25 Things To Do Before 25

I have been waiting to turn 24 so that I can make a list of the 25 things I want to do before I turn 25. So...here it is. :)

25 Things To Do Before I Turn 25

1. Buy a nice camera

2. Go to California

3. Send a package to Brad in St. Louis

4. Learn a new song on the piano

5. Switch banks

6. Organize our “important document” files

7. Go to 2 new temples

8. Become a "runner"

9. Ride a tandem bike

10.Read the Book of Mormon

11. Go on a spontaneous trip for the weekend

12. Read one book a month

13. Go to the temple twice a month

14. Go camping

15. Go 24 hours media free

16. Learn to do my taxes

17. Contribute to a Roth IRA

18. Donate plasma or give blood

19. Make a pie from scratch

20. Run a 5K

21. Follow a sports team

22. Move to a house/apartment where we can paint the walls

23. Do one random act of kindness every day

24. Try a new type of food

25. TOP SECRET

What Shall I Give Him?

When I was a little girl, my mom liked to have us (my sister and I) memorize little poems. For Christmas one year, we memorized this cute little poem that has always stuck with me.

What shall I give Him, as small as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I'd give Him a lamb.

If I were a wiseman, I'd do my part.
What shall I give Him?

I'll give him my heart.

Dear Santa...

For Christmas, please bring me the following...

1. Scene It? Box Office Smash for the Xbox 360 (with the cute little big button controllers, pretty please) :)

2. A Nikon d90...or, heck I'd even take the Nikon d5000 (feel free to throw in a nice lens on there, too and I'll leave you extra cookies and whole milk!) :)

3. Snow on Christmas, lots of time with family, warm cups of cocoa and a couple weeks of noooo school! :) :)

Merry Christmas, Ho ho ho!!

Sincerely,

Ashley :) :) :)

In My Wildest Dreams...

<...In my wildest dreams...>

I would be a photographer.

I would have 6 kids.

I would live near the beach

I would live near the mountains.

I would have the best of both worlds.

I would be a world traveler.

I would know how to water ski.

I would be a great cook.

I would have a beautiful, clean, organized home.

I would have a black baby-grand piano.

I would be a good singer.

I would live near my sister and brother

I would live near my sister- and brother-in-laws, too.

I would be athletic.

I would have a golden retriever.

I would have it all...

...in my wildest dreams.

Luckily...my wildest can be, if I make them into dreams come true.

i. love. my. life :)

Melt In Your Mouth White Chocolate Popcorn

While wandering Smiths, Kaitlyn and I noticed the asiles adorned with everything Christmas. Trees, lights, peppermint, evergreen and red and green. "It's not Christmas yet!" I huffed, "They completely skipped Thanksgiving!" "Ashley, you just have to embrace it. It's Christmas SOON enough," Kaitlyn answered resolutely.

SO, in the spirit of embracing "Christmas SOON enough," here is our VERY easy recipe for Melt In Your Mouth White Chocolate Popcorn. Enjoy!

You will need:

1 1/2 bags of unsalted, unbuttered microwave popcorn

Mini M&Ms (red and green if you are truly in the spirit of Christmas)

1 pound white chocolate (or vanilla candy coating)

What you will do:

1. Pop the popcorn. Remove all unpopped kernels and throw them away.

2. Place HALF of the popped popcorn in a large bowl. Set the other half aside.

3. Melt the white chocolate or vanilla candy coating in the microwave.

4. Pour half of the melted white chocolate over the first half of the popped popcorn. Stir until evenly coated.

5. Add the remaining popped popcorn to the bowl. Add the rest of the melted white chocolate and stir until evenly coated.

6. Spread popcorn onto wax paper or aluminum foil to dry. Sprinkle with mini M&Ms while still warm and while white chocolate is still melty.

7. Once white chocolate is dry, ENJOY! :)

Tis the season...or SOON enough, right. :)

With Love,

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Which is the best...

None of these are the real picture because none of these are my real hair. Some of them look real, it's crazy. Some of them look creepy (according to Kaitlyn). :) Check out the Hollywood Hair Virtual Makeover from InStyle. Haha, time for a makeover?? You can "Try on" celebrity's hair styles.

