I Finally Did It. . .

I watched New Moon. I know, I should have hopped on that bandwagon long ago, considering I have read the whole series 3 times through, but I couldn't bring myself to watch it. The first one was just painful. And so I figured the second one couldn't be much better. I had heard from a couple different sources, however, that the second movie was much better than the first, so I watched it tonight. And, they were right, it was definitely better than the first, but still kinda painful. Edward and Bella still made me cringe, Jacob wasn't the BEST actor, but he's way better than Edward, and the werewolves were pretty sweet. So, all in all, I enjoyed it. And I will forever mock Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson. Sorry, but I can't help it. They're pathetic.

In other news, we got back from Florence, OR last night, which was a blast. We went four-wheeling and razor-ing (not a word, I know) in the dunes. Soo much fun. We only crashed once and rolled once. No big. I was in the razor for the crash, but not for the rolling. Thank goodness. Jeff bought a 4 person razor, which are so much fun, and Dallin and I played in Kerry and Bonnie's 2 person razor for the majority of the two days. We had a lot of fun climbing hills and catching sweet air. :) And we got to see the beautiful pacific ocean. I love the Oregon Coast. It's so beautiful. And we had amazing weather while we were there. We were happy. Needless to say, good times were had by all.

Blaine, Hillary and Colton have been here for the past week as well and joined us in the festivities at Florence. Colton started out the week by calling me "ash-ee" and has now decided he prefers "shod-ee". Not sure how that came about, but we all think it sounds like it could be a black girls name. It's pretty entertaining. We're so glad to have had them here with us, it's been so much fun. We'll miss them when they leave on Sunday.

Other than that, nothing too big happening around these parts. We were both down and out for a couple of (more like 3) weeks with nasty colds (love it) and I am FINALLY getting over mine. I feel like all I have been doing for the past 3 weeks is blowing my nose. I have probably wiped out an entire forest with the amount of tissue I have used. But we're on the mend! Hallelujah!

Haven't found housing in Oregon yet, but we're still on the lookout! If anyone knows of a sweet place for dirt cheap, lemme know! :) We're considering living in the place that Marcus and Ash live 'cause it's a nice little apt, in a good part of town and it's super cheap, but we're still looking. Hopefully we find one soon, 'cause we're due down there. And hopefully this little lady can find herself a job. Crossing our fingers.

So, that's life in a nutshell over the past couple of weeks. Hope everyone elses March has been less illness filled than ours :) Until the next post (which could be months from now. One never knows :))

Eenie, Meenie, Miney, MO!

I have been asked to update on the happenings of the Dallin and Ashley Calaway family. So, here we go. Deep breath.

We've been in Ellensburg for the past 2 months. It's been an awesome experience and Dallin and I feel so blessed to be in the situation we are in. We love Ellensburg. The people, the area, the scenery, the fact that it's only a couple of hours from Pasco. We've loved our time here so far. But, it's coming to an end. Like now. Surprised? So are we.

Our life can very easily be defined in two words: "In Limbo". We are vagabonds. We have not and will not be settled in an area semi permanently probably until Dallin starts grad school, which should be next fall. He just started studying for his GMAT and will take it in May. He's excited and stressed, especially since we are totally being thrown out of our comfort zones and heading down to Salem, OR to start an operation down there for Jeff. It's going to be a challenge, but we can't wait. And the fact that Marcus and Ash are there as well makes it even better. Needless to say, adventure is becoming our middle names!

So, there it is. An update on us. Dallin will go to UW this Wednesday with a friend of ours who did the Executive MBA program there, tour the campus and meet with the faculty in the program. Hopefully he'll get an in with that program. If it goes well, then UW, here we come! If not, Willamette, down in Salem, is totally in the running still. As well as OSU in Corvallis. After our adventures in Seattle on Wednesday, we'll head down to Salem to find an apartment. We've already got a nice little list of about 15 places we want to look at so, we should be busy. Who knows where we'll be a year from now, but oh well, what's the fun in knowing where your life is going? :) But seriously, life is good (despite a few sinus infections we've been dealing with) and we're excited to embark on our next big adventure. Oregon, here we come!

I Know I'm a Little Biased, But. . .

First. Sorry I haven't blogged in about a year. I've been in the, "I'd rather read your blog than update mine" phase.

Second. My husband was the cutest kid ever. Yes, random, I know. But I was going through pictures today, trying to chronicle the first year and a half of mine and Dallin's time together, and I came across these gems.

This is Blaine and Dallin when they were living over in Japan. Check out the terry cloth flip flops and the chunky legs. I love it.

This is also when they were living in Japan. And check out the little "I'm so cute that I can get away with whatever I want and you won't be able to get mad at me" grin. Yeah, we see through it. :)

Seeing this picture makes me fear that I will have nothing but boys and they'll all be terribly mischievous, just like this little fella. :)

This picture was taken in April of 87 which means my mom was probably just finding out that she was having girl (me). Weird, huh?

And this is probably about the time that my mom was wishing her last pregnancy could be over. :) Looking at those two reminds me of Tara's two little guys, Luke and Mathew. They're always about the same size. :)

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to show off how cute my husband was when he was little. :) I still think he's pretty cute too.

We're Going to see "Attle"!

