Honolulu Zoo

Before Jason left us for a week to go cover the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, he was able to take a few days off to spend with Ashlyn and me. We had all sorts of plans for this long weekend, none of which actually happened. Finally, on the day before he had to head back to work, he said "Let's go to the zoo." And so we did!

This picture is the Hippos' Lair

For those of you who have been to the San Diego, Los Angeles, even the Calgary Zoos, they are nothing compared to the Honolulu Zoo. Ok, so that's a lie. This zoo is tiny. Good thing it only cost $4 to get in. And we were ready to go after about 2 hours. But is was fun, and Ashlyn learned how to growl, which she now does every time she sees any kind of animal...whether a lion or a mouse...she will growl.

Flamingos!

If you look closer, you can see the zebras and giraffes in the distance.

Cutie Pies!

In true Ashlyn fashion...not riding in her stroller

There was this crawl-through aquarium that was kind of neat, even though it only had Koi in it.

She loved it!

A little elephant statue on our way out of the park.

After the zoo we decided to walk down to Waikiki Beach since it was across the street. We didn't get any pictures of it, but this dude had a remote control surfer. It looked so fun. If i saw it on video, I probably would have thought it was the real deal. The best was when a wave would wipe it out and it would pop right back up. What a fun toy!

These last 2 pictures were taken while hanging out at the end of the pier. All in all, it was not a bad way to end the day.

Merry Christmas!

Family Pictures 2007

We finally got some family pictures taken, and what better place to have pictures taken than Hawaii! Our friends Matt and Melissa McIntosh who live up on the North Shore took them for us. Here's a handful of our favorites, you can see all 50+ pictures by clicking here.

Heather and Jason lookin' like they got engaged again.

Family walk time, too bad Jason's backside is flatter than a surfboard.
Jason's favorite picture, his sweet girls.

Heather's favorite picture, and yes, Jason did catch her.

We love you all!

Ms. New Bootie

So I realized I teased a new posting, but never came through with it so without further ado, I present to you Ms. New Bootie. A little background for you first. One morning Ashlyn was watching the Mickey Mouse club or something, and then all of a sudden she dropped down and shook her bootie. Well it was pretty funny, but the music from the Disney channel just didn't capture the moment of it, so I spiced it up a little!

The story gets better too. After laying down the audio underneath the video, I asked Heather if she was embarrassed by what Ashlyn might look like in the video. And like the wonderful wife and mother she is, Heather proclaimed, "I couldn't be more proud." What a touching end to the story! Here's another clip of Ashlyn's dancing. I couldn't edit this one, so unfortunately the music in the background is Hillary Duff. I'm not sure where Heather got it from, but Ashlyn's cute! (excuse the mess of the place...)

We're not Kama'aina yet so...

We might as well go to World Famous Waikiki Beach! Most locals decide to stay completely away from it since it's pretty much tourist haven, but since we've only been here a month, and have pasty white/yellow skin we probably wouldn't fit in too well at the "local" spots anyways. (By the way, this is Jason posting. I came out of blogger retirement...) As usual, Ashlyn stole the show with her cuteness. Multiple granny's from all over the world just couldn't resist her charm, one even said she'd be the president of the U.S. someday because of her way with people. Sure thing woman. The other funny thing is that if I'm not right next to Heather, most of them will ask if Ashlyn was adopted! And then some other people wanted to take her picture! For what?! I dunno. So Ashlyn pretty much loves the water and has no fear in it. One time she even got semi swallowed up by a bigger wave, but didn't cry at all when her face went into the saltly, warm, clear goodness. A true daughter of Heather. Oh, so here's an observation by yours truly reagrding this whole Hawai'i thing. Having grown up in Canada, it's not supposed to be in the upper 80's in November, and water is supposed to be frozen, not in the 70's!!! Christmas will probably be just as strange since we're planning to hit the beach on Christmas day, something you can't even do in Sunny California where Heather is from. (well, you can, but the water will sure be frigid...) Back to the beach. We didn't spend all our time in the water, I mean, Heather and I did have some rays to try and catch. By unanimous decision we kept full body shots out so you wouldn't have to see our farmer tans though, count your blessings! We should all know by now that Ashlyn loves the water, but she's also very fascinated with animals. Unfortunately at the beaches, there's only one kind of "animal" running around: "Flying Rats" (you may know them as pigeons). As you can see, I chased them around with her, but we never got close to any using that method. We got pretty close to chasing the nasties into other people's spread though... whoops, sorry folks. However, when Ashlyn had a cracker in her hand, well you can see how close she got to them. It was a fun day, but like all you parents know, babies just don't last too long and Ashlyn got pretty tired. However, that's Heather's favorite time, because the little baby gets really snuggly. After some snuggles though, the funniest part of the day was when we tried to change her swim diaper. I guess Ashlyn thought Waikiki was a nudey beach, 'cause once she got out of that diaper she was off. Good thing we didn't let her run around buck naked too long! And who can forget about my beautiful and super tough bride. Check her out pushing the stroller on sand, and it wasn't just for a short distance either. She claims it's good sculpting for her bootie. And speaking of booties, I need to show you a video clip of Ashlyn bouncing hers. It's pretty funny, and it's during a Mickey Mouse show! But that's for another time though.

