A wed. morning surprise....

This morning I got up and was doing a little blog hopping to see what everyone was up to today. Ya know.. the usual ;) When I noticed that one of my buddies gave me a bloggy award!

Courtney at "One Mom's Perfect Imperfections" is one of the best bloggy buddies in the world. She is a great photographer and a mother to two super sweet (and did I mention precious.. ;) kiddos. If you have not checked out her blog you are really missing out.

Thanks so much girl!! You are the best.

Also wanted to join in on Black and White Wednesday with The Long Road to China

Love me some sweet fat baby toes ;)

Hope everyone ha a fabulous day! We are heading to the Carowinds today.. which is a huge theme park here in Charlotte, NC. Should be lots of fun (if the rain holds out.. better get out of bloggy land and head on out!)

Summer Fun!!

This week I am going to join in with Trendy Treehouse and share some "Summer Fun" pics!!

I have never linked up in this blog hop before but it looked like so much fun.. I just could not resist ;) Head on over and link up of you want to play along!

Here are my shots..

Taken on our recent vaca pic to the mountains

 

Nothing says summer like rosey cheeks and big glass of lemonade :)

 

Cannooon Ball!

 Bubbles anyone?

Just a neat shot I thought...

All of these pics were taken with my Canon Rebel XSi and have some editing but not much (def. not my strong suit yet ;)

Be sure and head over to the Trendy Treehouse to check out other cool "Summer Fun" photos!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekend Fun

First off let me just say... my blog is still under construction! Please hang with me... I will get it right one day ;) Hopefully sooner than later! Still stuck on the header.. not sure what to do. What do you think? Picture cutsy type header or just simple title?

Anyways.....

This weekend it was smokin' hot outside. So we spent most of our weekend in or around water. Most of the time we swim at my inlaws (they live two blocks up and have a huge in ground pool) but sometimes we just fill up the baby pool and hang around the house.

Emma likes to be in charge of the hose pipe.. this is scary because we have well water. That water coming out of the hose is ffreeeeezing. It does not matter that it is 100 degree weather outside.. that water will still send your running and crying for your mommy!

 

Occasionally Scooby (our 95lb horse dog) decides he needs a drink.

 

 

She is all about helping the dog out.. but not a single drop of that is going in the pool. LOL

 

Just thought this was a neat shot because of the water and.. ya know..the drool ;)

 

E decides she is thirsty too!

All this fun and she never even made it IN the pool. You know why? She said it was cold! What a goober!

Today we had the most fun but I totally forgot my camera.. we went to my aunt and uncle's house who live out in the booonies! I am talking country living ;) They have this huge garden that is prob. about the size of my whole lot. Anyways they grow lots of potatos and we had the best time digging up "taters." It was like going on an easter egg hunt LOL. Everytime we would find one Emma would say "oooooooooh." She would then put it in her bag and continue to drag the bag around the entire field  until it was so heavy she could not drag it anymore. FUN!!

Lastly....my girl got a new do today...

sorry this is a horrible pic just wanted to let you see the top.. and she would not sit still for nothing!

Thats right.. she is officially (but barely) rocking the piggy tails!!! OMG I am in heaven :)

Caution!!

I accidentally started tinkering with my blog a bit and created this cute disaster. Not really a disaster but not sure where I want to go with it.....

So if you come to visit any time within.. ya know.. prob the next few days and something looks off. Just know I am working on it.

Want it to be a little less clutter, a little more simple, but still me all at the same time. So pardon the mess.. hopefully it will be a new normal soon!!

Macro Friday Yumminess!

I almost forgot about Macro Friday this week with Laura at Blogging From Bolivia!

Last Sunday for Father's Day we all hung out over at my moms and grilled out Shish-ka-bobs. They were sooo good. I saw all of them sitting there ready to hit the grill and thought "I better grab my camera first."

 

No editing.. no nothing.. just some SOOC yumminess for ya!

Enjoy :)

PS... I totally did my link for Five Question Friday wrong.. so if you are looking for that.. keep scrolling down! So Sorry!

Friday!!

