back to visit my friend Ellie whose husband past away. Here are just a few pics of all the fun things we did. Kashton with Talan hanging out at Kara's house. It was really nice because the boys have never been very good at playing together but this time they did wonderfully so it gave Kara and I time to catch up!

I had a girls night with Ellie, Ashley and Susan. I haven't seen some of them in a really great time so it was so very wonderful to see them.

My parents wedding anniversary was while we were there so we all went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and celebrated.

We went shopping a few times and they had a train that went around the mall so of coarse Kashton just had to ride it.

We also went to the aquarium with Ellie and her son Colin. Here they are looking at a snake (or No Feet as Colin calls him) We had a ton of fun and these boys to played and got a long it was great. We went to their house after and the boys had fun messing up their room. In fact after we left I asked Kashton what he did at Colin's house and he told me "Make a mess of his room mom"

We did a whole lot of fun things with family and friends and had a grand ol' time. I don't get to go home often enough. I wish that was different. Thanks to everyone who made this trip so wonderful.

Christopher Hales

2010-02-07T20:05:00.001-08:00

One of my very best friends in the world passed away yesterday Feb. 6th 2010. I will miss him very much and he will remain in my hy heart forever. Ellie and Colin are the loves of my life and I want them to know that they are also in my heart. I love you Chirs and I am so greatful for the friendship that we shared. Chris was such an amazing person and he will be missed.

Snow Stomping

2010-01-30T22:53:00.001-08:00

I do believe that my child was meant to live in Utah because he absolutely adores the snow. On Thursday it snowed here in good ol' OK, and I do mean actually snowed, like snow snow. Anyway on Thursday night after some had come down Mike took Kashton outside for a minute to look at the snow, he came back in the house and excitedly told me "mama I snow stompin". All day Friday he was asking to go snow stomping (which is just as it sounds stomping the snow with his boots) but I had a lot to do around the house so it had to wait. Once Mike got home and I went to work the snow fun was on.

Mike let Kashton wear his Viking stuff and bring his sword outside with him. When I got home I asked him if he played in the snow and he told me that he chopped it with his sword.

Kashton "snow stomping" right outside our front door.

Covered in snow after he was done playing. It doesn't seem to bother him that he is getting wet and cold.

On Saturday Mike wanted to go "snowboarding" (really just sliding down a small hill on his snowboard) with a few of his friends. He asked if I wanted to bring Kashton sledding while they snowboarded so we went to a hill and went sledding. Kashton absolutely LOVED it. Every time that we would get to the bottom he would stand up, shake off the snow, and say "again mommy" so again we went.

Kashton standing on Mike's snowboard trying it out. He tells me that he wants to snowboard. I think we will wait a few years for that though.

At the bottom of the hill after the first time that we went down.

We had so much fun I think we are going to try to go again!!

Haha

2010-01-23T23:19:00.000-08:00

Just haha

Fine Art

2010-01-16T02:50:00.000-08:00

I have been trying really hard to get Kashton more interested in creative art projects. He doesn't even really get into coloring. So this last week as we had some mother son time to spend with each other I took that time to try out some new art supplies that we had. These projects went much better then ones I have tried in the past. He really seemed to enjoy himself and so did I.

The first night we tried our "hand" at finger painting. Haha I just came up with that.

He would say "painting, painting, ewww mom its a mess" every time he would put his fingers in the paint.

This was his "rainbow" that he decided to paint. Hummm an all blue rainbow.

He took a bath right after and he kept showing me his hands to let me know they had paint on them and he needed to get clean.

The second night was all about sticker pictures, much easier and less messy.

Once he got to the coloring portion he was concentraiting very had, he wanted to get them just right.

Here are the finished products, they are up on our fridge as both he and I are very proud of them.

Christmas and Such

2010-01-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

I know that I am quite a bit behind on my blogging so I thought I would start back up again with our wonderful Christmas season. Kashton finally got it this year and would run around the house screaming CHRISTMAS at the top of his lungs days before the actual event. I tried to threaten him with "if you don't behave Santa is going to bring you any presents" and he would look at me and say OK. Then he watch Dora's Christmas Carol where Swiper gets put on the naughty list and from then on all I had to say was do you want to be put on the naughty list like Swiper and he would behave, why can't that work all year long.

