Oy, kind of a boring day!

Ya, it was kind of a boring day. Uh...what happened? Oh ya! I remember. The Relief Society Presidency came over to visit me and get a better idea of our situation. It was nice, but funny. Cause one of the ladies was the mother of a guy I dated in high school (it's a good thing I only dated him like a month or it would be super awkward). It's going to be super interesting living in this ward of so much history. While they were over I let June run around in the back yard, but she just doesn't seem to know what to do with herself when she's alone. She'll run around the yard and then come to the door to see what I'm doing. It's pretty cute.
After that, I went to the store and got to work on my blogs. I didn't do much to AAB. I'm just letting it hang for now. I'm going to make a bunch of changes and then introduce them in January. Plus, I'm seriously going to make just one layout and leave it for a few months because this changing every month is getting to be WAY TOO MUCH! you know? Any way, I got a lot of designing done and even got my new site set up for the most part. There is still a lot to do, but i haven't gotten everything worked out yet. I'm aiming for January as my official launch.
Any way, it was just a lot of hanging at the store. My dad kind of had a bad day and so I took him home and made him lunch. Then more hanging at the store.
I don't know I didn't do very much. June is feeling much better. We haven't had an eruption since yesterday (knock on wood). And we're just hanging. You know that's what I do.
How are you? Are you surviving ok? I feel like I haven't heard from you in so long!! And I just talked to you this morning!! UGH! I love you!! I'm missing you so much!!
I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!

Sick Puppy

Yesterday I went to our ward for the first time. It was interesting, nice but interesting. The Relief Society has four rows of chairs. Three of the four rows were filled with Old Ladies. One of the rows was filled with a few young ladies though no one looked under 30. Yep, at 23 years old, I looked like I belonged in Young Women's. It was super fun! The ward did have some younger people but most of them belonged in primary or Young Women's/Young Men's. Haha, just playing...sort of. Anyway, there were a few who looked about 30 and maybe a little younger than that, but it's safe to say that we are currently the youngest adults in the ward. Yipee!

I decided that I would keep our tradition of getting up in Fast & Testimony and introducing us to the ward. It was sort of like that Fast 'n' Testimony meeting in North Carolina. A little girl, who looked about 4 or 5, decided she was going to bear her testimony. She marched herself up to the podium, bound and determined to have her say. She got up to the podium and looked out at the audience. A look of horror filled her face and she turned and ran screaming out of the chapel. It's safe to say that I felt JUST like that little girl. I marched myself up to the podium and then looked out over the crowd of people (many of whom were parents of my friends and even some of my boyfriends from high school) and I just freaked. I'm happy to say that I didn't run out of the chapel screaming, but I seriously felt like it. I just cried and my body shook so hard my voice quivered through the whole thing. I hurried and said what I needed to and then got the HELL out of there! It was a GREAT introduction of our family! Ugh! Any way, I met with the Bishop afterward and he just wanted to know how we were doing and let me know that the ward is there for us. It was nice. He's really nice.

After church I loaded June up and we went up to my parent's house. She did pretty well other than Leo (my parent's dog) attacked her. But don't worry I clobbered (is that a word) Leo and saved June. She spent a little time on Leo's pillow and I think that she ate some of Leo's dog food...maybe a LOT of Leo's dog food. Because today, well, I left her in the kennel most of the day because it snowed last night and she DOES NOT like the snow. She tries to pick up all of her legs at the same time and just ends up flopping over into the snow. Any way, I left her in the kennel most of the afternoon. At about 4 I decided that i needed to go give her a break and maybe another chance at the snow. I walked into our house and I smelled dog poop. I instantly knew something was seriously wrong. June had gotten the runs and it was EVERY WHERE! Yes, EVERY WHERE! It was all over her, her blankets, her kennel, the walls and floors of the kitchen...EVERY WHERE! I pulled her out and ran her outside to hose her down. Then I got to work de-pooping (not a word but i'm going to use it) the kitchen. I was seriously regretting not moving her to the garage, then I could have just hosed it all down. The house SMELLED AWFUL! I had to turn on every fan and light every candle we have but thankfully the smell went away. It's a good thing because the Relief Society Presidency is coming tomorrow morning and it would NOT have been good for our house to smell that way when they came.

