mary kay night

my friend from work, stacie, had referred me for a free facial from mary kay. amy, the demonstrator had tried to set a time with me. i had rescheduled 3 times. i felt horrible, but work stuff came up. we were finally able to get together. i had abby, mom and miranda porter come over and help...i really didn't want to be alone...
amy was really nice. she was so poised and put together (not like us at all). as amy started getting to know us, i know she had to have been dramatized with mom's routine. i just laughed (maybe it isn't a laughing matter) when mom told her that she just washes her face with the shampoo that runs down her face...after all, is there anything wrong with that?
i know why i don't like doing these things...i don't like feeling like i have to purchase something, so i sweetly say that i love what i am using right now (i use aveda face stuff and really LOVE IT)
i am so glad they came to hang out with me while i learned some much needed beauty tips.
-ash

my birthday dinner

for my birthday dinner, i chose kabobs, grandpa's potatoes and strawberry shortcake. the food was delicious. it was a great night to get together. we talked about memories and the funny moments we love. mom took me shopping for some clothes and i got some wonderful cards. lindsey and katie got this really cool giant cupcake cake pan. they all told me to make it the next sunday over and over again. somehow...katie was talking about something else that seemed similar and i boasted...NEXT SUNDAY!!! oops
i had a great time and love hanging out with my family!
-ash

my birthday

mom and dad told me to come over early in the morning for a birthday breakfast. paul had to leave for work early, but everyone else was there. we had mountain man breakfast and fresh fruit. delicious...
it seems that when i get up early and don't get ready...the others who show up look wonderful...don't look to closely at the eyebrow...scary.
paul got home from work and we headed to tucanos (we had a free dinner coupon). since it was friday night, i knew it would be really busy. sure enough, the wait was 1.5 hours. so he took me to brick oven and we got some pizzas (much better in my opinion). i was in heaven. we watched chicken little and snuggled.
katie had helped pick out my pajama's and paul got me a couple movies and a gift card to itunes. i had a wonderful relaxing day...holy cow...i am 28 years old!
-ash

enjoy the weather

today i went into work early, so i would be able to come home earlier and mow the lawn and weed (two things i promised i would never enjoy doing when i was younger and now i LOVE THEM BOTH!). i didn't leave work as early as i had planned (things always come up), but i was able to get home by 5ish. i quickly got into my "mowing attire" and got started. i mowed in 45 minutes...(almost a record i must say) and then i started weeding. i love the feeling i get when i spend time in the yard. it is the greatest feeling to walk across the street and look at the beautiful lawn and almost clean planters (conrad came over and helped me weed, which means not much weeding gets done, but we sure do have a lot of fun). i love this time of year...the smell, the buds on the trees, my little flowers starting to bloom, and the not too hot weather. well, i must enjoy it (i will finish weeding tomorrow) because there is supposed to be another storm this weekend (yikes) and there is a chance of snow!

-ash

utah weather...

you have got to love utah weather. here it is april 16 and we have close to a foot of good, heavy snow on the ground! 

yesterday i went to lunch with my aunt kathy and cousin brittany who came into town to visit. on the way there, it was white out from orem to american fork. i don't think i went over 35 mph the whole way there. i stupidly wore capris to work in protest that no snow would fall (silly me). we woke up today with a lot of snow on the ground. the worst part was that a lot of beautiful trees in the neighborhood couldn't handle the weight and fell (we lost some large branches too)...i am just glad that it didn't frost/freeze so our peach trees will make it (horray for fresh peach pies!). plus, i am pretty sure everyone in utah county will post about this one too, but i had to include pictures from our home...

-ash

                                             this is a view from our front door...

carhartt

while mom and i were in tennessee, charles was on his way out to work on his car. he walked into the room to say goodbye, looking rather dashing. i couldn't help but notice his jacket and imagined paul wearing one too..."he would look mmm good!". while i was admiring it, becky said she knew of a place i could get one for him. we headed the next day. we picked it up and becky said because she was my aunt, she would help buy it for paul (as a little thank you gift for letting me come out). he looks soooo good.... i love my carhartt man! thanks becky...i will always think of you when i look at it. plus, paul is always getting a warm hug from you when he wears it!

