Hearts Knit Together

A couple nights ago, Buns and I had the chance to go to the temple together.  It had been a really long time for both of us.  Life happens, and even though we live so flippin' close, we just couldn't make it happen to get ourselves there!

We kind of rushed around right before heading over to the temple that night and were scrambling to get things semi ready for my sweet sister to put the kids to bed easily.  We were feeling like hot messes all around, and I all of sudden was vibing to ditch the temple and just go out for dinner.  I mean babysitters are far, few, and in between ya know?  But we promised ourselves to go, so stuck with Plan A.

After making it out of the house and driving to the temple, we were still a little wired from the hectic evening.  We decided to hit up the Provo City Center Temple instead of our go-to Provo Temple where we got hitched.  When we drove in the underground parking, turned our phones off, and walked inside, I hate to say I was pretty surprised at how immediate the relief was.  We literally both looked at each other and laughed at how easy we forgot the spirit that comes from the temple.

This blog is turning more into a journal for our family and the only place I know to go for recorded memories, so sorry for the sappiness, but let's talk about Buns. My man.  My best friend.  I am so grateful for him.  He is the sweetest guy around.  He keeps life light when it could get pretty heavy pretty quick.  He turns the bad into bearable.  He fulfills my every need in a best friend.  He listens and is in tune with my emotions.  Which as women, I think we can all agree is hashtag crucial.  I want our kids to always know how much I love him.  I want them to see the way I look at him and know how deeply I respect him.  I couldn't have hit the jackpot any more than I did.  I love you Todd!!

Butts and Tears

Most evenings are pretty relaxed with Buns and I.  We love our games, our shows, and our laughs.  But occasionally (okay depending on the week, it might be nightly LOL) we have some good sit downs and talk about how we're doing mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.  What's going on personally for us.  As parents, spouses, family members, friends, church-goers, and disciples of Christ.  This was us after one of those conversations.  Not gonna lie, there were lots of tears on my part.  Life can be stressful sometimes, ya feel me!?  But after having a good long chat reminding ourselves what matters most, how we want to improve, and reminding each OTHER that we're doing the best we can.  Butts and tears had been wiped, mouths fed, cheeks kissed, books read, SO MANY disney songs sung, and bodies bathed.  And that's all it takes folks.

And of course, this song has been a favorite lately.  And always puts me in the best mood e'er.  Love it.  WARNING: Expression of my love for Buns in the following lyrics. ;) 

"So, you meet someone, 

the only one, 

you take [him] by the hand, 

make a stand, 

buy some land, 

make some love, 

and then babies come."

Man Cakes

A little shout-out/love letter to bae today.  I feel like God couldn't have placed a more perfect-for-me man in my life.  I am constantly amazed at how our relationship continues to grow stronger and stronger despite challenges we go through and overcome.  He has been a strength and support to me when I've needed it most and heck, even when I don't need it most, he is there!  After the kids go to bed, we get to chill the freak out.  And we are typically both so exhausted after our days, so we either play games (currently: Ticket to Ride, yes we're dorks), watch our shows (on a Parks & Rec and Arrested Development kick right now), watch funny instagram and youtube videos, and just talk about our days.  It is seriously my favorite part of the day.  

My second favorite part of the day is when we put the kiddos down for bed together.  I mean isn't that everyone's favorite part of the day?? HAHA.  I promise I love my babies, but when that clock strikes 7:30pm, it's go time!!!

But back to Buns.  I love you.  I pray that Reese finds herself a man like you.  Someone who tells her she's hilarious, kind, big-hearted, and beautiful.  Someone who hones in on her strengths, not her weaknesses.  Someone who applauds her everyday for being the woman she is.  Never am I ever all of those qualities all at once, but you should have a man that tells you those things anyways because he believes them even when you don't!

You were the best choice I ever made Buns.  Love you so much!!!

This was on our date night a couple weeks ago.  We went to the driving range and hit a bucket of balls.  Buns taught me how to swing and even wrapped his arms around me to show me how it's done.  SWOON and EYE-ROLL. (Or if you're reading this, you're probably gagging not swooning) Then we grabbed a drive-through Wendy's burger on the way to the movies because we were going to be late, and ain't nobody wants to miss the previews!!  We saw Bourne Legacy, and it was so good. Rest assured, Jason is still a BadA.  Then afterwards we topped off the night with some Provo Beach Resort ice cream.  I got pralines & cream and blueberry pie.  Buns got something different, so we shared.  We laughed so hard that night.  So freaking hard, and I was in 7th heaven.