Well, so the story gets better. After giving her some time outside and a little Pepto Bismal, I figured she was doing better and brought her to my parent's house. I set her up by the front door and let her play there. Lizzie decided she wanted to play with June instead of helping Sara put up the Christmas tree (which was her chore), so she went over and June tackled her! At the same time she erupted! Lizzie got covered with puppy poop! Lizzie screamed and shoved June away. June screeched and skidded across the hardwood floor to the corner. Sara started laughing hysterically.

Lizzie started to yell...not at June...but at me! She was mad a ME because June pooped on her. Dad and I go running up stairs (I was talking to your mom while all of this was going on) to find Lizzie dripping poop and bawling her head off. Dad shoved Lizzie outside and made her strip to her underwear while he went and got her a towel to cover up in (gotta love us country bumpkins). Poor Lizzie is just sobbing the whole time. I hurried to grab a towel and clean up the mess, but you know how I am with yucky smells. I started gagging and I seriously thought I was going to be cleaning puke up as well. (My dad was also gagging the entire time this was happening, I thought he was going to throw up too!) AND the WHOLE time Sara is rolling on the floor laughing with tears streaming down her face and screaming about the "BEST christmas present EVER!" She felt like Lizzie's Karma for not helping Sara had caught up with her.

Yes, it was an eventful evening in the Kelly House. Lizzie is still mad at me and she growls every time she passes poor June. (I'm worried. June's pretty sick. I hope this won't last too much longer. She is definitely sleeping in the garage tonight!) Sara will just start giggling for no apparent reason (though i think we all can guess what it is) and Dad keeps teasing Lizzie about puppies and poop. It's definitely a normal night with the Kelly's.

I miss you. I hope that you made it into Iraq ok and that I'll hear from you again soon. I'm going into some serious withdrawals not talking to you today. I miss you! I LOVE YOU!!
I LOVE YOU!

Aaaah! House at last!

Well, after a 9-10 hour drive I am finally back in Idaho. It is soooo cold here. I went from walking around in a t-shirt and flip flops to wearing 50 layers and a ski coat. Brrrr! June was so happy to be back to a stable place and able to run around. She started attacking Sara. It was soo funny. She would run and jump with all four legs in the air into Sara. She's wild, but who can blame her. I could get out of the car way more often and I feel like running around crazy. You seem to be doing well. Though you sound very homesick. I'm sorry we couldn't talk longer this morning, but tomorrow we'll talk as long as you want. Your birthday is in a couple days. Are you enjoying your present?

Too Tired...

I'm too tired to do a real post. We've been traveling long days across this country and i'm pooped! Tomorrow we should be home and i am so excited to get some rest and get back to being able to do my work. Aah...home sweet home, well...house sweet house. My real home is sitting in Iraq right now.