-ash

arches national forest

paul and i were able to go down to arches national park with dad, mom, kelsie, abby, katie, ransom, conrad, kevin, kristen, alex, zac, and sydney. i was so excited to see the the red rocks and arches. we started the 1 hour drive to the delicate arch. we parked along the side of the road, ate lunch, packed water and snacks and started the hike. i was surprised to see there was no trail, just a flat wide HUGE set of rocks to walk on. mom constantly questioned the length of the hike (it had to be 10 miles, not 3!). most of the hike was pretty steep with no shade. on our way up i saw a couple people actually running (out of their minds) while i was trying to keep oxygen in my brain by simply walking. i was wearing my orem high shirt and quite a few people asked if i went there followed by orem is the best! i would agree. before i knew it, we turned the corner and there it was. it was a lot bigger than i thought it would be. it was beautiful. we all stood there amazed. there were a lot of people having picnic's, taking photos (i know mom wanted to take a few hundred while we were there too), the runners were panting and relaxing in the sun, and even some playing a guitar. we gathered together, had a snack, and started back down. the walk down was much easier and faster. harder on my knees though. we took a couple drives to see the other arches and red rock formations. it was a great trip with people i love dearly.

-ash

tip from aunt becky

i thought i would pass this little tip along from aunt becky...i will warn in advance that this isn't for those who love crispy edges in baked goods (brownies, lemon bars, etc).
!!!do not try on casseroles, because the best part are the crispy edges!!!
what you need to do is wrap your dish with wet rags and bake with the rags around the dish. if you feel a little insecure about a possible fire, just put a cookie sheet underneath. i saw becky take out brownies and lemon bars with this technique, so i can attest to its truity (i know that isn't a word). the steam helps regulate the sides so they get to the same doneness as the middle. her lemon bars didn't have brown along the edges and they weren't crispy either. becky learned it from uncle scott's mom lillian. i am so excited to be able to eat an entire dish of lemon bars and not just the middle!
-ash

in mom's words

mom is great at documenting life, so i knew the best choice was to have her posts as my own (i did ask for permission...) when we were in tennessee, we went to yoders (the greatest amish market) becky told mom she was on her own. becky asked mom to move the posts over to her blog for her to which mom said of course i will. when i asked her to do mine too, she told me i was on my own...it came full circle... (love you mom) i had the greatest time and i helped mom with the memories so it was like i helped write it, right? well, that is my excuse to not writing my own memories, because mom covered them. so, just to let you know i just took the posts from mom's blog and copied them to mine. thanks again mom!
-ash

heading home

We got a call at 3am this morning. United said our flight was canceled due to snow in Denver. At first I wasn't sure what he was talking about. I am a deep sleeper and I believe he was from India. No need to get up at 5am. We spent the day having another last day. Becky thought we were staying until Sunday and went to the market early in the morning and was cooking up a storm when we woke up, ready to send me on my healthy way... It's a beautiful sunny day and we weeded outside and just hung out together until it was time to go. Scott drove which is good. It is always a struggle to say goodbye to Becky & family and takes a few days to get back into life. I feel so grateful that Ashlee was able to come with me on this trip. Thank you Becky, Scott, Charles & Ethan for taking such good care of us (we missed you Randy!)... you are our home away from home and always in our hearts.

-Brenda

Ethan, Charles, Becky, Brenda Ashlee & Scott

Brenda, Becky & Ashlee weeding the ivy...

tennessee friday

We are slugs again today. Ash didn't shower, look in the mirror or get dressed all day. She went to the market with Ethan and fit right in. It's comfortable here. I tell myself there always has to be a last day... the kind of day that seems like it's wasted because you just wander around not feeling like doing anything other than just being together. You know that saying goodbye is just around the corner and your mind is in both worlds and your heart is sad. Today was cold and windy. Scott came home for lunch and we had homemade soup. Ashlee & Ethan made yummy pretzels in cool shapes and played Nintendo. I believe he kicked her trash. I went for a walk up in the hills to think. Ashlee's goal is to try new things, so her Uncle Scott made her some stewed Rhubarb. She tried it and liked it. I looked at it and couldn't bring myself to try it. It's hard not to notice that Ashlee's chest comes up to Scott's waist. Becky made oven fried chicken and it was sure good! Afterwards we played Phase 10. We are all packed to go home...
-Brenda

