Christmas 2009

This was Christmas part one. We had Christmas with Gavin's kids on the Sunday before Christmas, then Christmas day with our 3 boys and soon part three will take place when Gavin's parents come.

Drew put himself to bed so he is missing from this picture. I'll have to take a 'pretend' shot so he's in it.

Zoe with a Fashion book

Liam with his Night Vision Goggles

Austin with a few gifts from his stash

Jared with the Ultimate Marble Game

Drew with his Dinosaurs

And Ethan getting the hang of opening gifts

Last but not least, my adorable husband with one of his many odd shirts. This one is called Eskimo Garden.

This year has been a great one. We have had so much fun spreading Christmas out. Although by the 28th the Christmas tree was down and my living room was back to normal. Gavin's parents will be joining us for the New Year for a couple days. It's been fun watching the kids open their gifts. But the Highlight of our Christmas was Drew waking us up on Christmas Morning at 1:30 asking us to open a package. When we walk out into the living room where here Ethan in his room so we go into inspect. Drew had given Ethan gifts through his crib to open and Drew had opened all of his gifts. We ended up waking Austin up at 1:30 in the morning to open his gifts and we all went back to bed. It was quite the morning. Not at all what we expected for Christmas but one full of memories.

Most importantly through this season we have felt the blessing of our Lord and Savior. We are thankful for his birth and his atoning sacrifice. Merry Christmas to all! And have a great New Year!!!

Who needs their appendix anyways?

Sunday afternoon Gavin started complaining about a stomach ache. We both thought it was nerves just because he had his biggest final of the semester the next day. He tried to ignore in but it just continued to increase. He went to the law library on Monday trying to focus on his final. He even suffered through the final and came home doubled over in pain. Monday night was a long night and we both were up quite a few times. The pain had now moved from the center to the right side. Gavin was such a trooper and headed to work knowing that he had to go to wait for another member of management to come in. We went to Urgent care with the suspicion it might be his appendix. Sure enough the doctor sent him to the hospital. (Great waste of $20) We got there about 11:30 where a scan was done along with blood work. Yup, appendicitis. Surgery was scheduled for 6:30 and at 10:30 Gavin was finally wheeled away. 45 minutes later, the doctor was out with pictures telling me everything went great. Gavin later asked me if this is what it feels like to have a C-section. That made me laugh! Gavin is doing great and was able to get his last final moved because of obvious reasons. He will be returning to work tomorrow and we pray that he will survive the day. He has been such a trooper!

Zoe's Christmas Concert

My cute 5 boys waiting for the concert to start, as you can see it was a little cold!
Zoe before the concert. She was so excited!

It's that time of year for those great Christmas concerts that the kids have. It always takes me back to my elementary school years. Zoe, the most talented step daughter that I have, has once again out done herself. She did a great job. The concert was at Arrowhead Mall. I was able to get one of her songs on video since Gavin wasn't able to attend. She actually has another concert tonight but because of Gavin's surgery we won't be attending.




Side note, I will be sending my camera in as of the first of the year. I bought this back in August and was so excited. It is doesn't take the quality of pictures that you would expect from a $250 camera. I'm not too thrilled!

Jared's Baptism

What a great day this was. This past Saturday our little Jared made the decision to be baptised. he was so cute throughout the weekend. My Mother in Law and Father in Law were able to join us. Unfortunately because of my Father's health and my little sister just getting out of the hospital (another post to follow soon), my parent's were unable to attend. We still had a great time.

We are so proud of Jared and his decision to be baptised. We love you little Monkey!

Funny Liam....

We were sitting at the table eating dinner and Liam pipes up and says, "Ashley, did you know that Michael Jackson was the first black man to become a white woman?" I thought I was going to fall off my chair and pee my pants from laughing. Where do these kids come up with these things?

The Joys of 2 under TWO!

The other day we were all in the family room chatting and didn't notice the silence of our two little guys. Zoe went into the front room and came running out telling us that we needed to see this.....This is what we saw.....notice the bottom shelves are empty? Where did all the books go?

....Well, Drew decided to cover Ethan in them in our living room. They both thought they were being SO funny! I love these two little monkeys!

A New Leaf!

I can't begin to tell you what a sense of relief it is to not have to worry anymore about what or how things are being said on our family blog. I have been married to Gavin for almost 5 years and this is the first time that we have had some privacy with our life. Wooohooo!

