For My Bart.

Happy Father's Day to the guy who has blessed my life the most!

Here are a few things I love most about Bart:

1. He's a great dad.
Jack's whole being lights up when his dad walks into the room. Bart is definitely the "fun" parent, but he can and will discipline when necessary.

2. He's strong.
He can literally lift anything. In all the years we have been married, I haven't seen one thing he couldn't lift. But he's strong in more ways than one. Life can make you feel small really quick, but the strong ones bounce back. Bart has bounced back so many times that I've lost track...and I believe his testimony of the gospel has helped him with that as well.

3. He makes life worth living.

A few weeks before Bart and I were married I remember standing outside of his parent's house, talking over what our future life would be like. Before we parted ways for the night Bart gave me a big hug and said: "Ashlee, the one thing you need to know about me is that I like to make life worth living." Not a day has gone by since then that I haven't heard him laugh or enjoy some part of his day. He finds the good in everything, no matter how inconsequential. He's a genuinely happy person.

4. He doesn't sweat the small stuff.
I am horrible at this...it's definitely one of my weaknesses.
When I tell him of some trifle that I'm freaking out about at the moment he always asks: "So what's the big deal?" (He says this in a much nicer way of course). Every time he points this out, I always stand back and think, "you know...I have no idea". And then it's forgotten. He can see the bigger picture and know that the small problematic stuff doesn't matter in the long run.

5. He has patience like Job.
Especially with me.
I can drive anyone crazy (even myself sometimes), and for the most part he just goes with it.

6. He's friendly.
Bart makes a friend wherever he goes. He will strike up a conversation with a stranger, and literally 20 minutes later, have their phone number and a date set for hanging out. It amazes me every time I see this happen. He is a very likable guy.

7. He supports me.
Every idea I pass by him I always get a positive answer. It seems like everyday I do this and he always shakes his head in support. For example:

Ashlee: "Hey Bart, what do you think about me starting a garden?"
Bart: "Do it babe, I think it's a great idea."

Ashlee: "Hey honey, I really want to take some photography classes."
Bart: "I definitely think you should. You take great pictures."

Ashlee: "Hey baby what do you think about me riding my bike to work?"

Bart: "That would be great, we need to get you ready for it."

Even in the crazy ideas:

Ash: "Hey Bart, I want to become a preschool teacher and teach out of our house."
Bart: "Sure, dear. Whatever you want...?"

8. He's handsome.
He's just as studly-looking as the day I first met him.
This is why our little boy is so dang cute.

9. He's a handy man.

It is so nice having a handy man around the house. He can fix anything and everything. If he's never fixed it before, he can usually figure it out in 10 minutes. He has taken apart multiple automobiles (numerous times)...fixed the problem...and put them back together again. This boggles my mind. He can whip out shelves, a wooden box, or shooting targets like nobody's business. It's amazing.

10. He's my match in every way.

Seriously, it's like we're complete opposites...but in a perfect way.

I'm always serious.
He's so light-hearted.

I hold grudges.
He forgets any wrong against him the next day.

I try to save all our money.
He tries to spend all our money.

I'm "detail-oriented" (aka: anal).
He's "go with the flow".

I'm book smart.
He's common sense smart.

I'm stubborn.
He can admit he's wrong.

I'm shy and not a people-person.
He makes a friend wherever he goes.


You get the jist. Everything that I lack, he makes up for and vice versa.
We are a perfect match...that clashes from time to time. :)

As you can see I am very grateful for my husband and how he made his way into my life.

Bart, I know sometimes I may not act like it, but in the words of Michael Buble:

You're every line.

You're every word.

You're my everything.

I love you babe.

A Mother and Her Belly

This is Brittany.

She is a soon-to-be-mother.

This is Andy, her husband.

(Andy and I were in the same grade in high school. Bart and Andy were best friends growing up.)

Don't they make a cute couple?

I can already tell this baby is gonna be a cutie.

I had so much fun taking photos of this girl, and her beautiful belly. Such a pleasure to photograph...and I told her every chance I could get.

Britt:

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to document your first pregnancy. You are gonna love being a mom, and I know you're gonna be good at it. I can't wait to meet the little guy, and have him and Jack grow up together, just like their Daddies did. :)

Updates Soon.

So this is Jack lately.

Doesn't he look so grown up?

I still can't get over it.

These wonderful photos were taken by my new neighbor, who I just found out is a professional photographer. I knew I liked him before (he has a sweet accent), but it was confirmed when he brought out his Nikon D700 at a neighborhood BBQ we attended last Sunday. We immediately spoke of photography and he gave me some tips and tricks. He's so kind to put up with my amateur questions.

