July Nostalgia

I love July. It's full of Fireworks and community and love and excitement.  I love the memories.  So many memories. Spent with family and friends. Snuggled up watching fireworks. Laughing so hard all night long. BBQ's and eating all the food.  Fishing with Grandpa and feeling like I was the favorite, even though he had more than enough love to give to everyone around him.  Watching Fireworks with the Idaho Falls Temple in the background.  Celebrating July 3rd with friends and fireworks at Eaglewood golf course.  Spending time in Park City at the parades and at the Canyons with some of the people that mattered most to me in the whole world.  Small town Morgan fireworks and roasting starbursts in the backyard of my parents.  Most recently taking my perfect little family of my own to the rooftop of Jason's school and watching the fireworks all around the City of Fort Worth.  It was never really organized but all of our med school friends would eventually end up there. On top of that roof of the place that brought us all together and gave us something in common.  I loved that.  It is also the time of year that I tend to get homesick for family and friends the most.  I remember struggling in New York knowing that everyone I cared about was celebrating a fabulous holiday with out me.  In Michigan feeling like the state just didn't know how to compete with excitement that Utah brings on the Fourth.

This year, Jason has just started residency and we are seeing very very little of him.  That familiar homesick feeling has definitely crept back in knowing we aren't going to see Jason until well past the 4th.  We got invited to a ward member's Independence Day Party on the 3rd.  I braved it and took the boys.  They had a blast on the bounce houses and slip 'n slides.  I'll be honest I felt a little lost.  Not really seeing very many familiar faces and realizing that my two littles who use to be afraid to leave my side were not so little and timid anymore as they ran off and played almost immediately leaving me alone to fend for myself.  I couldn't help but grin watching Ashton try the slip 'n slide all on his own with out any encouragement from me.  And my heart almost burst watching my once terrified-of-every-noise little boy slowly inch his way up closer and closer to the front of the driveway where the rest of the kids were all watching the mini firework show in the street.  He still kept his hands up protecting his ears but he loved the fireworks! I ended up back inside the house with Julian, unfortunately these fireworks were a little to close for comfort for him.  On the way home Ashton kept saying "oh Mom I just wish you could have seen them they were so cool!" My heart was full.  As I tucked them in bed that night I was overcome with emotion. I was so proud of both of them.  They have taken this move and change in lifestyle with out any hesitation (oh to be a kid again).  Ashton has amazed me everyday with his new found courage, determination, and independence.   I turned some familiar background music on to drown out the noise of the neighborhood fireworks so they could get to sleep.  I wanted so badly to just climb in bed with them and hold on tight in hopes that they might not grow up during the night.  We may have celebrated the Fourth of July a little differently this year, my heart may be a little homesick for Fourth of July pasts. But I'm so grateful for the blessings of the here and now and the country that allows us to sleep safely in our homes and celebrate our independence and freedom with out fear.  Here's to many many more Fourth of July memories.

Kindergarten

Ashton rocked Kindergarten!  Honestly the year couldn't have gone any better. He had the best teacher, I truly couldn't have asked for anyone better. Mrs. Sloter was so kind, soft spoken, loving, so understanding, patient and truly invested in her students.  She wanted Ashton to succeed. She also wanted to give Ashton the opportunity to fail.  Ash is a bit of a perfectionist. He never got in trouble, however Mrs. Sloter would encourage him to try and to be silly in class, and to know it was ok if he ever did get in trouble (which he never did).

I was explaining to Ashton one night how I love him no matter what, even if he gets in trouble at home (which definitely happens) and if he gets sent to his room or has privileges taken away it doesn't mean that I don't still love him.  He looked up at me with his big eyes and said "Just like Jesus and Mrs. Sloter?!" The fact that he knew Jesus and his kindergarten teach would always love him no matter what warmed my heart and also made me realize I needed to step up my game to get ranked up there with Jesus and Mrs. Sloter!

He had several friends from his Pre-K class and he made several new friends.  The second part of Kindergarten he really blossomed both socially and academically. I volunteered at the school about once a week with Julian, who was the best little helper. It was so fun to join Ashton for lunch and watch his interactions with his buddies.  His best friends were: Aislinn (in another class but they were best friends in PreK too), Marvin, Ryan, Desmond, and Noah.  Ashton takes time to warm up to people but to know that he had such great buddies who were kind and caring to meet him at school everyday was all I could ask for.

