THE DOAN GANG

Thanksgiving @ The Sperry’s

2011-11-30T12:35:00.001-06:00

Hillary is the most incredible cook. Someday, somehow, I will be able to make amazing feasts like her. But more importantly, I’ll be able to figure out how to do it and NOT be a stress case. That is the real feat, she makes it all looks effortless. We were so glad to be able to go visit and spend some time with family.

My beautiful niece, Annie. Isn’t she gorgeous?!

And Ezra found another car to drive…

We’re ready to ring in the holiday season!

Dr. Ashelyn

2011-11-29T11:05:00.001-06:00

Ashelyn found the thermometer the other day after church and insisted that we play Doctor. I had to snap some pictures because she is an absolute crack up! I seriously never know what to expect from her. She marches to her own beat, loves the world that she lives in, and never ceases to make us laugh. She also makes us want to pull our hair out at times, but her kind of strong will can’t be a bad thing. Oh, I just love my girl!

{Halloween 2011}

2011-11-29T10:57:00.001-06:00

Halloween was so fun this year. We decorated the house with a giant spider web. We scared trick or treaters with my dad’s air cannon. We had lots of family and friends over. The Chiefs played on Monday Night Football. (And WON… we all know how rare that is!) It was just really relaxed and fun! AND, Yoda finally made his first appearance. Isn’t he the cutest thing EVER!?

{Spooky Family Night + Pumpkin Carving}

2011-11-29T10:47:00.001-06:00

Homemade Ham & Cheese rolls are a favorite at our house, so for the FHE right before Halloween we decided to make them into Spiders (Or, if you’re crazy like me… you can go on about how they’re actually bugs. Because we all KNOW Spiders have 8 legs, not 6…. “Just put two more legs on them so they can be spiders.” I have problems.) They turned out super cute and the kids loved making spooky food!

We also carved pumpkins, which has turned into quite an event at the Doan house. I’m pretty sure Jake has earned the title of master carver. He did this amazing Darth Vader to go along with the kids’ costume theme. So much fun! We had our nephew Jason staying with us for a few days, so he got to join in on the fun too.

Snow White – Storm Trooper—Yoda -- Darth Vader

Ward Halloween Bonfire 2011

2011-11-29T10:34:00.001-06:00

I made the kids costumes this year. They wanted to be Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. I have to say that I might have been more excited about this whole theme than they were. The costumes turned out AMAZING if I do say so myself. I’m so glad I got these pictures of them before the Ward Halloween Party, they make me sooo happy. Ezra’s costume wasn’t done for the party, so he just went as a monkey, but you’ll see Yoda soon, I promise! The ward party is always so nice Bart Walker let’s everyone come out to his property for a big bonfire/hayride and a chili cook off in his barn. It’s so nice to have such a wonderful ward family to enjoy time with.

May the force be with you!!!

{Colorado or Bust}

2011-11-29T10:25:00.001-06:00

My awesome cousin/twin/bff Jade and I got this crazy idea to meet up in Colorado so that we could FINALLY see one another. Time just flies too fast and since we live 1000 miles apart, we don’t get together nearly as often as we’d like. So she was able to score a spot with her parent’s timeshare in Steamboat Springs and we convinced Delila and Suzanne to tag along. They are serious troopers. Especially Suzanne since that meant travelling 12 hours in the car with my three children. :) That’s a real friend.

It was the best time. We hiked up to a beautiful waterfall. Ate mexican food. Watched silly movies. Watched Psych. Laughed. Reminisced. Curled up by the cozy little fireplace. The kids played really well together. Good times were had by all.

We need to make things like this happen more often. It was amazing!

Halloween Hallows 2011

2011-11-23T13:05:00.001-06:00

Our town sponsors this amazing Halloween event for the kiddos every year. It’s totally free and the the kids always look forward to it. This year it was SO hot. I know in years past it has been freezing, so that was definitely a change!

The theme this year was Space. They have a little trail through the woods that they decorate up with fun things for the kids to do, and this year it was “Second Star to the Right.” I just love Peter Pan. Here’s Gideon after he got his pixie dust learning to fly!

