Happy Birthday Nana!!!!!

Peering in the window

Shopping of course!

Fun at the Zoo

Making Faces for Mommy

Enjoying the wildflowers

1st Birthday

1st week at Nanas

Lots of cuddles

you know Nana loves that huge bow on the 4th of July

This is belated by a day but I wanted to make sure to include pics from last night at her birthday dinner but well I was enjoying the conversation and didnt get but any good ones except Ash & Nana looking in the window of the restaurant at us.

NANA,
Thank you for being a wonderful grandmother, mother, mother-in-law and friend!

Don't worry I wont tell your age but here's to many more birthdays!!!!

We love you!

Happy Halloween Fun!!!!

3 Cute Puppies

Handing out Candy w/ Somer

Daddy's and their girls

Getting Ready to Trick or Treat w/ CoCo

Neighbors Doug, Sam & CoCo

Holding my costume inspiration

Showing off my halloween tattoo from school

Would you say I have my mommy's lips?

Halloween was Pajama day at School

Halloween evening was great fun! Nana, Papa & Somer all came over for disgustingly greasy pizza and trick or treating festivities. There were tons of kiddos trick or treating and all the parents sat in the front yards handing out candy and consuming adult beverages. We trick o treated to 5 surrounding houses with our neighbors Sam, Doug & CoCo. CoCo was a flower fairy and looked adorable. Miss A was scared at times but overall no huge tantrums therefore considered a successful evening with great family & friends

Little Miss' Halloween thru the Years

Beautiful Ballerina ~Almost 5 months old

Lovely Ladybug ~Almost 17 months

Darling Dalmation Puppy ~ Almost 29 months

I can't believe we have celebrated 3 halloweens with Ash. It is flying by!

Can you say GET YOUR GUNS UP!!!!!

There is nothing like living in Austin and beating the Longhorns!
So proud to be a
RED RAIDER!!!
GO TEXAS TECH!!!!!

Our Own little Ruidoso

Beautiful Trees & River

Huge Tree ~ Little Girl

Skipping Rocks or Throwing them at ducks?

Gorgeous colors

Tired after a long day!

For the 1st 20 years of my life, we traveled to Ruidoso, NM at least twice a year as it was the closest mountains and well the prettiest area within 5 hours from Lubbock. When Chris and I moved to the Austin area in 1999, we looked at houses in the Wimberley area and I absolutely loved it. It reminded me so much of Ruidoso in its charm, cute shops, beautiful trees and the river that runs through the city and... it is better than Ruidoso in some ways because it is only 45 minutes from some great larger cities. Granted I am very well aware that there are hills instead of mountains and no I don't ski so I don't need the snow or the yucky cold. The only problem for us moving there in 1999 was that it was too far from Austin for a decent commute.

So today with Chris off celebrating the opening day of deer season, and knowing that it will be quite a while before we go to the mountains again, Mimi, Little A & I drove to Wimberley (only 30 minutes from my house) to check it out once again. We picked the perfect time of year. The leaves were changing, it was 75 degrees and Ash actually wanted to shop (looking without touching breakable objects). Everyone should be very proud as some of these pictures are actually of nature and not Miss A. I must be getting old because I was taking the same pics as the elderly! Either way, it was a nice day and yes - Ash had to wear her TTU outfit to sike out the Longhorns shopping in Wimberely.

In Memory of our dear Neighbor & Friend Heath Stewart

This blog is 99.9% about Ashton. However one of the things that I pray that Ashton will have is wonderful neighbors. Neighbors know everything about you and they support you as you experience life's ups and downs.

I grew up in the same house for the 1st 17 years of my life. 95th Street was full of great families and some of my very best lifelong friends. Tyler and I spent all of our summers, evenings and weekends with Heath, Amy, Brandon, Ryan, Monica, Michelle, Sheila, Christine, Shane, Brittany, Angela, Mark, Steven, Brent, Niki, Jeff, Kimberly & Courtney. We played a million hours in each other's houses, backyards and often in our front yard for block parties. We had water balloon fights, played TV tag, touch football, swam in Jim Boen's pool, celebrated birthdays, and begged our parents for just one more hour outside all together. (Neighbors, ~ I am I leaving anything out? - any Heath or neighborhood stories are appreciated)


Sadly, one of these special wonderful neighbors committed suicide on Wednesday. Heath was 26 years old. 4 years younger than me and 2 years older than Tyler. Tyler idolized Heath. They were inseparable for many many years. Heath practically lived at our house. He went on vacation with us multiple times, he and Tyler played endless hours of baseball, football and basketball together in addition to Nintendo and Sega games. I baby sat he and his sister more times than I could ever count and his mother frequently cut my hair. Heath could drive me insane with his endless questions and his desire to teach Tyler crazy antics and defy my "older sister bossiness". He was a little brother to me for the 1st 13 years of his life.

My heart hurts so very much for his family. His mother Karen, father Robert & sister Amanda are wonderful people and I pray that God will be with them and hold them so very close because they are really going to need it. It has made our neighborhood come back together again like we haven't in years talking of memories. Most of us have moved but some are 95th Street lifers.

Here is a link to Heath's memorial.
http://memorialdesigners.net/

It reflects his years age 15 and up more than his childhood but luckily I have a great memory and can picture all the wonderful times that we shared with Heath as he grew from a sweet Toddler to a rowdy little boy to a gawky cute teenager.

We will miss you Heath. Know you are loved.

This tragedy has made me hug my family a little tighter and pray a little harder. Happy Halloween.

FEARS

Fear Inducing Pic

(I have to dress up for Halloween for work so Tillie graciously provided me a variety of special costumes that Chris was using to scare Ash)

As I have previously mentioned, Ashton is going through a spell where she has interesting fears. If we are out in public and she is uncomfortable or finished socializing, she will announce to everyone "I WANT TO GO HOME" and she will repeat it loudly or in my ear with a whisper until we leave or until I have distracted her.

Mom and I took her to BookPeople on 6th Street on Saturday for a Halloween Puppet Show. I had heard that it was a cute place but very Austiny so you never know what you will get and with the topic of Halloween - it could be cute or weird or scary. The upstairs kids area is adorable. We bought some Christmas gifts and played in all the toys and books. The seating area for storytime has 3 levels and is decorated very cute. The puppet show was interesting and many of the jokes were over her head but cute nonetheless. She kept her arm over her face for almost all of the show just barely peeking out but when it was over she came home and told Daddy that is was very funny. Thank Goodness as I was fearful of inducing nightmares and this kid doesn't sleep as it is. We finished off our Austiny day with lunch at Whole Foods - for all of you that know that I eat like a truck driver, this was so healthy that it caused fear in me!

Not scared like she should be!

Well she is Daddy's girl but he scares me from time to time!