Knock Out

They say change is good.

Well, big changes have come to the old Pioneer school. It started when the county bought the building from the city. First the city offices moved and then the new library was built. (Certainly can't complain about that). But I was shocked to drive by and find that they were knocking down the entire gym/stage wing. When I stopped to think of it, many of my early memories were housed in that school.

That's where I went to kindergarten. I ate snacks and had a nap there each day. I stared out the big windows, waiting for my mom to pick me up, and played with By Whiting when she forgot. I learned that while "ants on a log" were adequate, my mom's sugary snacks were the best.

In third and fourth grade, I learned to play the recorder in the music room. I learned to love the library, even volunteering to help out during recess. (Yeah, I was one of THOSE kids for a while there). I played my first organized basketball in the gym, and won my first (and only) championship there as well.

I learned to be deathly afraid of the lunch lady there as well. (Bless her heart). Back then, we had these little cards that had your name and the numbers 1-10 on them. Each day that you bought lunch, the lunch lady would punch your card. Forgetting or losing your card was a sin that should have been included by Moses up on Mount Sinai. Truthfully, I never remember actually losing my own card, but I had seen the pain of others. I would stand in line each day, clutching my card, checking my hand every ten seconds in fear that it would magically disappear as I moved down the hall.

I learned that school enchiladas taste best with a bunch of Saltine Crackers crunched over the top.

But since then, I've learned that change is inevitable. So we'll just have to wait and see what other changes are coming for the old school.

Twice in the Tank

Lauren was baptized today. After a short program, Cade baptized her. The witnesses declared it perfect. My dad confirmed her, and pictures were taken. But then, the man in charge of the font exclaimed, "The chain is broken, I can't let out the water!"

He wanted Cade to change back into his wet clothes and fix it, but Cade had to head back to his basketball tournament. Ryan tried to reach in, but only ended up getting his entire upper body wet.

So I came to the rescue. "Lauren, you got to go get in your jumpsuit again, the last one didn't count. We have to do it all over again!"

The look on her face was priceless. What? You guys didn't catch this earlier?

I laughed and let her off the hook. But she did still have to put on her wet jumpsuit and get back in the font. She waded over to the drain, plugged her nose and dove under. She grabbed the plug and pulled it out. Hooray! Lauren saved the day! And what a baptism story for her grandkids!

More Bridal Pictures

As requested, here are a few more pictures of Liz.

But here is the disclaimer: She doesn't want Jake to see her in the dress yet. So, you are all sworn to secrecy! Dress, what dress!?!? Pictures?!?! I've never seen any pictures!

And not to leave out Jake-

A Busy Summer

The summer is only three weeks old, but we've all ready had a season of adventures. As soon as school was out, Syd headed off to Girl's Camp, and Cade played in a basketball tournament. June 4-6 we camped near Greer for the Ashton Family Reunion. With only a day to catch my breath, we then had a birthday party for Lauren. This weekend, Cade is playing basketball again and Lauren will be baptized today. Here are a few pictures to chronicle our days...

While camping, the kids enjoyed some of the "old-fashioned" games. Does it make me really old to admit that these were a daily occurrence in our neighborhood? I think it just made for a really fun childhood.

Here the kids are frantically trying to finish the scavenger hunt. They joined together to help each other find the elusive yellow feather.

Grandma Ashton provided big money for the scavenger hunt...needless to say, everyone participated. I had to include these photos to prove Syd was there. Most of the time she was off on the four-wheeler or holed up in the tent, reading.

Everyone took a turn jumping rope, even the adults.

Lauren lines up for a gunny sack race.

Cade and Lauren compete against Grandma in the 3-legged race. She almost beat them when Lauren went down....

Cade and Lauren doing a wheelbarrow race-she couldn't even pick up his legs, so she is the wheelbarrow. I was afraid Cade was going to plow her nose in the dirt.
Cade and Ryan in a battle for the ages...that lasted about 5 seconds...Ryan kicked Cade's rear.

Back to civilization, but still partying. Lauren blows out her candles.

Jumping in the pool to finish off the day.

And the fun rolls on...

