A Little Inspiration from Hocus Pocus

Lets put it this way...our favorite Haloween movie was Hocus Pocus and we will not mention how many times we watched it. so when the chance came to dress up like witches we jumped on it. every year Gardener Village hosts its anual "witches night out" party. everyone dresses up enjoys shopping, eating, dancing and of course attempting their best impressions of a witch cackle. we got a big group together and first went out to cheesecake factory before hitting up the big party.

Aren't we the most adorable set of witches you have ever seen? but don't be fooled by our charm and good looks...

Clearly possessed in this picture...no other explanation. this kind of thing happens at "witches-night-out"

here we are trying to see who has the best looking/most witch-like tongue... clearly ashlee's is the pointiest but we are not sure if thats an advantage or disadvantage in this competition.

Being witches is exhausting..and can sometimes make you a little crazy to say the least...you gotta love us though.

-Niglet

Pseudo Soccer Moms

so on the day of my birthday court and i flew off to arizona to start our new family...actually we were going to babysit/house sit for her sister and brother-in-law but close enough. even though these kids were about as amazing as they come they will never replace our own daughter at home (ashlee).

Like i said... soccer moms. this was one of our first adventures of the weekend. we had some minor mishaps such as lack of sunscreen but in the end we got it all figured out.

After a long but fun day filled with grocery shopping, frozen yogurt stops, naps out by the pool and making dinner, we went camping... aka got in our pjs and went outside to the fire pit to make some fabulous smores. sadly court and i had equal (if not more fun) acting like kids...eating our marshmallows than the actual kids did.

Here are Mackenzie and Stephen enjoying their mallows.

and dont forget about adorable Kol.

The whole gang together...obviously having way more fun than the average group of kids and pseudo parents...

when the weekend came to an end we were sad to return back to provo, but excited to see our daughter/third member or our trio ashlee.

-Niglet

Grow up, Nikki!

Nikki turned 22 this year. As the eldest of our apartment, I'd really expect her to be setting a better example for Ashlee and I. But no...instead she goes around initiating this kind of immature behavior and Ashlee and I follow suit trusting that, as our elder, she knows best.Though Nikki technically didn't come up with Ash's prego belly pose, I'm sure she's still somehow indirectly responsible for it.
The only way Ashlee and I were able to put a stop to all this immaturity was by luring her away with her birthday present.
Nothing gets Nikki excited like huggable hangers! (Except pretend balloon implants, but we won't bring that incident up again.)
In all seriousness though, I can attribute my survival of this last year to her friendship. I have watched a dramatic transformation in Nikki from the reserved and slightly anti-social girl she moved in as to the life of the party she is now. While I'd love to hold myself responsible for her change, I think she's been the one inspiring change in me. Nikki hasn't just helped me through the tough times, she's carried me. And, she's kept me extremely entertained the whole time. I refer to our time together as a series of adventures because that is exactly what it has been. I've always prided myself in being the least easily influenced of most anyone I know. And yet, Nikki has managed to spend her time as my roommate convincing me to hike at 3 am, ride themed trains intended for children, run marathons, eat practically vegetarian, cook, travel, and so on and so forth...and the craziest part is that she never actually even attempts any convincing! Of most value to me though is her spiritual strength. I am a better person since becoming her friend.

Roommate, Friend, Life Companion, thanks for making this roller coaster of a year such a pleasant ride!

- Father

Cupcakes for days...

You may or may not have noticed a switch in our apartment since the start of the blog. In August we made the switch but it wasn't until the preparation for Nikki's party that we finally put the finishing touches on our -work in progress- apartment.
If we're hosting a party, two things are guaranteed: 1) there WILL be food and 2) it WILL be done food network style. We opted for a buffet of cupcakes on this particular occasion.
The official roommates of our new apartment- still Ash, Nikki, and me.
The unofficial roommates of 141 - still the trio and Lindsay
My roommates are pretty.

- Father

The day Nikki officially became my hero.

Nikki set the goal of running a marathon before her 22nd birthday and, in typical Nikki fashion, she blew that goal out of the water. Not only did she run the dang thing, she completed it in 4:55 minutes.

And I was there doing what I do best, handing her gum balls, helping her switch out shoes, and cheering her on. It was the least I could do after all the times she carried me (figuratively, of course) during the previous 8 months of living together.
Little did I know that one day I would find myself eating my words from this weekend when I claimed that I was not a runner and that you would never catch me attempting such an insane accomplishment...

