Putt-Putt

The other day I had mentioned in passing to Adam how I would love to take Ava to play putt-putt. Some friends of ours wanted to get together to do something and mentioned bowling or putt-putt, so Adam and I thought putt-putt would be better for Ava. She had her own little putter and ball...she has plenty of practice around the house with her own plastic golf set, but this ball wasn't plastic so I tried to teach her right away not to throw the ball.

At one point I heard a little boy (around 3ish) ask his dad "Why does SHE have a putter?" Apparently he didn't realize the skillz Ava has -haha!

She did pretty good throughout the night and didn't really mess with anyone else's ball- but she didn't fully understand the concept of not walking right were people were putting- thank goodness all of our friends like her or they might have gotten mad...

We all had our fair share of some crazy shots....as evidenced above and below in the next few pictures...

It was hot, but what summer activity in Florida isn't? We had a great time and I honestly can't remember who won, but I am positive it wasn't me :)

Jazz Fest

There is an event that the City of Jacksonville puts on each year that we wouldn't dream of missing. We have look forward to the next one as soon as its over.

Last year we saw Chris Botti in concert and thought it was a great concert- this year he came back only this time he was accompanied by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. We arrived about 3-4 hours before his show was scheduled to start so we could try and get good seats. This is a free event, but you can pay for preferred seating, but didn't, so we had to wait out the crowds.

It was estimated that 10,000 people were in attendance for this particular show. The way the festival is set up there are several shows going on all over downtown Jax at the same time, it is really neat how its set up.

We ended up getting great seats and LOVED the show, it was amazing. Only the people who had been there since early that morning (and sat through all of the heat) had better seats. I don't even think you have to enjoy jazz to appreciate the talent that he had with him on the stage.

We will probably attempt to take Ava next year- with the way she loves to dance and clap we think it will be a hit with her!

Ava and Bug

One of Ava's favorite people is Raeleigh who she affectionately calls "yay-lee"- she loves to be around this baby and it has become even more interesting as Raeleigh is starting to be able to move around. It will be so fun watchin these two cousins grow up together :)

Wordless Wednesday- Ava in her raincoat

Disney

We took Ava to Disney one last time (until it cools off again). It was hot, but Adam and I both agreed that we could deal with the heat, it was the crowds there were wearing us out. Everywhere you turned there were so many people. The shortest wait time was about 30 minutes- too long to ask a 1 year old to stand still for! We did make it on a few rides early in the day and really just decided to take it easy and not have any agenda while we were there.

We really didn't plan on setting up to watch the parade, but the timing was perfect because we happened to be in a spot that had a bench right on the parade route about 15 minutes before the parade came through, so we decided to sit still and let Ava watch it go by. She loves waving at all of the characters!

While we were waiting for the parade this family of foreigners came and sat around us. Now, when I say sat around us, I literally mean AROUND us. They were behind us, in front of us, and on each side. I don't have anything against people from other countries. In fact, we had some nice conversation with a family from Brazil- they just loved Ava- but sometimes they don't have a sense of a person's bubble. You know, that 3+ feet of space we all like to have between ourselves and a stranger. On top of that the grandma kept running her scooter into Ava's stroller (who had been asleep at the time, which is why we stopped in the first place). Adam's patience was wearing very thin by the time the parade was over.

I'm sure I could right a book about the sights and experiences that are had when visiting Disney- there is never a dull moment! We had a good day, we actually left about 5:00 that afternoon when we could tell the crowd was growing and we just knew that from that point on we would be able to ride any more rides because the wait times would be too long for Ava. We had actually wanted to take Ava to eat at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney, but the wait time was 90 minutes and we didn't have the stamina to wait that long, so we headed home.

Leaving early actually worked out for the best all the way around, Adam was playing at church the next morning, so he needed to be leaving the house around 6:30-6:45, so he was able to get a good nights sleep. Plus, we took the "scenic" route home, which really was more "scenic" than 95, but "scenic" to me just means a lot longer :) Oh well it gave us some time to talk.....

We don't plan on taking Ava back to the Magic Kingdom until it cools off...a lot....Probably around Christmas time, we always like going then. We have thought about taking her down this summer to eat with the Characters, but we will not be going to any parks. It is just too hot and too crowded over the summer. Adam and I have always said that we live close enough that we should enjoy it when its cooler and leave it alone when its hot! No sense in being miserable.

