A Not so Snowy Winter

For those of you who live in California know that this was one of the driest winters in our history, which makes me sad on multiple fronts. However, the biggest disappointment for this winter was that we live just over an hour from the mountains and we only went 3 times!!! As mentioned in prior blogs, Jacob absolutely LOVES the snow!!!The picture above is a great representation of this winter... totally adorable boys in their snow clothes, without much snow around them! However, the snow may have been limited but the fun definitely was not!!! Jacob learned how to ski!!! Brayden and Jacob both ice skated (very loose term there) and Everett liked to slide down the snow.

So Jacob is more of the skier (LOL obviously by the above photo). Brayden loved it once he got his giant helmet off, LOL. Which made this PICU nurse slightly nervous! The boys had a blast and the adults backs all started killing them!!! Thank goodness we had almost all their aunties and uncles there to rotate through!!

All these photos weren't from the same trip, which is noticeable by the amount of snow. The best snow was Jacob's birthday weekend, which was a total surprise!! We lucked out so much that weekend!!! That morning Jacob woke up and said "Look mommy!! It snowed just for my birthday!!" Gotta love the ego centrism of a 3 year old!

Here are some videos of Jacob skiing... I could not be more proud of this kid!! He normally acts so scared to try new things, but when it came to skiing he just jumped on and went for it!! He only decided to stop when he said "Mommy my legs hurt!" LOL which in the video you'll see why, because he is so stiff! LOL

I can't wait for next winter already!! I mean beyond the fact of having green grass again and water on our lakes... but the skiing next year is going to be so fun with both Brayden and Jacob!!!

A Formal Affair

With having a second baby the topic of having another baby shower inevitably gets brought up. there are sprinkle showers for such occasions, but I still have a hard time with that.  Not that I don't want to celebrate this baby as much as the first, but there is something weird about getting presents when you already have everything ready. Therefore, when Kimmy asked me what I wanted to do, I knew the main thing I wanted was one night to hang out with my best girls. We don't often get together anymore due to the fact that we all have very different jobs, live all over, have kids, new boyfriends, old boyfriends, husbands, families,...etc. I could go on forever! But just cause we don't see each other doesn't mean that we are any less close. We can all just pick up where we left off without a hitch. And Saturday night was no different.

We are so lucky to have the men in our lives that we do!! They not only put up with our shenanigans of random events like this, which required them to dress up, but they all participated with smiles on their face. Matt cooked an AMAZING dinner!!! Every single course was perfect! I am very lucky to have a brother in law like him! Kim did great with the table set up...everything looked beautiful! 

 I am still in awe of all the effort that went into Saturday night. When Kim and I were talking about it a couple months ago, I never imagined anything as nice as this!!

 All the girls looked to gorgeous!!! We had a blast catching up and having inappropriate dinner conversations.  There was lots of laughing to say the least! With two weeks left until the baby is due, it was a night that I absolutely needed!! I can't express how grateful I am to everyone that helped and that came!

Another bonus to the day was, I was able o get my hair and toes done!! So now I am ready to go into the hospital looking like Kim Kardashian!! LOL

Auntie Towee!!!

Tori Came to Visit!!! Tori Came to Visit!!! After three months apart, Tori finally was able to get up to visit us and see our new house! We had an awesome weekend together just catching up. And Jacob loved spending time with his Auntie Towee!! As bored as Jacob looks in this picture... he really did have a great time.  We actually kept pretty busy surprisingly cause my pregnant body is slowing down each day I get closer to the due date!! We ate dinner at the fountains in Roseville and rode the train there (saving those pictures for another blog). 

Then we went to a big baby sale where we shopped till we dropped basically. (I shopped both days with Kimmy and Tori! Christmas here we come!!) We got cool toys like this horse, which is technically a present from my dad.

We spent many hours at the park... this lady bug "ride" is his favorite for no apparent reason, it barely moves!

Then we had our standard trip to Target. We stocked up on 49er gear, which obviously has not worked out so far.

We have missed Auntie Towee a great deal since our move to Rocklin... We keep trying to trick her into moving here!!! So here is another attempt...

Don't you want to see these two, almost 3, beautiful faces everyday Auntie Towee!?!?!?

Happy Birthday Tori!!!

This past Saturday was Tori's big 28th birthday. Just like last year it was wine oriented...of course!! During the day we went wine tasting in Livermore. We only hit up two wineries because we all got a late start to the day.  That morning Sam and Tori did a mud run, which they looked super cute in their muddy tutus! I went and got my hair done for the first time in almost 3 months (let's just say it was a much needed appointment).  Anyways after wine tasting we went to Campo di Bocce in Livermore. That place is so much fun!! Of course all us girls got dressed up and looked fabulous!!

