"That's my cousin."

I was so glad we were able to see my brothers grand daughters while we were there. They were so cute and sweet. Little Cadence kept looking at Avery and saying "That's my cousin."
They played together for a while and had a good time. And then we put them back in their cage. JUST KIDDING! They were just cleaning out the guard dogs night night quarters. It's busy work being a toddler. So much to be done.

Mom was pleased to be able to see them as she hadn't seen them in a while. They seemed to be doing so well and we were especially pleased to see how well Alyssa was doing as she has some hearing issues. But her speech is improving and she was doing great.

Another fun thing we did was make and decorate cookies. Oh and we ate them too. Yummy!

Here is one last look at mom's guard dog. Fierce I tell ya!
And then as quick as it all started it was time to get in the car and head back home to Louisiana. Goodbye to Grandmother, Goodbye to Bogey, Goodbye to Uncle Johnny, Goodbye to colorful fall leaves. Until next time.

Childrens Museum

Avery loves a Childrens Museum.

She has been to a few of them so when we were deciding between the zoo and the Childrens museum we went with the museum for this trip. Maybe we will do the zoo next time. She thinks we made the right decision.

As soon as we walked in that place she took off and never slowed down once. From one activity to the next, no breaks, no resting, no slowing down. None. She loved it.

We went back to the Dentist place about 3 times. She really like that for some reason. Maybe we have a Dentist in our future. ???

She absolutely LOVED the grocery store too. She shopped until she dropped. Oh wait, she definitely didnt drop. She just shopped and shopped. As a matter of fact I was beginning to think we werent going to be able to get her out of that grocery store without loud screams. But we did entice her with the water feature at the next station.

Another favorite of her was the kitchen. She worked hard in there cooking for all of us. As you can see in this photo she took this pretty seriously. She is bringing out her chicken she fried up for Nonna and Grandma. Safety first of course which is why she is wearing her pot holder. Serious stuff.

I dont think Avery would have been happier if we had been in an actual palace.

After our FUN time at the Childrens Museum we took Avery into the gift shop since she was such a good girl for a treat. She chose a horn that she adores.
Our trip was:

To Grandmothers House We Go- Went

So here is a little more about our Tennessee Trip.

It was nice to see Mom again. We really enjoyed spending a few days together.
Avery keeps saying "I love my Grandma."

She had a good time playing with Bogey too. Just as she did last time. As a matter of fact her love for Bogey was what made Casey and Charlie decide to get a dog last year at Christmas time. They thought she would love it as much as she loved Bogey. Not so. She was not thrilled at all that her dog chewed her things, sat on her things, or chased and yelped at her. So as a result of that they no longer have that dog. He now lives with a retired lady who wanted company.

But Bogey she still loves. Actually she loves Bogey much more than he loves her. LOL He hid whenever possible. She enjoyed giving him treats and throwing him his toys. Oh yea and growling at him while holding her hands out towards him.

We went for a drive downtown while there. A "Tour" Todd called it. (We were actually a little lost, but dont tell Todd I told you that)
Anyway here is a picture of downtown Memphis we saw while on our "tour"
I snapped this shot of where my daddy worked while I was a little girl living there.

We did make it back home after the "Tour" thankfully. You know after we passed the same exact exit from the Interstate for the Childrens Museum for the third time.

Avery loved playing in Grandma's big yard. Poppa enjoyed playing with her out there too.
I am so glad we got to go. I am so thankful Avery gets the chance to see her Great Grandmother.

I am really Thankful.

Tennessee Visit

We were blessed to be able to go see my mom this weekend. I was so glad Todd got to go too. I HATE HATE driving without him out of town. But I was willing to go with just Casey and Avery. That was the initial plan. Thankfully he went with us though and we had a very nice visit.

The last time we went to moms my brother was out of town, but this time Johnny was there too so we got to see him also. Yep thats my brother. What you didnt know he was a Harley guy?

