October Wrap-Up

Okay, I haven't posted here since the Christmas card from last year, and my next post will probably be the next Christmas card. Oh well! Mostly I just wanted to share stuff from October because this year our October was jam-packed.

At the beginning on the month we flew out to to Orlando, FL to visit Disney World and Universal for Josh's sister's quinceañera. It was a whirlwind trip with amazing memories and fun family time!

Our flight out was cancelled last minute so long story short, we ended up flying first class on a different flight instead. It was incredible and the twins lived their best life!

After getting to Orlando, the next day we spend with Josh's dad. That included Chuck-E-Cheese which the twins loved.

Day 2 was Disney World, most of which we spent in the Magic Kingdom. We had the twins watch a bunch of classic Disney movies to prepare, which they ended up loving, and which ended up making the park extra fun because of all the things they now recognized!

The twins loved taking the ferry from the parking lot to the park!

The main features at the entrance had legit lines for taking pictures, so we just snapped one off to the side when we got in the park.

So fun to see the castle, and even more fun that we were there during the 50th Anniversary celebration!

This one was a smaller roller coaster for kids, but it was surprisingly rough. We convinced them to try Space Mountain later, but that was even worse. Lauren ended up loving it anyway, but Jacob cried the whole time. We didn't make him try any other roller coasters after that.

This was more of a gentle, see all around the park ride, and it was more fun than I was expecting!

Lauren really wanted to see some Disney characters while we were in the park, which we weren't sure whether that would happen and we weren't about to wait for a meet-and-greet. Thankfully we stumbled upon the Festival of Fantasy Parade and we got to see lots characters!

We let the twins each pick out a hat or pair of ears, and they settled on these ones. So cute!

After spending most of the day in Magic Kingdom, we had to stop in Hollywood Studios to visit the Star Wars attractions.

It was amazing to see the Millennium Falcon and just the sites around the area!

Had to snap a pick of Josh and the twins all in their Mandalorian/Baby Yoda shirts once we got to the Star Wars stuff!

Blurry, but I had to take a quick picture of us in the queue for the Smuggler's run!

Day 3 was spent at Universal, which we split between the Universal Studios park and Islands of Adventure. It was an extra special visit for me and Josh because Harry Potter World was where we went for our honeymoon. We've talked about going back for our 10-year anniversary (which is next year), especially because they have since added Diagon Alley and we've been dying to go. It's really different spending the time there with kids, but it was still amazing to be there! Plus the twins are now really into Harry Potter after watching the first movie before the trip.

The obligatory photo of the Gringotts dragon breathing fire, because it's legitimately really cool.

I believe this was in line for the Transformers ride. It was a fun one.

We happened upon an appearance by Bumblebee not long afterwards, too!

The twins also got to take a photo with a Minion after the Minions ride!

The twins each picked out an interactive wand, and the interactive spots can be tricky but we got things to work a couple of times.

Hogwarts ♥

The twins had a blast during the trip and they got totally spoiled too. It's exhausting going to theme parks with small kids, but so worth it. And they're at just the right age for it too. ♥

After the trip was Josh's birthday, then we squeezed in a visit to my parents, then toward the end of the month was the twins' birthday. Josh's mom was able to visit us for a couple days right around their birthday, and they even got to stay in the hotel with her!

For their birthday this year we took them to the aquarium's penguin encounter, where you get to see the penguins up close and feed them. They both love penguins (especially Jacob) and it was such a fun surprise for them! (I only wished we could've pet them, but it wasn't allowed :)

Feeding the penguins went by really quickly but was really fun.

After they ate, we just got to hang out and watch them while they came in and out of the room and played around. They were so cute!

I still can't believe they're 7, but time marches on ♥

Of course after their birthday comes Halloween, and to finish out the month, we visited Cornbelly's on November 1st. October was busy, but full of good stuff. :)

Love,

Ashley

Roth Family Christmas Letter 2021

♦ Happy New Year ♦

I meant to get this done as a Christmas letter but I didn't have the mental energy until now, so let's just call it a New Year letter! 2021 was one heck of a year. It was another particularly rough year for our family, but there was definitely good in there too. Here is the big stuff.

As most of you know, we were going through fertility treatments including IUI and IVF that ultimately led to a dead end, and we eventually decided this year to close that part of our journey. It was a heartbreaking decision, but one we feel comfortable with. We remain grateful beyond words for having the twins before facing infertility as well as for the incredible love and support that we experienced.

We have also had a number of big medical events this year. The biggest was Josh having a seizure. It was of course a big ordeal and I'm so grateful that we were around family at the time. He is back on seizure meds now and things seem to be going fine, so hopefully that remains the case! He also had a particularly bad kidney stone that resulted in multiple emergency room visits as well as surgery.

In our more daily lives our trials range from mental health struggles to financial strain to parenting and general life stuff. Now let's move on to the good stuff!

