Laura's debut on the blog

We celebrated a birthday party in Lawrence with Todd's family this weekend. December is the perfect month for Todd's mom, Laura, to have her birthday. It is most fitting because she loves Christmas, especially decorating the house with her Santa collection AND she loves cold weather, including the snow. So here is the Heitshusen/Ashley gang: John, Scott, Mike, Todd, Holly, Laura, Ava and myself. We asked Mike to stand closer to Todd, you know, to make the picture more even...but he refused.

Todd's Gram made a DELICIOUS Italian dinner. Spaghetti, home-made sauce (or some would say smooth sauce), meatballs and Italian sausage. Amazing, simply amazing. Not pictured is the ceasar salad, which I had the heavy responsibility for bringing. I went out on a ledge with the ceasar idea because I really wanted to showcase my cooking skills. :-)



Seated around the dinner table is Todd's Gram, the Heitshusens, Ashleys and Pattersons (Todd's aunt and uncle). Hmmm, but where are Todd and Ava?

There he is! Todd can hardly EVER refuse the self-portrait. Although I am not exactly sure what he is doing with his right hand...

And here is Ava! Ava was actually standing against the wall during the "family at the dinner table" picture. And then Todd tracked her down in the kitchen later on for this adorable pic.

Laura, your wish is granted - your debut on the blog! I hope you are excited to have a post devoted to you!! :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Oh Christmas Tree...

This past Saturday we went to St. Micheal's Church and bought our very first real Christmas tree from the Boy Scouts. We had our own little boy scout to show us around the lot. And because it was our first time, he explained the difference between the firs, the spruces and everything else. He was so adorable, I can't recall a single thing he said about the trees. Even though I cannot recall the difference between a fir and a spruce, I can tell you this -- those Christmas trees were not PLANTED at the church, although the they were propped up against the post...it can REALLY be deceiving.


A Christmas tree lot can be kind of intimidating if you've never been before. Or at least as the person who needs to make important decisions about buying the tree...like a tree taller than 7 feet would not fit in our living room, stuff like that. It didn't take long before we set our eyes on this beauty. In just a few moments, the little boy scout had this guy sitting on top of the hefty ole civic. And yes, Todd was a little embarassed to be taking home the tree on the roof of our "off-roading", "sturdy", "mans-man", silver civic.

My husband is so strong. He carried the Christmas tree into our house all by himself. :-)

It's a little trickier than you would think to get the tree to stand up tall. I have a great amount of appreciation for my parents and all the years they did this. I just remember being impatient as I was DYING to adorn the tree with lights and hand-crafted ornaments from when I was two. Isn't it crazy how you see things different as an adult?

Although not too terribly exciting at this point, stay tuned for the tree trimming!!! We're ready for the lights, garland and ornaments. Tis the season!

I'm Stuffed

Our first Thanksgiving together. Todd and I took the backseat in the 4-runner as my cousin, Liz, took shotgun and my dad sat at the wheel. We hit the road last Wednesday around twelve and nine short hours later, we arrived in Indianapolis. Todd's first Thanksgiving with my extended family. Todd's first experience with Buckeyes (that is, fresh from my Aunt Anita's freezer), first experience with a CRAZY house-full of relatives (which we love!) and his first experience with...


...my grandma's noodles, which are infamous. To say they are amazing, mouth-watering and delicious are understatements. Needless to say, I love them and this year, Todd did too. He loved them THIRDS-worth. Not just seconds, but thirds. We were all impressed. So our Thankgiving holiday consisted of a little of this......

A whole lot of this....

And of course, we had to leave the couch and the buffet line at some point...therefore, a little of this...

Such a fun Thanksgiving with all the Indiana folks. Lots of games, laughing, movies, conversations and yummy, yummy, yummy food. Todd and I made a pact on our way home: we're never eating again.

That Time of Year

I could try and pretend that I'm a person who has rules about Christmas. I could pretend that I don't listen to Christmas music on the radio until after Thanksgiving. I could pretend that I am against the fun and seriously exciting holiday decorations at Hobby Lobby, Michael's and every other craft store. I could also pretend that our family room doesn't already look like this.


The Christmas tree is subtle in this picture. But nonetheless, it's up! Again, I could also pretend that it hasn't been up for three weeks already. But that would be a lie. I love Christmas. I love everything that has to do with the holiday. I have to start celebrating before Thanksgiving, because if I wait, I just don't get my fill.

I can't wait for more decorations to go up. And believe you me, they will. Maybe I'm just excited because it's our first Christmas together since we've been married. But whatever the case, I can't wait until I can come out of the closet (less than a week away!) and officially start celebrating the most wonderful time of the year. By the way, don't let Wrigley's demon-like eyes or grim expression lead you astray, he's the most excited of us all. :-)

Happy Halloween!

We had a Halloween celebration at my mom's house. Here are some of the women of the family including Rachel the witch, Aunt Nee-nee the bumble bee, me the rocker w/the incredible awkward hand pose, Liz the other witch, Emri as Tinker Bell, Mama with her apron and funky tights and Kerri with her super cool spider web shirt. Max and Miles are below.

A true Halloween celebration would not be complete without Ghoul's Brew.....

I think Wrigley really liked being a cowboy for Halloween. He enjoyed the opportunity to ride a pretend horse, and sing old Western songs in front of the campfire late at night. No wait, I have that all backwards. He hated it. He hated me, Todd and the entire world when he was in this costume. And while I'm not one for cruelty to animals, I loved every minute of Wrigley in this little get-up.

This is a goofy picture, but the only one we apparently took together that night. As a side note, this is the same arm-band I wore when I was three for a dance recital. If you look closely, you can tell it's scrunched a bit...apparently my arm is bigger as a 29 year old. :-)

All you really need for a great costume: fake glow in the dark finger nails, false eye lashes and a big fake spider on your forehead.

Happy Birthday Todd and Ava!

We celebrated Todd's 29th birthday at the beginning of October and Ava's second birthday at the end of the month. Here's Ava at her birthday party. Adorable.

Todd and I gave Ava a little stuffed Cavalier King Charles Spaniel; this little guy is Wrigley's identicle twin. We gave her a little dog bed so she could put "Wrigley" to sleep at night. Again, adorable.


This is us celebrating Todd's birthday with an everything but the kitchen sink ice cream cake - oreo crust, chocolate chip cookie dough and peanut butter ice cream layers. In addition, there were peanut butter chips, loads of caramel throughout and topped with Todd's favorite and I still don't get the fascination with this candy, Rieces Pieces. I love how Ava's trying to grab for the cake in this picture.

Like uncle, like niece....that's all I have to say. :-)

Here is Todd with one of his favorite b-day presents, candy. For future reference, Todd will always be a happy boy if given Mike 'n Ikes, Swedish Fish or as before mentioned, Rieces Pieces.

Todd, only one more year until we're 30. For crying out loud! Ava honey, don't worry, you still have 28 more wonderful years of youth. :-)

Welcome home!

We arrived home in KC from Jamaica a little after midnight on June 15th. The honeymoon was over, but at least we had a few more days to settle in before we had to go back to work. Todd carried me over the threshold of our new home. As we opened the garage door into the kitchen, this is what we found...
Two of my greatest friends, Caroline and Katie, decorated our kitchen with streamers and balloons to welcome us home and congratulate us on the wedding.

Today, nearly five months later, we still have the sign posted on our refridgerator. :-) And here's my new hubby in front of our newly purchased posted dry erase board. My mama wrote that one, "Let the living begin"...and so it shall...