Getting ready for Christmas this year was fun, it is nice to be able to buy presents for someone who actually gets excited for opening their presents. We decorated as a family this year just a few days after Thanksgiving and Kashton thought it was great fun to put all the ornaments on one side of the tree. Sadly I didn't get a picture of Kashton decorating the tree but here is the finished product.

On Christmas Eve we had a snow storm, by Oklahoma standards it was large. I guess OK hasn't seen snow like that ever, or something to that dramatic effect. We got stranded in our apartment and Christmas Eve at Mike's parents was called off. We didn't have much food in our house because we had planned to eat all our meals for the next couple of days at Papa and Gigi's house so we ended up having to make Mexican for dinner on Christmas Eve.

Here is the snow drift outside our back door that was taller that Kashton.

This is our wonderful Christmas dinner Mexi style!

Our family tradition like most is to open pj's for Chrismas Eve, we also open a Christmas book and a Christmas movie to read and watch in our comfy pj's before we go to bed. After watching the movie I thought for sure that Kashton would go to bed but nope, up all night, that's my son. Finally around 2 he fell asleep and I could get everything done that I needed to.

Here is mommy and Kashton in our Christmas Pj's (yes I do realize that I look absolutely horrible but this was the only picture that he was looking at the camera)

Kashton and daddy also got slippers for Christmas Eve, Kashtons are Monkey slippers with which he is totally obsessed.

Christmas morning I had to wake Kashton up because he had fallen asleep so late, but once he woke up he was very excited to see what Santa brought him.

Before Santa came to visit.

After Santa came, yes he did bring way to much.

When he walked out in to the living room he was very excited to see all of his presents. My parents Skyped with us to watch Kashton open his presents which was really nice, it almost felt like we were with them for Christmas. I think they had a good time too. Kashton kept trying to show them his slippers.

Kashton seeing all the presents that Santa brought for the first time, as you can see he was very excited

I have more to blog about Christmas but I will save that for tomorrow. We had a great year this year and I can't wait for years to come when Kaston gets more excited for Christmas and when he has siblings to celebrate with.

2009-11-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

We had our own little birthday party for Kashton the night of his birthday. We had his favorite dinner (salmon and rice) and then we sang Happy Birthday and had cake. Kashton got to open all of his presents from us and decided that he really likes birthdays!!

Mommy and daddy spoiled Kashton this year. These are all the present just from us.

Kashtons first present that he opened. He got the hang of it real quick.

Daddy got Kashton a tricycle. It is definatly Kashton's favorite present.

He loved loved loved to blow out the candle on his cake. He kept making us light it again so he could blow it momma.

Dawn of the Dinosaurs

2009-11-18T20:42:00.000-08:00

For Kashton's birthday I took him to the movies, we saw Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I sure didn't think that he would be as good as he was, he sat through the whole movie.

He didn't sit quite so still before the movie started, this is him running around in the empty theater.

He kept climbing in and out of his seat and saying up down up down

Once the movie started he was a good boy and sat on my lap the whole time

Kashton's first birthday present

2009-11-16T16:12:00.000-08:00

My Grandma Audrey sent Kashton his first birthday present last week and he was very excited to open it. We decided to let him do so early to see if he could get the hang of it. And get the hang of it he did!! He loved ripping off the paper and the mat and cars that he got were wll played with! Thanks Grandma Audrey

Begining of a fun busy week

2009-11-15T10:35:00.001-08:00

This week was Kashton's 2nd birthday so we did a lot of fun things, I will do a lot of posts this week about everything that we did so that I can show you all the cute pictures that I got. The week started out slow but Kashton still had a ton of fun.

Kashton loves his cape now and will run around the house naked with just the cape on.

He had his first taste of Spaghetti this week, he loved the taste but hated the mess! He kept telling me mess mommy mess.

His new favorite thing is to dress up in whatever he can find. He came walking out of my room with my shoes on, Mike's hat and his football in his hands. He ran around like this for hours.

Tonighs Gonna Be a Good Night

2009-11-06T19:50:00.001-08:00

We had a fun family night tonight!! It all started with a package from my mom with a SUPER KASHTON cape and a pirate ship, Kashton ran around the house for hours. Then it was time as a family and dinner at Chili's.

