Catching Up

As I typed in my post title - Catching Up - a past title popped up in the auto full box. It said "Catching Up - Christmas!" Last years post-holiday wrap up.
I think that's proof that the holiday season really is the busiest, most hectic time of the year. No time even for a quick blog post, year after year!
Of course, NONE of my posts end up being "quick" ones, lol.

This Holiday season was no exception. It seemed like we had a million things going on. And then, RIGHT in the middle, Matt and I took off for 3 days to Vegas. We just couldn't resist the chance to get away with friends and play. Being gone in December was crazy - and we paid for it when we got back! - but well worth it. We went with two other couples and had an awesome time. December seems to be the closest thing Vegas has to an "off" season, and the hotel was cheaper than we've ever booked it.

Becki took the kids, and although Tessa was fine, Asher had a hard time with us being gone. He cried..so I cried..more than once. Of course, he was finally nice and settled in by the time we got back. 3 days is a somewhat awkward time frame for kids, I suppose. Just not quite enough time for them to get used to being somewhere else before they come home.
One wonderful thing the trip did for Matt and I was to give us enough time away from the kids that their Christmas-induced-hyperactivity wasn't so grating. By the time we got back, their excitement was cute again! And Asher, especially, missed me so much that he was the worlds sweetest child for at least a week after we came home.
Just two days after we got back I stopped at the library to pick up a book that was on hold for me. I left Ash in the car, since it was cold and I was in and out. As I walked back out to the truck, I could see him in his carseat, watching me, with a huge smile on his face.
When I got into the truck I said to him "what are you grinning about, funny boy?"
He said "I'm not!"
I said "you are! Grinning is another word for smiling. What are you SMILING about?"
He said "Oh! Just because I love you! I missed you SO MUCH! I'm glad you are home."
Melt my heart.

The trip set us back in some areas.
I had signed up to work at a craft fair here at Suncrest. I've been making full, twirly skirts for girls, and decided to sell some. I did one back in November, but the traffic was very slow and I still had several left over, so when they announced another fair I signed up. Of course, I still had to make a FEW...
The fair was only 4 days after we got back - not much time to make them!
Plus Christmas jammies for the kids and little fabric bags for brownie mix for my neighbor gifts...I spent a lot of time at the sewing machine for a couple of weeks!

One of the kids Christmas "gifts" this year was a playroom in the basement. Matt and I (okay...almost entirely Matt) have been working on the basement for a long time. I decided about 6 weeks before Christmas that I really wanted to focus on a playroom for the kids down there. They need somewhere to be with their friends when we have friends and neighbors over, and their bedrooms are just too close to the main areas of the house.
So I set a Christmas "deadline" - and Matt made it happen - despite the trip. He worked downstairs a lot of nights after coming home from work - and never complained about me being a crazy slave driver. Such a good husband <3
The carpet was actually laid on the 28th of December, but close enough! The playroom was done (enough*) for them to use it on New Years Eve, while the grown ups partied upstairs :)
(*The playroom is actually still under MY construction - although all of Matt's parts are done. My decorating should take at least as long as the actual BUILDING of the room did...because that's how I do things, lol)

Back to Christmas...
(forgive the rambling nature of this post - it's been a long time since I blogged and I'm clearly out of the habit!)

I tried to do lots of fun things with the kids, especially while Tessa was out of school.
We got together with friends to decorate Christmas cookies and went sledding and had play dates.
Our time was pretty packed with activities!

On Christmas Eve we went to a family party at Becki's house. After that we met friends (the Beckers) at a Methodist Church for their Christmas Eve candlelight service, which was beautiful and which the kids loved.
After that we had a nice, relaxing Christmas Eve with the Beckers - playing games and hanging out and eating way too much food. They live right next door, so it's amazingly convenient, and their kids are great friends with Tessa and Asher, so everyone has fun. It was a really nice night - even though Tessa did get inadvertently hit in they eye with a foam dart during a nerf gun war.

(in Christmas Jammies just before bed on Christmas Eve)

On Christmas Day the kids slept until 8:00! Another good reason to keep them out late playing with friends on Christmas Eve :D
Tessa's big Christmas gift this year was another American Girl doll. She wanted a My American Girl - one that's supposed to look like her. The doll has an online world that Tessa can play in - she loves it. She also got several accessories for the doll, including a larger storage cabinet to keep all of her doll stuff in. Fingers crossed that it helps her be at least a little bit organized!

