I Need a Hug...

This week just hasn't been the greatest. It has been one of THOSE weeks... I heard some sad news yesterday, found out some super disappointing news this afternoon, and I'm really just tired of this week and it's only Tuesday. This poster really says it all!


Any takers... or should I say givers?? I think I might go stand with a poster outside saying "Will Work For Hugs!" I will let ya know how it goes.

-Ashley

Yay Rays!

Z and I went to another Rays game on Sunday and had so much fun! I was supposed to go out with my friend and her hubby on their new boat, but too many people had to cancel so we rescheduled! I'm glad that we did because the Rays won and we enjoyed ourselves over in St. Pete for the afternoon!

Such a gorgeous day!

Walking up to Tropicana Field!

Always gotta get a selfportrait!
Jason Bartlett! Mmmm! lol.
Raymond.. our mascot. He is hilarious! :)Hope the Rays continue to play like they have been - woot woot!

-Ashley

Boxed Wine?

For my birthday one of my BFFs got me the coolest gift ever! Along with the super hilarious book Are You There Vodka? It's me Chelsea ... she got me a 4-pack of boxed wine! At first I thought they were Hi-C's or Capri Suns or some sort of juice, but no! It was a 4 pack of pinot grigios! lol. Last night I finally opened one up and had it with dinner and it was fabulous! Thanks Kelly! :)

The 4 together makes a cube... which is why it's called the wine cube!

(And no I didn't drink it out of the hole with a straw .... I poured it into a glass!) Just trying to stay classy! If you want your own cube - they only sell them at Target! Enjoy! haha.


-Ashley

Family Affair

Last night my parents took all their children out for dinner... and the children's husband/fiancee/girlfriend! They 8 of us went to Longhorn and had a really delish dinner! I'm a sucker for a filet! Mmmmm! Thanks mom and dad!!

Doug and Britt!

Justin and Melissa!

Zach and Ash!

Didn't get a shot of my parents since they were sitting across from eachother, but next time!!

-Ashley

Late Night Project

Last night after dinner Zach and I stopped by good old Wally World and decided on moving his computer desk and putting two barstools at the bar. Of course they came in a box, but as a team we put them together and they look great there! Now we just need to clear the bar area and hire a bartender... any takers?! :)

A million little pieces!

Z giving the okay sign!

Woot woot! Having fun "swiveling"!

-Ashley

CAMERA Pictures!

Just a random group of pictures I liked from my camera. I finally ordered a cord and it came all the way from Hong Kong for just 3.99 ... and worked! They are either from my birthday night out on the town... or at Disney!

Hanging out in line for the new Toy Story Ride!

Epcot's Nemo Ride!

The Epcot Sphere thing and I!

Waiting for the parade to start!

I think this was on It's A Small World...?

Cheers to ME!!

Love this group shot!

Those old ladies were craaaaazy! LOL.

Gosh my birthday week was SO AMAZING!!!!

-Ashley

Doggy Photoshoot!

Zach had football practice this morning so I took the dogs over to their grandparents for their weekly Saturday morning visit! Every Saturday they must know it's Saturday when I don't wake up early to an alarm. They are hyper and as soon as we say "wanna go see grandma?" they freak out and RUN to the parking when we open the door. They love going over there and running around the backyard and getting treats from grandpa! lol. Anyway, I was bored after awhile and decided to take some pics of them doing what they love!

Lacey reading The Lovely Bones!

Lua waiting to have a beach day!
Getting excited to see grandma!!

Sniffing all the smells!

My babies are the cutest!!!!

-Ashley

Pleasant Surprise

Yesterday work was INSANE to say the least. I was no longer Ashley the Tutor in the afternoon, but Ashley the Kindergarten Recess Aide! The lady who is in charge of this crazy 2 hour period in the HOTTTT Florida sun wasn't there, so they turned to me! Every half hour two classes are on the playground and there is only one person in charge. Well, controlling two classes - including the ones allowed to play and those in time-out, those who have to pee, those who need a drink, those who are bleeding, those who are fighting or cussing or whatever the case may be is not easy. Well, add in another class because their teacher is in a meeting and you have a one over-whelmed/about to cry/going crazy Ashley the Kindergarten Recess Aide. During this time a parent had the nerve to tell me since I didn't see her child walk up to her when she walked outside - I was irresponsible and she would be going to the office about the matter. Umm HELLO!? I had at least fifty students to watch by myself.. I only have one set of eyes. Do the math, lady! (Although I understand her frustration - it wasn't safe!). On top of this experience I was wearing a black shirt and so I was sweating like a you know what... and I now have the world's ugliest tan, scratch that, burn lines on my arm! Siiigh.

Anyway, spring ahead 3 hours... I drive home and walk into to a clean house, a pantry full of groceries, a made-up bed with our new bedset, laundry complete, and these 12 beauties on the kitchen table...

