Summer at The Ark.

There is nothing like cooling off in Noah's Ark on a hot summer day. That is exactly what Ava and I did today. What fun! There is nothing better than having the day off and playing with my girl. Days like this are my favorite. It is these little moments that I am so thankful for!Ava, you are my best bud. There is no one else I would rather swim in the ark with!

We LOVE summer!

Ava loves the pool. Now she loves it more. She went swimming at her Aunt Lissa's pool. It had three slides, how cool is that? She can't wait to go back!! (Aunt Lissa, you may never get rid of us! ha)Ava loves Kira and Conner. It is safe to say that they love "Baby Ava" too! Let's just say that were lots of kisses! So sweet! We love you guys, thanks for a "sliding" good time!

Visit to Mamie's

This was Ava's first visit to Mamie's without her Mama. Jarred took James to his parents for the weekend for hunting and fishing. The boys had a great time, and so did Ava! Ava had the best time playing with her Mamie and Papaw.
Jarred and James went to Motortike to take a tour and of course take a ride! I hear that Ava was a big hit. She wanted to sit on every motorcycle and push all the buttons. It was quite around the house. I got several things crossed off my to-do-list and got my scrapbook room cleaned up and all my new items put away. I missed my peeps. I was happy to see them both today. It was too quite and I am happy to have some noise back in my day. Hubs and sweet girl can sure make it! (I will remember I just typed this and laugh later! ha)

Little Mama

Strolls + Kisses = PreciousAva loves her new doll stroller! What a great little mama she makes.

(Let's just hope by the time she is a real mama she can keep the baby in her arms and not on the floor!)

Corn Shucking Party 2010

I love fresh cream corn. Who doesn't right? I loved it even more when my mamaw or mom make it. Loved, key word. I am really not in love with corn anymore. Who knew one could have a skin reaction. Yes, I did. Can you say itch! Yikes!!! I did not have any idea the kind of work that goes into making it. I have a whole new appreciation for cream corn in the can.
I think it is safe to say next year I will be careful in asking for this to be made. I mean really, who wants to shuck 200 ears of corn? Then wash it, then finally cut off the cob. If you come to my house and I feed it to you feel loved! Really loved!It was a family affair. Only my sister bailed early. Can't really say I blame her.
At least we have quite a bit in the freezer. I will be pulling mine out only for special occasions!

Scrap it up!

Okay, for those of you that know me you know what I had the best time this weekend! I mean a whole weekend of nothing but scrapbooking? I was in heaven! And, I am now broke!

It started on Thursday night with a great Sketches class taught by Creating Keepsakes. We made about 8 really cute layouts! The best part is Elissa and I won a door prize! We were both surprised because we were just having a conversation that we never win anything when the teacher called out Elissa's name!On Friday, Susie joined us for a few classes and a day of shopping! Yikes, it was bad! I mean probably 50 scrapbook stores under one roof. To say the least, we are all 3 in trouble! I was a little afraid to come home! (I am only half kidding! ha)On Saturday we had a day of classes. I was thankful there was not much time to shop. We took some really great classes, my favorite being Wild About You(leopard...oh ya!)! We also learned some really neat techniques to make new flowers. If you have ever seen my scrapbooks, you know I love flowers!It was an awesome weekend! I am so thankful to have family and friends who share my hobby! I love documenting this wonderful life that God has truly blessed me with.

Side note: I am happy to report I am now caught up to when Ava was 6 months old. I am making progress. Elissa, we need to plan another day. Or, maybe we should go on that scrapbook cruise they were talking about? Now, that would be a vacation!!!

Ava has loved having her Mommy off for 5 days! We had the best time together. I dread going back to work, only 3 days then off to a scrapbooking convention. Oh my word, I am so excited! Thought we would share what we have been up to:
Wednesday-The Little Gym
Thursday-Library and swimming
Friday-Shopping
Saturday-Mommy scrapbooked almost all day
Sunday-Lunch at Great Mammaw's house

What a fabulous week! I look forward to many more weeks like this. I love spending time with my girl!This girl sure loves to read. Thursday we love going to the library!This girl loves the scrapbook room. Yikes! What is not to like, there are thousands of little things to get into. This may be her new favorite room in the house. We tired to shut her out but she kept politely knocking. What mom can resist that? Not to mention you would see her hand go back and forth under the door! ;-)

Oh how we love The Little Gym

What a fun place! I mean really, what kid does not like to run and jump on everything they see? And not to mention the balance beams and pull up bars. This girl was in heaven.

Some of the kiddos were still scared to try different things after many classes. Not my Ava! She is so much fun, a complete joy to me.

Enjoy the pictures of my little gymnast!

Question and Answer (From Ava)

Q: What is a girl to do when her parents, Aunt Lissa, and Uncle Jimmy won't read to me after many attempts? (I mean, they would not even make eye contact! I tried for probably 5 minutes!)

A: Bring the book to Kelly, she will read it to me!
P.S. Someone should really talk to my parents and tell them reading is good for a kid. Even if my Mommy has to read 10 Little Ladybugs 20 times in a day.

Miss America

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! I am so thankful for this great country and for those who fight for it.

We had a great day yesterday. Dinner with James, Elissa, and Elissa's sister and kiddos and then off to the church for Freedom Fest 2010. They had jump houses for the kiddos and an awesome firework show. It is so fun to experience all the new things with Ava! I knew she would love the fireworks and I could not wait to see her face. To say she loved them would be an understatement....she was memorized. When the show was finally over she kept pointing to the sky. She wanted more!! That sweet girl gets me every time. I am loving every minute with her.The jump houses were a big hit with the kiddos. They just jumped and jumped! Ava had a blast. They had a special one for the little kids that was just her size. (I think we will be getting one of these for her 2nd birthday for sure!) Wait until she see where we are going Wednesday...she is going to love it!Clapping for the band!Look at her face...YIKES! She played hard!

What a wonderful day! I thank God for my family and my friends. What a huge blessing to be loved by such special people!

Birthday and a wedding

We look a mini-vac to the beach this past weekend. We celebrated Ashley's birthday and Alecia finally got hitched! (It is about time....now we need babies! ha)

We have a tradition each year to shop at a special store that Ashley loves. She gets a pair of Emily Ray earrings each birthday and this year was no different. We hope you had a great day Ashley! We love so much. You have been the best aunt and Ava lights up when you walk in the room. Thanks for all your help. You have been so good to watch her and I will be forever grateful for your help. I am so proud of you. You will make one good mommy one day!

Ava had such a great time swimming with her Aunt Ash! We hope you have one blessed year Ashley....I think it is going to be a good one for you! ;-)
On Saturday Alecia got hitched. What a great day!! It was a beautiful ceremony, truly touching to see the love these two have for each other.
Alecia,
I pray many blessing on your marriage. May God grant you love, peace, and happiness all the days of your lives together. I am so happy to be your life long friend and to share in all the memories we are making. I could not have picked a better guy for you. I love you!I did not get to take many pictures since I had wedding duties! I know her friend and photographer, Ramie got some awesome pictures that I can't wait to see. I was a little worried how Ava would do but she had a great time. She was up untill almost midnight running and dancing! We may have a party animal! (Well, I hope not! ha)