Welll Hellloooo Friday! I thought you would never make it back around :)

This week has been a crazy week for us. We have been potty training this week! Let me just tell you.. the days have been extremely LONG. I am not even getting into all the details because that deserves a whole post but.. WOW! Stressful.

Anyways as always on Fridday I am going to link up with the crazily fantastic Mama M for a little Five Question Friday Action!

The questions this week are.... 

1. Do you know how to play a musical instrument?
umm... nope! I was in piano lessons once when I was younger. I went several times a week, banged on the keys a bit, came home and whined about having to practice, then quit. I just did not have the patience it took to sit and learn. Practice? Totally interfered with my social life.. no time for practice. Soooo here I sit with absolutly no musical talent. Bummer

2. What is your pet peeve while driving?
Oh gracious.. I could go on and on about my pet peeves while driving.I hate it when people ride the brakes. Do not appreciate people going sllooww.. there is a difference in being safe and being slow! Oh! Did I mention if somebody is riding down the road with their turn signal on with no sign of turning.. that really does me in. To say I have a bit of road rage would be a bit of an exageration.. but its close.

All that aside I think the worst thing is a screaming baby in the back seat. Oh that just frazzles me even typing it. I can block alot of things out and ignore most. That my friends I can not. The radio will not go loud enough to mask that ear piercing shrill that sometimes happens. Wind on the face (in 10 degree weather..) that will sometimes stop the crying for a few moments but not long enough. Oh its terrible.. can't wait until we outgrow that stage. I would much rather here.. " Are we there yet.. Are we there yet.."

3. Would you rather have a housekeeper or unlimited spa services?
Housekeeper.. handsdown! That would be the BEST thing ever!!

4. Is there a song that you hear that will take you back to the moment, like a junior high or high school dance?
OK.. dont laugh when I post this. I am not trying to be a smarta$$ but I love me some Kenny Chesney. Everytime I hear the song "I Go Back.." well it takes me back. Besides high school and all the fun memories that go along with it.. it takes me back to warm summer nights of  concerts. Wearing my little short skirts, flip flops, cold beer in my hand, and my bestie by my side. I was carefree. Ahhhh that was the life....

Ok as hard as I tried I couldnt get the little video to pop up here so all you had to do was hit play... nooooo couldnt be that easy. Instead you will have to click here to see Mr. Hunka Hunka Burning Love singing his song "I Go Back.."
5. What song best represents your life right now?
 Gosh.. now that I spent so long working on a link for the other song I can't get it out of my head. That my friends creates a problem. So I am going to ..... just leave this one blank?!?!

Right before my eyes.....

I feel like I am watching my baby transform into this crazy but wonderful little toddler. My Emma is knocking on the door of 22 months old (in two days to be exact...)

Everyday lately it seems like she is doing something new. Most of the time it leaves me scratching my head saying "where did that come from."

 

She is very prissy in her "old" age. She loves to put make up on when I am doing mine.. or in this case love to "help" me put on my make up ;) She is all about jewelry, pocketbooks, rings, and all things girlie.

Her most recent "trick" is sneaking out of her bed. She has been in a toddler bed since about Feb/March and has never really cared much about getting out or anything. She has always just called for us on the monitor when she is awake. Totally worked for me.. I was not all about the thought of a roaming baby. WELLL this morning, all was quiet, until all of the sudden I hear "Hey Daddy!" I knew that was not coming from the monitor and I knew her daddy was still laying right beside me. So I opened my eyes and see a bright eyed, bushy tail little girl who had just snuck out of her room and was raring to go!! Uh Oh.. I knew this meant trouble. Come time for her AM nap this morning she did the same type thing. I would lay her down and right back down the hall she would come... "Hey Mommy!" I guess we will have to find a solution to this problem.. not sure what that solution will be yet. Any suggestions?

Other things she is doing or has recently started....

*she no longer wants anything to do with a sippy cup.. she likes "big girl" cups with a straw in it (doesn't she know that makes for more mess. wwayy more mess )

*making short sentences more and more often. Her fav. is "in a minute" or "right back" wonder where she has heard those one from?!? ;)

* She loves to dance.. although I must say she dances like her mommy (which is not a good thing.. I have NO rhythm. Not a lick)

* Little E loves books. We spend many moments on the couch reading lots and lots of books. Some of them she is even starting memorize.

