Why Hello....

I have no excuse for not updating the blog other than life is busy...sorry Kay and Patti! 

 Ruby had a sleepover with her besties; Claire, Izzy, and Zoe.  Oh the things I learned that night!  I can not believe that 6 year olds are boy crazy already!?!  Ruby assured me she didn't have a boyfriend.  I assured her she should keep it that way until she is 20! 

There was more glitter, barbies, and bows that night to last me for a while.  They are all 110% girly girls!  Screaming and all ;)   

 

Ruby had her first concert.  It was adorable!

  

This speaks volumes of the kid that Parker is.  He is definitely where the party is at that is for sure!  We have been playing baseball.  They found all my catchers gear and gloves from the olden days and wanted me to teach them how to play.  Parker can hit the ball being pitched to, throw, and catch!  And........he is a lefty!  Ruby and Phoenix are pretty good also.  Phoenix has a wicked arm and coordination.  Ruby is going to be the home run queen!  Piper and Boston well, they are picking flowers in the outfield ;)  They prefer to be the cheerleaders on the side!  Everyone has their own talents right!?!

We celebrated Garrett's 3rd birthday!   

 

 SO.MANY.KIDS!  There are 3 sets of multiples in this bunch! 

We have played with lots of chalk and bubbles! 

 Piper is doing so well!  Her personality has really started to come out and good lord does she have one!  She is a jibber jabber queen and she has mastered the art of ignoring you when she doesn't want to do something you ask.  She is such a sweet heart though and the master at picking toys up!  Good lord the boys need to be thankful to the girls for picking up their slack!

Tis the season for graduation parties and birthday's!   Nothing like sugar every.single.day on the weekend! 

 Mother's Day we spent at the zoo with Grandma Lulu and then met friends there as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boston loves taking pictures with the 'me camera'.  When he can see himself in the view finder on my phone.  He thinks it is pretty neat it is pretty much a nightly request from him!   He is a little spark plug!  He is like a little ninja when it comes to sneaking sugar and treats!  He can get in and out of the candy drawer in 0.2!  I caught him the other day and he said 'but mommy you just weren't supposed to be looking!'.  Little turd! 

Parker is my little hemorrhoid epically in public he does not go to far from my side without having a mental breakdown! 

We went to the farmers market this past weekend to see our friend Miss Rachel and get some goodies from her!  The kids were worn out by the time we got there so I should have known the first trip of the season wasn't going to be all rainbows and piggy tails.  We made it through, barely, but when we got to the car Boston had a stage 10 meltdown and we went straight home vs. doing the 972 things I had to do that day.  That is the way the cookie crumbles though with 5 littles.  So for everyone that always says 'your kids are so well behaved'.  Thank you and they are for the MOST part but they definitely have their special moments.  I should have video recorded it he was one hot tamale!  They are learning though and I still stand by it is much easier with these 5 then it was with the 3 boys prior to the girls homecoming. 

Ruby and I got our nails did.  She got a mani and pedi and I got a pedi.  I think this may have aided to her girlish ways a little to much-she asked almost every day if we can go back.

Phoenix is a womanizer!  You should see him around the ladies holy cow he is such a show off!  We were walking into the school the other day and there were 5 middle school girls walking past us and he just looked at him and batted his eyes and said 'hey ladies'.  He gets them too they always gush and tell him how adorable he is!  Creating a monster I tell you!

We have our favorite park in Ankeny that I take the kidlets to a couple times a week 

 

And....I will leave you with little red hankie poo.  I was baking a massive amount of cookies the other day and Phoenix put this on Hank and said 'mommy hank wants to steal all the cookies like little red riding hood!'

April 8th is approaching quickly. I can’t believe that Monday it will be two years since Ashley’s murder. For those of you that aren’t aware, Friday April 8th 2011 Ashley Okland, a realtor, was showing a model townhouse in West Des Moines and around 2:00 pm she was shot twice and later passed away at the hospital. You can read more about her story here: http://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/ashley-okland/

You see not only does this story hit home because it happened in West Des Moines, it hits home because Ashley is a friend. There was a group of us that grew up together, that ventured through the awkwardness of growing up together that knew each other’s secrets like nobody else could. There are several stories that we would never want our kids to know that we all share.

