Jeff's 80's North Shore 30th birthday party, Racheal's 22nd birthday, Mother's Day Celebration

So when Jeff's 30th birthday was approaching I really wanted to throw a big surprise birthday bash.  Jeff would rather not make it a big deal and feels embarrassed to be the center of attention,  I however feel like 30 is a turning point in life that should be celebrated!  It feels official, like maybe we should finally grow up, or something crazy like that.  We are young at heart and age is just a number but I was wanting to send Jeff out of his 20's with a bang.

Originally I was hoping to plan a surprise mustache party for Jeff...he happened to come across some of the party plans and he foiled my evil plan!  He begged me not to have a surprise party and since it was about him and not me :)  I abliged.  Instead we settled on planning a day at the beach with friends and a bonfire.  Somewhere in the mix of conversations about his birthday with friends the 1987 movie North Shore came up.  I have never seen the movie and had no clue what these crazy surfer people were talking about, but out of the conversations came the idea that we should have an 80's/North Shore beach party...sounds awesome right????

Well if you know Jeff and I, you know that we love to dress up for any and every occasion that we can and so an 80's/NorthShore party is what we had!  The party itself got pushed back a couple of weeks because we couldn't find a weekend that worked until this past weekend which was Mother's Day. So we celebrated Mother's Day and a friend, Rachael's 22nd birthday because she is here for a month and turned 22 last Tuesday so we needed to celebrate her too!  Basically I think we all just wanted an excuse to dress up 80's style and wear crazy clothes, and hang out :)

They boys were loving the blue zinc oxide

Before the magic of teasing hair and blue eye shadow commenced

It was serious business getting ready

Looking good girls!

I started with a side ponytail, but it just wasn't quite 80's enough...

So we busted out the picks and hair spray

Oh yes I did folks...80's wings and frizz in the house!

Looking good gang!

Jeff was Burkhart from the movie, which apparentlyBurkhart thinks he is really cool.  He always has random designs of zinc oxide on and has an entarage of girls around him all the time...

He had the zinc...

And he had an entorage... but don't let it go to your head babe, I was merely playing the part!  

Happy 22nd Rachael!!   So glad you are here so we could celebrate with you! 

I think we look good in 80's  gear :)

Chandler and his entorage...Shawn don't let it go to your head either, she was also only playing the part!

Little Miss Abby was loving her side ponytail and blue eye shadow and I have to say she pretty much rocked it :)

Yet another family photo in which we are in costume...G you can say a lot of things about your parents, but you can't say we aren't fun :)

Courtney and Justin get a free pass on not dressing up only because they were moving...next time  (cause you know there will be a next time we dress up) bring your A game clothes!

Your face looks almost as awesome as my hair!  Love you birthday boy!

Smores!

What's a bonfire without some tunes?

Even though it wasn't the huge suprise 30th birthday party I had originally envisioned, it had all the simple things in life that Jeff loves.  The beach, friends, food, surfing, a good costume, playing guitar, singing, and me and G :)  We didn't gather around and sing Happy Birthday as he blew out birthday candles, he wasn't the center of attention, instead it was a laid back beach day dressed up like an 80's surf movie and it was super fun!  Love you babe and hope your 30th year is full of all the things you love in life!!

Top 10 Reasons Ashlie's a Great Mother.

To the Mother of My Child.

Hi to anyone who is reading this blog, this is Jeff, hacking into Ashlie's blog for some sabotage in the name of love. 

First of Happy Mothers day!  If it weren't for mothers none of us would be here…can I get a witness? 

So Ashlie is a pretty great blogger about things that happen in her life.  She can share touching stories about Gentry, silly stories about Molly-paws and even heart felt stories about her own struggles.  What a gal!!!!  Because Mothers day is upon us I thought it fitting to enlighten readers on the subject of the Author.

All week long I have been thinking of what to do to show my appreciation to my baby's mama.  Clearly I got to do something special, so here it is:

Top 10 Reasons You're a Great Mother!

10. You can cook anything from a recipe book the very first time.

9. I have never run out of clean underware…and sometimes I wear 2 or 3 pairs in one day…Lord knows Gentry wears several outfits each day.

8. You listen carefully to your own heart and our hearts. 

7. Your not afraid of guns and contact sports (nuf said)

6. You love baby clothes and the color pink (we should probably have a girl one of these days)

5. When you give someone a present a usual response is "Wow how did you know?"

4.  You understand how dark the world is so you are always preparing to say something that points to the Lord when Gentry has questions.

3.  You could probably kick a grown mans butt if they tried to take Gentry from you. (if its round, gouge it or kick it)

2. You can glance at a dirty house and have a structured plan of execution within 1 second.  

And the number one reason you are a great mother is...

1. You were pregnant and began raising a baby without your husband, you finished an undergrad degree and a masters degree, made meals, packed lunches, arranged babysitting, worked a full time job, kept the house clean and our bellies full all while supporting a selfish husband in every way.

If anyone deserves a day it is you! I love you Ashlie 

Love,

me

Gentry David starts school at Las Nubes!

The original plan when we moved down here to Costa Rica was for me to homeschool Gentry.  Since we have been here and God has opened numerous doors for me to do counseling we decided to send Gentry to school.  We also really wanted him to learn Spanish...I might have been severely lacking in that subject, as I was blind leading the blind.  The opportunity kinda fell in our lap all of a sudden and even though at first I was a little overwhelmed we are so excited that he is in school.  

