"Feed The Ducks" Party

Today was my one-and-only nephew's third birthday, and so we did what any three year old would be excited to do... went to the park to play and feed ducks! A couple of nesting mama ducks may or may not have gotten terrorized when we all came traipsing over the rocks, but overall the party was a fun success for all the little ones. Nothing beats fresh air, hungry water fowl, and birthday cake!

A couple photos from our morning at the park (I was going around in short sleeves! At 10 AM! Glorious! ALL the exclamation points!)

 ^^^Another terrorized duck for the scoreboards today ;)

 ^^^Balloon ducks lined the ground in front of our pavilion

 ^^^Nicole was more content to eat the bread than to give it away to the ducks ;)

 ^^^Messy, drool-covered toddler faces! This is my life right now.

Big Baby Eyes

Excuse me while I brag for a moment.

My nephew is cuter than yours. I'm sorry, that's just how it is. And how can you argue? Look at that little face and that full head of hair! He's only 6 months and is the cutest stinkin' thing I've ever laid eyes on.

And... those huge eyes?! So adorable!

I got to spend quite a bit of time with him today - carrying him around, blowing raspberries on his tummy, letting him grab my face with both his hands and plant big, slobbery kisses on my cheek... this is the life, let me tell you. And he is such a flirt! He was smiling and cooing at every person we passed in the church hallway as I walked around with him. That child.

Okay, I'll stop bragging for today. But c'mon... those eyes!

What went down on 7/4

Blurry camera-phone pics and all.

Dress: homemade // Cardigan and Belt: Kohl's // Clutch: c/o Mary Kay // Ring, Necklace and Shoes: Gifted

I hope everyone enjoyed their Independence Day! I got to sleep in, dress up in festive colors, eat plenty of food, hang with my favorite nephew, and see tons of fireworks.

Clearly, I just couldn't get enough of him.

GAH, that little face!

And after all the food and partying was done, Doug and I decided to hike the Y (my college BYU has a big "Y" on the mountain right next to the school, and it's very popular to hike up to the Y) and watch all of the fireworks across the whole valley from the trail. It was quite a view, and we could even watch a huge thunderstorm in the distance (one guy on the trail said that it was God's fireworks. HA!)

I tried (and failed) more than once to get a good shot of some of the Stadium of Fire fireworks show. This is probably one of the better images.

We sat around on the Y after the Stadium of Fire was over and everyone who was up there went back down. Had some heart-to-heart conversations. Took turns holding each other's feet so we could lie upside down on the Y and see the whole valley go topsey-turvey. Didn't get home until after midnight.

It was pretty great.

And then I woke up this morning to go to school and had a clear view of these beauties.

Someday, I will ride in a hot air balloon. Someday. #bucketlist

My precious little nephew

Last week was quite busy, thanks to my giant research paper for an English class, a plethora of other assignments, tons of dance, and plenty of other activities and to-do-list items.

The highlight of this past week was the birth of my first nephew Eric. He was born on Tuesday March 12 and weighed in at 8 1/2 pounds with a crop of hair and the cutest little face.

Isn't he just adorable?! I am very lucky to have my sister-in-law and her husband living close to us so that I can see him and hold him and freak out over how cute he is.

Look at that nose! And those little fingers! And all of that dark hair!

And it warms my heart to see Doug holding our little nephew. I basically die... it's just too precious. My hubby is going to be such a great daddy someday! And I must admit, having a nephew around is reeeeeally increasing my baby hunger. A lot.

I can't help it! I mean... look at that little guy and his big baby yawn!

Eric, we are all SO happy to have you as a part of our family. Your auntie Ashley will try not to spoil you, but little baby boys are just too cute... You've already snuggled your way straight into my heart. It sounds cheesy, I know, but it's true. Little baby boys have a tendency to be too stinkin' cute for their own good...