Am I crazy????

Last week I took Gentry, Nate, Christian, and Olyvia to a pool here in Longmont. There was 2 big slides and Gentry kept bugging me to go down them. I couldn't leave the other kids and take him so I kept telling him no. I was sick of hearing him ask and I figured he wouldn't go without me since it was a pretty big slide, so I told him if he went by himself he could go. Little did I know him and Nate took off!!!!

About the time they got up there it was adult swim so they sent all the kids back down the stairs. Everyone that is except for Gentry. I was watching and realizing that he was not going to come down those stairs, and he was coming down that slide no matter what the lifeguard said. The lifeguard had turned around and wasn't watching my little devious son scheme his get away into the slide. I literally watched him creep behind her and jump in the slide!!!! I was seriously so mad and scared since the other life guard had left the bottom area since all the kids were not supposed to be going down the slide!!! As soon as the life guard heard Gentry hit the water in the slide she turned around only to see the back of a little blonde headed boy! She then turned down to the other life guard who was sitting on the side of the pool and screamed "Hey!! There is a little one coming down the slide!!" About that time he came shooting out of the slide all smiles! He plunged into the water, and then came up floating on his back about the time the life guard got to him and picked him up. His expression was priceless because he just couldn't figure out why she had rushed over and picked him up, and he was seriously having such a good time! Needless to say he had to sit in time out and got a spankin when we got home because he didn't mind. Secretly I thought it was really funny and such a great depiction of the fearless side of little boys, but I had to play mom and dicsipline at the time. Although, someday I will share the story with him of how God made him brave and fearless from the begininning!

I guess the real question from this story is...Am I crazy for taking 4 kids to a public pool and letting my 3 year old go down a really big slide all by himself as I watch from the bottom? Probably but then again, I wouldn't have any good stories to blog about!!!


My little dare devil coming down the slide backwards!

Sweet Nate enjoying the slide!

Gentry floating after he got off the slide because he couldn't touch.

The boys waiting in line for the slide! They look like little tiny ants up there!

The slide that Gentry and Nate had to try all on their own!!

The 4th of July and Camping

How cute is that sweet boy!!!


The most important part of the weekend! To bad his parents forgot the bait and hooks...sorry sweet boy! He didn't seem to mind to much that he didn't actually catch anything!



G's hair was crazy all weekend since I had to put sunscreen in his hair! It was so cute!


Getting ready for his first ride!

My sweet boys!

G did alot of eating over the weekend!

Our weekend wouldn't be complete without a little dirt time!

I love these sweet boys!!!

Courtney, G, Raphael, Me, and Jeff

His first EVER Smore...and yes he loved it!!!

Louis teaching G to play Hearts!

Sparklers!!!

Gentry's friend Apollo...and yes Apollo spurred G's desire for a dog!

Gentry and Mikaela catching frogs!!!

He was a very good flag boy :)

Relaxing in the tube


The whole gang!!!

The dirty tired face of a little camper boy!


This was right before we left...I think he was done at this point!

After it was all said and done, G slept great for a couple of days making up for all the fun he had over the weekend!

Favorite Conversation of the Day...

Gentry: "Mom, I really need a baby sister with curly hair. Christian has a little sister with curly hair, but I don't"

Ashlie: "Do you think it would be fun to have a little brother or sister someday?"

Gentry: "Ya cause I don't have a little sister with curly hair, and my brother doesn't live at my house, it's just me at my house"

Okay seriously G your killing me!!!! Maybe someday God will make me ready to have another but for now we will have to enjoy your cousins down the street, and uncle Nate (or as you call him, brother that doesn't live at your house) from afar until then! And if God never changes Jeff and I heart, I promise G we will give in and get you a dog!!!

While the conversation made me a little sad for him, I couldn't help but think how sweet it was that he wants a baby sister with curly hair!!! How hilarious and detailed is that!! Anyways after this conversation, I tried to keep him really busy cause I felt so bad, like he is bored with me. Oh well I know God has a plan and I don't know if it includes more kiddos or not, but He will either provide Gentry with kiddos close by like his cousins, or He will change Jeff and I!!

Welcome to my World...I'm Blue!

