The Beach

We had a fun week last week.  Alice and I went to the beach in Carlsbad, CA.  Paul had to stay behind because he had to go to scout camp over the 24th, and he is also really busy with work.  We missed Daddy but had a fun time with Paul's sisters Jill and Judith and there families.  Alice did good but was way off her schedule so she was kind of fussy a lot of the time but we still had a great time.  It was kind of hard for me though because Paul and I have gone there every year since we've been married and for the last 5 years Ashley has been with us, so it was hard for me to be there without her.  We have so many fun memories there.

Alice was a little tuckered out after the beach!

It's kind of hard to tell but the humidity made her hair go even more curly!

Love those pigtails!

Sadie

We had the wonderful opportunity of having Sadie Huish and her family over for dinner last Saturday.  It was a pleasure to have them in our home.  Sadie brings such a wonderful spirit with her.  Like I wrote on Ashley's site, she reminds us so much of Ashley, that it is hard to explain.  They look, act, and talk a lot a like.  Sadie is so very sweet.  She is so brave to be going through this difficult trial.  Her family is amazing to.  We feel such an amazing connection with them and with Mara Adams and her family.  I think we were friends before this life, knowing we would be enduring the very same trial.  

Alice grabbing Sadie's hands

Sadie having a good time swinging

Us with Sadie

Sadie & Olivia petting Mav

Sadie showing me her preschool book

Pictures of Angel Moroni

Angel Moroni

Yesterday Alice and I went with Grandma Calton to see the Angel Moroni get placed onto the Draper Temple.  It was really neat.  When we got there you could see it in the back of a truck, a few minutes later it was hooked up to a crane.  They let it hang about 12 feet above the ground for about an hour and 1/2.  We got to get close to it to take some pictures.  It was amazing to get that close to it and see all the detail.  I will probably never get that close again!  It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.  

Happy 4th

These are pictures from the 4th of July last year.  Funny how we did the same thing this year. We went to the neighborhood parade and then headed up to the cabin afterward.  Oh how I wish sometimes we could go back in time.  

Alice with her friends Lexi & Will at the neighborhood parade.

We had a great 4th of July starting off with a neighborhood parade.  We then headed up to the cabin for some r & r.   Paul didn't really get much r & r, but that is a whole other story!  It was nice to get up in the beautiful mountains for some cooler weather.   Most of my family was up there except Tim & Suzanne, we missed you guys.  

 

Ashley's Headstone

Ashley's headstone is finally done.  We are so pleased with the way it turned out.  It will be nice to go visit the cemetery and not see a small circle plaque with her name on it.  It still seems so surreal that we go visit her grave.  She should be visiting our grave in about 50 years!

I was blow-drying my hair the other day and put Alice on her butterfly mat.  I looked over a few minutes later to find her almost completely under my bed!  I just had to run and grab my camera before pulling her out!
Yes Mav is spoiled!  He ran beside me for the first little bit but then got tired, after all he is a little dog.  So I put him in the stroller!  Why not?  He loved it.  Good thing I have a double jogger!

I can't believe I can put pig tails in Alice's hair.  She is only 5 months old!  Now if she would just hold still enough for me to get the part strait.  Also as you can see if Alice keeps laying on the floor like this she will have the strongest abs in the world!  She just won't relax.

Dave Wright

I think sometimes the way I deal with hard times, sadness, frustration, and a broken heart is to look through pictures and remember happy times.  So it is today that I am looking up pictures of our dear friend Dave and remembering fun happy memories we have had together with him.  His funeral service was yesterday and was sad yet a beautiful wonderful tribute to his life.  He was an incredible husband, father, and friend.  Paul was very close with Dave.  Paul saw him everyday at work.  The whole reason Paul works at Wright Homes is because of his friendship with Dave. And even though Kelli and I are very close friends and talk a lot, it was often our husbands who would make plans for us all to hang out.   It was a lot of fun to have one of your closest friends husband and your husband be such good friends because it meant that you got to do a lot together.  The only friends we have ever gone on a vacation without kids was with Dave and Kel to New York a year and a half ago.  I am so glad we have those memories.  Dave was always so sweet to Ash.  I can still hear in my mind the way he would often say hello to her "What's up Ash."  She really liked Dave, and I can only imagine what there reunion was like on the other side of the veil.  I am sure it was sweet and I know Dave has given her a hug from us.  

Some exciting news for Paul and not so exciting news for me is that Paul got accepted into BYU's Executive MBA program.  He feels like the timing is right.  It has always been a goal of Paul's to get his MBA.  Wish us luck!

The "Y"

Schools out so why not shave a "Y" on your head? I believe we have a future cougar right here. It looks awesome Braxton! Hannah can sure pull an interesting face!

We had a fun week this week. We have been doing a lot of projects, our biggest one being finishing 1 room downstairs to be a craft room/storage room. I worked on painting it this weekend. It's not finished yet but we will post pictures when I am done. It made me really nervous when I was painting and Paul walked in and said. I am really nervous about the color, it's looks minty. Hopefully it turns out o.k. After drying completely it looked a lot better. We also helped at the cabin this weekend. It's almost done and we are so excited to enjoy it. It's beautiful up there.

Alice is getting so big. She is rolling all over the floor. She also has a new buddy, Maverick. He is becoming very fond of Alice and loves to lay by her side, and chew on her toys! I was working in the yard and put Alice in her saucer and tied Mav's leash to it. I looked up to find him up in the green part of her saucer by her feet just laying there as comfy as could be. I went inside to get my camera, but of course I missed the moment.

Peterson BBQ

We had such a wonderful time having Sunday dinner with Paul's family.  David and Linda are in town looking for a new home.  They are moving here this summer.  We are looking forward to having them around more often.  We celebrated Amy's birthday.  It was really fun.  

Comparing Ashley and Alice

Last week we took pictures of Alice wearing the same outfit we took pictures of Ashley in, both were taken close to the same ages 4 1/2 to 5 months.  We wanted to compare them to see how much they looked alike.  The first 3 are of Alice and the next 2 are of Ashely.  We think they have the same smile and nose!  Kind of fun to see.

Alice

Alice

Alice

Ashley

Ashley