Wedding Preparations

Okay so no one could ever say that Ashley is a procrastinator. Her wedding is over 6 months away and she has been so busy making decorations. She is such a crafty person. Here she is modeling her almost finished card holder. Way to go!!

For some reason all our crafts are done in the kitchen. Here she is making the most use of the stove. Haha.

Nick has figured out the best place to be. Out of her way! Here he is just chilling watching TV.

Another Last First

Aubrey going to her first day of school is another last first. It's her first day of school being a senior at Mesa High but it's the last first day of school we will have. I have mixed feelings. Happy for her starting her senior year. Sad for me because this is it. I have no more children to take pictures of on their first day of school. Thanks Aubs for putting up with me.



This is our high school car. A Dodge Neon. We bought it for our kids when Ashley was a senior and Erica was a junior for them to get themselves to school. Basically, I was tired of driving them to school and heaven knows it was sooo uncool to take the bus. Anyways, it's now Aubrey's car. She will inherit it when she graduates. Another one of the perks of being the baby of the family.

This is the first day of school cake. It's purple with yellow sugar. GO JACKRABBITS!! (Although my blood still runs orange and blue.)

Aubrey frosted the cake so we had to take her picture with the cake. Again, (sniffling, sobs) another last first.

14 Weeks

Erica and Albert just recently had their latest doctor's appointment. It was too bad they were not able to get an ultra sound, but this is her at 14 weeks! For only being three and a half months along I think she looks pretty pregnant! At 14 weeks the baby is the size of a lemon, and my favorite part is that it has started peeing! February can't come fast enough!

Newport Beach...Oh how I love thee

We LOOOOVE Newport Beach.

We love the sunsets. How the sun just quietly slips down below the ocean.

We love these girls. Aubrey, Morgan Stahley, Audrey Noble and Ashley Shepherd. We love how they asked us to take them to Newport Beach so they could have a girls trip before school starts. They didn't have to ask us twice.







We love the ferry that takes us across to Balboa Island. We (mainly I) LOOOOVE Balboa Island. We always rent bicycles when we go to Newport and ride between Newport and Balboa. We like to feel like Cali natives and somehow riding a bike makes us feel this way.

We love the Balboa Bars. They are the absolute bomb. A big ice cream bar dipped in chocolate and then dipped in your favorite toppings such as crushed oreos, peanuts, almonds, sprinkles and I can't remember them all. So yummy on a hot afternoon.

Take my advise: Only buy Balboa Bars from this place. They are the Kings of the Balboa Bars. Aren't these two so cute.

This placed is exquisite. I want this cottage. I must have this cottage. Honey, pleeeease buy me this cottage. I will never ask for anything again in my whole life (or at least I'll try not to). It has a small price tag of 6 million. Can you believe it? 6 million to live on Balboa. Holy Crap!! I still love this cottage though.

My honey loves the beach. He has fond memories of growing up in Cali and spending all his summers at the beach. It was a saving grace for his mother. With 5 boys I'd spend my time at the beach too. Let them run wild and have fun then take them home to bed.

This is a view from up on the pier looking down on the girls. Notice the flower made out of their flip flops.

I wonder who Aubrey likes?!

The girls looking down on their creation and yelling at anyone who tries to walk through it.

We love Applebees. Dinner at Applebees after a long day on the beach tasted so good.

Okay so we were sitting at our table and I hear a young woman say Karson to someone else sitting a few tables away from us. Well, since I very rarely hear my name shouted out loud in public (unless, of course, it's someone in my family wanting to get my attention -- and this wasn't the case) I naturally looked to see who it was. It turns out that there was this guy waiter that has my name and spells it the same way I do. So naturally I asked him for his name tag. He kindly obliged. YEAH!!

I looooove this man. I love that he takes me to Newport Beach. I love that when I want to go to Balboa Island because that is the only place to get the REAL DEAL Balboa Bars he kindly rides his bike with me to the ferry and over to get them. I love him because when he wants to go to the beach I get to go along too. I love him because he loves me.

WICKED

I had never seen Wicked. I have always wanted to see Wicked. My wonderful husband knows this (thanks to my telling him last October when I first heard it was coming this summer) and sweetly bought me tickets for my birthday. It was WICKEDLY awesome!! So good, in fact, that when it comes again we are going to take the whole WICKED family. Thanks honey. I had a WICKEDLY good time. Okay enough of the WICKED remarks.

Our Last 17 Year Old

This is our last 17 year old we will ever have. I am driving her nuts because everything she does I tear up and say "it's my last this and that." It's hard having our baby grow up. This picture was taken a few days before her 17th birthday.

This was at 6 am the morning of her birthday. Her friends surprised her and came and kidnapped her and took her out to breakfast. Notice the Nutter Butters in the right corner. Her favorite cookie of all time.

Here's Aubrey on her birthday with flowers from Ryan. He came and delivered them while she was gone with her friends to breakfast.

Her birthday banner that Ashley made for her.

We got her tickets to see Phantom of the Opera with Patrick. They will have a daddy/daughter date night. They both love Phantom.

Happy Birthday Aubrey!! We love you so much. You bring so much laughter to our home. Your testimony is awesome. You are an amazing daughter.