Knock knock.

Who's there?

It's me!

"Me" who?

Me, Ashley!! 

 ...  ...

You know.  Me...?  I (used to) write on this blog? ... no?

*Sigh. Anyway. 

Well hi.  First of all, let's ignore the fact that it is August 3 and this is my first blog post for 2015.

Ignored. Check.

You know how a lot can happen in a year? Well, it can. A lot can also happen in just eight months. And I have the pictures to prove it.

However, instead of boring you by putting 8 months worth of pictures into one super lengthy blog post (because LBH - no one wants to look at 8 months worth of my pictures all at once except for me, and because it is utterly impossible for me to pick just a few pictures for those 8 months), I will split my super lengthy blog post into two somewhat average-length blog posts.

Starting with where we left off.  Because that makes sense.

DECEMBER

We visited Santa Claus at Casey's work.

(Santa sure looked (and smelled) a whole lot like Casey.)

We spent Christmas week up in Pocatello with Casey's family.

My mom came up with us, too- and it was really nice to have her there.

We played for hours in the freshly-fallen snow.

And some of us ate said freshly-fallen snow. (Not the yellow kind.)

Kennedy loved playing with her best furry friend.

The feeling was completely mutual.

To get in the Christmas spirit, the kids acted out the nativity scene.

It was hilarious. And they were way too adorable for words.

The whole Price/Harding clan! (Photo cred: my mom.)

JANUARY

Happy 2015!

I went on a girls' trip to sunny San Diego with these lovely ladies.

And went on a spooky ghost tour. 

No ghost sightings. Boo. (See what I did there? Hahaha)

We skied a bunch. When it actually snowed. (grumble)

FEBRUARY

Kennedy was the "student of the week." For a week.

Casey caught a rogue chicken in our front yard.

MARCH

(This month was crazy.)

Kennedy was Elvis at school.

"Thankyouverymuch." 

Then she was a cowgirl in a play called "Lightning Larry."

AND we went to Salt Lake Comic-con for an

afternoon to witness the craziness. There was definitely craziness.

She was so excited to see THE REAL Draco Malfoy.

Oh- also, we bought a new house. Well actually, an old house. 

So, we moved. (This is before paint and carpet)

This house needed (still needs) a lot of work.

Starting with wallpaper removal. (My two besties worked

like crazy to help me in the process. And wine. Wine helped, too.)

Then it needed paint. And carpet.

We lived like this for the entire month of March. 

And this. It wasn't awesome. (We also lived 

in my grandma's basement for a few weeks 

so we didn't get high from paint fumes.)

I was so happy for March to go away.

But we all know that March showers bring April vacations. ... or something like that.

Summer is for fun.

Ok, I think I've blogged enough about me. For now, at least. 

You're probably thinking: What about Kennedy??? What has she been doing while here mom is off having the time of her life with her girlfriends? Poor little girl. Her mom is just playing around like she has no responsibilities, and Kennedy is probably sitting at home, cleaning up all of her mom's messes.

Well don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Kennedy's summer hasn't sucked even a little bit.

First, backing up a few months to the end of May, we made sure to go to the color festival again, with Ashley and the girls. It was fun. And chalky.

And then what was miss K doing while here mom was out gallivanting in Las Vegas?  Oh, she was just in Jackson Hole with her friend, riding horses and playing non-stop. NBD.

And what better way to start your summer (and to end your school year) than to have your favorite cousins come all the way from Bali to visit you?!  (This is a picture of the first day of 4th grade vs. the last day of 4th grade. How great is it that these girls happened to be with her on both days? I love seeing the contrast in much they've all grown!!)

After school ended, it was Kennedy's 10th birthday!! (I am still trying to convince her that she's only 8, but she won't have any of it.) We had some friends come over (with her cousins) for a little surprise party. :)

For her actual birthday, we spent the entire day at Lagoon with my brother and his family. What a fun day!!

Not long after her birthday, she was able to spend a full week at girl scout camp. I was so proud of her for going!

 She made some really good friends and had SUCH a fun time.

I was definitely glad to have her back, though!!

We have also spent lots of time together as a family. 

We have had some fun family nights out to dinner.

And friend movie nights out.

And late nights out. (She still pretends to be asleep so Casey will carry her to and from the car. He gives in every time.)

And crazy Costco trips.

And we find some really useful and fun stuff at yard sales on Saturday mornings.

So yes. Kennedy has certainly had her fair share of fun. But wait- there's more!  Want to know what she does ALL day long while mom is busy at work?

 Oh, just a little of this.

And some of this.

 And a whole lotta this.

With a bunch of these.

Fun, right? All day, every day, she gets to play with kids- swimming, watching movies, playing at the park, doing crafts, going hiking, etc. I love that she is able to do this all the time with her daily summer camp. Happy kid = happy mom.

And this beautiful little Kennedy of mine is so sweet, that when her mom complains of having sore feet after a long day of work, she gives her a full-on foot massage and spa treatment.

The only bit of sadness we've had all summer is when Kennedy's best friend(s) from across the street moved out of state.  :(  It was such a sad goodbye.  The good thing is that they moved to Las Vegas, where we have family. So we will definitely be going to visit them- soon!!

We have had so much fun this summer and are sad to see it end! Just one more week until school starts. Boo. But don't worry- we don't plan on stopping the fun. We are already planning some weekend getaways to vegas (to visit family/friends), camping trips, and lots and lots of skiing. Bring it on, life!

Piano and stuff

Kennedy has been taking piano lessons for the last year and a half, and she had her first piano recital last week. She had her two songs completely memorized and she did SO great! I was one proud mama.

I even recorded them! (You're welcome, mom) :)

"When the Saints Go Marching In"

"San Francisco Trolley"

Move over, Mozart!

She is growing up so fast. She is SUCH a sweetheart, and is so caring, loving, compassionate, funny, smart, beautiful, friendly, talented, etc., etc., etc.  And I'm not at all biased.

Also, remember how last year we went to the Holi Color Festival?  Well, because we had so much fun, Kennedy and I went again, this year. (To the Salt Lake location.) The weather was awful, cold, and wet all day- until we arrived. Because the sun loves us.

Yay for throwing chalk all over each other!

(Her hair is still pink.)

Can I just say that I love living on a street where there are so many kids? Especially girls who are Kennedy's age.  On days where we have nice weather, the girls play outside allll day long.  And they make snack stands. Where they sell fruit snacks, water, and Kool-Aid.

They each successfully cashed out with about $2.00 (or 2 "dollers"), which of course they then quickly ran to the nearby gas station and spent it on candy. Because that's what kids do. (I feel old saying that. "Those darned kids!")

Also, because I know you always want to see more pictures of my puppy, here you go. (She is getting so huge! I love this little (big) dog.)

Lastly, because she makes me laugh and I love her, here are more pictures of Kennedy, entertaining us by trying on Casey's glasses at dinner.