You can imagine the relief I felt after sprinting outside when I saw a glimpse of Gentry's face thinking he wasn't breathing looking out my kitchen window, only to find that he and Olyvia had colored themselves with chalk because they were playing incredible Hulk and the Blue Spiderman!!! Aaahh, you think I would learn by now, not to worry or stress out but that kid gets me every time!!

Date Night!!!

Last Thursday Jeff called at about 4:30 and said he had received 2 tickets to see Phil Vassar that night at 8! I was really excited and wanted to go because I LOVE Phil Vassar, but usually spontaneous dates don't pan out. We were also keeping my sister's kids that night while she worked so it seemed unlikely we would get to go. At about 6:30 our faithful babysitter Caitlin called and said she would come right over!!! YEA!!! I jumped in the shower, got ready, scurried around trying to get the kids ready for bed so Caitlin wouldn't have that much to do, and at 7:20 when Jeff walked in I was surprisingly ready to go!!!!

We drove to Greeley and hurried through the Greeley Stampede to find our seats thinking we were late since it started at 8, but since it was raining the concert was delayed until 8:40 so we didn't miss a thing! It might have been my favorite date ever! We were surrounded by cowboy hats, the smell of animals (sounds gross but seriously growing up around animals, it brings back so many sweet memories), it was lightly raining through the whole concert, which I LOVED! It reminded me of our wedding day, it lighlty sprinkled through our entire outside wedding, and was super romantic! The rain was so great, his songs were so great, our time was so fun!! In case you can't tell...I LOVED our spontaneous date night! Phil Vassar has so many great songs but here are the lyrics to one of our favorite ones, it reminds us how much we love being married and are so thankful for God bringing us together!!! Even though we were super young, and little G came super early, we love the life we have together! By the way you should all go out and buy Phil Vassar's Greatest Hit cd, so good!!

In a Real Love
I was 18 makin' minimum wage
With a letterman jacket and a Chevrolet
Thought I was cool
Yeah I ruled the school
You were Cum Laude with the strawberry lips
Had the whole world danglin' at your fingertips
Your senior year
And I was your daddy's worst fear
We ran off on graduation night
Thought a couple of left hand rings would make everything alright

With a little bit a live
Little bit a learn
Little bit a watchin' a few more candles burn
And findin' out what life was
With a little bit o' fuss
Little bit a fight
Little bit a kiss and makin' up all night
And one day wakin' up in a real love

Well I was 22 workin' double overtime
I was spendin' dollars and makin' dimes
We were overdrawn and barely hangin' on
Then one night you came to me
With tears in your eyes and an EPT
And said "guess what, yeah, baby ready or not"
Well, I just smiled but I was scared to death
How am I gonna' have a kid when I'm still a kid myself

With a little bit a live
Little bit a learn
Little bit a watchin' a few more candles burn
And findin' out what life was
With a little bit a fuss
Little bit a fight
Little bit a kiss and makin' up all night
And one day wakin' up in a real love
Yeah baby, it's a real love

Gentry's first Girlfriend

When we were visiting my parents, I had my first encounter as a mom of Gentry having a girlfriend. When were driving down I was telling the kids how we were going to go to a graduation party for Kelsey Scott (a good family friend I mentioned previously, that is going to OU in the fall). When I asked Gentry if he remembered Kelsey, here was his response.

Gentry: "Oh ya mom, she is my girlfriend."

Mom: "Oh...she is? How long have you been boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Gentry: "Well...she has been my girlfriend for kinda a long time mom"

(He said all of this in a tone as if it was common knowledge and I should have known this)

I was a little surprised that he had a girlfriend for a while without me knowing but I can't blame him, she is really sweet and gorgeous!! I even happened to catch their first kiss, or their attempted first kiss!!! Our conversation was so funny because I have never talked about girlfriends or heard him talk about it, but I guess it is just a glimpse into the future and what I will be dealing with. I hope he continues to have good taste in women as he get's older!!!

A boy after my own heart!!

