Josh, Jenn, Ashton, and Emmy…

Ashton started preschool last week.  He LOVES it!  It is only 2 1/2 hours twice a week and it’s just the perfect amount of time for this little guy to hang out with new friends and learn stuff while not being away too long.  So far, he’s had one day of preschool and I missed him tons and couldn’t wait to pick him up.

Happily, confidently, and resolutely walking alone to preschool.

This is Miss Courtney.  Ashton loves her.

My little Lefty.  He can write his own name (all the letters are usually all over the page and some are backwards, but they are there) and he can write Emmy’s name as I tell him the letters E-M-M-Y.  In our dinner prayer last night he said,”Help me to learn my ABC’s at school”. Soooo cute!

Here is how my lunch conversation went with Ashton the other day:

Me: Ash, what do you want for lunch? A sandwich or macaroni and cheese?

Ash: Mom, I want a sandwich AND macaroni and cheese, AND THAT’S ALL I NEED.

(I smiled, instantly recognizing the last part of his sentence.)

Me: Really? A sandwich AND macaroni and cheese?

Ash: Yeah, a sandwich and macaroni and cheese…..AND this cookie, AND THAT’S ALL I NEED.

Oh man!   I was laughing right out loud!   Why wasn’t anyone there to witness this awesome moment with me?

As if Emmy turning TWO wasn’t shocking enough, Ashton just went ahead and freaked me out by turning FOUR last week!

Where in THE world does the time go???

I learned this little trick from my amazing sister-in-law, Krissy… She decorates the house for each of her kids’ birthdays the night before, after they go to bed.  After a few years, her kids would get so excited for the ‘Birthday Fairy’ to come decorate.  Sooo cute.  So far it has been a huge hit in our house, too.  Thanks, Krissy!   Here is Ashton waking up to see his birthday decorations….

We decided to have another family birthday BBQ at the pavilion.  Ashton wanted two things for his birthday party: a pirate cake and a pinata.  He has been to two amazing pirate parties recently and when he asked for a pirate cake, I started sweating bullets!  Let me explain further….Druw had a pirate ship fabricated to hold his birthday cupcakes, it was incredible, such a cute idea.  Krissy made a pirate ship CAKE for Adam two days earlier and the vision was fresh in Ashton’s mind.  Krissy is so talented, she should really work for the Ace of Cakes dude.  The pirate ship was AMAZING!!!!!!  I am lucky that Ashton is such a sweetheart and was so happy with my meager attempt at a pirate cake.  My method…get a blank Costco cake, sprinkle with blue sugar, put a glob of brown sugar on it, decorate with Ashton’s pirate toys.  He loved it.  PHEW!

It has been almost a whole week since the party and Ashton has taken that Spiderman suit off to take a couple baths and that’s about it.  Sick, I know!  But at least it has given me a chance to wash his Batman suit.

Thank you, everyone who came and made Ashton’s party so much fun!  We love you!

Ashton and Josh went fishing the other day at a pond in…Salem..Payson…I don’t even know where they went, but it looks like a pretty place. They had lots of fun with Ashton’s cousins, Jayda and Druw (they are so cute and they all play together so well). Ashton learned to cast pretty well and he even caught a little fish.

We aren’t really outdoors people, we love it but we never go camping voluntarily and we will never own a dog. So before Ashton could go fishing we had to first get some supplies.  That meant Ashton had to face one of his greatest childhood demons…The Cal Ranch Store.  We went in there once when he was tiny to see the worlds biggest horse and it was a real sensory overload. He was mostly upset by the dead animals, particularly the dead reindeer that was hanging on the wall.  The whole way into the store he was affirming himself “I’m not scared anymore because now I am big”

Josh is in putting Ashton to bed for the fourth time tonight.  He left the door open and I’m listening to Josh sing Ashton songs and I’m LAUGHING MY BUM OFF!!!  Here’s how the first one went:

“I hope they call me on a mission, when I have grown a foot or two. (I am thinking,”Oh, that is so cute that he’s singing that song!”) I hope by then I will be ready to teach and preach and work as missionaries do.

I hope that I can share the gospel with those who want to know the truth. I want to be a missionary………long pause…..to teach and preach and work as missionaries do…”

Oh man, I had to stifle my laughter by shoving my face into the bean bag.  Then on to the next song…

“Called to serve Him Heavenly King of Glory………chosen heir to….witness…..for the King….(long pause and me laughing into the bean bag)…”

He gave up on that one and went on to “I am a Child of God” which he also couldn’t remember!  Oh man, I am laughing/crying as I’m typing this, I can’t see anything!  It’s 1 AM, maybe I’m just tired.

He just came out and asked why I was laughing.  He told me that after those songs failed, he sang two whole verses of a Beastie Boys song he used to sing all the time.  We just sat there cracking up on the bean bag.   Josh’s next calling should be Primary Chorister.  Can you just see him up there, making excited faces at the kids trying to get them to sing, doing the good ol’ ladder leading?  You know what I’m talking about, the up and down scale leading?