(promise she was a lot more excited about it than she looks in these pictures)

Asher is still little enough that he doesn't have one *big* Christmas gift yet. His toys are still pretty inexpensive. Lots and lots of race car stuff. This is NOT a love he is outgrowing, lol! I expect him to love cars and trucks forever :)
He also got a skateboard with all the pads - he is very excited to use it! He played with it in grandpas big driveway for a minute on Christmas day, but hasn't much since then. I keep saying "no" when he asks. This is a scary tow for me! I want to be right with him when he really starts playing on it - and that's not going to happen until it's a good deal warmer!

We saw Nana and Grandpa and Joey and Becki and Colby and the boys on Christmas, of course. Nana and Grandpa got Asher the Hot Wheels 6-lane race track for Christmas and everyone was excited to see him open it. I suggested that they buy it before Thanksgiving - and then almost immediately regretted doing so. I wished *WE* had gotten it for him! He absolutely loved it, of course.

Christmas afternoon we went to Grandma and Papa's house for dinner with the family. They were very generous with Christmas gifts, as always, and we had a very nice time. The highlight of the night, though, was Jessica and James announcement that they are expecting a baby this Summer!!! I am so very excited for them and can't wait to find out boy or girl and to have a new niece or nephew.
Tessa and Asher didn't act overly excited about he news, but they must have been! Just a few days after Christmas I told my mom that Jessica was pregnant - and she already knew. Tessa had told her. Same thing happened when I tried to tell Becki. Tessa is (of course) hoping for a girl...but I'm hoping for another boy :) Either way, the baby is sure to be gorgeous - Jessica and James are very cute people!

So that was our Christmas.
Another wonderful Holiday season, all wrapped up. And (whew!) are we glad we have a whole year before it comes around again! It will be here before we know it. I'll try to blog once or twice in the meantime :)

How often does that happen?

Bear Lake is one of my favorite places to boat...the lake is gorgeous, the town is adorable and the campsites are the best I've ever used. Unfortunately, we don't get there too often. It's a popular place, and by the time we decide we want to go, there are often no campsites left!

This year we got so, so lucky.
We decided we wanted to go, talked to some friends about it and booked the trip and everything.just.worked.out perfectly...how often does that happen???

Our neighbors the Dresslers (Ron and Louise) and the Beckers (Scott and Felicia) and all their kids joined us. We were a big, rowdy group!

After our last trip to Deer Creek we decided a longer camping trip before the end of the summer would be fun, so we planned a 2 night trip to Bear Lake with our neighbors the Dresslers (Louise and Ron) and the Beckers (Scott and Felicia.)
It was an amazing time.
Spencer is 4, Asher is 5, Ace is 6, Sydnee is 7, Alec is 8, Tessa is 9 and Jules is 10 – ALL of the kids got along incredibly well, with NO fighting!

The big kids (Sam is 14 and Scotty is 16) helped keep an eye on everyone and it was just a wonderfully relaxing trip. I actually napped on a lounge chair on the beach one afternoon...how often does THAT happen? LOL

(Left to Right: Jules, Sydnee, Asher, Ace, Alec, Tessa, Spencer, Sam)

The weather was gorgeous, the lake was like glass, and the company was perfect.

We are earlier risers than most, so we saw the sunrise from the beach both mornings. Gorgeous!

Our only complaint was a gang of skunks that terrorized us the first night, but even they weren’t too bad!

We had such a great time that we’re already planning next Summers trips. We’re calling it the summer of extreme camping, and planning to go every 2^nd or 3^rd weekend starting at the end of June and going all through July and August. Not sure how often it will REALLY happen - but I’m already excited!

(Ron and Louise, Me and Matt, Scott and Felicia)

It’s surprising…12 years ago, when we got married, I NEVER would have expected to love camping. It’s all about the company you keep J

Summer Wrap Up

Every Summer we talk about camping, and every summer it seems like we end up too busy to ACTUALLY get out and camp. Last year we only took the boat out ONE TIME! Our Summers here just FLY by – it’s not really hot until July and Tessa goes back to school at the end of August. It seems like all of the weekends that we could be camping or boating are taken up doing yard work projects or just hanging out at home.
I know it’s not the tragedy I’m making it sound like, but we do always regret not getting out more at the end of the Summer.
So this year, we vowed to get out more.

Let's GO!

We boated at Deer Creek 3 times, camping over night once. Deer Creek is such an awesome place for us to go – the drive is easy and FAST – only 30 minutes from the lake to home on a Sunday afternoon with no traffic!

The first time we went with Natalie and Dave – no friends for the kids, but Dave made up for it by teaching them both a lot about fishing. Asher, especially, LOVED it. His cast was pretty impressive by the end!
We camped over night on this trip (even the dogs came along!) and got to boat for two days.

