Spring fun!

So I feel that Spring has finally sprung! Yes the rain is still coming, but this warmer weather and sunshine has been a nice change. I must admit that I love the fall and winter best, but Ashton sure does seem happier when he can get outside for a bit. That Vitamin D must be calling his name!


Since the sun is out, it is now time for those outdoor projects to get done! They worked on building a gate on the side of the fence. It turned out great, and now we don't have to walk around the other side of the house when Ashton kicks a ball over the fence.




Hannah talked Ashton into looking for four leaf clovers the other day. We showed him some two leaf clovers and he thought that was cool enough. He gave up and went back to riding his tricycle.

The newest thing we taught him was baseball tonight. He has graduated from T-ball already! Good thing we are only using plastic balls. Soon we won't be able to hit in the yard anymore. We'll have to find a open field. In the first video Mark had two balls. The first ball was Ashton's first home run over the fence. (Note the ball in Mark's hand is actually the second ball. The camera slipped.)


Let's see......I guess the next sport would either be Hockey or Golf. I think we'll try Golf next.

My little girl turned 13!

Happy 13th Birthday Hannah-Bear!

The Sun came out!

This was our first weekend in two weeks that we have all been together. Ben and Hannah just returned from their Hawaii trip this last Tuesday. Ashton sure seems a lot happier when they are around! We were very excited to see the sun come out this afternoon. I thought I saw it on the forecast, yet it hailed this morning. Such strange spring weather we have had lately. The family decided to get outside and enjoy some Vitamin D!

First thing on Ashton's list was to ride his tricycle. Ashton finally figured out how to ride this last week. He has had his tricycle for almost a year now, and used to get discouraged quickly. Then he saw his sister Hannah outside riding in the cul-de-sac. He kept asking what she was doing. We said riding in circles. He seemed to find this very amusing, and decided to try his hardest to keep up with his sister. He is pretty quick now. Even learning to use his leg muscles to get up some slopes.

















Next was basketball. It was exciting for me to see Ben and Hannah actually playing together. I definitely had to get proof of this in a photo!





Ashton wanted to play too, but it was a struggle. Daddy tried to help, then we decided to bring his little Basketball hoop over to the big court.

What a great way to end the weekend!

San Diego 2011

This was Ashton's first Airplane ride. He was so excited to get on, and he was a perfect little traveler. He took care of his Elmo bag the entire time. All kids in a car seat had to have the window seat, so he was happy to be able to look outside. While in the air, he had the iPad and his headphones to make him happy.


During our trip we Visited the San Diego Zoo. It was our first time seeing so many of those animals - like the koala bear and the camels. What a beautiful clean zoo!



Mark's cousins live in the area so we were able to spend a few hours with them. Ashton got to play with his second cousins. We wish we lived closer!
The beaches were beautiful with some great play areas. He is learning to swing on the big kid swing!




LegoLand was fun! There was a great little kid area to play in, and some rides he could do with us. He was able to ride a train, jeep, helicopter and a boat. He loved it! I look forward to the day we can return and he would be excited to see all the items made of Legos! I loved the little tennis court legos!






He loved SeaWorld. Unfortunately it wasn't because of the dolphins or whales, but because of Elmo and the huge playground they had there. It was great to see him enjoying himself going up and down a big slide. We compromised and came back to the fun play area after walking around and enjoying what SeaWorld had to offer. We spent two full days there. Mark even sat through the Pets world show. Ashton really enjoyed seeing all the animals doing tricks.






I think one of his favorite things on vacation after our long day was to come back to the hotel room and listen to the Wiggles. We didn't pack his guitars, so he kept using anything he could find as a guitar. He choose his Train track most of the time to use as his Wiggly Guitar. He sure loves to sing and dance!

Ben's tournament season begins!

Ben's tennis tournament season has begun. His first tournament was in Bremerton, so dealing with the ferry was atrocious. Ashton did enjoy being able to walk around the ferry and go from seat to seat. He made sure we were all moving together. We did have one late night on Friday in Bremerton because Ben's tennis match was running 1 1/2 hours behind schedule. We didn't get home until 1am. Thankfully he was able to stay in Bremerton Saturday night so he didn't have to deal with the ferry that night. He was excited to get home Sunday for his cousins 16th birthday, but had to go back to Bremerton Sunday night. He won the consolation round for the tournament! We are all so proud of him!


My nephew Jacob! Good looking guy. Can you believe he is about 6'4". Wow! One inch taller than Mark. Jacob just turned 16 today!! Happy Birthday Jacob!









Hannah's favorite thing this week is making jewelry. She has been making a lot and looking forward to wearing some in her Hawaii vacation coming up. She is very creative and good at it!





And here comes our upcoming tennis star! Mark had an opening on court, so Ashton was able to get in a little half hour hitting time with daddy. They both seemed to love their time together. Ashton sure has come a long way from our indoor balloon tennis games. Before we left the house, Ashton kept asking where his bag was. I didn't understand until he said "Ben has bag, Hannah has bag; where is Ashton's bag?" Of course it was in Ashton language, but I had to take his preschool bag and turn it into a tennis bag for that day.

I just can't tell what he loves more. Soccer, baseball or Tennis?

The kids are officially done with their USTA Jr. Tennis team and their soccer. But no worries because Hannah starts a new indoor soccer team in a few weeks, and Ben's tennis tournament season is just beginning. Never ending in our house. Mark recently asked about signing up Ashton in some sort of soccer program. Not sure if I want to add anything more to our schedule yet.




As you can see with the video, Ashton is learning to count to 10. He does pretty good most of the time. 9 & 10 can sometimes get switched around. He knows all his basic colors and has almost learned all the alphabet letters. I have been working extra hard on "M-O-M spells MOM" with his magnadoodle! I think he is starting the basic concept of reading. Hee...hee... I know he has a long ways to go, but we are actually really trying to work with him on some of the pre-reading books. It is all just memorization now, but some day he might surprise us. :)

Dancing is something he loves to do lately. He is absolutely obsessed with Black Eye Peas. He has always loved the beats to songs (must be the rap music Ben constantly plays in his room), but now he insists on having Black Eye Peas on all the time. We only have 5 of their songs, but I refuse to let him listen to "My Humps". He is such a repeater. I am a bit worried. Maybe it is time to accidentally lose the iPod for a while.

After a year of trying to get him to make baskets, he has finally figured it out. Now if he can only dribble....

Ashton's new things this month

His obsession is still trains but.......

He is definitely into coloring and stamping. He loves doing it every day! He even made a Birthday card for his Grandma last Wednesday. He was very proud of it and smiled big when he gave it to her.

He looks so serious. He is definitely a lefty!


He loves pushing the Grocery cart at Central Market! He calls it the Baby cart. It is our new place to shop during the non-busy hours M-F mornings. ;) I try to limit it to 2 times a week, but anytime I say I need something; he mentions the baby cart. ;)

We had to take daddy with us on the weekend! He had to see what Ashton loves to do!


Ashton sure loves to play Gamecube with his brother and sister. He only pretends, but I am sure he will catch on soon enough.

He even loved going to the dentist! He remembers "Dr. Olga" from the tennis club, so it was a familiar face. Plus it helps that their office is designed to make the kids happy. Look up at the ceiling and watch a movie!

He has on his first bandaid. He kept complaining about a rug burn from preschool. He must have tripped and fell. I finally suggested a bandaid and it must have helped it from scraping on things, because he talked much less about it hurting.

Still loving Preschool! ;) He has grown quite independent. He doesn't have to know where I am at all times. In this picture they were all sitting watching our visitor, Mickey, the librarian from the Mill Creek Library.