I'm obsessed with my man cakes.

#sorrynotsorry

♥, Ashton

And for your entertainment, here's Reese at her favorite indoor playground.  She's a hoot.

Ready, Set, Go! from Ashton Barrett on Vimeo.

Sunday Funday

This morning started off really awesome.  Breakfast with the fambam, chillin', a little Prince of Egypt action that Reese calls the "Ribbit Movie" because of the scene when Moses sends the frogs to the city.  Riggs went down for his morning nap.

Slept for like a half hour.

Not good y'all.  We have church at one, and he usually sleeps for a couple hours in the morning.  So by the time church came around we were trying to get ready and keep Riggs at bay, but it was useless.  I called it.  We put him down for a nap, and Todd took Reese to church.  

I folded clothes, did the dishes, cleaned the toilet, and made dinner.  I had my own kind of church today, and I'm not gonna lie it was refreshing.  I got to listen to April's LDS Women's Conference that I never got to watch, and I felt empowered and renewed.  I came away with new personal goals and a vision for our family that I feel so good about.  I felt a purpose that I hadn't felt in a while.  

I felt close to my Heavenly Father. 

Then Riggs woke up, and it was back to the grind.  But I sure did hug that kid tight when he woke up.  Now the kids are asleep, and Buns and I are laughing about how emotionally involved we are with all the characters in Blue Bloods.

Good Stuff: He Asks Us to Be His Hands

Butt-Slapping Fun

{oldie but a goodie}

It's been so long since I've done some sort of update on the blog of what our family's up to, and I miss writing on here.  I need to write more.  Life has been so hectic, whenever I have down time, I want to lie on the couch with my hubby and watch Blue Bloods.  LOL.  But I need a space again that I can write down the happenings of our family, organize my thoughts, and share what's on my mind and in my heart.

As opposed to catching everything up which I feel like is always my hesitation with getting back on here because I feel like I'm so behind, I don't even know where to begin!  So we're gonna cut all that hooplah out and just start with the present...

Reese and Riggs are sleeping like bumps on a log right now.  Riggs' second nap and Reese's every now and again nap have been beautifully coinciding which makes for a happy momma.  Usually during their naps....can I be honest?  Usually I head straight for the couch and peruse social media sites for a solid chunk of it.  But my brain lately has been on overload social media, and I'm missing finding ways to connect with myself and finding quiet time away from screens.  (As I'm sitting here writing on a computer...HAHA...but this doesn't count because it's journaling, right? That's what I'm going with.)  I need some uplift and more purpose in my life these days.  So maybe I'll find it as I take 10-15 a day to talk about my little fambam.

Buns should be home from work really soon, and I'll probably get cut off from writing this to make him some yummy grub.  I used to hate making him food (and sometimes I still do), but now it actually brings me this huge satisfaction.  If he was left to his own devices I'm sure he would eventually learn how to make a decent meal, but there would be a major learning curve until that could happen.  Anyways, I'll probably make him a banana cream pie smoothie to hold him over until a bigger more "heavy" (his words) meal can be made.  He loves banana cream pie.  I love that he loves banana cream pie.  Is that weird?  Does anyone else have weird things that they love about their husbands that make no sense at all?  Maybe it's because it's comforting that I can rely on the fact that he loves banana creme pie.  I just know him like that.  But his mom knows that about him too.  So maybe it's weird.  Okay wow, I haven't been at this blogging thing in forever, sooooo YEAH.  

Weird things are coming out.

Once the kids wake up, Buns and I will head to the gym to workout.  We just starting doing this again about a week ago, and it is one of my favorite (okay it is my favorite) times of the day.  I get to sweat with my sweaty hubby. We laugh, we try new lifts, we compete, we slap each other's butts, and we make fun of each other.  It's really the best.  It does kind of make my days go slower though haha because I'm so anxious to get to the gym and slap his butt. #sorrynotsorrymomandmotherinlaw #hesgotagreatbutt #whatsagirltodo

My favorite things about today are that our swamp cooler is working better than it has been in this scorching 3-digit degree heat we're suffering.  Maybe one day when we have AC, I'll want the summer to drag on, but for now, I'm over here like

GIMME ALL THE SNOW.

