NYC MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Very crowded, very loud, very big museum filled with dead animals and other stuff. It's free with a "suggested" donation of $20. I think it was worth seeing.

Here's the short version:

Tyrannosaurus Rex

More dinosaur bones



Brontosaurus
And Andrew. Looking exceptionally dashing.

Woolly Mammoth

Andrew's picture he wanted with the big moose.

Very large pterodactyl hanging from the ceiling

Very large sea turtle hanging from the ceiling

realistic, exotic animal display

realistic, non-exotic animal display

And really big, dead moose that look alive

There is Andrew looking innocent and...way too happy. And there is Mom reacting to whatever Andrew just did or said to tease her.

The End.

MOTHER's DAY

Each of my students made one of these in class for their mother. 

I woke up Sunday to Andrew busy in the kitchen.  

I received something fun in the mail from mom-in-law.

And this is my mom. 

She happens to be here visiting for the week. 
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Too bad she's feeling anti-social. 

PERSONIFICATION

I'm sure I looked like the paparazzi to my Easter tulips--the way I followed them around with a camera all week. 

Here are my Easter tulips {thanks Mom} watching the sunrise. 

And helping me enjoy an afternoon snack. 

And hangin' with Andrew while he watched a baseball game on-line. 

That is until  I stole them back they soon got bored and chose to help me proofread my cousin's book instead. 

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Heather's book is so fun, and when it's published you'll all want to be the first ones in line to buy it. You won't be sorry.

This is Andrew informing me that allowing the tulips to accompany us on our Friday night date is "out of the question."

I guess he just wanted some alone time without the little ones. But I shared my ice-cream when we returned. 

Sweet dreams.  

FOUR YEARS

I have such a good man. Our wedding anniversary makes me think back to that crazy courtship of ours, and what a miracle it was that we ended up together. (I'm not going to go over our story now, but you can read it HERE.) It was absolutely meant to be.

This song makes me think of that time. Everything was so full of unknowns and uncertainties, but two things helped me through it:

1.) I had distinctly felt that marrying him was what the Lord wanted. I was assured that Andrew was a good person, and God's word was good enough for me.

2.) My family supported me in the decision. I can only imagine the fears going through my mother's mind upon learning I was to marry a man neither of us had known more than a few weeks. But she stuck true to her promise: After expressing her concerns once, she went forward with 100% support and trust. There wasn't even a hint of dissatisfaction coming from her during that whirlwind engagement.

But I'm sure it also helped that Andrew's good heart became increasingly evident the longer we knew him. We all fell in love with him fast, because he is good. And I feel blessed to have had the Lord be out matchmaker. God knew what He was doing.

And doesn't Carrie Underwood sing this song so beautifully? Listen to those high notes!

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SNAPSHOT SATURDAY- Hula

My cousin Aimee, recently e-mailed me a scanned image of our Grandma Jennie. My mom's mom. Look at the placement of that arm! So graceful...so perfect. She was a beautiful dancer, who taught the art to her children.

My mom is also a beautiful dancer. It's been years since I've seen her do it, but I've never since found a hula dancer whose movements were as refined and balletic in my eyes.

Mom tried to teach me from a young age as well. But I never could get the hang of the hip thing...




Thank you. This has been the first in a weekly installment of...

CELL PHONE SERIES

Here I am...

Driving home from work...

Looking very stressed and tired.

A stop on Main Street.

My name is Rachel Ashmore, and I am addicted to shaved ice. I must have my daily 75 cent fix.

Turning onto our street...

Looks like that tree turned yellow in the nine hours I was gone. Which means every leaf on that tree will drop in our yard in the next 24 hours.

Walking through the front door...

Messy house, laundry to put away, homework to be done, dinner to prepare, meeting to be to in an hour.

Feeling an inexpressible gratitude for my single working mother. I mean, I have my Andrew. And no kids to care for...and I am utterly EXHAUSTED. How did you DO it??

KYLAN'S WEDDING

This my cousin, Kylan. I recently posted about his mission homecoming, as some of you may remember. A couple months later, here I am posting about a wedding to his darling high school sweetheart, Karyn. Hooray for love!

