Bittersweet Times

So I haven't posted in a while because my life has been insane for the past week - good insane and bad insane. :) But before I talk about all the insanity, I thought I should write about our holiday weekend.

We must be psychic because instead of planning a family BBQ for Memorial Day on Monday, we planned it for Sunday, which was perfect weather compared to the pouring rain the following day! (And yes, I had no clue the weather was going to be like that on Monday because I haven't done a very good job of watching the weather lately. Sorry, Linz. I'm such a horrible sister!) We ate fabulous burgers and hot dogs, corn on the cob, salads... it totally put me in the summer mood! Ty especially liked the corn on the cob as you can tell from the picture. Unfortunately, I didn't take many other good pictures so I guess that's all you're going to see of it. But seriously, it's times like these that I realize what a great family I have and how lucky I am to live close to them - well close as in driving an hour, but it's all good! So thanks Mom, Dad, Kristin, and Dan for coming. As for the Storrs family, we missed you, but figure it wasn't too much of a loss since you were eating with Mickey! :)

Now for the insanity. Let's start with the good... Gavin is really progressing with his potty training, which still has me in shock! Everybody kept telling me that when he was ready, he would let me know, but I didn't believe them. It's hard to hear that when you have a deadline and can't wait forever (like preschool starting in the fall)! But in our case, that's really what happened - we just had to wait for him to be ready. Yeah, we've thrown in a few incentives here and there, but nothing as drastic as I thought we would have to. It's really been all him. He now officially goes to the potty all by himself without any help, and he doesn't even need reminders! Here are a few fun things we've used recently that has made it that much more fun for him.

First, I saw this potty chart idea on my sister's friend's blog a while ago and Gavin has really taken to it. It's a chart with 25 potties on it, and everytime Gavin goes potty, he gets to put a sticker on one of the potties. At the bottom of the chart, you can write down what reward your child will get once the whole chart is complete (ours was originally Bee Movie, but Gavin has officially changed it to a Carnivore - another loud boy toy to annoy me!). Anyway, he loves putting stickers on it and counting how many potties he has left to fill. I thought it was a fun, simple idea, so if any of you are interested, I found it at Walmart.

Second is the "Potty Watch." My friend Emily wrote about this on her blog and how successful it's been with her daughter, so I thought I'd give it a try. While it can be a bit annoying at times, it really is an ingenious idea and I'm so thrilled somebody came up with it! It's a watch (shaped like a potty, of course) that can be set to go off every 30, 60, or 90 minutes. Each time it goes off, it plays a song and reminds your child to go potty. The funny thing is that we actually don't use it that way at our house. Instead of setting the timer (which Gavin hates), he just pushes the song button when he needs to go and says, "It's Potty Time!" Then he runs to the potty. So it has still been really successful for us, even though we don't use it like we should! It really is a cute idea so if you are interested, you can get them at Kid 2 Kid.

Now for the bad insane. Tyler came down with the stomach flu early yesterday morning, and he just can't seem to shake it. He really is a totally different person and it just makes me so sad. Everytime I see him lying around (instead of running and screaming like he normally does), I have to hold back the tears. Today has been the worst. He has slept almost all day, and anytime I have him up, he insists on being held and is just totally limp. It's made me realize just how much his business and craziness are good things, even though they usually annoy me. It's just been really upsetting and I hope he recovers soon.

Well, my apologizes for the long post. Every blog I write just solidifies the fact that I am an English major - I could write forever! -Ash

Hoodlum with a Binky, Potty Training, American Idol Afterthoughts, and a Good Laugh

I feel like I have been a horrible blogger lately, mostly because I feel like I spend way too much time on the computer and not enough time with my kids, which I've been trying to fix. So here I am, up at 11:00 at night, trying to squeeze out a quick blog when I should really be in the comfort of my own bed laughing at George Lopez! Oh, the things I do for you guys... :) So here's a totally random blog filled with totally random things.


Today was pretty chilly, so I decided to try a new sweatsuit on Ty. It's an 18-24 months size, so I initially meant for him to wear it in the fall, but with how fast that kid is growing, he may not fit into it then! (Seriously, I am convinced that his appetite is going to drive our family to poverty. And anybody who's seen him eat can attest to that!) When we went to get him up from his afternoon nap today, he had his hood on and insisted on keeping it on all day (he even went to Costco and Toys 'R Us with it on). So here you have it - our 18-month-old hoodlum. This better not be a sign of things to come... :)


In other news, Gavin is showing progress with potty training! It's a miracle from above! Just as a quick background, Gavin is 3 1/2 and up until today, he has only peed in the toilet once. He is an incredibly stubborn kid (hmmm... wonder who he gets that from?) and until today, if you even said the word "potty" around him, he would freak out and run away screaming. Literally. Fortunately, Greg has had the whole week off of work and after hearing me cry almost every night about how preschool starts in September and Gavin is still not potty trained, he started helping out. And honestly, I know he hasn't tried anything different than I have, but I think Gavin just has a whole different level of respect for his dad than he does for me. Normally, this would bother me, but when it comes to bodily waste, I just don't care! :) Anyway, he went in the potty not once, not twice, but THREE times today! So hooray for progress, let's pray it keeps coming! (And I'm serious about those prayers, he needs to get potty trained!) :)