1. Ethan & Ashlee making pretzels 2. Pretzels 3. Dinner
4. Pretzel making 5. Becky & Ash dinnertime
6. Ashlee's table runner she made Becky 1. Nintendo 2. My walk 3. Lunchtime
4. Charles and his Radical Academy T-shirt
5. Scott petting his moose, Samson 6. Becky at the table

1. Ethan & Scott Phase 10 2. Scott & Ash trying the stewed Rhubarb
3. Becky 4. Brenda & Charles 5. Ash & Ethan 6. Brenda & Charles

tennessee thursday

Today we went to visit Kris & Steve and see the changes they are making to their new place. Pretty cool as they add their own personal touches to everything.

We came home in time to go to Music Junction in town. It's pretty casual and low key. The local people gather and take turns singing old time country & gospel music. Some just show up to play back up in the band. It would have to be one of my favorite things to do in Tennessee on a Thursday night. It makes me think of my Dad... he would love it. We clap, sway and sing along watching the country folk be with one another. It feels like taking a huge comfortable step back in time. I feel so at home. Becky took mine and Ashlee's picture and I didn't like the way I looked in it. I said 'that isn't me' to which Ashlee said rather crisply, 'It is today'. Oh! And at the end, I won a raffle and made a new friend named Frankie. It was a wonderful way to spend an evening.

Tomorrow is our last day. We are eating one of their butchered chickens to celebrate and spend the day at home. It's always a melancholy day... one of longing for home and missing Becky & family here before I even leave. It's hard. It always takes a few days to settle in back home.
-Brenda

Our visit to Kris & Steve's

Music Junction

tennessee wednesday

We seem to be sleeping in every morning and getting slow starts to our days. Becky is discovering friends on Facebook, much to her delight. I taught her how to talk to Randy, her son away at college, on Facebook with text messaging. It went something like this:
Becky: Hi!
Randy: Who is this?
Becky: It's Becky Little, your Mom
Randy: How did you get on here?
Becky: Well Randy, you accepted me has your friend yesterday

Much to Becky's delight, Scott brought home a lawn mower battery. She was thrilled. We are thrilled we don't have to hear 10xs a day how long the grass is. She gave Ash & I lessons on their zero radius lawnmower. Apparently I scared the heck out of her as I got near her berry bushes, but Ash did great. We went into town to the co-op and to her work to visit. Ethan drove us home. Hard to believe he is driving...

I checked my emails in the afternoon and much to my horror, Josh & Lindsay have been quite busy on this April Fool's Day at Pebbles. They seem to out do themselves every year... I am finding it necessary to step up my game. They posted a couple of splendid entries using my password and some pretty cool fake memories and cut & pasted faces... even my sister Becky said she had to hand it to them... 'they do kinda sound like you Brenda'. Of course, I woke up last April Fools Day with morning phone calls from people wanting to buy my car that was listed on KSL.com for a cheap deal... yes, more handy work from Josh & Lindsay. I hear they are treating us all to Icee's when I get back and cleaning the bathroom at Pebbles when my turn comes around. Sweet!

Tonight was Hallmark movie night and we watched The Ultimate Gift & The Christmas Card, both are excellent for a family library for those who love 'love'.
-Brenda

1. Ethan driving 2. Lakeview Grocery where the locals gather
3. Becky, Renea & Linda at Becky's office for Hawkins County Schools
4. This is chewing tobacco country 5. Katie Coon 6. Tiger

1. The Little home 2. Look how long the grass is? 3. Ashlee sweeping
4. Just one of Scott's old cars 5. Ethan 6. Ethan, Brenda & Ashlee

1 & 2. Becky mowing 3. Brenda mowing 4. Ashlee mowing
5. Steak & Noodle casserole 6. The crusty edges are the BEST part!