I used to live and work in the same community so it wasn’t all that uncommon to see Ashley’s family around town. It was always hard. No matter how many days went by, no matter how many leads they had it was always hard. I thought when I saw Ashley’s father Tim while I was out last Friday it would be easier since I have been out of the community for a while. The reality is it wasn’t and I am unsure if it ever will be. There is nothing that my hugs or sympathies can give him, I can’t give him his daughter back, I can’t give him the answers that this family needs and deserves. So, like always I just hug and hug and hug and I hope in the mean time Tim is ok with that because for some odd reason when I hug him I do feel closer to Ashley, and although that probably doesn’t give him comfort it does me for that short time.

Ashley has always been a sweetheart. There are very few occasions where I can remember Ashley reeeeaaaaally mad. Although she did knock my front teeth out in volleyball once ;) pure accident I assure you, she had to get stitches due to it! Ashley was truly beautiful all the way around. There wasn’t a girl that didn’t want to be Ashley’s friend and not a boy that didn’t want her to be their girlfriend. Not only because Ashley was so strikingly beautiful outside but, I know it is a cliché, but she was even more beautiful on the inside. It was just her nature to put others first. She was so welcoming and honest to everyone and dedicated to whatever she was doing.

Ashley’s death is senseless, a horrific tragedy that ended a beautiful young life and halted everyone that ever got the chance to know her in their tracks. I left work early that Friday afternoon and my best friend Jamie, another childhood friend, had called me 10 times. Unusual, so I called her right away and I could tell something was horribly wrong. She told me what had happened and I had to pull over to the side of the road because I couldn’t see straight. The disbelief and shock turned quickly into sorrow and sorrow into anger and although I personally have now accepted that Ashley is gone from this earth, I will never accept the way that it has happened. Pure senselessness. And just as the days have passed so now have the years. Still no answers, still no closure.

I think of Ashley often about how amazingly giving she was. She left a mark on this world that I don’t think even she could understand. Anyone that knows us growing up knows my dad. They know the ENDLESS amount of photos that he took. I pulled some of the countless albums out last night, and here are a just a few I found of our friend Ashley

(I took photo's of the photo's with my phone so excuse the resolution and blurr!)

 Back in the day!  There was a group of us girls that were literally almost always on the same teams in softball and basketball growing up. 

 I believe this was our 8th grade taveling AAU team. Ashley was always SOOOOO tall and had the longest legs! 

 We were champions---that was quite typical ;)

 Rock Island trip for AAU!  Holy cow that many girls in hotel rooms all weekend long! 

 Our first AAU team-5th grade Ballard Blue

 6th grade Ballard Blue

Ashley with our first place trophy from some tourney we won.  Did I tell you look at those legs

Winter formal I believe this was our sophmore year

 Volleyball-senior night.

 Erin, Ashley, and Jamie homecoming senior year

 Jenn and Ashley homecoming  freshman year I believe

 Our volleyball team senior year homecoming

 Football Friday!  There was one Friday night that we had an away game and it just started to DOWN POUR!  Like the skys opened up and released utter chaos on all below!  I was driving that game and Ashley sat right behind me as I went 20 mph down the interstate because I couldn't see a thing in front of me.  She just rubbed my back and said 'it is going to be ok honey you are doing great' basically the entire ride home. 

 Ashley, Jamie, and Liz

 This was on our way to Gilbert for a football game...If I recall Ashley had some pretty great one liners that night!

I believe this was homecoming Friday our senior year

Prom our junior year 

Softball I believe this was when we were juniors.  Little known fact-we typically rode to games and tourney's for AAU/ASA as a team.  Well we were in 7th or 8th grade I believe and we had just gotten done with a tourney and we started heading home when another girl realized Ashley wasn't there.  This was the time before cell phones.  So we head back to the softball diamond and Ashley is nowhere to be found.  We had to wait for an hour until her parents got home to call them and check and see if she was with them to make sure she got home ok!  Sorry Ash-we did give you a lot of crap about that for years to come!

Graduation 2002