Gavin had his first 'oral argument' in a courtroom setting on Monday. He was so funny all day long as he prepped for it. Gavin isn't confrontational, so it was funny watching him get ready. He left with a really big bottle of water that came home empty. He is doing fantastic and loving every second of this program. I am the proudest wife!

GOING UNDERCOVER

Well I've said this before but this time Gavin and I have decided that for the best interest of our family we are going to take our blog and make it a little more secure. We will be making our blog available to only those with permission as of October 1st. Send me a message via facebook with your email address or leave it as a comment and I will send you an invitation to view our blog. With Gavin in Law School and our family situation we feel that we need to maintain a little privacy. We appreciate everyone being so understanding and can't wait to hear from you!

Austin's Baptism

Last Saturday, we had the privileged to be surrounded by family and friends to witness Austin choose to be baptised and confirmed a member of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are so proud of the decision that Austin has made. He has started Scouts and LOVES it. He also just recently started swim clinic so that he is ready for swim team this coming summer. On his first day he was able to do the butterfly, just like his Dad! He loves it! We love our bubbers!

Happy Birthday Austin!

I can't believe my baby is 8 today. He gets baptized this Saturday and we are so excited to have friends and family there. He is such a joy in our life. I mean look at that face....how can you not love that most adorable face! I love you Austin.....Have a very happy birthday!

Surprise Party For Zoe....

What can I say...I'm a pretty awesome MOM! Zoe has been BEGGING for a birthday party. Her Birthday was actually back in June, but she was with her mom during that time. Zoe knows how much I LOVE to throw parties so this one I couldn't pass up! We have agonized about when we would have time to throw a party for her as time has slipped through our fingers.

Originally Zoe was suppose to go out of town with Andrea's mom this weekend and on Tuesday Zoe's mom called to tell us that her mom had gotten ill and wouldn't be going. PERFECT opportunity!!!! I immediately called all of her friends from our ward and we set it up for Saturday. I even managed to take Zoe shopping with me to buy things for the party and she didn't have a clue. The boys swore secrecy, which was almost blown by Jared, but I've since forgiven him!

We had a friend invite her over to play until it was time to come home. Boy, as she surprised. In fact, she had a look on her face of confusion as to what was going on since I told her I had a meeting for church at the house. Little did she know it was all about HER!

We had a BLAST!!! All of the girls wore their jammies! They decorated their own pillow cases, made french bread pizza, watched the new Hannah Montana Movie with having Manicures and Pedicures, and a wonderful sister in the ward came over and did ALL of the girls hair. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!

New Camera...

Drew trying to help Ethan with the drink. Such a big helper.





Gavin let Drew eat Ice cream for breakfast! What can I say. At least he had eggs first!




My sweet angel!





Boy, did he need a hair cut. Still as handsome as ever!







So Gavin got me a camera for my birthday/anniversary. I am not a photographer by any means, but I am trying desperately how to, #1: use this thing, and #2: Take better pictures. This thing does everything, except my dishes...bummer for me!

Utah Vacation Part 2 !!!!!!

There were so many memories made this trip. I can't thank my parents enough for the amazing time we had once again. We love being in Utah and wish we could be there more often.

We had a carnival that included, two bouncy houses, Riding on four wheels, a cake walk, face painting, and ended the day with our pizza throw down and family variety show. It was the perfect day!
Drew's favorite part was the reward for winning the cake walk!

Zoe and her favorite cousin in the world, Merideth, did a Dance to "All the single Ladies." They were so cute. Liam did a head stand, but I didn't get my camera out fast enough to capture him.

I can't get over how much talent is in the Judd Family!

Our last day after Zoe had flown out to California we had the world's largest Slippery slide. Gavin didn't take his swim suit because he thought that he would just help set up and then watch. He just couldn't help himself! He's the one at the top going down on his feet. He didn't last long until he was soaking wet!

And to finish off the vacation we were able to capture it because of my oh so talented niece with a family picture. My parents still can't believe that this is their posterity. They never imagined. We are so blessed and lucky to be part of such an amazing and beautiful family!

Utah Vacation!!!!!! Part 1

Jared was so excited he slept with the luggage!
Drew and his cousin Joshua posing for pictures

We went to the copper mine. This is the tire to one of the trucks they use. We also got to see the only explosion of the day to loosen the dirt to get the copper. It was really amazing and windy!