DC and Beyond

Well, we went to DC today. It was really fun. That is a really cool city, definitely one of my favorites. We walked through most of the monuments, in front of the white house and went to see money made. It was really cool to see how our currency is made and crazy to see the stacks of 100 dollar bills as tall as me. I love going to factories to see how things we use are made. It's so interesting. (I think this fascination started when I watched Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and he showed how crayons are made) Oh, and we went over to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Did you know that it's actually the Army and not the Marines who guard it? Any way, I think that my dad really got a kick out of everything. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with my fit dad but I actually held my own. Though we're both feeling pretty stiff and sore right now. I talked to you while we walked back to the car and it was OH SO NICE to hear your wonderful voice. I miss you so much it's unbelievable. I'm glad that the blackberry is working so well though. It's nice to be able to text you and have you answer back in just a few seconds. I think that I got the IMing on my phone figured out, but my phone has NO service in the city where we're staying tonight so I couldn't try it out. (Your phone is stupid because my dad had service just fine) I'll try tomorrow when I find service again.
Any way, we drove into Ohio to stay the night. I haven't been to Ohio before so I can add another state to my list. I've now made it to almost all of the states in the continental US. I always wanted to do that.
Now we're just hanging out in the hotel. Actually, my dad is snoring (LOUDLY) while I try to wind down for the night. It's so hard to sleep without you. I hate it. I feel so unsafe. I can't wait until you get back to be my cuddlebug again.
June is doing really good on the trip. She's really just quiet most of the time. No whining. It's so nice. She is such a great dog. I love her. I'm glad that you got her for me. She's going to be a great pal. I think she's probably starting to get tired of riding in the car though. It's too bad we still have a few more days. We honestly haven't really started yet. I'm thinking that we'll be home by Friday or Saturday. I hope the house isn't too cold when I get there.
I'm glad you're doing as well as you are. You sounded good when I talked to you. Keep going, keep busy and remember ALWAYS that I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER!

Eternally Yours,
Ash

P.S. I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you, i love you, i love you, i love you....

To D.C.

Dear Jase -
Since I haven't talked for you a while, I thought I would update you on my adventures today. My dad and I got up this morning bright and early. We packed the car with my boxes after you left and they all made it in, but our luggage was not so lucky. So we hurried over to Fedex and mailed a couple home. Once we were all set to go, we popped over to Time Warner Cable and turned in the equipment and turned off the cable. It was awesome because I guess we paid a deposit when we started the cable and the deposit paid the last bill. AND there were still $13 left! Hurray! Any way, then we hit the road to D.C. We just talked and drove like always. Just before we got to Richmond, we hit major traffic! We sat in traffic for a hour and a half. Ugh! And of course this is the time that all three of us (Dad, Me & June Bug) had to pee like crazy. It was the longest hour ever. On top of all of that, that was when you started texting me. It was SOOO nice to hear from you. But for some reason my phone (with a full signal) decided to stop sending text messages off. So, yes I got all of your text messages. I just couldn't respond because my phone decided to throw a tantrum.
Any way, finally after all the traffic we made it to a bathroom and then to D.C. But I couldn't remember exactly how to get to the National Park. I made a guess but then second guessed myself and turned around. Well, my first guess was the right guess and after I turned around we spent another half an hour figuring that out. We went to a few of the monuments. The Lincoln Memorial looked really cool in the dark. And then we went to our hotel.
I think we're going to spend tomorrow checking out D.C. and maybe drive a ways out. Any ways,
that's what is up with me. How are you? How was the flight?
I miss you so much. I'm so lonely for you that when June licked my face I didn't even feel grossed out! You know how bad that is. I really am missing you. I can't wait til this is all over and we can be together all the time.
I love you so so soso so sos soo soo much!!!
Talk to you soon,
Ash

P.S. i love you, i love you, i love you, i love you, i love you, i love you, i love you.....

And the time has come...

Well, the time has arrived. Jason deploys on Sunday night. It's crazy to be doing this again, especially since we had every expectation to be completely free from the army by now. I think we're ready though. It's going to suck beyond comprehension. I already feel my heart breaking. But we've done this before and we know what it is, what to expect and what to do. I think that makes things a little easier. We're just hoping and praying that the year will go by quickly and we'll be able to make the best of it.

Tag! I'm it.

