Happy St. Valentines

I love this holiday!

funny how life works out...

Chamberlain and I have been a little under the weather lately, and because of that, I have had a lot of time to spend in doors. I decided to tackle my moms stacks of pictures (before the digital era), and I came across the above picture, well not this exact one, the real one I will post when I can figure out how to scan, for now this will do. This picture has a story a very funny story at that. The summer that college/basketball ended, my parents/family had the opportunity to pick up a school bus in Canada for our county, with another family the Johnsons. At this time in our life Josh and I were "Just Friends." We were working camps together, when my mom called and said I bought you a ticket you are coming with us, get yourself to Vegas! So I asked Josh if he could give me a ride on his way home to Irvine, he obliged. We left in the evening and before we knew it we were in Vegas. The 5 hour car ride seemed like minutes. By the time we got to the airport if he didn't have Boba (our boxer) in the back seat, I would have asked him to come with. Off, I went on a 17 day, 17 state bus ride across the country. Did I mention it was a SHORT bus people! There were 12 of us. Its a trip I will NEVER forget. We stopped at every tourist spot from here to New York. And all the while Josh was with me (through text). There were so many experiences and stories, my two brothers, Danny and I decided to go to Thornys game at Madison Square Garden, while I was in line at will- call. Tanner and Danny decided they were going to follow this guy into an alley wanting to sell them watches and fake ids. Hello-what were they thinking? Or the time when Truett was acting like a grump to everyone. He made a mean comment, I sprung from my seat and beat him, literally beat him with a stick I had found earlier that morning in the sacred grove. This whole time I had been texting josh pretty much everyday, multiple times a day. By the end of the trip everyone on that bus knew who Josh was. Most were convinced ( unbeknownst to me) that we eventually would get married. Funny how things work out, isn't it. Now back to the sign. We were coming into our last state of Wyoming at the tail end of everything. By this time we were sick and tired of stopping to take pictures with road signs. Here we are latitude 44.77N. Longitude -107.519W, on top of a beautiful mountain range and this sign pops up out of nowhere. My dad, who was driving pulls the bus over, and says Ashleigh go stand by the sign and I'll take your picture. Of course, I was not going to get out of that bus. Especially, with a sing that had my "friends" last name on it. My dad wouldn't take no for an answer and settled for him stepping out of the bus and taking the picture. Deep down a little part of me wishes that I would have gotten out of that bus.

Now we have this picture, that isn’t just a picture, but a memory, and a perfect description of life at Burgess Junction.

Is it really too late to post Christmas...

So yes Christmas, I know that it was a while ago and some people do not like Christmas still up in January but I have to remember it some how. So here we go. Lets see if I can remember that far back. Okay, everyone was home for Christmas except of course for Uncle Tanner. He is still serving the lord in Brasil and I believe he is loving it. At least thats what I got from the 2 hour phone call on Christmas and then the hour phone call the day before Christmas and then the 30 minute phone call the previous day, just to make sure that his call was going to work on Christmas.

It was a RARE one, we woke up to a ton of snow. Growing up here it has never, I mean NEVER, snowed on Christmas let alone stayed the day. It was a "White Chirstmas" just like the song except my parents don't have a fireplace so therefore there was no Chestnut roasting. Things we did, sleding in the backyard (please note Uncle Tim's vintage BYU hat from my grandparents era), we had our traditional Christmas eve dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Laycook and guessed it we opened pj's, and basically just enjoyed being with family. Oh and my favortie thing I refinished an art desk for Chamberlain for Christmas. Its Turquoise of course! As for New Years, Josh and I didnt even make it to 10 PM. Merry Christmas

When the weather outside is frightful

Here is what we do on a snowy day!
Build snow forts with Grandpa. Turn pipe cleaners into magical bee wings with antennas and fly around the house all afternoon. Then finish up the day with a cup of hot Chocolate whip cream included!!

1oo things

100 things

Copy this and bold the things you have done and then let me know if you did!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii (thank you Smiths)

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a Snow Fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got Flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Time Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding Motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life (several times)

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own?

visits to irvine

Playing with Maddi and Jaqui


Chasing the birds at the BEACH


Uncle Davids Games (we love Uncle Dave)

Taking joy rides in the Mercedes

In Protest of the Carousel closing

Feeding the SWANS at the lake

Water fountains

I

really think there is nothing better than the beach, or maybe the red hills behind my parents house. But for children, with big imaginations, i would definitely say the beach. Lately it seems every other week we find ourselves at Grandma and Grandpa Burgesseses (in the words of the whatthesmiths) house in Irvine. I am really starting to like, I mean LOVE it there. It seems that we are always doing something fun or going somewhere neat, to the beach, the spectrum, uncle Davids games, aunt Angela's house, we are constantly on the move. Unfortunately, our camera that we got for CHRISTMAS last year broke! So here are a few snap shots of our visits to Grandmas house.

how many adults does it take

Halloween.
This was Chamberlains first attempt at Trick or Treating. I do not believe he really grasped the concept. Everytime he knocked on a door, as he was knocking, he would say "trick or treat". Then once they finally opened the door, he would walk right in and make himself comfortable. He did that at everyhouse we went to. But, maybe it confused him that we were going to peoples homes, that he knew, and maybe he couldnt firgure out why we would leave so soon and not stay and visit, like we normally would.
Silly us!
Since this was Chamberlain's first time out, it was grandma and grandpa Chamberlains firts time "treating" as grandparents. Of course we all had to go along. Midway through the night we realized it was 4 adults to 1 child.
Oh well, we all had fun!

Did I mention that we ended the night at

ESCOBARS!