While I was opening the package Kashton was saying Yippee yippee suprise suprise

Running around in his super Kashton cape ready for everything!

While we waited for dad to finish his tile job we played in the leaves for a while, Kashton loves to run through them and shout leaves leaves.

Waiting for dinner at Chili's

Mike's Birthday

2009-11-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

Mike's 28th birthday was a few weeks ago and as old people we didn't do much. I told Kashton to tell his daddy Happy Birthday, he said no daddy's birthday, Kashtons birthday. Kashtons birthday is in one week and he has been telling me that it is his birthday every morning because he wants to open his presents. For dinner we went to Jonny Corinos and had a wonderful time, their italian cream sodas are the best!!

Family dinner for daddy's birthday!

Kashton out at dinner sad because I wouldn't let him dip his own bread in the oil.

Halloween

2009-11-01T16:27:00.001-08:00

Here is Kashton getting ready to go to the church with his cousin Ross for Trunk or Treating

This is when Kashton won the costume contest at the Church Halloween party

RRRR

He would much rather sword fight then trick or treat

Making Halloween Cookies

2009-10-25T16:03:00.001-07:00

Last week Mike had to work nights so while he was a work Kashton and I decided to make some Halloween cookies (and by Kashton and I, I acutally mean just me). It was great mother son fun and also great mother son mess.

First of all I gave Kashton the butter to put on the counter, next thing I know he was trying to take a bite out of it.

This is Kashton helping me mix the dough.

This is Kashton eating the dough (I know I shouldn't have let him but I couldn't help myself)

And here is the finished product. I know, not so creative but very tasty

When Was The Last Time You Had A Hay Day

2009-10-04T22:04:00.001-07:00

This weekend started out not so great with Kashton running a fever and me getting into a fight with Mike's best friend, but Mike tried to turn it around for us. He came home from work on Friday and took us to Hay Day a mini golf and games place and we had tonz of fun (allthough Kashton didn't get most of it). On Saturday we went to ToysRUs to get part of Kashtons Halloween costume and daddy decided to buy Kashton and new race track and some cars just for being so good while he was sick, then he took us out for icecream. I really love my husband for trying to make things right.

Kashton playing putt putt and doing an okay job. He always picked up the ball and put it in the cup at the end.

Kashton's favorite game was the race car game.

Kashton racing with his daddy. They got 4th place even though Kashton was driving.

Kashton's new race track and race car.

Kashton has never had icecream on a cone before, it was fun and rather messy.

Blake's Wedding

2009-09-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

My little brother (who I swear is still only 16 but is really 23) got married earlier this month to Jaclyn (who is like another sister to me). The wedding was wonderful and it was a great reason to visit Utah and my family again. I told Kashton that we were going to go to the temple where Jesus is and he told me Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam. He just knows. Anyway it was wonderful.

Blake and Jac just coming out of the Temple.

Kashton ran right up to them when they walked out. No one else was around and as soon as he realized that everyone was looking at him he got all shy.

Kashton didn't want to take his picture with all of the nieces and nephews so he fought it the whole time.

Kashton got to wear read shoes just like Blake

Finally a New Post

2009-09-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to blog lately because we didn't have a computer but YAY we finally got one and got the internet all set up and are ready to go. So now I can catch up. I am back at school and working so I have hardly any time for the fun things in life but I am making time for my cute little dude. He turns two in 7 weeks and that is very scary for me. I can't be the mother of a two year old. We are teaching him his shapes, colors, letters and numbers and he seems to be picking it up really well. He is the funniest dude ever. So now that we have a computer I will start blogging at least once a week to keep everyone updated.

Day 10 and Going home

2009-06-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we spent the day with Aunt Jac for her birthday. We went and got pedicures and Kashton was actually well behaved. We were supposed to go to Kara's again but didn't have a car to get up there. We are very sad that we didn't get to spend more time with her. Then at night we had cabob's with my mom and dad and my grandparents came over for a visit. On Friday all we did was get ready to fly back to Oklahoma. Kashton was real good on the plane again and as much as we miss Grandma and Grandpa it was nice to get back and see daddy.

Day 9

2009-06-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday we went to the zoo with Grandma and then to Great Grandma's house.

Kashton showing his ticket from the zoo.

A mokey's got my neck, help!!