We got to go the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house in South Jordan. It was such an awesome experience to be there as a family and know that we have the blessing of being sealed as an eternal family. The kids were amazed. It was one of those moments that we will treasure forever. It was also nice to reminisce about when Gavin and I were sealed with the kids being present. We have been so blessed!

We had a girls day out with all my nieces. All of the girls got their hair done. Here is Zoe with her beautiful up-do! I just love her!

Happy 4th of July!

What a fourth this has been! We have had nothing but fun. We've been at my parents house for the last almost 2 weeks. You name it, we've done it. I'll post pictures later. But for now I just wanted to take in this moment of watching our children do fireworks, listening to patriotic music, sitting on my parents front porch and feeling a sense of gratitude for our freedom! Happy 4th of July to all!

Happy 1st Birthday Ethan!

My baby is 1 today. I can't believe it! Gavin and I were out for our morning walk reminiscing about the events that led up to this sweet baby coming into our home. It was just a year ago I was up at this time timing contractions, wondering if today would be the day that I can finally be done with the long pregnancy.

Ethan is the sweetest baby you will ever meet. Gavin calls him "guy smiley" because he smiles all of the time. He has the best temperament and loves life. He tries so hard to keep up with his big brother Drew, by following him around the house trying to copy everything he does. I love this baby so very much!

Happy Birthday Ethan....we love you and are so thankful that Heavenly Father gave you to us!

Happy Birthday Zoe Zo Zo!

Happy Birthday Miss Zoe! I am running late as her birthday was actually on the 5th, but better late than never! We are so happy she is a part of our family. What an awesome big "sissy" she is.

The kids have been with their mom for the last couple weeks for her portion of Summer Break. We'll be getting the kids for the remainder of the summer on the 19th. So we will be celebrating her and Ethan's birthday this Friday when we have the kids over for Ethan's 1st Birthday. Drew misses "Oee" tons. He will see something that reminds him of Zoe and look around for her and ask for "Oee". He sure loves for her.

We are excited to see the kids and miss them all! Happy Birthday Zoe! We love you!!!!

Haircuts Anyone???

I took the three boys to get their hair cut. For Austin it was old hat, but for Ethan and Drew, it's a big deal. This was Ethan's first hair cut. He did pretty well. I forgot my camera so I was really bummed. Drew's hair was the biggest change. He looks like a little boy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET BABY DREW!!!!!!! Today he is TWO....ahhhh....where has time gone. We are so happy he is part of our family! Life is so much fun with a toddler. He is adored by everyone because of his sweet little personality. We love you Drewbee Doo!

Ode to Our Vacuum Ethan....

This is Ethan from the time he wakes up until the time he goes to bed. We can't leave any food within reach, or this is what happens. He LOVES to eat. In fact, he is just a pound, yes, ONE pound away from weighing the same as his big brother Drew. You can't get any cuter than this little guy here.

He is desperately trying to fully crawl and climb up on anything he can. He is the happiest baby and we just love having him around!

Life passes you by....

It's been almost a month since I have blogged. Boy, have we been busy. We had a great time at Easter with the Leavitt Family. They came over and we had an awesome ham dinner then an egg hunt with the kids. It was a blast.

Zoe is in Colorado right now visiting her friend Emma. Emma's Mom, Jennifer is graduating from nursing school this weekend. We are so excited for Jennifer and glad that Zoe could be there to share this with them. Zoe called me today from the mall to tell me she was shopping and told me about all the stores she had been in. She is definitely ALL girl!

Liam got his Wolf badge along with a TON of belt loops. He loves scouts and we are so proud of him! He is now in Bears and LOVES it!

Austin was student of the month and we had the chance to see him get recognized in front of the entire school. He was surprised and very excited.

Jared is Jared...what can I say. The kid has a mind of his own. We love him dearly and he keeps us laughing, but on the other hand he definitely keeps us on our toes!

Drew is of course the cutest thing EVER! He is trying so hard to talk more and more each day. We laugh at his vocabulary. I'll blog all of his words later. They are all too cute. He loves his "B" aka baby, and is already using his imagination. Did I mention that he draws on EVERYTHING!!!! The walls are a blank canvas for him to put his mark on. We need to go ahead and buy stock in Mr. Clean Magic Erase Markers.