He excelled in reading and math.  Math was often too boring for him he said, as he really caught on to things quickly.  He absolutely loved science and learning about the solar system and plants and animals. They took a field trip to the Fort Worth Zoo and Ashton asked Dad if he would come and help on the field trip.  Jason said it was hilarious watching the "tickle wars" going around between him and his friends all day.  Coming from a boy who hated other people touching him at the beginning of the year...

We moved the day after Kindergarten graduation.  So we were very lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Snyder in town to celebrate Ashtons awesome year.  While my heart broke watching him say goodbye to friends, his school, and his teacher.  I was also bursting with pride and joy at the great strengths and accomplishments he had acquired over the past year.  While the days were long, spending hours in the car driving back and forth to his school.  (Poor Julian got the worst of it, spending two hours a day just getting dragged along back and forth.) I wouldn't trade the experiences, friends and blessings we received from Ashton being able to attend Chapell Hill Academy.

  

Tigers Tigers Tigers

We definitely got our moneys worth out of these tiger costumes! With the exception of the Ashton Doggy year in 2013 we have always been Halloween Tigers.  Over a month before Halloween Ashton got out his white tiger costume from last year and tried it on and guess what... it still fit! So we got out the orange tiger costume for Julian and... it still fit! 

After an afternoon of playing tigers Ash decided he wanted everyone to be tigers again this year.  At first I was kinda bummed because I was looking forward to picking out new costumes this year but if the costume fits...  

It did make me happy to know that Ashton still had a love for white tigers.  

We got to wear our costumes quite a bit this year.  I love all the Halloween activites that go on around Fort Worth.  We couldn't have attended all of them if we had wanted to! We had fun decorating pumpkins and checking out all the other fun kids in costumes at the Ridgmar Mall Kids Club early in the month.  Next was Boo at the Zoo.  Trick or treating around the zoo is always fun.  

I told them to say "RAWWWR!"

Ashton was extremely excited to see the white tiger again, and lets be honest so was I.  Last year was still one of the coolest experiences and we definitely love that white mama tiger.  It was a rainy day so our friend was hiding, but the orange tiger did make an appearance long enough for us to get a family tiger picture.

Julian saying "trick or treat" is the cutest thing.  He is a huge fan of the suckers for sure. 

We did Reverse Trick or Treating again at Dad's school with SAA.  It's always fun to get to visit Daddy on campus, especially when candy is involved.  

The school threw a fun Halloween Party a few nights later full of fun games and you guessed it more candy.  Dad even took a break from studying the night before his test to come play with us. 

The morning before Halloween we went with friends to a fun Toddler Jump party at Flight Deck.  This was my favorite party of the season.  It was so fun to jump and play with the boys.  Ashton even won a prize in the costume contest!   That night we had our ward Halloween party at the church. 

 We trick or treated around to different classrooms and Ash and Dad even went through the haunted house!

Ashton has been super into Halloween this year.  I can't even count how many times we have watched Curious George's Halloween.  We've made so many "spooky" Halloween crafts and he loves talking about the different things that make it spooky, but that aren't real.  He made this picture to send to Baby Miles.  

He has been practicing his name, but this was the first time he had ever tried to write anything else.  I was so proud and impressed!

Halloween fell on a Saturday which was nice because we had Dad home with us all day!  We had a perfect Halloween, in my opinion.  We went and saw Hotel Transylvania 2 at the movie theaters.  They had big recliner seats that were so comfy.  We started with four recliners and ended up with all of us snuggled up on two of them eating popcorn together.  Moments like that make my heart so full of joy.

  After the movie we put our costumes on and trick or treated around the mall.  Nice and easy!  On the way home we drove through some neighborhoods that were known for their "spooky" decorations.  Ashton was out before he could even finish his candy.  We came home and finished the night off with soup, grilled cheese, and candy. 

Love these little Kitty Cat Tigers SO MUCH!

Butterfly Flutterby

We, as in all of us Jason included, went to Grapevine on Saturday to check out the Butterfly Festival and Nash Farms, Fall Roundup.  

While the Roundup was kind of a bummer (other than we learned that Ash is really good at horseshoes) the Butterfly Festival was awesome! 

 It was at the botanical gardens and it was filled with butterflies!  The Monarchs travel through Texas on their way to Mexico as part of their migration.  I'm not quite sure how they do it, but they catch them and tag them with a little sticker on their wing and then release them and track them. 

 Ashton and I got to release one of them and then we spent the rest of the afternoon chasing butterflies around, doing crafts, walking through a pumpkin patch and finished it off with a picnic in the beautiful gardens.

 It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday. 

18 months

Really? A year and a half already? How does this happen.  

