Missing Tooth

 

This kid. He was so excited to lose his first tooth. From the looks of his tooth flapping back and forth as he wiggled it, I knew the time was coming soon.  Call it the hygienist in me, but I was just itching to help him, and in the end, he let me. Yay!  Corey was out doing some church business, and I was getting the kids to bed when Asher decided it was time.  A little wiggling and voila!  It was outta there!  Asher was a little worried about the bit of bleeding that came next, but mostly excited at the prospect of some money waiting for him in the morning.  He wrote a letter to the tooth fairy (so darn cute), and put it under his pillow for safe keeping until the good fairy arrived.  He couldn't wait to tell Corey about it when he came home soon after.  Beckett was amazed at the whole ordeal, and is now wondering when it will be his turn to exchange an old used up tooth for some free cash.  All in good time! Asher is excitedly awaiting his next tooth loss:)

First Day

Asher's first day of school.  This was a day I have been dreading for selfish reasons, and looking forward to for unselfish ones(I swear!).  He is more than ready to go...he is super social, loves to learn (he's already reading some), and is just SO excited about Kindergarten.  I, on the other hand, was a wreck inside.  I see Kindergarten as the beginning of Asher being more independent in every way, which is so, so hard for me to accept. Plus, it's full day Kinder, which seems like such a long day for the little guys...and it's a bigger step for a momma to let her kiddo be gone for a full day instead of a half one.:(  Nevertheless, Asher loves it.  Just loves it.

Getting ready for the big day was fun though.  We met his teacher, Mrs. Warrick (who I specifically requested, yay!) who is a really sweet and loving teacher. I am really looking forward to him having a positive experience his first year, and I believe she's the teacher to do it.  He knows one boy in his class from church (Dallen), and has already met several others.  He didn't need a backpack this year, because the teacher gave them each a special bag to use, but he did get to pick our a lunchbox.  This was a funny thing all around.  Asher, somehow, somewhere, had it in his mind that he wanted a metal lunchbox.  What in the world?  That's the kind I had when I went to school...a gazillion years ago, and it's not so easy to find them now.  So, the hunt for a metal one ensued...we looked everywhere, and finally found a Cars one he loved. Phew! He couldn't wait to proudly carry it to school. 

On his first day, Corey went in late to work so he could take him too.  Asher wanted waffles for breakfast, which I gladly made.  After that we all headed up to the school to drop him off.  He was really excited, and I was really nervous.  For the first couple of weeks, the kids were told to bring in a bear to do 'bear activities'.  And so, with Panda and the metal lunchbox in tow, we walked him to his classroom where the teacher handed us a folder with some nice sentiments for parents, and then we left him. I teared up a bit then, but kept it together. Mostly.  There was a quick orientation for Kinder parents in the cafeteria, then me and Beck started the drive back home.  That was when I cried a little more.  Beck wanted to know why I was sad...? Then he told me not to be sad, and that we could play games:) Playing games makes everything better, right?  Beck thought I was a bit silly in being sad and couldn't see why this was a problem at all.  It did make me laugh a little though:)  I really needed to toughen up though because not three hours later we were back at the school to join Asher for lunch! I'm so glad the teacher invited us...I'm not sure if Asher cared so much as I did! It was nice to see how he was doing. Oh, and on the first day, he came home with his bag and a balloon! Kindergarten, as it turns out, is really fun.

 

All in all, school has been great.  It does make it easier for me to drop take him to school when he actually wants to go.  There have been a few kids in his class that cry every day, and I can't imagine how much more difficult that would be, so for that I'm grateful! Also, his teacher invited all the parents to come eat lunch with the kids as many times as possible during the first two weeks...we went nearly every day, which was nice for me, and Beck loved it.  Beckett thinks going to school is pretty cool too, especially since he gets to bring his own lunchbox and play on the playground. Asher is happy, making lots of friends, loves recess and playing on the monkey bars, and after the first couple of weeks he informed me that I didn't need to walk him to his class and that he could do it by himself.  That brought a tear or two too, but I'm trying to be brave because he is doing just fine and loving every minute of being a big kid. Love my Asher.

Utah in May...brrrrr.

In May, we headed up to Utah to visit with the family. We had lots of fun things planned to fill our time there, and ended up doing most of them with jackets, sleeves and coats. What?! It was cold! But we didn't let it spoil our fun. My sisters, Kayla and Jen and their families were up for lots of busy playtime, so it was a blast. Corey and I went to the U2 concert that week, which was AMAZING (thanks again Josh for the killer parking spot next to the stadium...total VIP treatment!). No pics from that because I was a loser and didn't bring one.

