Pop Tarts and Red Bull

Is is possible to live on Pop Tarts and Red Bull? I'm now in the middle of finals and the only things that sound good to me are the two. I don't know why. I never ate pop tarts growing up because my mom never bought them and I always thought they were gross. However, I have come to really enjoy the pastry goodness of them. Mainly strawberry. Red Bull on the other hand keeps me awake when I need it. Only once in a while, sugar free too. Good news.... Finals are over on Friday!!! I can return to a normal diet! And to Sleep!

Remembering Indy

Yesterday the Channell Family said goodbye to Indiana, our 12 year old golden lab. I wouldn't call him golden, he was more of a platinum. I'm going to be honest and say that Indy was the best looking lab I have ever seen! Indy was like a big polar bear to us, because he was big, white and fluffy and also because he loved to swim. Indy was always in the pool especially during the summers. However, because he loved to swim he was also one of the smelliest dogs I ever knew. Indy had a great dog personality! He was carefree, fun and never mean or crusty with people. He could play fetch for hours and would never get tired.

My brother Scott and I especially grew to love Indy and will forever claim that Indy was the coolest dog to ever live! Indy had two favorite foods: Jasmines Doughnuts (the best doughnuts in the world!) and Dairy Queen vanilla ice cream cones. We only started feeding Indy his favorite food with in the past few years because we figured he was getting old and deserved a treat every once and a while! We also fed him the junk food behind mom and dad's back because we didn't want to get in trouble, but they caught on!

Our most favorite memory of Indy was when the family came home from attending our high school graduation to find Indy standing on the roof! Yes, he broke into the house, made his way upstairs after hitting all of the trash cans and ended up in my room where he got stuck. We figured the wind from the open window blew the door in my bedroom shut locking Indy inside. Indy of course freaked out, and after tearing my room apart and peeing on my bed, he pushed the screen of the window out onto the roof. When my family made it home they discovered the mess in the house and Indy pacing up on the roof!

Indy was an amazingly awesome dog who had the ability to make us all smile and laugh! We will miss him dearly.

Oh No!!!

Last Monday I had a Geography test and my professor let me take it later in the afternoon. I was supposed to be at her office at 4:30. When I got to the building I realized that I had five minutes to spare so I decided to use the Ladies Room. As I was walking out to wash my hands I leaned over to grab my back pack when my phone fell out of my pocket and into the toilet! NOOOOO!!! I just starred at the phone for a few seconds not knowing what to do. The first and only thing I could think of was DISEASE!!!! Hello, college campus, dirty toilets, eewww! For a second I considered leaving it. "Just break the wrist and walk away." But, then I thought Ryan would probably throw a fit if I gave up and left it. So, with much hesitation I quickly put my hand in the toilet (the water had already been flushed) and pulled out my phone.

Good thing I was the only one in the bathroom because I was whining and repeating "eeww, gross" the whole time. Once I had my phone I ran over to the sink and put it on a ledge under the mirror. I sat and washed my hands over and over for a long time with scalding hot water and mounds of soap. After I scrubbed my hands I looked at my phone for a second wondering what I should do with it. I didn't want to put in in my backpack while it was still dirty. I tried to turn it back on but it didn't work. So I did what any germ-a-phobic crazy girl would do... I washed my phone. Yes, I washed my phone with lots of soap and hot water! I figured the phone was a goner but at least it was clean when I put it in my backpack.

When I was done I ran to my professors office. Thankfully she had disinfectant wipes! I quickly took my phone apart and cleaned it again! When I got home Ryan could do nothing but tease me all night about washing my phone, but I feel justified in my actions! My phone isn't entirely broken because I can still text message but the sound does not work. So if your trying to get a hold of me don't call, just text! I still need to get a new phone. Ryan thinks that if I had not washed my phone then it would still work, but I still stand by my decision to wash my phone. I'm sure some of you would have done the same too!

New Background

First of all let me start by saying that the new James Bond movie is awesome! I don't care what the critics or anyone else says, I thought it was fantastic!! Now on to more important things... I'm sure all of you are wondering why I changed my blog background to this new checkerboard print. Ok, maybe some or all of you don't care what the background is, however I will help you understand the importance of it. If you were to pick up the last instalment of the Twilight series books "Breaking Dawn" you might recognize that this pattern is on the cover along with the two chess pieces. Why is this so important you ask? Just look below and you will see my last post about the Twilight movie! Yes, I'm a little consumed by my excitement for this movie! For all of you who don't share my excitement or who have not read the books, or do not agree with my comments from this post, please remove my name from your cell phone and delete my email address because we are no longer friends. -Sincerely, Ashley

Twilight!!! I know you are all excited!!!

Election Day!

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm happy to say that Election day is OVER!!!! Enough already!!!! There were pros and cons about the election but I wont go into all of them except for Proposition 8. Thank goodness that prop 8 passed and restored traditional marriage in California. It was a long hard fought battle but it worked! Great work to all of those who were involved!!!