Julian Gray, you are so funny, so crazy, so loud, so fast, so curious, so dramatic, so loving.  You are kinda obsessed with me right now and I kinda like (love) it.  You want to do whatever big brother does.  You love being around other kids and you love making people laugh.  You talk and talk non-stop whether it is real words or not.  You are finally starting to sleep in your own room, in your own bed, and you almost sleep through the night... almost...  Naps are another story though.  If I want a nap out of you I have to hold you.  Snuggle baby.  I usually fall for it, because I love you so much and I know that unloading the dishwasher can wait because before I know it you won't be requiring naps and mamma cuddles anymore, and that breaks my heart a little.  

So even though I know there are a hundred other things I should be doing...

I think I'll just stay here.

18 month stats:

Weight: 25lbs 2oz. = 60%

Length: 33.25" = 75%

Head Circ: 19.25" = 90%

Bowling

This was a family first.  So I felt like it deserved documentation.

We went bowling for a friends birthday.  Ashton was so excited.  Julain loved it too, but mainly he just wanted to carry the balls all around.

Ashton may or may not have gotten a higher score than I did.

He absolutely loved it and he was also the best high five giver on the whole team.

Museum School

Ashton started Museum School at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and he couldn't be more excited! It is only once a week for two hours, all though he would go every day if he could.  He loves it.  I'm so proud of him! He goes in so excited and comes out equally excited to tell me all about what animal they learned about that day.  I absolutely love seeing him with so much self confidence and desire to learn and explore.  He is constantly building and inventing and coming up with crazy ideas.    He has gained such a sense of independence and self worth these past few months.  He still likes to know I'm around and what the "game plan" is but he just GOES for things now and is so extra excited about life!

The night before his first day of school we had Breakfast for Dinner to celebrate Ashton and all his awesomeness.

Ba-Pop

Ba-Pop AKA Grandpa Snyder came to town!  We were lucky to have him for almost a week.  With in hours he became Julian's best friend.  Julian loved "Ba-Pop" so much that I could walk right past them sitting together on the couch and Julian wouldn't even flinch! Currently Julian is in this phase where if he even hears my voice in the other room he freaks out that I'm not holding him.  This friendship between the two of them meant a great mini-vacation for me as well.

Ashton of course loved all the extra attention that came a long with Grandpa being in town as well.  The boys wrestled, they played games, they snuggled, they both loved all the great one on one time they received from Grandpa.  

(One of my all time favorite pics! You can just feel the JOY on these boys faces.)

He took us all out to Chick-fil-a, we had the missionaries over for dinner, we went to The BRIT, Grandpa helped out our crazy, somewhat dysfunctional, primary at church, and did I mention they wrestled?  One of the highlights was our BYU party.  It was the first game of the season so we got out all of our recently acquired BYU swag and had tons of treats and snacks to go a long with it.  BYU won so that made for a great ending to our little party.  

After the game, my dad graciously took the boys the rest of the night so Jason and I could take some time alone.  We walked around Sundance Square downtown and enjoyed some Jamba Juice,  which was one of our go-to places while we were dating.  It was so nice to walk around and enjoy the night just the two of us.  

My Dad was here for a business trip in Houston, so Monday the boys and I headed down to Houston to tag-along with him.  We spent Monday night visiting with my Dad's old mission companion.  The boys loved it because they had tons and tons of toys and lots of food.  The boys also love hotels, and so do I really, we could probably never leave the hotel and still have a successful vacation.  Especially when they have a good swimming pool and free breakfast.  The boys and I went swimming in the morning while Ba-Pop was at his meetings and then we all headed out to the Houston Children's Museum.  The Museum was incredible!  It is safe to say that we all loved it.  

(I just love this little artist.)

The best friend relationship between Ba-Pop and Julian was nice, because I also got to spend some good time playing with just Ashton.  He never held still long enough to get any good pictures, too much to see and do.  He absolutely loves exploring and figuring out how things work.  I love watching his little mind put things together and seeing the excitement that comes a long with that. 

We finished the trip off with Ba-Pop spoiling the boys with Happy Meals on the drive back home.

We were so sad to say goodbye to him the next day.  

Julian walked around the house looking for him the rest of the week.  We sure are lucky to have such a great Grandpa that has to take business trips to Texas! 

BYU50

If anyone would have ever told me I would be looking through downtown for a box of BYU swag or getting excited about BYU football 10 years ago I would have laughed in their face and probably started singing the Aggies fight song.  But as luck would have it we are now the proud owners of the BYU50 Fort Worth big blue box! 

