Tara and Clay=Married!

Tara and Clay got married at my parents home, on November 14th. We had a less than 24 hours notice but most of my family was able to attend a fun and memorable evening. Congrats Tara and Clay!!

Wedding Ceremony

Tyler sang a few songs

Chris and I toasting to the happy couple with my parents only wine glasses in the house! We loved it! :)

Bass Pro Half Marathon 2012

Last year my sister, Tara and I ran the Bass Pro Half Marathon for the first time. We had so much fun, that we decided to make it an annual race for us! Well, if you had read my post about the STL half then you are aware I have not been training as much as I should, but once I set my mind to something I won't give up! This race came up so quickly I really didn't even have time to change my mind if I wanted to! Chris, Aidan, Wayne, Nancy, and my Dad all came out to support us. Thank you all so much, it really does help to see a friendly face along the course. I am glad to say I survived and it had a great time running the streets of my hometown with many familiar faces!

Hunting Season has Arrived!

For the past few weeks Chris has been actively working to finish his homemade Hay Bale Blind in time for Hunting Season! Below is the finished product. It is large enough for 2 people to sit comfortably and he will even be able to bow hunt out of it. I can't wait to hear how it works out for him this season!

Halloween 2012

I have never been much of a Halloween person but have always loved to see all the kids in their costumes. This year was a bit different, due to last minute change of plans this past Saturday evening, Chris and I went to my friend Robin's annual Halloween Party. This years theme was White Trash/Hillbilly Bash. It was crazy how easy it was to find items for our last minute costumes (embarrassingly most of them came right out of my closet!)

 

We were able to take Aidan on a "practice round" for trick or treating at our families houses, Tuesday night. He was a Zombie Skater, and had a blast getting spoiled by everyone! He got a ton of candy!!! Halloween night, we went to Megan and Tim's to help them pass out candy, which was a first for me. Growing up outside of the city limits we never had too many trick or treaters. They had a total of 69 visitors, it was so much fun seeing all the cute/scary costumes.

 



Sunday Afternon Shooting Range Visit

A few months ago, Chris bought a Groupon to the Sound of Freedom, Indoor Gun Range in Ozark, MO. We actually let the Groupon expire but checked with them and they were willing to honor it for another month. So we made a trip out there this past Sunday, along with Chris' parents, Nancy and Wayne. I've only shot a gun once in my lifetime and it was outside in the middle of the woods, so this was a very different experience, not one I was really prepared for. Chris and Wayne already had guns so Nancy and I had to rent them, they asked us several questions and I had no idea what he was talking about! They then told us since Chris wanted to shoot his 45 we would have to go in the larger gun area. We all put on our glasses and headphones and walked through the doors. I think we might have been in there for a minute total and heard some of the loudest shots I had ever heard and realized it was not for me so I quickly walked out. They changed us to the smaller gun side and it was much easier to handle. I shot several rounds first and then Chris had his turn. For my first time shooting in an indoor range, I thought I did pretty good!

Engagement Photo Session

Two weeks ago we went downtown and spent the evening with the awesome, Megan, owner of Meg White Photography. It was prefect weather and we had a great time! I posted some of my favorites below. If anyone is looking for a photographer that will take her time and will really get to know you, please contact her. Thank you for the amazing photos, Megan!!

Click here to see her blog post about us!: Ashley & Chris, Engaged

St Louis Rock N Roll Half Marathon

My sister, Tara and I ran in the Chicago Marathon last October and we so pumped after we completed it we made a decision we wanted to complete at least 1 Marathon a year. Well as we all know life gets the best of us sometimes so we ended up changing our Marathon to a Half Marathon and then decided to sign up for a few more this year! Growing up I hated running mainly because it was a punishment or a requirement for volleyball training. It wasn't until we started training last year that I realized how much my hate for it turned into an obsession! All my fellow runners out there I am sure can relate. Once your body gets used to this daily routine, it does not like it when you miss out. I continued to run last year after our marathon and Bass Pro Half Marathon and then fell out of my routine in January. I was able to get re-motivated just before the JLS Pitter Pat 5k/10k in March. I then knew I wanted to start my training routine back up. This Summer I traveled a lot for work which made it hard to fit in a short run each day. I still wanted to stick with my commitments that I had made to the races in October, November, and December. So this last weekend my family traveled up to STL for a weekend getaway (City Museum, and The Cheesecake Factory) and to watch Tara and I run the Rock N Roll Half Marathon. We had a blast! I was a little nervous about the run, because of my lack of training but actually ended up not doing so bad! It was a beautiful day to take a run around a beautiful city and thank God for all of the blessings in my life!!


 

The Running Expo 

Aidan wrote Tara and I a "Good Luck" message

 

City Museum

 

 The boys climbing in the tunnels

Grace waiting to go up the Ten Story slide

 

 The 10 story slide, it is a "must do" at the City Museum
 

Slides Everywhere 

Chris and I sitting on a School Bus that is hanging over the side of the roof

 

Aidan and Roman 

Yup, that is the boys at the top

 

Family Fun!

 

Beautiful morning for a run

 

The race started at 7AM, so it was still dark, and way too early for me

 

Waiting at the Starting Line

 

Standing with my 20,000 running friends

 

Tiffany sent me this picture while I was running, I thought it was pretty funny! They all jumped at the same time.

 

 Our cheering crew

My love, (Yes his shirt still says Girlfriend on the back, we will need to change that for the next race!)

 

Part of my wonderful family, thanks for coming to cheer us along!

Pumpkin Saturday

Fall is always a busy time with so many fun things to fit in! A few Saturdays ago went to the Pumpkin Daze Festival in Republic. They had several craft and food booths set up as well as a bunch of very LARGE pumpkins and gourds it was packed with people and so much fun to look around. We then rushed over to Parkview High School to watch my nephew, Caleb and the Hillcrest Band in the Valhalla Marching Festival. It brought back a lot of fun memories from when I was in the Marching Band back in High School! That evening we invited Caleb and Tyler over to carve pumpkins. Chris and Aidan are carving pros, I am getting better, and Caleb and Tyler had never carved, so it was quite an entertaining night! Check out the pictures below!

Instead of visiting a pumpkin patch we opted for quick stop for Krazy Karens!

He gets better and better each year!

The carving clan

I made the mistake of choosing a stencil that was pretty difficult but I managed to complete it without any help!

Finished!

Mine, Chris', and Aidan's (Caleb and Tyler's took longer than usual so they did not make the picture)

SDC 2012- National Harvest Festival

We usually go to my parents house after church for Sunday lunch, but this Sunday everyone was out of town so we took advantage of the beautiful afternoon and went to Silver Dollar City for their National Harvest Festival. We had a great time, and cannot wait to go back for the Christmas!

 

 

 

    





PBR 2012

Last year, Chris' parents Wayne and Nancy invited us to go to the PBR (Professional Bull Riders), and we had so much fun we decided to go again this year. I grew up going to rodeos and watching the PBR on TV so it is kind of surreal to be so close to these very brave gentlemen!

Chris and I only a couple of rows up from the arena

Each ride is pretty intense! One of the riders boots got caught on the bull and caused the bottom of his boot to fall off!

 

 Luke Snyder!

Cody Johnson, 19, won this part of the tour