I used to babysit Emery before he and Janelle moved. The kids always look forward to getting together and Janelle’s dad is actually the one who orchestrates this whole thing every year. He says this was his last one though. I remember all the hours my Dad used to put in at the haunted house and I think it comes to a point where you just can’t do it anymore. Hopefully the city will keep it going.

Gideon about died! They had these guys from a local Star Wars troupe come and boy was he thrilled. After the picture he says to me, “Mom, you could hear Darth Vader breathing. He’s scary!” haha, I love my boys!

October Begins!

2011-11-23T12:50:00.001-06:00

Early in October I took Senior pictures for my brother Alex and snapped these pictures of my cuties while we were out and about.

The weather stayed unseasonably warm until about a week ago really, so my kids thought they were in heaven wearing shorts and flip flops for so long. I still have to convince Ashelyn pretty much every morning now that it’s cooled off that she can’t wear shorts anymore. :)

September:

2011-11-22T13:03:00.001-06:00

I can’t think of any huge thing that we did in September… I did turn 25! Holy cow, that’s old! I don’t even know how that happened. Jake quilted me this amazing bedspread AND made throw pillows to match for my birthday. That husby of mine, soooo crafty! haha, I guess it helps that he works at the quilt shop surrounded by fabric with his super awesome Momma to lend him a hand when necessary. Other than that, we just did the normal playing/working/ loving life. Here are pictures of us in September.

That’s what 25 looks like. Smile lines and crows feet. Wowsers. Also, note to self: wear more sunscreen.

Jenny and Ron gave me this pretty owl necklace for my birthday. I love it!

Ashelyn’s Potato Head! Sometimes I wish I had 3 arms too!

I watched Natalie’s kiddos for a week while she was out of town. It ended up being spirit week. This was her girls on crazy hair day. Fun stuff! I can’t wait to do this stuff with my kids.

YM/YW Movie Night 2011

2011-11-22T12:14:00.001-06:00

Before I got called into the YW presidency, I was the miamaid’s advisor. I know, BIG CHANGE. haha! Either way, we had a really fun activity where each age group of the young men and young women made little movies based on the theme “A Fairytale Family Home Evening.” So the miamaids (all two of them!)decided to do the story of Little Red Riding Hood. They improvised the whole thing and we filmed it during mutual in one night. I filmed it and Jake edited it all into a really cute little video. We won for Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress, and Best Picture! I’d call that a success!

Kearney 3rd Ward Miamaids- A Fairytale Family Home Evening

{Homeward Bound}

2011-11-22T11:42:00.001-06:00

On the last day we went to like a big outdoor mall on the beach and walked around (and picked up last minute gifts to bring home for Gideon and Ashelyn.) It was still pretty cold since it was early in the morning, but we wanted to see the ocean again before we left. There is just never enough time to catch up with everyone or get everything done that you want to do. It was so much fun, but it went way too fast!

Andy + Raven’s Wedding

2011-11-22T11:31:00.001-06:00

Jake got to be a witness at Andy & Raven’s wedding. It was such an awesome day! Everyone was so emotional (especially Andrew!) and the sealer was really wonderful. I wish I could remember more of what our sealer said when we got married, but my brain was a mess! Either way, Raven is amazing and they are all kinds of sick to your stomach cute together. Love you guys! Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day.

How’s that for wedding day weather??? I don’t think it gets any more perfect! And the sky decided to match their wedding color. Awesome.

Emma! You will take a picture with us! :)

San Diego Harbor + The Midway

2011-11-22T10:55:00.001-06:00

One evening we decided to venture down to the harbor with Megan, JD, Darren, Spenser, Tanner, and Emma. It was beautiful. We didn’t tour the Midway, because we’re cheap, but we did get pictures! Woohoo! We also ate pizza and picked up some really yummy cupcakes from a cute little shop we found.

California

2011-11-22T10:48:00.001-06:00

Jake and I were so glad to be able to go out to California for Andy & Raven’s wedding waaaaayyyyy back in August. (I know… It’s the end of November.) Hill was nice enough to watch Ashelyn and Gideon, so we just had Easy with us. He totally takes his nickname seriously and was a rock star the whole time.

