September 2015 Round Up

What We Did:

04. Erin’s Birthday Dinner 06. Football Draft and Game Night at the Bahlman's  12. Grand Opening of Bass Pro Shops (Yes, this is a celebration in our house!) 19. The Circus!  20. Pumpkin Patch with the Intiso’s and Jonathan fishing on the Delta 26. David’s first fishing trip with Daddy and Uncle Mark and Mommy Scrapbook day  27. Family dinner at the Winslow’s

Watched:

Straight Outta Compton in Theaters. Good movies. Brought back a lot of our childhood hearing the music again and seeing the culture of Southern California when we were growing up.

Read:

The Other Harlow Girl, The Bolingbroke Chit, and the Fellingham Minx by Lynn Messina – Three books by the same author I was reading last month. I like series that follow other characters but still involve the original charters you grew to like in the other books, which these books did. But I was definitely over the same old storyline with different characters routine. I still appreciate, especially of the first two, that the female characters, although troubled and essentially aided by men to help them, are not damsels in distress and seem to hold their own. Very Jane Austen’esque.

The Stories:

I surprised David with the trip to the Pumpkin Patch this month. I didn’t even know we were going until after he went to bed the night before and I got the invite call. So on the way up, I told him we were going to the Pumpkin Patch and he said “Oh, I want to ride the train and go under the stone Ahhhh!” How on earth this little 3 year old remembers that was his favorite part of the pumpkin patch a YEAR AGO is well beyond me!  He continued to astound me before we got there, “I don’t want to take a picture on the pumpkins, I will be scared.” Sure enough, it dawned on me that we sat him on a pile of pumpkins on top of a wagon that he was scared to be on. And once we go there and headed toward the pig races, he said “Oh you get me candy and we sit down and watch piggies.” Why yes, son, last year we gave you cotton candy while we watched the pig race.  I can’t believe how sharp he is, and I am scared of how sharp he will continue to remind us that he is as we get older!

Out of the mouths of babes:

D: Uncle Looooouuuu, you have no hair?

Lou: No, buddy. I don’t. See (Taking off his hat)

D: Oh, I like hair. Mommy has hair. I have hair. Daddy has a little hair.

(We all start laughing)

Lou: Truer words were never spoken, kid!

August 2015 Roundup

What We Did:

01. Pool Party at Mae-Mae and Papa’s for the Bond’s visit  03. My first day back in school to finish my Bachelor’s  08. Checked out a pre-school in Rocklin that was having a family day and then off to wine tasting for Jonathan and I  22. Bicycle Shopping then off to Mae-Mae and Papa’s again for some swimming. This time David actually swam back and forth between us!  23. Yolo County Fair  30. Roller Derby!

Watched:

Ray Donovan on Cable. We initially watched a few episodes of the first season but lost track with all the other great shows on at the time. This summer we have caught back up and love it!

Read:

The Harlow Hoyden by Lynn Messina – First of all, love the name!  Second of all, I love classic fiction. Jane Austen is my favorite author and I have read all of her books several times over. I have always been disappointed that she did not write more. So Messina uses that genre and writes romances of that time period with a little bit more of a modern day spin. Like female characters who are fearless and smart. I*t was a cute book and a quick read. I think I will read more of her work when I am the mood for some Victorian romance! 

Listened To:

I bought a new album this month after hearing one of the songs on the radio and have really loved it. It’s a self-titled album by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nightsweats. A little bluesy. A little southern.  But a lot of fun!

The Stories:

At the grocery store, I picked up chocolate waffles and handed the box to David. D with a giant smile says: “Chocolate!!!!” then he puts the box to his cheek and hugs it and continues “I love you, chocolate.”

·        Driving to daycare in the morning, slowing down for a yellow light, I hear from the backseat: “Mommy, it’s orange, you supposed to go real fast!”

·        At the dollar store getting David a butterfly net, the clerk says: “Oh cool, a net. What are you going to catch with it?” David looks him straight in the eye and tells him “Elephants!”