Lauren Conrad

Jennifer Anniston

Mila Kunis

Reese Witherspoon

Vanessa Millano

Maria Menounos

Julia Roberts haha

Fergie

Ashley Olsen

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Claire Danes

Haha, oh I should be doing so many things right now...but what did I do instead? yeeeahhh

With Love,

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Happy Halloween From Mrs. Webster's Class

Or should I say. . . Dr. Webster's class :)

With Love,

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Pasta Bellissima!

• Bryson and I made a delicious pasta the other night that I just have to share! My mother-in-law made this for Bryson back when he got home from his mission and he has talked about it non-stop ever since. 3 years later, we decided to try it for ourselves and it really is amazing! I am a HUGE fan of any and ALL Italian food! I LOVE pasta!
  
  
  You will need:
  1/4 cup of butter
  8 ounces of Canadian bacon (cut these into long, thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick)
  1 8-ounce jar of roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped (I found them near the pickles)
  1/4 pound snow pea pods (cut them in half)
  1 cup of heavy cream
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1/4 teaspoon pepper
  1 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
  1 pound fettucine, cooked al dente and drained
  
  
  In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the Canadian bacon and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the peppers and pea pods. Cook for 1 minute, stirring to coat with butter. Stir in cream, salt and pepper. Heat until boiling. Lower the heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly (for about 3 minutes). Add the parmesan cheese to the sauce and mix until well blended. Toss with warm fettucine and serve immediately.
  
  
  
  With Love,

  

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A Talent I Never Knew About...

My husband has many talents; some that I have known since we were both 16, and some that I have discovered slowly over our year and a half of marriage. I have learned that he is good at every sport he tries to play, I found that he is a great cook when he is cooking something that he loves to eat, and I discovered tonight that he is a true artist when it comes to pumpkin carving haha. I'm not exaggerating when I say that he sat still for 2 plus hours carving his masterpiece. I was a wimp and took the easy way out...and an hour after I had finished, he announced, "TAH DAH! I'm done." I am so proud! :) This picture is a piece of junk from my phone, I will post better ones of our pumpkin patch adventure and carving extravaganza later. :)

With Love,

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Leopold

Leo is the newest addition to our little family. He is seriously the cutest, sweetest thing in the world. We LOVE him. I never considered myself a "cat" person, but I am in LOVE. Just look at that cute face...and tell me how you can resist haha. He looks like a little stuffed animal. Something great about cats...they are SO easy! He came already litter box trained, he entertains himself and is quiet. He is super playful and so funny to watch as he jumps and pounces and climbs up everything.

With Love,

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Simplify

"We would do well to slow down a little and focus on the significant things that matter most. 'Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.'" Deiter F. Uchtdorf

I am working on simplifying my life this week and focusing on the things that are most important. In Relief Society a couple weeks ago, the teacher challenged us to find something in our life that was distracting us from being our best selves or from doing better things with our time. This week, I am giving up TV and Facebook...technology...and spending time instead with my husband, with my sister, reading good books, reading the scriptures, going to the temple and so much more. Of course, my very supportive husband has agreed to give up TV for a week also! :)

...and since we are starting tomorrow, we are laying in bed watching the Discovery Channel for the last time until next week. haha. :)

With Love,

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Ghosts...BOO!

"Teacher, teacher! Come quick!" I heard yesterday during morning recess. I recognized this voice all too well...it was the voice of a "tattle-tale." A little hand grabbed mine and tugged me across the field to the very back of the playground.

"See?" the concerned tattle-tale pointed at a group of three boys in my class throwing rocks through the chain-link fence at a house just over the fence's border, trying to break its windows.

"Boys!" I called sternly, "come here please." Three little pairs of eyes were suddenly upon me, mouths wide open...caught! "You know the rules, boys. No throwing anything at school, it's not safe." I pointed to the empty outside wall of the school, indicating the boys' punishment. Knowingly, they trudged back across the field and plopped down, backs against the wall and buried their little heads in their folded arms.

I was shocked. These were not my usual "trouble makers." These were great kids who caused me no trouble at all. These were in all actuality some of the "rock stars" of my class. "Great," I thought to myself with a slight frown. :) I pondered on this for the rest of the morning. During lunch, in the teacher work room, I turned to my teammate. "I had three boys throwing rocks at a house this morning during recess. They were trying to break the windows."

"Yeah," she did not seem surprised, "for some reason, all the kids think that house is haunted. Someone started that rumor a while ago...we need to lay that to rest once and for all."

Later, I questioned the culprits. "Why were you throwing rocks at that house, boys?"

