Goofy Golf!

Pop quiz: what is zany, wacky, totally outrageous, and the sport of kings? Goofy Golf! If you are tired of perfectly sane tee boxes, practical fairways and sensible putting greens, maybe your game of golf is not quite goofy enough.

...Well, enough goofy puns for now. We wanted to be a good parents and take Sadie to learn a new skill. I wanted her to develop a love and appreciation for the sport of gentlemen (miniature gentlemen). It was a huge hit. Actually, she wandered around the course while Ashley and I battled it out around Amen Corner.

Sadie's favorite "Mickey Mouse hole"

At Sadie's request, I was basically giving a clinic on putting

Lining up with mommy...

...ooooh, just missed the windmill.

I had to show Sadie a hole in one.

New Orleans

Picture this, if you will: A small family on a simple vacation. We decided last minute to take a little drive from Ft Walton Beach to New Orleans to enjoy our Labor Day weekend and catch up with some friends along the way. We found ourselves amidst the style, class, and elegance of the French Quarter. It was pouring rain when we got there, so we bought an umbrella. It immediately stopped raining and turned into a sticky, sweaty day. As we toured the city, we noticed several festive, beautifully-colored rainbow flags strewn about with pride, hung from bars, restaurants, and balconies. As our horse-and-carriage tour continued, we decided that something was definitely going on here... Bourbon street was truly a sight to see, more festive, flamboyant, and fashionable than ever. Other tourists were staring at our traditional family (and pregnant wife) like we were weirdos. We heard the phrase "Southern Decadence" thrown around a few times, and realized that our family trip happened to be on the very weekend of Southern Decadence 2009: the gay equivalent of Mardi Gras! I will say that it made the trip memorable. But we were able to enjoy some good "Nawlins" classics. we enjoyed the beignets at Cafe du Monde

Sadie was mesmerized by the local music..

and scared to death by a fun-loving street performer who offered her a sucker. Sometimes taking candy from strangers is scary but worth it.

Our buggy tour of Southern Decadence. Truly unforgettable.

We tried the local fare of jambalaya and gumbo. you can see it was a big hit. To be honest, I don't even know the difference between crawfish, crawdads, and crayfish.

Ashley's pregnant belly was the cause of much excitement, discussion, and speculation, especially on this particular weekend.

Fun in the sun

We keep hearing from people that one thing we definitely need to do while we are here for the year is rent a boat and check out Florida from the water, so we went in with one of Mark's fellow residents and his wife and rented a ski boat and took it out on the high seas. It was so fun. We for sure have to do it again before we leave. But next time not pregnant... it just about put me into labor. Sadie of course wanted to drive.

Sadie had too much fun.

So this humble abode belongs to Tom Cruise. I was hoping to see Katie and Suri lounging by the pool. I just know they would have invited Sadie over to play. But unfortunately I don't think they were home.
We were like a bunch of kids when we found flipper lurking in the waters
I would show you a picture of me skiing but you all might be a little jealous that I could get up 8 months pregnant.
In the middle of the water is this huge sand bar they call crab island were you can dock your boat and walk/swim around. It's like a big party in the middle of the bay.

Reunited and it feels so good

After being separated from each other for a month we were all reunited again in our new state of Florida. We are so happy to be one big, happy, family again. We sure missed each other a lot. I'm not sure I could ever handle Mark being deployed. I hate complaining about a month separation when there a bunch of people in our ward who haven't seen there families in months and months, but I still didn't like it! Okay? So we have been here about a month and a half now. We love our house and we love being just 10 minutes away from some fabulous beaches. We could use some friends though. Do come visit; we are a little lonely. We miss our friends.

Ashton family reunion and Yellowstone

My dad has 12 kids in his family, and they all have a bunch of kids, and this was an extended family reunion, so you could imagine how many shirts had to be made for this glorious event. This was not even close to all of them. There were a bunch of people missing, but still a ton of people. My mom and dad were not able to make it so I got to be in charge and fly 3 of my sisters and Sadie to Salt Lake City and then we drove to Island Park Idaho for the grand festivities. We had a fabulous time.