·        Jonathan was chasing D around the house trying to get his balloon. When I joined in, David said “No Mommy, you’re the good one!” I will probably never live that one down!

·        Conversation at the dinner table:

D: If I rock in the chair, I fall down, I get a big owie and I cry and I have to go to ossipillo.

J: The hospital?

D. Yeah, hospillow… osspillow….hos…The doctor.

Favorite Photos:

July 2015 Roundup

What We Did:

01.   Girls night out with Diana and Jenn  03. Tiny Tumblers Open Play Day  04. Independence Day Party at our house  05. Birthday dinner at Mikuni’s  11. California State Fair  17. Mommy Haircut  18. BBQ and pool party at the Germeson’s  28. David’s first train ride!

Read:

Homeland by John Jakes – I have read a lot of John Jakes books, including the whole North and South series and The Kent Family Chronicles (7 books) twice!  I like series books that follow different generations of the same family and this book followed those lines. I did find that this book was sooooooooooo long it could have easily been two or three books. A little too long for me. I was definitely ready for it to be over, but I didn’t give up and got to the end. I like John Jakes, but if the length of this one is any indication of what will be found in the rest of the series, I think my patience will force me to pass!

The Stories:

• David has been obsessed with “Rock this Town” by Stray Cats. This month he started asking for the another song – the “uh uh uh” one. We knew what he was talking about but had no idea how to google the uh uh uh song to find out the name or who sings it. Apparently, if you put the full amount of uh uh uh’s that the song has in it’s chorus (8 each line!), there are thousands of others who have asked the same question – what is that uh uh uh song!  Apparently, it is called the Breakup Song by the Greg Kihn Band, but to us, it will probably always be the uh uh uh song.

• My mom sent Jonathan and I a gift card for our birthdays for dinner at Mikuni’s so we went there for my birthday dinner. Of course, I forgot the gift card, but no matter, now we had it for another day. Not only that, but I got to spin the wheel for my birthday and won another $100 gift card!

• David wanted to ride every ride at the state fair this year, but unfortunately, he wasn’t tall enough for most of them. He was very excited to ride the Ferris wheel and could not stop talking about it all the way there, so we crossed our fingers and hoped he was tall enough. Thankfully, they had a smaller size wheel that he was tall enough for. He started to get impatient with all of the offloading, but afterward, he was very excited to tell everyone how he “rode the wheel”

• Overheard this:

J: Bubba, what are these? Are they Lego’s
D: No, Diego’s!

Project Life - December 2014

Using the Merry & Bright kit

I used this kit for my layout for December of last year. I am really hoping PL comes out with some additional Christmas themed kits this year!

December is my absolute favorite time of year. I have used the advent calendar to make sure we have lots of family time and family activities. I can tell it's becoming Jonathan's and David's favorite time of year also because of all the stuff I plan for us to do. It doesn't hurt that it's also David's birthday, Santa's visit and Christmas all thrown in there too!

The photo in the middle on the left is David on his third birthday, holding a photo of himself on his second birthday, where he was holding a photo of himself on his first birthday. I hope to continue this for as long as he possibly lets me!

I LOVE this photo of David on the bottom left. This is the moment he saw Santa come through the door at auntie's house. The pure joy on his face is so priceless!

Some detail

Project Life - November 2014

Using the Dear Lizzy Polka Dot Party Mini Kit

My step-cousin Eli and her husband had their little boy in October and I had the pleasure of shooting some of his newborn photos. We also went to the park and got to take some photos of David in a derby cap and vest and tie, something I have wanted to do since he was born!  Thanksgiving was full of continued traditions with dinner at Mae Mae and Papa's house and a trip down their street to feed the horses. We also had a visit from Angel and Rebekah for the weekend and got to have an adult's night out!

Project Life - October 2014

Using the Aqua Edition 

October kicks off my favorite part of the year. We have annual trips to the pumpkin patch and Apple Hill, Halloween, and the anticipation of the coming holiday season! David is also growing up right before our eyes. We bought him some bedroom furniture this month and officially transitioned him from his crib to a real big boy bed!

