my latest creation

these dresses took way longer to make than i'd planned...but i was pretty pleased with how they turned out. i was up until 2:30 last saturday night making them. i just really wanted them to be ready for church the next day! so, although it meant us being late, and me being ornery all day...the dresses were a hit :)

worst blogger in the world

i think i'm giving up. i've tried to be good at this, but i'm no Emily R., or Tiffany Z. i am not cut out for this! Can i still blog even if i only post once a month??? or should i just throw in the towel all together?!? i'm just not clever enough, like Todd, and Carie, and Johnny, and we don't have enough going on in our lives, like Mindy, and Cassie, to keep the posts coming like some of you. What i need to do it get Reid in on it, too (rachelle, how did you get brad to post that great post?!?)

Anyway, i'm not giving up. . . yet. but please don't bother checking my blog more than once a week. I feel guilty when i get emails from Anne saying that she's waiting for something new...keep those expectations low, and we'll all be pleasantly surprised :)

calling all cambridge-ites

i might get in a lot of trouble for just announcing it this way (usually we leave it to Lisa to invite the whole world) ...but here i go anyway :) we're having a little Utah gathing for all those from our time in Cambridge. Candace is hosting it at her Lifestyles home and it's going to be a blast!!! So, if you are going to be in UT and you'd like to get together with old friends from Cambridge, email me for details!!

Famous, at last!

My brother, Kevin, got this gig a few months ago, i don't know why it's taken me this long to post it!!! any of you who know him, know that this is the most PERFECT role for him! I actually don't even know if he's acting, or just being himself. either way, he's great and i love him!

be sure to click around. click on water, and click on milk twice.

http://www.subwayfreshbuzz.com/freshfit/

My sweet Grace

I just have to say that i love this little lady so much!!! I've complained so much the past few days about being cooped up in this house, getting sick, missing out on Halloween parties, etc. And i just looked at this picture i took today and thought, "i am the luckiest person in the WORLD to be cooped up with my sweet little Grace." Granted she is napping right now, and all moms know it's easiest to love your kids when they're napping....but i REALLY do feel SO lucky to have Grace as my best little friend. besides her dad, there's no one else i'd rather be cooped up with!!

Thanks for putting up with me, Grace Elizabeth!!!

Are you a dentist?

Every person we met on Halloween night asked Reid this same question....i guess i can see why! I wanted to have some theme this year, and after careful consideration we went with teeth. Reid was a good sport and wore this toothbrush all evening. Grace was happy to be the "toof fairy" and Abby made the cutest tooth ever!!! Grace and Abby were still too sick to be out long, but we at least got to show off our costumes to a few people.

What i want to know is what can we dress up as next year that will get everyone to ask "are you a lawyer?" All ideas are welcome :)







The night before Halloween we all watched the Wiz a Wiz of Oz (grace's absolute FAVORITE movie) and carved pumpkins. I must admit that i'm quite proud of my little Spider Pumpkin!!

Sick of being sick

it started with the stomach flu 2 weeks ago. Grace got it first, then abby, then me (all of this while reid was out of town) and then reid, after he got back. We were healthy for about a day, and now we've got the croup. When does it stop? how did my children get such bad immune systerms? i didn't keep them in a bubble as newborns--i had more of the "expose your kids to all things so they build an immune system" mind set. Did i go wrong with this??? reid and i have never been germ-o-phobes....but i'm starting to think we should be!!! it just seems like such a miserable way to live! i see moms who are germ freaks and think it seems worse worrying about it all the time than actually having sick kids....and then my kids get sick and i have to wonder!!!

needless to say, we have no fun pictures (didn't think to take a picture of the girls cribs when they were covered in that night's dinner) and no fun stories. Just thought i'd post since it's been a while...

by the way, any advice or opinions about this are very welcome!! I'm SICK of being SICK!!!

Pee before scrolling down...

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

I found this creature in our house about a year ago. Our good friends, the Alexanders were staying with us at the time, and they used their fancy camera to capture the 61--yes, we counted, 61-- babies on her back!!!! Now, if this isn't what blogs are for....

Who's Who in the Bath Tub

I was just looking through some of our pics, thinking that it's a good thing these are digitally dated, or i'd never ever know which of my gals is which! Can you guess?
























































...and a few more fun bath time photos. these two honestly love bath time!

Our weekend get-a-way to Rocky Mtn Natl Park/Estes Park

After enough begging I convinced Reid to take us all up to Estes Park for the weekend. It was a BLAST!! it's this cute little resort town just on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park. We honestly had so much fun! Usually "family vacation" means go to Star Valley or Provo and stay with family, so this was a perfect little get-a-way for us.

The Rocky Mountains were AMAZING! and the colors of the Aspen trees were honestly like nothing i've ever seen before! i thought after leaving Boston that i'd never enjoy another fall again, but we caught these trees on their PEAK day, and it was honestly almost as gorgeous as fall in the east....almost!

