Small town life

So a lot has happened in the last couple of months! Washington is growing on me and we've had a lot of fun together as a family. I've gotten involved in a few things and kind of have a tentative schedule every week.

Monday: Stay home and play. Usually go out and pick berries.

Tuesday: Play group with a lady in Darrington who is becoming one of my close friends. Her husband is the JV Basketball coach so Jared and he already know each other.

Wednesday: Play group in Arlington (30 miles away) with some ladies in my ward. It's been fun getting to know them and talk about couponing!

Thursday: Stay home and play again:) Berry picking!

Friday: Library story time. So fun!

Haha, not the most exciting schedule but I really like it! It's not too much but just right because usually every other week I have a meeting for the Parenting Committee I'm on for Darrington. We plan Family Nights for Darrington once a month and we're also putting on the Homecoming Parade and Carnival this month. I have to go to trainings and everything, super busy! I'm also the Relief Society Activities Coordinator for my ward. So basically I'm in charge of every activity I attend :) I really like being involved though in Darrington. Even though all the girls at the high school drool over Jared, they know they don't even come close to matching me up ;)

One more thing, I have become completely obsessed with watching Project Runway! I also love watching America's Next Top Model. For all those who know me, this probably comes as a shock that I'm addicted to a TV show but probably not too shocked with the shows I'm addicted to :) Haha. Jared likes NCIS and I watch those with him sometimes. Totally random, yes, but we've never had any Cable or Satellite since we've been married so it's kind of fun!

Ashlyn and Marley are getting HUGE! Ashlyn is getting really good at speaking sentences and communicating what she wants. She has named her stuffed giraffe "Applesauce" (I don't know if I already blogged that) and takes him just about anywhere. Last night when we were trying to find him, I said, "Ashlyn, where is Applesauce?" and she said, "I don't know!" (As she throws her arms up in the air, then exclaims, "Oh, he pooping." Then just looked at me with her big blue eyes. Haha, it was hilarious. Anytime anyone has to go to the bathroom in the downstairs bathroom, doesn't matter who, she'll go pound on the door and yell, " (Name), pooping? Pooping (name)?" We've thought about starting to potty train her but I am just not ready for that commitment yet :)

Marley is growing like a weed! She weighs about 16.5 pounds and loves any type of food I give her. She loves to smile and has recently started making this Chewbacca sound in her throat when she's just laying there playing, so cute! She can sit up pretty well by herself but I still put the Bobby behind her. She loves to look at things upside down and LOVES it when I dance with her. And she still has to be swaddled to go to sleep! Oh my heckfrey, I don't know how we're going to break her of that because when an arm comes out, she screams and screams until we re-wrap her! Ahhhh! Haha, and I thought breaking Ashlyn of the Binki was going to be hard......

Jared is doing really well with his new job. He's teaching AP Calculus, AP Physics, Algebra I & II, and getting ready to start coaching here in the next couple weeks. He's really excited for the season and so am I. We've started taking walks together every night as a family (including Captain Underpants) and it's been so nice to have that wind-down time as a family. It's so easy to get caught up in all the little things we have to do.

I went on a cruise to Mexico! For a whole week! Without Jared! Or Ashlyn! Or Marley! Haha, it was hard to be away from them for that long, but it was soooooooooooooooo fun! I went with my sister Sammy, my cousin Heidi, and a long-time family friend Mauri. Oh my gosh, I totally recomment doing this ladies, your husbands will worship the ground you walk on when you get home from leaving them with 2 kids for a week:) My mom came up and watched the girls while I was gone and so I got to spend some time with her when I got back. I went zip-lining, hiking, swimming, tanning, and I even learned how to surf! And I read like 2 whole books :) Best time ever. Oh yes, our stateroom, you could stand in the middle and touch both walls with your arms. Haha, so small and bunkbeds! Loved it.

We went over to the Sherrill's house in our ward (Basically Jared's grandparents) and saw their chickens, Ashlyn loved them and Ralph loved carrying Ashlyn. Too cute!

Going to the first Darrington Loggers Home football game of the season! I painted Ashlyn's face and put her hair in pig tails with school ribbons, so cute! Marley is wearing the green and I'm wearing the gold :) Oh, and yes, that is Jared's Letterman's jacket....he was pretty proud....haha.

