I Am Craving Tulips

This last weekend Ashton and I spent Saturday at the recking yard trying to find a new outside door handle for his car (I swear we are not hill billies). It is just so much cheaper to go to a recking yard and find parts for your car then by them from the manufacturer. A new door handle from the manufacturer costs anywhere from $45 to $55 dollars before shipping. That same handle from the recking yard, 5 bucks. What a steal. Any who, then we went back to his dad's garage where his half way restored Chevelle sits waiting to be finished. We took a couple of minutes to assess what it would take to finish it this summer, and I think we are going to try and finish it this summer. We call it our Sunday Drive Car, well I guess Soon To Be Sunday Drive Car is better considering the engine is in pieces right now. Sunday night we stayed up till twelve so Ashton could sign up for his summer classes, he decided to go straight through so he can finish with his Spanish minor. He is such a smarty pants. This morning Ashton and I woke up in a good mood, despite the lack of sleep, until we looked out our bedroom window to find our cars covered with snow. It's March 31st, I should be seeing tulips by now!!! I guess my morning wasn't too bad though. When I went out to my car to drive to work, Ashton had cleaned off all the snow and turned the engine on so the car would be nice and toasty for me. I almost always forget to turn my car on ahead of time which leaves me having to drive to work in a freezing car, so I was very grateful for his thoughtfulness. Thanks hunny.

Moving on from the weather. For my senior year of college I have been the President of the Associated Students of Family Consumer Human Development and have been spending the entire semester putting together a Seminar for ALL of the FCHD students at USU. It has been really fun! A lot of planning, coordinating, teacher persuading, and well...just plane old work. Every now and then, out of no where, I will sit up from whatever I am doing and kind of have a freak out moment, thinking I forgot to do or tell someone something and then I remember I already took care of it and allow myself to start breathing again. Why do I always have to freak out? The closer I get to the Seminar the more of these, well, little moments well call them, I tend to have. Maybe that is because the Seminar is next week on Tuesday. I just hope it goes well, people come, the presenters do well, I do well, and the professors at the University are pleased. I will just have to wait and see. But until then, I will just have to keep dealing with my little moments, and wait for the tulips to rise.

Rain, Sun, and Graduation

Well today there has been a constant battle in the sky between sunlight and rain, but I don't really mind weather drama, I find it fun and interesting. Any who, today I picked up my graduation packet!!! I was so excited, all of the vender's probably thought I was an overly enthusiastic nerd because I was smiling at everyone and, despite my attempts, failed horribly at controlling my high pitch and throat swelling. I can't believe I am graduating in 4 and a half weeks. It seems like I have been in school forever, yet when I think of putting on my cap and gown in a few short weeks it seems so sudden. None the less, I am ecstatic, and very ready for the next stage of my life!!! I feel kind of bad boasting about graduation, because Ashton graduates in May of 2009 and is very envious, but also excited for me. I think he is officially in the burn out stage of school that only comes, gratefully, when you can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel (if it came any sooner I think college drop out rates would skyrocket). We are doing well and love life and each other more than ever.

The Hills Are Alive

So last night Ashton and I went over to my parents house because...well frankly we needed a break from reality. We were hanging out with dad for a little while when he told us that Craig Miller, his old friend from California and my childhood giant (he really was a giant next to my 4' something stature), was coming into town. I was so excited!!! This guy was so awesome. Our family lived down the street from his family and we were constantly going back and forth between the two houses. He would through us little Meaker minis in the pool, in the air, around in circles. We all loved it and would plead, "AGAIN" until his arms about fell off. Anyway when he arrived I gave him a big hug and the first thing he did was pick me up and throw me in the air. It was a little out of the ordinary, for one because I am not a 10 year old anymore, and two he has gotten older over the years, but at the same time I could see that he just really missed our family and all of the memories. The highlight of the night came when he pulled out a DVD he had made of a trip our two families went on to Mt. Rushmore. Mom, Dad, Matt, Heather, me, Ashton and Craig all piled around the little 12 inch TV in the kitchen and watched the movie. It was so cool to see how much my sisters have and haven't changed over the years. By the end of the movie my face hurt from laughing and smiling so much. More than anything I was just glad that Craig had made me a copy which means that all of my sisters have to come over to my house for a Mt. Rushmore movie night.
PS. The Sound of Music was even on the video.