Looking at the water where the lion sleeps.

At Great Grandma Audrey's after the Zoo.

Day 8 in UTAH

2009-06-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a really great friends day. We went up to Ellie's house and played for hours (she also did my hair Thanks Ellie) then at 6 we had dinner with a whole group of friends, all that I have known since I was young.

Kashton playing B-Ball with his friend Collin.

Kashton playing with Collin's toys while Collin took a nap and I enjoyed time with Ellie.

Dinner at Zuppa's (my favorite place in the world to eat) with Leslie, Nikki, Lisa, Nicole, Marci, Kara and Talan.

Day 6 and 7

2009-06-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we went to church and then Kashton took a nap for 5 hours. That is when you know that you have worn your child out. On Monday my parents took Kashton to Cabela's a stor in Utah that has animals all over. Kashton loves it. And I went to my aunts house to go swimming and have some time with my cousins and my aunts. They came and met us and Kashton got to go swimming and then we went to dinner with my aunts and cousins. GREAT DAY!

Kashton with Grandpa in front of Cabela's.

Kashton with Grandma in front of the fish at Cabela's he loves fish.

Swimming at Richelle's house, the first time Kashton has worn floaties, he didn't really like them

After dinnner looking at the planes.

Day 5 UTAH!

2009-06-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we had a lot of fun as a family. Kashton fell on the sidewalk and you will notice for the rest of the trip has a scraped up nose.

Kashton doing yardwork with Grandpa, I tried to take him inside with me but he was having none of that.

Fixing Uncle Geek's headlight on his scooter, you would think someone taught him how to use tools.

We went to my aunt Richelle's house for Blake's family party and Kashton spent most of the night playing with all the sports equipment that they have in their backyard!

It was to cold to actually swim but Kashton sure liked putting his feet in. (PS nice supermodel look Brynlee)

Kashton made in new friend in Blake's soon to be nephew Luke, they played at the park while everyone else played baseball.

Kashton even got to help uncle Geek blow out his birthday candles.

Day 4

2009-06-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

On Friday I went to a movie with Brynlee so my mom and dad watched Kashton for me. I left the camera with my mom and told her to take lots of pictures so of corse she did not. Brynlee and I went and saw Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, while not a ground braker it was a decent movie. While we were there my mom and dad took Blake and his fiance Jac to dinner for his birthday and took Kashton with them, aparently he was not to well behaved. Then my dad called and asked if wanted to go bowling. I really wish that I would have had the camera for that because it was Kashton's first time but my mom left it at her house. We had fun despite the fact that I am awful at all things sports.

Day 3 on out Utah Trip

2009-06-04T07:59:00.001-07:00

On Thursday we were supposed to go and hang out with our friends Kara and Talan but Talan had strep so instead we had a fun filled day with our family, it was our Uncle Geek's birthday.

We went out to lunch with Grandma at Burger King and played in the play place.

Then we went to our friend Natalies house with a bunch of other kids and played and played.

For dinner we went to Great Grandpa and Great Grandma's house for Uncle's birthday and played gold and saw planes and birds and worms. It was a great boy time.

Day 2

2009-06-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

When we lived in Utah Kashton and I would spend Wednesdays with my mom shopping and having all kinds of fun. So we decided to keep the tradition alive. We went to the mall and went out to lunch. Then we spent the night playing at the house with Grandpa and Grandma and uncle skunkle (or Geek as he has now been renamed) and Baba and Jac.

Kashton at the mall looking all studley in his glasses.

Grandma bought Kashton a Nemo plate and glass and he watched Nemo with his new items.

Weirdly Kashtons favorite toy at my parents house is a Guess Who game and here he is playing it with Grandpa.

Grandma was helping Brynlee with a project for school and Kashton decided he wanted to help too. So here he is coloring.

Day 1 on my Utah Vacation

2009-06-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

Kashton and I went on vaction to Utah last week and had a blast. He was really good on the plane and adjusted really well to being with Grandma and Grandpa again.

At the airport waiting to get on the plane. He told me that planes go vroooom.

Looking out the window at all the land. He wouldn't sit down cause he wanted to see what was going on.

Seeing Panda again for the first time. He tried to kiss him and hug him a lot.

