Monday, December 31, 2007

The New year

As I sit here and wait for it to change to the year 2008 I am looking back on this year & feel blessed for all that has happened to me.
*I have the best family in the world, extended & our little growing family. My husband is so amazing & he works so hard to provide for us. We are so blessed to have the time & the money to be able to hang out together. I am also so amazed as I look at out life when we started this family 2 years ago... I never could have imagined the joy that I would find in Brok's little laughs or how much more I have fallen in love with Kevin since he was born. He is the greatest dad & he loves him so much. The look on Brok's face when he sees us makes everything I went through so worth it!!! He is a blessing! I am also grateful that I have some of the best parents ever. They taught me how to be the wife & mother that I am today. Mom, you are one of my heros. I don't know how you ever did it with all of us at once!!! You are a great support to me & I am grateful for that. I also have the greatest siblings! I never knew that my brothers & I would ever get along so well! & Tash, well who knew that we would be so close? Brooke, you are always there to help with Brok & you are such a great aunt even though you didn't want a nephew!!! :)
*I have some of the greatest friends in the world. I never see half of them anymore as I live so far away but I know that when I need to, I generally can call anyone up and talk to them! Thanks you guys for supporting me & allowing me to be the person that I am! Camille, you have been such a good friend from the day that I met you! I know that we will always be friends! You are all such great examples to me!!!
*I am blessed to have found the perfect job for me right now. My boys are the cutest kids & are so much fun! I love working with them. They make me smile! Brok loves them too & I am grateful that She found me! We are blessed that we get to go to work together! Also that Kevin gets to come hang out with us!!!
*Pets... who knew that they could be the greatest companions!!! Actually, I love my dogs, they are so cute & loving.
I am so looking forward to the joys that this year will bring our family!!! Brok's 1st birthday & all the milestones he will accomplish (hopefully) & all the fun we will have. We are also going to be purchasing our first home, doing the landscaping in our backyard & actually staying in one place long enough to make friends that we won't have to leave!!!
This year has definately been one of new experiences & adventures (moving across the country with 2 dogs & a 3 month old in only my Ford Focus!!!) and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Those of you that have touched my life this year, wether briefly or for greater amounts of time, I thank you!!!
I hope next year can keep up with this year! Happy new YEar!!!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Christmas with the family

Since neither Kevin nor I really cared too much, we just took Brok to see Santa (he's really not an attached Child) so that when he was older, he would have pictures. The little girl in front of us was probably close to his age & she was screaming her head off, Brok got up there and started laughing. We got some really good pictures of him & the professional ones they took he is staring right at us all cool and chill with a giant smirk on his face. We're waiting for the day when he decides strangers aren't good.
We have a tradition in our little family of driving a lot during Christmas. Actually, since Kevin's brithday is on Christmas eve and his family all has their own families, we celebrate with his family on Christmas eve & late that night, we drive to my parents home in Las Vegas to spend Christmas morning with them since it's fun to be around everyone who still believes in Santa. This year we had even more excitement because Kevin's nephew (he's 2 years older than Kevin) and his wife/kids were there. Everyone of Kevin's family was there minus one nephew who couldn't make it. We never got a family picture but it was fun for me to meet & hang out with everyone. Here are some pictures of everyone. Of course Brok got spoiled but the look on his face was so much fun! While walking down the stairs to see the tree for the first time, his face just lit up and it was almost as if he knew that was what he was supposed to do!!! he is a character! We got to talk to my brother who is on a mission in honduras as well, he comes home in June!!!
We had so much fun with all our family & can't wait til next year when he understands what is going on rather than us having to open his presents for him!!! I hope everyone had as good of a holiday as we did!

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Home & Tired!

We got home Christmas night around midnight from a crazy go go go weekend with family. It was so good to see everyone! After getting home so late we had to open gifts to each other still (we had opened some earlier in the week before leaving) and guess what? I got an mp3 player which is what i wanted this year & kevin got a playstation 2 which is what he wanted. Brok got so many gifts we could hardly fit them in the car on the way home & since getting home I have had to rearrange his play room! but what can you do!!! he's baby one & everytime we see something we like, we get it! But needless to say, our house was a disaster & is just barely being cleaned up! I spent a good part of the day yesterday getting everything taken care of around the house including moving around furniture in our spare room, cleaning both brok & his play rooms, organizing our living room & all kinds of other stuff. But ...
TODAY WE FINALLY GOT INTERNET @ HOME!!!!

we have been using our phones, the internet at the base & every time we go home everyone else's internet. plus we figured out that we get like 20 channels through our tv including all the local channels so now we are not disconnected from the world!!! yeah!!!

I hope you all had a great Christmas & are looking forward to a great new year!!! We love you all!

Ashley, Kevin & Brok

Saturday, December 22, 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BEALS!!!

