Travel back in time...

We've had a crazy busy summer so far and I have neglected this blog badly, so I've decided I'm gonna devote this week to getting caught up. There's going to be a new post daily! Yep, I'm gonna try to be that awesome...Daily people!

Lets begin back in May...the Easter Bunny brought Kaylee a Butterfly Garden. Its pretty cool, they send you 5 baby caterpillars and you watch them grow for about a week until they go to the top and form the chrysalis. Once they are in their cacoon you transfer them to the netting.




After about 10 days they begin to come out...this was by far the most exciting day!! We even got on video one coming out.


Then once their all out you can take them outside and set them free!


Kaylee so excited that one sat on her hand.


Setting her butterflies free.


Also back in May Kevin took us to one of his favorite fishing spots. We brought all the kids poles so they could fish too. Here's Khloe waiting for a fish to take a bite.


If she wasn't by the water she was beside the truck sneaking the marshmallows you put on your fishing line...


Here's Kooper, Kollin and Kaylee patiently waiting...


It was extremely stressful for me only because I was worried about them being so close to the water or worried that their going to cast their poles into the lake or worried that their going to hook each other...so most the time I don't fish but its all about the kids having fun!

Kevin caught a pretty big one but it freaked out so bad that it got away WITH the lure! Kevin wasn't so happy!




It was an early morning so Kooper eventually ended up laying down taking a nap on the truck.


And Lastly for today I have been DYING to do some sort of home project since we moved in last October and finally I got around to one. I saw the cutest wall panel project on my most favoritest website Thrifty Decor Chick.com and just had to do it, yes I just had to!

Here's the Mud Room before...(taken from my phone so sorry about the quality!)




Half way thru...


And the completed project...(I dont know why the camera is making the wall look yellow cuz its not!)








Check back tomorrow!!!

Holidays Part 2 and New Years!

We've had a fun but busy few weeks since Christmas trying to get back into schedules and activities and I realized today that I never posted the second half of our Holiday...

While we were down in Salt Lake a few weeks before Christmas Kollin and Kaylee went to my Moms work and went Caroling with her Residents. Kollin LOVED this! So much that he wanted to go caroling to all our friends and bring them some treats...sooo with MUCH love I agreed! (I love to sing...by myself! I cannot carry a tune and was nervous as heck to go sing in front of our friends.) We spent two nights caroling and visiting friends and I know I've said this in previous years posts but there are NO words for how much I love Vernal at Christmas time. Main street is decorated, our beloved town dinosaur is dressed up, there are lights on so many buildings and I just love going around the town just soaking it all in! One night we went to the city offices to see the lights with the COOLEST glasses ever! You look in them and all, I mean ALL the individual light bulbs become either Santa Claus's, snowmen or snowflakes...as if lights by themselves weren't beautiful enough!

We were hoping for more snow to fall before Christmas but it all came after...there still was enough to enjoy though. Kevin and Kooper having a snowball fight.


Me and some of the kids with our hip glasses!


Our sweeties...Kaylee and Khloe.


Since we moved here two years ago we've found our favorite spot to take a simple family shot each winter. This was this years...


This was last years...(as I was saying, the snow came earlier last year)


And if only Kevin were home I could get the one of our first year here in Vernal...but I cant get the dang computer to recognize our hard drive storage from our old computer...
Its sweet to see how much the kids have grown in only a year!

And now to the really good stuff...These are my favorite shots taken from Christmas Eve and Morning.
Our Christmas Jammies...


Grammy with the Grandkids at the house in their jammies...


We were so excited to have my Mom and Kyle and Stacey here for Christmas this year! I have never (since that night) heard of the TV show "Minute to win it". Well my Mom put together some of the most recent ones from the show. Man, we had a blast and the kids wanted to do them over and over and over again!

Here's Kollin and Kaylee trying to jump until all the Christmas ornaments come out of a little hole in a tissue box...


Kooper and Khloe tryin it...


Even us adults got into the action. This is my sister Stacey and I playing. (Love ya Stace...I posted this one mainly because it didn't show my crazy face, but I LOVED yours!!)


