What a BUSY summer!! (LOTS of pics - beware!)

So since the last update, there was Father's Day. I wanted to snag a generational picture of my husband, his father, his grandfather and the boys (4 generations). We have one of the same group of men back when Holden was a newborn, but I wanted a more recent and up to date one :) So glad I got it!

Next, the boys and I went to Nauticus. It was a blast! 

Holden has also started IM (interactive metronome) therapy with an Occupational Therapist "Dr Gracie". He's doing better and better with each session and I'm hopefully that by the end of summer we'll have some lasting effects that will transfer over into his academics, sports activities and maybe even socially. We call them "workouts" since he prefers not to use the term "therapy", but it's all the same ;)

Then, Holden's much anticipated birthday gift was finally upon us - the Rascal Flatts concert at the Farm Bureau Live ampitheater in VA Beach. He was SO excited! We made a poster to try and win backstage passes or upgraded seats (didn't win either, but it was still fun) and had a blast at the concert. He says he wants to go again next year! :) :) Our friend Shelly went with us too, so it was a blast!

THEN .... Ashton had another race with Team Hoyt of VB, and Holden was also running the race too - the YMCA "We Build People" 5K on July 4th! Here's a few of those pics.

Come to find out later that day, Holden placed 2nd in his division!! and Ashton received a medal because his runner, Marc, placed in HIS division! Ms. Andrea placed in her division too!

I told Holden, after this race, that he had to get his hair cut. He wasn't very happy with me, but it came out SO cute and it looks much better, for summer anyways! 

This haircut was in preparation for our annual family camping trip. Holden still says he hates the haircut but I think everyone else totally disagrees! ;) It looks cute and now he looks like a boy from the back instead of a little girl, though I do miss all the waves he had in his hair LOL

So, onto the camping pictures.....

Papa cracks me up! LOL

A peek inside our tent after I made the beds :)

Then.... Ashton has started Camp Gonnawannagoagin! He had a blast his 1st week, and while he did that, Holden and I went to the zoo, the aquarium and just had fun hanging out. 

and my favorite animal picture of the day, goes to:

then last, but not least, was yet another race - this one was the Allen Stone Braveheart Memorial Run Swim Run, 5K and Children's 1mile race. Ashton participated in the RSR with Team Hoyt again, what a blast, even if he did get tossed out of the boat and their overall time won't count. But Marc, Andrea and Ashton were good sports through it all! Check out the pics!

this is why he got tossed out of the boat during the "swim" part of the race.

and they're off!

Marc let Ashton out of the jogger stroller to cross the finish line on his own two feet!

So yes..... a very busy summer indeed so far! :) But what a blast!!!! 

MAJOR improvements so far this summer

Wow - Ashton's verbal communications are way up, considering his connectedness to YouTube and the TV.  He's just making more sense, being more spontaneous and some of what he says, is downright hilarious! ex: he'll say..... "I said, a thousand times NOooo" with almost that same inflection.... LOL The kid cracks me up on a daily basis.

We've been working on identifying facial expressions; happy, sad, scared and mad/angry. Well, not only has he picked up on those four expressions, he now likes to make a game of it! Watching him try to contort his own face into each expression is absolutely priceless!

How can you not totally giggle at this silly boy? :) He's doing a great job identifying and showing emotions, even if we do still make it a game sometimes.

Even better? Read the note that got sent home today from summer school.......

Ashton did well today. He handled having a substitute teacher remarkably well. He had some minor difficulty transitioning from the computer lab back to the classroom, but he was able to make the transition from the computer activity he really enjoyed back to the classroom. He read a book today and did an excellent job sounding out some difficult words. He also led the class back to the classroom after lunch. He was helpful and made sure I did not get lost. After lunch he transitioned extremely well from putting his lunch bag up and going to a new setting to work with the occupational therapist. We had told him prior to lunch and had him meet the occupational therapist to help with the transition. He worked with the therapist for an hour. He had a good day and should get his reward. I will be here again tomorrow for ::regular teacher:: and then she will return on Monday.  Thanks  ::sub teacher::

How amazing. Well, not really.... I know he's capable of so much more than what he was producing with this past school year's teacher and staff. This note home, proves it. I'm keeping tabs on how he's doing with summer school, both with the teacher and also with the therapists so I can pass it along to current school's staff as a starting point for the fall. He'll start working with his ESY teacher on Friday; he's very excited about this, because she used to be his teacher when he was in 5th grade! She's quite aware of the situation that's gone on this year and is hopefully going to be a major key in helping him make some big gains over this summer to make up for what he lost or stalled on over the school year.

In other news.... Ashton's eating new foods! We had tacos last night for dinner and I made him one, with just meat and cheese. We eat our tacos on fried corn shells (soft) and I just rolled it up. He didn't want to eat it initially, but he did end up eating the whole thing! *thumbs up* Scored points for me! I often lament that he won't eat what we eat, and he always wants hot dogs & mac and cheese or chicken nuggets & fries. He's getting better about at least tasting (even if it's just to lick) the food, and now, he's even biting into and then eating the item. He's also started not only drinking a sip of milk when it's placed in front of him, he's asking for it! I'm trying to cut down on the amount of soda that he drinks (well, all of us really), so I told him once the pepsi in the pantry was gone, no more sodas! Well, he drank the last of it two days ago! He doesn't much like juice, and well, water does get boring after a while. So, yay me again! :) He's very happy to drink skim milk, woot!

