Summer Lookback

Well to state the obvious, summer is long gone. The kids have been in hybrid school for the past month, Halloween decorations are up, and it gets dark at 6 pm. Waaahhhhh. 

But what is there to say about this summer? Covid wreaked havoc on the majority of our vacation plans and the boys didn't go to a single camp. For several months straight they managed to entertain themselves within the confines of the neighborhood, in our friends' pool, and wherever their bikes could take them. It was kind of glorious. Yes we had our moments of boredom, but it was a time in our lives unlike any before and I honestly think we made the most of it. The boat helped ;)

Let's start at Memorial Day weekend and the time we bought a 2000 Chaparral 180 SSE (a little 18 foot motorboat specifically purchased to fit through the tiniest tunnel imaginable. But we'll get to that). Knowing that a) I was going to be remote all summer b) any plans for activities for the boys were cancelled c) we did not join Longfellow d) the beaches, at the beginning, were closed or at least closed to non-residents and e) there wouldn't be any parties or events to look forward to, I knew we needed something good. I said Jason, we are simply going to need to buy a boat :D

So we did! Now, Lake Cochituate is 5 minutes away and has three sections: North Lake, Middle Lake, and South Lake. The boat launch is in Middle Lake but the only place that towables and water sports are allowed is South Lake. And the only way to get there is through this tunnel. 

Can you see it all the way over there? 

It's tight. I tried to get a picture going through:

An inch on either side. Harrowing, as they say. And then there's a second one:

That one tries to decapitate you. Anyway, once you've made it through these tunnels, you are free to tube, waterski, or however you want to recreate. And it's so so fun. We spent the summer on all three of the lakes, swimming, floating, kneeboarding and generally lazing on the water with select family and friends.

It's a lot of pictures, friends, because it truly was our entire summer. I'll save you from the videos ;)

In the middle of the summer there was July 4, and then the rest of July and August was a mish mash of Long Island, a couple trips to Vermont, Ashton's birthday, some time in our friends' pool, a few family visits here and there and a lot of hanging out with neighbors and all. 

In no particular order, and sorry it IS a lot, I have got to stop cramming 6 blog posts into one!! 

LASTLY, Labor Day weekend, we went to Martha's Vineyard for a few days with our neighbors that have become super close friends of ours, the Stahls. It was gorgeous and a perfect way to end it all. Wait, that didn't come out right. You know what I mean ;)

And then it was time for school to start. Truly the longest summer ever and despite COVID and any true structure, I can't believe how great it ended up being.

Next post - the school year so far...

Ashton turns 9!

Along came August 3rd, 2020 (argh yes I'm so behind!) and all of a sudden, our first born was NINE YEARS OLD. Half of this past year he's basically been in isolation with the exception of one or two friends, which is crazy to say. But it has not affected his energy, curiosity or sweetness. He's just the best and he's an amazing older brother. The night of his actual birthday was pretty minimal since we had already had a couple mini family celebrations in New York and Vermont. So we got cupcakes and he got to open a few more presents, one of which was a video camera for making "Youtube videos" ;) 

I had asked the parents of his friends and classmates to make him friendship bracelets and cards and he got a TON of birthday mail as a result (mainly from girls ;) ). It was really wonderful. But well Alex freaked out, he was SO upset, kept saying it wasn't fair, etc. etc. He cried and cried and generally had a really hard time that it was Ashton's birthday and not his. See his face? Grainy picture, but aw.

But then Ashton was Ashton and gave Alex a candle for his cupcake and shared his balloon. 

That really worked out because Alex actually is 6.

Now, without further ado, ASHTON'S STATS!! 

Height: 4 feet 8 inches (!!)

Weight: 72 pounds (!!!)
Vision: 20/20

Clothes size: Boys/Youth M or a 10 (preferably anything Under Armour)

Shoe size: Youth 3 (!!!!) 

Hair: Blond (although in all these pictures, it's blue -> see Favorite Movie)

Eyes: Blue

Cavities: None. At his cleaning a couple weeks ago the dentist came out and was a bit bewildered. He said "So, Ashton's teeth are, um, really white. Like, shockingly white for his age." And when I tell you that comment was the biggest feather I've put in my motherhood hat, well you don't even know lol. Last spring I got one of these and I've used it on the boys several times a week since then. I didn't know when we would ever go back to the dentist! But now we have and Alex came out of the same appointment and announced  "My teeth are so white, I make MILK jealous!" 

Allergies: Eggs, sesame, environmental (dogs, dust mites). This is a bit perplexing I admit. He had his adenoids out last year and he's on twice daily Rx nasal spray and Claritin and his nose is annoyingly, frustratingly, ALWAYS stuffy. He can never breathe through it without serious effort. His pedi just suggested trying Singulair as even though it's for asthma, it's shown to have some benefit for allergies. The only other thing left is immunotherapy and shots. Luckily he doesn't know the difference but it's difficult :(

No fail dinner food: stromboli

Favorite Movie(s): Descendants 1, 2 and 3. These are teeny bopper Disney movies and it pains me to admit, the soundtracks are painfully catchy. And all the characters look like this, hence the boys' hues.

Favorite Song: Bad Guy by Billie Eilish (obviously he has no idea what she's saying or what the song means). Also Yummy by Justin Bieber ("He has a really good singing voice Mommy doesn't he." But same comment applies luckily haha)

Sports: Under COVID-safe guidelines, he is playing on a flag football team in Newton which he loves so far and he made Squirt C in hockey. 

Religion: Catholic by force but not really very much. CCD is online this year (I am teaching again) and his first communion was postponed from last spring and coming up October 31. Yes that's Halloween but everything is already such a circus on that day anyway, why not add a sacrament?

How he spends his time: Ashton does love the iPad. He loves to watch Dude Perfect, Lego tutorials and people solving Rubik's cubes at blistering and unrealistic paces. He wants to have a channel on YouTube Kids (so does Alex, hence the trouble with the camera above) but really what Ashton is best at is digging into things. He'll have a day where is is totally into paper airplanes. It's all he'll do and they will go through 75 sheets of paper, test fly them, color them, time them, talk about why a particular one is so cool, etc. "WATCH HOW FAR THIS ONE FLIES MOMMY!!! WATCH!!!"

Then the next day it will be a yo-yo. He'll search for videos of tricks, spend the day practicing, obsessing over the string ("Can you please untie this knot again? I can't yo-yo with a knot!") and of course complain he needs a new one because the one he has is "for kids". 

The day after that, Pokemon. Neighborhood boys will come over, there will be trading frenzies, he will file the new ones in his binder, look them up, talk about their power and of course ask me to go buy more. 

The funny thing here is that while these are often one-day fads, he is SO into it that I almost DO go get him a new yo-yo, or a fresh Pokemon pack, or a book on how to fold 15 different kinds of paper airplanes. That's Ashton - he's interested and curious and will dive deep. And all his friends (and his brother) follow suit. If the activity of the day is a Nerf war, guess what - he will have every kid in the neighborhood showing up with their guns. He's a very natural leader but doesn't intend to be. He just likes what he likes and when he thinks things are SO COOL, it's so authentic that it's hard not to agree :) 

Final word: Ashton is silly, sweet, and so good. It's what we always say about him. He's a genuinely good boy. He doesn't lie and he doesn't understand injustice or why anyone would ever be mean. You tell him things and he listens - he hears you and absorbs it. He works hard to understand things he sees or hears that he don't look or sound right. He cries when he's frustrated. But after all that, you know he knows, and you can see the wheels turning as he files it away. 

Also, he eats a TON - someone send grocery money.

God Ashton we love you so much!!! Happy 9th honey XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX