Driving to the Desert for the New Year

We celebrated the New Year with the Brick family at Pete and Sandy's house in Bullhead City, AZ. We left around 5am so Ashley slept most of the way but did manage to wake up for the "whoops" (bumps on River Road Cutoff heading into Laughlin). Ashley had us dying with laughter because she really thought she was on a rollercoaster, she had her arms high in the air and was screaming with joy followed by giggles. After the whoops Ash was just talking to herself and I turned around only to find a tourist in the back seat, she had her snacks, glasses and a water bottle hanging from her neck. She managed to keep the end of our trip pretty entertaining.

Driving Lessons with Ashley

We were trying to teach Ashley to drive her pink mini cooper and it was SCARY! I told Jason if she's anything like this as a teenager she can expect a bike for her 16th birthday. These are just some cute videos of her being a seriously confused and distracted driver.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We hope you all had a wonderful day with your family and friends. We had a wonderfully busy Christmas. We started our morning off at home and then headed to my my mom and dad's to open gifts, then we were off to Pete and Sandy's. After we opened the presents with Jason's family Ash took a nap and we were off to Peter's parents house where we had dinner with 49 members of the Brick clan, as Grandma Brick said it was chaotic but wonderful. It's pretty amazing to see that many people in one family all gathered around for Christmas dinner. Christmas was really fun with Ashley this year, she was so excited to get her Pluto and Mickey from Santa. She's also really excited about her season pass to Disneyland and her pink mini cooper power wheel from her grandparents(so spoiled!). I do have to say that the best gift given was mine to Jason, a baby on the way!! Jason and I had agreed to not give gifts this year since we're in escrow and will have a lot of money going out soon. I had wrapped up a onesie that said "coming soon". Jason seemed pretty shocked and Ashley said she was excited and wanted a "boyeee". It was so fun sharing the news with our parents and extended family members through the day. We ended up re-wrapping the onesie and giving it to both of our moms and Jason's grandma to tell them we were expecting. We're really excited and just can't wait to meet the new member of our family which we're expecting August 29th. We hope you have a very Happy New Year! I'll be keeping you all posted on any baby news as time goes on. Take care!

Getting the cookies ready for Santa

Just a few pictures of Ashley getting the cookies, carrots and milk ready for Santa and Rudolph.

Visiting Santa on Christmas Eve

We went to visit Santa in the morning on Christmas Eve. Ashley was very excited until she saw him, then she locked her arms around Jason's neck and stayed there for about 20 minutes. When it was finally Ashley's turn to sit on Santa's lap she decided he wasn't so bad and managed to give us a smile.

What's in that box of chicken?

I was unloading groceries from Costco and when I was done there was a pillow on top of the chicken box. I took it off and my goof ball of a daughter was curled up inside with her black cat flashlight from Halloween. I don't know how her long body could curl up small enough to be in there but she did and LOVED it!

Our Christmas Tree

We finally got our Christmas tree and it's probably the best we've ever had. It was the first one we unwrapped at Home Depot and looked pretty flawless to us. The best part was it went in the stand so easily, we always seem to end up getting one that feels an urge to lean in one direction which really irritates me. I started wrapping presents today while Ashley was napping. When Ash woke up she wanted to know every detail of each present, who it was for, why they got that wrapping paper and bow, what was inside, etc. I think she tried every possible way to get us to tell her what was inside her presents, her excitement is making me SOOOO excited for Christmas morning.

Seeing Santa in Ladera Ranch

We decided to go to Ladera Ranch for Christmas Carols and to let Ashley get a glimpse of Santa. It was pretty fun, Ashley loved the kids singing carols and the little girls dancing. After the performances Ashley made a necklace that she was so excited to show to "Ho Ho". We were waiting for Santa then we heard the fire engine and Santa was riding on the top of the fire truck, which was pretty cool. After going around the town square Santa stopped in front of the giant Christmas tree, we did a countdown and he lit the tree. Ashley was so thrilled to wave at him and show off her necklace. It was a fun way to start December!

Our Family Portrait, through Ashley's Eyes

Ashley decided to draw a picture of our family. While she was drawing it she said it was hard to make Daddy's little hairs (of course I had to snicker). Then she started drawing herself and said it was a "mess up" so she started over to make her long hairs prettier.



Ashley is on the far left with one long hair going toward the "mess up", I'm in the middle (she had no explanation for the giant ball hanging off the side of my head), Jason is the yellow one on the right.

Making Great Grandma Brick's Cookies

I figure if I'm going to be a Brick I need to know how to make Grandma Brick's sugar cookies. It seems like everyone swings past the cookie jar several times on holidays at Grandma and Grandpa Brick's house. Since Jason loves them so much I thought it would be a good thing to learn how to make them and to teach Ashley to make them so she can carry on the tradition. Ashley loved beating the eggs and mixing them into the dough. Ash was also a big fan of pressing the cookie cutter into the dough but I think her favorite part was tasting the finished product. Jason said they tasted just like Grandma's but were a little thicker than hers. I guess I'll have to make a few more batches before they're just right.

Snow Fest in Aliso

We brought Ashley to the snow fest hosted by the city. Ashley was fighting a cold and cutting a molar so she was a little clingy but kept a smile on the whole time. Jas took Ash down on the sled and as I waited for them to have a turn I watch a mom come down without holding her two year old and the kid flew about five feet in the air face first, then I watched another mom tip the sled over and roll all over her kids, so I was a little nervous because I know Jason always wants to go fast. Luckily I underestimated my husband's skills and his love for breaking the rules haha. We think everyone was falling because they listened to the rules- hold on to the rails of the sled, do not drag your hands. Well, your hands were the only brakes you had so Jason broke the rules and luckily they both came down the hill with big smiles and without a scratch.



After the sled ride we took Ashley to the snow lot but since it was about 75-80 degrees it was more of a muddy slush lot. After a few snowballs and an attempt at making the world's smallest snowman we were all done and headed home.

Thanksgiving with the kids

The kids and I had a Thanksgiving feast for lunch. I'd have to say that Greyson and Dylan will probably enjoy their Thanksgiving dinners the most because they plowed through all of their food. I'm not sure if Maddy, Ash and Cody were just distracted with the turkey napkins, the fact that we were eating at the coffee table or because there were extra kids but they didn't seem quite as enthusiastic about the meal. I had to make sure all the kids could sport some cool Thanksgiving attire so we made vests and headbands, I was amazed because they all were happy to wear their headbands, the vests...not so much.

After lunch we played pin the feather on the Turkey and followed that up with the carving of our "popcorn turkey" which they all thought was pretty cool. It was so fun to spend part of the day with all five kids.

Stone Brewery for Jason's Birthday

Jason had gone to the Stone Brewery in San Marcos to take some pictures of the stone work and fell in love with the place. So I surprised him and took him there for his birthday. The grounds were amazing, it literally was the equivelant of a vineyard but all for beer. My sister Erin, her boyfriend Kevin and my brother met us there. We had dinner and then went on a tour of the brewery which was, um, interesting.


This was the brewery tour guide.



















Jason had a good time, which is evident by the picture of him sliding across the brewery floor, so I guess it was a success.