Mike's Ring

2009-05-24T22:55:00.001-07:00

Mike and I got new wedding rings. I really like the ring that we picked out for Mike. Mine is absolutely beautiful too but I don't have any pictures of it. Maybe I will get some and put them up.

Funny funny kid

2009-05-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

My son makes me laugh every day. He is the funniest little boy that I know. These are just a few of the funny things that he has done lately that I had my camera ready for.

We were watching a movie as a family and Kashton decided the most comfortable spot would be atop the laundry baskets. He got up there and his own and stayed there for most of the movie.

We have been trying to get rid of Kashtons binki so whenever he finds one he doesn't want to give it up, not even for his second favorite thing his sippy cup.

First time Kashton has fallen aleep without the assistance of someone holding him and he has his hand in a Cheese Nips box. If you knew how obsessed his is with Cheese Nips you would see the humor.

His ball machine uses air to pop the balls out, he was playing the other day and took all the balls out and just let the wind blow in his hair.

He picked up the camera, handed it to me and said CHEESE. He wouldn't stop making that face (his silly cheese face) until I took the picture.

Mothers day

2009-05-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

I had the greatest mother's day. I got to spend all day with my boys and even got some flowers and cards. It is great to be a mom and it is even better to be a mom on mother's day.

Kashton gave his grandma her flowers and when he was done he looked at me like I did a good job mom.

He also gave me my flowers, and then wouldn't let go after.

I got a card and a present from my in-laws. It was very nice of them. And my mom and dad bought me a plane ticket to come and visit them for mother's day! YAY!

Science museum

2009-05-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to the science museum with Kashton. It has been raining for what feels like FOREVER so we found a place to get him out of the house with out hanging out outside. It was a little over his head but he had fun running around.

When we first got there there was a ball machine, Kashton walked around it in circles for 15 mins looking at it from every angle. We had to drag him away from it.

This is Kashton looking in a 2 way mirror. Every time he could see himself he would say YAY and every time he could see Mike he would say oh, dada. I guess he liked himself more.

He walked into the spaceship looked around for a second and sat down. He wasn't sure what to do. We had to carry him out because he wouldn't get up and walk again in there.

I had to take this picture for my mom. They had a huge mouth where you learned about cavities and such. I thought she would have lvoed it.

One small step for mommy and daddy one huge step for Kashton kind.

Bubble

2009-04-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to post these pictures because bubbles.... no particular intrest. But I thought it was really funny that he wouldn't look at the camera no matter what I did until he was good and ready. He even waited until we were done blowing bubbles, come on mom don't interupt my fun with stupid pictures.

Day With Daddy

2009-04-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

Mike works 4 10's instead of 5 8's so we get to have 3 days a week with daddy. His day off this week was Tuesday and the weather was really nice so we decided to go to KIDSPlay park. Mike helped build it when he was in High School and we had a lot of fun. We were the only people at the park for a while and Kashton got to wander and have fun.

Kashton and his daddy walking into the park.

Big boy slide.

My two cute boys.

Kashton is so strong. He was hanging on the monkeybars all by himself.

Easter Again!

2009-04-13T07:03:00.000-07:00

We had so much Easter fun the I couldn't fit it all in one post. On Saturday night we colored Easter Eggs, Kashton wasn't so interested but it has been years since Mike or I colored eggs so we had fun. On Sunday it was all about church and family. We had a really good day.

Coloring eggs on Saturday night.

This is what Kashton wanted to do instead of color the eggs.

Kashton's cutest ever easter outfit.

Daddy and Kashton after Church on Easter Sunday.

Easter

2009-04-13T06:57:00.001-07:00

Kashton and Mommy right after church.

Kashton had an easter egg hunt, he kept throwing the eggs in the basket so they all cracked.

Reading the story of Easter with his GG and his cousins.

After his second easter egg hunt of the day, hugging his cousins.

Kashton loves, loves, loves his new baby cousin. He likes to kiss the poor kid as much as he can.

Medieval Fair

2009-04-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

Mike, Kashton and I went to the Medieval fair this weekend. There were many many weird people. We walked around for about two hours and didn't even realize that it had been that long. Kashton loves being around people so it was great fun for him. Plus there were dogs everywhere and Kashton loves to bark at dogs. Mike and I loved looking at all the weirdos in the weird (and I mean very weird) costumes.

