Summer Fun!

Oh the joys of summer! There's nothing quite like the long summer nights, trips to the cabin, barbecued hot dogs, swimming in the creek, and jeep and 4-wheeler rides on the farm! It's just nice to get away...and do nothing!  To not think about the million things I have to do at home or run, run, run from place to place. Just some good 'ole peace and quiet. 

Ansley driving the jeep with Jason

Ansley was so excited to be at the creek...Alleigh loved it too!

 

Mimi and Ansley walking the shore

 BB and Ansley playing splashing around

 Bathtime in the old clawfoot tub.  She loved it!

  

We are so thankful for our little cabin getaway!

Then last week we went to my Aunt Debbie's pool for a few hours to enjoy the sun.  Ansley loved it!  She had me, Jansen, Macy, Tanner, Mimi, and BB to play with in the water!  Macy was her best buddy though...she payed close attention to Ansley all afternoon and Ansley ate it up!

My mom with Ansley and Jansen (it was nearly impossible to get a picture with no head turning)

Tanner, Macy, and Ansley on the noodle where they spent most of their time 

BB joined in on the action too! 

 I had asked my mom to take a picture of us in the pool and this is what I got...a video of us taking a picture.  Oh well!

 

We will definitely be enjoying more of these beautiful, hot days by the pool!

Mackenzie's Big Graduation!

My cousin, Kenzie graduated from high school a couple of weeks ago and I had the opportunity to make her cake. I've made only 1 other cake and that was Ansley's first birthday cake. I learned then, I knew NOTHING about tall cakes, so since then, I've taken a cake decorating class to just learn the correct techniques. I by no means, am an expert now, but I feel like I have a better handle on what I'm doing. It took me WAY longer to make this cake than I had intended (staying up all night Thursday night was not fun).  Meanwhile, I verified my sneaking suspension that my new oven does not bake properly and that my gumpaste numbers were not going to dry because I made them too large.  After round 2 on the gumpaste "2011" and about 3 cakes ruined because I underbaked them....I realized I'd be pretty happy with ANY outcome at that point! So a couple things I've learned during this time intensive process...it's much more stressful to make a cake for someone else rather than yourself AND multi-leveled cakes are no small feat!  Oh, and have someone clean up the aftermath (thanks mom!).  However, it is really fun to see how it all comes together in the end!
Here are a few pictures....the first one is from the night before the party (the final touches have not been made)

Mackenzie's request:  Zebra and purple

(She has been in love with the color purple since birth...not joking, she was like 2 when she said she wanted to be a nun and drive a purple convertible!)

Kenzie with the finished product!

That thing was heavy!  Can you tell I lost some sleep over that thing?! 

Kenzie was really happy with it and that's all that matters!  However, Jason has requested that he be asked before any more cakes are made for anybody else...I get just a little crazy in the kitchen with the mess and my attitude. HA! 

Laughs and Crafts!

My SIL, Whitney came up with the idea of a craft night with a bunch of us girls.    Her mom used to do a craft night at church with all her friends and as Whitney remembers, made all kinds of fun crafts back in the day....including some "nerdy reindeer".  When she mentioned this I was so excited....I love getting my craft on and I love that it gives us all a reason to get together!  So after seeing my burlap and rosette inspired front- door wreath, Whitney put together this craft club.  We now have our very own artsy fartsy club called "Laughs and Crafts" (name given by Ashley).  We had such a blast!  I gathered supplies for a couple of the girls and most of the others got their own (there are quite a few girls that are very creative!).  I basically taught them how to make the fabric rosettes and then guided the rest of the wreath making.  It was so neat to see how different all the wreaths looked when we were all finished.  They were all fantastic!  We also had a fabulous time chatting and laughing (poor Whitney had us rolling after some tragic craft "situations").  If you want to read more on this, hop on over to Whitney's blog.  She has most of the details.  :)

Ashley and I showing off  our rosettes

My SIL Laura made some adorable fluffy rosettes!  We were amazed by her skills! 

Whitney and Kelly....notice the aloe.  Ouch! 

Heather! She got the award for quickest crafter!

Krystal getting her craft on with her clever jellyroll fabric 

Our group picture with all our wreaths.  So fun!

 

It was such a great night hanging out and making memories.  I seriously can't wait until the next craft night hosted by Ashley.  We will be making a 4th of July paper lollie wreath.  Woo hoo!!
  

Memphis in May Triathalon

We spent a fun weekend with the friendlaws (word coined by Whitney this weekend) in Memphis.  It was really nice to have a little get-away for a few days and just enjoy ourselves!  I don't think I've laughed quite so hard in a long time...between Ryan's outbursts, Whitney's humor and imaginary games, to Jason's spoofs.  Not to mention, poor Whitney had to pump every three hours...no matter where we were!  Oh, how I remember those days!
The whole purpose in going to Memphis was to cheer on the boys as they did their 2nd triathalon.  Unlike their first tri, this was the real deal.  There were referees, professional tri athletes, and the distances were ligit.  They both did amazing....especially considering the rain, thunder, and lightning that ensued while they were performing.  Whitney and I were a little worried about their safety and our own as we watched by the sidelines!  Thankfully, they both finished safe and unharmed!

The view of the start from our hotel room

Ryan and Jason before the race 

Me and J 

Ryan and Whit

The swim portion of the race (1 mile)! 

Jason running out of the water and pulling his wet suit off

 

Finding his bike in the sea of bikes 

Ryan starting his run portion 

Jason and Ryan's post race pic.  They were so happy! 