WHAT IS YOUR HUSBAND'S NAME? Jason Lynn Taylor
HOW LONG HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN MARRIED? 3 years and few months
HOW LONG DID YOU DATE? 8 months, 4 months dating and 4 months engaged
HOW OLD IS HE? 24, he'll be 25 in a month or so
WHO IS TALLER? Jase, he was about 5'8 or 5'9 when we got married but he keeps growing!!! he's around 6'0 now. it's just not fair.
WHO CAN SING BEST? Ya neither one of us is very talented. I think we're close to a pack of coyotes howling at the moon
WHO IS SMARTER? He is. He totally kicks my butt in math, I can't hardly add efficiently. But i'm quicker on my feet and more logical.
WHO DOES LAUNDRY? He does mostly, but I'm the supervisor
WHO PAYS BILLS? We trade back and forth. Sometimes it's me and sometimes it's him
WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED? I do
WHO MOWS THE LAWN? I do. I find it very relaxing but i think it's generally me cause he's never actually lived in our house.
WHO COOKS DINNER? Me
WHO'S THE FIRST TO ADMIT THEY ARE WRONG? Hmm...Neither one of us likes to be wrong, but Jason is soo stubborn it takes forever for him to admit it. It's a good thing we hardly ever fight.
WHO KISSED WHO FIRST? We debate about this one, but it was really me. He'd never been kissed.
WHO WEARS THE PANTS? we share them, i wear one leg and he wears the other.

I tag Emily, Jessica, Stefanie, Natalie, Laura & Julie.

Our New Arrival!!

With Jason deploying soon, we've been making plans. Having done this deployment thing before we kind of have an idea how it works and what the problems are. One of the problems is that I HATE being in our house alone. It just freaks me out. We discussed getting a dog, but after the NIGHTMARE pet venture last time I was extremely hesitant. But after looking at some pictures I decided I really, really wanted one. So yesterday we went and got June, our new 10 week old Golden Lab...

The picture's a little blurry, but it's impossible to get her to sit still long enough to take a decent picture. She is such an ANGEL puppy. She rode in the crate the whole way home last night and didn't make a sound. When we got her home, she was pretty freaked out with the new situation. June was just shaking like crazy, but she slept through the night, without an accident. And (knock on wood) we haven't had an accident in the house yet!! She's basically house broken, which is what i was most worried about. I can leave her crate door open and she just stays inside and hangs out most the time. Sometimes she comes out to eat or drink a little, but she's basically in the crate all the time. She knows it's her place and as soon as we come into the house, it's the place she goes.

Here she is hanging in the crate, cuddling her blanket. She has slowly started to get more comfortable in the house. She is fine outside and just goes crazy playing, running and investigating. But in the house she has a hard time. Earlier this afternoon she started to get comfortable and she came out and started gnawing on my shoes. I said a firm 'no' and she stopped, looked up at me and then turned around and ran back into her crate. It was hilarious! She is a fun new addition to our little family and I think she's going to be a great pal!

This is papa bear signing on, and I just wanted to let the world know that I really do have the best wife in the world. So sorry to all the other men out there, I know you think you got the best wife but you didn't.

City of Rocks

While we were home for September leave, Jason's parents took us camping to City of Rocks. It's one of Jason's favorite places and I wanted to see what he was ALWAYS talking about. It was really beautiful and super fun, even though I'm not much of a camper.

Sinking Cell Phone

Early this morning Jason came home from P.T. (Physical Training) and woke me up. I was holding my cell phone in my hand and decided to slip it over the side of the bed to the floor. I heard a splash and sat up to see what had happened. Yep, I dropped my cell phone into a glass of water. It spent about an hour freaking out! It would turn itself off and then on again over and over. It would start going through messages and trying to set up voice activation. It was totally freaking out and because of all the water we couldn't get the battery out of it for an hour. Ugh, so my cell phone is officially dead. And for those of you how know...yes, the legend continues.

Pillow Talk

The other night, in the middle of the night, while we were sleeping, Jason rolled over so that he was facing away from me. I decided that I wanted to cuddle up to him. So I rolled over and in my sleepy state planted my cheek in a pool of drool. As soon as my cheek hit that pool, I was instantly awake. I sat straight up and started to vigorously rubbing my cheek. Grumbling to myself, I adjusted the pillows so that the drool was covered and went back to sleep. And Jason.....slept through the whole thing.