So Marley doesn't ever watch TV but one day I was just so tired of carrying her around while I was wiping off the kitchen counters so I put her down on the floor while Ashlyn was watching her one hour of TV for the day, which happened to be Elmo this day. Marley watched it for like 5 minutes! I was so happy!

Piggy back on Daddy!

Ashlyn still does this in the high chair, even when she's not pouting. This pouting was because we wouldn't let her have ice cream until she swallowed the bite of potato soup in her mouth:)

Haha, probably one of my favorite faces of Marley!

Partial Post :)

So I'm posting part of my post now and part later, mostly because I'm afraid my little brothers are going to kill me, so "Here's the freaking post, gosh!" Haha, gotta love Napolean Dynamite:) Ashlyn and Marley are growing so big! Marley is about 15 pounds and she's almost 5 months. So crazy! Ashlyn just loves her to death and is getting more and more sassy every day, I don't know what I'm going to do with her:) I guess just love her more and more. Her vocabulary is getting very extensive and we've discovered that Pop-pop (Jared's dad) will give her anything she wants. While we were at Lake Palmer this last week, Ashlyn would go up to him with big-ol' eyes and say, "Pop-pop, more. More cookies please! Pop-pop, more please:)" How can you resist that! So cute! Jared is getting ready to start teaching in a couple weeks and I'm getting ready to go on my cruise! So excited! I'm so excited to see my mom too! She's coming up to help Jared with the girls while I'm gone, can't wait! Love you mom, dad, Coco, Wyatt, and Sammy:)

Swimming at Lake Goodwin

Ashlyn and Gunnar butts, gotta love it:)

Ashlyn loves watermelon! Just like her mommy

Marley loves to be swaddled! I have no idea how we're going to break her of it! She looks like such an angel.

Picnic in the backyard!

"Where's Daddy's head? There it is, peekaboo!"

The best part of living in Jared's parents house..... the master bathroom with the huge jetted tub and ginormous walk-in closet!

Washington

Well the last couple of weeks have been absolutely insane, but good. We successfully moved up to Washington where we are living at Jared's parents' house. They live in Hawaii right now so we've got a big house to ourselves in a week. His sister, Renae, and her family are living here right now too and it's been so much fun. They have a little boy named Gunnar who is 3, and Paloma who is 7 months. Ashlyn and Gunnar fight like cats and dogs, but they love each other so much. Anytime Ashlyn is away from Gunnar, she always says, "Goiyner, Goiyner." It's so cute. Here are some pictures of us all, I know that I need to be better about taking pictures of Marley, poor girl, she's not going to have nearly as many as Ashlyn! I feel so bad!

Ashlyn and Gunnar playing at the park

Outside blowing bubbles

Emptying the toy box

Kangaroo Petting Zoo

Ashlyn was really freaked out when we first got there and would not let me put her down, but she eventually warmed up to them and even fed some of them! This place is about 20 minutes from where we live, which is hilarious to me because this is like, Seattle, Washington. Who would of thought there would be a kangaroo petting zoo! Marley only stayed in the stroller for about 20 minutes before she insisted that I pick her up and carry her in the Ergo the rest of they way, in which she fell asleep within 10 minutes:) They had other animals there, including llama's, donkeys, turtles, chickens, ostrich's, wallaby's, and peacocks. P.S. Did you know that peacocks can fly?!?!?! I had NO idea! It was really crazy to see one fly up 20 feet to a tree branch. Kangaroo petting zoo=lots of fun!

Ashlyn, Gunnar, and Fallon (cousin, 2.5) playing at the park.

Darrington Rodeo

Renae and I took the kids to the Darrington Rodeo/Carnival. It was a lot of fun. Ashlyn and Gunnar both got their arms painted, Ashlyn got a fish and Gunnar got a gecko. They loved all the animals and people riding them. I wish that Jared would have been there though because I totally wanted her to do the sheep ride! She would have screamed the whole time but it would have been worth the video:) Instead, when Jared came later, we made her ride a huge slide, which she was excited about at the bottom, but by the time she got to the top was freaking out.