It's been a big week in our house as you can see! To think, this is already the third week of summer break (well, not much of a break for Ashton). You may not be able to read the calendar... but you can see that there is something going on just about every single day!

Between summer school, ESY services and summer camp, Ashton's whole month of July is going to be gone before we know it. He doesn't really have any real free time, until mid-August! But, if the last three weeks are any indication, things are on the spiral upward and I can't wait to see the gains he continues to make and where he'll start his 7th grade year at. So proud of my big guy, he's working so hard to make himself fit into this world. You know, that whole 'square peg in a round hole deal'..... yea, that. He's trying desperately to fit into a world that doesn't always understand him and he's doing a fantastic job!

Have a nice night everyone!

Hand-tossed ice-cream = FUN!!

Thanks to Kate & Sara over at "Our Best Bites" for the recipe for this wonderfully delicious, hand-tossed ice cream recipe.

I had been actually googling for pudding pop recipes to use in the old (and I *do* mean, old....) tupperware popsicle molds that my mother-in-law gave me. By old, I mean as in .... my husband is nearly 38years old and his brother will be 33years old in December; these babies are a rare breed! ;) LOL!

It's been unusually warm....  errr, scratch that, HOT this summer, already. With many days over 90 degrees and some days even topping out at over 100 degrees, it's hot and not too fun to go outside and play for the boys. So, when I began looking for pudding pop recipes, I happened to fall upon the gem "hand-tossed ice cream". At first I thought, "what in the world...? hand-tossed ice cream?" But as I read the page, and looked at the ingredient list and looked at the wonderful photos, I am like, "we have to do this!" My older son can't have dairy, but I thought he might have fun tossing the ice-cream around or at his younger brother, but I was wrong; he wanted NO part of it. *shrugs*

So, I asked my younger son if he wanted to try this activity; I figured 1.) it looks like a lot of fun 2.) it gives us something to do OUTSIDE 3.) we get a yummy treat after all the hard work. He said yes, he wanted to do it so I rounded up the few ingredients I didn't have (whipping cream) and the supplies (freezer bags, ice cream salt) and we set off for some fun out in the backyard! He wanted  chocolate ice cream (he is his mother's child, after all... lol) so we used chocolate milk. I suggest that if you want a really chocolatey-tasting ice cream that you add chocolate syrup.

It was a lot of fun with a lot of giggles and running around and throwing it (hey, that's what boys love to do most!) and after all the work, he got to taste the fruit ice cream of his labors. He loved it and it was a lot of fun! We're going to experiment with some other flavors later this week and will post the results then. Until then... enjoy the pictures and the recipe below! :)

The following is a direct copy from the Our Best Bites blog......

Hand-Tossed Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS
2 c. 2% milk
2 c. whipping cream
1 c. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
Desired ice cream toppings and mix-ins (we used sugared strawberries, blueberries, and crushed or chopped Butterfingers, Twix Bars, York Peppermint Patties, Reese's PB Cups, and Skor Bars)

SUPPLIES
2 1-quart Ziploc freezer bags (I used Walmart brand and wished I'd sprung for the big guns)
2 1-gallon-sized Ziploc freezer bags (ditto on the name brand)
10 lb. ice
2 c. ice cream salt
Waterproof tape (like duct tape)
Gloves (optional, but I don't think anyone would have minded a pair today!)


WHAT TO DO
1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, milk, whipping cream, and vanilla. Have one of your larger little helpers hold open one quart-sized bag and pour half of the mixture into the bag and zip shut, squeezing out all the air. Use duct tape to tape the opening shut (we actually, in a pinch, used electrical tape and it was fine!). Repeat with second bag.


2. Place one filled bag inside one gallon-sized bag and sprinkle 1 c. of ice cream salt around each smaller bag. Add as much ice as you can comfortably fit into the gallon-sized bag, squeeze to remove excess air, and zip shut. Maneuver the ice around to make sure there's ice on all sides of the smaller bag inside. Place in freezer while you repeat the process with the second bag.

3. When the second bag has been prepared, head outside. Be sure to bring the leftover ice and rock salt because you're probably going to need to drain some of the salty water and replenish the ice supply while you're tossing the ice cream. Let each kid take a turn (or a couple) tossing the bags of ice cream into the air or to each other. It gets C-O-L-D, so a pair of gloves won't hurt anybody!


4. After about 10-15 minutes, remove the quart-sized bag and rinse off the saltwater. Cut a hole in one corner of the bag and squeeze the ice cream into individual dishes. Let everyone add their desired toppings and have at it! It might be a little melty, but I promise, not a single person will complain! :)