I love Seattle. I always have. It could be positive memories associated with visiting my Grandma Henry when I was little. Or maybe because when I was little I thought my Aunt and Uncles dog was named "Attle", so when they said we were going to Seattle, I thought they were saying, "we're going to see "Attle". Yes, I know, I wasn't too quick back then. In my defense, I was 4. Or, it could be all the state championship games we went and saw with Basketball, Football and Track. 'Cause let's face it, I am a member of the Henry Family Sports Junkie club. Or because it's just so beautiful over there. So green everywhere! And then the Sound with all the ships going in and out. Pike Place Market, the hustle and bustle of everyone going their own little which way. 5th Avenue Theatre. (WAIT! I know the reason I love Seattle. WICKED. There we go. I narrowed it down. :)) But really, I just love Seattle. For all those reasons. And shopping too. Let's not forget shopping.

So, if you have never been to Seattle, don't go there very often, or if you love it just as much as I do, then I really think you need to head on over here and enter yourself into her SWEET giveaway. 'Cause it is one awesome giveaway. I think it is just the thing for a Valentine's Day treat, or a birthday present, or just an excuse to get away for a weekend. Who doesn't love that? And while you are at it, PLEASE look at her photography. She is awesome! I love looking at photography and I think this gal has some serious talent. So, what are you waiting for! Jump on over there!!

Hey Megan. . .

. . . I didn't know you were a model! Or is that Rebecca? :)

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I Love You Salemail, Oh Yes I Doooooo!!!

Have you guys heard of "Shop It To Me"? It's this nifty little sale guide that asks you what kind of brands you like and then scours the internet for you and sends you an email called "salemail" with all their sweet finds. And all their items are always on sale. Hence, "salemail". I've had it for about a month or so and the other day I was thinking, "There is never anything on here that fits in my clothing budget or that I even like. Why do I bother opening the email every week??" Well, today my friends, salemail just came through for me.

I saw a really cute pair of 7 For All Mankind jeans that I have been eying for a while, but usually, their on sale price is still well over $100. And, well, I don't spend that kind of money on jeans. I'm more of a $30 or less if I can help it kinda girl. So, I see these jeans, and they are on sale for $52.90!!! That is 70% off regular price people!! So, I get all excited only to think, "they'll never have my size." And then I look and see they only have size 29. (They go by waist size, not 2, 4, 6, etc.) I just happened to slip on a pair of ratty old 7 For All Mankind jeans this morning, (that I got for $50 back in Rexburg at DownEast) since they are a favorite. So, I checked the size. *Holding breath* They were a size. . . . 29!!!! I called Dallin, he gave me the ok, and I now have an amazing pair of 7 For All Mankind Jeans on their way to me. And they're bootcut, which are my favorite.

Oh Shop It To Me. I love you. If you want these awesome deals showing up in your inbox, just shout out your email address to me in the comments, or if you would rather not have your email public, just email me at ashleycalaway@gmail.com and I will send you a little invite. Really, it's quite the treat. Especially when you find your favorite jeans that are normally $178 for $52.90. YAA-HOO!!

Life with the Calaways Lately...

The past 5 days I have been playing mom to 5 children. I've done this before, on multiple occasions even! Same kids, same me, but suddenly harder. I don't know why it's harder. I've determined it really doesn't have anything to do with the kids, just with me. Patience is thinner, perhaps? Perhaps. Needless to say, Friday can't come soon enough. I'm not equipped to handle 5 kids for much longer!! :)

Dallin is in Ellensburg. I will be joining him Saturday, where we will FINALLY be able to settle. Somewhat. I feel like a vagabond right now. No real place to call my own. At least in Ellensburg we'll have a place that will feel like it's ours. Until Jeff and Valerie give us the boot. :) We've been doing this whole long distance relationship for a few weeks now. Needless to say, I am ready to be done. I like my husband, as mentioned in posts previous. So I'd rather be near than far. You feel me, right?

The sun is shining!! HALLELUJAH. I have been in need of some serious vitamin D lately. Yesterday and today have been a savior to my soul. I needed some yellow and blue in my life. Too much gray here lately.

I've started working out again and can I tell you how amazing I feel? Working out just makes life so much better. And I feel much more pretty, which is also good. :)

My car. Oh curse my car. It has been such a loyal little thing until recently. Christmas Eve, my window got smashed in due to my stupidity in leaving a jewelry box on the front seat. And my deductible on my insurance is such that it would have cost more to pay the deductible than to pay for the window myself. Darn you Progressive. Then, on a trip home from Ellensburg about a week ago, my car started acting really weird. RPM's all over the place, no response to my gas pedal. . . yeah, I was freakin out a little. Ok. A lot. A few tears were shed, then I took it in to the mechanic. Mass Airflow Sensors went ka-put. Darn you mass airflow sensors! Then my car started acting weird again. The next day. This time I had some cute little 4-letter words floating around my brain. (Scratch that, not so cute) The mechanics thought maybe it was my mass airflow sensors again. I had my doubts. Turns out I was right. It was a coil connecting to my spark plugs. So, the coil was bad and the spark plugs were bad. Tack on another cute little bill. Twice in one week! Darn you electrical coil and spark plugs! Since I have been nannying for the past 5 days, I haven't been driving Jorge, but she better be running well when I do start driving her again. (yes, it's a SHE and HER name is Jorge. Don't ask. I dunno why.) Anywho! She's been a little kick in the pants that Jorge. So, after taking her to the mechanic a 2nd time, we did what any rational couple would do. We went to Ford and test drove the new Ford Edge. And then drooled over the new 2010 Ford Taurus. What's that, you say? You haven't seen the new 2010 Ford Taurus? Do yourself a little favor and go here right now. And then drool with me. Cause it's pretty. Eye candy folks, eye candy.

So here I am, two kids eating toast, in my sweats, finally breathing again. Cause three are in school. Thank. Goodness. Now, if you will please excuse me, I have laundry, dishes, and kids to take care of. Oh and a shower will be worked in there somewhere. Hopefully.