Right before football starts back up BYU goes around dropping these boxes all over the country and then posting a picture of where it is at.  BYU fans from all over decked out in their BYU gear come running to find it.  Last year we had some friends try to find it but missed it.  This year my dad reminded me in the morning that they were going to be dropping in Texas that today.  I was at a baby shower and laughed it off at first.  Later that afternoon we were getting ready to head to Dallas for a b-day/pool party and thought we'd try and look around downtown while we were driving through.  They had sent out a tweet saying that they were on their way to Fort Worth from Dallas, and then another saying that the Fort Worth drop had been delayed.  So we really had no clue when they would actually drop the box.  My two guesses were Sundance Square or the Water Gardens.  We drove by Sundance and saw a few other people in BYU shirts waiting for the drop there.  So we decided to head to the Water Gardens, all the while I kept refreshing my phone and switching back and forth between Twitter and Instagram waiting for their post.  We were almost to the Water Gardens when all of a sudden we saw THE BOX!  A guy in a BYU shirt was crossing the street to a parking lot on the other side of the Water Gardens and he had the box!  Jason immediately stopped the car and I jumped out.  The guy got into a mini van full of other people wearing BYU shirts.  This meant one of two things either that dude just found the box before they ever posted the picture OR we just found the box before the picture got posted!  I was about 15ft from the van while Jason parked and I kept refreshing my phone and just watching that mini van.  All of a sudden this photo went up:

I ran across the street to this exact spot but there was no box.  A group of other people also came running and when they didn't see the box they took off to the other side of the Water Gardens to look there.  I started heading back across the street to just go talk to the people in the mini van and see if they had already won the box somehow or what was going on.  On my way back across the street the same guy I saw earlier came walking over to me and said: "You Won!"  I called Jason and had him get the boys and come over.  I couldn't believe it! I couldn't stop laughing.  Apparently that guy had taken the picture of the box but there were too many people standing around that he wanted to wait a bit before posting it, so he walked back across the street with the box, which is when we saw him!

There was a group of people that soon found us, and some were less than thrilled that we already had the box.  Jason and I felt pretty out of place in our swimsuits while most everyone else had their BYU gear on.  Some of these people had driven far and been waiting a long time.  We were literally on our way out of town and just got lucky.

Jason and I couldn't stop laughing about our luck the rest of the day and for a few days after that actually.  The box was packed full of tons of different stuff: jersey, signed picture, flag, blanket, socks, gloves, water bottle, and tons more.
Thanks BYU!

Utah State, hey, Aggies all the way! 

Babies of the 80's

One thing we love about Jason's school is all the fun activities they put on for the students and their families.  They had a fun back to school/welcome week with an 80s theme.  While most activities were just for students on campus I got to help with the BINGO activity as part of SAA.  So of course we snuck into the photo booth a few times.  

They had a fun family activity at Rollerland West.  Pizza and roller skating, you know we're not going to turn that down.  I hadn't been on roller skates since who knows when, probably junior high, Jason probably longer than that.  Ashton was very excited but very hesitant, Julian LOVED it!  He never wanted to stop.  

Love these family adventures!

Birthday Trip For Me

My Dad had a business trip planned for Texas before we even moved down here.  So I had been looking forward to figuring out a way to see him while he was in the same state as me.  Then for my birthday my Dad flew my Mom out so she could drive with me and we could all spend a few days together.  I had been looking forward to this trip, and was so excited for my boys to get to see their grandparents again.  Ashton was off the wall excited. 

I picked my mom up late Saturday night.  Sunday morning we had peach cobbler and blew out candles to celebrate both my moms birthday and mine.  Ash made Grandma play cars all morning with him.  After sacrament meeting we said goodbye to Jason and took off on our adventure. 

We met up with my Dad by Austin at his cousins house.  We took Ashton to the park so he could get some energy out and then had dinner at The Cotton Patch.  We got to the hotel in San Antonio late that night.  This was Ashtons second time at a hotel but he was so excited and thought it was awesome having a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa. 

Monday we checked out downtown San Antonio and took the boys to the childrens museum.  Even I was super entertained there.  Ash has grown up so much in the way he plays and interacts with things.  I love watching his mind figure things out and discover new things. 

After Grandpa got done working we went swimming at the hotel.  The pool was freezing, but Ashton never wanted to get out.  He loved playing with Grandpa. That night we went and walked around the Alamo and the River Walk.