I also love that Riggs and Reese are starting to be best buddies.  Reese is SO funny with Riggs.  When he's awake from his nap, she pops her head up at me and gasps, "Oh Riggy Rigg, wake up!!"  Then she sprints her little body (usually while looking at her feet which has ended disastrously lately) to his room, opens the door, and says sweetly, "Ohhh Riggy."  Like he's the light of her life.  Haha.  Such a drama queen.  I have no idea where she gets that from...

Riggs just walks around swinging his little arms back and forth with his chubby little thighs hanging out.  Diaper butts are in full force around here, as we're usually naked when we're at home.  The kids atleast.  Or maybe me too....

JK!  I really need to get back in the groove of blogging.  Weird things, weird things.

When the kids get up in the morning, we take Buns to work.  He's working for his brother's landscaping business during this gap year before PT school. (Fingers crossed for him, we just started applying!! Woohoo!)  So we drop him off at the "unit".  Storage unit that is.  Where he picks up the truck and machinery for his manly-man duties of the day.  (**heavy swoon**)  He gives me a kiss.  He gives Reese a kiss.  He gives Riggs a kiss.  He loves his babies.  And I love that he loves his babies.  We love babies.  Maybe we should have another baby.

Maybe not.  Oh dear.  Too soon.

Anyways.  So he kisses us all, and we wave goodbye and start counting the minutes till he gets home.  This is not an exaggeration.  I seriously can't wait till he gets home every single day.  Best part of the day.  Aside from slapping his butt at the gym.

Speaking of butts.  He just got home!!!

Goals for the New Year {2016 Edition}

I've been trying to set a time to write this post for a while, but every time I think about doing it, I hadn't really known what to write yet!  Usually I feel like I'm right on the bandwagon with all sorts of New Years Resolutions, and jump right into it.  This year felt a little different/  I had so many freaking things swimming around in my brain that I wanted to improve on, work on, and change, but I couldn't decide what was most important or what the best use of my time was.  I have a tendency to overload myself with a bunch of ideas and then only a select few remain on the bandwagon.  I always think of how much more time I could've focused on those select few goals if I would've taken the time to seriously think about what I wanted to focus on.  SO...

This year, I decided I wouldn't set my resolutions until I had thought through what I wanted to improve on personally.  What spaces needed to be filled in my heart and mind.

I wouldn't say this is a solid list or that I spent hours upon hours deciding on it haha, but when I thought about it this morning, it just felt so right!  Like I was finally able to put into words what I wanted to improve and focus on.  Our family theme for this year plays a huge role in my goals and our family goals, "Put Loving Arms Around Them." (Mosiah 18:21)

Buns and I both feel like we could do a little bit better to think of others before thinking of ourselves.  The "Me, Myself, and I" ship has docked too long in this household.  Especially with the last couple of weeks with very sick kiddos, tempers were quick and patience was nowhere to be found.  That's honestly what sparked the theme, but once we thought about it more, we decided it genuinely was something we wanted to improve on not just in our home, but in our relationships with friends and family.  We love our friends and family so much, but feel like we don't show just how much sometimes!  Just an overall effort to think more outside ourselves.  And then there's the more personal goals for me...

Goals as a Momma for Reese:

//Routine.//

//Get on the floor more to interact.//

//Smile, encourage, love, empower, and TEACH. Lots more of all these things.//

//ACT instead of REACT.//

//Never turn down when she reaches out to spend time together.  Whether that's reading, playing with her princesses, or playing hide and seek.//

Goals as a Momma for Riggs:

//Hold my lil boyfren more. #secondbabyprobs//

//Eye contact and laughter.//

//Baths.//

//Be in the moment.//

Goals as a Wifey for Buns:

//Think before you speak.//

//Small acts of love everyday.//

//Listen without thinking of what I want to say.  TRULY listen.//

//Weekly date nights. At least two of those weeks getting out of the house to do something fun!//