Ethan is trying to crawl, he does the army crawl everywhere, trying to keep up with his big brother Drew. He now has 4 teeth and is as cute as ever! He also is our family vacuum. He eats EVERYTHING! I swear he smells food a mile away!

Gavin is finishing off his first semester of Law School with Finals over the course of the next two weeks. I have to be the proudest wife. He has worked so hard this semester and had enjoyed every minute of it. I am so blessed to have such an amazing man as my husband and best friend. He is so dedicated in everything he does.

I am busy being a mom. Trying to keep the house clean and laundry up is a CHORE! One of these days I'll be caught up (Yeah right). I'm not expecting that to be anytime soon. We are all looking very excited to this summer being able to relax. We have a great summer planned and can't wait for it all to begin!

Sweet Jared.....

Jared is such a sweet boy. He adds so much to our family. He's "Like a Box of Chocolates, you never know what you're going to get!"

As he got off the bus on Friday he comes running to the car and says, "Ashley, I am so glad you are picking me up, I've missed you all week." He then gets in the car, throws his arms around me and tells me how much he loves me and gives me a kiss.

Mom and Dad Curtis planned a last minute trip to come out and see us. The boys had flat tires on their bikes and my father in law was kind enough to help fix them. As he is working on the boy's bikes, Jared comes into the garage and says, "Grandpa, you look just like my daddy, but you're old!" We laughed and laughed.

We love haivng Jared in our family. He adds so much laughter!

Girls Rule!

The best thing about having a step daughter is I have a shopping buddy! When Zoe is home we SHOP! Last night I took her and her friend, Aspen, to Justice and to Old Navy. We got them matching shirts and bags. It was a blast. Zoe is a beautiful young lady and it is an honor to have her as my step daughter. Maybe one day I'll have a girl of my own, but for now, Zoe is definetely the next best thing!

Utah Trip

We had a great Spring break up in Utah. The weather was perfect and the company was a blast. Gavin was able to drive up with us and spend a couple days before he headed back down to Arizona to hit the books and study family free for a week.

We had a ton of fun with my family as everybody came together for dinner Sunday before Gavin flew home. It was great to put three of the four babies born this year together and compare. All of the grandkids born this year have been two months apart.

I was able to visit with friends and even managed to sneak away with a girlfriend of mine to see a movie, child free. Thanks for the great time. But the highlight of the trip for my little Austee Stewmontee, was being able to go on the Sponge Bob ride in Vegas. We actually took our time going up and coming home. We stayed at Excalibur on the way up. What a steal...it cost us $41, and we got a $25 food credit. So we did their breakfast buffet the next morning. That had to be the biggest breakfast spread I have ever seen. Gavin was in breakfast Heaven....Every type of egg imaginable. And of course, everyone that saw our babies had to come up and comment on how adorable and well behaved they were.

On the way home we weren't as fortunate to get that deal so we settled for Circus Circus, thinking it would be fun for the kids....were we WRONG! That had to be the ARM PIT of the strip. They didn't have our reservation. They said that because of the economy, they have cut back on their staff and the people in the reservation department weren't there to input our reservation. Common sense people....cut back in other places, not reservations when your a hotel....Duh! And then when they finally found it, an hour later, we went up to our room to find that it hadn't been cleaned from the people who were there before us. We go back down to the front desk, and at this point there are fumes coming out of my eyeballs. We go back to the "supervisor" and she apologizes saying that only clean rooms are reported and she didn't understand how that happened. She gives us the room next door. We go back up to our new room and not to our surprise, there were no comforters on our bed. It is now almost 10 o'clock and we are exhausted. We call house keeping and they tell us that they don't have bed spreads but to call back in the morning and they will have some then. Hello...I wouldn't be calling if it wasn't for that night. They tell us they will bring us blankets. I walk out and there is the cleaning lady, cleaning the room that we originally started with, and in plastic bags, brand new comforters. 2 hours later, no blankets so my sister calls house keeping again and they say they will bring blankets right away. They did, but when we opened the blanket it stunk of cigarette smoke. Like I am going to wrap my kids in something that smells like an ashtray.

Needless to say the supervisor the next morning got an earful from me and I swore I would tell everyone I knew how horrible it was and that I would never stay there again.

Other then that fun experience.... we had an awesome time and can't wait to head back up this summer where we will have more time to play! Thank you to my amazing parents for hosting an awesome trip! We love y'all and can't wait to see you again in a couple months!