Flying a kite in the backyard

Gunnar, being a year older, has realized after about a week of being with Ashlyn that he can tease her and make her cry while it's still fun for him. Before, they would both be screaming and crying and screaming "MINE!" at each other, but he's got the system just about down. It's really kind of funny though because Ashlyn is SOOOOOOOO dramatic about the whole thing, even though Gunnar hasn't hardly done anything to her. She is mean to him though, don't worry about this girl. She can put out a punch pretty good. The other day, they were fighting so Ashlyn slapped Gunnar in the face. I went over to her and got down at face level with her while she was crying to tell her to not hit, and she slapped me in the face! It took all my energy to not spank her right there! She got a very long time-out for it though. It didn't hurt me, just startled me. I had to try hard to not laugh too!

Standing behind the couch watching Kung-fu Panda

Finally pics of the babe! Marley is now 3 months old! I can't believe it. She is getting so strong and sweet. She has started voicing her opinion about things too, by squawking and cooing really loud to get my attention. She is so adorable.

Sunday

Quick story about Sunday. Church is about 30 minutes away from where we live. We got all ready and got to church by 8:53 am. I took Ashlyn straight into the bathroom to wipe her runny nose, and she threw up all over herself, me, and the bathroom sink. So I go into the chapel, tell Jared, walk back out to car with Jared, Ashlyn, and Marley, and drive home (Jared stayed and caught a ride home with Renae and Chris). But what to my dismay, on the way home, yep, you guessed it, Ashlyn threw up again! All over the car seat, the floor, and herself. I pulled over to wipe her off a little but she was already striped down to her diaper so there wasn't much I could do. We got home, a painful 30 minutes later, and I threw her in the bath tub while I striped the car seat down. After that, I went to get a screaming Marley out of her car seat (I still have throw up all over me) and Marley has had a blow-out in her carseat! Like, REALLY?!?!? All before 9:30 in the morning. Haha, I couldn't stop laughing because it was really hilarious. After I bathed Marley and got both car seat covers in the wash, we sat down and watched "Finding Nemo" while I took a cat nap, I was tired! We're pretty sure she was just car sick though because she's been fine since. Moral of the story, if you live 30 minutes away from anything, take an extra change of clothes for every member of the family:)

8 hours!!!

Ok, so I don't know how or why my kids are good sleepers, except for the fact that they inherited it from me, but it makes me so HAPPY! Haha, this last week, Marley has slept 8 hours for 3 nights! Granted, it was like every other night, but still! It was totally awesome. Just thought I would share that:)

Marley and Ashlyn are getting super big, Marley has started smiling a lot and it is so cute. She is also healthy and strong. She's as big as most babies that are a month older than her! So we know that she is getting PLENTY to eat:) When we went to the doctor on Thursday for immunizations and well-child checkups, she told us that Ashlyn is in the 87 percentile for height and 47th percentile for weight. In other words, she's really, really tall for her age. She gets it from Jared's dad, who is like 6'4". Marley is in the 45th percentile for both height and weight. I know that I don't have any pictures on this post, but I thought that I would at least write about what happened.

Funny Moments with Ashlyn:

• Ashlyn is running and talking and sassing and all the good stuff:) Some of the words that she has started saying are hilarious! Like the other day, Ashlyn was super tired and was standing at our front screen door crying, and Marley was crying in our bedroom because I was changing her diaper. Of course there are a ton of people walking by and staring at our house thinking that our children are being abused because Ashlyn is trying to scream, "Daddy! Daddy!" but she doesn't pronounce the second "d" in the word, so it comes out as "Die! Die" Haha, I was laughing so hard. It was really really funny. Another thing she has started doing is yelling at our dog, Captain Underpants. When he starts barking, she'll say, "Doggy! Doggy! Woof, woof. Quiet!" all in order like that. We've come to discover that she doesn't really like animals when they're not in a cage. It's rather entertaining to watch sometimes:)
• One time we went out to Walmart and I decided to let her down to run around. She would sometimes yell at me to "Come on! Come on!" Down an aisle that I didn't need to go so I would just tell her to come with me. Well, one particular time, she started yelling that again, and I didn't turn around to look, I just said "Ashlyn, it's time for us to go, come on." But she kept yelling "Mom! Mom! Mom" So I turned around, and of course there are tons of people walking down the big aisle, to find her shorts down around her ankles (because they were huge around the waist) and her hand down the back of her diaper! Haha, I'm sure that was another time when everyone thought, "Wow, that lady really needs to take care of her kid."

Anyways, I will get some pictures on here hopefully later on today but don't be angry if they're not, they'll be up sometime:)