My dear friend Sarah graciously drove me out to the school which is about 10 minutes down the highway and we were just going see if maybe they had any openings even though we had been told numerous times since February that they were completely full.  Much to our surprise the principle said they had a kid leave the day before and said, "Is he ready to start school?  Can he start tomorrow?"  Yikes even though it is exactly what we wanted I was a little overwhelmed with the fact it was really happening and it was happening the next day!  Ahhhhh!  Thankfully Sarah drove me directly to the store, helped me get all of his supplies, explained to me how everything would work, offered to drive him to school the next day, and gave me a little oomph for my overwhelmed mom spirit.  She even had all these extra odds and ends that I couldn't find at the store right then like an ice pack for G's lunch, a swim cap for swimming, and an extra car seat!  So there we were ready for school in Costa Rica!  

One of the greatest blessings of where we live has been the people God has put in our lives.  School for G was no different.  He already knew kids at school including some of his best buds.  He got to ride to school with Thomas and Jacob (Sarah's two boys), and his other friend Josue is also in 1st grade but not in his class, so even though he was the new kid on the block, he at least knew some kiddos already!  

We don't have a car if you will remember so Sarah and another friend offered to take him to and from school everyday.  (Remember how I mentioned that there have been really awesome people in our lives, I really wasn't kidding!)  There is a bus he could ride, which at this point I think I would feel more comfortable with him riding it, but when he first started the thought of him riding the bus might have been a little much for me :)  He rode the bus back home but that took me a while to feel okay about also.  (I know, I will own it, I am one of those weird over protective only child moms.  I have come to just own and not feel bad.  What's the worst G can say when he's 18 and leaving home?  "Mom how come you were so overprotective and cried at every little milestone in my life?  Your so annoying!"  I can live with those questions and will take them in stride)    

Any-hoo I got his lunch packed up, his boots tied tight, I hope he don't get in a fight. Ohhhh, back to school!  (For all my Billy Madison loving friends)  I went with him the first morning and tried to nonchalantly take pictures.  Of course G was not impressed with my ginormaous camera in his face at his new school.  I'm sure the first day is more appropriate for all us crazy parents to parade around with our cameras, but school has already been going for a while, so I was certainly out of place.  I really wanted to snap a bazillion shots of my sweet little guy in his cute uniform and new Costa Rican school, but I was limited by his reserved and nervous little looks.  I did catch a couple at least although it wasn't the play by play morning I usually do on the first day of school.  By the time we got everything settled he was a little late getting to class and they were already in art.  I walked with him and the principle to his art class and watched how sweet kiddos can be.  When the principle introduced G to the class in Spanish one little boy literally started clapping and was so excited :)  Another asked if G could speak Spanish, when the principle told him no, he said "he can talk to him, he speaks English" as he pointed at one little boy across the table who then sweetly waved at G.  It melted my heart and reminded me of the innocence of children at this age.  G slowly walked over and sat by the boy who had waved at him.  Beyond the sweet kiddos in his class, the school is really great.  We are really happy he is there, and most days he is too.

Since then it has been great for me to be able to focus on the opportunities I have for counseling and be mom when G-man get's home.  It's overall a great opportunity for all of us.  For the most part he likes school.  He is enjoying being with the kids, and twice a week they get to swim for PE in the Olympic size swimming pool at school!  Who can complain about that?  They also have a little different view on food for kids than Hygiene Elementary would allow :)  Some how he always comes home with candy, chip bags, and one time a fanta??   Apparently they have a snack bar you can buy really awesomely unhealthy food and they all trade!  Needless to say we have implemented some food rules of our own :)  With all the good things, it has definitely been a bit of a transition for G.  One being that half of his day is in Spanish.  While we can see what a great opportunity it is for him and know he will catch on so quickly, it's definitely hard for him.  Some of my favorite comments so far:

"mom she doesn't even speak one word of English to even tell me what she's saying, it's ridiculous!"

"she told the whole class to only speak Spanish to me, I don't even know Spanish, she is so rude to me!"

Me: "G what are some of the names of the kids in your class?"

G: "Mom, I can't even think what their names are cause it's just like Spanish words all around me and it's just too much"

G: "I need a new name.  No one says my name right, they are always asking how to say my name.  they call me "Hentry" instead of Gentry.  I just need a new name everyone can say"

Me: "Just tell them to call you G"

G:"No that's what all my friends call me, but I need an official school name"

Poor guy is struggling a little bit but we all know this transition period is so worth it.  Jeff and I are trying to be really encouraging and supportive cause there are days his little bucket is just empty.  I really do feel his pain, cause the homework that is in Spanish is hard for Jeff and I both to understand, so I know it's hard on him.  Luckily again we all have good friends that are helping us along the way including with Spanish homework :)  All in all we are so thankful he get's to go to school at Las Nubes, and know that in about 3 months it will be a different story.  

One of these heads is not like the other one :)
This picture was on the school website and is of some older grade giving a little presentation but Jeff and I couldn't help but laugh at how much our little guy sticks out in the crowd :)

Yay buddies!  So thankful for you boys!!

G's unimpressed with me taking pictures face sitting in the principles office getting ready to be taken to class :)

His class!

After his first day of school, Molly Paws, G, and I headed to the beach to climb trees and watch the sunset :)  

Tree hugger :)

Playing with Molly Paws and climbing some trees was a good outlet after his first day :)

Love these two blondies

This is his overwhelmed face that we see semi-often these days :)

I love this sweet face, hang in there sweet boy, I promise it you will settle in soon and start speaking Spanish just like everyone else!