It was so good to see everyone and to enjoy the beach and the beautiful San Diego temple. I had never been to California before (well, besides a layover in lax once… which most definitely doesn’t count.) so I was super excited to experience In N’ Out and what Jake calls, “the real beach.” Apparently, the beaches in the Caribbean don’t count. Whatever…

First up, a trip to the beach!

Harry Potter Day

2011-08-02T17:18:00.001-05:00

I had sort of decided that I wouldn’t be seeing the final Harry Potter at midnight. (Which would have made it the ONLY HP movie I didn’t attend the midnight premiere for…Yes, I am a geek. I know) But luckily my husband is amazing and didn’t even think twice about buying the tickets, finding a sitter for us, and enlisting the help of his super awesome Momma so that he could come home from work looking like this…

You can imagine my reaction when he walked through the door. Haha! I love him, and clearly… he loves me too. We had such a great time and I cried like a little girl. Not so much because of the movie, although I thought the movie was very well done. It was more about the end of an era. The end of my childhood. I know, completely silly. But I was 12 (I think) when the first book came out and I have loved Harry Potter from that first day I picked up the Sorcerer’s Stone and read it to some neighbor boys I was babysitting at the time. So for me, Harry Potter was a huge part of my childhood. Don’t worry that I’m married and have 3 kids…. the last Harry Potter movie being over, that made me feel OLD. My childhood is officially and undoubtedly over. Boohoo.

BUT….

So, that’s what I did! :)

Ohhhh-maha! (Part Two- the ZOO!)

2011-08-02T16:55:00.001-05:00

I love the Omaha Zoo. It’s the best! It’s not too spread out, but there’s still so much to see. The kids were bigger this time around and really enjoyed it. I can’t believe my kids are getting so big. My sister in law Sarah once told me that when she thought of herself as a mother, she always saw herself as a mom to little kids and they just don’t stay that way. When she said that I remember thinking, “Well, no kidding. Kids grow up.” But, you just don’t know how fast it flies by. There, I’ve had my cliché parenting line for this post. It’s true. IT’S TRUE.

ANYWAYS, back to the zoo… it was rainy and overcast when we first got there, but that cleared up quickly and we were able to be done for the most part before it got too hot and the place filled up with crazies. That’s how I like things. Crowds make me paranoid when I have my kids with me. “No one can be trusted! There are serial killers on the loose! Kidnapper!” You get the idea… woohoo! Pictures!

Ohhhh-maha! {Part One-FUN}

2011-08-02T16:32:00.001-05:00

They were pretty excited to go, can you tell!? We rode up with my Mom and Dad so they marched up and down the sidewalk outside waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to HURRY UP!

We spent a weekend up in Omaha sometime this summer… looking back, it’s hard to remember when we did what and in what order. The first day we had meetings for the fireworks stand stuff, but managed to get some down time for the kiddos at a little playground in Wahooooooooo, NE. (There may or may not actually be that many o’s in the name.) If you want to see a lot of hillbillies, go to a fireworks stand managers meeting. So much entertainment. :)

Oh… Hey there :)

2011-08-01T17:11:00.001-05:00

I was doing so well at blogging for a while. I have no explanation except that the summer is just so busy! So here’s a recap in pictures.
Here is Ezra and I just a few days after I blogged last. He stayed where you put him and did little but play around on his tummy. He’s now crawling, pulling up on the side of the couch, eating baby food (and LOVING it!), has one tooth with more coming soon, and LOVES his Momma. He’s growing much too fast for my liking. It seems like each baby stays a baby for a shorter time.
Look at that boy. Oh I could just eat him right up!! And to top it off, if there was a competition for “Easiest Baby in the History of EVER” Ezra would win it, hands down. He’s just a dream. We love our little Easy E.

Jake is still running the shipping department at the shop. Of course that’s in addition to the screenprinting business, his design work, and whatever other idea he’s got going on at the time. He’s a busy guy and he loves it. If he weren’t so obviously heterosexual, I’d be a bit concerned about his sexual orientation after this past weekend though. He came home with fabric he’d picked out and was excited to spend the weekend quilting with me. How’s that for a husband?! Hahaha, I love him! There is nothing he can’t do.

