When You Are as Awesome as Ashton

Seven years ago I held this perfect baby boy with blonde hair.  I actually don't know if  I have ever seen as much blonde hair on a newborn.... lots of dark hair, sure... but not blonde.  But, Ashton had it this shiny platinum hair.  And, he still does.  Anytime I try to find him in a crowd, it only takes a second to spot his white head. 

The day he was born.

6 months old... one of my favorite pictures. :)





Right after his party.  We all look tired from our busy party day but had such a good time.

Ironically, though his hair is the lightest, I would say his eyes are the least bright in their blue color.  Often taking a greyish blue tint.  His eyes also tell everything about his mood.  He gets dark circles under his eyes if he is tired.  When really tired, the circle spread deep under his eye.  His eyes squint up when he is mad and sparkle when his is being feisty. He is an infectious laugh... one that when I hear it, I normally tense up as I know that whatever he is laughing at is probably totally inappropriate. However, I cant help but laugh with him (normally.)

The birthday boy waiting in line at Carowinds.

Speaking of his laugh, he is mouthy... always wanting to get the last word whether with his brothers, his parents, or on the soccer field.  He is soooo smart.  I always called him my athlete, but the kid has some brains up their too.  After his parent/ teacher conferences last week, we saw his MAP scores were in the 90% for reading and 92% for math.  He is reading at a "J" which is where he should be reading at the end of 1st grade.  His comprehension is great as well as he can explain to me everything he is reading.  He has started to read his Bible story at night to me and Shepherd.  He is loving a book series called, Amulet.  Hunter introduced him to it and he will sit for an hour reading.... I love it as I can (and totally do) the same thing.

As I mentioned, he still loves sports and will talk on and on about football (from high school to college to professional).  Soccer is also one of his loves and he is amazing.  The ball sticks to his foot like it is glued there and he moves like the ball is apart of him.  He is fun to watch.  He has scored countless goals this year. 

 

 

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This was Ashton's year for the big party.  We had a Tailgating Football party at our house last Saturday.  Thankfully, we were able to get most people here.  We had over 20 adults and 19 kids (from 7 months to 9 years old).  I think it was a success as Ashton said it was the best birthday party ever. 



Here are some pictures from the day.  I didn't take that many which as someone said is a sign that I was enjoying myself... which was true. 

 

 

All the kids.  These kids are seriously the best of the best! Kids (and adults) were asked to wear their team colors... as you can see, lots of Clemson fans.
Front (L to R)- Seth, Caelum, Owen, Esme, Ashton, North, Bennett
Back (L to R)- Shepherd, Charlee, Sami, Logan, Luke, Noah H, Hunter, Noah T, Kaleb, Lydia, Carly, Miller

 

The boys idea of play

The girls (and in this case, Shepherd's ) idea of play

The adults idea of play

Singing Happy Birthday

Blowing out the candles

 A couple of the little ones.... Bennett and Carly

Pinata pile up

The boys after the party

 

And for his actual birthday today, the boys and I went to Carowinds after church... Chad works Sundays from 2 - 8 so he couldn't come.  We let him open his presents and all yesterday so Carowinds was the last big birthday treat (except for taking doughnuts to his class tomorrow.)

Here are a couple Carowinds pics.



On the balloon ride.  Bennett and I went in one and the other three went in the other. 


Ashton and his brothers on his birthday.


Seven years ago Smash changed my world.  He has brought me so much laughter and joy.  He has also managed to make me more angry than the other three probably combined (though Shepherd is starting to give him a run).  Though we often butt heads, it is because he is a strong, opinionated man in the making. 

I know that he is a covenant child of the Most High God.  He is chosen and I am so grateful that I get to witness where God takes this beautiful blondie that we call Smash.

Happy Birthday kiddo!  I love you so much.

Curtain Farms

Shepherd's preschool took a field trip to a working beef farm this week.

If I understand correctly, this is the first year this farm has decided to do "tours" of their farm.  And it was so well done.  I learned a lot so I am sure that the kids got some cool stuff from it too.  Unlike some other pumpkin farm field trips, this one was set up to actually teach them about what happens in a farm while being very interactive and fun.

One of Shepherd's best buddies at school... Owen.

They had 4, 25 minute sessions. 
Session 1- Learning all about pumpkins.  When to plant them, how they grown, etc.  We got this lesson in the top of a hayloft.  And then finished it off with pumpkin muffins (which we all loved) and juice/ water.

Session 2- Tour of the animals.  They obviously have a ton of cows since that is their money maker.  They also had chickens, turkeys, horses, miniature horses, peacocks/ peahens, goats, pigs, and alpacas.  The alpacas were so cool (more on them later.)

Turkeys and Bennett

Amazed by the up close and personal cows.

The guide was so really sweet yet kept the kids in line.... feeding the horse apples.

Some of the alpacas.

Cows and B

Dufus...