When Gentry stayed with my parents, my mom took him to a gymnastics class!! Not just any gymnastics class, but with my old coach who coached me from 8 years old to high school!!! He loved it and occasionally shows us his exercise stretch (aka a bridge up), and has been really interested in doing flips now!! He learned how to do a flip on the trampoline and yesterday did a flip off the side of the pool!! He was so excited to show me his wolverine flip, and did before I could stop him! Not only once but twice before the life guard said if he didn't quit flipping off the side we would have to leave!!(While Jeff thought it was awesome, I was not so impressed being that our 3 year old is diving/flipping head first into the shallow end of the pool or just as easily the side of the pool...BOYS!!!)

Here is a video of his impressive flipping on the tramp! Maybe he will take after his mom, and be a gymnast!!!



Note he was still dressed as doc oc. I have since put the darn 6 month jammies up where he cannot get into them!!

G's thoughts on his costume choices

This video was of Gentry trying to make a reindeer outfit for a 3 month old fit because of how cool the feet were. He hasn't noticed yet, but this little costume did not get to stay :(



This video is of Gentry explaining why he really liked the jammies that were size 6 mo. How could I have missed that they made him look like Doc Oc???

A day at the Garage Sell!

Last weekend we had a garage sell. I was hopeful to really clean out, but for some reason my sweet little boy kept going through his old stuff and insisting that he needed these important items. I am not kidding when I tell you that all of these items where worn in the span of a couple of hours. The kid changed outfits 6 times!!! I can't lie though, I loved every moment of his little imagination at work and what he transformed into each time!!



It started with a hat...it might have been a little cuter when he wore it at 6 months old, now it hardly fits his head, but still he was convinced it "was his favorite animal hat"



Then it moved to the jammies he wore when he was 6 months old. He loved these because it "made him doctor octopus." A keeper in his mind.



Then on to his Halloween monkey costume from when he was 2. Again a keeper because he could dress up like his very own monkey (his favorite stuffed animal for the last 2 years).



And then it was Hulk in real life. This one he wore when he was 1. The funny thing is it looks more real now because it totally doesn't fit him, just like Hulk's clothes when he gets mad!!!






This one was a little beyond me...batman jammie pants, spiderman jammie shirt, and his Lightning McQueen shirt pulled over his legs like a kilt, all while sword fighting. Hmm, where does he get he sense of style, me or Jeff????




Some other characters joined in his fun also! Asher Avalos (Our friends from NMSU little boy, they are up in Colorado for the summer) Asher enjoyed the race car driver costume that was passed down to us from Nate's Halloween collection!



Who knew Cat in the Hat lived in New Mexico??? This was from Christian's Halloween collection!


The collection of costume's proved to be the most entertaining and fun thing for the kids, so I started a costume drawer and without fail, every day since our garage sell a new character is running around my house!! It is really funny to watch Gentry transform into his character each day, and sometimes literally each hour!!! Others included in our collection are Captain Hook, Spiderman, Batman, CU Buff football player, Captian Jack, an Alligator, a Shark, Superman, and some random hats that G enjoys every now and then. I recommend every mom start a collection now, it is so entertaining!!!!




Good night my little character. It must be very draining wearing so many hats each day, but I must say, you wear them all so well!!

Favorite Conversation of the Day...From Afar!

Gentry is currently at my parents spending a couple of weeks or at least until we last without that little man!  A good friend of ours Kelsey Scott graduated from high school.  We went to her graduation party a couple of weeks ago when I was at my parents, and came home with a bunch of plastic OU cups, because that's where she is going to school in the fall.  

Gentry was sitting at the kitchen table eating with my mom, dad, and Nate.  Mom handed Gentry an OU cup to drink out of.

Gentry: "Babie, I can't drink out of that!"

Babie (aka Jill):  "Yes you can?"

Gentry: "Babie, I cannot use that cup, my parents will be so mad.  My dad will give me a big spankin"

Babie: "I don't think your parents will care if you just drink out of this cup for dinner."

Gentry: "Yes they will, they will be so mad it's not a CU cup.  I just can't drink out of it"

So honestly I don't think we have ever threatened Gentry with spankins about other sports teams...but that a thought!! J/K  I guess he can sense our love for the Buffs and would never betray his favorite team!  So cute and we secretly love that he wouldn't drink out of a OU cup!!! :)  Sorry Kelsey and Landry but this family has nothing but BUFF LOVE!!!