On a different note... It is known that we have a friend who is a Democrat... Andy Fields. Andy has worked long and hard to get the votes in for Charlie Brown (No, not the cartoon) who is running as the democrat candidate in the 4th congressional district election. Our group went to visit the election night party to say hi to Andy and get a peak into the mysterious and confusing world of Democrats! We were still confused when we left! Just kidding! We still don't know who won between republican John McClintock or C-Brown. The results for now are beside the point. We just wanted to say congratulations to Andy no matter what happens!!! Now get some sleep and something to eat!

I just wanted to point out the two young girls on the right... Do they look underage to you? And what do they have in their hands?... Glasses of Wine! Great job Democrats... on promoting underage drinking.

The girl on the phone is clearly 14!

FALL!! YEAH!!!!

FALL IS HERE!!!! This is something that I feel is very important to blog about. There are so many great things about fall. I love this time of year.... leaves changing colors, the smell of fresh rain, cuddling up to your spouse at night, and the sound of an M-1 Carbine killing Nazi soldiers!!! Yes boys and girls next month the new Call of Duty 5: World at War will be available for the Nintendo Wii. So far what I have gathered from the Internet is that the graphics will compare to that of the forth edition that was only released on PS3 and Xbox because Wii couldn't handle the graphics. This only means that it will probably be the sweetest game ever.

Also coming out in November, which is just as if not more exciting the Call of Duty 5, is James Bond: Quantum of Solace. If your like me you have probably seen every trailer already available via the Internet on this movie and you came to the same conclusion that this will be probably the best movie ever made.

If you have not seen the trailer yet you may click this link and be directed to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLPp8y-mEhw

If for some reason you do not agree with either of my comments from this post please remove my name from your cell phone and delete my email address because we are no longer friends.

P.S. This post was written by Ryan when I was at school. I had no idea... Silly boy!

Surprise Birthday

Last Wednesday was my birthday ( Scott's too!) and My super sweet, wonderful, handsome and thoughtful husband threw me a surprise party. With the help of our friends, Kelly & Matt, Tiffany & Joe, Andy and our parents they successfully pulled it off. Ryan did a good job tricking me into thinking he didn't really have any birthday plans. I just let him go all week with out asking him what his plans were and on that day I asked him and he told me he was putting together a BBQ with our parents. I was a bit bumbed because I thought that he waited till the last minute to decide what to do. But he's a tricky one!!! When I got home from school he was busy making food for the night. Later on he sent me to pick up my dad because my mom was coming over later. My dad took his time getting ready because he was trying to stall. When we finally got back to the house our friends were waiting for us with a big SURPRISE!!!! Ha! and I was surprised! We had a yummy dinner and Ryan got me banana cream pie from Fats! My favorite! Later I opened presents and was even more surprised when Tiffany gave me a pencil drawing of the engagement picture Ryan and I took for our wedding. Tiffany is super talented and did an absolutely BEAUTIFUL Job! Its fantastic! (see amazing pictures below!)Thank you Tiffany and Joe!!!!!! Ryan was creative and gave me a giant picture album with all of our wedding pictures in it since we still haven't finished our professional album! We will be finishing that one soon! I had a blast and I want to say thank you again to all of our friends, parents and especially my amazing husband for a super special birthday!!!

Later that week i got to celebrate my birthday again but with my twin brother Scott!!! It was our Golden Birthday! 24 on the 24th. My birthday is not complete until I can party with Scott too. For our party we played an intense game on crochet which I have come to really like. I had no idea how competitive that game can be! Even malicious! Ahem... Scott. Any way, we had fun and I look forward to playing again! Happy Birthday Scott!!

This is my cheesy glamor shot pose!

Poor Teddy

This past weekend I had a very interesting experience while house sitting. Ryan and I house sat for a couple in our old ward last month and they asked us to come back again. They have a little Cocker Spaniel named Teddy and he is supper cute and fun! He was easy to take care of the first time we house sat so I thought this weekend would be a breeze. Ryan ended up going camping with his dad so I stayed with the dog by myself. I don't like to be alone so I had my mother-in-law over to keep me company. We were having a nice time watching a movie and talking. Then the evening turned tragic when Teddy got into one of our purses and ate a big chocolate cookie with chocolate chips! I started to freak out a little because chocolate is poisonous to dogs and Teddy is a small dog and the cookie was big. I had a flash back to when I was about nine and my own dog ate a ton of chocolate and after we took her to the vet we had to feed liquid charcoal. It was awful and I cried all night. I'm still scarred. So I called the owners and could not reach them. Then I called the vet and they gave me two options: induce vomiting at home by making Teddy drink hydrogen peroxide or bring him in so they could do it... ... ... WHY on earth would I induce vomiting by myself?!!!! That's the craziest thing I have ever heard! I was horrified when the vet said that to me! What kind of sick non-vet freak makes a dog throw up by forcing hydrogen peroxide down the poor animal's throat? Thanks sicko vet, you have scarred me further by just the thought of that! Anyway, I was still conflicted because I could not get a hold of the owners and I knew the trip to the vet would be expensive. I made up my mind to take Teddy in and I was able to get a hold of the owners before I left. They said go for it so I did. My dear mother-in-law volunteered to go with me and so we took our trip down to the vet at 11:oo pm and didn't leave till after 12:oo. Thanks Debbie! Your an Angel!!! They made him throw up and kept him over night because he was still sick. The next morning I picked him up and was slapped with a $400.00 vet bill!!! So Teddy came home with me and the owners came home later that day. They were super nice and understanding! The owners ended up paying me back and tried to pay me extra for the trouble I went through, but I couldn't accept it! Not after I cost them a ton of money! Needless to say, I'm glad Teddy is ok and the people still trust us enough to invite us back! Ryan has made a vow that if we have a dog some day and it gets into trouble like this he is not paying to get it fixed! I might put up a fight though.