Michael Jackson

I have the funniest Nephew...Last Saturday night, towards the end of Ashton's surprise birthday party, Carter was walking around with one glove on his hand. It was hilarious, you could tell that he thought it was the coolest thing ever. He kept watching his hand with the glove on it while he was walking around the kitchen. Then every now and then he would stop, hold up his hand and start laughing. It was so cute I had to get a picture...You can see him trying to showcase his hand in the picture. Love you Carter Man

Book Club

Me holding my cute, cute, cute, nephew Ethan (Spencer). The night couldn't have gotten any better!

I have to say that I love any excuse to go out to sushi, but going with my sisters to rave about books and fictional romances... Well, it just doesn't get better than that.

The Last 10 Years... In A Nut Shell

First off...Thank you Sara for tagging me and making me do this. It was really fun!!!

Ten Years Ago: I was living in Elk Grove, California and attending Joseph Kerr middle school. Oh the blissful time of Junior High (well not really). As I think back to that time I think I practically lived in the water. I was always in my swim suit. This is a picture of a Fiesta that Cori had to put on for a Spanish class project. I of course was in my pink flowery swim suit.

This was my 14th or 15th birthday party. I can't seem to remember which one. All I remember is that it was one of the funnest parties ever. We started the party off with of course swimming and food, but as the sun went down and the air grew colder we decided to move the party inside...

From there we divided ourselves into three groups and picked cool songs to lip sing to. My group picked "The Queen of the Nile." We then put as much make-up on our faces that our skin could hold and made up a mini show. It was sooooo much fun. I think we even have the performances on tape somewhere.

This was the end of Junior High. Graduation!!! Time to move on to bigger and better things. Tarah and I were so cold that morning, but I think we were too excited to really care. I love this picture. I think Tarah looks like and angel.

Five Years Ago:

Five years ago, I was coming to the end of my attendance at Elk Grove High School. I am so glad I made it out of high school alive. However, I don't really have any regrets... I was in student government, cheerleading, and outside of school participated in a group called Troupe Cabana.

This is a picture of my Senior Ball. I went with my good friend Alex so we got to skip all of the awkwardness you feel when you go with someone you like or someone you really don't even know. It was such a blast!!! Plus I actually love my Pepsi blue dress.

Right after high school the group I was in, Troupe Cabana, went on tour to San Diego. We performed on some of the most amazing stages, and went to some of the most amazing places. It was such a fun time in my life. Just what I needed. This is a picture of one of the outdoor stages we performed on, Amazingly beautiful. In fact on the bottom right hand side of the stage you can see pillars coming off of the stage. The actually wrapped around the entire seating area.

This is a picture with some of the other tour girls. We had to be sure to fit in some shopping excursions, even if they were quick. Our tour outfits were so nerdy, but we dealt with it and made the most of the trip.

Three Years Ago:

Three years ago I had already been to BYU-Idaho, and had transferred to Utah State University. I loved BYU but was so glad that I transferred...because I met some of my life long friends and of course my Husband Ashton. Three years ago, I met Ashton in a place on campus called the Hub.

This is a picture of Tashi and myself relaxing in San Diego, after attending Rachel's wedding.

This is a picture of my good friend Megan, her sister, and me in Hawaii. That was such a fun trip.

A picture of Rachel and myself at her wedding. I was able to sing at the special occasion. Wow that feels so long ago.

This is one of my best friends, Erica and I on Halloween. Erica is currently serving a mission at the Oakland Temple in California.

The Last Year:

This last year Ashton and I celebrated our one year anniversary. Bellow is a picture of the top of our once cute and now nasty wedding cake. We both took a small bite and quickly realized that was all we could handle unless we wanted to spend the entire night on the bathroom floor throwing up.

A picture of Ashton and myself in Disney Land's California Adventure.

Don't ask...I really don't know.

It really isn't a good year for me if I haven't been able to get in some good fishing with Ashton. Here I am in my fishing attire; Indiana Jones hat, Ashton's old rock shirt, and old bleached jeans (you can't see them). Of course I spare no expense for fashion when fishing:)

Matty, Heather, and Me walking the streets of Disney Land. Matt was not a happy camper because his fav pizza place had already closed by the time we got there. So we spent the rest of the night trying to find a pizza place that was open.

Oh yeah, Ashton was behind the camera.






