What do the parasol and an apple have in common?

Ava is such a priss pot! Years ago (and I mean YEARS ago) my family went to Dollywood. I don't remember much about it, but I do remember my parents buying me this parasol. I also remember loving it and constantly playing with it and daydreaming about being on of the girls in the old days on a boat holding it over my shoulder while the man of my dreams rowed us about.....ha! That was SOME dreaming for a little girl :)

During our move I found several totes that I had stored some treasures, more than likely in hopes that I would one day have a daughter to bestow them upon. Some of the treasures didn't make the long journey and ended up in the trash, but a few of them did, like this parasol. Ava found it and was immediately taken to it. She carries the thing everywhere. And she has started to put it over her shoulder and twirl it. I'm sure it didn't have anything to do with her mommy showing her how she used to hold it when she was a little girl...I'm sure of it......Anyways, it still looks pretty good to be as old as it is and bear, hearts, and my name that were painted on it oh so many years ago still look really good. And who knows, maybe when Ava places it over her shoulder she is daydreaming of rowing down the river with her prince charming....probably not...but they say the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree...........

Bath Dropz

(After uploading this picture I realized it looks kinda gross, but I thought you could get the full effect if I showed it...)

Okay, not sure if any of you have seen/heard about these things called "Bath Dropz" made by Crayola. I found them at Target - I haven't seen them anywhere else, but I bought ours from Target, so I know they have them. They are these tablets that look like Easter egg dye tablets on steroids. You just throw them in the water and they turn it into a color. This particular night we were playing with color combinations (Blue + Red = Purple). The container has 3 different colors and you can combine them with another to get a different result. Ava loves them. (Her mommy thinks they are pretty cool too). The really nice thing is that they don't stain anything, which was my main concern. I didn't want to have to scrub the tub walls every night.

Pool Time!

The weather has been great for warming up our pool. It sits directly in the sun, so I know the temperature for most of the summer is going to be about bath water temperature. It is already really warm and it isn't even June yet.

Last year I had a float Ava could float around in, this year is a different story. She doesn't want any part of any float (expect to float her baby doll and barbie around). She would rather wear her swimmies and play on the steps. I have had so much fun watching her. She has learned to kick and we are working on blowing bubbles (instead of drinking the water). Just about every afternoon (except for Wednesdays when we have small group) we get in the pool as soon as I get home from work.

Lately my mom has been keeping Ava while I am at work and while she naps my mom lays out in the pool. Last week my sister came by and they were all at our house. I came home to eat lunch and told them both I hope they were enjoying MY pool at MY expense :) as I went back to work.

It seems we have had something to do everytime we turn around. Usually it is by choice, but this past weekend we didn't have anything on the calendar so we turned it into a mini vacation of doing absolutely nothing (aside from yard work and cleaning house first thing Saturday morning). We floated in the pool, played in the pool, ate and repeated the cycle. It was exactly what I needed.

Oh and for anyone who has a pool- you can see in some of the pictures we have a black screen type fence around the pool- we call it a kid fence- not sure if that is what it is actually called- but we LOVE it. It has been so nice to not have to worry about Ava walking out the back door and falling into the pool. It isn't the prettiest thing aesthetically, but I have been so grateful for it. And the nice thing is if we ever have a party and want to take it down it pulls out easy and rolls up nice (and we can take it down and store it once she learns how to swim really well).

Wordless Wednesday

Jags Mini Camp

The Jaguars had their mini camp a couple of weekends ago. It was so bloomin' hot! After church we met my mom for lunch at the Town Center since the camp didn't start until 4 we had plenty of time to eat. After eating, we made a stop at Target and then headed over to the camp. I was trying to prolong the inevitable.... When we made it to the stadium Ava was sound asleep. She didn't even wake up after we got her out of the car. She was so sweaty by the time we made it to the practice field and I felt so bad for her. While Adam went and stood in the sun on the sidelines, I sat in the shade...At this point I was praising the Lord she was asleep. I think the temperature was around 95 degrees, but felt like 98 degrees. (I am pretty sure that it was hotter than that on the field.) After about an hour, Ava woke up and wanted to run around and play. She loved watching all these kids throw footballs around, she even tried to get in on one of the games, lol. We didn't stay much longer after she woke up- I think Adam was tired of standing in the heat.

