Ashton & Tim

Blue walls, Burns, Bake sales, and Babysitting!

2011-06-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

Well here we go again on a mass update. We have definitely been keeping busy over the last few months. We both finished up school which felt great. We both worked very hard this past year and our hard work has paid off. Tim is really excelling in his Avionics program he loves it. He could hardly sleep the night before he got to taxi an actual airplane on the runway. I predict he will want to get his pilots license later on. I am so close to being a teacher it's soo exciting!!

My friend Marie and I decided to enter into a community bake sale and we had a ton of fun baking and then selling the baked goods. We dragged our husbands along and they were great helpers. It was a community bake and garage sale so I browsed some of the items people had. Don't get me wrong, I love garage sales and you can definitely find gems amidst all the junk but it always amazes me what people think they can actually sell. I saw people asking $10 for broken toys. I guess it's commendable they try to get something for all their junk. Maybe I throw too much out...? Nope, I'm happy with being an anti-hoarder.

These cookies and cupcakes are worth the calories!! Trust me. I still have some of the Cranberry Oatmeal ones in my freezer. Come and see me and I'll hook you up.

Poor Ruby...wishing she could have some cupcakes. Too bad, so sad! Isn't she soo cute? It's hard to resist this face...she's got it down!

Unfortunately, this was the result of me rushing to get all my cupcakes baked. I burned my arm on the cupcake pan. YeOOOOWWWW! This hurt and sorry if this picture makes you queezy.

Initial

After a few days...nasty!

Brings a whole new meaning to beauty is pain!

A new side-job? A few people have told me to start my own cake business which I personally think is a bit crazy, atleast at this point. I haven't taken any classes yet and I do NOT have a kitchen big enough to do 1 cake let alone several, and I am still figuring out a lot of the tricks. But I did have the chance to make this wedding cake last minute for my friend who was planning her sister-in-laws wedding. This is my second cake that I have made for someone other than my family that I got paid for ;). I loved the idea of a cherry blossom cake and I was pretty pleased with the result. My best friend Kristen is getting hitched this summer and I'm making her cake. I'm still working on a design...

We have babysat a ton over the last few months. We babysat these crazy kids twice while their mom and dad were away. Once for 3 days and another for 4 days. We had a ton of fun with them! Love these kiddies.

Crazy faces...

Beautiful Sydney

We made cAkEpOpS!!

We also babysat for another family with a 4 year old girl and a 1 year old boy. They were so cute and very well behaved. We watched them for a week and I was pooped at the end of it. It's made me realize how much work kids are on a 24/7 basis. Good birth control? Nah...bring it on!! The experience has showed me that Tim and I are a great team and I can't wait to have our own. Guess I better watch what I say though...don't worry we are not expecting!! Not quite there yet...

A few months ago I was desperate for a project. I wanted to tackle something new and make something. One Friday night we decided (mostly I decided) that we should paint our kitchen bright turquoise blue. I was inspired to add another color to my home decor (I know right? NOT RED??! CRAZY!) And I researched different color combos and found a ton of turquoise and red ideas that I loved. Tim, being the wonderful handyman that he is, was totally game, so we gave it a whirl. It's definitely not for everyone. I think my mom about died when she saw it initially but it grew on her. I love bright colours and it brightens up our basement suite!

Before = boring & predictable (perhaps too much red?)

Getting ready for some DIY TLC.

After = happy and bright!

I added some turquoise here and there. I am obsessed with this vase.

Tim is very proud of our wall.

Life. Is. Good.

We are both busy working right now. Tim is working for Weiss Johnson Sheet Metal and I am working at the Robin Hood Association as a fine arts instructor for handicapped adults and children. It is soo much fun and I always leave work feeling great. We paint together, make murals, sing songs and listen to good music. The people are hilarious and by far the sweetest and kindest people, I am so lucky to work at such a great organization. We take for granted our bodies that work properly and do what we want when we want. It's very humbling to see these people struggling with daily living while maintaining such an awesome attitude.

Well, that's all for now!

2011-02-06T20:12:00.001-08:00

Pictures in the coulees

It's been a while...