Ava's 2 favorite rides are It's a Small World and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. I remember riding the tea party ride with my dad. It's funny, because when my parents went with us back in November, Ava, my dad, Adam, and myself all wanted to ride the tea party ride and we almost didn't fit. It wasn't because of seating space, but when you try fitting 2 guys who are both 6'4" into those cups it doesn't really work. This time, Adam sat out and let us girls ride. Ava kept saying "weeeee" as we were spinning. It has been amazing to watch the difference in how she reacts to the rides over the course of a 6 months. I can't wait to see how she acts this fall.

The Players

For the past 3 years Adam and I have gone to the TPC, it has become one of our Annual dates. It has been nice because you are *supposed* to leave your phones and any other noise making objects outsid (ie. distractions). I always sneak my phone in because I am too much of a worrier that no one could reach me if something happened to Ava. But because we are *supposed* to leave them, I don't use mine for fear of someone snatching it from me.

That happened to me once in high school and get this, I was on my mom's cell phone - talking to my mom! It was in between classes and I was calling to tell her I had a NHS meeting and needed her to pick me up a little later. This was obviously before I could drive...The teacher came and confiscated it and turned it into the dean's office. Well, you know me, I was all upset and Coach Green saw me and asked what the deal was- thank goodness for my family's long-standing history in this town. I remember him saying "Come on Fachko, lets go get your phone" and he walked me up to the office, asked the secretary where the cell phones were and pulled mine out. Ha! Take that Mrs. I'm-going-to-be-mean-just-to-show-you-I-can!

Can you tell I still have issues concerning this? Sharing that also made me realize I am so not cool, because I was about 15 when this happened and now days if you are using your MOM's cell phone at 15 because you don't have your own you are most certainly a loser. Now days they have them in Kindergarten- ha!-who am I kidding, Ava uses Adam's old iPhone! Albeit she only uses it for the apps we have downloaded, but she knows how to use it and that alone says something!

So, where was I? Something about distractions not being allowed....whew, talk about a distraction!

Adam and I both like golf and we really hope Ava learns to like it as well. The TPC has turned into a day for mommy and daddy to have a grown-up day, but I also know that in the next year or 2 we will be taking her with us. This year we went on Saturday and it was warm. Since moving the date from March to May they have made the experience so much hotter! One of my favorite players is Zach Johnson. He is just a likeable guy and seems to have a really good heart. (Unlike that of Tiger Woods, but I'll refrain from going down that road!) So we followed him around most of the day. Adam had a few other guys he wanted to see hit a few times, so occasionally we would skip over to where they were and watch. We had made it the 16th hole watching Zach and it was so crowded because at the TPC anywhere near the 17th green is like party central, but we managed to get within 20 ft of the hole on 16 to watch the group putt through. Both Zach and his playing partner landed in the sand trap, but we were able to watch Zach eagle it with a great shot. Golf is so much better to watch in person than on the TV. Honestly, it puts me to sleep when Adam turns it on at home...

I hope we will always be able to keep up this tradition and that it will turn from a Mommy and Daddy date to a Family date that we all enjoy.

Baby Jane's Shower

Before I tell you all about the baby shower we threw for a sweet couple in our community group I first have to tell you how much we love this group of people. Ever since we started attending Access we knew we needed to be involved in a community group, but at the time the groups were meeting anywhere from 30 to 1 .5 hours away from our house- it just wasn't feasible when Adam and I would both work until 6. Then I was pregnant so we used that as an excuse- we'll join a group after Ava is born....yeah right- did I realize how much it would take to have a newborn? The church has GroupLink (where new groups are formed) twice a year, spring and fall. Ava had just been born in time for us to attend the one in the fall, but neither of us wanted to commit to driving the distance 1 night a week with Ava being so little. We, once again, had an excuse. Somehow we kept the excuses up until last fall. Ava was 1, Adam and I both had jobs we were off at 3:30 and 4:00...the timing was there, but we still just would not commit. To be blatantly honest we were just disobeying God. I struggled with giving up a night with Ava and Adam after being away from them all day. Was it wrong for me to want to spend that time with my family? No, but in a sense yes, God wanted us in a group!

