Slowing Down A Bit!

I feel like summer has finally slowed down a little bit for us! It feels nice!

Here are some random photos!

We went boating with our friends the Taylors. here is Paul water skiing which he said he hasn't skied, only wake boarded, in over 10 years! Way to go!

Cole is now crawling!

Time to put up the baby gate, and really baby proof again!

Jammy Time!

Isn't he seriously just the cutest little thing!

Alice wanted me to take some pictures of her in her hat, so I was.... then I told her to do a silly face.... and this is what she came up with! So Cute! I didn't really know she knew what a silly face was!

Such a Pretty little Spunky thing!

Again, more jammy time..... with the hat!

A few days ago we had a picnic at the cemetery, with our dear friends the Cochrane's. There was a short month and a half that Ash went to Preschool during her diagnosis. It was a time when she was symptom free and doing great after radiation. During this time she met Chloe. They became friends very quickly! Chloe loves to come over and play with and look at Ashley's things! She has pictures of Ash in her room and talks about her all the time. I love it! So Cute!

And this picture shows whey we choose the location we did in the cemetery! A tree that can provide shade! So Nice!

Nauvoo

Over the 4th of July we went to visit Paul's parents in Nauvoo. We had an amazing time. It was so much fun to spend time with them. We miss them like crazy but know they are serving the Lord. I know they are being blessed for there service and so are we. I can't believe they have been gone almost 3 years! We look forward to there return home this November!

The first night we were there we went to a little play/musical called 'Our Story goes on.' It was excellent.

Alice and Cole playing on the floor in Grandma's kitchen!

Daddy and Alice riding the go carts!

Oxen wagon ride!

Our friends Hank and Homer.

Alice loved petting the oxen. She could have done it all day!

She kept saying "Hi Hank, Hi Homer!"

There are so many wonderful sites to visit in Nauvoo and learn about how they used to do things back then. Here we are at the Blacksmith. You can tell from our shiny faces in all the pictures and especially in this one that it was very humid there! We felt like we were melting!

To cool us down we got some root beer. I think Alice loved drinking from a cool bottle more than the actual root beer!

Paul's parents wanted to show us a cemetery where many of the Saints were buried. To get to the cemetery you have to walk a short distance. We got out of the car and started on this beautiful path. Alice loved walking through "the forest!"

We came up this little hill into the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen. It was silent and calm. You could feel the most amazing peace here. As you walked around if you looked carefully, you could see little remnants in the ground of what used to be a headstone. Some were totally gone, and others stood tall. The spirit and peace that you could feel here was was so strong it was like you could feel the spirits of the people who were buried there.

Grandpa Wayne and Cole at the play/musical 'Sunset on the Mississippi'

We got to go on a buggy ride, and even though it was raining we had so much fun!

Daddy and Alice just before the Nauvoo pageant.

Grandma and Grandpa - Thank you for such a wonderful trip. You totally spoiled us! We loved spending time with you. We love you and can't wait until you get back in November!

You can feel such an amazing spirit in Nauvoo. There is so much of our church history that happened here. I am so grateful that the Saints testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ was strong enough to endure the horrible and unfair persecution they faced.

On the way to the airport we went to the St. Louis Arch!

Congrats Paul!

YEAH! He is done!

Paul had his last day of school last Saturday!

2 years of homework, tests, projects, presentations, business excursions, conference calls, group meetings, and a trip to the Middle East! Now that's hard work!

I am so proud of Paul and the dedication he has shown to further his education!

I threw him a little celebration party after his last day of school.

Our friends the Denney's brought the entertainment for the night... a game called the Eskimo Blanket Toss! It was the funnest thing ever. There we were a bunch of adults throwing each other as high as we could in the air.

If you want to remember what it is like to be a kid again you have got to try this! I remember as a kid we used to do this at my Grandma & Grandpa's house with a blanket.

Here is the man of the night - Paul

This is our friend Rebecca, I think everyone agreed that she got the very highest!

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Happy 9th Anniversary!

I am so lucky to have the best husband in the entire world!

Paul - Thanks for asking me to marry you 9 years ago. I am so glad that I have you by my side as we journey through this life!

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Little Cole is growing like a weed! He is so sweet and fun. He got his first tooth a couple of days before he turned 7 months, and now he has another!

Growing so fast!

These kids are growing like crazy! I can't believe Cole is already 6 months old, and turning into a little blondie! Alice is so full of personality as you can see from many of her photos. She is still loving to spend any moment she can outside! Time is flying by and we are totally loving and enjoying these cute little ones!

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The Cabin

We spent one night over Memorial Day weekend at my parents cabin. All the Calton cousins were there (except the China Calton's of course!) We had so much fun!

It's pictures like this that I love... but also make my heart just ache even more than it already does, wishing Ashley was here with us. Hannah is about the same age as Ash and they were really close. Hannah and Alice are great buddies, and I am so grateful for this!

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I was having fun just taking pictures of the kids around the house the other day and here are some fun shots. This first one is so funny to me and depicts what every day life is like with these two! Alice entertaining Cole with her fun personality!

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Memorial Day

This is the 3rd Memorial Day since Ashley left this earth! Crazy to think so much time has gone by. We are so grateful to feel so much peace when we visit the cemetery. We miss our little princess like crazy, and can't wait to see her again!

We were sitting here on Memorial Day and Paul's brother shows up with his family, then a few minutes later his sister and her kids! What a surprise, and how fun that we all came at the same time! It was so fun to sit around Ashley's headstone and just hang out and talk for awhile.