2011-02-06T18:23:00.000-08:00

It has been 6 months since I have blogged!! We are still alive and well and both very busy with school in Edmonton. Tim is loving his Aviation Engineering program at NAIT and I am loving student teaching at U of A. Last semester I did my first practicum at Bisset School and absolutely loved it! The kids were wonderful and I had a blast and learned a ton! This semester I am finishing up my courses and in the Fall I do my last practicum and I'll be done in December. It's been a long hall and I'll be very grateful when I'm done. Tim has found the perfect fit and is loving learning about airplanes. He is very natural at it and it suites him so well. He is finished next April. We are both very busy but are enjoying school.

Besides school, I'm keeping busy teaching voice lessons and doing primary in our ward. I love primary it's the best place to be and the kids make me laugh every week. Today I had a boy come up to me and ask "Sister Whidden, what are we learning about in Sharing Time today?" haha it's good to know that at least some kids listen and look forward to sharing time. Tim is the 11-year-old scout leader and he is also in Nursery. That definitely keeps him busy.

We spent Christmas with my family in Coaldale and went to Montana to spend a few days snowboarding. Tim got a snowboard for Christmas and has definitely got it down pat now. We are planning to go again over reading week. Tim got me a very nice camera that I'm going to need to learn to use...I want to take a class so I know what I'm doing. My camera hasn't been working for over a year, so I'm glad we'll be able to take pictures again!

Other than that, we are just laughing hysterically at Ruby who is the funniest dog. She's very...'enthusiastic' and loves everyone. She would go home with anyone! She has definitely made our house messier and our lives crazier, but we love her. She is currently scratching me with her paw because she wants me to rub her belly! Brat.

Here are some fairly recent pics:

His response to "smile for the camera"

Ruby

Tim getting his board all suited up.

Tim was pretty excited...

Such a lovely smile he has.

On the way to the hill, a rather eventful trip.

Ruby takes really good care of her teeth.

Christmas with the Lows

Such a good chef. His lasagna is to die for!

Homeworking.

The girls came to visit us for the weekend and Marin let me do her hair. A miracle!!

Ellie's christmas present from Ruby...runners. Too bad she couldn't walk in them, let alone run. Still worth it. All $7 just for this picture.

Renos almost done!

2010-09-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

So for the past year or so we've had a few renos done on the house. It has not been constant but a few things here and there throughout the year. Our bathroom is just about finished and then we will be done! I've very excited to finally have it all completed! Here are some pictures of our house, I guess you could say the "After" shots...

Main area

Did I mention that I like red?

We eat in Paris every day

Our awesome storage room! I love extra space

Here is the area that we share with the upstairs for laundry

Our room

Bathroom. New tub, tile, paint, and soon a new counter!

Guest Room/Study

Our desks..

I love organization.

Laminate stairs with Ruby on the top.

New bathroom floor. Ruby loves rugs.

See?

Puppy face, I love it.

Ruby photo shoot

And the licking begins...

Oh boy she won't sit still...

There we go finally a decent one!

Summer has come and passed....

2010-09-02T11:24:00.001-07:00

Wow! It's truly crazy to think that summer is already over! So much has gone on that I don't even know where to begin!

Dallin (my big brother) and Katie got married on July 31, 2010. It was a wonderful day and they looked awesome and happy!

I love this shot!

The Groom

The Bride

I love the canola field. It totally matches the colors!

Cute bridesmaids wearing very cute colours.

Bryanne and I doing the footpop

My family plus my mom's side.

The reception was in my parent's backyard. There were tents with pretty lights and it looked dreamy inside!

There was also a dance floor in the middle which was so awesome and fun!

Tim ended up MC-ing! He did an awesome job and looked pretty hot up there, I have to say.

My dad thought he was pretty cool with his "perfectly matching tie"

The cake came together nicely which I was very nervous about. I thought for sure it was gonna topple over or something, but it didn't and Katie loved it so I was happy. On the top I put the doves that my Grandma kept from my parent's wedding cake which was a little sentimental touch.

