today we had the pleasure of hanging out with two of our most favorite people!
not to mention we also hit up o.g. -- delicious much?! we think so.
that's avas newest smile right there. she refers to it as her 'daddy smile'. she also has a 'mommy smile' and an 'ashes smile'. she explained the differences of each to my ninner today while we were in the car.
there are no words when you hear your grandmother tell your four year old
'show me your grill!'
no words.
just adoration. when I grow up, I hope I'm as cool as my ninner.



- Posted using BlogPress from april's iPhone

blanchard springs caverns : stone county trip

so, one day d.'s family literally woke up & said 'let's go to blanchard springs!'

so, we did.

yes, his whole family - even some cousins where in on the fun ;)

there's ava in the car on the way up there.

notice her chik-fil-a {because we can't very well have a good time if we're not fed properly - true statement}

and she appears to be telling me 'mom! don't take my picture!'

however, this could be the exact moment she hollered up to her pawpaw

'get the lead out!'

because the was driving so incredibly slow. 

even the cousins ahead were walkey-ing back 'where are y'all?!'

needless to say, we finally made it to the caverns...

are they not just BEAUTIFUL?!

when i was younger, my dad would usually take us there during the hottest part of the summer. 

genius i tell you.

somehow when it's 107 degrees in late august, all the bat droppings just seem to disappear and you hardly even notice them. ;)

this pic i took because it looks like rocky road ice cream.

it's a part of the ceiling and our guide told us this big story about it, but all i could remember was he jokingly referred to it as looking like rocky road ice cream.

of course, then all i could think about was the ice cream and totally tuned him out.

this one i took just because it was beautiful.

did i mention you have to ride a bus from the end of the caverns back to the beginning?

guess who's favorite part that was?!

ava literally almost knocked a woman down trying to get on that big green bus.

she was beside herself with excitement and could not wait to get on it!

i seriously hope this love for school buses fades fast, because i'll be taking her to school until she graduates whether she wants me to or not ;)

after touring the caverns, we decided to go see the actual spring in blanchard springs!

along the way we stopped for a photo-op :

there's my FIL trying to prove he's not as old as he looks.

i was quite impressed he did not fall of the fence into the rocky creek below.

love this pic of ava & her daddy :)

and finally - the spring.

and the kids posing in front of the spring.

yes, ava's eyes are closed.

she gets that from her daddy.

awww - love her!

once again, she's not looking at the camera.

i obviously need to enroll her & her daddy in 'how to take a proper picture' boot camp.

such a sweet girl, she is!!

and finally a pic of the three of us - that is rare indeed!

we rounded out our trip with a visit to jojo's - YUM! - and a swing around the square to see who was playing on the courthouse lawn.

love that little town :)

Always a {Grand} Day

A few weeks ago, we went with Ninner & Papa to one of Ninner's doctor's appointments & by now you all know we make an event out of them, haha!
We gab all the way down there & of course sing some songs as well...
We even got Pop & Ninner to jam to the Black Eyed Peas 'Boom Boom Pow'!!
It was a pretty rockin' scene to say the least...

Here are Ava & Papa T.V. {as she calls him} in the car, just chillin'...

And here's Ava with her Ninner :)
That little girl lllooovveeesss her Ninner!

We stopped by to see Sissy at work first - Ava loved seeing where she worked & meeting her co-workers, too!! She even went right up to some sweet ladies my Aunt knows & just hugged them :)

We had ventured out to Sissy's car & insisted that she ride with us back to her office... so this is where Ninner had to sit & Ava just had to join her - who knew Ninner was so limber?!

After we saw Sis, we headed to our favorite spot to lunch - O.L.I.V.E. G.A.R.D.E.N!!
It never disappoints...
We also got to enjoy some fine company...

We were all so glad Ashes could spend her lunch break with us!

Ava & Ashes : Both in true form...

I got the Pasta e Fagioli...

I {heart} soup!!!!

