June

We made it to June!  This June has looked a lot different from last June.  Last June I tried so hard to make sure Asher still did some school work every day, he had set chores he had to do, and I tried to do a lot more organizing of our lives.  This year I still have Asher do some pages in his workbook, but it's more like every few days instead of every day.  He still has chores, but I'm much more flexible about what/when he does them.  And we spend a lot of our days just playing with toys or maybe making our way to a playground or just hanging out.  I was hoping Asher would be able to do swimming lessons, but it looks like that won't happen for another month or so.  But we're filling our days the best we can! 

We play a lot outside and go on walks and all sorts of family adventures.  My sisters, Mom, and sister-in-law have been doing a rotating movie day once a week.  We all go to someone's house and, while there isn't a ton of movie watching going on, my kids get to see their cousins and play with kids their age and get out of the house.  It is always loud and crazy and tons of chaos, but it's really fun!

Here are some pictures from our month:

Every time we go on a walk my girls look for this fish.  We always see if we can "Find Nemo!"  I don't know the people that live there, but if I ever do see them I'm going to tell them they bring my kids lots of joy with that little tree hanging!

We found a new park!  My sister-in-law told me about this one and my kids had a blast.

Ava insisted on wearing her winter hat in the 85 degree heat. 

This park is right next to the zoo so there's a big bear in front of the park!

Asher wanted to pose with it too!

We have been doing much better about reading scriptures as a family.  To help Asher focus a little better, David gave him a Book of Mormon that he had from his mission.  Asher thought it was amazing and spent the next 2 days reading it all by himself!  It really does help him focus more when he can follow along and read his own verses.

Asher caught a fly in our window and declared it to be his pet.  It was dead by the next morning, so I helped Asher take it outside so it could "nap" in the grass.

He named the fly "Doo" and made signs for the window so we would know where it was.

Another new park!

This park is right next to a river, so after we get done at the playground we go by the river and throw rocks in the water.

This is at the park by our house.  The playground isn't fantastic, but the kids have fun and it's within walking distance!

I feel like I can hear Ava's laugh in all of her pictures.  I looked up the meaning of the name Ava and it means "Life".  I cannot think of a more perfect word for this girl!

I feel like my life started over when he learned how to go on the swings by himself!  He has always loved the swings and when he was a toddler I would spend hours just pushing him.  I'm so glad that's over!

This is not the first time Mia fell asleep like this.  I hated how cramped their beds were and really wanted to switch theirs and Asher's rooms.  But, I had let Asher pick which room he wanted when we moved in and I didn't realize that the room he had chosen was bigger until I set the girls beds up.  So he has had the bigger room for 2 years.  I've asked a couple times if he would be ok switching rooms and he always said he didn't want to.  But a few weeks ago he said it would be fine so.....I switched their rooms!

Asher's original room.  Lots of space.  And a heavy bed I had to take completely apart to move out.

Girls' room.  This was the only way I could fit both beds in there.

Girls new room!  Their beds aren't cramped and there's even room for some toys in there!

Asher's new room!  A little smaller, but just fine for him.  He said he wanted the bed right by the window "so the moonlight can fall on my face".  He would try to look at the stars in his other room, but there's a big pine tree out that window so he couldn't see anything.  Now he can see the sky and everyone is happier with this arrangement!  Except my muscles because I spent 5 hours moving furniture and was so sore the next day.

Ava approves of her new room.  She fell asleep while I was moving stuff around.  And I was not being quiet.

There was a week when it was constant fighting and whining and crying in our house.  I think at least 2 kids were going through growth spurts (I can always tell when Asher is going through one because he tells me he's hungry.  This happens at no other time.) It was driving me so insane, but every once in awhile there were cute moments like this when they all sat down and read books together and it was adorable.

At my parents house on Father's Day!  Ava and Mia love their cousins, especially Clara and Cache.

We set up our little 2 ft deep pool on a really hot day and the kids had so much fun in it!

The water was freezing but it was so hot they didn't care.

Also, all 3 of my kids are pretty dang cute!

We went on a short hike up Cress Creek Trail!  We went at 6:30pm and it was like 85 degrees so we were all sweating by the end but had a lot of fun!  We took Millie and she just about melted because her fur is so thick and came home and didn't move the rest of the night.  It's an awesome trail for kids because it's paved most of the way and there are lots of places to sit and rest.

Some funny things:

Ava

• Says phrases all the time that make me laugh.  These include "Thank you so much!"  "I don't know anymore"
• Both her and Mia call every bug "itsy spiders".  They used to run and scream and cry every time they saw a bug.  Now, they still run and scream but they usually don't cry, they just get really excited/scared.  I'm trying to get them to be ok with bugs, but it's taking awhile.
• Loves riding her little tricycle everywhere.  I've tried to get her to ride Asher's old glider bike, but she has no interest in it.  She also loves riding her scooter she got from Grandma Clay. 
  
• Loves loves loves her stuffed bear, appropriately named "Bear".  She wants it every night when she goes to sleep and carries it around the house all the time.  I don't let her take it out of the house unless she sneaks it when I'm not looking.
  

Mia

• Is mostly potty trained, but having a little trouble with the whole pooping thing.  The only thing I've found that's worked is to not put anything on her bottom half so she has a bare bum.  That way she doesn't feel like there is anything like a diaper on.  I've been doing it for almost a week an so far no accidents!  But sometimes when she's watching a show she'll turn to me and go "Mom....look!" and point at her bare bum while giggling.  I can't help but laugh!
• Still sucks her thumb when she's tired and it's still super adorable.  It's not affecting her speech and I've talked with the dentist about it and he's not too worried so I'm just kind of going to ride this out. 
  

Asher

• He is getting so good at reading.  I don't think he really likes reading on his own, but he loves when I read books to him.  He says his favorite subject is still math.
• Loves taking care of his sisters.  He will always volunteer to do things for them like buckle them into their carseats and even help them go to the bathroom!  He is seriously a super brother.
• Definitely a first child because he (almost) always helps out when I ask him.  "Asher, can you let Millie out?"  "Asher, can you help the girls get their shoes on?"  "Asher, can you run this downstairs?"  Sometimes I feel bad for how much I turn him into my lackey, but I buy him treats and make meals for him so I guess it evens out. ;)