Rich stopped Adam at church and mentioned something about a Northside small group and if we would be interested. Adam said yes, because he knew we would be interested, but truth be told- I don't think he ever intended for us to actually commit to it. We woke up on the Sunday morning of GroupLink and all 3 of us were sick. We skipped church and considered trying to make it to GroupLink that afternoon, but we just felt too run down. Around noon that Sunday we received a phone call asking if we could lead the Northside group. It was one of those moments where God was saying to us, you are going to commit to this group even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming!

God definitely knew what he was doing. Why do I ever doubt him? Shouldn't I know this lesson by now?

Since we were sick and unable to make it to GroupLink the couples that were there set up a time to meet for dinner the following Wednesday night. Adam and I wanted to be the first ones there since we were the leaders. We walked into the restaurant and hoped that another couple hadn't beaten us, we wouldn't know since we hadn't ever met any of the couples. It was almost like being on a blind date. After grabbing a table big enough for all of us we scanned the room and figured we were safe and we were the first ones there. About 5-10 minutes later a couple walks in, it was Jim and Katharine. I don't think Katharine said 2 words the whole time we were there. In fact, everyone was cordial, but Adam and I did most of the talking and if you know Adam at all you know that he was totally out of his comfort zone having to small talk :)

We have fallen in love with the couples in our group, we look forward to going every week. It has been amazing to watch a group of people who had never met and the only sure thing we all had in common was where we attended church and that we all wanted to grow in our relationship with Christ, begin to develop relationships that have continued to grow and grow and grow. These people have went from strangers to friends and now, friends to family. We share the good things, the bad things, and even the weird things!

Jim and Katharine have 2 boys and they decided to have 1 more and she's having a girl! We were so excited to find out! We wanted to have a couples baby shower for them with our group, this way Jim wouldn't be left out ;) We really just turned it into a nice dinner and had cake and gave baby Jane gifts.

You know sometimes I question the idea of Jim being a father to baby girl ;) Our group is never dull in the conversations that take place when we are together. I told Adam one night as I was climbing into bed after group, If our group took a trip will all of the other groups, we would be the ones in the back of the bus and I'm pretty sure we would get into trouble the whole time!

Nikki made the cake- it was so cute! Baby Jane's room is pink and green so we wanted to have everything in pink and green.

I am so thankful for our group and especially for these 2 people who I know will be great parents that will raise this little girl in a home that loves the Lord. We are so excited to meet her and can't wait until June 21st!

B.B. King

When Adam heard B.B. King was coming to town for a concert he called and asked what I thought. I knew that B.B. King was in his 80s and would more than likely not be back to do another concert. So I told him we should go, I knew if we didn't we would regret it one day. There are a few people/bands Adam has on his "must see" list and B.B. King was one of them.

The tickets all said "No Cameras" which I figured to be just a way to downsize the number of cameras that come through the door, but I didn't want to take my SLR and chance it, so I only brought my point and shoot. They never even checked to see if we had a camera, so either way it would have been fine, but at least I got some pictures, I would have rather had some than none.

It wasn't a super long concert- the man is 84 years old...I'm pretty sure we were past his bedtime ;) Adam and I were both glad we went, and we loved people watching. Everyone from the guy on the front row, dead center, that we are pretty sure couldn't play a single note of music if his life depended on it, but boy was he enjoying it....to the middle-aged man who's t-shirt was a little faded and the woman who had so much to drink she couldn't walk down the stairs that we're really not sure why you would pay money to a concert that you won't even remember. All in all it was a good night :)

Wordless Wednesday

*I had this picture printed on a canvas in the b&w version.

A Girl and Her Jewelry

This picture is about an everyday occurance in our house. It doesn't really matter where we are going she wants to put on her bracelets and necklaces. Recently my mom made a trip to the Atlanta mart and bought me some jewelry, on of the necklaces she brought back Ava LOVED and everytime I would try to wear it she would ask for it. The next time Mom went I made 1 request- bring Ava back the same necklace so maybe I can wear mine....

She doesn't have that particular necklace on in this picture- but this child loves her jewelry. In fact, if she wakes up early in the morning, (and by early I mean earlier than I have to get moving....) She will plunder through my jewelry box and see what all she can find to wear. Fortunately I have my expensive jewelry in a place she can get to on the jewelry box (yet) so she enjoys going through it.