June part 3

Summer is all fun and games until you get to the end of June and the novelty is starting to wear off some. I'm done answering questions about how long it will be until X happens to people who can't tell time. I'm also done answering, "What do we have?," when asked if they're hungry. The same shit we always have, that's what. I finally solved that problem by making Asher a picture menu of all of the foods he will eat that we keep stocked. I redirected the "how long?," question to Siri. I will tell them X is happening at Y time, ask Siri how long until then, so now they can ask the AI their questions 500 times instead of me! Ha!

Asher is all about the questions and it exhausts me. He can't do anything without affirmation that whatever it was he did, he did well. Even if I lead with praise, like, "Good job with that puzzle!," he'll still say, "I know," and then ask, "Did I do a good job with that puzzle?" 🤦🏻‍♀️. Sometimes he'll follow that up with, "I'm smart!" 😂. And he is, but he's not the least bit humble. 

When he's not seeking affirmation, he's repeating himself or asking me nonsense questions, and is it September yet?? 😂. Not really. I'm not ready for summer to be over by a long shot, but man are some days longgggg. If you would've told me a year ago that it would be this child driving me crazy instead of his brother, I wouldn't have believed you. 

Nana and Juju got us a pool pass for a Christmas gift (which is the best gift ever!), so I like to keep track of how many times we use it. We've already gotten their money's worth in the month of June alone. Our pool visits are free from here on out 😎. 

During the last week, WV Birth to Three lead a playgroup at Bruce Park and offered free mini golf to all who came. The boys had fun playing. When Ash goes to school this fall, I'm gonna miss attending all of these fun events! 

The boys had a dentist appointment with a new dentist, thanks to a change with our insurance 😑. The both did great and didn't have any cavities. I still brush Ash's teeth for him, and sometimes still go over Quinn's if I think he didn't do a thorough job. I care a lot about the health of their teeth! Quinn hasn't lost any teeth yet, but it should be happening anytime because kids typically lose them around age 6. The dentist checked one that Quinn said was wiggly and agreed it may some out soon. Quinn is hoping it does by his birthday in two weeks, but I doubt it. 

I thought I was being super efficient planning our day around two events, which should have had just enough time in between them for us to make it to both. We had a magic show at PC library, followed by Kate's summer league basketball shootout. My scheduling would've worked out perfectly if it wasn't for that damn train that frustrates everyone in a 20 mile radius of this town 🙄. Ash really enjoyed the magic show, while Quinn spent the majority of it telling me he knew how the tricks were done. Six year olds know everything, if you weren't aware. 

Amazed ✨

We were late, but we made it for the first game of the shootout, and then stayed for the second, too. Magnolia kicked butt and won all three of their games. How in the world Kate is old enough to play high school ball, I don't know 😭😭😭.

We took a trip to the Tanger Outlets to do some shopping and to surprise the boys with Planet Bounce. It's a big, indoor bouncy house, and they loved it. 

Ash was a complete maniac in there.

There was also an arcade, and one of the machines was a candy claw machine. Ash walked out with two handfuls and he was very pleased with himself 😅.

On the way home, we stopped at Target so the boys could use their allowance money to shop. Ash found a K Pop Demon Hunters shirt and puzzle. The puzzle is 100 pieces, so I assisted by sorting pieces that went together and separating them into groups, but he put them all together.

I have a bit of a pattern recognition super power that enables me to find four leaf clovers, often when I’m not actively looking for them.  Like, I’ll just be walking along and look down and spot one. I got this from my mom. Many years ago, she and I once found over one hundred 4 leaf clovers in one day! 

On Saturday morning, Ash and I went for a walk and when we were heading toward a bench for him to take a rest, I spotted two 4 leaf clovers. I asked him if he could find them, and while looking for mine, he found another one all on his own! He went on to find the ones I spotted, as well. As we walked further, this happened again, and he was able to find two more once I gave him an area to focus on. 

I’ve suspected that Asher may have also inherited this skill because of his proficiency with jigsaw puzzles, and I now have confirmation. 

We didn't go to the Back Home Festival this year, but we tried to enjoy the fireworks on the last day. Ten o'clock is way past their bedtime, but we waited it out anyway. I chatted with people who were there who said they couldn't see anything from the festival grounds, so I think we may have had the best view, watching them from Mandy's porch.

 

We made it even more fun with another round of Sterno roasted s'mores

We finished out the month with a fun filled day with Iris at a playgroup at Sistersville Park, where we extracted dinosaurs and played at the park. When Iris went home, the boys complained they were "steaming," Quinn's favorite, though inaccurate, word to use when he's hot, so they begged me to play in water. I went scavenging in the garage to see what we had. I came up with an old splash pad that was missing the plug, and a dinosaur sprinkler. The sprinkler provided ongoing water since the splash pad didn't have the plug and couldn't spray. I tossed them some soap paint and called it a bath 🤪.

The difference between boys and girls: Quinn was done super fast because he stabbed at the egg dangerously. Ash was done second, having injured himself with the sharp digger as he went out at it on high speed. And then there was Iris, who dug at the egg gingerly and had multiple people ask her if she'd like them to help 😂. She declined and got it out herself...eventually 😅.

Definitely counts as a bath ✅