This is the mother of the groom holding her granddaughter Ada, at the SLC temple. Picture in your mind the coolest person you know. Got it? Okay...Now, I'm sorry to tell you this, but my Aunt Joy here, is probably cooler than whoever you were just thinking about. She is who I want to be when I grow up.

I have made it a goal to get more pictures of my mom. She usually avoids them like the plague, so it's been a bit of a challenge. Outside waiting for the happy couple to come out from the temple, I got a few while she was distracted. I think candid shots are usually the best, anyway.

For a mother at the age of 50, it is my personal opinion that she's a total babe. Anyone know of any good, Mormon, single, rich(why not?) guys in search of a wife? She deserves it.

Amidst a swirling blizzard, the new Mr. and Mrs. Brown emerge!

Apparently, Kylan is famous for his bad luck. The weather was bad enough on a wedding day. But among other things, mechanical difficulties at the temple veil delayed the wedding by about 40 minutes (who has ever heard of such a thing??) and that morning, the lady making the cake collapsed into the cake and had to be taken to the hospital! A quick replacement cake had to found instead. They were good sports about it though. Just happy to be gettin' hitched, I suppose.

That night there was a formal dinner on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

We ate dinner surrounded by full length windows. They afforded a view of falling snow and downtown Salt Lake glowing beneath us. So beautiful!

While we were in Salt Lake, it happened to be our anniversary. To celebrate, we ate at a Chinese restaurant called The Mandarin. Yes, in case you were wondering...it was very romantic.

The restaurant was still decorated for Christmas. It's hard to see all the details in this picture, because the lighting was dim, but this place was fancy! The food wasn't so bad either (quite de-lish, actually). If you're ever in Bountiful, UT, go check it out!

That's all. =)

JACKSON, WYOMING

A couple days after X-mas, we drove Mom and Becca to Jackson, WY, for the day. The Tetons were sure majestic under that blanket of Christmas snow.

The drive was almost as fun as the destination. We read comics, rocked out to my new Taylor Swift CD, and were just plain goofy. Family is so fun. .
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And of course, I had to take some pictures. What a beautiful, sparkly drive it was! Click HERE for a few more of the trip through Jackson Pass.

For an updated family picture, we stopped on our way at the giant potato...again. Mostly I wanted to try out my new tripod. How did I ever live without one?

(Mom totally kicked Andrew in the head a second after this was taken. It was an accident of course...but sooo funny.)

Jackson is the best. Ever been? So quaint and touristy and artsy...and still so festively decorated for Christmas! Here is "take one" of Andrew and me in old town Jackson. (Andrew always needs a few practice shots first before he gets his sillies out.)

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I won't mention how many takes it required before we got this one.

Pretty Mommy.

Oh No. That giant stuffed polar bear in the middle of this department store is going to EAT us. FYI: We were lucky enough to escape unscathed.



Meanwhile, Andrew was distracted by wildlife of his own.



I was wondering why he was making such a goofy expression until I stood in the same spot, and suddenly, I understood. lol!
(Doesn't it look like he's smiling for the camera?)


I was in heaven, wandering through countless high-end art and photography galleries, outdoor sporting goods stores, and charming little book shops. But nothing compared to this glorious sight.



Now, I've been to Disneyland several times, and I'd say it's a pretty happy place. But, I don't think the guys in charge of slogans over there have ever been to this candy store.



Becca: wandering around the happiest place on earth packed wall to wall with every imaginable goody. I'll admit it. I have a sweet tooth...a really big one.



Guess what I discovered? Huckleberry Fudge. (They gave free samples of a whole parade of fudges.) Who even knew such an exalted sweet existed? This place was so magical, I just had to take lots of pictures.

The snow, the lights, the decorations, and the magic of Jackson sure made me miss Christmas. I love this picture! Nativity set, presents, ribbons, wreath, and stockings. And the TV's reflection shows our Christmas tree and the shape of a paper snowflake cut-out hanging in the window. Sigh. This'll have to hold me over til next year...