We also played one where we had to blow these ornaments til they stayed in the taped off square...A LOT harder than it looks!


One of the kids favorite Christmas Eve tradition is opening a present that they chose for each other.


Then we did the traditional "Nativity Story" and read a Up on the Housetop book the get the kids all excited for Santa Claus and got his plate ready.

All the kids placing cookies on a cooking sheet. (Yes these are pre-made cookies but they are the BEST pre-made cookies ever and their our favorite!)


"Rylan, is there something in your mouth?" He was so funny...loved the cookies and they weren't even cooked yet:)


We all went outside and spread some reindeer food (so the reindeer were sure to find our house)...


And got those kiddos to bed!! We got everything laid out...



got a few hours of sleep...

...just in time for the kids to wake us up READY to go see what Santa brought!


Kaylee asked Santa for her own Pink DS this year...I think by her expression Santa delivered!!


My Mom got all the kids snow toys which we needed soooo bad! They were ready to get out there!


And they each got their own snuggie...


Its amazing how quickly the house gets TRASHED on Christmas!


Holy Moly...bring on the trash bags!!


The kids big present was a new trampoline! Our friends that lived here before didn't want to move theirs and offered it to us...um YEA!!! The kids were wayyy excited...now we look at it under a huge pile of snow! But Christmas morning they were excited!! (I didn't want to walk out too deep into the snow so I only got their expressions in the shot...not the trampoline. But you know what they look like:)!)



Since moving here Kevin has picked up a new hobby that our boys are lovin...Hunting!! Kollin and Kooper got their very own BB Gun (that they'll only use when Daddy's around...nope, I'll shoot my eye out for sure!)


And they weren't the only ones getting a gun...


Paul and Cindy came out the day after Christmas and gave Kevin his very own Shotgun!


And I have to brag because It completely caught me off guard but Cindy and Kevin got me a KITCHEN AID!! I've wanted one for sooooo long but knew I'd never have the money. Oh man does this baby dish up some amazing cookies...well cookie dough:)


It was an incredible Christmas. I'm sad but in a way so glad its over. Because Kaylee, Kooper and Khloe got their very own DS or Leapster this is how the kids were A LOT until school started! At one point we had Kollin in the kitchen playing his, Kaylee on the stairs, Khloe on the couch and good ole' Kooper was on the toilet playing his...ALL AT THE SAME TIME!! So fun!!


For New Years we had some great friends come over. We had WAYYY too much food! But sooo good. Chocolate Fondue with pretzels, marshmallows, strawberries and bananas and Mozzarella Fondue with Cheese sticks and French bread and meatballs, and Queso Cheese fondue with quesadillas, chips and taquitos AND BBQ wieners, chips and dip, soda...I'm serious - I'm still workin all that off! We played some more games...






We had a relay that went from trying to get a cookie into your mouth without touching it...


...to scoot around the island on a towel...




...to putting together cereal box puzzles...


...to trying to pick up noodles with one spaghetti noodle!


Here's Kollin trying to do the cookie into the mouth thing...wayyy harder than it seems!


It was such a blast and was so great having friends to share it with!


I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and safe New Year!! But here in the Ashcraft house we've started yet another year...our schedule is already crazy with non-stop activities each day. The kids have soccer starting - this year Kollin, Kaylee and Kooper get to play and Khloe has Itty Bitty Ball starting in a couple weeks and Dance starting in February. Kollin has Piano each week, Kevin has Church Basketball and we're playing on a Co-Ed Volleyball team at the Rec Center which is THE MOST FUN EVER! I'm also playing on a 4 on 4 volleyball team and doing an all day Split Mountain Volleyball team in March...CRAZY FUN!!

But I think the thing we're most excited about is for Valentines Day this year Kevin and I are going on a CRUISE!!! We've never done one but have seriously been dreaming of one! Our friends here invited us to go with them on a Mexican Rivera Cruise for 7 days! YAYYYYY!!! We have some other friends who offered to move into our house for the week and watch our kids...so 28 days and counting!! And the weather here hasnt been warmer than about 10 degrees since Christmas so man on man we are dreaming of the BEACH!!!

Until next time...