Here's some video clips from the beach excursion:

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There is a new album on our shutterfly account if you wish to see our farmer tans....

Happy Hulaween!

My sister-in-law Tami made Ashlyn this onesie. You can get your own custom made Aloha-themed baby items by contacting her through her blog: http://brookeandtami.blogspot.com/. She is so crafty! Thanks Tami!



Even though it was Ashlyn's 2nd Halloween, it seemed more like the first being that she was only a month old last year. This one was definitely more fun. On Saturday, October 27, we went to our ward party. Ashlyn went as a Leopard. Her costume is size 6-12 months, and it is still too big. Poor kid.

At the party she got a few pieces of candy and was done. She just wanted to play with her pumpkin tote the rest of the night.

I think she held on to this crunch bar the whole time...until she got an almond joy. She must like the color blue.

After we got home, her fascination with the bucket continued. Thank you, Wal-Mart.


She found a Tootsie Roll! What a lucky girl.



On the actual day of Halloween, I put her hair in pig-tails. She didn't even cry while I did it, which is a small miracle. She just sat and giggled at some cartoons. Yay cable!

However, she took them out about 7 seconds later, and I think she was pretty proud of herself. Look at her - pure joy. The little stinker.

This was right before we headed out to go trick-or-treating.

Jason was SO excited to go, even if it was raining. We went to about 5 houses, and called it a night. She even got some cookies that she was actually allowed to eat. Don't worry about the rest of the treats though, her parents took care of those...

The Pumpkin Patch

I know it is still out-dated, but I am trying to catch up. While still in Yucaipa, Ashlyn and I went to the pumpkin patch with Tami, Amber, my mom, and the kiddos. It was the first time I had ever been to a pumpkin patch. Too bad that was the last year they are having it there...the farm is being sold to build a target!

From back to front: Staci, Kira, the top of Spencer's head, Brinley, Ashlyn, Ryan, Caitlyn, Andrew. Ryan looks like he is doing the chicken dance.

3-Generation shot

Andrew enjoying the view from Grandma's shoulder

Caitlyn and Ashlyn feeding the goats

Guess how much that pumpkin in the bottom right corner costs....80 dollars! Who would pay that much for a vegetable? It took a good picture at least.

Little Andrew amongst the pricey pumpkins. What a cutie!

Heather Makes a Post!

That's right. Since Jason has been super busy, I decided to try my hand at this whole blogging thing. Wish me luck!

I figure I should start with Ashlyn's birthday, even though it was over a month ago. We were in the middle of our move on the actual day, September 27, so Brittany Linton was nice enough to give our sweetie-pie a little party.

Ashlyn thoroughly enjoyed her cake. She especially liked getting it everywhere except her mouth. Unfortunately we had already packed her high chair, so I was the one lucky enough to get to hold her on my lap for the festivities. Yuck!

The best part was when she opened her present. She didn't quite know what to do, but once she figured it out she loved it! Thanks Brittany!

After we left Grand Junction, we drove as far as St. George where we met up with some old friends. Ben is Jason's old roomie from Liberty Square, and Jena is his wife. They were nice enough to let is stay with them and even take us to Texas Roadhouse!

Ashlyn loved my mashed potatoes and gravy. Don't worry, she helped herself to as much as she liked. What a mess!

Once we were safely in Yucaipa, we had another birthday party for Ashlyn with more family and friends. Ashlyn had a great time playing with all the kids, and opening more presents. What a lucky girl!

My mom planned the party to be Hawaiian themed, so I thought only a Hula Girl cake would do, and I made this myself!

Ashlyn sharing her cake with her daddy

Brinley just chillin by the fire pit

Kira wearing Staci's clothes...as usual

Ashlyn with "Grandma Penny"


Cousins waiting to give Ashlyn her presents: Victoria, Caitlyn, Brinley, Sarah, and Kate.


Ashlyn is all set for the beach with her sweet sunglasses

All in all it was a fun birthday. Too bad she probably won't remember any of it. I guess that's why we take pictures! Speaking of pictures, we have a new link on the side bar to get to new photo albums since imagestation is going down soon! :(

Phew! I have officially completed my first post ever. I may even do it again sometime. No promises though...