American Pride

This last Friday,Drew and I took the kids to a ceremony honoring the Veterans of the Greater Long Beach area. It was a touching tribute to the wonderful, giving, and brave men and women who served and are serving in the US military. We heard some amazing stories of bravery, strength, faith, and determination. There was art work by children in the area and memorabilia displayed, Patriotic music, civic leaders, a keynote speaker, and a reception. I'm really glad the kids got to hear and see what Veterans Day means instead of it just being a day off of school.


WE are very proud to recognize our Fathers as Veterans of the United States Military. My dad, David Hardey, served in the United States Army as a helicopter mechanic in the 101st airborn division during the Vietnam War. He served from 1968-1971. Drews dad, Bob Ashcraft, served in the United States Navy as a medic during the Korean War. He served from Jan. 1951 - Nov. 1954. Truely, a force to be reckoned with.

Certificates they recieved

Don't be scared... It's just us

I just love halloween.I love decorating the house, the costumes, and the spooky stories that go along with halloween. As for the halloween night rush to get homework done, get costumes on, make-up done, eat, trick-or-treat, get home, and try to get kids in bed at a reasonable time because there's school in the morning, is not the highlight for me. Anyways, spending the evening watching the kids have so much fun makes it almost worth it.
Devyn quit pretty early on. How many scary costumes does it take to make a 4 year old stop asking for candy? Answer 3. She went back with Drew to Nana and Papas to hide in the corner. She sure was a cute Miney Mouse though.


Peyton LOVED trick-or-treating. She walked to almost every house and left each doorstep with a "BYE" and blowing a kiss. We call her monkey girl so this costume was perfect for her.


Rylee (like me) loves to dress up for halloween. She had fun walking Peyton and Tabitha to the houses. She definatly is a lot of help.


Cassidy, Hudson and Camryn the spookiest spooks around. I got to do their make-up and think they turned out pretty well. Especially since I can bearly draw a stick figure. Camryn looked great as she glided across the sidewalk on her heelys. She looked like she was floating.


Then of coarse there's us.


We were greeted at the door by this fun gorilla. The kids favorite costume of the night. They giggled for quite a few houses after that surprise.

Hope you all had a Spooktacular Halloween!

What color crayon am I?

You Are a Blue Crayon

Your world is colored in calm, understated, deep colors. You are a loyal person, and the truest friend anyone could hope to find. On the inside, you tend to be emotional and even a bit moody. However, you know that people depend on you. So you put on a strong front. Your color wheel opposite is orange. Orange people may be opinionated, but you feel they lack the depth to truly understand what they're saying.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Try the test and see if it matches you. Go to blogthings.com and search What color crayon are you?

Thunder and Lightening Strike the Ashcraft Home

We were deeply saddened this past week due to the lose of Linus ( our pet tortoise). He had been sick for quite awhile but actually lived longer than we expected. The kids ,especially Camryn, are really going to miss him.
We really loved having a tortoise for a pet and hoped we might be able to find another one. Due to the fact that they are only born between Sept. and Oct. and usually have a waiting list, we were doubtful we would find one this year.
Fortunately, we got very lucky and not only found one but two Sulcata Tortoises (AKA African Spurred Tortoise). They are more durable than the Cal. Desert Tortoise Linus was. They are four weeks old right now and can live up to 100 years. Camryn and Hudson have already called dibs on them .
During family home evening last night, we had a family vote to decide their names. After a lot of deliberation and voting to eliminate the runner-ups, they were named Lightening and Thunder by a 5-2 vote. The runner-up names were King and Kong, Sparky and Scout, and my favorite Frank and Beans.
Here are some pictures to show you how small they are right now. It's hard to believe they can get up to three feet in diameter.

Lightening sitting on Devyns hand (4 years old) and next to a quarter


Next to a small apple.


Devyn in the front yard with Thunder


They have to live indoors the first 2 years. They have a large 50x18 inch aquarium that we keep at 90-100 degrees. They do enjoy going on a field trip with Camryn to the front yard for their 20-30 minutes of sunlight each day.