Josh got a new job this year doing Amazon delivery. It's very physical and sometimes that really manifests (knees for sure), but it's been a good job so far. it's straightforward and he gets to do his thing as long as the work gets done. He also built a new computer from scratch for the first time. Ashley got a new at-home job as a web rater. It's more intensive than her other at-home work, but it's been a great addition. She also stepped down from being a moderator for the Utah Chapter of Mormon Women for Ethical Government for now.

Lauren and Jacob started Kindergarten this year, and they are crushing it. They are thriving academically and socially, they have made lots of friends, and their favorite part of school is the bus ride. I put them in the same class for now, because I can't imagine them being apart, but maybe that will change over the years.

Lauren loves unicorns, pink, purple, turquoise, and anything sparkly. She is a friend to everyone and is a natural leader in that she is not afraid to direct people when playing games and things - sometimes that translates to bossy when she's coming on especially strong, but I hope she never loses that spark.

Jacob loves red, orange, and yellow because those are "lava colors", and also rainbow. He is also obsessed with penguins as well as anything cute - I don't think I've met someone who loves cute things more than he does. He is so sweet and always tries to cheer people up, and is as curious about the world as ever.

We've felt so much love and support in our lives this year. We are especially grateful for the love and comfort we find in Christ. We love you all dearly, and wish you the best year available to you. ♥

First Day of School

The twins had their first ever first day of school today. I can't believe they're in Kindergarten already. It feels like a whole new phase of parenthood to have kids in school. My thoughts on all of this are probably a bit disjointed, so bear with me ;)

I had hoped that this school year would be normal compared to last year, and it is a bit, but with everything how it is right now we are still sending them to school with masks. They don't love it but thankfully we have some fun ones for them to wear, and their teacher will help them if they have trouble putting them on or anything. I wish the pandemic wasn't the way it is, but until then, we are doing our best with the situation.

They've been so excited to start school, especially after meeting their teacher and seeing their classroom. Recently it's been "x more tomorrows until school!" every day. I had them start with being in the same class together in Kindergarten, and we'll see how things progress from there for if/when they eventually do separate. It's been comforting to know that they'll have each other for now.

Although honestly, I have nothing to worry about. They're old for their grade, they're smart kids, they're good at listening to teachers, and they make friends so fast. They're going to be fine. I know that.

But they're also my babies. Thinking of them riding the bus, going to school, and ultimately starting a new phase of life where they gradually rely on me less and have to figure things out for themselves, it's a lot. I don't know what will be too new, hard, or scary to them. And this might sound dramatic, but I also know that in a way this is the beginning of the end. Over the years they will come to rely on themselves and their friends and need me less. That's what we want, but it's still a lot. (And I can't help thinking of the song There Goes My Life by Kenny Chesney, give it a listen if you feel like crying)

I was excited to take the typical first day of school pictures though! I can't wait to see how they progress through the years.

She wanted to take a picture like this too, and she added Movie Maker to her dream jobs :)

Sending them off on the bus this morning was really cute. Their backpacks are at least half the size of their bodies. And they already have some friends in their class. They got to play with a friend for a bit while waiting for the bus, and then when they were getting on they all held hands. I can't handle that amount of cuteness!!

It's also a complicated feeling in other ways, sending them off to their first day of school. I'm reminded that that's a milestone we never got to have with Matthew. And I always thought I'd have other sibling(s) in tow as we sent them off and welcomed them home, that they'd be so excited to see them and that I would get more individual time with the younger one(s) in the meantime. Of course none of that came to be.

Instead, this is our first *and* last time sending kids to school for the first time. It's mostly sweet, but still bittersweet.

Ultimately though, I'm excited for the twins and excited to see them keep learning and growing. These kids, you guys. They are my heart. ♥

Love,
Ashley

Goodbye 2017

As the year ends and we move into 2018, I just hope that it's a better year for us.

As I stated in a Facebook post today:

"What's on my mind this New Year's Eve?

It's been a long year. And a hard year. There will always be hard things in every year, but... man this year felt rough. I'm definitely in the camps of "Good riddance 2017" and "2018 NEEDS to be a better year or I can't take it."

Sometimes it's hard for me not to dwell on the negatives and feel jealous of others or sorry for myself, but that's one of the things I'm working on. Being grateful for the good things. Finding happy things amidst the hard.

Because there ARE happy things.

Some of the most obvious happy things in my life are, of course, our twins. They take an awful lot of our energy and patience, but at the end of the day, they are the ones that keep me going. I mean... look at those faces.

Anyway, however your year has been, whatever you're looking forward to in the new year, I hope it's a good one. That's my hope for myself, for my family, and for everyone."


With that being said, I would like to share recent pictures of our lives to close up the year.

We visited my sister and brother-in-law (Chanelle and Brooks) in Idaho for Thanksgiving:

We went and saw the Christmas lights in Downtown Provo:

I got a major hair cut:

We saw a musical of A Christmas Carol:

We played in the first decent snow of the year (giving us a white Christmas!):

And enjoyed these cute faces:

And with that, I'm out! Goodbye 2017, make way for 2018!

Love,
Ashley

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