Oh, there were some holidays in there…. Here’s Easter goodies:

This year for the 4th of July, Jake helped my Mom and Dad run a fireworks stand in Liberty. So it was pretty uneventful. We did get to go to the lake for some down time afterwards and had a fireworks show over at Gramma and Grampa Fish’s house in mid-July. It’s been ridiculously hot here, so we’re all pretty sweaty and disgusting.

Gideon loves Sparklers!

Ashelyn turned THREE {three} [3!] Holy smokes. That’s hard to believe. She wanted a Tangled party, so that’s what she got. She’s not spoiled or anything… (rigggghhhht.) She actually had two parties. A little mini party at Grandma and Grandpa Richardson the weekend before, and the Tangled party the day of.

And more Ezra adorableness:

Letters to my Children: Gideon James

2011-04-06T14:20:00.001-05:00

Hey there Mr. Man!

Another month has flown by and as usual you are always the entertainer. I dug back out the Johnny Jump Up for Ezra to try out and I should have known you’d get more enjoyment out of it than he would. I don’t know why, but out of the three of you, you have always loved this thing. Of course now you’re WAY too big to actually get inside and jump, but you are resourceful. I’m sure you will eventually pull the molding off my door frame with your antics. Good thing Dad is pretty handy, right?!

You got to ride your four wheeler for the first time in a few months! That was a big deal. You are so much like your daddy. Some days I really love that fact and others I just worry for the hospital bills that could come from your fearlessness. Either way, you’re so brave!

I just keep thinking that this year is the last that I’ll have every day with you. School time is creeping up so quickly. I wish kindergarten was still a half day. Not because I’m worried about you, you’ll love it. I’m sure I’ll be a wreck for the first little while that you’re there. You’re my buddy. My big helper and the best big brother and I’m going to miss having you around all the time to help and make me laugh.

You have a contagious laugh. Right now, you’re watching a movie in the other room and giggling and it makes me smile. You are such a character. About a week ago, you went up to work with Daddy at the Quilt shop where they’re building a new shipping room. You were hammering away on something dad gave you and hurt your eye… you didn’t cry at all but when everyone asks you what happened, this is how you respond:

Gideon explains how he hurt his eye.

You’re the funniest boy. I love you.

-Momma

Moroni:

2011-03-25T11:30:00.001-05:00

The kids and I decided to venture over to the temple site yesterday despite the frigid temps. Originally we were just going to drive by and see it since they were supposed to have put Moroni up on top of the spires on Wednesday. It ended up being too windy that day, so they did it yesterday morning and we got to see it. There were so many people there and the channel 9 news truck even drove by about 5 times. I’m not sure if they actually ever stopped, but I’m sure they were wondering what all the fuss was about. It was such a fun thing for the kids and I’m so glad we braved the cold to stay and watch.

Moroni being placed on the spire. The video is shaky because of the cold and wind.

I seriously thought I would be an old woman before we had a temple here and to be able to take a short drive and watch the progress and to tell my children how wonderful the temple is has truly been magical for me. I felt like my spirit was jumping for joy the entire time we were there yesterday. Like, “Look! Look! It will be so soon!” Going to the temple has been so hard to do regularly with our little ones and the distance. To have the Lord’s house so close to our own is a miracle for a young family like ours and we are so overjoyed! I’m so thankful for the blessings of the temple and for the opportunities I’ve had to teach my children about it in a way that is real to them. (Even if I did have to correct Ashelyn that it wasn’t Joseph Smith they were putting on the temple spire, haha!)

Gideon asked me if the temple would be here forever. It was really awesome to tell him yes!

Grillin’ Time:

2011-03-22T09:16:00.001-05:00

Spring and summer are the best. If not for the glorious weather, then for the fact that I only have to cook about half as many meals now that Jake will be back manning the grill. Oh, I just love my hubby and his mad grillin’ skills! Check out this yumminess…

And just for good measure… pictures of my adorable kids!

The Luckiest:

2011-03-21T15:55:00.001-05:00

I think I’ve finally come to realize that it’s okay that there are goldfish crackers crushed on my living room floor, piles of laundry waiting to be both washed AND folded, dishes to be done, and toilets to scrubbed as long as these little faces are smiling.

Because pretty soon they’ll be big and I’ll wish that I’d spent more time playing and less time worrying.

Let’s go fly a KITE!

