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...

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                                             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