My Grandma and my Auntie Shari by the awesome candy table!

My sisters and I sang "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson which is a great song about loving someone just the way they are. My cousin Jonny is playing for us and my cousin Megan played the bongo drums.

The love birds by the arch-way that my mom's gay gardener friend decorated, no joke, it was hilarious.

The very next day after the wedding my family, Tim and I went down to ECHO Lake my favorite place to go in the summer!

Echo lake in the evening...best time for a slalom ski.

Jumping in the lake after our run...

My favorite thing....wake surfing! I could do this for hours.

A few weeks later we went down to Southern Alberta, yet again, for the Low Family Reunion at Payne Lake near Waterton. I spent tons of time in Waterton with my cousins as a kid and it was just like old times!

A few of us hiked Bear's Hump. Killer view.

The group of us who hiked.

The view from the top. Waterton town site. I love this place.

Tim, Ruby and I walking along the lake.

Playing Texas Hold 'Em at the cabin using left-over wedding gummy bears as chips. No biggy.

My Dad and my uncle George playing their bag pipes to honor our Scottish heritage. They were so good! I think my Mom is happy he's done practicing though! Those things are loud! Don't they look awesome?

My Grandpa Low giving us a lesson on how to make RootBeer relating it to how to build a family. It was so cute.

LOVE these three...

My Grandpa and Grandma cutting their 60th Wedding Anniversary cake my cousin Christy and I made for them. Soo cute.

Now we are back in Edmonton and Tim is in school. I'm enjoying some relaxing and getting ready time before school starts for me next week. I am going to miss summer very much, but am so happy that's it's been a great one. It's always nice to get back into a routine and to have a new fresh start. I'm doing one of my practicums this semester for school and am very excited to start. However, I am not excited about the weather getting cold and ugly again. I love sunshine and flowers. I love the smell of freshly cut grass, the barbeque and sunscreen. I love looking out on the lake at sunset and seeing the calm beautiful, peaceful lake. I love blasting the music on the boat while we go surfing. I love going for bike rides with Tim. I love Ruby doing laps in our back yard. I love weeding my flowers while Tim mow's the lawn and then admiring our work afterwards. I love going for runs on a summer morning. I love pitching my tent with my husband. I love everything about Summer. I'm going to miss it.

But I also am very excited for the fall....

Kids say the darndest things!

2010-07-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

I love kids. I work with them and I get to teach them on sundays! Primary is the best place to be, I love it. The kids teach me so much. So today my sharing time was about Jesus and the good things he did and we were talking about the miracles he performed. I had the kids look at pictures depicting a story of Jesus and then tell the story to everyone. These two twins had the story of the 10 lepers. They came up to the front and one of them started, "There were 10 cheetahs with a disease that made their skin fall off and Jesus healed them but only one cheetah thanked him." haha. Awesome. I think the funniest part is that he was picturing cats with their skin falling off and Jesus healing them. It definitely made my day.

Meet Ruby!

2010-07-04T16:12:00.001-07:00

Meet RUBY!

This is our new puppy, Ruby! We got her today after church! She's a 5 month old Border Terrier. We love her already! We've been looking into dogs and different dog breeds lately and this was our favorite one. It's the perfect mixture of what Tim and I both like in dogs. So playful and great with kids, nice and small, doesn't shed and hypoallergenic! They are super expensive to get as a puppy, but we found Ruby on Kijiji for 300 already potty and kennel trained, and can already sit and fetch! It was the perfect situation for us. We're saving a thousand dollars and she came with all her shots done. The people who bought her initially say she's great with kids, and she's really obedient. They had to sell her because they're splitting up and needed to great rid of her asap, hence the sweet deal. She came with food, a kennel, some treats and a leash so we are literally good to go! She's still a crazy little puppy and gets really excited. She loves everyone and loves to play! Also, we have yet to hear her bark (I'm lovin that part) it's soo nice! I don't love yappy dogs...

I do love dogs, but really Tim was the one pushing it. He loves her!

Sooo cute!

"Let me go guys...I wanna play!!"