"Well...." they hesitated.

"I need to know...why were you throwing rocks?" I prodded.

"Well...because we saw a ghost inside!" one boy piped up while the other two nodded in unison.

"Yeah, it's haunted and we saw a ghost and we needed to GET HIM THE HECK OUTTA THERE!" said another.

Truly...truly, these boys TRULY believed that house was haunted, that they had seen a ghost and that by throwing rocks, they were heroically saving the school.

I smiled. It was genuine, good-intentioned, albeit not allowable in this instance, boys being boys. There was no mischief, no intentional breaking of rules, and no "true colors" showing through. :) Boys...cute, sweet, hilarious boys.

With Love,

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PAzookie!!

There is a DELICIOUS little dessert place in Orem called The Chocolate. Kaitlyn and I or Bryson and I go there WAY too often and always order the same thing. The cazookie...a right-out-of-the-oven hot, gooey, giant, deep-dish style cookie topped with ice cream - peanut butter cookie flavor. It's big enough that you MUST share with at least one other person and have plenty of milk on hand. :) The only problem with this delectable dessert is the $6+tax price tag that comes with it. SO, tonight during our Grey's Anatomy "party," Kaitlyn and I decided to take a stab at making our very own version of the Pizza Cookie. :) Please try it, and PLEASE enjoy every last bite! :) Ours is big enough for 3 or 4. OR just one if you are feeling especially hungry. :) We eat it right out of the pan, no plates needed.

You will need:

1 package of pre-made cookie dough (we used the package of peanut butter cup cookie dough that comes in pre-cut little squares)

1 pie pan (we used the disposable 8-inch pans)

1 carton of ice cream

Pre-heat your oven to 475 degrees. Smoosh the cookie dough into the pie pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the outside of the cookie is golden brown. You want the outside to be crisp and done, while the inside/middle will still be gooey and delicious! Take out of the oven and top with ice cream. Eat, eat, eat. :)

With Love,

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Fall Butterscotch Apple Dip

Every year in elementary school, my mom was the mom that every teacher hoped for. She volunteered in the classroom, befriended all of my teachers, worked on the PTA and brought special treats for the teachers. I remember one particular day, I came home from school to a kitchen full of apples and the smell of butterscotch filling the air. "I made the BEST apple dip today," she said excitedly as she poured the gooey dip from the stovetop pot into a glass canning jar, twisted a square plaid cloth under the lid and tied a big orange bow around the jar. The next day, I walked proudly into school with a busshel of apples and a jar of apple dip in my arms. I presented it with a smile spread across my face to my teacher.

Over the years, my mother gave this dip to many teachers, friends and neighbors. Everyone LOVES this dip and everyone asks for the recipe. Bryson asks for this dip throughout the year, but I refuse to make it at any time during the year except fall. It is FALL apple dip, after all.

Fall Apple Dip

1 cup Butterscotch chips

1 can Sweetened, condensed milk

¼ tsp Salt

2 tsp White vinegar

¼ tsp Cinnamon

Heat chips and milk until melted (in microwave). Add remaining ingredients. Stir. Enjoy!

With Love,

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Brazilian Lemonade

I was at work the other day, when I get an email from Bryson. I opened it and there was a link to a website and a little note that said, "Tonight we're making these!" We LOVE Tucanos for this VERY reason...Brazilian Lemonades! I would go to Tucanos and pay $20 per person if ONLY to get a Brazilian Lemonade to go with it. They are seriously SO good! I was so excited that Bryson had found a recipe and we could pass on the expensive (but delicious) meal and make the delicious lemonade at home! It ended up being very easy to make...and they taste exactly like the ones at Tucanos. SO...if you are craving an amazing drink, go buy some limes and sweetened condensed milk and enjoy!! :)

Brazilian Lemonade

4 juicy limes (not key limes)
1 cup of sugar
6 cup of cold water
6 Tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk

Mix cold water and sugar and chill until ready to use. We did this ahead of time.

Wash limes and then cut each lime into 8ths. Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender. Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you'll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk.
Serve immediately over lots of ice.

For more pictures and instructions, go here.

