Troy on his first day of 2nd grade.

Missing his two front teeth :)

Troy got his two EXTRA front teeth pulled by Dr. Sayre. Troy did great! We were a but nervous at first since he was going to get nitrosoxide. He was hilarious and saying the funniest things. The procedure lasted about 20 minutes, Dr. Sayre told Troy he put the teeth to sleep and then they fell out :) Troy got $5 from the toothfairy!!

Jesselle, Jesselle, Jesselle...

Jesselle is a very outgoing little 4 year old!! She starts preschool in about three weeks and we are excited and scared at the same time! Jess is doing better with her attitude but like every other 4 year old has her moments. She is very loving and protective of Troy, it is so sweet but then she will turn around and smack him, we are working on that...uhh..W hope and pray she learns self respect and self control in preschool, Troy did amazing in preschool and we hope the same for little miss Jesselle!!!

First Annual Crane-Duneman-Jenness Weekend Camping Trip

We went camping at Hebgen Lake near West Yellowstone with the Dunemans and Jenness Family. The kids love Libbey, Brody, and Baby Chase!! Below is Brody and Jess they are future husband and wife. Brody is always looking out for Jess and gives her little gifts when he sees her. She cherishes every gift he gives her :)! Here is Brody, Jen, Collin, and Chase getting ready to tube...

Danny and the kids tubing...

Ash and Ash

Jesselle, Troy, Brody, and Libbey

4th of July in Ennis

We went to Ennis fo the fourth of July this year and had an amazing time as usual! My unlce George has created a little town called Rock Bottom. Rock Bottom has a Mayors house, a jail, a saloon called Bottoms Up, a barn, and good ole main street where everyone parks their ATV's. The kids love running free and hanginf out with their SUPER COOL couzins below is Connor. Troy looks up to Connor and Connor is very good about having a little shadow all weekend.

We went to the Ennis Parade and the Ennis car show. The owner of this car was nice enough to let the kids sit in the car:)

Here is the jail where we stay at Rock Bottom. The jail has three twin beds and a queen bed up in the loft. It is really cozy!!

Jesselle's 1st Recital

Jesselle in her foam curlers...the first day I put her make up on before I took her rollers out...bad idea! She cried and her eye make up ran all over her cheeks and I had to take it all off and start over. It was a VERY long week but after the recital on Saturday night was so cute and she had so much fun!

Jesselle's 1st Photo Shoot

Family Portait

Troy and Jesselle made it to the top of the "M" today!

Jesselle got tired about half way, so Danny had to carry her about a quarter of the time. I told her we were hiking to the "M", "M" like Mickey Mouse. She was then convinced Mickey Mouse was at the top. She told every passerby that we were going to see Mickey Mouse, so funny!They have been getting along very well lately, they are the best of friends :)
Troy asked where Walmart was and Danny was pointing it out, so cute

If was a great day the kids had so much fun, they didn't want to leave the top when it was time to head down. We are going to try to go every Saturday this summer, I am excited, it is ALMOST summer!

Troy lost his 3rd tooth the other day!! Above is his "before" picture and below is clearly his "after". About a month ago we discovered a few teeth coming in behind his two front babay teeth, we took his to our dentist Dr. Naki (Danny's cousin) and he took x-rays and found that Troy has a bunch of extra teeth. We are not sure on the actual number but it is looking like 5ish. We have an orthodontist appointment next week and we will find out then when and if Troy will be getting braces. Fun STUFF! We enjoyed the one nice day last week at the park, Troy is now a professional monkey bar crosser, he has me time him as he goes through his very own obstacle course :)

We went to the Bozeman Children's Museum and Jesselle decided she was going to be a doctor. I asked her if she wants to be a doctor for animals or people and she said people. She was very into acting like a doctor and concentrated while listening to Mr. Bear's heart. So cute!

Jesselle is becoming such a gorgeous little girl. She got her first "modeling" job for my friend Anna, who makes and sells these cute hats and flowers. Jesselle did amazing at the "photo shoot". We will see...she definately has the spunk and determination to get what she wants! We have been doing better with her discipline. Troy spoiled us when he was little, he was such a well behaved little boy. Danny and I are learning as we go, we hope to get the hang of it before she gets into Kindergarten in a year and a half.

Teaching Degree Update :)

I am in my last week of my 3rd class with the University of Phoenix. I have all A's so far and I am really proud of myself. I have really enjoyed all of my classes and I love that it is online! I only do school work about 10 hours a week and I write 2-3 papers a week, which I also love very much. I think I am thriving because I have very bad test anxiety, I just want to throw up thinking of it! The perk about online college is that there are few tests and lots of papers to write. I have to take my Praxis exam in November and I have already started studying. Since I know I am going to be tested, I have had the hardest time retaining the info I have read, so annoying!

Easter

Everything has been so great the past two weeks!