Chillin out. She needs her puppy sleep!

Well, there ya have it! She really wants to meet all of you so hopefully she gets to soon!

Cakes, Picnics and Father's Day

2010-06-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

Soooo....here's what's been going down...

The last few months have been wonderful! We've been enjoying the nice (sometimes rainy) weather and keeping very busy with work. I've finished my school board job and am excited to start working at the YMCA doing Day Camps with kids! I'm getting paid to play with kids all day.... The only rule they told us was lose a kid...lose your job...so I hope not to misplace anyone's child. Tim is still busy working at Weiss Johnson Sheet Metal. He really enjoys it except for when metal or wood falls on his face...ouch! A few weeks ago he had a pretty rough time, he got injured every day! He came home one day and said "Ash, I'm scared to go to work tomorrow, what's gonna happen?" haha poor guy. Luckily he hasn't been badly injured...and I keep telling him to wear safety goggles but he's too tough for them I guess...

This is the first summer being together that we actually have time to enjoy the nice weather! We are loving every minute of it. We also no longer have ANY channels on our TV, so we're outside doing things a lot! We went on a picnic last week and it was beautiful outside...We used this awesome picnic set we got from my Aunt for our wedding. It was awesome!

Here are some pictures...

Tim and his friends Jon and Dieter climbing a tree...

Soaking up the sun.

It's so green here since we've had so much rain! It's sure is nice when the sun comes out though!

Really bright....

We love eachother...I know it's gross. Deal with it.

I've also been busy making cakes lately. I'm making my brother's wedding cake and so I've been practicing different things and recipes! I'm excited but also nervous about it. These are a few of the projects I've worked on. I've got lots to learn but it sure is fun doing it!

This cake I made for the primary president in our ward who had a brain aneurysm a few weeks ago and had a really bad head ache for over a week! I thought I'd pixie her a cake to her and family as well as try a new recipe. I'm good at killing two birds with one stone like that. :) I was trying to figure out what to write on top of it, and this is what Tim and I came up with. I love dry humor...

This was the practice cake for the wedding...kinda lopsided but I'm working on it...

Another fun cake I made for Katie's (my brother's fiance) shower.

Cupcakes!! With little bride and grooms on them! (I bought those)

This was a cake my sisters and I made for our dad! It has all of his favorite things on it! That includes the Eiffel Tower (France), Ellie (his dog), basketball, popcorn, nachos (with salsa included), running, black licorice and... a tie cause he's a dad? haha. It was so much fun making it with them!

We were most proud of the popcorn we made out of fondant that looked like real popcorn! I also had this edible yellow powder that looked like butter that we added. Maybe we had a little too much time on our hands but it was hilarious and my dad loved it!

So HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all you dad's out there!

I LOVE my goofy Dad!

1 year celebration

2010-04-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

So Mr Whidden and I have been married for 1 year already! Tim surprised me with a weekend trip to Calgary that was so much fun!

So glad Spring has arrived. The sun shinning on the Calgary Tower.

We also decided to go to Drumheller cause I have never been. The museum was amazing and we had a blast there!

Tim next to the Super-Croc. Glad those things are extinct.

There were dinosaurs everywhere!

Tim kept his distance so he didn't charge...luckily..

This was my reaction to Drumheller...

Waiting for our prime rib while watching the hockey game...of course.

Nothing like Denny's for breakfast!!

Going for a stroll downtown Calgary

Our hotel was pretty spiffy.

APRIL 11, 2009! Best day ever...

Another Easter Wedding

2010-04-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

This Easter there was another Whidden Wedding! It was tons of fun to see the family again!

This is my favorite moment...when the bride and groom first come out of the temple, glowing! They looked pretty awesome, i'd say. I love Kim's face in this one!

Me hanging out with my buddy, Bauer.

So i've recently started experimenting with cake decorating...This was a cake I made for my friend Tarilyn. Tim loves helping me with the cakes. We love doing projects together.

Happy Easter!

2010-03-30T12:50:00.001-07:00

March Madness!