Indy is so old...camping was rough on her!

 

The second time we went out we went with the Washburns – Megan, my girl scout co-leader (and sort-of-cousin) and her family. Serena and Tessa are best buddies and Miranda, their older daughter, is so great about playing with them. Lydia is Asher’s age and though they don’t play all that well together (Asher only wants to play with boys lately!) they are at least the same age!

Tessa and Serena eating lunch on the boat

Asher and George, sleeping on the way home

The last time we went we took our friends and neighbors, the Dresslers. I was most excited for this trip because BOTH of the kids would have friends. Jules is a year older than Tessa and Ace is a year older than Asher – Alec is right in the middle. All of the kids get along very well and I couldn’t wait for them to get to spend the day swimming and tubing together.
Unfortunately, Asher got sick.
He picked up a flu bug that was going around and ended up throwing up off the side of the boat at one point. Poor little man! He was pretty good natured throughout, though, napping in the cuddy and on my lap.

Alec, Ace and Asher

 Jules and Tessa

Louise and Ace

 Me and Asher

Poor Asher, hanging out in the cuddy with George. He tried for a long time to feel better, then finally went to sleep. When he woke up he felt even worse, and we cut our trip short :(

After this last trip to Deer Creek we decided we really needed a longer camping trip, so we planned to go to Bear Lake. That will have to be told about in another post, though - so that this one doesn't end up 10 pages long!

5 years old!

Asher turned 5 in August – which was absolutely impossible to believe. The fact that 5 years have passed since we had him still blows my mind. 

He requested a Pirate Party, and we rented a room at the community pool. As always, it rained at his party, but not before the kids had a little bit of time to play in the water (thank goodness!)
It was a great party, with lots of friends and plenty of pirate stuff!

(ignore the lifegaurds in the background, that room is their base)

I bought a cardboard pirate ship for the kids to color – knowing that there was NO chance we’d get away without rain on Asher’s Birthday (who knew Utah had a monsoon season! I thought August was a SAFE time to have a Birthday!) The kids loved coloring it and kept it up even after the rain stopped!

 We had snacky foods at the party – I labeled it “Captain Asher’s favorite foods” and had 5 things, of course.

1 – Grapes and Apples
2 - Pretzels
3 – Meat and Cheese (we  had rolls and condiments, too, so people could have a sandwich. Not everyone eats like Asher – he asks for salami and cheese for “dessert” several times a week!)
4 – Carrot sticks
5 – Chips and Salsa

Each food had a little card in front of it with something about why it was Asher's favorite. He is so opinionated, it was really fun to share that with friends and family!

His favorites were a big hit with the other kids at the party - they ate them up!

I made him a pirate ship cake – it wasn’t perfect, but it was cute! Asher loved it, and that’s the most important thing!

I also made his a “5” shirt with pirate fabric – plus a “2” shirt for Luke and a “0” shirt for Will. For Tessa I made a pirate skirt, and one for Averey, too, since she’s sort of like a little sister J

For favors I made little black drawstring bags with a skull and crossbone on the front. I filled them with chocolate gold coins, a telescope and an eyepatch. I used them as the centerpiece of each table, grouped around a balloon. I thought it turned out pretty cute!

We got him his own DS for his Birthday and Mario Kart to play on it. Tessa’s been sharing, like a good sister, and we decided it was time to get him his own so she can actually use hers! He loved it.

Happy Birthday, Asher! You are such a cute, funny, smart, BIG boy! I’m still in disbelief that you are 5!

Asher Update

Monkeys and Duckies and blankets, oh my!

Asher has loveys - special blankets and stuffed animals that he’s very attached to. This is a little strange for us, because Tessa never did. We love it, though, and I don’t want to forget any of them, so I’m going to remember them here J Asher’s special things are:
George and Teddy – an old school Curious George stuffed animal. George is dressed in his pajamas and has a teddy bear in one arm. Ash got Georgie for his Birthday (a Curious George party) when he turned 2 from a family friend. For the first few months he had him it was no big deal – but then he decided George was a special friend, and he’s slept with him every night ever since. Recently, he actually seems to have gotten more attached to him, taking him outside to play and bringing him along when we go places. I can’t say I don’t love it – it makes him seem more like my baby when he’s holding a stuffed lovey.
Duckie – a cheap, cheesy stuffed duck that came from an Arctic Circle kids meal at Easter time, over 3 years ago. Duckie is another animal that Ash had for a period of time before deciding that he was special. It was not love at first sight, but a love developed over time. He sleeps with Duckie every night, also. Duckie also comes on trips with us, though he doesn’t take him outside to play.
Creamy Blankey – this is the comforter that came with his baby bedding set. Not quite sure why it’s a “creamy” blankey…though the color of the soft fabric on the back was originally cream. It’s kind of grey-ish, now.  I *think* he called it “clean-y” after a trip through the wash and Tessa interpreted it as “creamy”, and the name stuck. He’s loved his creamy blanket forever.
Wall-e Blankey – one of those super-soft furry fleece blankets that aunt L’Jean gave Ash a few years ago for Christmas. This blanket was special from the day he got it. Both blankets go to bed with Ash every night and have to be laid down in a certain order – our boy might be a little OCD, at least when it comes to bedtime!