Project Life - September 2014

Using the Jade Edition.

As I posting these, I am realizing how horrible I am at noting what products I use so that I can give proper credit to the manufacturers. I am making a mental note to be better about that this year!

I started a photography class with Karen Russell this month that I am really glad I took. It challenged me to think outside the box and get a little more creative than I normally would. I ended up really liking the result!

Project Life - August 2014

Using the Everyday Adventure Kit. I was happy to see PL team up with Stampin' Up, especially when they offered everything digitally!

I don't typically highlight pop-culture or other events outside of our household. I think I need to do that more often. Jonathan and I grew up watching Robin Williams and enjoying lot of laughs at his comedy, so we were both saddened to hear of his death this month. It was one that I felt worthy of noting and makes me think I need to include more of what is going on the world around us in my album more often.

Some Details

Project Life - July 2014

Using the Americana Kit this month, Simple Stories and American Crafts letter stickers.

The highlights of the month were getting to see David enjoy fireworks for the first time (he had never been able to sty up late enough before this year) and going to the state fair.

Some Detail

Project Life - June 2014

June had lots of adventures with a trip to So Cal for Cherie's wedding, visiting with friends and family, and David's first boat ride!

For this month, I used the Project Life Seafoam Edition and lots of Simple Stories Alphas.

Some detail

I struggled (and still do) with whether I should include the hidden journaling and photos I have behind the blue card. There was a very personal experience we went through in June that I don't want everyone know, but I do want my son to know some day so that he can be aware of how our lives had some tough times too and how we persevered as a family. Right now I just have everything on a card tucked behind the blue filler card, but if I do decide to keep it in there, I think I will make some changes and possibly fuse a flip-up 4x6 instead of tucked behind. This might be an evolutionary process for me. But for right now, this is what the card looks like behind it.

June 2015 Roundup

What We Did:

01.   One Year Work Anniversary at DMS  09. My first Board Meeting presentation in Yuba City  20. Jonathan’s 40^th Birthday Party  21. Father’s Day Pool Party at Mae Mae and Papa’s House 27. Dinner at Mikuni’s for Jonathan’s belated birthday. He won a bag of rice!

Watched:  

Jurassic World in the Theater. Lots of action and some laughs, but not quite as psychologically thrilling as the first. Still a great one to watch in the theaters!

John Wick on Cable – I’m not a big fan of Keanu Reeves, but this turned out to be better than I thought. 

Read:

Consolation by Corrine Michaels –  It had moments of being a cheesy romance novel where I had to roll my eyes, but by the end of it, I liked the characters a lot of felt I couldn’t leave it where it left off knowing there was a part II. So off I went to read…

Conviction by Corrine Michaels – wrapped up the story for sure, but not really necessary to be a second book. She could have combined both into one, but of course, would have made less profit. The first book is about a woman who loses her husband overseas when she is 9 months pregnant and how she learns to find love again. With a twist that takes you into the second book. Both were quick reads and not completely unbelievable as some romance novels can be.

Listened To: 

David’s new favorite song is “Rock This Town” by the Stray Cats. He listened to it at least six times on the way home from the store and still asked for me to play it again!

The Stories:

We got all of the Ashcraft family together this month for Jonathan’s birthday party. His parents and both his sister’s were able to come up for the weekend and celebrate with us. We rented a bouncy house and had almost 50 people all together in our home to wish him a happy 40^th.

David has enjoyed reading a Christmas book that is the words to Deck the Halls. Lately he has started singing his own versions and has come up with some very creative lyrics like “Flush the Daddy in the potty, fa la la la la, la la la la.”

Saturday morning conversation:

D: daddy, where we gonna go?..... Crazy?
J: yep, crazy, and why? Because we're Ashcrafts
D: oh yeah. Daddy, are a Crashcraft?
J: yep
D: mommy, you a Crashcraft?
Me: yep
D: oh and I'm a Crashcraft too!!!!