2010-03-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

So March has been a great and busy month! Tim has been keeping busy working 3 jobs and school has kept me busy too. He's installing sheet metal in new houses and then selling awesome rainbow vacuums that are legit amazing. He's also installing security systems every now and then too! No matter how tired he is at the end of the day he's always positive and works so hard. Jon has been staying at our house and actually made a bedroom out of our closet. Yup. We do have a big closet/storage room that he made into his bedroom. haha, he seems to like it though. He has a queen size mattress in there! Spring has started in Edmonton but continues to taunt me. It's much warmer on average but then snows again...and then gets warmer, and then I get my hopes up, but alas I live in Edmonton...and you just never know how long winter will continue...(good thing we won't live here forever) I am so thankful for sunshine and am sooo looking forward to summer!! But for now, I should just my eye focused on Spring...I also am really greatful for hard things that make us stronger. There were some tough things we faced a while ago, and it was hard, but we are only stronger because of it. I am glad that spring follows the winter.

Time Flies....

2010-02-19T13:58:00.000-08:00

Well, i'm not the first to say it but time flies when you're having fun...

Happy Valentines Day everybody! Hope you shared some love!

Well the last few months have been very busy. I'm loving school this semester. I cannot believe that we're half-way through February already! This weekend we got to go see lots of family which was awesome. We got to see Allie, Gary, Seth, Kim, Jared, Julie, Carter, Hayley, Jon, and Katie! We also got to party with my family for my sister's birthday! The weekend went by too fast! Allie and Gary came and played wii with us and it was so sweet to see them! FuN tImEs!!! Wish we had pictures... It was a blast. On family day we went skating with the girls and Tim is seriously really a good figure skater. He was jumping and spinning and impressing us all...only one problem...he gets too dizzy...kinda dangerous! Hilarious.

Bryanne and I with her cake I made for her. Happy Birthday Bry!

Je Taime Paris!

2010-02-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

This is long over due....but We LOVED Paris. It was an incredible trip! We got to see some amazing things and see some special people...cough...Mom and Dad Whidden! It was sooo much fun! Paris is like a dream...It was so neat to see my dad and Tim back in their favorite place. AWESOME.

We have a ton of pictures but here are just a few...

Literally the view from our balcony! We fell asleep to the Eiffel Tower glittering every night...Paris at Christmas is beautiful.

Ahhhhh... the Opera House. Definitely a highlight for me. It was exquisite and the most beautiful place i've ever seen!

Bryanne and I at Sacre Coeur

Le Monte St Michel. Gorgeous!!

Us on the top of the Eiffel Tower. They have cages so people can't jump off...

Just chillin on a canon...at Les Invalides

My dad took this picture and I think it's award winning!

Outside the Louvre.

A view from our balcony.

The roof of the Opera!!! I wanted to go sing on the stage sooo bad!

Love birds in the city of love...doesn't get much better than that!!

Oh Paris...here are a few things I learned while on our adventure:

1. If you see a florescent green cross flashing...it means it's a pharmacy and they are everywhere! The French love their pharmacies.

2. The Metro system is literally a maze...you never know where you could end up...

3. French people are obsessed with their bagettes which are totally over-rated. At 5:00 the lineup is 30 min....not worth it.

4. The French think you're crazy for ordering water to drink and they bring it to you warm. They also think you have 3 hours to kill for eating...not the best when you're trying to get out of there fast!

5. They have elevators for 2 people!! Literally...and maybe a purse but that is IT.

6. This may be suprising but there's a McDonalds at EVERY town/city/village. It's taking over the French now!!! I was appalled....although I have to admit we maybe ate there....a few times...

7. If someone asks you if you speak English you ALWAYS say "NO".

8. The Eiffel Tower has like 100 ways that it glitters during Christmas! You think you've seen all the ways/colors but you haven't! It must have a billion lights on it.

9. The French people don't like you if you speak English so just don't speak, you let Tim speak.

10. French people park wherever they want and I'm really jealous. I hate regulated parking!

Singing Lesson

2009-11-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

Scenario: I'm driving with Tim on our way to Vanderhoof, and we're singing at the top of our lungs to the radio. I decide to give him some pointers....the results were fabulous. His falcetto will blow your mind.