Give us Strength

Within the past week, two of our 7th graders have died. I am heartbroken. After the first girl, Anthoni, passed away, I vowed to be a better teacher. While I didn't directly teach this young woman, I did see and talk to her every day. Hopefully I was always pleasant, but chances are there were days when I wasn't...when the stresses of life were overwhelming and I lost my patience or perspective. And sadly, there aren't any do overs. Often, I've come to the end of the day and told myself that I would be better tomorrow. But maybe I need to return to the basics-that people, not programs come first.

And so I vowed that I would stand up when we teachers were told that we had to spend every minute in "productive learning". That I would remind everyone of the true nature of Jr. High kids. That really, learning how to deal with peers and develop relationships is just as important as identifying key factors in the Civil War. And more than anything, I want all the students to know that day in and day out, they are the most important part of school. Their growth, whether it is in English, self-confidence, learning to dribble a basketball, finding out how to be a friend, or even just figuring out how to open the dang lockers is more important than AIMS tests, finals and multiplication tables.

While many of the 7th graders were attending Anthoni's funeral, word spread that Kim had died in a car accident. I drove straight to Ryan's shop and fell apart. It's just so much grief in such a short time. The class only had 72 kids in it, so the loss of those girls affects every kid. I just want to wrap the remaining kids up and hold them until is passes...

But as Ryan told me, life rolls on. And so, I went home, wrapped my own kids up, and vowed to be a better mother. To listen to their stories (with both ears), to look at the bugs, to take a deep breath (instead of opening my mouth) and to appreciate every precious moment we are given.

As Giddy as a Bride

Today I took some bridal pictures for my friend's future daughter-in-law. We have quite a system: I work the camera, Kirstin choreographs the shots and Julie is in charge of hair and make-up. And of course, all of our daughters tagged along to be the groupies. Jenna was in charge of entertaining the younger kids, Lauren is the the model before the real shot, and Syd is the location scout.



As we were driving to our predetermined location, Syd spotted this house. Since we know the owner, we stopped to ask if we could use their home. They weren't there. I must admit though, that did not stop us. We all piled out of the car and began to set up some pictures, when the family came home! So we all giggled like school girls, and added another adult and 3 more little girls to our entourage. Funny how "girl" things can bond women of all ages.

It's Great to be Eight!

Our sweet little Lauren turned eight on June 2. She had a great day. We started out the morning with presents and strawberry crepes. In the afternoon, Cade treated her to a trip over to Show Low. They had ice cream and watched the movie "UP". Later, we invited my parents over for her very favorite meal of chicken corn chowder. It was a great day. We rented the pool for a "friends" party today, and she will be baptised on Saturday.

Here are Eight GREAT things about Lauren:

1. When she was born, the first thing the nurse said was "Wow! Look at those big dimples."

2. When I was pregnant with her, we chose not to find out the gender of the baby. As we were deciding on names, I had a dream that I was in the most beautiful, elegant store. It had dark wood floors and rich emerald furnishings. I looked up at the name of the store and it was "Lauren's". When I woke up, I knew that was her name. We never could come up with a boy name...

3. For better or worse, she is doted on by our family. We tried to have a baby for 5 years before she was born, so when she arrived, every moment was celebrated. Cade is 9 years older than her and Syd is 6 years older, so not only is she the baby, she is almost an "only" child.
4. When she was a baby, she loved to be held. If she got fussy, I could calm her down by rubbing lotion on her feet. To this day, she begs to have her feet or back rubbed.

5. I always wanted a kid with pretty blue eyes like Ryan's. Lauren is that kid.

6. Like all of my kids, she has a competitive streak. During Christmas break, she decided to create her own "Ashton Book of World Records". She had me time her doing various things, like running around the house, drinking a glass of water, etc. Then she would challenge Cade to do those same things. (Why? I don't know.) Needless to say, she spent a lot of time being frustrated that he could beat her. That is, until she came up with the standing on your head challenge. She whipped him, and now holds that title all by herself.

7. She really is a sweet kid. She worries about peoples feelings. She likes making things for other people and helping out with chores. She especially likes to do the dishes.

8. She loves to read. Right now she is working her way through the Magic Tree House series. I am almost willing to buy one for every long trip we take. She sits in the back and reads without saying a word.

Which reminds me--the girl can talk. And talk and talk. She loves to visit (with anyone) and talk and talk and talk.

And finally, we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her.

*Thanks to Lori for the great picture*