Michael's Mission Call

My brother, Michael, finished up his freshman year at BYU this past week. On Friday, he had his wisdom teeth removed and then stayed with us until Tuesday, when he flew back to Georgia. While he was at the dentist's office, my mom called to let us know that his mission call had arrived. We were all hoping that he would want her to open it immediately, but alas . . . that was not the case. He wanted to open it personally at home in Georgia! So, we all waited for 4 painful days until the opening.

So, last night at 6pm we got a phone call and we all listened in while Michael read his mission call. He is going to the Hungary Budapest mission and reports to the Provo MTC on September 10. Woohoo! Awesome! We're so excited for you Michael!

The Tulip Festival

On Thursday, Lorie, Ashlyn, and I went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point with Tiffany and Kyle. Unfortunately, there were not many tulips blooming, but we still enjoyed ourselves!

Lorie caught a great picture of these yellow tulips.


Ashlyn was just mesmerized by this waterfall.


In the secret garden there is a pool of water that both Ashlyn and Kyle wanted to climb into.


Before we went to the gardens, Ashlyn was playing around in the car.


I love my precious little girl!


Up the hill she goes!




Lorie took all these pictures and I just love them! It is fun to have shots of Ashlyn and me together.

Ashlyn's Easter Dress

I didn't take a picture of Ashlyn on Easter, because as soon as we got home from church, I handed her a chocolate bunny (unwrapped), which she promptly got on her dress. My fault, I know. While my mom was here, she took a few pictures of Ashlyn in this precious dress from Grandma May.

Heather, here is the best picture you are going to get of my short hair.


Ashlyn does this funny thing with her eyes that never fails to make me laugh! She's hilarious. She totally does it to entertain.

A New Post

Ashlyn is really enjoying all the company we've had around. She really likes people. These are some more of the pictures that my mom has taken during her visit.

After Grandma Cheney came back from conference on Sunday, she took off her nylons, and Ashlyn decided to try them on for size. So cute!


What can I say . . . they're adorable.


Grandma Buttle was getting her garden plots ready to go and Ashlyn was quick to help.


My healthy daughter likes to eat tomatoes like apples.


Ashlyn is enjoying a quick foot rub from Lorie. What a life!


Coloring time! Bryon's stomach makes a great table.


Ashlyn loves glasses (so much so, that she has broken 2 pair).


Our handsome boys after the priesthood session of conference.

Let's Do Hair

Grandma Cheney and Juston are in Utah for a week and we are already really enjoying the company! It is nice to have all the pictures that Grandma takes when she is around. Yesterday morning, while I was doing Ashlyn's hair, she took some action shots.

If I want to do anything to Ashlyn's hair, I have to do it quick, because she can only stay still for so long . . .


. . . before she wants to do it herself!


She dips the comb in the water,


and runs it across the hair,


and she's done!

An Ashlyn Update

Ashlyn has grown up so much in the past few months. I've been telling my mom that her hair now fits in pigtails, and this picture is proof:


The Saturday before Easter, Grandma May hid eggs in her yard for the grandkids to find. Brad and I would lead Ashlyn over to the hidden eggs and let her grab them and put them in the basket. After the hunt, she went into the house and dumped her entire basket out. I think it was easier to drag it around when it wasn't full and heavy!




We recently bought a small container of sidewalk chalk and Ashlyn has really enjoyed scribbling with it in the back yard. We've had some pretty warm days and it has been so nice to be able to play outside.




Ashlyn had just woken up and she climbed into Brad's lap for some cuddle time. She loves her daddy!


Ashlyn is also talking more and more. She says "bubbles" and "popcorn" extremely well. She is great at communicating what she wants without words too. What a big girl!

Baby #2 is on His/Her Way!

We wanted to share with you all our happy news . . . we're expecting once again! The EDA is September 23, so that means I am about 14 weeks pregnant. These ultrasound pictures were taken 2 weeks ago.

This pregnancy has been an interesting experience to say the least. Shortly after we found out we were pregnant, I started bleeding, and I was pretty positive that I was miscarrying (this was about the same time I had the car wreck). However, I didn't go to the doctor immediately, and the bleeding stopped and I started to have some strong pregnancy symptoms, and by pregnancy symptoms, I mean 24/7 morning sickness.

At about 11 weeks I started bleeding once again, and once again I thought I was miscarrying. This time, however, I did go to my midwife. She suggested that I have an ultrasound done, and in the ultrasound, it was found that I had a tear in my uterus (can anyone else see that in the pictures?), but that the baby was perfectly healthy. We couldn't have been happier.

So, hopefully the bleeding will not be an issue. What will be an issue, though, is my nausea (if it doesn't stop really soon). To date, I have thrown up 25 times. Was that too much information? I have found that eating is the only thing that makes me feel better, so I'm afraid that I am going to gain an enormous amount of weight this pregnancy.

I'd like to add that my weak stomach is the reason why I have been such a pathetic blogger for the past two months. Hopefully, I'll be better about posting, but I'm not making any promises . . .