Today:
Well I started my morning hidden in the laundry room giving Ashton's sister in-law, Mary, directions to my parents house for Ashton's surprise birthday party. I then hurried upstairs so Ashton wouldn't be suspicious, and got dressed for the gym. After I finally got Ashton out the door to go shooting with his brother in law Eddie (thanks Eddie for keeping him occupied) I hurried and did my workout, showered, and ran to the store to pick up last minute food items for the party. By the way all of the food was green, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, which is Ashton's real birthday. When I finally got to my mom's house, Hannah and Carter were covered with flower from helping grandma make cookies for the party. Mom and I decorated and cleaned until the girls got back from shopping. Once the girls got back we started to prepare the food. In my mad dash to hurry, I forgot to grease the cake pan and if you are making a bunt cake it is crucial that you grease the pan well just to get the cake out in one piece. So by the time the cake was done and out of the oven, I was reminded of my silly forgetfulness when only half the cake came out of the pan. So back to square one. I made the cake again, prepared the rest of the food, finished up the decorations, and flew out the door, letting my mom and sisters finish up the rest before all of the guest arrived. I made it home just in time to get ready before Ashton arrived. I, knowing that he would totally guess a surprise party if he saw us going to my parents house, blind folded him and drove in a confusing way to my parents house. The entire time he was trying to guess where we were and what I had planned. We ended up at my parent house which is south of Logan and he thought we were somewhere in north Logan. I succeeded this far, but as soon as we got out of the car he could tell that we were no where near where he thought we were due to the lack of noise. So I hurried him up the walk way the best I could considering he was blind folded still, and into the house, knocking down pictures as we went. We finally reached the family room where everyone stood, packed like sardines, I pulled down his blind fold and everyone yelled surprise. The look on his face was priceless.

The night was a blast. Green everywhere, games, food, and Ashton answering every question with, "I had no idea," and "I am totally going to get her back." Needless to say I was completely content with the party. After everyone left mom and I cleaned the house in 2 hours, you would have never guessed that there was a party. Ashton and I made it home by one and in bed by one thirty.

Me, Cori and Tashi stop for a picture at the party

Matt pulling a silly face and Ashton still wondering how I did it.

Ashton and I just after he blew out the 26 candles on the 2nd cake that I made for him. He is so cute!!!

Tomorrow: Well we have church at 9:30am but after church I always go on my Sunday walk. It isn't Sunday without a nice refreshing walk. Then I am guessing we will probably hang out around the house or maybe go and see family. But mostly just rest and recuperate. Hey... Sunday is a day of rest.

This Next Year:
In May I will be graduating from Utah State University with my BS in FCHD.

In June Ashton and I are going to Cancun to celebrate.

This summer we will both be working our tails off to pay off my student loans, I will be trying to get a job in my field, and he will be looking for a job for when he graduates.

Next May(2009) Ashton will be graduating from Utah State University with his Bachelors in Biological Engineering and a minor in Spanish, and I will hopefully be pregnant.

Erickson Family Reunion

I am with Marisa...We need to have a family reunion!!! How does this summer in California sound. Please get back to me on the best time and place, let's try to make it happen.

Little Umbrella

I can't believe I almost forgot this moment in time even existed. I feel like time has just taken off and left some of my happiest memories behind...


Thanks and I love you aunt Renee for sending this picture to remind me of my life.

Where's Waldo... oops... I mean Where's Heather?

So last summer Ashton and I went to Disney Land with the family (Mom, Dad, Matt, Heather, Cori and Craig, and their cute babies) and of course walking through California Adventure I ran into my princess and childhood idol. I couldn't resist, I had to stop to take a very candid picture(NOT). Even though I got a lot of heat for it, it was still totally worth it, and not because I got a picture with the princess of the sea. But rather, because Heather is absolutely hilarious in this picture. Can you see her?

I love you Pookie!

I Don't Think So...

Memories

Sorry I have to brag... My husband is so handsome. I just get butterflies when I look at this picture of him. This is before we were married, we went to a Brazilian restaurant for his twenty fourth birthday. This year he is turning 26, he just gets hotter and hotter. Love you Ashypoo.

My sisters and brother all together outside of the Salt Lake City temple. I was in la la land all that day. I wish that I had paid more attention to what was going on around me, but luckily I have my very detail oriented sisters to help me remember my wedding. Wow, that sounds bad. Can anyone relate?

Sisters, sisters, never were there such devoted sisters...

Mys sisters are awesome. They are just so darn cute. From the left, Cori, Meghan (me), Tarah, Tashi, Heather.