Grace and Abby were awesome travelers, especially considering the lack of sleep that was going on! the hotel was GHETTO! the mating Elk were, well, mating. The homemade toffee and truffles were delish. But, as cheesy as it's going to sound, the absolute best part of the whole weekend was being with Reid. We honestly had so much fun just being together. thanks, hon!

My tumbling weed

Grace's 8-week tumbling class just came to an end. Sigh...

She had so much fun walking on the balance beam...

Swinging on the bar...

Jumping on the trampoline...


And learning how to hold a bowling ball and point her toes simultaneously.



But her favorite thing was the stamp that she got on her hand at the end of each class. Isn't that cute? I spend $45 so that my child could get a stamp on her hand. It's like when we plan a fun trip to the zoo, or museum, and all she's interested in is eating her sandwich and goldfish crackers. Or when i cook a yummy soup on a winter day and all she wants to eat is snow. Or when i change her diaper in the morning, just to have to change it again in the afternoon...wait, now i'm just complaining about motherhood in general :)

It really was a fun activity, though. It got us out of the house every tuesday, and it gave her something to tell Dad about when he got home. It also gave Abby the chance to climb up the legs of some strange lady in the background whilst I posed for this picture...

I don't think we'll do another tumbling class for a while. Given her name, maybe Grace should take up ballet?

Best Friends

These two girls of mine couldn't be cuter (except for when they're fighting, or crying, or whining, or not sleeping...). The other day i was carrying them both, one on each hip, and Grace tickled Abby, then tickled me, and said, cuddling up to us both, "we're best friends." She really is (given the perfect amount of sleep, food and attention) the sweetest thing in the world!! :)



Abby's eating table food now, and Grace LOVES it! She loves breaking her food into small pieces and sharing it with her little sister. They're both in highchairs now, which provides me with about 5-7 minutes of no-children-hanging-on-my-ankles time. Needless to say, i look forward to meal time more than either of them do!

Grace is sprouting!

Grace has always been a good, healthy eater, as are many other children. But how many 2 year olds do you know who beg their mom for sprouts?!?! The hippie in me couldn't be happier! :) (tiff--this post's for you!!)

Our trip to WY and UT

We spent the last week of July and the first week of August at family reunions in Star Valley and Provo. It was exhausting, but well worth it to spend time with some of our favorite people!!

At the Darrington Family Reunion (reid's mom's family) we ate smores with Nutella (highly recommended), sang some sacreligious campfire songs, and slept in a bat-infested cabin!! (sorry it's not zoomed in more!)






We spent the next week in Thayne with just Reid's immediate family...which was great! Grandpa took the girls (Grace and cousin Ella) out to feed the horses, jump on the trampoline, swim in the pool, or go get ice cream cones at the Maverick.


Abby was just happy to sit in the front room for hours on end, playing with all of Grandma's toys, and grabbing her cousins eyeballs.


But the highlight for me, by far, was the Demolition Derby. I have to admit, i was quite skeptical. But it was honestly more fun than i could have imagined! I'm a little embarrassed of my behavior that night....but i wasn't exactly surrounded by high class snobs, or even sober snobs...so i'm pretty sure nothing i did was noticed, or remembered. This picture just doesn't do it any justice, but here it is.


Reid's 10 year high school reunion was that weekend. Reid was the Senior Class President, and is so proud of himself for delegating every last responsibility associated with reunions to his fellow class mates. He did nothing but show up, eat, and toast the couple who did all the work. Atta boy, reid! (sorry, no pics!)

We spent the next week in Provo with my family. Jared and Kristie were in town for a Rush concert, which coincided with my sister Julia's move from Manhattan to Provo. She's just starting a new job working at BYU, teaching Theater.

Grace had a blast at Thanksgiving Point with all her Ashworth cousins.



And Grandma was able to get Grace to hold still just long enough to read 2-3 books every day.



And Abby, just like her big sister, Grace, learned to crawl at Grandma and Grandpa Ashworth's house!! Must be their carpet!!!! Both of the girls had a great time with all their aunts, uncles and cousins!

With the five youngest of my siblings all there, the house was busy, full, and louder than ever!

Before, during and after: our first landscaping project

8 Weekends, 26 naps, and 32 evenings later, we finally finished our summer project!!! When you put that much time and energy into something, you really need people to appreciate it (hint, hint). (It's hard to see lots of the plants, cause they're still so small.)

An eve in Las Vegas

It was the quickest trip ever, less that 24 hours total, but it was a blast!!! My best friend Brandalee was the lead in the musical "Ragtime" at the beautiful Red Rocks amphitheater in Las Vegas. Watching her show....amazing. Spending time with an old friend...incredible. Being away from Grace and Abby....priceless!!!

(Click here to see a clip from her show-she's amazing! http://youtube.com/watch?v=wMPV7eGN49k )