We saw this huge- like humongous spider. It sent chills up my spine. Dont like spiders.

Avery did really well on the trip. I definitely took advantage of the fall colors there for these pictures.
So much to be THANKFUL for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

More later.

Better Late Than Never

Should have done this already but here goes anyway:

A little while back we got the privilege of keeping Avery for the weekend. It happened to be the weekend of Halloween. Now we have never been big on Halloween at all and no we did not take her trick or treating. Casey did send her little Ladybug costume that someone had given her. She had serious opposition to it and was not about to wear it which was fine with me. But at some point during the evening I showed her the children running down the street all dressed up and after she watched them pass, she turned to me patted herself on her chest and said "MY LADYBUG, MY LADYBUG"! So I did dress her up in her ladybug and and she flew around the house for a while. She had a good time.

Another thing we did that weekend was put together a new grill as our old one bit the dust. Oh and by "we" I mean Todd and Avery of course. I have never seen her ever seen her so intent or focused on anything ever. That little girl picked up her screwdriver and found every single hole in that grill. While Todd put it together she put her screwdriver in every spot possible. For over an hour she worked at her Poppas side without a break. She loved it.

We had fun that weekend. I should have blogged about it already but anyway better late than never right?

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Here are a few random thoughts.

• Tonight I made Lemon cream pasta with grilled chicken since Mark was home for dental appointments. He made a large plate of it's deliciousness and promptly spilled the entire portion all over the stove top, counter, and floor. (Don't worry there was plenty more where that came from.)
• I put up my Christmas tree ALREADY! It is so beautiful that it almost made me emotional. I am just that kinda gal.

• I am thinking about making new desserts that I have never done for Thanksgiving Dinner this year. Pecan Cobbler & Moms Banana Dessert (Mom in this instance is Paula Deen) I usually do lemon pie, or Banana Pudding, which are both quite delicious, but these sound great so I may go with them!

• I love how Avery says "I luh you too" Even when you haven't told her you love her first.

• I have I have "7" things in my living room that say "Merry Christmas". That does not include the Wrapping paper covering gifts with those words all over them, nor the ribbon wrapped around and around my beautiful tree with the words flowing and flowing throughout.

• I am concerned for the health of my boss.

• As a result of Mark being home and me leaving my makeup bag in his room, and the fact that I didnt want to wake him while I was getting ready for work - I went to work with NO MASCARA on today. THAT'S A FIRST EVER! I guess as you get older you lose some vanity. :) I had bits and pieces of old makeup here and there, but no mascara. When I realized that was the only thing missing, I just skipped it.
  

• I enjoy watching "The Duggars".

• Was reminiscing today about our "Colorado trip" from several years back. Man Oh Man. I am thinking we are going to have to do a trip to redeem ourselves on that one. You know one without a BLIZZARD!

• I still have no furniture in my bedroom. :)

• I am going to see my mama this weekend and I am sooo EXCITED about it. The icing on the cake is Todd gets to go too! What a great surprise for him to be able to go with us!! It should be a great a trip for Todd, Casey, Avery, and I. "Happy Dance, Happy Dance" (Just in case there are criminals reading this, --No my house will not be empty. I have two strong house sitters that will be here who I happen to be related to. So there!)

So what are some of your random thoughts?

Looking Back

I enjoyed looking back at some photos today. I am so blessed to have these to look at and believe me I do.

SLIDES

A few weekends ago we went to Winnsboro to enjoy a day of Softball for a great cause. We met Casey, Charlie, and Avery there. (And Mark too) Charlie played in the Tournament (And Mark too)while Casey, Avery and I cheered them on.

While we were there we hiked on over to the park for a bit where Avery had a great time. She isn't really into swings right now, but slides are another story. She loved the slides and EVERYONE anywhere near us HEARD that she DID NOT want to leave them. Yes, a small (or maybe a little larger than small) fit did occur once we made her leave the slides.

Why must life include having to leave slides?