Hannah & Brynlee

Merry Christmas to ME! My sister and her family came to spend Christmas in the valley and I got to see the girls a couple of times! I can't believe how big they are! I tried to get Lindsay to show Hannah and Brynlee pictures of me religiously previous to their coming to shed some time off of our re-bonding so we could get right into the chasing and tickling and laughing and singing. It wasn't until we played a good round of peek-a-boo that Hannah warmed up. Brynlee kind of just always smiles, so she made me feel like she was excited to see me. Plus, she didn't projectile vomit on me this time, so we're like best friends now.

Hannah got a karaoke CD player with 2 microphones. And we all know what happens when Stella finds a microphone!

Stella sang her gospel rendition of "ABC's" and Hannah was her back-up singer. In this picture, Hannah is nodding as if to say, "you sing it sista!"

Absolutely love these girls! We had so much fun! Oh, and Keith and Lindsay were there too I guess. :) We're so happy we got to see them!

Brynlee has the BEST belly laugh! You kind of just want to dance around with glee when you hear it.

Yes, Brynlee's eyes are really THAT blue.

Look, even Hannah is mesmerized by them.

Oh Poo!

Welcome to Shamrock Farms!

Our family took a little jaunt down past Maricopa to the Shamrock Farms Dairy with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Beth. Totally worth the drive out there. We love poo! Let's get MOOOOO-ving!

She pretty much has a love of ALL animals. Still not sure where she came from.

I did learn that within a few months of birth, the cows figure out who the bossy one is and she is always the line-leader. All the other cows file in behind her to be milked. They get hooked up, get milked for about 4-7 minutes, and the milkers just fall off until everyone is done. This leaves time for major bathroom breaks, which we also witnessed.

Aunt Bethany and Stella

Some of us got to feed the newborn calfs.

Stella almost lost a hand.

No worries, it's just poo talk.

Who loves Grandma? WE DO!

We should move to the frontier.

We love cows!

And our favorite quote from our last visit to Shamrock Farms that continues to make me giggle, "Dang it stinks! Gosh dang it stinks!"

I Knew They'd Be Friends!

Our friends Steve and Donya moved to New Mexico about 6 years ago. I really hoped they were just going to go to school and then move back, but it doesn't look like the case. However, I knew that once our girls got to know each other that they'd be fast friends! Maggie is just a month younger than Stella and Evie is a year older, but they got along so well and have vowed to be pen pals . . . oh, excuse me . . . pet pals (as Maggie said), because you know that pet pals are better than pen pals.

We had a playdate at Jump & Shout before we headed to what I'm sure could be counted as Mexico. So, so fun!

When we were driving home from having lunch with them, Stella said, "I wish I could drive." Elliot asked, "Where would you drive if you could drive?" And Stella said, "Mexico." (because the girls live in New Mexico)

It doesn't look like it, but Maggie really does love Stella too.

Does This Seem Safe?

Stella helped Elliot take the Christmas lights off the house. I told her that I'd be really, really, really mad at Daddy and never ever forgive him if she fell off. He made sure she stayed safe.

The Princess and the Frog

Am I so old that I can't even stay awake during a movie anymore?! This movie was so cute, but I still managed to take a little nap. Stella was a little nervous about the voo-doo, but snuggled up on my lap for the rest of the movie eating popcorn and candy. She loved the movie!

Do I look like I just woke up?

Merry Christmas - Part 2

We had a little bit of a crazy Christmas this year, but we feel very blessed to have been able to share our day with so many friends and family.

Santa got Stella's letter about the guitar. She wasn't excited at all. :)

I wish I could just record (well, I could, but I don't) Stella when she opens presents. She's the best gift-receiever ever!

Stella made us a calendar with pictures she made out of her handprints for each month. It's so adorable!

Stella got her microphone, but had to wait until Elliot was done with it.

My favorite gift was this necklace that Elliot special ordered. If you look closely, it has a swimmer, biker, and runner and a heart to celebrate my accomplishments in 2009! He loves me a little bit. :)

This is what Stella thinks of sour candy. Isn't that the best face!?

Stella got a suction dart gun from Grandma. At first she said, "That's a boy present!" but then after Dad showed her what to do, she loved it. And then Dad took it away again and now he won't stop shooting us with it. I think Elliot thinks Grandma made a mistake on the name tag.