2011-03-21T15:39:00.001-05:00

Gideon found a Star Wars kite while we were perusing the cheap-o toy aisle at Walmart. To top it off, it had Yoda on it. Clearly he thought he needed it immediately. (I’m not sure if he really knew what a kite was or if it was just the fact that he’s obsessed with Star Wars, but he definitely KNEW he wanted it.)

My thought progression went something like this:

“That thing is a piece of junk.”
”Is there even anything in the package?”
”It’s never going to fly.”:
“It’s only $1. Am I prepared to handle a meltdown over a dollar?”
”Nope.”

So, we got the kite.

Best dollar ever spent.

Letters to My Children: Ezra Jacob

2011-03-10T17:19:00.001-06:00

Hey there sweet baby boy,

Look at you getting so big! It seems like you want to be big so bad, but we went to the Dr. for your 8 week check up last week and you’re still so tiny!! 10 lbs. 1 oz. and 23 inches long! I just keep thinking that some babies are born that sized and you’re over two months old and still so sweet and little.

For how much you like to eat you’d think you’d be a chunky as Gideon was. Look at the difference between you and your brothers and sisters at your age!

You’re my little bean pole and I love it. You’re the best baby…. especially if you’re being held. Really though, that’s not your fault considering every time I lay you down you get attacked (with love….hugs and kisses.) by your brother and sister. You look at me with that little sad face like, “Can’t you get them to leave me alone?!” So most of the time I just snuggle you up to me. I tried to get you to sleep in your crib for the first time last night. That lasted all of 5 minutes. We’ll keep working on that.

Anyway, you really are such a good boy. I decided to try to get you to take a bottle for when we were traveling and you took to it like a champ, so you still have one every night before bed time. I think it might be part of the reason you’re such a good sleeper. You sleep pretty much through the night, from 10 to about 5:30 most nights. I can’t complain!

You’ve been smiling for about 2 weeks now, but of course you never will when the camera is out. That’s okay, I’ll catch it eventually! It’s the sweetest smile in the world! You just grin from ear to ear.

You’re such a joy. Love you baby E.

-Momma

Ezra’s first time in the Johnny Jump-Up

Things you love right now:

Your binky
BOOBIES
Snuggling

Letters to my Children: Ashelyn Ann

2011-03-10T14:15:00.001-06:00

Hey sweet girl,

As I watch you and Gideon play together I’m just blown away at how quickly time has gone. It truly seems just like yesterday that we moved into our house and hurried to get things set up because you were scheduled to arrive the very next day! Somehow, it’s been almost 3 years. Your birthday is only 3 months away!!!

You are sooo my daughter. You are all my good qualities and all my bad qualities rolled into one adorably rotten little princess! I guess I had it coming to me! Sometimes I just shake my head, recognize myself in you, and then feel bad for whatever I put my parents through as a toddler. Oh. My. Word!

You are too smart for me to handle sometimes. Nothing gets past you. The other day, you and Gideon were having a particularly bad argument because he had hit you with his “circus sword.” So, thinking I would solve things, I told Gideon he couldn’t hit,sat him in time out, took his sword and hid it in my room. You followed me and I thought nothing of it until we returned to the living room and you walked right over to where Gid was sitting in time out and told him. “Mommy, put your sword on her dresser, Giddy. Don’t worry buddy, don’t worry.” Haha! You are such a kook!

I guess the fact that you’re so much like me might have something to do with you being such a mother hen. You want to tell everyone what to do and take care of them and love on them. Most of the time you are so sweet, but boy are you feisty! You love playing with your dollies and love your new little brother.

I hope as you get older we’ll still be able to enjoy all the things we do now. I love doing your hair and painting your nails. I love that you are that perfect mix of girly and tough. (I like to think I’m the same.) I’m sure I’ll find the changing outfits 3 times a day annoying once you’re a teenager (I seem to remember getting yelled at for that….*ahem*), but I think it's pretty cute now. Just try not to take EVERYTHING out of your dresser next time, k?

Love you Ashelberry!

-Momma

Things you love right now:

Singing!
Picking out all your clothes.
Anything pink, princess, or sparkly!
Swings
Coloring
Dora
Going to Nursery on Sunday!
Taking pictures
Dancing