As for American Idol, I am shocked I have to do this (because I'm never wrong... of course), but I have to admit that my prediction of David Archuleta winning it all hands down was wrong. :) Seriously, as much as I love David Cook, I cannot believe there weren't enough 12-13 year old girls out there on Tuesday night to help David Archuleta win. I'm sure that my 15 Beehives alone voted for him at least a few hundred times, so where were all the other screaming and crying adolescents?! Really, I am just extremely shocked, even though I really like David Cook more. I actually feel a little bad for him though because I see David Archuleta fitting the A.I. mold and record label a little better, but what can you do? David Cook seemed happy so hopefully it's what he wanted. And at least David Archuleta got Utah back on the map (in a positive way) after the embarrassment with Carmen Rasmussen. However, I have to admit that the Murray mayor with the handlebar mustache may have been a slight setback to that...


And lastly, I saw this new "fashionable swimwear" on my friend Kyla's blog and had to share it with all of you. I seriously couldn't stop laughing. Who comes up with this stuff?! It's over-the-top Mormonism at its best!

Kyla and Cassi said that they are both planning on purchasing these swimsuits online and I hope to see pictures of both of you modeling them on your blogs soon. You will look absolutely stunning in them, I'm sure. My only hope is that they aren't on back order! :) Wouldn't that just ruin your summer?! -Ash (I hope I didn't offend anybody who actually likes these. They just definitely are not for me!)

The Mommy Test

I know Mother's Day was a week ago, but I still wanted to post this story as a kudos to all moms out there. I was asked to read it in Sacrament Meeting last week and thought it was pretty cute. I think we all probably took the Mommy Test in the pre-existence!

The Mommy Test

I was out walking with my 4-year-old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that anymore.

"Why?" my daughter asked. "Because it's been on the ground. You don't know where it's been, it's dirty and probably has germs," I replied.

At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Mommy, how do you know all this stuff? You are so smart."

Thinking quickly, I replied, "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mommy Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy."

We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. "Oh, I get it!" she beamed. "So if you don't pass the test, you have to be a Daddy."

"Exactly," I replied with a big smile on my face.

A Skousen Becomes a Walker...

I can't believe my baby sister Kristin got married yesterday! Seriously, it seems like she should still be 5, which is way too young to be getting married, right? (Although I do vaguely remember having some sort of marriage ceremony between her and Matt Pheysey when they were about that age... Ha ha!) But despite that, I'm so excited for her and thrilled that she married such a wonderful guy! His name is Dan Walker, and we just love and adore him. He really treats her like a princess which is what she deserves. Plus, he fits into our family well. We knew he was a keeper from the start when he met our entire family and didn't run for his life! :)


The whole day was so wonderful. We were all a bit worried about the weather earlier in the week, but it turned out to be a beautiful day (I even got a bit of a sunburn!). They were married in the Bountiful temple - a temple I'd never been to before - and it was gorgeous. The views from there are awesome! So needless to say, they got some great pictures. Of course, if you've seen my sister, you just know that any picture she's in will be a great one. She is so photogenic and absolutely gorgeous! Their sealing was really nice too, and I didn't bawl like I expected to. Just a few tears... :)


After 2 hours of pictures and videography (phew!), we finally all headed out to her dinner reception at The Point in the Huntsman Cancer Institute. If you haven't been up there, you need to go! It has the best view of the entire Salt Lake Valley. The dinner was so nice and things went really well. Even the cake eating was fairly clean! :) Only a few tears once again... until the very end, that is. It just hit me all at once that she is actually married and before I knew it, I was sobbing... Darnit! I was doing so well!

Overall though, it was such a great day. I really think Kristin's dream wedding came true, and I'm so happy for both of them. We're thrilled to officially have Dan in the family now, and wish them all the best! Congrats you too and we love you! -Ash

The Bridesmaids (from L to R) - Ashley Akana (Kristin's close friend), me, Tiffany Garner (another close friend of Kristin's), and my sister Lindsay. Can you tell a gust of wind came through during this picture? :)

Gavin posing for the camera. He was seriously SO good the whole day. I was so proud of him.

What I'd give to look like my little sister... :)

(And kudos to our hair stylist Tara for doing such a great job on Kristin's hair. It looked gorgeous! Do you see why I drive an hour for her to do my hair?!)

Nana and Poppy with the boys. (Don't I have great looking parents?!) :)

More of the Skousen girls... (I say "girls" because my mom could pass for 30!) :)

Gavin in his tux. Isn't he the cutest thing EVER?! He was so excited to be dressed like Poppy. :)

The happy couple listening to my parents after dinner.