Okay so you may be thinking to yourself..."That above picture is missing Kimmy." or "Who had Jacob the whole day?" or "How in the world are you wearing a strapless bra Ashley?" Or you may not be wondering any of those questions and you would have been fine just to look at pictures here on out.  Well if you were hoping for the latter you can just skip ahead and view photos. For the curious folks out there...Kimmy stayed home until bocce started, considering she couldn't drink at the wineries. Mike had his first long day with Jacob!! 8 whole hours!! He did a wonderful job and managed to give him a bath and get him to take a four hour nap!! He's a great daddy!! And for the last question...my hair is covering the straps...lol.  Nice trick I know.

It was a great day to finally spend with the whole group!! Oh how I have missed my ladies!! But I must say I did miss the little man the whole time I was gone.

Another Photo Shoot...

I feel like December was full of pictures (considering that was the primary gift to everyone, we had to take a lot of them).  We tried to get all the "kids" together who go to Sunday night dinner, but that was harder than it sounded.  So we did the best we could, but there were very important people missing obviously! Well here are some of my favorites... (We took them with Tori's special camera, which Mike and I purchased a similar one yesterday!! YAY!!)

Us girls in a tree... oh our natural habitat :0) lol

This picture took forever to get cause they kept competing...weird I know.

The Auntie picture for Jacob... I wanna do something with this picture also, but I just need ideas!! Come on people you know I do not do well with craftiness... so suggestions please.

The beautiful couple...Love this photo!!

Although it took some encouraging to get Kimmy into this tree... this photo was totally worth it!!

Again in our natural habitat... Kimmy looks kind of far away cause she did not enjoy being up there, but as usual she is always a good sport about it!

Another one...

turns 30!!! I can't believe how much we have all grown up... marriages, babies, careers, and turning 30! It doesn't seem that long ago when I met Jaybee on the soccer field at CSUH, and within 10 minutes of meeting her I told her, "I hope you know that we are gonna be really good friends!!" I am always right ;0) My dearest friend Jaybee celebrated her 30th birthday this past weekend.  We went out to dinner and then to the all famous Saddle Rack!! Well, Kimmy and I didn't go to the rack because being pregnant and going dancing in a bar doesn't really bode for a great combination.  Anyways we enjoyed an awesome dinner at The Elephant Bar and went to a hotel to help the girls get ready to go out. Everyone had a blast that night... especially at the bar (judging by the pictures on facebook!!)  It was a great way to send Jaybee off into her 30's!!! I know this next year will be amazing for her!!  The above photo is pre Saddle Rack... we all dressed very classy to dinner (new favorite photo!!)  And of course the beautiful birthday girl to the right with her birthday dessert.

Here are Tori (AKA LC) and Sam at dinner...both looked so beautiful all night long.  Please comment on how good Sam's hair looks cause she spent two hours doing it and developed an arm cramp for the rest of the night!! LOL But her hair did look amazeballs!!

Here the preggo ladies of the night... Kim decided to take the classy approach and stay dressed to impress till she got home.  Me on the other hand... being seven months pregnant makes you uncomfortable all the time so I decided to change.  Mikes reply was "All your missing is your doorag and a can of worms."

Here are all the ladies dressed to impress!! I am sure they were the most beautiful girls in the bar!!

Beeze and Tweedy having fun at the rack!

Thought I would also document that Mike was the only guy there (other ones cancelled), but he stuck it out even at the hotel while all the girls were getting ready.  He is one great husband!!

Yup She's 30 People!!!

My lovely sister-in-law turned thirty a couple of weeks ago.  I decided since I had to work on her magical day, that I would dedicate an entire blog posting to her!! Although doesn't she look amazing in this dress!?!? Yeah that was her birthday gift from Mike and I!! So, I was trying to think of the best way to do this... and in true sporty fashion (which Kimmy loves to hate) I am gonna do a Top 10 List! Just like Sports Center...

Top 10 List on Why We Love Kimmy

10. She let's us call her Jimmy...just because that's what her name auto corrects too.

9. Her small hands (which may sound weird...but it makes for lots of jokes...which we can always appreciate).

8. She tolerates watching sports... even though she tries to occasionally switch the channel to Kindergarten Cop or a Lifetime movie.

7. She always is willing to try a new thing even if it is a sport. For example snowboarding... she almost killed our instructor, but kept laughing the whole time!

6. When she doesn't want to participate in our sporty shenanigans (which sometimes get a little crazy) she is always willing to photograph or video tape. (sledding...lol)

5. She moves slow in most things she does... but for the most part finishes her projects (minus snowball wreath).

4. She is really patient... I think it has to do with her slow moving...lol. 

3. Her craftiness!! And I say this as an understatement!! Some of the ideas she comes up with I would have never thought of in a million years.  Although some are flops (Martha projects no longer allowed) they are always fun!

2. She taught us girls how to dress!! I think all of us agree that if it weren't for Kimmy and her fashion know how we would all be in sweats all day everyday.

1. Finally... we love her because she is a great best friend, sister, daughter, and wife!!! We love you Kimmy!!

As an example of number 2 on the list I wanted to post some pictures of girls night out get together... we all got dressed up super cute!! So please enjoy...