Goals as Ashton:

//Commitment.  To self.  To family.  To God.  To friends.//

//Things will not go perfectly.  That is OK.  Live and let be.//

//SERVICE. Put loving arms around them.//

♥, Me

Thanksgiving 2015

Oh my goodness gracious.  Where to begin.  I've actually been trying to find the time to write this post for a while.  I've had the pictures in a draft but kept wanting to find an adequate chunk of time with no interruptions to write down just all the little things that made Thanksgiving this year so wonderful.  But alas that perfect time has not come, so here I am just writing a quick little tidbit of what comes to mind, so that I can get this bizz done!  

This year my parents flew in from Tennessee to spend Thanksgiving here in Utah!  I was counting down the days for quite some time.  We spent a lot of the time up in Salt Lake City at Megan's place, and it was so fun.  The place was decorated for Christmas, and it was just magical.  Cozy.  Surrounded by people I love so much.  

We ate lots of good food, relaxed, snuggled, watched Christmas movies, drank hot chocolate, ate leftovers like 5 times, hanging, talking, and just enjoying everyone's company.  Todd and I really enjoyed ourselves, and we were grateful for a relaxing, beautiful Thanksgiving break.  

I am so grateful for family.  I take them for granted, but I truly have a wonderful family.  Nothing like it.

October Jakers Pumpkin Patch

Playing a little catch up!  This holiday season is flying by.  Too fast.  Trying to soak in all the little moments while I can.  But that's why I love pictures because I get to go back and relive the moments again and again.  Here's some pictures from our trip to Jakers pumpkin patch in Springville.  We went last year too with the Barrett cousins, and it was so much fun.  I loved watching all the girls run around together.  I only got to snap a few pictures, but they all loved the slide, the pit of corn kernels (lol), and just running around checking out all the pumpkins.  Riggs just enjoyed being along for the ride, as usual.  He's the chillest little dude ever.

Luke 1:26-30

And the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

All It Takes

Yesterday, the day started off pretty rough for Buns and I.  Bad moods all around.  We're starting to do the cry-out method with Riggs, and so the night before was a tad tough super sucky.  Last night though he already slept for 8 hours in a row though! So we'll see if that's a fluke or what.  Probs a fluke, but oh well.  Anyways...

So Buns and I.  Bad moods.

Todd had school all day, so he was off to school even though we hadn't really gotten to work out our moods.  We like to try to work out our moods before we leave each other.  Otherwise we're both in bad moods all day.  So he left.  I was home with the kiddos.  I was feeling a little trapped, a lot tired, and absolutely no motivation to do anything.

Then I saw a Christmas post when I was scrolling through Instagram, and I thought you know what?  I'm gonna fix this!  So I turned up some Mariah Carey Holiday Pandora station, put Riggs down for a nap, put a show on for Reese, and buckled down to do the mound of dishes sitting in my sink.  And let me tell you....I FELT LOADS BETTER. (**I just re-read my post to check for grammar,and I realized that was PUNNY..."loads better"/"loads" of dishes...BA HA ha...**giving myself a pat on the back for being punny...#yikes #selflove #solittlesleep #soloopy)  With every dish and every high note from Mariah, my mood got better and better.  I love music.  I love it so much, and singing to it helped me feel so much better.

Then about a half hour later Todd called.  He was in between classes, and he called to apologize for his mood.  Bragging wifey:  He's always the first to admit he was in the wrong.  Something I need to be better at.  But he called, and we got to talking about why we were in bad moods.  It was clear that BOTH of us were in better moods.  He asked what I had been up to, and I told him I listened to some music and crossed the dishes off the list.  He said no wonder you're in a good mood.  Haha!  Guess he knows me too well!  Then I asked what sparked his phone call...

Damian Lillard and Trey Burke.

(Click here for the specifics)

Oh yeah y'all...NBA players put my husband in a better mood.  Haha.  He was also scrolling through Instagram (thanks Instagram for lifting both our spirits yesterday #laughingcryingemojifeels) and came across some quotes on those two Instagram accounts that boosted his morale.