The cake cutting - they were actually pretty nice to each other!

Seriously, could she be any happier?! :)

Congrats again, you two! :)

Feeling Blessed...

Today is my 25th birthday, and I really didn't want to write a post about me because I like to write about the other people in my life, not myself . Plus, I don't want my blog to be "braggy" (is that even a word?)! But after the past couple of days, I've realized just how blessed I am to have what I do, so I thought I would write a "brag blog" since I feel like a pretty lucky girl right now! I will try to not make it too cheesy or annoying! :)

First, I have to brag about my fabulous family! Honestly, I really think I have the best family in the world (and I do include my husband in that, even though he's not in the picture to the left!). They are so supportive, no matter what, and I feel so incredibly blessed to have them. When Greg and I first started going through this whole job fiasco a few months ago, I remember calling my mom one day to vent and she was telling me that earlier that day, she was so sick to her stomach over the whole situation that she had called the Provo temple and the Timpanogas temple and put our names on both prayer rolls. I started bawling. It was just one of those experiences where even though you have always known your parents love you a lot, you now realize that they love you more than you can comprehend. And it's not just my mom. My dad and my sisters are both so great too! I really am lucky to have a family that is so close and great.

Also, I have always known I have great friends, but today it became that much clearer when my neighborhood friends gave me a little surprise. Yesterday, my friend Dana asked me if I could watch her little boy around 12:30 today while she registered him for preschool. I watch him all the time, so I thought nothing of it. Plus, Greg has been at work all day and I had nothing special planned, so I figured I might as well help her out. Well, instead of just bringing him over for me to babysit, she showed up with all my close friends from the neighborhood, and cake and ice cream! We let the kids terrorize my family room downstairs while we sat and talked upstairs. It was seriously so fun, and it made me realize how lucky I am to have good friends. Since I don't live really close to my family, my friends have become my "pseudo-family," and I feel fortunate to have them! :)

Last, I feel so fortunate to have the Lord in my life. I have really felt His hand in my life lately, and I feel so blessed. This was very apparent to me yesterday as our job saga continued... When I wrote the blog about Greg's new job two Fridays ago, he had only been given a verbal offer by Qwest at that point. While we took that as good news, we didn't realize that he wouldn't get a written offer from them until he went through another drawn-out interview process with HR in Denver. We knew from day 1 that he wouldn't start until May 19th, so initially when things were taking so long with HR, we weren't worried. But after a week of not hearing from them, we starting panicking. Fortunately, yesterday we heard back from them and everything is finalized now, so we are feeling really relieved. The interesting part is that when Greg called his boss to put in his notice, his boss's response was, "I thought you'd be calling to say that, so I already hired somebody to take your spot." He flew in last week, unannounced, and apparently hired somebody then to replace Greg! So if Greg hadn't gotten this job at Qwest, I'm sure his boss would have just brought in this new manager one day and fired Greg. It just makes me sick to think about. But that's where I really feel the love of the Lord, because I know this was in His hands. He knew exactly what was going to happen, and helped us out before we became jobless.

Well, sorry if that was a long post and if it was boring, but I really feel like I have a lot to be grateful for. I complained for the longest time about the whole job situation and I think I really needed a post like this to look at and remind me just how lucky I am. -Ash

Graduations Galore

My family had a busy past weekend with two graduations! First, my brother-in-law Mike graduated from the U of U on Friday with his MBA and honestly, I have no idea how he did it. Between working full-time, doing his church calling, being a dad and father, AND going to school full-time, I'm surprised he didn't just drop dead. :) Of course, for those of you who know Mike, you know he is the eternal optimist about everything so during all of this, you would have never known how stressed and busy he was. He always put on the best face and never let us know how hard it was. So way to go, Mike! We are proud of you.


Then, on Saturday, my little sister Kristin graduated from Utah State! Go Aggies! :) She got her degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in English (hmmm, wonder where she got that idea from?!), and she did it all in three years! It was fun to go to her graduation because I haven't been up to Utah State since I graduated two years ago, and it brought back a lot of memories of my graduation (mostly good memories - I just had the worst morning sickness that day and it was so hard to just get out of bed!). So congrats, Kristin! We are proud of you too.


And the busyness continues this week with Kristin's wedding! Seriously, how is it possible that my baby sister is getting married?! It just seems so unreal. But I guess I have to accept it, and just be prepared with a lot of Kleenex! :) -Ash (There are more pics below...)

Gavin and Nana.

It was around this time that Gavin turned to my sister Lindsay and said, "I think I could fall asleep in here." :) I think we all felt his pain after a while!

Gavin and Connor being silly as usual. Seriously, what's up with those faces (and Gavin's arm across Connor like that)?!

All three Skousen sisters (who can seemingly only produce boys... :) Hopefully Kristin will change all of that!)