New Pics

Jase's unit got orders to deploy just before we came home for leave. We still don't have them in our hand, but it is what it is. So we decided to get our pictures taken. We try to get them every year and I have to say that I LOVE this set. They turned out super cute and there is not a bad one in the bunch. Heather at Paisley Studios did an AMAZING job! Here's a little sampling.

Happy Birthday Lizziebeth!

My youngest sister Lizzie is 14 today! I can't believe it! So, I just wanted to say...

Happy Birthday Liz!

My Little Lizzie - Age 5

My 14 year old Lizzie - Isn't she beautiful?

Duke Vs. Navy

It was military appreciation day so Duke Invited us to a football game for free. We had amazing seats. We were down, right on the field. It was so fun to go an see a game in person, but it was unbelievably hot. I melted! But it was all worth it. Jealous Dad?
p.s. if you want a closer look at the pictures, just click on them. They should come up.

Dear Sisters

I'm currently working on giving you guys new backgrounds. But i've been making my own papers, etc. for them. It takes me some time cause i'm just figuring it out. Don't worry Sara, I'll finish yours soon and Lizzie, I'm doing yours next. I just haven't decided which colors are right yet. Don't worry I'll make them cute. I designed all the stuff for mine. Like it?
Love you,
Ash

This is what I came home to...

Jason decided to surprise me with a Homecoming Dance. He decorated and even made cookies! He's so cute. I have the most amazing husband!

Freaking Out

Oh man, we are freaking out. We're really hoping that tomorrow we'll finally know something. We got a call from Channel 8. They wanted to interview us about our situation. Kinda crazy, huh? We haven't decided yet if we're going to do it, but don't be surprised to see me on the 10 o'clock news tomorrow night. Ugh, and all this is going on just a few days after I had my wisdom teeth pulled. My mouth isn't feeling to bad, especially if I keep up with pain meds, but the swelling is the worst part. I look like i have a rock in my mouth on my right side. I ice all day long, but it just doesn't seem to help that much. Not only are we fighting the army, but i'm going to have to work the fair tomorrow. Ya, it's turning out to be a crazy couple of weeks. I'm just really hoping that things start working in our favor tomorrow, because i don't really know what to do if they don't. I just can't wait to see Jason on Saturday. That's truly the highlight of my week, to kiss my Jason on Saturday.

Update

It's been a while, but life has been kicking the crap out of me for the past couple of months. We still don't know anything for sure. As far as we know there are still no deployment orders, but for some great reason they still won't let Jason do the out processing stuff. The army is required to give him 10 working days to outprocess i.e. checkups with the doctor & dentist, returning equipment, etc. Well, thursday was the start of 10 working days, but they told him that they had orders and he was stop lossed. When he asked to see the papers, they told him that there weren't any orders. Messed up, right? So on thursday, I took all the information that i had and a letter Jason had written about everything that has happened so far and went to the Idaho senator's office. I actually ended up talking to representative simpson's aid. My dad and I told him what was going on and the whole story and he got to work on it. The only thing we can do is start a congressional investigation into the whole thing and hope that it will result in him being able to get out. But we still have no idea. We're just waiting to find out. This is our life.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary baby!

I love you so much!!

You are my everything!

I love you forever and always,

Ash

The best Memory

After Jason and I were sealed together forever, we went to get ready for pictures. Jason was going to wait for me in the hall just inside the exit of the temple. He was sitting on a bench, chilling in his tux, when I got there. The temple worker made me stop just out of sight and asked Jason to stand. Jase stood up and turned towards the door just as I walked in. His jaw dropped to the floor and he looked like some one was holding him back from running to me. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. When I finally got to him, he just kept telling me how beautiful I looked. He was so sweet and man, he looked hot in his tux!
I was just thinking about our anniversary tomorrow and remembered that. It was pretty awesome!