Summer Update

So as I am writing this and going through pictures to post, I am trying to figure out a good excuse on why I have not posted in so darn long.  At first I thought well I have been super busy, but as I am going through pictures and struggling to find something interesting I have done this summer...being busy is probably not the best excuse.  I have just decided that I haven't had a super interesting Summer to post about.  Not that it hasn't been fun, but I think I used up all vacations and huge events in the first part of the year.  Anyways let me update you on the last 2.5 months of the Wood Family's Life...

First thing to happen to kick off Summer was our old roommate (yes I said old...Sam has now moved on to bigger better things and now lives with her boyfriend down the street in Livermore...she's still close so its no so bad.) Anyways she graduated from the teaching credential program and now works for a Middle School in Baypoint!! YAY Sam!!

This Summer we went to A's games to see fireworks, hung out by the pool and just relaxed, and a couple of girls night out dinners which are always hilarious and fun... hmmm what else? Oh we went on a vacation to Tahoe with the Burkholder Family and extended family. We had a great time in Tahoe playing tennis, swimming, miniature golf...oh and stalking a bear that was hanging out in our neighborhood.  Tori got a little close for my liking, but she got some cool photos of it.  I guess since she didn't get eaten, it was worth it. All in all a good Summer...calm a restful.  But I have a feeling things are about to get super crazy!!!

Vegas Fashion...

As most of us girls know, things you wear in Vegas you probably won't ever wear again in real life.  With that being said I think we looked fairly classy for being in the Sin City.  My quote when shopping for this trip was "Yeah wear whatever...its Vegas," only to be scolded (and I mean that in a very loose term), by Mike saying, "there are still rules in Vegas!!" Gotta love the husband! Well us girls never pulled a "Britney Spears" and with enough tape our girls never made a surprise appearance. So all in all it was a great fashion weekend of things that we may never wear again...

I am not one hundred percent sure where Sam got her dress (but I wanna say Macy's in the prom section, I forgot to mention that they best time to shop for Vegas dresses is during prom season...go figure!) And her shoes are from DSW.com

My little (and obviously using that word generously, probably tiny would be better) black dress is from a store in the Pleasanton Mall ($23.00... cause it was damaged!!! YAY!!) And to be honest this was one of the more conservative choices in that store...lol.

And here is Tori in her amazing blue dress... I am not sure wear she got this though. All I know that this dress was picked out 1 day before we left. I also know that it was between this dress and a dress that had zebra print and feathers on it (Let's just say I think we all think she made a good choice here). Her shoes are Jessica Simpson slingbacks from my closet (Yes, people do occasionally borrow from me).

What Happens in Vegas...

ends up on my blog. (should I say our blog even though Kimmy never posts...hmmmm). Anyways we went to Vegas this past weekend because Mike had a coaches clinic.  Maybe I should rephrase that, Mike went to Vegas because he had a coaches clinic and everyone else tagged along ;0).  The weekend was a total blast!! Of course I can't reveal everything that happened because I love my friends way too much to embarrass them like that (or myself).  But lets see if I can give you a few highlights...

TOP 10 EVENTS/ QUOTES from this past weekend...

10. Wooty (Sam you don't spell it with an "i"), Half-rican, Canadian, and Bubbles (our name tags on our club crawl the last night we were there... guess who is who)

9. Th Blue Smurf Martini... the greatest drink ever!! Doesn't even taste like alcohol (always a good thing).

8. Tori's Birthday being celebrated at Hard Rock Cafe... with a very specific shot.

7. Everyone winning some sort of money gambling by the end of the trip.

6. Sam going to the bathroom at a club with the stall door wide open thinking that her stall was the only stall in there without a door. (It had a door...lol)

5. Tori cleaning gum off her "Biggest Fan's" T- shirt at 3 am on the strip for an hour.

4. Tweedy and Sam's sunburn (inner thigh and armpits... really ladies???)

3.  A note written by someone in their sleep (not that hard to guess who) saying " I finished Tweedy's Vegas Drink."

2. Jon tanning by the pool with socks and a t-shirt wrapped around his head like a durag, then getting in the pool saying "I am just like Michael Phelps, this is my natural habitat."

1. Tweedy falling down the stairs at the MGM Grand... pretty much the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life!!

We had a great time and created some great memories... we definitely missed a few people though!! So we will just have to do this again (Maybe next Mother's Day...lol Just kidding Deb.)

Yes we clean up nice... but take a look at the shoes.  We had heels (of course) but as we learned the hard way the first night, we could not walk everywhere we wanted to go in them.  So we purchased Dr. Scholl's Fast Flats... the greatest fifteen dollars we have ever spent!!

Jon in his "natural habitat"!!! Notice the girls expression behind him...lol

I got my backless shirt!!! As Kimmy pointed out its circa 1998 (I am all about the classics). And of course the thug life part of our little group... lol.  They look so hard don't they?

Had to have our standard bathroom photo... and this one had doors on the stalls ;0)

Fun by the pool...just ignore my antenna hair

And of course the photo of our entire group... which we took four of because Mike kept having his eyes closed... we finally gave up as you can see.