My point of telling this story is not to boast about how awesome we are at getting ourselves out of bad moods because a lot of the time we're not good at it.  But instead, I wanted to write down and remember that Todd and I are married and we're husband and wife, but we're also individuals.  We also need time and space sometimes to work out our moods.  Sometimes it takes a little time, even if it's just a half hour, to work out our emotions on our own haha.  We both have things that help us feel better, and they're very different for each of us.  We have to respect those things and give each other time to not only be husband and wife but to also be Ashton and Todd.  I hope that makes sense, but it's something that's really helped us.

Love my man.

A few weeks ago, this is another thing time that doing something I loved and hadn't done in a while helped put me in a better mood haha.  I was telling Todd how much I missed driving up the canyon once the leaves started changing color and falling, so one day after his classes, he took me and the kiddos on a drive up the canyon.  We even stopped at 7-11 to grab some hot chocolate.  Whatta man whatta might good man.  I pumped mine with Pumpkin Spice Creamer per the usual.  Then we drove up to Deer Creek.  The kids had fallen asleep so Todd and I got to step out for a second to soak in my absolute favorite view in the canyon ever.  I used to drive up to the same spot all the time when I was in college and needed to get away for a hot minute.  I've always loved nature, and I've seen this same spot at Deer Creek through all the seasons, and I love every one, but fall is my favorite.  

Hope y'all have a great Thursday.  Find time to do something you love. 

♥, Ash 

What You Don't See

I was going through my pictures on google plus (one of the best ways to keep track of pictures on your phone btw), and I came across this one.  This picture means a lot to me.  And I had totally forgotten about it.

This picture shows two parents obsessed with their little girl...but what you can't see about this picture is...

First of all we were in Columbia, South Carolina, I was 8.5 months pregnant, and we had just embarked on this crazy adventure across the country.

Second of all, I had just finished bawling my eyes out because I was nervous about a second kid, worried about Todd's new job, hated that Todd was gone ALL day and night, trying to navigate Reese's new-found tantrums and independence, and missing family and friends like crazy.

Thirdly, Todd had just crawled into bed with me and just hugged me.  Hugged me while I cried.  Hugged me while I let out all my worries and frustrations.  Then proceeded to tell me everything would be okay, and it was all gonna work out.  And without fail, every time he tells me that, I believed him.  No matter what tough thing we've gone through, we always believe each other that it's gonna be okay.  We know we'll always come out on top because we have each other.

Then Reese peeked in our room.  She had just woken up from her nap.  We had her in the pack and play but because of the twin bed next to her, she was always able to find a way to climb out of it.  When we realized she was peeking in at the door, she smiled behind her pink blanket, waiting for us to usher her in.  We said "Hi Reesey!" and the second we said hi she came barreling in the room and wrestled to climb up on the bed.  She made us both smile so big, all of our worries were erased.  We soaked up our baby girl and listened to Frozen music for like a half hour.

And then we snapped this picture.  Because we love our baby girl.  She is a light in our life.  She makes everything worth it.  We love you Reese.

Sap City Series {Daddy-daughter Edition}

I was looking through pictures from our summer in South Carolina, and these are two of my favorites.  Todd and Reese have such a special relationship.  I feel like I say that all the time, but they really do.  As my baby girl gets older and older each day, I realize how precious moments like these are.  I'm feeling pretty sappy right now, so if you can't tell this is going to be a sappy post, SO...brace yourself.  

Today was General Conference for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I heard inspiring words from some of my favorite people.  The leaders of my church.  They spoke things to my heart that meant so much to me I can hardly figure out how to put it into words.  So for the sake of self-preservation haha, I'm not going to even try.  But I will say that at the end of those meetings (even if I feel asleep here and there lol), I left inspired.  I left feeling ready to conquer the world.  I left feeling peace.  Such overwhelming peace.  A peace that I've been seeking for a little while now.  Life has just been going so fast.  Too fast.  My baby girl will be two in December.  My baby boy is almost 4 months.  Time is flying.  I found myself aching for my baby Reese today.  My 4 month old little Reese.  Wanting to hold her and rock her until she fell asleep in my arms. 

My children and husband are my world.  I have so much love for them.  Children are such angelic little humans.  Don't get me wrong, Reese throws tantrums like the best of them and Riggs fights sleeps like a pro, but they truly are freaking sweethearts.  I love them.  And I'm so lucky to be their momma.

