A best kept secret...

Our favorite metro area pool is a bit if drive for us but totally worth it. The mid-west city pool is a best kept city secret of pool awesomeness for the following reasons: It has a great fenced off large wading pool just for the little ones, a giant main pool, great slides, a classic concession stand, shaded picnic area for eating your packed lunch and its less costly then places like Pelican Bay and usually less crowded, it also opens at 11:00 where most of the others don't open until 1:00 which doesn't work with our nap schedule. So it of course made the summer fun list!

Toddler wade pool

AM conquering the 'open' slide!

The girls in awe of AM conquering the open slide. 

Ava asking if it was her turn to go on the slides.  Have to wait another year till she meets the height requirement.

Happy weekending! 

First Firework Fourth!

We decided this year was the year. We've stayed in the last two years with a tiny baby and then a barely toddling toddler but this year it was time to celebrate her first firework fourth. 

First up in the day was our neighborhood kid's parade and cookout.

Here they come a neighbor leading the pack in his decked out  lawn mower and a mean looking bicycle gang close behind. 

Here's my crew bringing up the rear.

We walked down to our park for the cookout. Ava sporting her first ribbon bows. 

Later that night we headed downtown. They were the earliest start time I found round the metro at 9:30. We had a picnic in the park, played in the fountains, got a sno cone and then waited for the big moment. 

Ava was happy to play with Izzy as we counted down the evening. 

Watching Fireworks with Aunt Amy.

The best show of all was the drive home, since we got done before the others we drove by some great displays up close and from a distance. Ava loved to point to them and tells about all the different ones she would see. Overall a great family day of fun! 

Star Spangled Fried Chicken Dinner, round 3

We attended our church's Star Spangled Fried Chicken Dinner on Sunday. This was Ava's third one to attend. We love the traditions at our church and this is one we eagerly look forward to. The fried chicken dinner is followed by tons of homeade ice cream. Ava was in the kid's parade but I had my camera on the wrong setting and didn't get any great pictures. But I did find this great retro pic to post.

Ava's first dinner @ 2 months

Ava's third dinner @ 2 years old

Tomorrow we are making fun plans to keep this girl up way past her bedtime to see her first fireworks. Hope you have a fun fourth too!

Hello Adley!

We had a fun weekend meeting our new little cousin/niece, Adley Lynn.

We made an Ikea stop on our way down. Good thing I had done my shopping mostly online. They were remodeling the market place and were about to open it later that day but it was largely closed off, you had to ask the worker for what you wanted and they went back and got it for you. Luckily the playroom rug we were after was in stock and I succesfully described it to the worker who found it for me.

The first meeting:

She of course wanted to hold her herself without anyone helping.

Ava did pretty well with me holding another baby. Only at the very begining when I first was holding Adley, Ava asked me to hold her hand and then promptly said, "Is it Aunt Jen's Turn?", implying I wrap it up, pass on the baby and return my attention to her.

Snuggle time with meme and her cousins. 

These two were inspired by watching the girls gymnastic trials and spent the evening practicing in the backyard:

Ava I think was also inspired to return to her newborn days and we had a crazy night of not much sleep last night, still not sure what the deal was. So glad to be home in in our own beds to recover before our fun holiday week. It was memorable to meet the newest addition to our family. We love her already and look forward to being together again soon!

These days - Mowing with dad

These days you like mowing with dad. Sometimes you just hang back like this picture and sometimes you get to steer. I have fond memories of riding on a tractor with my dad growing up. I hadn't thought about that in a long time till you were riding with daddy. I rememberd our tractor had a little orange tool box attached to it that was perfect for me to sit on. Girls, their dads and the outdoors is often a magic combination of fun, love to see ways that circle continues with you.

White Water

Ava made her first trip to White Water Bay today. Aunt Amy was off work so she joined us along with Izzy and AM. It was a fun Friday to kick off the weekend:

In other news our new little baby neice/cousin has arrived. Her name is Adley and Ava's been practicing but still comes out Ad-oo-ley.  We get to go meet her next weekend and we are so excited!

These Days

These days you love cooking in your kitchen while I make dinner. I discovered if I give you a bit of dry noodles when we are having pasta, or even just giving you a bit of water this makes you so excited and keeps you playing happily for even longer. Today when we got home from our day you immediately wanted us to both put on our aprons and start cooking. This is becoming a special part of our day for us. Love cooking with you and hope we spend more time in the kitchen as your grow.