...it's black because I had to hide the camera...

3 Wild Weekends

2009-10-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

This last month has been a crazy fun one! We've gone on 3 trips 3 weekends in a row and got to visit with lots of family!
First we drove out Vanderhoof to visit with Leah and Byron and the kids, next we got to go to Utah for Conference and saw Ben and Andrea! Lucky us...hey? Then we were grateful (no pun intended) to head to southern alberta for thanksgiving with my family. GOOD TIMES...here are few of the moments we captured on our camera. Wish we could've partied longer, but we definitely have had our fair share of weekend fun!

Tim and Marin being hackers.

Bryanne with Ellie

Bry expressing how she feels about having her siblings home

Mom and Joc getting dinner ready

The drive home was a long one...

Waitin for the boys at the JS building

We have such adorable, cool, tough nephews

Cooper is so strong!

Bauer's turn with the Camera...

Transformers...the real deal. Oh yeah.

Tim loves pictures.

New hair cut

I think he liked the buns? (occupied on farmville)

These were my first buns. They turned out lots better then expected.

Dryden beating up Tim

Kaysa wasn't so sure about picture time

Ryker and Dryden driving to the store.

It's official...Nous allons à Paris pour Noël!

2009-10-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

We can't believe it's actually happening...

We're going to Paris for Christmas! My family never does crazy trips like this, but we are totally okay with it! Both Tim and my dad served in Paris and neither have been back (my dad had to wait a bit longer). I can't wait to be with Tim in his favorite place! We are counting the days!!

6 months and counting!

2009-10-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

It really is crazy to believe that we have been married for 6 months already! Time flies. I looove October! It is one of my top favorite months. Thanksgiving, Halloween, my Birthday, turkey, pie...the list goes on. We had such a fun Thanksgiving, and I really am so thankful for so many things...

#1: You guessed it....TIM!

Okay, so he's gonna blush, but I am sooo in love with my husband! Life with him is the best thing ever. I feel so lucky to be his wife! The last 6 months have been an adventure but it's been so much fun! He makes me laugh and smile all the time, and is always so willing to help me. Not to mention, he's stinkin cute!

...I hope I have little boys that look just like this some day...

Cutest boy I know...

2009-10-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

I love these pictures of Tim...they are so stinkin cute.

Too cute!

See? Always been a flames fan.

2009-08-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

2009-08-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

2009-08-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

2009-08-19T17:20:00.001-07:00

So, in keeping with "Whidden family trend", I've decided to start a blog for Tim and I. He thinks it's unnecessary until we have kids, but that could be for a while, so why not now? I don't think i'll be posting as much as some people, but I think it's a fun way to journal as well as keep in touch.

So where do I start with this thing? Hmmm...alright, well, Tim and I spent the day painting our fence, which used to be the color of green colgate toothpaste. Not to mention the garage door and part of the roof is also the same "mint" green. We managed to get the first coat of white paint done, and it already looks so much better! You really gotta wonder what the heck the previous owner was thinking. We've already had two neighbors thank us for painting it and relieving them of the hideousness. We are also currently getting some renovations done on our house and we can hardly wait till they are finished. We're adding a room, and fixing up a few things here and there. It's always fun having renos done. At the present time, Tim is sitting next to me playing farmtown, the new game on facebook. He loves it. He's so proud of his cow and horse and his rice field. I love how easily entertained he can be.

So recently we got to have some fun times down in the states in Oregon and in Montana with family. We got to party with my family at Echo Lake and play a lot on the water. My family has been going there since I was little, and I love it. I think Tim fell in love too, and I think I've convinced him a boat is something we want in the future. We also got to play on the beach with all the Whiddens in Florence,Oregon. It was a blast and we definitely were happy we decided to make the drive. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera hahaha, oh man...so therefore, we have zero pictures of the trip. See, I'm already the most boring blogger ever. No pictures?? What is this? Maybe instead i'll put some random pictures up...we'll see if I can figure out how...