Disneyland, General Conference, Birthday Fun, and Martha Stewart moments

We finally made it back to Disneyland, after what seemed like years! Okay, it maybe was 8 or 9 months, but my little problem (read: addiction) made it seem a lot longer. We took tons of pictures to record our return to the Magic Kingdom. The Hafen Family action figures, aka Mandy's life in a box. Available at a Disneyland park near you. Only $19.95... wait they're priceless, could never give them up!! I'm the luckiest mom and wife ever!

Our newest Disneyland addict in the making, Tod, has been officially introduced to the joys (okay, maybe Small World isn't the best example of "joy") of D-land.

The first 20 mins in the park, we managed to catch 3 of the princess for Kimball to meet. She was very excited. Jack, however, didn't see what all the fuss was about.

Kimball didn't quite understand the Fairy Godmother (and her bad english accent) but was happy to hold hands with her anyways.

But Sleeping Beauty was definitely her favorite.

Kimball found the "sleep kit" in our hotel room, and wasted no time putting on this little sleep mask, and laid down. She thought it was a pretty cool thing, but decided not to sleep with it on.

It was quite a successful trip with 3 kids. Only 1 blow-out (thank goodness for an extra onesie), 1 melt-down, 2 strollers, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 times in a row, a visit to the petting zoo, lots of good food, and many trips on the shuttle to and from the hotel. What a great time!

General Conference is always a nice weekend to relax, listen to the counsel from our church leaders, and eat delicious treats. I looked at Jason and said, I want cinnamon rolls (which he mastered with the help of my mom when Tod was born). He said sounds good, and this is the result.

Just more proof as to why I am the luckiest.

Then, the next weekend was Jack's birthday. This is what Jack woke up to on the morning of his birthday. We set out a couple of presents and always balloons for on the table. He climbed right up and started playing with the balloons.

He did get a present that he loves. This spiral racer thing has been the source of non-stop car racing. He loves racing his cars down it, and says "Ready, Set, Go!" as he sends them down the track. I just need to remove the batteries from the sound, because that's getting a little old.

The next day we also celebrated Jack and Lia's birthday at family dinner.

Jack had been practicing blowing out his candles , and was very excited to do it for real.

But really, he was more excited about licking his name off of his cake.

And here are so more pictures of his cake (pre-licking). It's not often that I get Martha Stewart/Ace of Cakes moments, so they must be documented. I decided that I could make a car-cake. And with the help of the internet, some fondant, food coloring, and the love and support of Jason (during my "why did I think I could do this?" phase), this is what came about. It looks better in pictures than in real-life.

As promised... Cirque Du Hafen

This was our family's contribution to the Hafen Retreat movie night. Enjoy. I certainly did.

And, did I mention how much I love my husband! This video is just proof of why.

Summer Catch-up Part 2: Cousins, Fish, and Horses

Here's my attempt to catch up on all the different activities from the last month or two:

One of the great things about belonging to a big family is that it's almost a guarantee to have cousins (or 2nd cousins) the same age. We, the parents, always try to get them in a picture together.

Kimball, Logan, and Jensyn were all born w/in a month of each other.
Some of my favorite 3 year olds!

And Tod, and his cousin McCade are 10 days apart. So fun to see these kids grow up together.


Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm a bit of a home body, and get a little hesitant about taking all of my kids out of the house by myself, but I have some awesome sister-in-laws who invited me and the kiddos to the aquarium, offered to help me if I came. So, I took them up on their offer and we had a great time. Thanks to good older cousins who are willing to help me keep an eye on Kimball.

Looking at the camera isn't half as fun as looking at the crabs and stingrays in the touch pool.

"Please don't fall in, please don't fall in, please don't fall in" (what I'm thinking as I am grabbing my kids).

Kimball was a little obsessed this this alligator, she thought it was pretty cool, and wasn't afraid at all. Natalie may have a different feeling, because the alligator jump at the glass as she was looking at him.

Jack having a great time trying to touch the fish.


Really, this picture was taken to prove that Tod was there too. We was more entertained by his toy, and was just happy to be out of the house.

And, another proof picture that 4 moms and 15 kids (Jack, Tod and Liz and Erica were stuck in strollers) can make it to the aquarium, and more to the point, make it home without forgetting anyone. Woo hoo!

So, when I'm not brave enough to get out of the house, here are some of the random moments caught on camera.

Okay, before someone calls CPS on me, I caught the kids in the dryer, got the camera, snapped a shot, and then they got huge warnings not to do it again. Sending the wrong message? Probably, but the kids can discuss that in their therapy sessions in 15 years.

Tod has discovered the joy of his bouncer. His mom has discovered the joy of having him in the bouncer.

And, this is our recent endorsement deal for DQ. Who wouldn't pay to have these cute kids endorsing their product? Maybe I'll send an email.

For Labor day, we headed north to my parents house for Swiss Days. Well, the kids and I actually ditched Jason for a couple of days, and made the trip up without him the week before. My parents kept the kids and I very entertained and arranged for us to go horseback riding.
I have to admit that I didn't feel as comfortable up on the horse I as was hoping. All of a sudden I seemed very high up, and concerned about the phrase "the bigger they are, the harder they fall."
Jack hopped on the horse with me, and we went for a ride around the corral. Jack didn't understand what was supposed to be so cool about this.