-Father

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I just thought i would add to this account. here is the proof of courtney fulfilling her E.C. duties. she was right there when i needed her (2nd pair of shoes in hand) when i wanted to chop my feet off because of my new shoes.

i just had to throw this pic in. this is the gang that ran it with me. such a fun group. also these medals are proof that i finished. i have never been in so much pain in my whole life. when i got to the finish line i had this very bizarre thought cross my mind (and for everyone who knows me you will see how crazy this really was). I saw the first aid station and i was in so much pain that for one second it crossed my mind to go over there and have them give me an IV and hopefully some strong pain killers... ya even i cant believe that thought crossed my mind.

-Niglet

Happy Birthday Daughter!

For Ashlee's Birthday Nikki and I bought her a record to help with the new motif she's got going in her room and a headband to contribute to her cute style. Then, with the help of Stuart, we did a little sneak attack on her room the night before so we could start her special day off right. I'd include the token picture we snapped of her during the events of the night but I value my life too much to risk it.

Somehow Ashlee became the daughter of the apartment. I am the father, Nikki is the mother, and together we raise our rambunctious child. Ashlee is the life of the apartment. It's guaranteed entertainment when she's around. Whether she's baking and consuming double layered cakes or making hilarious faces and sound effects to accompany them, she is frequently putting Nikki and I into tears with how hard we are laughing. She's not only really really ridiculously funny, she's a really good friend. There have been multiple occasions where I've had to call on her for a favor and every time she's come through. On top of all this, she's an incredible listener. She'll validate every single emotion you express and then when you're done yapping she'll offer you her advice.

We love you daughter, I wish we had created this blog soon enough to post this on your actual birthday!

- The Father

"These are not my real hands!"

At some point the three of us got the brilliant idea of hiking Mount Timpanogos at 3 in the morning. It just so happen that the night before we were planning on embarking on this adventure, for reasons independent of one another, each of slept no more than 2 hours. Of course, being the people that we are, that did not deter us from continuing on our pursuit.

I'm positive the other two contributors of this blog are going to protest the posting of these pictures (hence the smiley face cover in the second one) but it was just too hysterical of an experience not to document.

Nikki's dad convinced Stuart to be our chaperon on this adventure and I doubt that Stuart will ever forgive him for it. From the moment we climbed into his car until 5 hours later when we climbed back in, we (the girls that is) could not stop laughing. To this day, I still can't figure out what was funny enough to keep us that entertained for that long. Whatever it was, I'm sure our extreme exhaustion was a huge contributor.


Our intention in starting the hike at 3 am was to reach the top by sunrise. As you may gather from the following picture, sunrise came and we were no where near our destination. In fact, in our 5 hours hiking, we never even came close to approaching our destination. Instead we followed behind this "experienced" Timp hiker and ended up winding our way around the mountain instead of up it.

On the bright side, it was a very scenic journey back to the parking lot.

On the down side, it was pretty exhausting after very little sleep. This was the beginning of a bunch of weird side effects Ashlee started experiencing on our journey home. For example: her hands swelled up to about twice their normal size and she proceeded to attempt hitch hiking with her giant thumb as she shouted "These are not my real hands!"We did not make it to the top of mount Timpanogos, that's for certain. We did, however, spend some of the most entertaining 5 hours of my life attempting the journey. And, as Miley Cyrus teaches us, "Ain't about how fast you get there, Ain't about what's waiting on the other side, it's the climb!" By this standard, I'd rate our adventure a total success.

- Cooh

Swedish Fish

After spending a few hours crammed in the back of a truck we had finally arrived in Fish Lake and were free to frolic along the shoreline. Nikki's sad excuse for a tent. Just kidding Nikki, it's an awesome tent. Once you spend a couple hours "fixing" the broken poles and creatively arranging the poles that don't fit. You better believe some s'more action went down before putting this baby to use.

Early in the morning the sky decided to sprinkle some rain down on us. It wouldn't have been a huge deal except that the top of our tent was made out of netting and we were missing the rain cover. Good times...

A little groggy from our lack of sleep, we began our day of fishing with one dragging the pole into the water and Matt jumping in after it. We started to reel it in but the fish broke the hook off the line and swam away.