The next day we took Ashton on a miniature train ride, that had a tunnel and everything, then we drove to Austin which was where my dad was working that day.  We went to an outdoor mall for some window shopping and lunch and then played in the outdoor fountains.  We had to stop in Barnes and Noble so Ashton could play with more trains too (the boy really likes trains).  That night we went downtown to the Congress Avenue Bridge.  Underneath the bridge live over a million bats and at dusk they all fly out to go eat.  Its the thing to do in Austin apparently, there were tons of people everywhere all waiting for the bats to come out.  It was pretty crazy watching all of the bats flying all over the place.  We watched for about a half hour before packing up and they were still coming out when we left.  I will say though, there are hardly any bugs in Austin.

We drove back home Tuesday night, the trip went by far too quickly.  We had to take my mom back to the airport Wednesday morning.  We were all sad.  Julian and Ashton both loved all the time and attention they got from Grandma and Grandpa.  I love watching them love my boys.  While we were away I kept forgetting that I didn't still live in Utah, and that I wasn't just on a vacation with my parents.  It was so sad to remember that all this having fun and happiness with them wasn't going to last past a few days.  It's hard to explain, but it just felt good to have them around again.  Getting a nap and being able to sleep in while my mom had the boys sure helped with those good feelings too!

The White Coat Ceremony

I was so proud of Jason.  I AM so proud of Jason.  He has worked so hard to get here.  It is crazy to think that we are really doing this.  Really in med school.  My husband is really going to be a doctor.  Jason is really going to do what he wants, help people, save lives, make a difference.  I know it is going to be long, and everyone has warned me that it is going to be hard.  We made it through the first week of just orientation classes, and we really missed him, I guess I'm not sure what to expect when real classes start on Monday.  But he will be incredible as always.

The White Coat Ceremony is when all of the first year med students receive their first "white coat" which signifies the beginning of their medical career.  They talked about how hard everyone has worked to get to be where they are at.  They talked about how everyone one of them was the top of their class and that they were all chosen to come to this school for a reason.  "There were over 3,000 applicants for the 230 spots for the class of 2018.  Feel special!"  and we definitely do.  Out of all the interview opportunities we had Jason knew this was where he wanted to be.  They only accept 8-10% of the incoming class to be from out of state, and the majority of those students come from BYU.  Jason even received a scholarship on top of that!  Ok, done bragging...

 

I think there was only one other person there more proud and excited than I was. 

So glad she was able to see her son follow his dreams today too.

Grandma and Grandpa Beckstrand come to Texas

We were lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Beckstrand come out for Jason's White Coat Ceremony.  It was so nice to have them here with us in Texas and make things feel a little more like home.  It was a quick trip but we had so much fun with them.  

Friday after Jason picked them up from the airport with a very excited Ashton we got to go to a BBQ that the school was putting on for all of the first years and their families.  It was so much fun and just what I needed.  They had an amazing balloon artist and other fun games and activities set up outside and yummy food.  

Yes, that is most definitely an octopus backpack.

We also got to see where Jason will be spending most of his time for the next two years.  The lecture hall was really impressive, everything is very hi-tech and new.  We also got to see the rest of the building where they get to practice being doctors.  You really feel like you are in a hospital, it is all set up just like it would be with a bunch of exam rooms that they will get to practice in.  I was really impressed and it was really good for me to see and understand a little bit more what Jason is going to be doing.  It also felt good and a little bit more normal to be all together having fun as a family.

Saturday was the big day, the White Coat Ceremony, but I will save that for another post, because it really was that cool and special.  After the ceremony at the school Grandma and Grandpa took us out for lunch, then we came home and all relaxed together, Grandpa Beckstrand loaded us up with all of our favorite treats and we rented a movie and just enjoyed being together.

 Sunday was church, then naps, then we went downtown and explored the Water Gardens in Fort Worth.  I'm sure we will be back, it was a really beautiful area and the different fountains are pretty incredible.  Ashton especially loved running around and exploring with his Dad.  He has really missed not having him around as much.  

Sadly we had to say goodbye Sunday night, as they left really early Monday morning.  It was another really hard goodbye.  This was the end of our visitors, we are on our own now.  It made things feel like more of a reality and that just made it too hard to say goodbye.  It especially breaks my heart that Ashton and Julian are going to miss out on such amazing grandparents.  I know we will still see them, but I'm just not sure when, and that's a hard thought.  I am so grateful they got to come out though.  I know it meant a lot to Jason to have them here as well.  It was also a huge help to me to have them at the White Coat Ceremony,  I was actually able to enjoy it and pay attention to things more than I think I would have if I had the two boys by myself.  I feel so blessed to have such amazing parents and in-laws, and I feel extra blessed that my boys get to have so many amazing Grandparents in their lives as well.