On a side note, I learned today that Teddy got into another purse and ate a whole pack of gum yesterday! What a naughty but still cute dog!!!!

American River Rafting

On Monday Ryan and our friends went river rafting on the south fork of the American River. The group included us, Matt and Kelly, Tani, Andy and Matt's friends Cameron and Rebbecca. Cameron is a river guide so he took one boat and Matt took the other boat. We had a blast! I would go over and over again if we had our own raft! Matt did great guiding his own boat and this was his first time ever! Good job Matt!!! The rapids that we went through were class 3. I thought they were pretty crazy so I can only imagine larger rapids! There were lots of rapids but the two largest were called Satan's Cesspool and Hospital Bar. Who named these rapids? Satan's Cesspool??? I'm not going to repeat some of the jokes that were made about the name! Any who, we lost Andy several times during the first few rapids. At one point he grabbed onto the side of his boat and almost was crushed between a rock and the raft. It was tense for a minute there! Luckily Andy was ok! The second crazy big rapid, Hospital Bar, ended up knocking Ryan off the raft. I had fun until the point that I realized he was half way out of the boat. I grabbed on to his wrist with a death grip and held him for a second but then let him go because I didn't want him to get smashed in case we hit a rock. So he ended up floating safely out and was picked up by Matt's boat. At the end of they day we all realized that we are now addicted to rafting and are now planning our next trip before it gets too cold!

At the sight of the two biggest rapids there were photographers who captured several shots of us. The only pictures I have so far are of one raft with Ryan and I. I'll post the other boat's pictures soon.


*A quick disclaimer... I know you are all jealous of my super cool yellow sunglasses!

Strawberry Jammin'!

I have been on break from school for the past few weeks and the lack of activity is catching up with me. I'm starting to get restless, just ask Ryan. I think I'm starting to drive him crazy. So to keep myself occupied I started taking on little projects such strawberry freezer jam. I'm also sewing a tote bag and soon I'll move on the a skirt!. I'm worried that if I keep up with the food projects we are all going fat!Last year I got the itch to make raspberry jam. So in September Ryan and I went up to pick raspberries at Apple hill and ended up with 11 pounds of berries. It took us two days to make that stupid jam, but it was tasty. This year I toned it down a bit and made jam out of 8 pounds of strawberries. But I guess strawberry jam isn't that bad except the 4 cups of sugar to every 2 cups of fruit that the recipe calls for. Right? I plan on giving jam away. (Don't worry Andy, we wont forget you this time!) Thankfully the jam only took a few hours to make instead of a two day project. I still have a couple weeks till I start school and I'm running out project ideas!!! I could use some suggestions!

Yum!

On Monday night I was a little bored so I decided to try a new recipe. Debbie gave me the idea of cinnamon rolls and I remembered that my mom used to make super yummy cinnamon rolls when we were little. I started at 5:30 and finished at 11:30. The rolls took several hours to rise in different stages. Ryan helped me with the assembling part and as you can tell in the first picture he wasn't to excited. But he was good at hamming it up for the other pictures. The cinnamon rolls turned out to be very tasty! We all enjoyed a late night snack, especially Andrew! *See pictures at bottom!

Time with the girls!!!

These Next few posts are long over due! Sorry to keep you all in suspense because we know you are all so enthralled and caught up in our Oh so interesting lives! Just Kidding!! My twin brother Scott and the love of his life, Krystal (who is super awsome!), recently got married a few weeks ago. After the wedding everyone went home but Erin stayed with Morgan and Taylor for another week. We did all kinds of fun stuff with them! We went to the splash park, the mall for the marry-go-round, the train museum and of course swimming. Ryan has allot of energy because he was able to keep up with the girls every day! I think that after a while, he was wearing them out! What a good uncle! He'll make an awesome dad! It was fun getting to spend time with Erin because we don't get to see them as often as we would like. We got very familiar with the new version of Disney's Fantasia. In fact I think we have it memorized because we watched it every day, some times twice a day! Morgan and Taylor get bigger every time we see them and I'm still convinced that they are the cutest girls in the world!!!!