No worries, only moments later I caught our 2nd fish!
We let the fish suffer just a little bit longer so we could get a good group shot. Afterward, as I watched it swim away, I realized what a sick, sick sport fishing is when you have no intention of eating it.

It was at that point when we decided the only fish we would be eating that day were the Swedish kind.
- Cooh

Cougar Rite of Passage

I reached my goal of graduating BYU without ever hiking the Y so it was finally time to hike the Y! Ya, actually that was never my goal but when I told people I had never done it they were so appalled that I had to make it seem like I had a good reason.
We made it up two switch backs and stopped to see the view. And take a breather...but mostly to see the view. Sadly, the view didn't change much from this point.
We hiked the heck out of that Y.
The best part of the hike was on our way back down when I almost stepped on this snake! I pointed it out to Nikki and she momentarily panicked before yelling "Everybody, there's a snake! Come see it!"
So, with the Y hike checked off our list, we're both now officially cougars.

-Cooh

Indoor S'mores.

This here is a little thing we like to call Urban Camping.I have no better explanation for the following picture than, "Chaaase..."
Freaking indoor s'mores will be the death of us. No seriously, one day we're all going into a sugar induced comas after binging on these evil little treats.
No coma yet, we all rose early the next morning to this breathtaking view.
For the next week people kept asking us if we saw the tent out in the quad. Uh...tent? What tent?

- Cooh

"Later Barbies"

Shortly after my graduation I took my roommates back home with me for a little tour of southern (and central) California.

Day 1 of our California getaway --- FRESNO ZOO! I know what you're thinking...why of all places in California would I drag my roommates 2 hours North to Fresno?

Well, aside from the obvious incentive of this great photo op by the "Fresno Chaffee Zoo," my sister Michelle and her family live there.There are two elephants in featured in this picture. Figure it out.Check out the wing span on this guy...(insert growling sound).
This is back at my sister's place where we watched "Wow Wow Wubsy" at least three times.

"If you fall on your rear, don't shed a tear, just ask for a little help." - a very profound lesson we learned from Wubsy the bunny
Day 2 --- SANTA MONICA!!!

While lying out on the beach in our swimsuits, enjoying the warmth that Provo had been depriving us for the last 6 months, a few emo teenagers fully dressed in their skinny jeans and sweatshirts shouted "Later Barbies" as they went walking past. Back off emotionally overcharged teenagers, it's not everyday we're surrounded by sand and sunshine!
Ashlee likes to do wardrobe changes mid-day. It makes her feel like a celebrity.
Day 3 --- DISNEYLAND!!!
Sadly, after about 6 attempts at this, this is the best we could come up with.
This was at some Innoventions exhibit Ashlee somehow convinced us to check out. The weird exhibit led to boredom and boredom led to riding the cannon bed like a bull. It was all fun and games until one of the workers walked in.
DAY 4 (part 1) --- NEWPORT BEACH!
It was a little chilly, but we didn't let that get us down.
Day 4 (part 2) --- CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE!!!
Just enjoying the view. And so should you.
Day 5 (part 1) --- HOLLYWOOD

Here we were trying to imitate the Hooters worker in the window who's butt was hanging out for all the world to see.

Please note the "Kids Eat Free all day Sunday" sign. What they fail to mention is that there is actually a hidden fee of your child's virtue.
This is where our - not looking at the camera after asking strangers take your picture - game started. So much more entertaining than regular pictures.
Day 5 (part 2) --- BEVERLY HILLS! I promised Ashlee palm trees and I always come through (tenfold) on my promises.
A visit to Beverly Hills means a visit to Sprinkles cupcake. I'm surprised we were patient enough to snap a picture before biting in.
Day 5 (part 3) --- DODGER GAME!!! It wouldn't be a tour of LA without a stop at Dodger's Stadium.

And it wouldn't be a dodger game without tickets in the left pavilion with all the heckling cholos that you bought off scalpers. My favorite line I heard shouted at the outfielders that night... "Your sex life is boring!" I give the guy points for creativity and boldness.
Sadly our departure from Dodger stadium marked our departure from sunny California. The next morning it was back to Provo. If it weren't for Ra Sushi to look forward to on the drive home, I'm not sure we would have ever left that paradise.

- Cooh