Funny Story
This past Easter when Arctic Circle came out with their Easter toys for the kids meal, I took Ash to get a new duckie. Alas, the new ducks were shaped a bit differently than his, and instead of replacing his duck, I gave it a friend. Grandma also got him a kids meal with a duck. So now he has 3.
The new ducks (Asher also calls them his “2 fat ducks” because they have a round body/head) are named duck-duck and duckerzoom (he came up with these names all by himself, and I love them!)
During the day, when his bed is made, George and Duckie sit next to his pillow. Having duck-duck and duckerzoom up there, too, seemed a bit crowded, so I put them in his side table drawer. He kept getting them out, and I kept putting them back in.
One day, after about a week of the 2 fat ducks being relegated to the drawer, I was in his room cleaning. Ash was helping me. He opened his side table drawer to put something away and saw the 2 fat ducks inside and proclaimed (speaking directly to the ducks) “again!? How do you keep getting in there?!”
I almost died laughing before I could explain that I was putting them away for him. Funniest kid!

Graduation
Asher graduated preschool back in May – it was very exciting J

Since he has a late Birthday he’ll be starting kindergarten at 6, not 5, so he actually has one more year of preschool to go…but that didn’t make mommy any less emotional! The preschool put together a slideshow of photos set to music, and most of the moms in the room were crying before the end of it. There seemed to be a LOT of pictures of Asher, and in most of them he was wearing his hoodie, coat or jacket. Our funny boy kept his outerwear on almost every day in school! Maybe that was his way of saying that he wasn’t staying long?

His cute teacher, Maddison, told me after graduation that Asher was a favorite of the whole class of teachers. I was flattered…but confused. Asher is NOT the friendliest, most social child…I’m still not sure how he charmed the whole class of high schoolers! Must be because he’s so cute, lol!

Summer Fun

This has been such an awesome Summer for Asher. A wonderful family moved in just a few houses away and they have a son who is almost a year older than Asher. His name is Ace, and they play together constantly. It’s such a fun little friendship. They run back and forth between houses, asking for popsicles and riding bicycles – we love it. Asher is a pretty cautious boy by nature, and never wanders too far from home. He’s also great about checking in and letting me know where he’s going. I gave him a lot more freedom this Summer than I ever would have given Tessa at 4, and that’s been difficult at times. He’s so good, though, that it’s easy. It helps that we have wonderful neighbors and everyone looks out for everyone else’s kids.

Road Rash
Asher’s legs were a canvas of scrapes and scabs this Summer. Almost every day he would come in the house, crying out  that he was “bleeding!!!” Between scooters and bikes and running, he seemed to end up on the pavement a lot. So I nicknamed him road rash. He resolutely ignored that nickname, and it definitely hasn’t stuck.

Pool Time

We spent a lot of time at the pool this Summer, and we’re SO SAD to see it close up on Labor Day. Asher’s favorite parts of the pool were…
#3 The Lazy River – floating around it in his tube or life vest J
#2 The Snow Cones – we let him buy one almost every time we went. Typical of Asher, he chose his favorite flavor early (strawberry) and never wavered. The other kids would be having a blue-raspberry/bubble gum or kiwi/pina-colada, but Asher always stuck with Strawberry. He is one steady kid.

#1 The Hot Tub. Asher is so darn skinny (despite eating every 20 minutes!) that he often (always) wound up cold at the pool. 95 degrees outside, and Asher’s shivering with blue lips. So the hot tub was his favorite part, by a mile. Unfortunately, he had to be with an adult, so I often ended up with just my bottom in the hot tub, on the top step, legs on the patio to keep as cool as possible. Mommy definitely has enough meat on her to keep warm – the hot tub was a bit of an overkill for me! LOL

Okay - that's enough "update" for now - more soon!