Presenting...our Christmas Card

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Love,

The Ashmores

I had big plans for our Christmas card. I was going to send them snail mail to all our family and friends a few weeks before Christmas...a picture enclosed in the cute cards I bought on sale last year. Andrew was even good enough to pose for some pictures. But between the Christmas Program at school, my fever of 103F, and needing to bake 60+ sugar cookies for my third graders to decorate, these plans went down the tube. I even had the cards and envelopes addressed! All I needed was to get the pictures printed and buy stamps at the post office. However, I finally settled on this much simplified version of a card. One that goes out to everyone at once with the push of a button...directly from the laptop on my Kleenex ridden bed. I'll just send these pre-addressed cards out next year. Just nobody better move before next Christmas! Happy Holidays! We love you all.

A Day Trip to Jackson, Wyoming

Last week, Andrew and I helped some good friends of ours move a trailer full of furniture to be stored in Jackson. The day was stormy and snowy and windy, and the roads were awful! There were points where snow was blowing so thickly across the road from the fields that we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of the truck. As a result, the drive there and back took more than twice as long, but I was not complaining. It was just about the most beautiful drive I have ever been on.

(ABOVE: Andrew was really tense most of the drive, but he did a great job of getting us and the trailer safely through the elements!)

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The clouds cleared for a little while leaving an incredible display of skies. I wish you see it in person! The camera just doesn't do it justice.

A snow covered field meets with a dark and icy lake. Take a look at that sky!

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We climbed some mountain passes where the snow fall and fog were heavy, and visibility was poor...but check out the view from the top!

Once arriving in Jackson, we were treated to a yummy dinner and had fun exploring the touristy shops on Main Street. What a happy day trip!

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Christmas Program

So...in order to be politically correct when speaking to parents it is to be called a "Holiday Program." This does not refer to any specific religion or have any connotation to a God...like anyone would even care. I have a 100% LDS class. Stupid public schools. But anyway, this performance is the culmination of many hours of practice. The entire school put together this program and this was my class's contribution. I picked the cutest dang song. I wish the picture was clearer, but my favorite part is when the kid's "rock out " with their imaginary guitars. I know they're not really my kids, but I sure love 'em like they are. I'm so proud!

Building Houses!

We've made a fun group of friends over the last year and half. We have spent many Sunday afternoons at one another's homes eating dinner and playing board games (Yay Cranium!). The Blevins are getting ready to move to CHINA! and so we thought we'd get together for a last hoorah...and make ginger bread houses! Saturday afternoon, everyone gathered at our home: The Hayashis, The Grimmers, The Blevins, and us.

This is the Ashmore creation. I was glad to have Andrew's home building experience on our side!

Another view of the front. I was covered in frosting by the time we finished. If you look closely, you can even see frosting in my hair.

The back view. We were pretty pleased with ourselves.

The Grimmer creation! (In the background you can see the Hayashis and little Ashlyn.)

Here's Amanda Grimmer hyper on sugar. =) I just love the twirly licorice designs.

Hayashi Creation: The Candyland Temple.

And the Blevin's creation...or what's left of it. It actually looked pretty cool before it fell over. =(
Here is Katrina Blevins, brand-new baby Chloe, and Andrew...stuffing his face. =)

Our First Nativity Set

My mom sent us an early anniversary present (We've almost been married TWO years!) and I am just so pleased with it. It's actually a funny story: Andrew and I were wandering around a Hallmark store on Black Friday and we were admiring the different Nativity Sets. I really liked this one a lot and was calculating how much it would cost me altogether. In the end, it was decided we wait another year. Imagine our surprise when the same set arrived on our doorstep a few days later! Good choice, Mom! We were both really excited to set it up.

Christmas Tree!

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we drove up to the mountains and found our selves a Christmas tree! It is such an adventure to cut down our own tree! Growing up in Arizona, we would drive to a corner lot in the city where a whole bunch of perfect little pre-cut trees were sold. Then we would pick one out and take it home. It's a different experience all together to tromp through snow in a fog-filled forest for hours at a time in order to find this perfect tree!

Andrew on the hunt for a tree and looking so manly in the process.

It doesn't look like much snow, but I was soaked through by the time we finished. There hasn't been snow in Rexburg yet, so I didn't expect to see this much only half an hour from home. Here I am holding the saw as if I did so much work. Honestly I stood by and watched. My most important contribution (besides making the final decision on the tree) was yelling "TIMBER!" as it was falling over. (I had to be sure that no one got in the way, of course.)

This is the finished product! We had so much fun getting it set up! Decorating is definitely my favorite part about Christmas. (Andrew did a wonderful job of unwrapping and handing over each ornament so that I could place it on the tree.=0)) What do ya think?