Session 3-  A tractor hayride around the land.  The owner talked about how he bought the land and other interesting pieces of information.

On the hayride.  Bennett loved all the tractors.  He just wanted to turn back around and watch the tractor.



Attempt 1 of a group picture- FAIL

Attempt 2 at group picture- FAIL

Session 4- A weaving lesson.  Now, this was so cool.  The owner's wife actually shears her alpacas once a year. And then brushes out the wool/ fleece until smooth.  She recently bought a spinning wheel and then spins her own yarn from her alpacas.  Then she knits scarves and other cool pieces.  She had her spinning wheel out in the barn and showed us the whole process.  It was really cool and the kids actually enjoyed it too.  This session ended with the kids going over to a play area where there were games and a hay maze (which I did lose Bennett in for a couple minutes). 

Talking about the alpaca's fleece.

She is at the spinning wheel turning the fleece into yarn. 

I highly recommend this tour.  The people are great and it is fun and educational.

 

 

 

So, I Wanted a Basement

When we moved here, I had a couple things that I wanted in a house.

1- Garage- check
2- Wood Floors- Nope (but coming soon)
3- 1800 square feet or bigger (1800 on the dot- so check)
4- 4 bedrooms or a basement- Nope

I couple weeks ago, I posted about redoing our shed... which at the time was serving the typical shed purpose. 

The before and after pictures are similar angles from the shed. 

Before

After

painted the plywood floors with Lowes Restore paint.  It is expensive, but needed a thick paint to fill in some of the imperfections in plywood. 

Before

The storage thing is what is now the bar

After

love the dark stain on the beams. 

Before

After

Before

After

Our "I Love Me Wall"...  Since both Chad and I played our sports in college and earned some awards while doing so, I dug around in the attic to unearth them.  Ha.  I get a chuckle every time I look at this wall.  Good times!

And some additional views from after.  

 

 

Ignore all the wood on the side of the shed.  That all came from inside the shed. 

The boys and I love this added space to the house.  This little project cost us a little over $600.  My budget was $500 but I went ahead and decided to upgrade the tv now instead of wait so technically I came in under budget... right?  ha.

I figure it is a steal to add a room to a house for $500- $600.  We will add a small heater unit out there for the colder months and will play it by ear for the hot summer months.  All in all, so glad I conquered the shed. 

Cost Breakdown
Paint / stain/ supplies- $160
TV- $170
Fridge- $220
Rug- $35
Cork Boards- $35
Pictures- $12
Futon- Free from parents basement... thanks.
Bar Stools- had them
Table/ chairs- had them
Bar- already in shed... took it out of wall and painted it
Shelf- already in shed... just modified
TOTAL - $632

A Picture

Sometimes, you are lucky enough to take a picture that just makes you smile.  That can turn a really crappy day into a good one.  That can throw all your priorities right back into order. 

The boys and I were jumping on the trampoline a couple days ago and I managed to coral them to sit for a "just a second" to take a selfie with all four of them. 

And this is what I got. 

This is my life.  Mischievious eyes, big silly smiles, wrinkles forming on my eyes, blue eyes everywhere except when I look into the mirror. And I love it all- even the wrinkles (kind of.)

Random Tear-Up

I don't often get sentimental however, I caught myself tearing up today.

Ashton capturing a Bennett/ Mommy love fest.  He is giving some incredible hugs now.

Hunter needed a hair cut, so I took the clippers to it.  Easy.... been cutting his hair since he was Bennett's age.

It then hit me that Bennett could use a haircut. Now, I have trimmed his hair up a time or two but not really cut it cut it.... as in, take off the fine baby hair.

But, without too much thought, I took the clippers (with a big guard) to his fine little baby hair and mid way through realized what I was doing for the last time.  My last baby hair was strewn on my garage floor.  He looks older now.  I notice his mischievous little grin more.  His eye even seem to sparkle a little brighter without the excess hair. 

His hair isn't thick, so maybe this cut will help it me in a bit thicker.  Regardless, he is forever my baby.

Before- from yesterday



After:  The new Bennett

 

 

 I have mentioned the book, Let Me Hold You Longer, before.  This is another great example to all of us moms out there to not forgot about "every precious little last."

 

 

School Pictures

 

 

It's that time of year... the annual School Picture Compare.  Why do I love looking at these comparisons?  I guess it just makes me realize how quickly these kids grow and how they are truly but on loan to me. 

Hunter-  From left to right- K5, 2nd grade, 3rd grade (no 1st because of homeschool).  The first two things I noticed were his face is not quite as round and his hair is dark!



Ashton- K5 and 1st grade.  He is definitely a cool kid and looks the part in his 1st grade pic.  Love his crooked little grin.

These two are having a great year so far.  We are in full swing with soccer practices and games, Chad's football stuff, Hunter is taking guitar lessons and then of course nightly homework/ reading.  It is a full life.