I was offered a manager position with a new company called Pink Papaya. Pink Papaya is a company that offers pampering parties using botanically based products including Rejuvenating Aromatherapy, Indulgent Bath and Body, Inspirational Jewelry, and the COLOR line, which is high performance and mineral cosmetics. I have enjoyed growing my team and I have had great response with my new company, plus I am working with a few of my favorite friends from The Body Shop. My website is:www.pinkpapayaparties.com/ashleycrane, please let me know what you think. I am so excited to see where my new adventure will take us!!
Troy is doing amazing in school this quarter, he is now reading fluently and is getting 100% on his spelling tests weekly. We are so proud of him. Jesselle is doing great with her letters she is getting better at writing actual words and not just her name:) Danny was offered the opportunity to drum with our worship team at church and last week was his first week drumming both services and he did AMAZING! This makes me adore him even more!
We are loving the sunny weather while it lasts by walking to pick Troy up from school then walking to the park. Summer is almost here and we are all thrilled!!

Waiting for that door that everyone keeps talking about to OPEN!!

We found out last week that Danny may or may not be laid off on May 1st! The Yellowstone Club claimed bankruptcy and Danny is one of only a handful of employees left on the mountain. Thank God it keeps snowing! Danny is optimistic about the whole situation, I am a little more cautious, the club is not looking out for ANY of their employees, I just don't want him to get burned AGAIN!
This Monday I got an email from The Body Shop saying they are going to eliminate the at home division as of April 30Th of this year. April is my 3 year anniversary with TBSAH and I am devastated! I got fired from a job I thought I had full control over! The company let go of 10,000 consultants! TBSAH is my passion and I cannot imagine my life without the product, the values, or the friendships I have acquired! It is the end of a ERA...
Today, I got a call from one of our HOA officers. One of my neighbors turned me in for babysitting my friend's children. Claiming I have a licensed daycare facility in my home. We have a meeting on Monday night to see if I am still allowed to watch my friend's children in my OWN home! Apparently it is in the covenants...Please LORD bring us a buyer for our condo...
On top of all that, the lies and sabotage continue, you know who you are, I will not name any names, but I will say I pray for you every night, I pray that you find your way, and I pray that one day you will see how your actions effect others.

7 going on 17!!

Troy turned 7 on the 5th of March! We had his party at the Bozeman Library, same place we had Tink's party. However, this party was crazy with 20+ school age kids running amuck, torturing Danny's friend's child Chase. He liked it! LOL Troy was so excited to get so many LEGOs! He also got a few NERF guns...let me tell you we have been having so much fun with those! We went to Target and bought two more, he found one that shoots 20 bullets automatically! And of course it is boys against girls, Jesselle is a big help, she runs to the boys side and takes their bullets! So much FUN! Troy has been so hilarious lately! I used to trick them into doing things but now he looks and me and says,"Really MOM" with that look on his face that he is too cool for school.

10 years today Christina passed away!!

I cannot believe it has been 10 years! Christina was the person who brought me to God and after she passed I feel like she has been the one who truly helps my mom, dad, dusty, and I remain so close. She touched our hearts and made us laugh until we cried! She was my best friend when we lived in TX. TX was really hard on our family and she helped us smile and keep our heads up. 10 years ago Christina took her life and I still feel guilty for being so selfish and wanting to move back to CO, I stopped talking to her, I stopped writing to her...I was so selfish and I shut her out of my life, I was so worried about boys and other friends. Friends like her don't exist anymore, people are so back stabbing and fake these days. I just wish I was there for her I could have taken that gun out of her hand...I have not cried sad tears in such along time. It has been coming and going all day, but I have been finding myself smiling thinking of the hilarious thing we did, I am waiting til Danny gets home tonight and we are going to watch her video. Her character was amazing she could care less about what other people thought, while I went out of my way as a 14 year old, trying to "be cool", its eye opening now how much I have changed. I don't care anymore and I want to teach Troy and Jess to be the same way, who cares what people think? If you keep trying to be a person others want you to be your going to miss out on the people who love YOU for being YOU!

Jesselle Elizabeth

Our little princess just turned 4 on January 21st!! Jesselle is very strong willed and opinionated, I try to look at these qualities as a glance of the future...she doesn't take nonsense from anyone, when she wants something she WILL get it, by all means!! and she, like me gets annoyed and bored with others quickly. Besides the whole annoyance she has with others, we think those are great qualities to make a successful adult...we hope :) She is also super competitive. Troy and her race when they eat, get dressed, get buckled, and anything else you can possibly imagine! Have I mentioned her ear piercing screams?!? We can all thank GOD these have almost become non-existent. We have been together almost everyday of her life, when she enters Kindergarten in a year and a half... I am deathly afraid she is going to beat some kid up in school or possibly tell her teacher off, oh my please pray for us! I take a deep breath now and try to absorb every moment we have with each other. She maybe difficult and it may feel like she has the energy as a set of twins but she can also be a very loving person. She loves to give compliments and say "hi" to everyone. She always manages to make friends with kids her age and some adults everywhere we go. I have noticed she gets along better with kids older than her, little kids who cannot communicate with her...she will walk away from them rolling her eyes saying "geez"!! Then there is her comedian side..LOL she has the funniest sense of humor and very contagious laugh. Every night she likes to cuddle and fall asleep on my lap, I am holding on to this one for as long as possible. Kids grow up so fast and all of a sudden you realize they are becoming people!! Don't you just want to bottle them up and keep them little forever?!?