Merry Christmas!

After 3 years of having children, I still haven't gotten used to the fact that every Christmas and Easter the kids get new Sunday clothes. (And they still get new clothes whenever a big sale is on anyways!!!)

However, they always look so adorable. In fact, this "tradition" is so important to Heather that she spent a whole month looking for Ashlyn's ensemble! And you can't see it, but Jax also got new pinstripe pants and new Sunday shoes. Now bring on Santa!!!

November

Instead of giving each event the attention and time it deserves, and never catching up, I decided to just lump it all into one.

Nov. 4: Jaxon turned one. I was a horrible mother and didn't take a single picture of him on his actual birthday...but I did get some of his party!

Nov 6: California adventure with Brooke and Tami...and we left the kids with Grandma! So fun!

Nov. 15: Jaxon's "PuPu" Birthday Party. Lots of food, friends, family, and fun.

Nov 16 - 25: We embark on our first road trip of our kids lives. We drove up to Utah for my old roomie's wedding. It was so good to see so many old friends! But oh how I loathed that drive. I think the kids were pretty tired of the car by the end of it too. And poor Ashlyn was so confused about where "home" is.

Nov. 26: Thanksgiving. We went over to David and Mary Ellen's (My aunt and uncle) house for a fantastic dinner and a night of games and hayrides. And Nancy came too! Nov. 28: We took Nancy down to Huntington just for fun. And on the way home we stopped by The Gingerbread Shop at the Mission Inn for the world's best hot chocolate.

Nov. 30: We spent the day in LA. It was such a beautiful day. We first went to Hollywood so Nancy could see the "Stars", and then we headed over to the temple. The sky could not have been any bluer. After that we went to Santa Monica and took Nancy on her first Ferris wheel ride! When we were done, it was time to take Nancy to the airport. Talk about an action-packed day!

And there you have it. November in a nutshell.

New Bike!!

After months of riding bikes in Wal-Mart, we told Ashlyn that after we moved we would buy her a bike. And, like the good parents we are, we followed through on that promise just days after we arrived in California. She was SO excited. And she looks super cute in her little Dora helmet and elbow pads!

In the morning we took her to the park to practice her skills. She is getting pretty good!

We took a little break to enjoy the swings, since we were there and all...

Even Jason got in the "swing" of it. Get it? Haha! I couldn't resist.

Halloween

Halloween started off with a trip to the pumpkin patch. Ashlyn was finally brave enough to feed the goats all by herself. All the "Yucaipa Cousins" joined in the festivities. It is so much fun to finally be around for this stuff!
Then we went back to the house and carved our over-priced pumpkins. (At least ours was...)Tang style. Ashlyn colored on it and then Jason carved what he wanted. I believe this is the Chinese character for the Tang name, but I think it looks like a crazy cool face.Our little teddy bear. Jax didn't have a costume until right before trick-or-treat time. Thanks Amber for coming to the rescue!The whole gangTami, Amber, and me. The "rat pack". That is some extra-large hair. After we had gone down and half way back up the street, Jaxon was still like this...
While Ashlyn was like this. We had a cute little cheerleader costume for her, but in true Ashlyn fashion she refused to wear it. So, Amber saved the day again by providing this cute little Monkey with a costume she would allow us to put on her.
Since we finished with the trick-or-treating so early, we decided to decorate some ghoulish cupcakes. Idea courtesy of M&M McIntosh.
Here are Ashlyn and my finished products. The computer was being ridiculous so I gave up trying to upload the rest of the cupcake pictures. Either that or I just didn't want to be put to shame by everyone else's awesomeness. You be the judge...

Disneyland

I know, I know, this is way past due, so, hopefully there will be a plethora of blog posts in the next few days to catch us up before Christmas!

The day before Halloween we went to Disneyland and took my mom and Caitlyn (my niece) with us. We had a blast! I was lovin' all the Halloween decor. So cute!

Gotta love the Dumbo ride!Ashlyn's fav: The "Merry-Go-Circle"
Jax loved Finding Nemo with Grandma on the sub rideCaitlyn and Ash were best buds for the day. They went on all the rides together, except when I bribed Ashlyn with candy if she would ride one with me! It was so nice to have Caitlyn there to help out though!It was Mike's birthday, so he and Amber and kids came down to join us for a few hours. Amber even brought us a yummy dinner, complete with caramel apples and cupcakes!Sweet little babies. Jaxon and Brooklyn
For your viewing pleasure: The tea cups.

Aloha Oe

Our last few days in Paradise were full of goodbyes.

On Saturday, 10/24 we said goodbye to Jason's frotastic hair. I was so sad to see it go (NOT!! That thing was sicknasty!)

We said goodbye to our beautiful view of the PANAM building. Oh how I will not miss the city lights and noise. Although, I do miss the convenience!

On Sunday, after church we went over to the Miyahana's. Ashlyn and Jaeden were just beginning to be good buddies, too!

Jaeden and Ashlyn saying bye. See, she acts like to her friends, too!

On Monday, we met the Nitahara's at Bravo for dinner. They were our first friends in Hawaii. They took us in and treated us like family.

Ashlyn and Kiera

Jaxon Kyle with Uncle Kyle

Tuesday night we had a BBQ with the Hong's and Abelmann's. Here is the Hong Fam.

And here are the Abelmann's. Jason and Rick would go boogie boarding a couple times a week...at 6am!
This picture is just too funny to leave out! Kai is such a stud!
The next day we hopped on a plane back to good ol' California. The last 2 years went by way too fast. We loved our time in the islands, and can't wait to go back! (But only for a vacation. That move was beastly!)

Graduation

On September 27, Ashlyn graduated from the "terrible twos". It was a glorious occasion that gave us reason to celebrate for 3 days! The Friday before, we started off the festivities with an all day bake-a-thon. Cake-pops, cupcakes, and brownies were on the list. Ashlyn is my #1 helper.

When all the baking was done, we headed to Chuck E Cheese's with the Hong and Abelmann families. The only other time we had gone there was when Ashlyn was just a little older than Jaxon is now. It was much more fun for all this time around.

On Saturday, we had the big birthday bash. The Dalisay's were kind enough to let us use their pool and BBQ area. I am ashamed of the amount of pictures that I didn't take, but here are a few of the ones I did!

Ashlyn and her bestie Kiera

Little Isaac Barlow chowin' on some watermelon. We have the same birthday.

The best group shot taken. Gonna eat some grub


The treat table. The reason for the previous day's marathon baking.

These little guys took FOREVER, but they sure were cute...and tasty! Thanks Tami and Bakerella!

When everyone started singing to Ashlyn, she tried to crawl under the table.

Luckily she likes blowing out candles too much to hide too long!

One thing I have learned about living in Hawaii is that birthdays are a big deal. Ashlyn couldn't wait to tackle the gifts once we got home! Thanks everyone!!

I had to take a picture on her actual day of birth, and this is the best I got. I'm pretty sure she is only smiling and looking at the camera because of either a bribe or treat. She was not in a cooperative mood. Surprised? You shouldn't be!

We sure love this little girl! She brings so much silliness and spunk into our family. Ashlyn makes me laugh every single day. I am so glad we have her and I can't imagine life without her. Love you little sweetheart!!