Ava and Memaw

We took Ava to see Memaw..you can see in the picture, she was tired and obviously not in the best of moods, but neither was Memaw. She was glad to see us, but the whole time we were there she kept asking when they were leaving. She thought they were going on a trip on a boat. We never figured out why she thought that or where she thought they were going, but in her mind they were going and she didn't want to miss it!

Needless to say, we didn't stay too long, we didn't want to be the once to keep her from getting on board...she might get mad with us.... Ava was glad to see her.

Happy Birthday to Me (and my sister)!!!

We had my birthday dinner (along with my sisters) at Olive Garden

They sang happy birthday to me (and my sister).... Ava and I (and my sister) blew out candles

Apparently when you are our age, you don't get to have a day to yourself- or maybe it's because we are no longer the ones who matter now...it's always about Ava :)

And before I realized it, Ava had picked up my piece of cake and taken a bite!

We should have bought a Tonka truck

A few weekends ago, we decided to tackle to front landscaping. It turned out to be a really good
weekend to do it because Ava had a cold that got progressively worse and we decided not to take her to church on Sunday and it rained Sunday afternoon, so we were able to finish the entire project.

While we were working in the yard Ava had a school bus that Ava was playing with in the garage. Next thing I know, she was in the mud, dirt, and rock with that school bus. She would even occasionally look up at me and say "Stuck!" when it would get really bogged down in the muck.

That school bus is now an outside toy- there was no way to redeem if fully after being in all that mud.

Wordless Wednesday

The girl is hip

Adam and I were sitting out by the pool one night while Ava was in her playroom playing (we keep the screen door open so we can listen out for her). It was such a nice evening and we rarely take the time to enjoy nice evenings. While we were just sitting out there talking we saw the screen door open and out walks Ava...just like this:

Adam and I both busted out laughing- it was so cute! And she coordinated her colors :)

Uh-Oh! Mess!

Keep in mind that Ava's 2 favorite words are Uh-Oh! and Mess! and most of the time we think they are cute and she really isn't a messy child...but then there are other times....



I was finishing up at work one day and had several signs that had been delivered to the store, so Ava and I walked over to get them before we left. I had to make a couple of phone calls while I was there and left Ava to play with her toys. After I had finished one phone call and before I made the second one, I looked down next to the desk where Ava was playing and this is what I saw:Every morning, my Nana will give Ava a little bit of "Moo Cream" as they affectionately call it (lotion for everyone else, its actually called Udder Cream- hence the name Moo). Ava had grabbed it off the shelf behind me and decided she wanted to get some all by herself. She had it everywhere!

When I looked down and saw what she had done, I jumped up and ran into my dad's office and said, keep an eye on Ava, I need to get my camera out of my car- Of course- what else would you expect a blogging mom say?

No one can grasp it unless you saw the actual mess and felt how greasy the stuff is. After scrubbing and scrubbing the floor, I think you can still see spots where the lotion didn't fully come out.

We also went to wash her hands and while I was getting it all off, I told her that she wouldn't need to moisturize for the rest of her life!

This episode is about as bad as the time my mom left my dad in charge and my sister go ahold of her lipstick and covered her face and legs (and I mean covered!)....maybe I will see if I can dig up some pictures.

Dinner with Friends

It is always a struggle for me to justify leaving Ava to go out somewhere. She used to come to the office with me everyday, but as she has gotten older, she has been spending most afternoons with grandparents, so when I get off of work and on weekends, I want to devote my attention to family time. However, I also know that it is good for Adam and I to go out with just adults and not have to worry about a little person that may or may not have a fit while we are eating dinner!

A few weeks back we went out to eat with our very dear friends. When we went to Ruth Chris's a few months back, we already started talking about the next nice place we would eat and both Grant and Leslie said we should try The Melting Pot. They had both been, but neither Adam nor myself had, so we were excited to try it. We always have so much fun with Grant and Leslie. Before we knew it we had been sitting there for 3 hours and stuffed ourselves full. (At this point we commented that we sure were glad we didn't bring Ava, she wouldn't have sat still long enough to get through the 3-hour meal!

We also recently found out that Grant and Leslie are expecting and we are soooooo excited- We know they are going to make great parents!

Ps. The melting pot's house dressing (similar to a honey mustard) is great, we both bought a bottle to take home.