Z... I have to brag on you and say that I think you're pretty amazing and you make my heart SO happy!!! Thanks baby for making my day from hell turn out to be pretty swell! Love you!

-Ashley

New Bedding!

Z and I decided last week to buy some new bedding and also some new dishes! We found the dishes we liked at the mall, but didn't see anything in the stores we liked for bedding... I browsed online and we finally agreed on something and it arrived today! I'm not going to sleep in it until tomorrow night so Z can experience the newness with me (he's on another vacaction - this time in GA visiting his family)! I did, however, put it together to see what it would look like! There's a lot of blue going on in the room now, but at least it matches! I really like it and I'm happy with our choice! We got two "Euro" shams that came with it, but we don't have "Euro" pillows so I guess that means we need to do a little more shopping! lol.

-Ashley

Not so SILLY Bandz!

Okay... I'm not really big on fashion and I knew that already, but apparently I'm not hip in the cool trends department either! Over the past few weeks, unless you live under a rock, you've probably seen these bracelets called Silly Bandz. Silly Bandz have become the "coolest" accessory on the market and are bracelets that when you take them off turn into an animal/letter/object/whatever! They are only like 5$ for a pack so even students at my school are able to afford them and wear them... and trade them.. and argue about who has cooler ones... and play with them... and after subbing today in third grade I would be totally okay if each and everyone of them snapped in half and were never brought into the light of day again!

Not on your wrist...

On your wrist...

The End.

-Ashley

Happy Mother's Day!!

I just want to wish the moms who are most important to Z and me a Happy Mother's Day! :) Hope you each have a wonderful day with your children ... We love you ALL!!

Ashley's Mom (Julynn!)

Zach's Mom (Deb!)Zach's Sister (Leigh Anne!)
One of Ash's BFFs... (Kelly!)

-Ashley

Walt Disney World: Day 2

Day 2 started bright and early. We were headed off to the Magic Kingdom for a day filled with fun! When we were activating our 4-day pass we decided we needed to upgrade to the parkhopper (which means you can visit as many parks as many times as you'd like in a day). We watched the opening ceremony and headed into the park in the rain... which thankfully only lasted for a little while. We rode Space Mountain 2X, the Carousel of Progress (Z's new favorite "ride!"), Stitch's Alien Encounter, Buzz Lightyear's ride, People Transporter, Pirate's of the Carribean, The Jungle Cruise, It's a Small World, Thunder Mountain, The Haunted Mansion... pretty much did everything thanks to the Fast Pass!! You put your ticket into a machine and it gives you an hour time frame to come back and ride the ride with like 0-10min wait. Amazing concept!!! At the park the longest ride we had to wait for was like literally 10 minutes! Insane!! After watching the parade at 3 we decided to check out Animal Kingdom since we had never been. We were sweaty and tired already, but kept trucking along... and hit up the monorail.

We got to AK and watched the 4-D Bug's Life Show and then walked around and saw a lot of the animals. We weren't impressed, but then again we didn't really give it a fair shot since it closed less than 2 hours after we got there... oh well!

After that we got on the bus and headed back to Disney's All-Star Sport's Resort to grab our stuff and head to the hotel we stayed at for the next 2 days (Shades of Green resort). We showered and figured we'd go to Epcot to grab dinner, watch the fireworks, and take advantage of the park being open late for Disney restorters... We rode Test Track, saw Nemo, and walked "around the world". We left at about 11pm and we were SO ready to catch the bus, get to the hotel, and go straight to bed... The day was so much fun though and I'm so happy Z was such a trooper and did everything I wanted to do! lol. The next day we were headed to Hollywood Studios AKA MGM and back to the Magic Kingdom. :)

Mickey/Minnie on the parade!It's a Small World...
Bug's Life glasses! lol.

Z enjoying the monorail views.
The Epcot Ball...

-Ashley

Walt Disney World: Day 1

Unfortunately I still don't have my USB cord for my camera so I'm stuck with pictures from my phone.. lame! But I'll add them in one day. Anyway, Z and I left for Orlando after I got home from work Thursday afternoon. We checked into our hotel and decided that we'd go to Downtown Disney for dinner. I had heard great things about the Rainforest Cafe so we put our name in the hat and walked around (it was about a 45min wait). There were shops galore full of everything Disney you could imagine, a million restaurants, and fun music/shows going on all over! Dinner ended up being SUPER yummy. I also got a drink called the Green Python and it was delish... and it came in a super cool light up cup that I got to take home! :) We sat right next to a really pretty fish tank and enjoyed each others company while sitting through a "thunderstorm" every 20 minutes. lol. The animals moved/made noises and the lights went out and fake lightning flashed throughout. It was pretty entertaining!

The Green Python and I!

Z enjoying himself!

We walked around after we ate and headed to the bus... Day 2 was going to be long and crazy fun at the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot! I'll write about that soon!

-Ashley