Horspool's have chops

The new decade began in style at Horspool Haven. A tree had to come down, and we had to document the ambitious project. For more background, check out Tami's (our sister in law) blog on New Year's day (click on the link).

[As a disclaimer, this isn't my best edit, but in my defense I was using a subpar program (movie maker) and did it in less than two hours ending at 1am. Anyways, it was meant to be funny, so hopefully you get a little laugh. I just wanted to get it done since I'm a month late... ]

Oh yeah, and it took two days to chop the tree down, but unfortunately on the 2nd day we were on the road to Utah.... sorry that you don't get to see the epic ending to the tree!

Snow Daze

This last Friday it snowed. And snowed. And snowed some more. We woke up to fat flakes falling fast. It snowed so much that school was cancelled! Those of you from less-temperate climates may scoff at this, but here in California we are not used to so much white. Especially on the roads. It usually snows once a year here, but rarely does it stick. So, to take advantage of this rarity, we had to build a snow man.

Unfortunately, our kids do not own snow clothes. I dressed them in the warmest clothing they had, and I think they had a great time. It was the first time either of them really played in the snow. Maybe now that we are back on the mainland for good(?) we better invest in some warmer get-ups. Jaxon especially liked eating the stuff.

The finished product. Doesn't he look so happy?

A little too ironic? Yeah I really do think!

Tang Time!

On Saturday, January 2nd, we made the trek back up to Utah...again...for a Tang Reunion. It was a lot of fun! The last Tang reunion was in Edmonton, Alberta in June of 2007. It had been 2.5 years since I had seen Jason's 2 oldest siblings and their families! That's way too long! Andrew, Liew and their boys weren't able to make it though. Hopefully next go round!

We drove in Saturday night and pretty much went straight to bed. On Sunday, Nate and Mandy Knoebel just happened to be visiting from Boston, so we spent the day with them. Ashlyn and her very first friend, Edie got to play all afternoon. It was so great to be able to talk and laugh and have the kids completely entertained by each other!

Sunday night we headed back over to the Leavitt's (our gracious hosts) to meet up with the Tang clan. Ashlyn and her only girl Tang cousin Lilly hit it off right away. They were inseparable, and now Ashlyn asks to see her Tang cousins often. In the days that followed we went bowling, walked BYU campus, visited Temple Square, and saw Avatar (again). The nights were full of catching up and playing games. Wednesday afternoon we all parted ways, but the Utah adventure didn't end there!

We went up to SLC once again to visit Jason's old roomies, Adam and Russell. We toured Mrs. Cavenaugh's chocolate factory, bowled again, and the dudes went sledding. We came back to sunny California on Sunday. It was an action-packed trip, and I am sure glad to be home!

Fall?

On New Year's Eve Eve, my bro Matty raked all the leaves in the front yard and then offered the pile to Ash and Jax. At first they didn't really know what to do, but Ashlyn soon jumped right in. Jaxon, on the other hand, decided he wanted nothing to do with them.

Merry Christmas!

After 3 years of having children, I still haven't gotten used to the fact that every Christmas and Easter the kids get new Sunday clothes. (And they still get new clothes whenever a big sale is on anyways!!!)

However, they always look so adorable. In fact, this "tradition" is so important to Heather that she spent a whole month looking for Ashlyn's ensemble! And you can't see it, but Jax also got new pinstripe pants and new Sunday shoes. Now bring on Santa!!!

November

Instead of giving each event the attention and time it deserves, and never catching up, I decided to just lump it all into one.

Nov. 4: Jaxon turned one. I was a horrible mother and didn't take a single picture of him on his actual birthday...but I did get some of his party!

Nov 6: California adventure with Brooke and Tami...and we left the kids with Grandma! So fun!

Nov. 15: Jaxon's "PuPu" Birthday Party. Lots of food, friends, family, and fun.

Nov 16 - 25: We embark on our first road trip of our kids lives. We drove up to Utah for my old roomie's wedding. It was so good to see so many old friends! But oh how I loathed that drive. I think the kids were pretty tired of the car by the end of it too. And poor Ashlyn was so confused about where "home" is.

Nov. 26: Thanksgiving. We went over to David and Mary Ellen's (My aunt and uncle) house for a fantastic dinner and a night of games and hayrides. And Nancy came too! Nov. 28: We took Nancy down to Huntington just for fun. And on the way home we stopped by The Gingerbread Shop at the Mission Inn for the world's best hot chocolate.

Nov. 30: We spent the day in LA. It was such a beautiful day. We first went to Hollywood so Nancy could see the "Stars", and then we headed over to the temple. The sky could not have been any bluer. After that we went to Santa Monica and took Nancy on her first Ferris wheel ride! When we were done, it was time to take Nancy to the airport. Talk about an action-packed day!

And there you have it. November in a nutshell.

New Bike!!

After months of riding bikes in Wal-Mart, we told Ashlyn that after we moved we would buy her a bike. And, like the good parents we are, we followed through on that promise just days after we arrived in California. She was SO excited. And she looks super cute in her little Dora helmet and elbow pads!

In the morning we took her to the park to practice her skills. She is getting pretty good!

We took a little break to enjoy the swings, since we were there and all...

Even Jason got in the "swing" of it. Get it? Haha! I couldn't resist.