Pinkalicious!

My sweet baby girl, is truly no longer a baby! She is 3! I can't believe how fast she has grown up. She has brought so much fun, joy and happiness to our lives. Ava Kate, we love you so very much and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you!

* Loves anything Tinkerbell or princess related.
* Tells us that she is "not Ava, she is Tinkerbell"
* Rides a bike
* has become a fantastic swimmer
* Loves to have her toe nails painted
* Enrolled in Gymnastics class for the first time
* Gets REALLY upset when she has a "wedgie"
* immediately strips the minute we walk in the door to put on some sort of dress up enable on.
* Refers to herself as "little mommy" when she is playing with her babies.
* Extremely independent :0
* Not interested in anything on TV
* Refuses to learn her ABC's (we see tutoring in her future) :)
* Cautious
* obsession: GUM

These are just some things I wanted to record for myself. These are the things that I don't want to forget.

Grandfather Mountain

The kids and I had the privilege to spend two nights with our friends the Springer's at their family mountain home. We try to make this trip happen once a summer. It is always one of the most relaxing times of the summer for me.I enjoy being surrounded by God's awesome creation..country club style of course :) Insley and j.Riley play really well together and the little girls just love to tag along. It seems if it rains or if the sun shines brightly we manage to have fun at the lake. The first day we had lots of clouds and we just knew it was going to just down pour on us. It never did! The kids swam, played in the sand, played board games, ate a delicious lunch and even got to roast smores. Margo and I had great girl time over some bubbly of course! The next day Miss Valda and her sweet girl Lula joined in on the fun! Valda even swam to the trampoline with my kids ( because their Mama sure wasn't getting in that cold water!) She has two new fans!

We had a small scare at the lake that day. A father could not find his son and really thought he was at the bottom of the lake. It was one of those moments where your heart goes to your stomach. It ended up the little boy was out on a paddle boat but definitely made me squeeze my little ones a little bit tighter that night.

Thanks you sweet Springer's for inviting us to have such a wonderful time! We love you and we are so blessed to call you our friends!

3 strikes and you're out!

Tonight we enjoyed some local fun! We attended a Greenville Astros baseball game. The Astros are a rookie league team in our area. We got to enjoy the game and some yummy food in a nice suite box thanks to our friend Clay! The kiddos had a blast..when there is popcorn there is fun! The Pioneer Park is a beautiful minor league field. Not only was this J.Riley and Ava's first game other then t-ball, but their one and only daddy is actually a former player for the Astros. Brent was drafted by the Astros in 2002 and played with them when they were located in Martinsville. Unfortunately none of the coaches that he played for are still with the team. It was a great family outing, we can't wait to do it again next season!

Lake Days

Brent decided to take some vacation days this week. And he thought he was in for some rest and relaxation, HA! We sure have stayed busy. J.Riley started his first week of swim lessons, we saw a great children's singer at the library on Thursday, three birthday parties this weekend, an afternoon on the lake and DollySplash! Whew! We did manage to get out for a date night as well!

This was J.Riley's first time out on the tube alone. He did great! we are thinking maybe ski's next year :) Ava loves to just cruise around The lake, snacking helping her papaw drive the boat. We are so thankful that papaw invites the "tornado" out for some water fun every once in awhile. We really are excited that our kids have the opportunity to grow up with such awesome water toys! We hope they continue to have a love of the water!

All American Girl

Kickin' off the Fourth on the 3rd

Yesterday was full of red, white and blue! We kicked off the morning with the tradition of going to the parade. Let me mention I love our community parade! It is so nostalgic, not too long, and not full of politicians! We then headed to our good friends ho,use for a cookout with great friends. They were such great hosts. The food was wonderful drinks were flowing, corn hole was played, kids entertained...just a great evening! We ended the night with a spectacular fireworks show. Brent mentioned that he finally felt like a "real" parent last night. Haha, I guess it was the zillions of kids running around us with smiles and laughs and excitement waiting for the big show. It was also our first fireworks show together as a family. We didn't have a sleeping baby at home is what that means!! Wonder if next 4th will be different :)

Menu Planning Monday..err Thursday

Monday- Grilled steaks with Gorgonzola butter, Grilled zucchini and red onions (from our garden), crispy new potatoes

Tuesday- BBQ Shrimp and Grits, broccoli and sister Schubert rolls (guilty pleasure of mine)

Wednesday- Parmesan chicken penne pasta, salad (lettuce from garden) and garlic bread

Thursday- Earth Fare Kids eat Free!

Friday- Ribs, baked beans and corn on the cob