Group pic...Whitney and I were soaked! 

Jason beat Ryan...which has only happened very few times, so of course Jason needed the record to show who came out ahead this time.  Ryan gets a break though...he does have a newborn at home! Ha!  We got even more exciting news when we arrived home....we found out Jason had qualified to go to the triathalon U.S. Championships with his 6th place Clydesdale division finish.  He was shocked and so excited!  We are obviously so proud of him!  Good job, J! 

The weekend was so fun and we can't wait for another get-away with the friendlaws!

My lil Ice Princess

She looks too grown up in these pictures....her hair all pulled up in a ponytail!  What happened to my little girl?!

The sun was a little too bright for an open-eyed picture 

I found this shirt in Ansley's closet and was so sad that I hadn't put it on her for the winter!  Boo!  So...we're rockin' the ice princess shirt in the spring...oh well. 

I hope one day she IS my ice skating princess.  We will see!

 

Playdate with Evy Kate

My friend, Ashley asked if I could watch little Evy Kate a couple weeks ago and we gladly said 'yes'!  Ansley and Evy are about the same age and really had fun playing together!  We first read lots of books (little Evy is an avid Disney princess girl and I let her down!  I learned very quickly that my Disney book supply is NOT where it needs to be, epecially when I'm raising a girl myself!).  What kind of mom am I?!  After finding some Disney books, the girls had already decided they wanted to go outside.  So we took a wagon ride.  They absolutely loved it!  They giggled the whole way and the only reason we came in was because it got a touch too windy out!  These girls entertained me the whole time and I can't wait to have another playdate with Evy....I mean, Ansley can't wait to have another playdate with Evy!  Ha!  So fun!

They were way too busy to smile for a picture.

Learning to share....

Sitting together is so much fun.

The wagon was a hit!

I mean...big deal!

They decided to lounge in the wagon.  They were resting their tootsies.

Back inside for a little game of tag.

What a fun afternoon with 2 little friends.

Ansley Harper: 22 Months!

The two year old mark is coming soon for little Ansley Harper and my heart just can't take it!  These last 22 months have gone by too fast!  I love this stage of life she's in right now and wish everyday we could just pause a little longer in this moment.  Here are a few of the new things she's doing....

*Well, new words pop up left and right these days.  She says anything from "Oh gosh" to "boob" (thanks Uncle Ryan).  She is counting to three and saying her alphabet to about the letter J (her alphabet song is too much for words).  She has started jabbering a lot.  We can make out most of it, but some of the in between words...she makes up.  It's like she's trying to imitate our full sentences and she uses her hands to get her point across.  Her little phrases and mannerisms just about do us in...they are hilarious and sweet all wrapped into one precious nugget. 

*She says "Sorry, Momma" or "Sorry, Daddy" if she accidentally runs into you or maybe does something that hurts one of us.  The other day she dropped a toy on my foot and it took everything in me NOT to start crying.  I sat for a second while my toe stopped throbbing, meanwhile, she walked over to gently kiss my toe and said "I Sorry, Momma". I instantly forgot about my hurt foot and swooped her up to kiss her little cheeks....my heart was so full!

Another "sorry" story...Ansley was taking a bath one evening before bed at Pamaw and Pappaw's house.  They dried her off and while Pam was hanging the towel up, Ansley ran into the living room where she had previously been playing with her new dollhouse.  Most of the pieces were on the coffee table, so she decided to jump up there to get them.  As Pam walks out of the bedroom, Ansley says "sorry Pamaw"(she was standing on top of the coffee table in a puddle of pee).  Somehow the puddle didn't reach the mound of toys, thankfully!  We've learned...get a diaper on, stat!

*Ansley's renamed all her babies after her favorite girl cousin, Brynn. She is in love with "baby Ben" and asks constantly to see her.  We have to keep a good eye on her while she's around Brynn, but for the most part she's pretty gentle with her.  I know they will have lots of fun together when Brynn gets a little bigger!  Ansley's all giggles when she's around her! 

*Her favorite toys right now are her new dollhouse, babies (not sure if we'll ever be without a baby around), her slide and playhouse outside, play kitchen, and she loves to draw and color with pens and crayons.

*Ansley's new thing is she always wants a play pal.  She says "Come on, Daddy.  Come play!"  She'll cup her little hands and motion for you to join her.  It's really hard to say no.

*She's been such a good little helper around the house!  She loves to put the clothes in the laundry and helps me load the dishwasher.  I couldn't ask for a better sidekick...she makes the grueling task of doing laundry fun.

*Ansley consistently talks with her eyes.  I don't know any other way to explain it (maybe flirts?  Using this word, kind of makes my heart stop)...she will give you the sweetest looks with those eyes and you'll know exactly what she's trying to do.  Most of the time, she's trying to get away with something!

*She loves to go to her grandparent's houses.  Anytime we're leaving the house she asks if we're headed to BB's house or Pappaw's house.  She loves to visit them!   

*We've noticed that when we tell her to smile for a picture, she curls her bottom lip and squints her nose and eyes.  It's almost too funny to fix....however, we're pretty sure she's going to kill us when she sees these pictures later on!  We love it!

*Ansley weighs about 28 lbs. and wears about a size 18 months in clothes, 6 shoe, and a size 5 diaper.   

I get so emotional when I think back on the last 22 months.  Ansley is so special to us and we couldn't imagine our lives without her.  She makes us laugh daily with her goofy little phrases and melts our hearts with her tender little spirit.  We just can't seem to soak enough of her up.  We are loving this phase of life with her and can't imagine it getting any better than this.