Yellowstone...

We were right next to Yellowstone so we decided to spend an extra day and go check it out. It is so beautiful there. We saw a lot of the park for being there just one day.

We actually had a really interesting hotel experience that night. Actually I'm not to sure you could call it a hotel. After the reunion I tried to get us a room at the place we were staying but they were all booked so I called around and found a place about an hour from Yellowstone. They call it the Lazy Trout Lodge. They said they had a cabin available for us for $170. So I took it thinking "okay, for $170, the room should be fine." So we show up that night completely exhausted from our day of adventures at Yellowstone, and the place is a complete dive. My sister called it a shed on stilts. Which is basically what it was. I'm not sure how they came up with cabin. So it's July and I'm pregnant and we go in the room and I'm searching everywhere for the thermostat. Yeah- no AC, not even a fan! So I decided I was going to call them and ask why there is no AC. Am I just blind or is there really no AC? But I couldn't find a phone. No phone. Okay, so I go walk down this creepy dirt road to where these owners slept and ask them about the AC and they said it doesn't ever get hot here. HAHA!! It does. Have you ever been to Idaho in July? I'm sorry, but it gets hot. So I'm thinking there is no way I am going to be able to sleep tonight, it's super late, and we are in the middle of nowhere. What the heck!! So the guy goes on to tell me that it's just because I'm pregnant (blah blah blah) and gives me his kids dingy old fan from his bedroom. And I slept... or didn't sleep, I can't remember. I think it's due to the bugs that flew into my brain that night and sucked all my memory from me. I could go on about this place but I am personally trying to forget. I just think that for $170 a night they could at least have a phone! (AC would be nice too).

Sadie loved all the rivers. We stopped a bunch and let her play in the water.
Abbey and Sadie waiting patiently in the heat for her faithfulness (Old Faithful)
and she shows her faithfulness to us...
Sadie loved, loved, loved the water! It was actually really warm from all that geothermal steam or whatever it is.

After all this fun we were able to hang out with Mark's family a bit. They so graciously showed us around temple square and even let us use their car. Sweet!

We sure missed our daddy while he was gone, but we had a great time with out him too. JK. We wish you were with us. On the Fourth of July Sadie discovered that she loves corn on the cob. She could not get enough of the stuff. See for yourself...

California

I am trying so hard to get the blog updated before the baby comes. I have been wanting to post more on the blog as a sort of journal type thing for our family because I have loved going back and seeing what has gone on. I was so happy that I blogged about stuff because I tend to forget things really easy. Blogging is hard work, I tell you. Well anyway, we had a splendid time in Utah. There was so much I didn't get around to blogging about but for the sake of wanting so badly to get updated we shall let it pass.

After our month in Utah this summer we all headed westward toward my home state of California. Mark stayed a week with us and then was off to Officer Training. Sadie and I stayed with my family for the whole month while Mark was gone. While Mark was with us this is a little of what we did.

We did a whole lot of Relaxing... I think she looks just like Mark in this picture.

A bunch of nude chicken chasing... and being chased by chickens... This girl loves animals; it was too funny to watch her chase these chickens and try and pick them up but then get too scared and run away. Oh, and poor Bear (my family's dog)... he got a little too much love from Sadie. Spent some quality time at the Pacific... Sadie looks so young in all these pictures. They were only a couple months ago, but I swear sometime between then and now she has gone from a baby to a little girl. Ventured over to Knott's Berry Farm... My mom and I love this place. We have been going here for years and Mark had never gone so we decided to take him. I couldn't go on any of the rides because I'm prego, but it was more fun to just watch Sadie on the rides.

Sadie loved the Horse and Carriage ride.


Enjoyed the sights and smells of the Del Mar Fair...
Sadie's favorite part was the animals, of course.
and all the greasy, fried fair food.

and we had a great time enjoying time with family and friends...

The End.