Catching Up!

I have not gotten to read blogs in so long! It will be fun to catch up on everyone next year, my kids don't let me on the computer as much as before. Im so behind on things and have not sent out Christmas cards and am not making treat plates! :( Its sad but I just don't think it will fit in. It's okay though because there is always next Christmas! :) Here are some quick pics of things going on here.
Avery is so cute in someones glasses.

Austin has obviously been to the park.

Scott decided to climb this moutain with the scouts. They were going to pack/hike in and camp up in the snow, he decided to scout it out the weekend before. He talked some of the Iverson boys into going with him. It was gorgeous and warm, a little too long of a hike but they made it home safely.

They say you should always hike in the dark in unknown terrain. What are the chances you will get lost or eaten by wild animals?

Scott said Eric inhaled his burger and fries and was out!

I said help your sister get her snow clothes on Austin, not tie her up.

Hmmm, I wonder why all my nylons have holes!

Jocelyn staying warm, old school style

Are you kidding me Eric, nice Christmas spirit!

BAD KITTY

Austin and me having fun with faceinhold.com

Santa at the preschool party was fantastic! We all believe in Santa! My girls were soooo excited!

Fun in the snow!

Ugliest Christmas Sweater Party

I want to have a party where everyone wears an ugly Christmas sweater but there is just no time. Maybe we should all just do it for the ward party, see who comes with the most obnoxious Christmas sweater! :)

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I found this cute picture of Avery and Scott, she was so tiny!

Christmas Projects

My kids are so sick of me sitting at my computer, I finally finished my calendar for my family. I know it just looks like a collage of a bunch of pictures slapped together but it takes me so long to get one page done! Im proud of myself for doing so much math lately! In a 5x7 space do I want to put a 2x3 and a 3x4 picture or two 2.5x3.5 pictures? I have to do all the dimensions for a 8.5x11 page and figure out how many pictures and of what size. Its been thrilling! Anyways now I gotta come up with a clever Christmas letter and get them in the mail! Or maybe I will just take a picture of me trying to write a Christmas letter and send that! :) Here are a few of my pages for the calendar.

Oh now you have all seen my Christmas card so I don't have to send it out! :)

Fun Stuff

Carter came home for a week! The kids were so excited! All the Gilberts went to Idaho for Thanksgiving but this was a couple weeks ago, Im a little slow putting it on here. The kids decorated the house while I was taking my Sunday nap and as soon as Rochelle got back from picking the kids up in Othello the house was full of happy squeals and everyone jumping all over poor Carter!

We also went to the river to attempt a family Christmas picture. Like always we got about four hundred bad ones and a couple okay ones. My brother-in-law Feliz ran out to take them and Daniel kept sitting in with our family. He looks just like my kids so he would totally fit in! :)

More sillyness from the Ashtons:

Mom: Why are we using plastic forks for dinner?
Austin: It's my day for dishes.

Jocelyn: I stepped on a billy goat. (goat head sticker)

Mom: What treat do you want?
Jocelyn: I want a kitty cat (kit kat)

Mom: Im glad your fixing your hair, I was scared to let you get side bangs.
Marinda: I told you I would.
Mom: I know but last time you had them you never fixed them and they just hung in your face all the time.
Marinda: I was a child then. (8 months ago)

Debbie: Scott did YOU make the bed?
Scott: (smiling) yeah
Debbie: WOW thanks your awesome, I don't think you have ever done that, how did you know how?
Scott: I had to look it up on the internet.

Avery: Can I have more tinker tots? (tater tots)

WINTER IS COMING

I have officially gained all my winter weight! Yummy turkey, time for hibernation!

A little bit of Jocelyn

I write down things the kids say as they say them, I have a paper on the fridge for it and in my room. I grabbed my lists to put them on here and its all Jocelyn! Kinder is always such a big change for my kids because I don't let them out of my sight much before then, so for them to be gone half the day doing things without me is really exciting for them! She loves to tell me all the things her teacher tells her and things she learns. She told me that some kids at school don't do what they are told, she was quite shocked!

Getting treats for her class for her birthday was so funny. Since we can't take in homemade cupcakes anymore we went to pick something out. She chose candy canes. They had cute ones with Sponge Bob and Dora on them, and I said how about these? She said "uh hello Mom I am SIX now, Im not taking Dora for my birthday treat!

She was learning patterns last month and she notices them everywhere! She made Avery cry because she announced at dinner that "Our family was a perfect pattern until we had AVERY!" (boy, girl, boy girl, girl)

My favorite little story of her sweetness is the other night I got all the kids scarves at the dollar store, the girls were asleep so Marinda put them by their bed. When Jocelyn got up she didn't want the one Rin picked for her so she started crying, she said I don't want the red on it, it was blue and red stripped. I heard her in the room throwing a fit and instead of my normal reaction of "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit" I all of a sudden felt like I needed to play it a different way. So I let her cry and beg Avery to switch and all the drama and then she came into my room and I said "oh its alright, we will just go get you a different one, I thought you would like that one but if you don't we can switch." She went downstairs and laid on the couch and totally curled into a ball and pouted. So I went down after a bit and asked her what was wrong, that we would get her a different one and she said "I think I made a bad choice". It was so cute and I was so proud. Here is the rest.
Mom: what do you mean?
Jocelyn: I shouldn't have been sad.
Mom: Do you feel sad now?
Jocelyn: Yes, I feel worse, Im sorry
Mom: It's okay.
Jocelyn: I don't want a different one and I want to be happy with this one. I like it. (twirling it)
Mom: It is cute, the reason you were sad is because that is not the nice way to act. You need to be thankful for whatever you get.
Jocelyn: Mother! When I twirl it like this the blue and red makes purple!!!!! LOOK! Just what we talked about at school! I love this scarf!