* Fav. songs are "E I E I OOOOO" (yes that is what she calls it and how she sings it ;) " Itsy Bitsy" and "The Wheels on the Bus"

* I almost forgot my fav. part. She is turning into a snuggler!! So what if it is to con me out of putting her to bed.. I will take it anyway I can get it. Could you resist those sweet little tear filled blue eyes looking up at you saying "cuddle cuddle" ? Nope didnt think so!

Alright well I better go she is using my air vent as a piggy bank at this very moment. She thinks is it super fun to drop random pennies she finds into the air vents.... no wonder my AC can't keep up!

Talk to you all tomorrow for some Five Question Friday Action?!?! Wooot Wooot :)

Splish Splash...

She was taking a bath....

see.. she does have a little bit of hair ;)

It was a field trip!

*warning! The lighting in the pics ahead is def. less than ideal for photography.. so just bare with me ;) *

We headed down to the big city yesterday to this awesome science museum called the Discovery Place! We have actually been twice now and I have not posted any pics... can you believe that!? so some of these pics may be from our first or second visit.  This place is geared all to the kiddos with a little adult discovery as well.

In the kid area they have this huge water table that my girl loved... we all know by now she is not afraid of the water ;)

Emma and my lil sis Lauren

 

Needless to say.. she was soaking wet when we left the water area :)

My favorite part of the Discovery Part was this HUGE light bright looking thing they had. I loved my light brigh when I was younger but this one was much cooler than anything I have seen in a while.

So much fun!! I wanted to take all the pegs out and push the kids to the side so I could make a flower or something ;)

Another big hit was the wind tunnel. You were supposed to put on these super hero capes and goggles and stand in front of the wind tunnel... get the picture!? Well little E was having nothing to do with is.. soo of course we had to show her how it was done ;)

my sis.. the cutest little super hero around ;)

They also had lots of hands on expieraments for everyone to try. Here are a few of the other pics from our trip!

figuring it out!

Coolest frog ever... can you see him ;)

Derek giving E a helping hand!

 

 The pot and pan band

She had to pull herself up using this rope.. and she was crazy enough to add an extra 25 lbs

Derek rocking the pink bookbag... he carried it all day for me! He is the best :)

I hope you all enjoyed our pics from our little trip to the big city yesterday. We had a blast! I will def. be going back in the next week or two because they will be opening a rain forest and aquarium.. FUN!

Happy Tuesday Friends!! 

Weekend Snipits...

This weekend has been so full of wonderful things! I love having time with my family and there was def. enough family time this weekend to go around :)

On Saturday Emma and I took the whole day pretty much and spent it with my dad. We had him all to ourselves the first half of the day...which hardly ever happens. We just hung out and spent some time on the lake.

yes this is an unedited pic... havent had time for all of that ;)

The lake is our favorite place to be.

 After we hung out and spent the morning with Dad, Emma had been invited to a swimming party so we headed over there. I wish so bad I had a video of that girl. She just jumps off the diving board like a champ these days. I dont catch her and keep her from going under or anything anymore (however she does have a little floatie thing on). After she jumps she then proceeds to swim her happy little hiney to the ladder and gets out and does it all over again! Unbelievable if I do say so myself ;)

On Sunday I spent the day with some of my most favorite men. My dad, Derek, my Grandaddy, and my Pop.

 

from L to R my dad, grandaddy, derek, and pop!

There they are hanging out at the outside bar at my moms house.

We cooked a little, ate alot and laughed even more....

Silly Grandaddy

Check this out.. this is my Grammy "teaching" Emma to hula hoop!

 

 

my sweet momma

See! Its not just me.. we are allll a little crazy ;)

Today we spent time at the local science museum called the Discovery Place.. but that is a whole 'nother post!

But before I sign out for the night I just wanted to leave you with something to make you smile... I just could not resist snapping these pics today.. and thought you all might enjoy them as well....

                  

                                                        

Oh how I love that farmer tanned, potty training, newpaper reading, little princess!!