I made these adorable aprons for the girls in the family. Yes, I sewed. Beth's took about 7 months to make and the others were a little easier. I need to make myself one. They are double-sided and I think they are absolutely adorable! Stella might even get one if I can put my brain back together enough to figure out how to adjust the pattern. (Thanks to Lynnae finding this adorable pattern, starting me out 7 months ago, and finishing me off, and Myra for spending a cutting day with me and encouraging me to finally finish it!) What's different about this project? I finished it. Go me.

My favorite sound in the world is these two sillies laughing . . . and then eventually hiccuping.

I think Santa did a good job this year. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas - Part 1

I love the tradition of our Christmas mornings. For the past 5 years, we've been able to host a breakfast with some friends from our ward who don't have family in the area. It might drive Stella a little crazy to have to wait to open her presents until after NOON, but she bears it tolerably well.

This year was a little nuts though. There was a family that moved into our ward on Christmas morning and had to be picked up at the bus station just 15 minutes before our breakfast started.

This would have been a little bit of a time conflict if Grandpa Dibble and a co-worker of Elliot's (Curtis) wouldn't have been at our house to help cook the pancakes. They were such big helpers so that Elliot could go pick up the family!

Also, Curtis was the photographer, so he's not in any pictures. And he did dishes. And entertained the guests with Stella. One is left to wonder what I did. I made the table cloths and eggs and lukewarm water for hot cocoa.

Stella adopted a crusty-eyed little kitten a few days before Christmas (she named her Sarah). It was meowing so pitifully outside our door and Stella was so broken-hearted that I let her feed it some tuna and milk . . . far away from the house so that she wouldn't get used to us. I also instructed Stella NOT TO TOUCH THE KITTY! She's such a great listener.

This is Curtis's jeep. He collects stuff and glues it to his jeep. He's got a bunch of crap on there. It was quite the spectacle.

We are so grateful that our friends like to come over to share our Christmas with us and I'm glad they weren't too offended when Stella told them all to pipe down so they could listen to her play her new guitar.

Ball Challenge-12/19/09

Whenever we make people play our ball challenge, they always ask where we came up with it. So here's the story along with some of our most recent challengers . . .

Several years ago during the Christmas season, apparently I had the giant exercise ball out in the living room. Not sure why, I'm sure it wasn't for exercise. Elliot was sitting on it and then suddenly I saw him rolling backwards straight into our Christmas tree! The man didn't even try to break his fall and it was hilarious to watch!

So then we started timing how long we could balance on the ball and because the fall was the most hilarious part of the whole thing, we decided that breaking the fall was breaking the rules of the game. The Ashby's were our most fierce and frequent challengers and for the most part, I think people enjoy participating. It has become our tradition when we have guests over on a weekend. It's too raucous for our Monday visitors.

This was actually the first game where I wasn't able to balance very well (I blame it entirely on the fact that the ball needed more air). So I tried to redeem myself by balancing with Stella . . . the girl who is impossibly fidgety.

JR Thulin - big guy, BIG FALL!

It is so funny how balancing can be so hard! Mark Ortega was a determined competitor, but his wife Jacque couldn't participate because she's pregnant. Give her a few months and we'll see how she does!

Shae Thulin was working the wings . . . or it could have been the two-armed sprinkler dance.

Mike Ashby reported no injuries, unlike previous challenges where he ripped off a mole and landed with his head perpendicular to his body. That was awesome.

We can always count on Mari Ashby for a good pose before she goes down.

And Max thoroughly enjoyed the whole spectacle.

So Proud!

Guess who sang a solo during the Christmas program at church and did the best job EVER? I am such a proud wifey and he would have seen that had he not been so supremely nervous.

You did such a great job Elliot! I love you and your voice. It's like butta!

Christmas Stuff

Since Elliot and I celebrated our 10th anniversary this year (our 11th Christmas), I busted out the German Bride and Groom ornaments we got for our wedding. I'm sure they were expensive because they came in a box that had our name engraved in it and some special order information. We think they are so funny! They are displayed quite prominently on our tree.

Once again, I don't send Christmas cards. I thought about it about 3 days before Christmas, but then decided not to. Maybe next year. However, we are SUPER happy that you continue to send us your Christmas cards. WE LOVE THEM! And we keep them up in our home for a long time even after Christmas! So even though our family picture may never grace your mailbox, please keep sending yours to ours!

Merry Christmas!