We LOVE the new additions to our family.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Camryn asked at the beginning of the summer if she could cut her hair short like her cousin Sabrina. She was tired of long hair and all the brushing it involved. Rylee has been growing her hair out to donate to Locks of Love for a second time. When Camryn said she wanted to cut it, we thought she might also have enough to donate.(10 inches is the min. length accepted). I measured her hair and 10 inches would have put her hair at about her ears. A little shorter than she wanted. Rylee and I talked to her about what Locks of Love was and how they make wigs for kids who have lost their hair from cancer. I told her if she wanted to wait 'till the end of summer, her hair might be long enough to donate and still be the length she wanted. She was excited to donate and looked forward to it all summer. The day finally came and I took her to Cool Cuts 4 Kids. They do the paperwork and send off the hair for you. So much easier than doing it myself like I did with Rylee. Here are some pictures of her day.

Camryn is so excited


She gets a little pampering


The measuring, looks like there's enough


11 inches ready to give


Isn't she so cute? Some child will have a beautiful wig made from this hair.I'm so proud of her for making the choice to help some else. I think she will always remember this day.

New Camara Fun

I just love to take pictures!It is my creative outlet.I just wish I was as good about putting them in a scrapebook. But, ever since I let my camara fly out the window of the car, on our way to Taras wedding reception,I've been a little on edge.Well,Sat.we bought a new camara.YEA! After doing my research,we decided to go with the Fuji S700.I LOVE IT! Of course as soon as we walked in the door I had it opened,batteries in,and back out the door to try all the different settings.Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day.p.s.in case you can't tell, my favorite pictures to take are of expressions ( happy,sad,silly,angry,etc.)
Peyton loves playing in the dirt.

Camryn always excited about her picture taken.

I love this picture.Hudson looks a little evil with that tooth missing and squinty eyes but the maturity in his face shows he's not a little boy anymore.

Here's cousin Charlee.She's not quite sure what to make of her crazy cousins.

Papa Bob at his birthday dinner.Happy Birthday

Peyton finally likes being in her carseat.

A box can be sooooo fun.Especially with friends.

I think this picture is so cute even if there is dry ice-cream on her face.


As you can see,the pictures aren't perfect but they're taken with my own camara.I look forward to a lot more fun as I learn all the tricks of the camara.

Me and my" Diamond Stud"

I can't believe Drew and I have been married for over 15 years now.We were married April 18,1992 in the Los Angeles Temple.We have been very lucky to have stayed here in Long Beach all 15 years of our marriage.


We both grew up here in L.B..Drew graduating from Millikan High School and myself graduating from Lakewood High School(rival schools).We both attended church at the same building but different wards for a while as teens.We had some mutual friends(and he dated a couple of my friends) as teenagers but no interest in each other.He probably didn't even know my name.I was much quieter back then and he was one of the more popular boys.


Drew served a mission for our church from 1989-1991.He served in the Michigan,Detriot Mission.While he was on his mission,I grew up and he noticed when he came home.It only took a couple of months of him being home from his mission to ask me out and the rest is history.







I had high hopes for Drew as a husband and father when we got married.I am so lucky he not only has met them,he has surpassed them in many ways.He works very hard at his job to provide for us.Which allows me the wonderful blessing of staying home with our kids.He currently is working for Advanced Engine Management(AEM)as a Distribution Manager.He really enjoys his job and the people he works with.





He is a great dad.The kids love him so much.He's been keeping busy being an assistant soccer coach,scorekeeper for little league baseball,and attending golf matches when ever possible.He gives the baths,does the laundry,and tucks the kids in at night.He truly enjoys being with them.





After 2 ACL surgeries, his basketball and volleyball days are behind him.His recovery is moving along well but slowly.He still enjoys playing softball and is taking advantage of the slower pace by working on his golf game and participating in a charity golf tournament.
My life definatly "sparkles" brighter because of the man,husband,and father he is.He's my best friend and I love him so much.