In one of the talks today, it was said that..."Right now is eternity," (Dieter F. Uchtdorf).

I've been thinking about that phrase all day today....right now is my eternity.  Today I felt that.  I really felt that.  I hope I remember how today felt when the days are really hard.  On the days that I can barely function because I'm so sleep deprived.  On the days that Todd really gets under my skin.  Because we're not perfect, and sometimes we get on each other's nerves.  On the days that Rigg's explodes through FOUR outfits in less than an hour.  True story y'all.  On the days that Reese has a million meltdowns because she can't find the words to express what she wants, and I can't read her mind.  On all those types of days, I hope that at the end of them, I can find it in myself to remember to see blessings instead of burdens.  

I hope y'all have had a great Saturday and have an even better Sunday.

XO,Me

#sapcityseries

Family Night: Walk around the Provo Temple

Family Night this past Monday we showed Reese pictures of the temple and talked about "forever families".  It was super short, involved paper puppets that she was more interested in than the temple, and a walk around the temple that ended in tears.  I loved every second of it.  Probably my favorite thing about the night was watching Reese and Buns interact.  They have such a special relationship, and I hope she always feel as close to her daddy as she does now.

Dear Reese

One of your favorite things to do is chalk on the sidewalk.  It's also one of the easiest ways for us to get out of the house while Riggs is sleeping. Score!  The walls tend to close in on us tighter and tighter and tighter if we stay cooped up all day. Lol.  Not only do you love chalk though, but you love chalk with your dad the most.  A lot of times when I'm making dinner, he'll ask you if you want to go outside and do chalk and you smile SO big and "jump" in the air, running to get your shoes.  It's just about the cutest and funniest thing e'er.

I was watching the LDS women's general meeting this past Sunday evening, and all I kept thinking about was you.  I missed it Saturday night 'cause your dad and I went on a hot date, so I curled up to watch it Sunday night after you and your brother went to bed.  I can't lie, I fell asleep for the last talk, but the first part was so amazing!  It was just the encouragement and positiveness that I needed.  During it though, I got super stoked for when we get to go together.  We can get all dressed up, maybe get our nails did, go eat some yummy grub, and hear from our apostles and prophet.  Ain't nothin' better.  Last year they made it so that ALL girls ages 8 and up go to the meeting now.  Before it was typically just for ages 18 and up.  Now it's for all the girls in the church!  It will be such a joy to go with you.  

I thought a lot about your dad and you and the special relationship that you have with him.  I hope you're always close to your dad and feel like you can always talk to him about things that are going on in your life.  He's a pretty cool guy to talk to.  He loves you so much.  I want you to know how much he respects and loves me as a daughter of Heavenly Father.  I feel so beautiful inside and out because of him.  He loves you the same way.  He sees all the wonderful things about you.  Your humor, your independence, your sweetness, your intelligence, and your uniqueness.  He see you as a special daughter of God.  Someone who has purpose and strength.  Someone who has goals and drive.  Someone who can accomplish anything she sets her mind to.  I hope you always feel that love from the both of us.  

I hope you always remember to not settle.  In anything in life.  But especially when it comes to who you date.  I hope you surround yourself with people who are happy, inspiring, and respectful of who you are and what you believe.  I hope you find the balance of sharing your light with others but also recognizing when someone is not worth your time.  You never need to be mean or rude, but sometimes you have to distance yourself from people who bring you down.  I pray you'll be a contagious light to those around you just like you are to your dad and I.  

One of my favorite messages from this General Women's Meeting was this...

"Live your life to feel the measure of your creation."

I hope you live your life passionately and purposefully.  Not to say that things will always be easy or you'll always know what you're supposed to be doing at every moment of your life, because sometimes you'll be unsure of the future and sometimes life throws you curve balls, BUT I hope that you remember to enjoy the ride.  Find a way to laugh at the hiccups of life and live each day with happiness in your heart despite whatever tough stuff you may be going through. 

Bottom line...I just love you baby girl.  You have so much of my heart, it's insane.  I think you're awesome, and I will always be here for you.  You will always have somewhere to turn.  Because you'll always be my Roni.

♥, Momma