Sock Hop

Ashlan's school had it's annual Sock Hop last night. What a blast! Kate and Ashlan dressed in their poodle skirts while Brent and I rolled up our jeans and wore our white shirts! Enjoy the pictures!







Ashlan and her best friend, Jake

Ashlan and her Kindergarten teacher


Of course, I made a slideshow of the Sock Hop! You can watch that below!

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Game Time with Daddy Only

Ashlan and Brent have a game that they play together, just the two of them. Meaning - no one else has ever played this game with Ashlan, nor does she want anyone but her Daddy to play it with her!
It's called The Scrambled States of America Game. Although, Ashlan refers to it as 'The State Game'.


The game is meant for ages 8 and up, but Ashlan, only age 5, has LOVED it! The best part being that Ashlan has learned so much from this game!
It's a geography game. The player may need to find a state that ends with the letter A, or locate a state that borders Tennessee, or find a state whose capital starts with a S. The list goes on.....

Ashlan and Brent playing the game...


I highly recommend this game! Even though I've never been 'invited' to play it, I watch from the side and it looks fun! Plus, Ashlan is learning so much from it! Now why she only wants Daddy to play the game with her - Maybe because he lets her win every single time!!!

A Meal for Brent

Brent has a favorite pasta dish that he always orders at the local Italian restaurant here in our town. I thought it would be nice to surprise him with a similar dish here at home. So I searched in magazines and online for a recipe that was similar to the one he always orders at the restaurant.
I found one in a magazine and figured I would give it a try. In the end, it was quite different from the one he orders. But it was still yummy and worth sharing with you (if you like sausage and pasta)

Spicy Sausage Linguine

9oz uncooked linguine
(I always prefer Barilla's Whole Grain Pastas)

1lb italian sausage links, cut into 1/2in. slices
(Ashlan's favorite sausage, so I opted for this)

1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 medium sweet red pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 medium green pepper, cut into thin strips
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flake
1/4 tsp pepper
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
3 tbsp heavy whipping cream

-Cook linguine according to package directions
-Meanwhile, in a lg skillet, cook the sausage, onion, red pepper, and green pepper over med heat until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender

-Add the garlic, fennel seed, salt, pepper flakes, and pepper
-Cook 1 minute longer.
-Stir in the tomatoes and heavy whipping cream. Heat through.

-Drain linguine; serve with sausage mixture.

I served this dish with a caesar salad! We ate it all!!!!

But no meal is complete without dessert! Compliments to Ashlan for the delicious cake she baked and decorated!


And boy am I happy God blessed me with a little girl who LOVES to clean the dishes! I think it probably has something to do with splashing soap and water everywhere!


You certainly can't beat a fuss-free meal. Enjoy!

Questions about Mommy

I did this questionnaire with Ashlan awhile back. I happened to come across the questions again yesterday. I thought it would be fun, now that she's a little older, to see what her answers were now.

So here goes.....

Questions I asked Ashlan about me!

1. What is something mom always says to you? "No."

2. What makes mom happy? "Me."

3.What makes mom sad? "When I leave you for school."

4. How does your mom make you laugh? "When you yell at Nick about his homework. It's so funny, mommy."

5. What was your mom like as a child? "Nice."

6. How old is your mom? "33" (which is correct, by the way)

7. How tall is your mom? "Big."

8. What is her favorite thing to do? "Play with me."

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? "Clean and stuff."

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? "Nothing."

11. What is your mom really good at? "Taking care of me and loving me." (My heart melted when she said this)

12. What is your mom not very good at? "Petting our dog" (okay, I happen to think I pet our dog TOO much)

13. What does your mom do for her job? "Nothing. Just being a mom"

14. What is your mom's favorite food? "Lobster. Oh wait, that's Daddy's favorite food. Ummm...I don't know. You always eat my cereal"

15. What makes you proud of your mom? "You help Katie feel better when she feels sick"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? "Hannah Montana. You look like her" (I told Ashlan Hannah Montana wasn't a cartoon character but her response was, "Well, she's on a tv show, so yes, she is a cartoon character")

17. What do you and your mom do together? "Build forts"

18. How are you and your mom the same? "We both have brown eyes"

19. How are you and your mom different? "We have different kinds of hair."

20. How do you know your mom loves you? "You keep me home from school if I don't want to go" (well, sometimes I do, yes. I'm a cool mother, thank you!)

This was SO MUCH fun!!!! Try it!

Lakehouse

We purchased a weekend house on the lake not to from here. We were able to move in and spend our first nights there this past weekend! We are in LOVE with the house! I have a feeling we will be there as much as we possibly can!

Enjoy the pictures from our first weekend in the house. We took my parents and sister along, too!

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Down Under

We just got back from a fabulous two week trip Down Under! We visited Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. We took over 2,000 pictures, but picked 240 to put in a slideshow to share with YOU! Enjoy!

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A Snow Day in Dallas

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Be My Valentine!

We are getting prepared for Valentine's day here at our house! Ashlan has her Valentine Party at school tomorrow, so we've been working on projects for that!

She had to make a Valentine box for school, but she decided to make one for home too!
Here is the home to keep at home!

Here is the one she made for school

And now she is addressing her Valentine's to her school friends!


Thank you, Memomma, for helping Ashlan with her Valentine boxes! She is so proud of them!