She loves to write but is at the stage of me writing what she wants and then her copying it. She always comes to me and asks me to write the names of everyone in our family. Or thank you teacher, things like that, the other day she asked me to write: if you argue, I will kick you in the leg. ?????

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Thanksgiving!
Thinking of all the many things I am thankful for is so wonderful, I love this time of year! Thinking of all the family and holiday traditions makes me get excited and also sad thinking of Jacksen. Last year, Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years were filled with so much fun family times, like always, and its so hard to think those were the last fun times we could have with him here! Only memories this holiday season, and it really stinks! Make sure you put the busyness of it all to the side and just enjoy the time together as family and friends! If only I would have known it was my last! I miss you so much Jacksen!

Avery made a card the other day for Jacksen and it said Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas. With a little stick picture of her and him.



Jacksen last year at Thanksgiving with Beck.

Yesterday I found this!

Scott and his stinking iphone! If it were another woman at least I could try to compete but how do you compete with electronics! :(

Bragging Rights

As a Mother I get to talk about how amazing my kids are and look the other way and pretend I don't see when they aren't! :) We had fantastic conferences this year!

I had Jocelyn's over the phone. She said she is doing well but could use some extra flashcard time with lower case letters. She is excited to learn and is adjusting to kinder very well.

Eric's teacher said "I love this kid" she said he is so smart and kind and she has never seen such a happy child. She said he is happy everyday, always in the best mood and is such a joy to have around. He could talk a little less and put a little more effort into some things but he does an amazing job when its something he is interested in. She said he is bright academically and socially. (he also invited her to the primary program Sunday and she says she is coming!)

Marinda I was worried about, we always tell her try your hardest and thats all we expect, grades don't matter. She got straight A's! I was worried about her going to a new school, they all loved her at McGee and I figured it would take her a couple years to rule the school like she did in elementary but I walked into the main hall and a teacher said, YOUR MARINDA'S MOM, I JUST LOVE HER, I get to work with her and she is such a joy! Each teacher I went to said Marinda tries harder than any other student and she is the most sweet, kind girl and they love her! :) tear, exhale, lots of worries off my shoulders!

Austin is always said to be bright but a little lazy. He could be a straight A student but only if he could draw his answers. They all said he is a joy to have in class and shows enthusiasm for learning but if they could just get him to turn his work (that is completed and in his backpack) in he would get better grades. He is drawing at appropriate times and is very well behaved.

Some recent convo's:

Jocelyn: Avery how do I look? (All dressed up in dress up clothes)
Avery: Calm and collected.

Mom: Austin should we talk to Dad about your grades
Austin: No I don't think Dad needs to be bothered with that.
Mom: Scott, Austin got 3 C's this report card and every teacher said he could get an easy A if he would just do the work.
Austin: (Shrinking, looking at his feet.)
Scott: C is average, thats good right?
Mom: (making a face like HUH?)
Austin: (SOOOO surprised), Yeah.....Dad is totally right, you should listen to him.
Dad: Well someone has to work at McDonalds.
Austin: :( Not funny Dad.

Jocelyn turns SIX

When Jocelyn came it was so exciting! Marinda got to be a big part of the whole pregnancy, she got to skip school and come to my ultrasound and make all the calls to tell everyone that she was getting a baby sister! She was sooooo happy! A lot of family came when I had her, my Mom, my sisters Gina and Cathy and sister-in-law Mary. Marinda got to be there up until the end and then she sat in the hall with Cathy. When the baby came she could hear her crying and was so excited she couldn't wait for them to fix me up so she could see her! So Cathy took some quick pictures and showed her in the hall. :) It was so much fun and so exciting! Marinda then got to welcome everyone that came and bring them in to show her new baby sister Jocelyn!

Marinda is named Marinda Callie Anne, when I was going to have Jocelyn I liked the idea of no middle name so she could keep Ashton when she got married. My sister-in-law Mary said you can't give Marinda all those names and not give Jocelyn one so I named her Jocelyn Mary! :) Mary is also my Grandmothers name so it was perfect! :)

Her birthday isn't until Monday but we have already had all of her parties, here is her party with the Ashton's. We celebrated Stephen, Ruben, Ariana, and Jocelyns birthday's at Grandma Ann's house.

Then we had a party here with Grandma Marty, Nikolas, Cathy and kids, and Suzy and boys.

She had asked for a sugar daddy for her birthday so Cathy brought her a purse full of sugar babies. My Mom got her paints and they all had fun playing with them! She helped design and decorate her cake this year, she was very specific with her purple, pink, purple, pink frosting. :)

Mom and Simon

Catching up on October!

Here is adorable Jocelyn at the pumpkin patch with her kindergarten class. She looked at Scott that morning and said "Daddy will go to the pumpkin patch with me and Mommy?" She made her adorable face and said it with her sweet little voice! It was so cute!
It worked!

We have quite the collection of wigs, the kids had fun playing with them all month!

Some of our pumpkins from the kids favorite family home evening of the year!

Halloween day my Parents came over to visit me! It was so fun, they brought me and the girls lunch and some treats! I make a calendar for my family every Christmas so I needed an updated picture of them for their page. They LOVE taking pictures (yeah right) so I treasure these pictures they let me take! :)

Halloween night the costumes were: Austin-chick magnet, Marinda-? I don't know she just wanted to wear black lipstick, Eric-caveman, Jos-flamingo, Avery-butterfly.

The kids went to the progressive Halloween party some ward families did and then went trick or treating around the neighborhood.

You can't see them very well but that is the missionaries as the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine & Covenants, 9th wards missionaries were the Bible and the Book of Mormon. :)