Just the other day one of my dearest friends sent me an email asking for an update on my life...asking about events that happened long ago, that I never filled her in on.

What a good friend she is...

what I horrible friend I am.

Leanne, I hope to give you some updates on us soon...through the blog and the return email I have yet to finish. :) Remember you have to be patient with me.

Things to come:

Jack in the past few months, including:

birthday party

hospital trip

new eating habits

all around cuteness

"A-day-in-the-life" of Ashlee riding her bike to work

Photo session with my niece

Photo session with a beautiful soon-to-be mommy

I think that about covers it.

Becoming a Health Nut

I've been into becoming "healthy" lately.

This comes as no surprise since I get into this phase quite often...but I'm hoping it sticks this time. For example:

Bart gave me this for my birthday:

Beautiful, isn't it?

I'm in love with it. It is now my only form of transportation for work. That's right, I ride this beauty everyday to and from work as my form of exercise. I only live about 5 miles away from my work, but still...for a couch potato like me...its a huge work-out.

I bought this book from Border's on Friday (half off, thank you very much):

And so far, I've learned a lot about how my body processes food...and how my appetite comes from chemicals in my brain. It's super interesting. What I love most is that it teaches me how to be and stay healthy (no gimmicks, crash diets, or amazing miracle pills) instead of saying "this is what you need to do...just trust us". You have to teach a man to fish, right?

Although I do trust Dr. Oz. He looks pretty healthy to me.

And lastly, I've actually been paying attention to those annoying Nutrition Facts on the back of food packages lately. You know, these pesky little things:

For the most part it's been depressing...learning that all the things I used to eat were quite bad for me. But once I got past the "I'm going to starve since NOTHING is good for me" stage, I was able to find great alternatives. Lots of fruits and veggies have come into my life, including an oh-so-yummy salad that I just ate today.

It included:

• Spring Salad Mix (3 cups)


• Half an Avacado (small to medium size)


• Grilled chicken (with Costco's Sweet Mesquite seasoning) (half cup chopped)


• Three Cheese Vinaigrette Dressing (from Fresh & Easy) (2 tbls)

It was 300 calories of pure heaven! And for how much I ate, it was a feast.

So I'm really hoping this phase sticks this time, so I can finally loose those last couple pounds of baby fat I can't seem to get rid of. And so I don't have to be so doctor dependent later in my life...because I hate going to the doctor.

Happy healthy eating my friends!

Dear Friend,

Don't be horribly mad at me.

You know life, and sometimes it gets to me really good. But, I have finally finished your bridal shots. Here is a peek.















I'm finishing up "The-Day-Of" photos and then they will be shipped off to finally greet you and the hubs. I hope you like them. I had a lot of fun working on them.

-Ash

Howdy Y'all!

So I'm planning Jack-Jack's first birthday party.

Theme:

Cowboy/Western

Colors:

Red

Brown

Outfit (for Jack):

Cowboy Hat

Cowboy Boots

Jeans

Games:

Horseshoes

"Pin the Tail on the Donkey"

Pinata

Decorations:

Balloons

Streamers

Gift Bags:

Bandana

Sheriff Star

Cowboy Candy (?)

I have only gotten this far because my great friend Bernadette has helped me...a lot (like 90% of these ideas were from her). But my dilemma??

I do not own a single piece of western/cowgirl clothing.

And since I'm encouraging everyone to dress up, then I better be. But where in the world can I find boots and a cowboy hat? And what kind of shirt?? Flannel? I know this sounds ridiculous.....but I'm in need of some help here. Western is completely out of my sphere.

Any suggestions?

Also, any tips/ideas to go along with the party theme would be greatly appreciated.

My Days

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."

-Annie Dillard

Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that these individual days that go by, string together to make up my life.

For example: My Jack.

Day by day I have seen him sleep, play, roll over, scoot, crawl, stand, walk. String those together and I have an 11 month old boy who I can hardly keep up with now. I think about how fast he is growing up and these thoughts roll through my mind: did I spend enough quality time with him today? Does he know how much I love him? Does he know how much I love his daddy? Did he see me happy today?

Unfortunately....he hasn't seen this lately.

Sometimes I get caught up in the day-to-day routine that I don't enjoy the life around me. So, this next week I am going to try and enjoy my life and the things I do, instead of feeling guilty and frustrated about the things I don't do. Let's see how I do.