My mom's 5th grade class set up some 'stores' and sold their wares on one day and we loved being able to see her with her schoolkids in action. She is such a great teacher, and her students and parents alike stopped to tell me. I felt like a proud parent myself! All the grandkids left with WAY too much loot....mostly the sugary kind, but they were all thrilled.

We were able to get in some time with my Grandpa and Grandma Pettit, which was really nice. It was great seeing and talking with them. They were good sports about my snapping lots of pictures.

Going fishing was something that Asher had been bugging us about for weeks, and when my Dad heard that, he wanted to make it happen. Everyone caught fish! Okay, so I need to come clean and admit that we went to a hatchery type of a place that sort of does everything for you (even gutting the fish!), but still....the kids all reeled in their own catches and loved every second of it. That evening my Grandma Haynie came along for the fishy fun, and was totally in her element. She loves to fish and enjoyed catching some as well! It was, again, great to get to see her!

While we were there we also hit Hoots, Thanksgiving Point, Trafalga (I was completely ambushed at the bumper boats...SO cold) , went swimming, and bowling...twice! Our kids have been wanting to go bowling for real ever since we bought our Wii, and they LOVED it. It was especially nice since the bowling alleys we went to were nice and new and not all smoked up. Adam and Kayla even hung out with us, which was a real treat.

A highlight for the boys was going to the 'Day Out with Thomas' up in Heber. They played with trains, rode the train, and loved seeing Thomas again. Jen, Josh and Mason, and my parents were with us and we all experienced the Thomas extravaganza together. Beck was really proud of his certificate they handed out. Too cute.

Phew! It was a busy, packed and totally worthwhile trip. We had a fantastic time and loved seeing everyone. Thanks for making our trip so memorable!

Grandma made the boys a special treat!

Corey's Baseball Birthday

Corey loves his birthday. His excitement for it all makes it lots more fun for the family to get into. This year was no different! And the boys were really looking forward to it because his one request was to go to an Isotopes Baseball game on his big day. Fun! Baseball has been THE game around our house this summer, so it was especially fitting. We celebrated at home with dinner and a chocolate cream cake (mmmm...), and presents then headed out to the game, each boy (and man) with mit in hand.

I had called the ballpark a few days earlier to see if I could get his name on the scoreboard for his birthday. Ta-da! They kindly granted me my request, and I could hardly wait for him to see his name in lights. It was the 'cherry on top' of the evening, or so it seemed. If only he'd seen it. Yes, it's a sad but true; Corey missed his name...TWICE! I couldn't believe it. Thankfully, I was ready and snapped a picture (as I was telling Corey to "look over there!"). He looked too late though, and then missed it when they ran them again after the 6th inning. What are the chances? Pretty good, apparently.

Look closely, and yep....that's Corey's name!

Oh, and one unexpected highlight of the evening was Asher and the birthday hat. The hat that he refused to take off. He wore that thing nearly the whole game. Way to get into the evening, Asher! He is still the one who insists that we get out some birthday hats for a party, and maybe we all should have worn them to show our birthday spirit!

It was a great night though, and the kids had a blast watching the game, posing with Orbit, and playing at the kid's area. And Corey is another year older. And wiser. And I sure do love that guy(even when he misses my surprise birthday wishes)! Happy Birthday!

How to speak Whale

Tryin' the Tri

Corey set a goal with a running buddy, Danny, a few months back to do a Triathalon.  He's been running a lot, and swimming a little to prep for it.  Me and the boys were so excited to cheer him on! Beck had a tough time keeping the enthusiasm up since the race cut into his nap time, but we can't hold that against him.  Ash and I kept it up throughout the race though, and had a great time watching it all!

Danny's wife, Shannon made up the awesome signs for the boys to hold up...why didn't I think of that?! I was so glad she brought them along! Between her two boys and mine, we had our own little cheering section.

He did a fantastic job...and did really well on the running portion, then would have done really well on the biking part had he brought the right kind of bike along:)  Corey decided to just go for it with his mountain bike, and then watched as big guys who were likely a bit fitness challenged whiz past him.  Next time he'll bring a road bike:)  The swimming part was by far the most brutal, and it was last, so everyone was already wiped out.  But he did it and finished! 

Danny, Christy, and Corey before the race.

Way to go Corey!  We'd love to cheer you on for another one. The boys and I are SO proud of you!