Hello Family & Friends!!!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Beal Family!!! Hopefully this year has been as good to you as it has to us! And that the next year will bring even more happiness & joy!
We started this year with a move to a new house in St George, UT and that was the beginning of a year of changes!
In February we made possibly the biggest decision of our married life by deciding to join the United States Air Force. I say we when actually Kevin joined however everyone knows the hardest job in the Air Force is being a wife. He flew to Salt Lake City, UT around the end of February and was first sworn in then as well as receiving his job of aircraft maintenance. From that decision, our life has never been the same.
We were thrilled last year to find out we were having a baby & on Friday, March 23, 2007 a beautiful, and healthy baby boy Brok Grant Beal was born at 3:23am at a hefty 8lbs 10oz. After a short stint in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) for low blood sugar and jaundice, he was brought home three days later. Since that little bump in the road, he has never stopped progressing. Currently he is long and skinny being almost 32in long. He has a great personality and we learn something new about him everyday! He cut his first tooth & learned to sit up the same week and is now ready to take off walking!
Kevin has had a busy year this year but didn’t leave for Basic Training until May 8th so he was here for 6 weeks of Brok’s life before leaving. He endured 6 weeks of harsh training in San Antonio Texas (the longest away from home he’d ever been) and was then sent to Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, TX for the first part of his technical training as an F-16 crew chief. Basically he has to know everything about the aircraft including all the systems & how they work because he has to know when something malfunctions. He is responsible for inspecting the aircraft before & after flight & if something happens that is a malfunction he needs to know it. Talk about stress! Actually he loves it. Brok & I joined him there in TX but he was only allowed to stay with us on weekends though we did get to see him during the week too. He did well while he was there receiving Top Dawg (student of the month), Fit to Fight (excellence in physical fitness), and an award for having a 97%average the whole time he was there. From TX we made the drive & move to our new home in a little town outside of Phoenix, AZ called Buckeye (we do not live on base). He is stationed at Luke AFB. He recently completed the rest of his training and is now working basically a full time job. He will tell you that it is not what he imagined he’d do but it is nice that he will have a the same job for at least the next 6 years with the possibility to re-enlist if desired (not to mention that it’s every little boys dream to be around these fighter jets).
As for me… well aside from the fact that I had a baby, spent 6 weeks of the year with only 4 calls & 2 letters from my husband, moved away from all friends & family for 6 months & am now finally settling down, my life is pretty boring… Actually, I have made some great Air Force wife friends who are now all over the country and have enjoyed enhancing my relationship with Kevin & Brok. I enjoyed staying at home with Brok while in UT & TX but since moving here decided to get out & do something so I currently nanny for a wonderful family of 3 rambunctious boys aged from 5years-18months. Brok gets to come with me & he absolutely loves it & they love him. I am doing well & love our life.
I can’t forget to add something about the dogs; they would feel left out J Patches is her same crazy self (for those of you who don’t know she is a small lab mix about 4 years old) enjoying the fact that she now has a yard & room to run. (We can stand at the back door & throw a Frisbee to the front door & she can run full speed & catch it.) Zumi (an almost 2yr old mini pincher) is also enjoying his new home; he is very calm & seems to know that we are here for a while.
Have a great new year & enjoy your holidays!
Love, Kevin, Ashley & Brok +Patches & Zumi

oh my life is so crazy!!!

Well it has been two weeks since I posted last which is an indication of my life!!! We are back home for christmas & are excited. for those of you who i don't have an address for I will post our christmas letter & a picture... Not a cute photo card like some others but hopefully our picture will turn out good!!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Friday, December 7, 2007

ok so we were really bored

We had so much fun this weekend staying with our friends the Rexes & we were all hanging out last night and we found this site that we can make our selves an elf so MERRY CHRISTMAS.... click on the link it is so funny!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1234376315

Monday, December 3, 2007

I got a new coffee table!!

So we went to the RC Willey clearance center tonight to look for a nicer couch for our huge living room only to spend 2 hours putting together pieces to make a cool couch we ended up not being able to afford!!! but my wonderful husband did find us the coolest coffee table. it's pie piece shaped but the best part is that the top lifts to perfect height for eating or writng or whatever!!! and the best part was that we had found a newer one that was super expensive but ours was better quality & 70% off!!! Yeah


We get to go home tomorrow!!! (ok so really st george is our home even though i only really lived there for 4 years, hey it was longer than i lived in vegas!)

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Things you may or may not know about me (us)

1. We only dated for 2 weeks before we decided to get married & then it was only 3 or 4 months til we actually got married. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way

2. We love going out & riding 4-wheelers or motorcycles. We actually owned a 4-wheeler but due to some unfortunate events last year, (a little 1 yr old smashed it into the house) it got totalled & taken :( but we do have a bullet bike that we love to ride!

3. I go to bed early & have a really hard time staying up late but also can't get up early!!!!

4. I love hot wings!!! I could eat them all the time!!! I wish I could make them becasue I would probably save a lot of money!

5. I am pretty much blind in my left eye, I can't see more than outlines & colors with my right eye closed. but my right eye is 20/20.

6. Kevin is an avid mountain biker, or used to be before he joined the USAF. Downhill, crazy crashes & all.



I don't have anyone to tag except camille.

Home At Last

We are finally graduated & in Las Vegas visiting my family for a few days before heading home to St George. It has been a very busy time for us & each day holds something new so it is nice to just be able to sit down & relax & not have anything to do!!!

For all you up in St George!!! Can't wait to see you!!!