trip to fayetteville to visit the dixons

this trip was back in july, but i forgot my camera and brenda forwarded these. we had a great time and it was so nice to spend the week with you guys. love you guys and miss you so much! aven and ella had a blast playing together, can't wait until the next play weekend!

beautiful church downtown knoxville

i have loved this church for years, finally got around to taking a picture of it-
love to all and thanks for a great visit. can't wait to see everyone again in october for our birthdays, it's going to be so fun~
amanda

aven and i at biltmore

aven did really well touring the house and chowed down on BBQ for lunch. she's so much like me it's kindof scary! she loved playing outside and the picture of her inside the flower bed is when she went through the ropes meant to keep you out.

biltmore estate, asheville nc

no matter how many times i've been to biltmore, i'm always amazed at the beauty!

aven's new car

this is an early birthday present from my mom and she hasn't gotten out of it since she got it. she's doing pretty well driving, she's only taken a few spills into the walls! she rides around the house yelling "beep, beep"!

day at the park

we went and got take out hibachi factory, my favorite, and went to a park i used to go to when i lived in knoxville during college. it was nice to spend the day outside and show aven my old apartment, the park i used to run in and where i used to work. how things change in 10 yrs!!

TN smokies baseball game

we went to the smokies game and wanted to stay and watch the fireworks at the end but didn't make it through the 5th inning. we had a blast anyway and check out the video of aven dancing!

filling up the bird feeders

aven loves to help fill the bird feeders at my mom's. we're so thankful it's been beautiful weather for our visit and we can play outside all day!

playing at the soft play

today aven and i spent the morning at the mall and we stopped and played at the soft play. the pic with her playing peek-a-boo in the mirror was hilarious in person. she kept saying "hi" with her southern twang and would touch the mirror and go "awwww.." it was so cute!

welcome to nanny's

as much as aven LOVES being at my mom's, she's still not ok sharing her favorite toy. i didn't think she could love anything more than she does my mom, but apparently her winnie the pooh bus comes really close. it was funny to see my mom ride around on it, though. big smile!
we went and had lunch with my mom the first day we were in town and i think aven may have had more fun playing at her desk. she grabbed a piece of paper and pen and made herself right at home. now if only she could get a paycheck out of it- that would be perfect!!

happy mornings

aven loves to eat her breakfast in the morning half dressed and sprawled out on her chair or the sofa, check out the one with one shoe! ha ha. she's so much like me it's SCARY!
love to everyone, we miss you all
amanda

aven's bf, arnell

aven has a crush on arnell that she plays with at the gym. when she wakes up from her nap she runs into her closet and picks out her shoes to wear (she can't reach her clothes yet). these are from the other day when she picked out her black patent mary janes, and i think arnell liked what she picked out... he kissed her good-bye!! TALK ABOUT A HAPPY GIRL- she squealed the entire way home! you can see how happy she was by her ear-to-ear smile :)

playing at the mall with ryan

aven and i spent the morning with erin and ryan at the soft play and riding the kiddie rides at the mall and then went to lunch at moe's. doesn't get much better than homewrecker burritos, mini masterpiece for aven and ryan, and good conversation!

comic for the day- destin trip '05

for jen and pam, remember this? think back hard, it's been a while...

sequence of our water fight-

pam: "jeronimo!" as amanda is close lined from the back and goes into the ocean face first and mouth open

amanda: "damn you, pam! that was a cheap shot, you know i can't stand my face wet!" as i'm still trying to find my sunglasses and stand up straight

pam: still trying to catch her breath because she's laughing so hard, "hee, hee. i know, that's why i did it. love you!" she's still laughing, probably to this day

amanda: "love you, too, but you're still going under!" pam goes down and we both laugh so hard we can't breathe

finale... jen and i dig pam a hole, "YIKES", the lifeguard dumps pam out of the beach chair- yes, he will dump a drunk girl- and then we go for the best crab legs ever!! i can't wait to teach maya how to crack crab legs! love you guys bunches- you're the best!!

do we have any pics from the I24 "pam, pull over" birthday night we can save for aven? jen, how do we not have stories and pics to save for eli? the stories we're going to have for the kiddios- they only think we're lame.. we'll show them!

almost time for baby maya

pam is due any day now with their daughter, maya isabella. she will be a blessed little girl with wonderful parents who adore her. jen and i are hosting her baby shower in september and the theme is brown and yellow damask to go along with burts bees baby items. can't wait to meet her!! best of luck, pam, try not to worry, you'll miss out on the excitement! i'll see you guys soon... wish it were tomorrow. i love you girls!!
** i don't know why the pic is so grainy, the invitation reads "our hearts are filled with happiness and our lives are filled with love because we have the little girl we've been dreaming of...maya"

fun for me!!

during our last visit to mo'town i went to an airshow with my friend mark to see some of his friends fly a P47 thunderbolt (the yellow and red one with the hen on it) and a P51 mustang (the black and silver, shinier one). both have been beautifully restored and are amazing to see in person. if you get a chance, go to the sevierville airport and check out the aviation museum there- incredibly impressive aircraft collection and a ton of history... i was a kid in a candy store!!

happy little girl....but OCD

her new obsession is washing her hands...literally 20 or 30 times a day, soap and all. i had to put a childproof handle on the door to keep out of the bathroom. at least she's clean though i guess. we even decorated her step stool for her since it's so popular. i picked the sparkle letters to double as slip proof traction control and she picked out the butterflies and flowers. apparently she likes to diversify- for her upstairs bathroom she picked princess fairies and tiaras.