byu bowl game

dad asked paul if he would be interested in going to the byu las vegas bowl game with him. of course! i was a bit jealous i have to admit. a few days later dad asked me if i was really needed at work. i said that natasha was there if i wasn't going to be there. i asked why and he said he got two extra tickets to the bowl game. i thought i was in heaven! yes, yes, yes i was going to go! kelsie, dad, paul and i drove to st george, met with scott and jill for dinner at texas road house. it was really good. the steaks were so tender and juicy. plus you get a little can of peanuts to hold youover. i love the salad at outback (with the tangy tomato dressing), and love the steaks at texas roadhouse. paul would disagree! he loves the steaks at outback. anywho...we stayed the night at the condo in st george and then headed out early in the morning to the bowl game. on the way there, we stopped at walmart to get some treats and kelsie and i got some window paint. dad could have died.i painted go cougars on the back window. we were honked at a few times by fellow cougar fans. dad was so embarrassed. i would do it again in a heart beat. traffic wasn't badat all. we had a little time to eat at the cheesecake factory. delicious. i remember getting the blt salad, thinking it was a salad. it wasn't. i got a head of lettuce cut in half with the toppings and dressing on top. it wasn't the best. we got to the stadium and i could feel the excitement there. i couldn't believe i was able to go! dad and kelsie sat in the section ahead of us. paul and i were at the top in the nose bleeds. it didn't matter, as long as i had some hot chocolate and my camera i was happy. i will say that behind us there were a couple fans who were quite obnoxious. i mean the kind when they yell it just rings and rings in your ear. awful! during half time, dad called and said that their row was still empty. they were sitting right behind the band. so paul and i gratefully accepted. it was so fun. i was darn cold, but so fun. it was a really tense game. ucla was ahead with a couple minutes to go then byu scored. then of course ucla got really close and went for a field goal. but they missed. byu had won!!! the crowd ran onto the field, i was jumping and screaming, wanting to cry. wonderful game! by the way, during the half time show, they did a patriotic dance with the flag. military members are holding the flag. also,right before the game there was a flyby! whooooooeee. it about knockedme over. the planes were so low and so loud. i love this country...go cougars!!!

-ash

christmas 2007

merry christmas! i was thinking as i was putting the pictures together that i don't look good at all on christmas morning...hmmm...what about the movies, books and my sisters who look really good on christmas morning? not me! maybe this next year... this year, paul and i got up around 7:30, i put the monkey bread (raised the night before) into the oven, and let the smell run throughout the house. katie, ransom and conrad came over for monkey bread and orange juice. it was so good! lots of butter, cinnamon and sugar. i would like it to be a tradition. it is so easy to make, not a lot of dishes and really good. perfect start to enjoy a day filled with family and great food. i love christmas. i love knowing that magical feeling i love so much i can spread to my kids.

traditions we have so far...monkey bread, waking up in our own home, having an orange in our stockings, reading the christmas story from the bible in front of our tree, spending time with family, and snuggling!!!

-ash

disneyland!

paul and i went to disneyland our first year of marriage, then our 3rd year we went for thanksgiving with the rest of the family. this year we went with dad's side (almost the whole side). the larson family came up from arizona, the nelson family from utah, the s&j birrell family from utah, grandma and grandpa and us. the true "gamers" went. we drove down on tuesday, got there wednesday, went to disneyland wednesday, thursday, and friday. hit the beach on saturday and headed home. it was so nice to be with my aunts, uncles and cousins. we tried to stay at the park all day and night. we succeeded until friday night. we were all beat. i think december is the best time to go (usually the first week or two). i love family time. i love watching people interact and truly enjoy themselves. i have been blessed with a really good family. we all get along, we are patient for grandpa and mom's picture taking, and we chit chat in lines. i think there were 25ish of us there. everyone had a partner for rides. i love splash mountain. uncle scott, each time he goes down, does a different pose for the camera. we all wanted to try. later in the evening, the lines aren't long and you can usually stay on the ride. we must have gone on splash at least a dozen times each doing new moves. paul kissed his "guns", i picked my nose, angie screamed (and then on one of the rides down, made fun of paul and kissed her "guns" too). my favorite pose so far was when scott seemed to dive into the camera. really funny. the lights and decorations around christmas time at the park are the best. it is my favorite time to go. each night it snows soap suds on main street and plays white christmas. it is such a magical place. we love going with scott and jill because they know all the best places to go. this time we discovered the mission tortilla factory, a "how to draw" class where we learned how to draw a disney character and my favorite...(not sure what it is called) the singing and acting room. a group of us went into little caves, and we had the opportunity to watch a clip. we then spoke or said the lines and they were dubbed in. i laughed so hard i cried. i can't wait to try it again. the only problem is disneyland is very expensive. paul and i shared meals almost the whole time (that helped) and brought granola bars and fruit to snack on. the funniest thing is that the nemo ride was fairly new. dennis had a game plan...we had early bird tickets and we were going to let all the early birds go to the nemo ride and waste two hours until the park opened. we went on so many rides because everyone was at nemo. we thought...lets go to nemo fifteen minutes before the park opens to get a good spot in line. it didn't work. we got there and the line was still almost 2 hours long. i figure i will go on nemo in 10 years when the hype has died down. i can't wait until next december when we go again! i love disneyland!!! by the way, katie and ransom couldn't go because katie gave birth to conrad 3 weeks before...it was hard to leave her at home, but we knew she would be fine. i almost forgot the best part. as we were driving to our hotel when we first got to california, we drove by a cheesecake factory!!! cheesecake factory!!! we were all so excited. when we got to the hotel room, i called and asked what the wait was. we rushed over there. it was actually opening night for them. i knew the week was going to be a good one!

-ash

gardner village

i had never been to gardner village, and i had heard so much about it. plus, the signs by the freeway make it look so enticing. paul surprised me and took me there. i loved spending time with paul, in the snow, with the feeling of christmas all around us. gardner village was so cute. there were little elves all over the benches, walkways and stores. we also went to archibalds and had some fried green tomatoes (which are really good). we both got lunch there and realized we shouldn't have waisted our time with lunch. we should have gotten dessert! we saw a friend of mine there (amy) and talked with her a bit. we were there right after a snow storm, so as you walked down the walkways, snow would fall. i loved it. my favorite find was the fabric/quilting store...i wish i wanted to quilt! i can't wait to come back!

-ash