Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Mom's Birthday

(By Aubree)

Last Saturday my sisters and I decided to treat my mom for her birthday. All she knew was that we were meeting in Logan (everyone lives north of Logan in Preston and Grace, except for me) to have lunch and there was a surprise after. So we met at the Copper mill Resteraunt and had a wonderful lunch and then we were off to have PEDICURES! It was my moms and my first time getting a pedicure. It was wonderful!




Lunch at the Copper mill. Counter clockwise from the back: My mom, me, Clara, Amy, Cloe, Andrea, Cambree, and Amber.

The pedicure!


Pretty toes!




Cambree (in front) had so much fun she just needs a nap. Cloe's in back kicking her so she can't fall asleep. Their mom (Andrea) said that it's okay because Cambree kicked Cloe the whole time they were in her stomach.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Ashcroft Family Reunion '09

(By Aubree)


Jeff's mom's side of the family (Ashcroft's) had their family reunion this last Friday and Saturday. On Friday we went to Henefer, Utah and had lunch at the city park, played on the playground and learned and sang about the pioneers.

Then we drove to Salt Lake's This is the Place monument and heard more about the pioneers. Jeff was assigned to tell us about the Vanguard Company, who were the first group of pioneers that Brigham Young put together to go west. We then had dinner and enjoyed visiting with family.

On Saturday morning we hiked to Ensign Peak, which is the peak that Brigham Young was on when he had the vision of Salt Lake Valley. I thought about leaving Clara behind with Jeff's aunt, but we've been talking about going on some hikes around here and I wanted to see if it was really possible to hike while carrying Clara. It was really not that bad at all, I just put her in the Snugli and we had a great hike. Anyway, we hiked to the top where there was a monument. We took pictures and Jeff's grandpa was talking about Ensign Peak when we decided that Clara had had enough and needed to be fed, so we went back down.

There is a church house that is at the bottom of the hill where we had snacks and had more pioneer programs and lunch. It really was a great reunion!




At Henefer city park I decided to have Clara try swinging for the first time. She loved it! I pushed her higher than I was comfortable for a minute, but she was just smiling away. She would move her feet back and forth like she was running, it was really cute!


Jeff's neice Katelyn pushing Clara


Jeff pushing Katelyn on swings.


About halfway up Ensign Peak. Hi Wendy and Chase! (They're the ones you can see on the trail)

Jeff's sisters Ginger and Wendy, and their husbands Jared and Chase, and Katelyn (Ginger and Jared's daughter).

The top of Ensign Peak. It was the perfect day for hiking. It was overcast with a slight breeze, so the sun wasn't beating down on us. Then it decided to rain once we got back, perfect timing.

Downtown Salt Lake





Sunday, June 21, 2009

Best Dad Ever!

(By Aubree)


Jeff you are such a great daddy! I knew you would be and I'm so happy to watch you with Clara. You are so patient and kind to her, and you are such a fun dad too. It will be so great to see you with her when she can run around. I can see in your eyes how much you love and adore her. You are always so excited to see her when you've been away from her, and she gets so excited when she sees you. I know you will have so many things to teach her about everyday life and the gospel and everything else in between. We love you so much! Happy Father's Day!





I love this picture so much, I think it's so sweet!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Five Months Old

(by Aubree)

If anybody knows how to freeze time so that my little Clara will stay this age forever, please tell me how. This has been the best month so far, but I think I'm going to have my hands full with her the next few months.

Clara has started to giggle a lot more. She isn't very ticklish, so I have to get creative to get her to giggle, like make annoying sounds over and over, but I think her giggle is the best sound in the entire world, and it makes me so happy. She also rolled over for the first time on Thursday (June 4th), and today, that's all she wants to do. She thinks she's pretty cool now.

Rolling from her back...

to her belly. She hasn't figured out belly to back, but sometimes when she has rolled to her front and she still has her arm under her she is able to push herself back over to her back.

Last month she loved playing with her tongue, and now it's her toes. This is also how she starts the rolling process. She grabs onto her toes and rolls herself to her side, and then she is able to push herself over.

Clara is also starting to hold herself in a sitting position. If you put her in that position, she will put her hands in front of her to hold herself up and she does pretty good.

She really enjoys her thumb which is really helpful in putting herself to sleep.

She loves the ladybug toy that her cousin Kelsey let her borrow.

Jeff's sister, Ginger and her family stopped by yesterday, and I met their new addition, Hannah for the first time.
(Left to right-Ginger holding Hannah, Katelyn, Jared holding Clara)


The other day we took a walk and she fell asleep in her stroller. She woke up when I got her out, but then I put her in her high chair to feed her and she fell right back to sleep!

Clara likes to get right up in your face and stare you down, so Jeff did it back, it was really funny. I just wish the rag wasn't in the picture.

The rest are just cute and funny pictures that I like. Enjoy!



Thursday, June 4, 2009

Healthy Recipes Needed

(By Aubree)

I've been having such a hard time coming up with ideas for dinner, and Jeff and I are trying to eat healthier so it's even harder to get excited to fix anything because I'm running out of ideas. I need your guys' help. If you have any great recipes that are on the healthy side, even if they just aren't really fattening, please send them to me. You can send me an e-mail at aubreegittins@yahoo.com, or just leave it in the comment field that way every one can benefit. I am mostly looking for main dishes, but if you have any sides or dessert ideas that would be great as well. Thanks!