-sisters-

After lunch, we took Ninner to her appt. with Dr. M & we played outside a little since it was nice out. We also played in the car, too - Ava loves to play in the very back & put Darby {her baby doll} to sleep :)

Someone else I know & love also got to sleep a little too - ha!

Nin's appointment went well, which is always a blessing!!
I am so thankful for my hard working Hubs - me getting to stay home is not only a blessing for us, but for our families as well - I am so grateful that Ava & I can spend days like this with my Grandparents...
They certainly are Grand...

Ice Cream Social

The last Playgroup we went to was at the Marble Slab!!

That's right - ICE CREAM & COOKIES at 9 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!!!

When we got there, we noticed some familiar faces & were glad the Collier's were there, too!

They gave us a quick tour of where they make the ice cream & cookies.

The kids were not-so-interested, but Jessica & I enjoyed it a little :)!

Ava got a big sugar cookie with sprinkles (of course) and bubble gum ice cream with sprinkles, too!

For the record: Bubble Gum ice cream is yuck.

Ava and her little friends Ethan & Blake making silly faces & coloring!

Ava & Julianne after a pizza lunch!

Hopefully we'll get back on track & be able to make it to Playgroup more often!

It's Always a {Krispy Kreme} Kinda Day...

...when Ninner & Papa are around!! Oh yes, they came down Monday & we all spent the day together & our first stop was at Krispy Kreme, of course!!

Luckily we made it out with only a dozen donuts, 2 cups of coffee, a cup of donut holes, & this paper hat that Ava just had to have!

Ninner had a Dr. appointment, so we played in the vehicle while she was inside :)
Can you tell she loves her Papa T.V.??
It cracks me up that she calls him that, haha!

She's a sassy little thing, for sure!

Cheese!

We lunched at one of our favorites - Olive Garden - and it was delish as always!

Ava got to sit in between Ninner & Papa & loved every minute of it!!

Ninner snapped this pic of me & Ava & requested that I put it on the blog - so, here ya go, Ninner!! :)

I am so thankful that we get to spend so much time with Ninner & Papa - there is always fun to be had!!

{Ava Graduates!}

Yesterday was the day....

Ava graduated from Toddler Time Storytime at the Library!

Here's the crew before the commencement exercises...

Ava, Ethan, Julianne, & Blake

Here's Ava getting her 'diploma' from Ms. Ann

(the lady who does Storytime)

Here's TuTu with her Certificate!

Of course, I had to get a pic with my baby on her last day in Toddler Time!

They even had refreshments afterwards - Apple Juice, Vanilla Wafers & Ritz Crackers - what more could a 3yr. old ask for?!

She will now move up to Storytime with the 'bigger kids' which meets on more than one day a week and has 3 times you can go - so hopefully we can beat the crowd some days :)!

Afterwards, we headed to Chik-Fil-A with Marcie & Rylie - the girls got balloons which they loved!

We spent the rest of the day shopping with the girls & hanging out - so much fun & a great way to spend your Graduation Day :)!

Playgroup Invades {FUNLAND}

Friday we loaded up & headed out for a much needed Playgroup - we hadn't been in weeks!! Ava was so excited to be going to a
'Carn-i-pickle' with her friends!

The first ride was a Roller Coaster! Ava & Blake buddied-up to ride this one together!

Look at those kids faces - pure joy! (Ava is in the last cart)

No, they aren't having a screaming fit - they loved it!


The next ride was a Spaceship - it went 'round & 'round & up & down (made me a little nervous - that kid is fearless)!

Here she is flying high like Tinker Bell... fearless I tell ya....

Of course we had to ride the Carousel - Ava loves riding those horsies!

I put her up on a horse with a pink & purple saddle (of course) & after I buckled her on she promptly said 'Okay Mom, you can get off now!'

She did not want her Momma riding with her!!

Good thing my friend, Angel, was right there (knowing Ava, she'd hop off in the middle of the ride & try to figure out why the horsie is only going in circles or something....) - I'm so glad she didn't mind having Miss Angel stand beside her!