ENJOY! :)

With Love,

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Delicious and Nutritious Green Smoothie

Bryson and I have never had luck with blenders. Don't ask me why...but every blender we have bought since we have been married has been a dud. Our first one just didn't work at all, never even turned on. The 2nd one we bought wouldn't blend anything. The third one started smoking the first time we used it. Finally, we thought "let's splurge a little, spend a little extra money, and do it right this time." So, we bought a $40 blender haha, which for us...is a splurge. :) We've been making smoothies and salsa and great drinks because we FINALLY have a blender that works! So, for your enjoyment here is one AWESOME, amazing, DELICIOUS recipe that we hope you ENJOY as much as we do!

P.S. Don't be scared of the spinach...you can't even taste it! :)

Delicious Green Smoothie

White grape juice concentrate (completely thawed)

1 big chunk of pineapple (remove the rind)

1 half of a lime with the peel

1 chunk of orange w/out the zest (but with the white part still on)

1 banana (broken into pieces)

fresh spinach

ice

**optional: a couple baby carrots, a chunk of cabbage, pineapple juice concentrate

Pour just enough grape juice concentrate to cover the blades of your blender. Put the pineapple, lime and banana into the blender. Fill with spinach to the top of the blender and then cover with ice. Blend until smooth. Add more ice depending on how thick you want it.

Ahhh...delicious! :) AND nutritious!

With Love,

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Twins?

I haven't lived in the same state as my sister in a long time. The last time we lived in Provo together was when Kaitlyn was a freshman at BYU and I was starting my junior year of college. Before that, she had been in high school and our 4 year age difference distinguished us as older sister and younger sister easily. Once we were both in college, we started hearing the "are you girls sisters?" A lot and people would instantly recognize us as sisters based upon first impression. Slowly, we started hearing the "you guys look so much alike," and we got asked often "are you girls twins?" This startled us, and would often look at each other, eyes wide open and answer "nooo." As the years went by, we started hearing more and more how much we looked like twins. Now, I hear it literally every single day. Kaitlyn and I will walk into a restaurant, talk to the clerk ringing up our food at the grocery store, or just be standing around talking to each other and immediately hear "Are you girls TWINS?" Everywhere we go...everywhere, without exception. Kaitlyn told me under her breath the other day as our waitress at Carabas was walking to our table, "if she asks us if we are twins, just say yes and go with it." "Why?" I asked. "Because, if we say no, it turns into a 20 minute conversation of how they can't believe we aren't twins. But if we say yes...they just say, 'Oh, cool,' and move on." And so...in case you wanted to know...YES, we are twins. Identical, in every way...just 3 years and 4 months apart.

Personally, I will take this as a huge compliment, because have you seen my sister? She's gorgeous. So...although I do not see how we look like twins...I will take it and not complain.

With Love,

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GI Joes and Rockstars

The best part of teaching is the funny, funny things that kids say.

On Monday, we started learning about rocks and I asked the class, "What do you already know about rocks?"

This one little boy raised his hand and with a smile, began sharing his story. He starts, "My brother has these things called GI Joes ... and you take a hammer ... and smash them ... and they break open ... and inside are these shiny crystals."

I pause....and ask sweetly, hoping for some clarification, "Where did he get these GI Joes?" as I am thinking, "What in the world is this kid talking about? GI Joes with crystals inside?"

He goes on and on and on about these special GI Joes when it hits me....

"Ohhhh," I say, "you mean Geodes!" It all made sense.

"Yeah, that's what I said," he assured me, "GI Joes."

"Geodes," I repeated and he nods, "Uh huh, GI Joes."

Geodes, GI Joes .... same thing, right? :)

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AND one more sweet little story....

At the end of the day, a little girl came up to me and gave me a hug on her way out the door.

She looked up at me and said so matter-of-fact, "I've been thinking this all day, and I just HAD to tell you this...you look JUST like a rock star and I LOVE it! My teacher is a rock star."

... thank you? :)

With Love,

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I love fall!!

I really, really do! I love when the air turns crisp and cool. I love digging to the back of my closet for my jackets and long-sleeves. I love wearing black tights and closed toed shoes. I love the smells of apples and cinnamon, of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and warm soup. I love the beautiful trees that turn the mountains red, orange and yellow. I love snuggling up in a blanket with a warm cup of hot chocolate. I love Halloween and Thanksgiving and all the fun things that come with each holiday. Every year, I forget and it surprises me again how much I really do love fall! :)

With Love,

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Words of Wisdom

Someone I admire a lot is my mentor teacher from when I was a 2nd grade cohort. I learned more from her than she will ever know and I am constantly re-reading my many, many notes I took during the 4 weeks I spent in her classroom. She posted something so cute on her Facebook status the other day and I keep thinking about it. She put into words my thoughts exactly.

