Ballet July 23, 2009

Ashlyn was finally able to start ballet a few weeks ago! She potty trained months ago to be able to take dance class… and then we could not get her into any classes until now because of how the studios run their schedules. Her class is called Prince and Princess Ballet… although, this particular class only had Princesses enroll.  Her instructor is the owner of the studio and her name is Mrs. Joan. Ashlyn has found a new love… and we could not be more proud of her. She listens to her teacher really well and can do almost everything they try… plus she is the youngest in the class. I am not a proud parent or anything! : ) Excuse the poor photography, we were taking shots through a dirty window.

Central Park in the Summer July 23, 2009

We stopped in at Central Park… it is right across from the museum… and we snapped some shots. So gorgeous.

Museum of Natural History July 23, 2009

We had not been to the City in months! It is actually a crime… completely unacceptable that we are this close to the City and we have gone about 3 months without visiting. So… last Friday we decided to visit the Museum of Natural History… which by the way only charges people admission by donation only, so if you visit… feel free to pay them whatever you wan to get in. Anyway… when we walked in a random couple gave us free coupons to got to see 2 exhibits for free as well.. such a blessing! So we took Ashlyn to see the Extreme Mammal Exhibit and the Frogs Exhibit. She said that she liked the Frogs and the Ocean room the best… the ocean area is awesome. Hands down…. best museum I have ever been to. : ) We had a blast!

Funny story too… when we sat Ashlyn in front of a fossil to get her picture… an Asian couple approached us and, though they spoke very little English, they were trying to ask us something…. we thought they wanted us to take a picture of them in front of the Fossil, so I gladly said I would help. They then jumped in the picture with Ashlyn, and wanted us to take a picture of them with Ashlyn with their camera! Ha! It was the craziest thing… they threw up peace signs and smiled big, and Ashlyn looked at them like they were crazy. Needless to say… after they left I was kicking myself for not taking a pic with my camera… after all, it was hysterical. When we were about to leave the museum we ran into the same couple again, so we got a picture of them with Ash in front of the T-Rex! So funny!

She was wearing a blue dress… Brett said that Ash can be the new American mascot. The next picture was taken right after they jumped in the picture with her the first time.. she looks a little unsure… she was wondering what was going on!

A Day at Magic Kingdom July 23, 2009

We figured that if we were going to be in Florida for 10 days… we had to spend at least one day at Disney. Ashlyn had been such a good girl at the assembly that we figured she needed a day of fun. So we spent a day at Magic Kingdom and Ashlyn has in heaven. She got to meet Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Ariel, Mickey & Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto! She can’t wait till we can go back again and talks about it non-stop. The expression on her face when we first walked in and a show started with the Mickey crew and the Princesses was priceless… she was elated!

Dinner at Downtown Disney July 22, 2009

One night we went to Downtown Disney to eat dinner while we were in Florida. We ate at the Rain Forest Cafe… which Ashlyn thought was cool, but was not sure about the random thunder storms in the restaurant. After we ate we walked around an she got a picture with Pooh… and then she saw some kids playing in a fountain and decided that she wanted to as well… despite wearing a dress. We said… go for it Ash! You are only a kid once.

One day at Assembly they had a lady there to paint the kids’ faces… Ashlyn got an “aqua” colored mask… just as she requested! Ha! Gigi, you taught her Aqua!

Trip to Florida for General Assembly July 22, 2009

We recently went to Orlando for the Nazarene General Assembly and Convention. It was amazing to see that many Nazarenes together… when we attended church on Sunday there were over 25,000 of us there to worship together. Pretty amazing!

We were also able to visit with some family while we were there. We got to see Brett’s Grandma, his Aunt Connie and Uncle Butch, and we also got to see his Cousin Holly and her family. They had a pool… which Ashlyn was lovin! They also had just bought a pony named Rosy, and Ashlyn got to take a ride on her!

It was so much fun. Ash loved spending time with her cousins!

Brett’s grandma Williams.

Spending time by the pool. Holly worked on teaching Ash to swim… first time trying and she put her face under the water. No tears… she was so brave! Thanks Holly, Ashlyn is still working on it, but does not mind putting her face in the water.

First trip to the Beach This Season… July 22, 2009

We took Ash a few months back to visit the beach… even though it was still cold we had a blast. I learned a great lesson though. Always bring a change of clothes for the toddler when going to the beach… even if swimming is not in the game plan. Ash was running away from the tide… and fell. Poor thing! The water was so cold, but she still had a blast of course. Here are some pics we took at the beach… the one above though was edited by my friend Cija.. you can check out her blog and website by following the link to the right for 3 wishes Photography. She took our family pictures last August right before we moved to New York.

Ashlyn’s Birthday Video for Daddy… April 24, 2009

Alright…. so for Brett’s birthday we did a surprise party…. and as I said in an earlier post, he had no idea that it was coming. So, after he prayed to close the service that Sunday, we announced that we would be celebrating Brett’s birthday and played this video. It was Aunt Stefanie’s idea to make the video, and Jeremy Zoref…. our film genius… was behind making the video. He spent many hours editing with Kate Barker to make this just right for Brett. Thanks Everyone! Enjoy watching little Ash wish her daddy Happy Birthday! Also, after the video there is a link to more videos from our church if you want to watch them… my dad is in one of them and it is pretty funny!

Macy’s Spring Flower Display… April 15, 2009

While we were in the City for the Circus we stopped by Macy’s to see their huge Spring Flower display. They were especially busy that day, so it was more difficult to get good pictures, but it was beautiful. New York schools get far more time off than schools in Colorado… they get most of the Jewish and Catholic/Christian holidays off… so they were off for a week for passover and Easter.. that made the city busier on Monday as the kids were still off school…. but that is what allowed us to take everyone to the city.

Circus Trip: Zing, Zang, Zoom! April 15, 2009

Monday we took a group of 73 from the church to see the circus: Barnum and Bailey’s Zing, Zang, Zoom at Madison Square Garden as our Fun Family Outing for April. Ashlyn said she liked the Elephants, Zebras, and flips the best. Bill, Margaret, and Stef came with us and it was a wonderful time!