We got to ride the Choo-Choo-Train, too!

Oh & these Helicopters!

This one really did scare me a little - she was trying to stand up in her seat when the Helicopters were up in the air! I even saw her throw her legs over the side, relaxing....

ugh! fearless, I tell ya!

The Cars & Motorcycles are by far her favorite!

This girl would take her license now if they'd issue her one!

Notice the boys keeping their eyes on the 'road' & Ava & Julianne posing for the camera's - love it!

The Teacups...

Oh the Teacups... just looking at them makes me sick...

I snapped this picture just before the ride started & Ava flew off into the floor & hit her ear on that middle turn-y-thing - she was bawling, of course, but mostly because I made her get off the ride!!

(p.s. her ear was fine)

Jessica did me a favor & snapped a cute pic of me & Ava - since I'm always behind the camera, I'm rarely in a shot with her! Thanks, Jess!

I must say that this Playgroup was quite enjoyable!

The guy who runs Funland (@ Burns Park for you locals) opened up the rides for only the kids in our Playgroup!

Seriously - 30 kids + us Moms were the only one's there for almost 3.5 hours!

He was so nice, too! He let the kids ride each ride 2-3 times & if someone got upset, he would stop - let them get off - & start the ride again!

I'm sure he was worn out by the time we all left, haha!!

Hopefully we'll get to go back again in the fall!

For the Record : I {dislike} Cold Blooded Creatures

This past Friday - we did the Playgroup thing at the Museum of Discovery! This is becoming one of our favorite places to go - Ava loves it!

That's Ava & Julieanne playing in the kitchen area - little chef's in training!

All the kids in the boat - they played for quite a while in this area! That black cannon-looking thing blows air up & balances those little balls in the air - they couldn't get enough of it!

Here are Ava, Ethan, & Blake selling fish at the market. That's Jessica there on the left, paying for her goods. She got a good deal - 2 fish for $2. However, the price did increase to $5 the next time she visited. Smart kids, I tell ya....

Here are Ava & the boys in the boat, playing puzzles.
I just cannot get over how well they all play together!!
_____________________________________

So, after we played for awhile, we decided to walk through the rest of the Museum. The theme this time was "Cold Blooded Creatures."
If you have a fear of these "Cold Blooded Creatures", I urge you to look away - look away now!!

Here's Ava posing with a Tarantula . Only after this picture was taken, was I informed that these things can jump, hiss, & spit at you!!
I know what you're all thinking "What kind of Mother let's her child get that close to such a creepy, crawly, spitting animal?!?!"
Let me repeat - I was informed after she was this close to it!!!
Good grief - you'd think they'd have some large, neon orange, warning sign posted somewhere for goodness sake!!!

Oh yes, the Boa Constrictor . As I am typing this, I'm reminded of the Shel Silverstein poem "Boa Constrictor." However, I did not recall this poem when I actually saw this snake.

I was focused on locating all emergency exits.

The boy (yes, boy - 15 years old - I asked) who was the caretaker informed us that we had "nothing to worry about - he had just eaten a full grown rabbit four days ago."

Thanks kid, that really put me at ease.

My face just sums it all up.

You should go over to Jessica's blog to see what she did. I almost threw up....seriously...my knees were going weak & my stomach was beginning to turn.

I will say in her defense, that this kid was literally like "Could you help me for a sec?? Hold my snake. Thanks." That's all the warning she got.

I almost dropped the end of my snake. I was terrified. Ava would not go near any of them. I don't blame her one bit. I will never again, rest assured. Ewww....still getting the creeps just thinking about it....

After a thorough washing of the hands, we had a little lunch at the River Market & of course, squeezed in some shopping!

Oh - I do like Turtles - not the snapping kind, but the slow, leafy greens eating kind. Other than that - I strongly {dislike} cold blooded creatures... just for future reference ;)