About this time I start switching from summer me to back to school Miss K. I love
setting up my room, gathering new ideas, and having alone time in my classroom. And then THEY come--and they come with food allergies, and with parents who need to inform me of how exceptionally bright their child is, and with fears, new shoes, learning disabilities, sometimes syrup breath, and once with leukemia.

And I wonder--am I really going to end up loving this group? And for the 11th time the answer will be "yes."

As I have been getting ready for my new class to come on the first day of school tomorrow...I have been really missing my old class from last year. I have wondered "Will I love these kids as much as I did last year?" All I have of the new class is a list of names, a list of names that really means nothing. I don't yet know their strengths, their "quirks," the funny and sweet things about each of them. Will I love them? I know I will. For the 2nd time, my answer will be "yes."

Happy Birthday to my LOVE!!

It was Bryson's birthday on the 7th...but I was in Virginia still, so I told him to ask for Monday the 9th off of work and that when I got back to Colorado Springs that we would do ANYTHING he wanted to do for his birthday. When I got home, we did a lot of super fun things for his birthday, but mostly celebrated the wonderful man that my husband truly is. I thought all day of how lucky I am to have him in my life.

Here are 23 things that I LOVE about Bryson, since he is turning 23:

1. He loves me.
2. He has a little soft spot for animals, especially baby animals haha.
3. He sends me picture messages throughout the day of the most random things...usually whatever food he is eating for lunch. :)
4. He is happy 99.9% of the time.
5. When he does get frustrated or stressed out...2 minutes later, he's completely happy again.
6. He is romantic and thoughtful.
7. He snores from the moment he falls asleep at night to the second he wakes up in the morning. :)
8. He is a great driver and always drives for me. :)
9. When he is interested in something, it's all he can think about (for example, skiing, biking, etc)
10. He is good at all sports, but understands and is patient with the fact that I am NOT. :)
11. He sends me texts while he's at work or when I'm at work saying "I just love you," "You're beautiful," and other sweet nothings haha. :)
12. He makes me laugh more than anyone in the world.
13. He loves kidletts and can't wait to be a dad someday. He will even pass me notes in church with baby names...but don't tell him I told you that. :)
14. He loves to try new restaurants with me, but will always give in and go to my current favorite if that's what I am craving...even if we have been there 4 times in the last week. :)
15. He is complimentary and positive, speaks highly of others and sees the best in people.
16. He loves his family very much and is proud of his siblings. :)
17. He is a very hard worker.
18. He loves to stay up late and then sleep in with me on the weekends.
19. He loved teaching primary and even got teary eyed a few times when the kids would sing. He did funny magic tricks for them all the time and the kids loved him!
20. He will put hot sauce or salsa on anything and everything.
21. He makes the bed and cleans up the apartment when I am on my way home because he knows it will make me happy. :)
22. He is a wonderful priesthood leader in our home.
23. He is my eternal companion and I love him more and more everyday.

I love you hubby bub, honey bunch, baby bee. I love you oh so much. Here's to a wonderful, fun, eventful, crazy year we have ahead of us!! This will be an amazing year and I am so glad we get to do it all together.

Just in case you didn't already know...

I love my husband a lot. And he loves me a lot, too. And I think that's pretty neat. :) Sure love ya baby bee! Sure love ya, sure miss ya, sure can't wait to kiss ya!

With Love,

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Virginia Is For Brothers (and ME)

Jayson and I drove out to Virginia this last weekend. We drove 25 hours straight through the night...which I would not recommend. We saw some very interesting things along the way, one in particular Naked Hitch Hikers, and we got a little (probably a more than just a litte) delirious towards the end and started singing and dancing as crazy as possible just to keep ourselves awake BUT we arrived safe and sound Monday afternoon in Mechanicsville at sweet Auntie's house. We've been having a great time with Granny and Poppy and Auntie and Uncle Kent. :) We went to Chincoteague yesterday and went to the beach and ate delicious seafood. I can't wait to go to Busch and relive the memories of last summer and ride me some rides. I just wish my honey bunch was here too! I'm so grateful for Granny and Poppy for letting us stay at their house! AND I'm SO VERY grateful that we aren't driving back home...we're flying! But let's not think about going home just yet...we still have plenty of vacation time left! :)

With Love,

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