GOD BLESS AMERICA 2009!

The Johnson family arrived on the 3rd of July on their cross country trip. To celebrate I made fourth of July waffles for everyone. It was a great way to start out an awesome patriotic day....God bless America..... Eleanor and Lizzie immediately hit it off and were the best of friends. We did "rock star" hair to celebrate America's birthday. It's Eleanor's favorite hairdo!

Here they are! The rock star hair girls! Happy Fourth of July2009!

We decided to go downtown Washington DC for the celebration. Here are the cousins just before we left...

And the Patriotic Days.....

We went to listen to the Constitution of the United States of America read on the steps of the Archives and then watched the parade....

Katie is so fun and so beautiful!

Go Bless America, Land that I love...

After the parade we went to the Natural History Museum. Since the Johnson's were here such a short amount of time, they had to cram as much in as possible! We love the Natural History Museum so we tagged along!

Our family portrait with Henry, the elephant!

Watch out! There's a bear behind you!

One of my favorite fossils in the museum....

It was a long day for everyone.....

After the museum, we stopped for a popsicle treat, compliments of Uncle Ray!

We left the Johnsons to explore and went home. We had tired kids and a big day the next day. It was a great day and a really fun day to be able to spend it with my brother and his family on the Mall in DC!

HAPPY 4th OF JULY2009!

SUMMER AT THE LAKE

We spent the day after my birthday at Cunningham Falls State Park. It is about an hour away from our house in Maryland. The Jimmy Ramos family joined us. Jimmy and Jason has been friends since gradeschool. Hannah was roomates with my sister, Anna. We love them like family. The lake was gorgeous. The weather was unbelievably awesome! The kids played and played in the water.

They built sand castles and swam for hours!

Babies and cookies and great friends and great food!

It was the perfect day to just hang out and sit around and talk and enjoy the weather and friends...

Hannah and her cute son, Christian.

What a great way to send a wonderful summer day!

TURNING 40...JUNE 26, 2009
From the summer of '69 to the summer of '09....40? I am? Really? Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
It was a great birthday. It was a quiet day, spent with my little family. I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday. They are the best presents I have in my life. I am so blessed.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY - June 21, 2009 If my life had gone the way that I planned it, I would have never met Jason Day. He came into my life unexpectedly. So unexpectedly, that my life was never the same again. It has been a long journey. A journey that where we are today is so much better than I could have ever hoped for or dreamed about. And though our life is not perfect, our life together is blessed beyond my wildest dreams. He completes me and make me deliriously happy. He is the absolute best!

As a father, he is wonderful. He loves his babies and loves being a daddy. He is concerned about our lives and a good example to us. He is a blessing to all of us.

Jason is a man among men. He has overcome obstacles in his life that have left others paralyzed in their quest to move forward. He is loving and kind. He helps around the house without being asked. He is very involved in the children's lives and they love him so much. He is a compassionate and thoughtful husband. He works extremely hard at his livelyhood and his church callings. He is funny and smart and gosh darnet! People like him!

Happy Father's Day to the best husband and father a girl could ever ask for! I love you forever!

WE LOVE YOU DADDY! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The Ashton Family

THE ASHTONS - June 19-20, 2009
T is for TOO short of a visit! H is for HAPPY to see cousins! E is for ELISE who melts your heart with how cute she is! A is for ALL the memories we made in a few short days! S is for SUMMERTIME and having fun! H is for HO! HO! HO! in July!?!?!?!?

T is for TURNER and how TALL and handsome he is! O is for the OUTSTANDING performance the boys gave on their bikes and scooters... N is for NEVER FORGET the great time we had!

S is for SMILES - plenty to make lasting memories! When my mom married my step-dad, Marlowe, we became a blended family. Over the years, the blending has become seamless. We love The Ashtons like they were always a part of our family. Tom was out on the east coast for training and Jenny and the kids came out to see him. The came up to see us and we played and played and played! The weather was beautiful and we spent most of the time outside just enjoying ourselves. I really enjoyed just spending time with Jenny. She is delightful and fun and a GREAT mom! Her kids are so cute and everyone got along so well. The boys rode bikes and scooters until there were grooves in the pavement and Eleanor and Elise dressed up, played house, and were just cute! We are so blessed to have such a great family and fun cousins! Thanks for the great summer memories! We look forward to making more in the future!