This was one of the only small dogs, a lot of mastives and other large dogs wondered around.

I put the mask on myself and he wanted it on him, he was laughing and laughing with it on.

It was really windy and warm out so Kashton kept wanting to drink Mikes drink.

This is Kashton and Mike watching the jousters. The wind was so bad that he couldn't even fully open his eyes.

There was a pirate ship that you could pay to have them kidnap your loved ones and make them walk the plank.

To all those I left behind

2009-03-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

Miss Your Faces!!!

Park

2009-03-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

While Mike was in Utah that weather was really nice so we decided to have a picnic at the park and let Kashton go and play. He hasn't been to the park since he was very little and couldn't really play. He loved walking around and meeting all the other kids. Mike put him down the slide once and then he wanted to do it on his own from there on out. He is a funny kid.

Kashton had so much fun on the swings. There was a little girl next to him and he kept starring at her. He is such a big flirt.

This is Kashton going down the slide on his own. He is already wanting to be independant. Please stay a baby for a little longer.

Girls dinner

2009-03-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

The night before my husband came to get me Kashton and I went to dinner with my cousins and my soon to be sis-in-law. Good food, we then worked out after. I know weird girls. Our waiter was awful!

All the girls after eating

WOW is right! Look at the hot mama's

2009-03-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

Kashton and I went to the Zoo with Ellie and Colin because it finally felt like spring in Utah (I love spring in Utah). Kashton loves animals so he had a great time. Colin kept calling everything a dog, it was really cute. Kashton is sure going to miss Colin and I am sure going to miss Ellie.

Kashton trying to go into the cage with the animals.

Mommy and Kashton posing with the farting elephant.

Kashton and Colin (sorry that you can't really see your face Colin)

Brynlee's Dance Concert

2009-03-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

Kaston trying to smell Brynlee's flowers. Yummy. He would hit them out of his face.
All the girls that went to watch Brynlee on Friday. We went out to dinner afterward.
We went to Byrnlee's dance concert last week. Kashton was very entertained for about 10 mins of waving and calling for BaBa (which is Brynlee) and then he would be all kinds of whiny and crying. We went 2 days in a row and I think he pretty much never wants to watch dance again.

Kashton's First Haircut

2008-11-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

This is Kashton before his haircut he needed one bad!
Getting so excited for his haircut!
Getting his hair cut in the airplane.
First sucker

Pumpkin 2

2008-11-17T13:53:00.000-08:00

I carved a pumpkin for Kashton for Halloween, it was supposed to say Kashton, it didn't even come close. It was a sad sorry little pumpkin.

Pumpkin

2008-11-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

We went to Gardner Village to take some pictures of Kashton.

Halloween part

2008-10-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

We had a family halloween party at my aunts house yesterday, it was quite fun. Until somebody got hurt.

Homecoming

2008-10-23T15:49:00.001-07:00

Kashton got to go to the Alta Homecoming game in the freezing cold. He got all bundled up!

We also went to the homecoming assembly. He was way bored.

Watching Brynlee Dance.

We had a full week of Homecoming events. It was like I was back in highschool. Kashton got to have school spirit, Red and Black forever!

Birthday

2008-10-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

Kashton's birthday is coming up and it is making me a little sad. I want my baby to stay a baby and he is growing up so fast. I think I will just skip his birthday this year and he will have to stay an infant forever, he can't become a toddler if he doesn't have a birthday right? I am very excited for his first Halloween because he is going to be a golfer and he is so very cute, so I think we will just celebrate Halloween every year and not his birthday and then he wont ever grow up. Oh.... I was just told that isn't how it works, that is a bummer. Well I guess we will celebrate then. His birthday is on November 12th (only 3 weeks away) and we are going to have a party on November 15th. It should be tons o fun.

Busy Week

2008-10-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Kashton at Colin's first birthday. He looked so cute in his birthday hat.

At Tallen's birthday party. So much fun to play.

Sitting on Tallen's car. He thought he was such a big boy.

Kashton and mommy meeting the fireman at the carnival.

We had a very busy week last week. We went and had a play date with Colin on Monday, we went to the park with Kaleb on Wednesday, Friday was a good day we
had a carnival at Kashotn's school, then it was birthday's galore. We had Tallen's 2nd birthday on Saturday and Colin's 1st birthday on Sunday. It was a very fun week.