Kimball had no fear of the horse. She climbed right on, but she did start to cry because of the flies. The nice guy that was leading her around said it was pretty funny, because most kids are afraid to be on the big horse, but not Kimball, she was afraid of the flies. My little city girl.

And this is the one picture we took while we were at Swiss Days. The whole family enjoyed some delicious cotton candy.

Getting Caught-up Part 1: The Hafen Retreat

In August, all of Jason's family (minus Brandon and Cara who live in Idaho) got together for our reunion. Someone (I can't remember who) said we can't call it a reunion, because we all see each other way too often for that title, so now it's been rebranded as the Hafen Retreat. It was a great weekend getting hang out with everyone.

The adults planned little activity camps for the kids on the first morning there. Danette and I tag-teamed the "Little Squirts" camp with toddler. They got to finger paint and then splash around in a little pool.

Here's Kimball enjoying her paints.

Jack also enjoyed his paints. We can't really figure out how they got on his face.


But I do know how the paints got on his back. I couldn't help but play in the paints, and I figured what better canvas, than Jacks back.


The painting only lasted so long, so Kimball and Jack ditched their artwork for the buckets filled with water, squirt bottles and sponges.


The next day we had lunch at an awesome park that had a little pool/pond for the kids (and some of the adults too) to play around in.

Kimball and Jack decided that collecting all the sponges was more fun then the cold water.


Tod, Jason, and his mom, Susan getting out of the sun.

Before the retreat Carmen (the organizer for this year) told each family to prepare a video to be shown on movie night. I'll try to post the new video once we get more memory installed on our computer... but here are some pictures of the prep time. Our video was Cirque Du Hafen.
This is Kimball getting in character.

And Jack, ready to show off all of his tricks.

I don't have just a picture of Jason in "character" but it was classic. He was in spandex pants and a sweater vest. He's such a great sport, and always very willing to go the extra mile (or should I say extra sock) for a laugh.

We had a great time with the good food, a great family testimony meeting, getting to watch Kimball and Jack play with their cousins, and late night laughs with the adults. Thanks everyone!!

Summer Updates

My desktop computer (where I keep all the pictures) is running so slow, that I can't blog on it... it takes 10 mins to open blogger and upload 1 pic. So, this is my attempt to be patient and give some updates for the last month using the laptop.

I can't believe how fast this summer is flying by. Here's a picture log of what we've been up to.

We've been going to the swimming as often as possible, but with 3 kids it's getting too difficult to get action shots of them in the pool. So break time is the best time for pictures at the pool.

Tod loves the pool as much as his big brother and sister and loves to show off his pastey-chunky thighs.

Kimball and Jack enjoying a break with juice and snacks.

It was also Kimballs birthday at the end of July. We celebrated at family dinner with Kimball's cousin Lilly. My sister-in-law Katrina and I tag teamed an attempt at a fondant cake. It didn't turn out too bad, and now I'm not as intimidated by fondant. It was pretty fun to work with.I can't believe how fast she's growing. And able to blow out 3 candles.

Kimball showing the cake looks just as appetizing after it's been chewed.

She's also old enough to grow a fabulous moustache like her grandpa.

On her actual birthday morning, we had a couple of presents and balloons ready for her when she woke up. She was barely awake, but managed to climb up on the table with her eyes half way open to check out her presents.

Jack managed to get in on the brithday action too. Kimball learned the hard way that balloons don't come back after you let go of them outside. So we made a trip to the party store to get another balloon (hey, it was her birthday) and Jack got one too. On the way home, we checked the mail, and there was a birthday package for Kimball from Nana. And being the wise nana that she is, she included a treat for Jack too. So, overall a good day for all the kids.

I'll update more about the Hafen Retreat at the Ranch when I bribe (favorite cookies or something?) a certain brother-in-law to help us speed up the desktop. (Hint - that means you Chris).

TIMBERRRR!!!....Rub-a -dub-dub

Have you ever seen a big tree fall to the ground? Well, the Ashton family managed to make the 4th of July a little more memorable at my parents house. There was a tree in there back yard that was starting to lean in the wind a little too much. You could say it was "leaning." Anyways, the grass around the tree started to move up and down as the tree blew back and forth in the wind. It looked like it was gonna tumble, so we (by we, I mean my brothers) decided to help it a bit. It started with a pocket knife cutting the sod, and ended with a chain saw cutting some roots. And with one more big gust of wind down it came.

Kimball and some of her cousins playing on the tree post tipping over.



As a mom, I can't help but taking pictures of my little ones in the tub together. Maybe because I know there are pictures like this of me floating around.

And this is my latest achievement (every little thing counts as a win in my world)... I managed to french braid Kimball's hair. With an episode of Diego or Dora, I can get her to hold still just long enough. Once it's done, it's a whole other story trying to get her to keep it in.

And one last little video to show Tod and his occasional smile and giggle. He's getting so big so fast, and is the most mellow baby I've ever met.

The Ever Expanding Ashton Family

I'm not quite sure how my mom manages to do this every 4th of July. She gets all of us in one place at the same time, and even orders t-shirts for us all, and almost all of us are smiling.

I call this the "real" picture.

But this is the REAL picture.

And here are all the grandkids (minus 2 on the way). It's too bad there isn't a picture of all of the parents yelling behind the camera trying to get the kids to smile. That was a classic picture.

Thanks Mom for making us do this! The pictures are great.

Thanks Abe and Kim for actually taking the pictures!