ALFIE TURNS ONE

i can't even believe that our little fur baby is one! (15 in cat years apparently). to celebrate, i decided to throw him a birthday party! yes, this is real. and it was all cat themed too, of course.

we played cat jeopardy and it was just hysterical. i came up with different "cat"egories like "famous animated felines", "famous big cats", "cats but not cats", etc. we did boys vs. girls and the boys totally dominated. it was kinda sad... but i think everyone still had a great time playing. 

for snacks, we had a selection of different fishes (alfie's fave). cheddar goldfish, pretzel goldfish and nordic fish (not to be confused with swedish fish. these are from winco people).

i didn't want people to feel like they actually needed to spend money on a cat to come to the party so i put on the invitation no gifts please but people still brought some anyways. so sweet and thoughtful of them. alfie loves his friends!

i went all out on decorations...

we had sooo much cake. omgosh. if you know me, i am a terrible judge on food quantity so i always make a TON. i ended up bringing the extra cake and cupcakes to work so people could enjoy/celebrate his birthday too. 

even the plates were cats!

singing happy birthday to the birthday boy! he was already eyeing his birthday cake... hahah

chowin down!

after everyone left, he was totally wiped out. i don't blame him. he had a lot of friends come and help celebrate him turning one and we are so grateful that they spent their night with us. we are so blessed!

i was exhausted too. planning a party is a ton of work. a lot more than i thought it would. i don't even want to think about what it will be like to throw a party for my own human child..... hahah yikes!

we love our little fur baby and are so glad that he is a part of our family. thanks again to everyone who helped make his day special!

xoxo ash

PORTER FAMILY REUNION IN MAPLETON, UTAH

the porter family had a big reunion in mapleton, utah this year. the hardest part about leaving is leaving behind our little baby! poor alfie. he clearly loves me too.            

starting our trip off right. with a selfie!

they rented a h u g e monster house in mapleton that everyone stayed in. it was crazy. we used every last inch of that spot. seriously. we shared a room with robbie's cousin ryan and his wife courtenay, and my inlaws stayed in this massive food storage closet on the ground... they were such troopers! 

the first day, ryan and courtenay took us real rock climbing in the provo canyon. it was a lot of fun but way harder than i thought it would be. haha

all decked out in my rock climbing gear

look at my hottie husband!

both of us starting our climb.

i thought it wasn't that high up when i was watching people climb but when i got up i swear it was super high! haha

thanks for taking us rock climbing ryan and courtenay!

ohhhh david....

love my rob <3

behind our house we found these horses! and i l o v e horses! so robbie went back with me to pet them.

it looked like their water trough had been dried for quite some time, so i went and found a hose and turned it on and they were guzzling it down. poor babies. 

sweet kylie and her boppa!

we went to seven peaks one day. it was super fun especially since it was my first time! i know, so crazy since i lived in utah for 4 1/2 years.

we also got to go the spanish fork rodeo! it wasn't the houston rodeo by any means (#texasforever), but it was a great time to be there with everyone.

love this man of mine. and taking selfies with him... hehe

we had the chance to do a session with robbie's parents in the provo temple.

ok this little guy was my total buddy this week. isn't he the cutest kid on the planet?! 

this was robbie's buddy. (: with family genes this good i can only hope our kids will be as cute.

it was a tough battle and is still controversial but rob and i came out on top in our corn hole competition. it was a blast just playing and competing with everyone. now we have to find a place for this trophy... of course they had to get the biggest one possible.

before leaving town, of course we had to eat at zupas. i think it's my favorite restaurant of all time. seriously so good. i'm drooling writing this... mmmmmm (:

this is the face of a happy ash!

back on the road again with my better half. he is such a fun partner in crime and i am so lucky that he is mine. <3

xoxo ash

PACIFIC PIE CO

went went and saw godzilla at the omsi (oregon museum of science and industry) in downtown portland on their imax screen. i liked the movie and thought it was pretty well done. afterwards, we were feeling in the mood for a treat and decided to check out pacific pie co. we walked in right as it was closing so it was so nice of them to stay open for us. i ordered an apple pie shake or something delicious like that. it was pretty good but honestly, i think i just wanted an actual apple pie... haha but you can't go wrong with cinnamon apples, caramel, whipped cream and ice cream! if you're in the portland area, you should check it out.

xoxo ash

JULY 4TH

this july 4th we were lucky to spend it with our good friends taylor and nicole at her dad's beautiful home on the willamette river. it was filled with fun, laughter, wave runners, paddle boarding, boat rides, great food and of course fire works!

i love july fourth! happy birthday america!!

xoxo ash