Hike

2008-09-28T16:24:00.000-07:00

Just getting to the mountains, we haven't yet seen the trail.

Kashton playing in the dirt

Our "hiking" shoes. Brynlees uggs were sadly the best.

We decided to go up to the mountains today to see the leaves change. It would have been a great plan but you see we didn't really plan. We stopped at a trail and decided to "hike" up this trail. We were not dressed for it nor were we prepared. I had diet coke instead of water, we were wearing our good shoes as you can see and we are all a little out of shape. Kashton had a lot of fun because being outdoors is his greatest pleasure. Everyone that passed us laughed, we decided to turn around when the people that were coming back down the mountain were using hiking sticks to make it. It was quite a funny time if not a very productive one.

2008-09-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Kashton started at KinderCare last week and I was rather nervous. He has rarely been watched by anyone but me or Mike so I didn't think he would much like it. But there are so many toys and so much that he thinks is fun that he just has the time of his life. When I first leave it is hard but after that he is the king of the daycare. He sits in the middle of the room in an excersaucer and makes everyone come to him. Sounds like his daddy.

Football

2008-09-17T08:09:00.001-07:00

I decided that it would be a good idea to take Kashton to the Alta football game. WRONG! He thought he would play with all the other people that were there to watch the game. He doesn't get sad but he sure gets antsy. He was all over the place and who can set a 9 month old on bleachers.

STENGTH

2008-09-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

I am going to find my strength. This last month has been very hard for me between leaving my husband and moving to a new state, putting Kashton in daycare has been one of the hardest things for me to do ever because I become riddled with guilt. I have decided that I can't focus on the negative. I will never make it. I am going to take this time to become the strongest best mother that I can be. The strongest best person that I can be. I will gather my friends and family around me and learn to love myself as much as I expect someone to love me. I will take my son by the hand and lead him through life with my head held high and my heart full of love and show him that he can be a strong, smart, successful person just by being hmself. I hope that my life works out the way that I have planned but if not then I will push through and realize that I and the lord are all that I need to make it through.

Growing up

2008-09-07T09:25:00.000-07:00

Kashton is growing up so fast. He took a few steps on his own the other day and I was so proud of him, but at the same time I just wish he would stop growing. I love my little baby and I want him to stay that way forever.

Kashton crawled right out of his pants. It was hilarious. Look at what a big boy he is becoming.
He has learned to crawl up the stairs all on his own. He can even come back down sometimes.
He just started to eat in a big boy highchair. We used to just feed him on the floor.

Life Now

2008-08-31T13:59:00.001-07:00

Our lives are very different now. We don't get to see our daddy and that makes us very sad :( Everyday we spend with a lot of people that love us, Grandpa, grandma, Blake and Brynlee but not the most important. We miss you daddy!!!

4th of July

2008-07-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of Fun on the 4th, we went swimming and we spent time in the sun. Then we had a BBQ with our cousins and watched Fireworks. Kashton suprisingly wasn't scared of the loud bangs.
Fun In The Pool With My Mommy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Family fun time at the BBQ
Watching Fireworks

Best thing in the world

2008-06-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

Kyler's Birthday Oh the Dramaz!!

2008-06-04T12:22:00.001-07:00

Kyler's birthday was so much fun, until the very end. Kashton didn't want to get in the water with so many kids so we just watched from the side. Now I am glad. A little girl was taken to the hospital after slicing her foot open and two other little girls almost drowned. Sad. I am not looking forward to his daredevil days when I am sure we will get many bumps and bruses!!

Swimming

2008-06-03T13:48:00.001-07:00

Kashton loves to swim, he loves to be outside and he loves to be in water so swimming is the greatest thing int he world. We have been putting him in a floaty but today we put him all the way in the water. He loved it!!

Sex and The City

2008-06-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

I went and saw the Sex and The City movie on Friday night. It was amazing. I was afraid that it would disappoint because I had built it up so much but it was wonderful. You will laugh, you will cry, you will want to hit someone with flowers but in the end you will be happy. It was so good that I almost poughkeepsied myself ;)

Kashton Eating

2008-05-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Kashton does not like to eat big boy food!!