Asher's turns 4!!

Oh my stars! I seriously cannot believe that our son is FOUR years old! This year his birthday fell on a Friday so we decided to spend that day as a family and have a small little party for him on Saturday then celebrate Father's Day on Sunday. It was a jam-packed weekend but it was wonderful. Thursday night we continued our tradition of asking our small group to help us blow up tons of balloons to put in the playroom for the birthday boy to wake up to in the morning. Then we set up a few small gifts for him to enjoy on his actual birthday... a dragon book, 2 cars, his first lego set and some sour patch candies! We had a relaxing morning just playing and having family time, then went to Chic-fil-a for lunch, then went to Wal-mart to let Asher pick out a new bike that Mimi and Papa were getting him then it was back to the house for naps. After nap time, we played together more as a family and went on a bike ride. I also spent the whole day making cupcakes and other desserts for little man's party the next day. It was so nice to not feel rushed but to just spend time enjoying each other and celebrating the birthday boy! 

Our FOUR year old Asher Sullivan!!

 Loving on Sissy =)

 Love them!!

My favorite 3 people in the entire world!!

So thankful for them...

Balloons are always a hit in our house!

playing with his new cars...

Little man and his cars...

Daddy and Asher making legos...

The first lego accomplishment!!

Chic-fil-a!!

It's so funny to think that we now have a "child" instead of a toddler or baby. Sonny and I were talking after the kids went to bed and this transition (from toddler to child) has honestly been the quickest and most dramatic. When Asher went from being a baby to a toddler, it seemed to be a very subtle transition... one word here... one step there... then we suddenly realized that we no longer had a baby. This change has been so different. Asher has been telling us these past couple months that he will "do" certain things once he is FOUR and it has been so true. I honestly think that when he woke up Friday, he became a "kid" and he is loving it. He is riding his bike faster, taking on more responsibility around the house, and just doing things that are more "grown up." He has also been very interested lately to know about God and Jesus. He always asks us if God is the "biggest" or the "oldest" or if God is stronger than the "hulk." It makes me so full of joy to see that he is inquisitive about eternal things. In some ways it makes me sad to see how fast he is growing but I also know that this is part of life and part of me learning to "let go." I am so thankful for our son and the joy that he brings our family. He is kind, loving, adventurous, and loves to laugh! I pray the Lord continues to grow him to love and adore Jesus. 

Sweet Summertime Part 2...

I am so thankful for the sweet friends that our kids have. We have known this sweet little girl for her whole life and the kids have been getting along so well these days. There was a season where they all seemed to joy irritating each other but I think we have moved past that and they all really enjoy their times together. Aeva and Zoee had a blast playing in the pool the other day- they were all smiles together. I pray that they will both come to know Jesus at an early age and have a lifelong encouraging friendship. Here are some pictures of the sweet girls being silly in the pool...

Yesterday marked a huge milestone in my book of Howard adventures. We went on our first "long distance" bike ride together ! Zoee was on the back of my bike and Asher was riding his- we went for about a 20 minute bike ride and he only had about 3 small crashes (we really only went about 1/6th of a mile but that was a lot for my new bike rider)! By the end of the ride he was quite exhausted but I think he loved it. I loved it too. Doing things as a family is very important to me and I was so thrilled to be able to ride with my little man. Hopefully next time we can go faster than the snails that passed us! ;)

San Luis Vacation...

We are not big travelers when it comes to going on long car rides but we really love vacations. So, in order to have a short car ride and a nice, relaxing trip- our favorite destination is the San Luis Resort in Galveston. It's one of my favorite things to do as a family. The beach is right across the street so we can head there easily and the amenities at the San Luis are perfect for us. Most of the time the San Luis can be very expensive but I found a room for the day after Memorial Day that was about half the normal rate- so we headed to Galveston! The kids did great and Sonny and I had such a relaxing time. The pool at the San Luis is awesome- the kids loved the hot tub and Asher loved the small slide they have for older kids. The kids loved the beach and jumping through the waves. Even though Galveston can't compare to the great beaches of California- the kids don't really know the difference yet =). We also tried Pleasure Pier and to anyone with kids under 5- it is VERY expensive and honestly not worth the money. We spent almost $75 and 2 hours for the kids to each ride ONE ride that was less than a minute long. I think that place is definitely for teenagers so maybe we try it again in about 10 years!! Overall our trip was so nice. I am so thankful for these small trips that refresh our little family!

The Howard kiddos getting ready to brave the waves!

Can't tell if he liked the beach or not?? ;)

 Little beauty with her sunglasses...

Daddy was so great and took the kids in the waves while I stayed on the beach (I am terrified of sharks and water where I can't see more than 2 inches under the water!)

Me and my best girl!

My two favorite men in the whole world!!

Daddy and baby girl...

Zo and I borrowed Daddy's phone to take some pics while Ash and Daddy rode on a "big kid" ride...

Asher's first "big kid" ride! He loved it!

Sweet Summertime!!

We love our Texas summers. I seriously hate being cold and LOVE getting to spend our summers outside in the pool or just hanging out eating some ice cold watermelon! It's amazing! We have already had so many fun pool days with friends and it's just beginning. The Howard family is also becoming more and more of an ice cream family. Sonny and Asher love mint chocolate chip, Zoee loves any ice cream that has something pink in it and I recently found one I love- krazy cookie dough (all of these are Blue Bell of course). I posted a while back about the trip we took with my mom and some friends to take blue bonnet pictures and then to visit the blue bell factory.... well I just realized tonight that I didn't put up all of the pictures. Here are some pictures of our summer adventures so far...

At the Blue Bell Factory playing on the statues...

Our climber...

Holding Kinley's hand...

Waiting "patiently" for ice cream...

Say "cheese" of you want ice cream...

Mint chocolate man like Daddy =)

Beautiful Kinley...

Baby girl and her krazy cookie dough ice cream (it's cake batter with cookie dough!!)

Asher and his life-long friend Aeva =)

 Little miss sunshine soaking in the summertime!!

popsicles by the pool...

This one is random but I love it. Sonny and I went out with some friends and saw Gatsby in 3d (not a great idea- those 3d movies seem to give me a headache) and we gave our 3d glasses to Zo. She is so silly and loves making us laugh!