rock climbing class

today was another rock climbing class and it was so much fun! i will be feeling it tomorrow for sure!
love to everyone, have a beautiful day!!

the wildlife refuge

we went hiking today through the wildlife refuge and enjoyed finally feeling well enough to do some outdoor activities. it wasn't quite what i expected, but it was nice to see some marshland and be able to get pretty close to the birds. we didn't see any alligators, although we did see the largest grasshopper ever. aven wanted to take it home... um...no we won't be doing that, sweetheart!

random pics

aven and i have been fighting a nasty cold, so our adventures have been short lived this week. not much to share other than a few random pics, a ton of hand sanitizer and a short update.
for me: i started a rock climbing class on wednesday and loved it. i was able to become certified on my first lesson, but i paid for it dearly the next day. my arms were jello for the rest of the day and i was so sore on thursday! i climbed four times (it's only a 30 minute lesson) and can't wait for this wednesday's class!
as for aven: everyone knows how much she LOVES shoes, so there's one of her wearing her new shoes to school. i had to do some alterations to a new cooking apron and she had a fun time playing dress up and running around the house chasing tonic with a spatula. (tonic hasn't been laying in the kitchen as much i've noticed, hee hee.)
enjoy and be well!

i heart ATL

we had a great time in atlanta this weekend! the weather was cruddy but we were still able to visit the aquarium, stone mountain, the children's museum and run around downtown exploring. we had a great hotel room and can't wait to go back again!

miss everyone~ i heart you all, too!!

running around the city

we had a blast running around the city and exploring. our hotel was connected to centennial park downtown so we could go outside and play very easily. although it rained the entire weekend, we still had fun. thank goodness aven's a tomboy, she didn't mind getting wet and dirty at all. check out the pic where she decided to sit down in the wet grass!

aven's first stay in a hotel

this was aven's first trip to stay in a hotel and she went straight for the bed! she had such a great time and she loved running around the room in her robe and slippers.

having fun while in ATL

friday night we went to the HARD ROCK CAFE and aven had a blast dancing to the music. saturday we ate a local pizzaria and you should have seen her chow down on pizza (one of her favorites). now back to reality where we only go out for a girls night once a week.

IMAGINE IT! children's museum

saturday morning we went to the children's museum and aven had a blast playing in the ball world. they've built this entire little world on pulleys and when you put a ball in the chute it travels around the different parts and eventually falls back into the ball pit. it was really neat, i'm not doing it justice, and that was the area she spent most of her time playing in. she's very mechanical so she wasn't really interested in the more creative stations they had set up. she tapped danced, played with moon sand (more was in her clothes than in her project), fished in the kiddie pool and played in the treehouse. she enjoyed the painting on the huge dry erase board and played for a while with the jumbo life sized leggos. wish we had something like that here, it rained our entire trip so it was perfect to spend a little time inside but still running off energy. if you go though, take some tylenol beforehand- crazy kids everywhere!!

fall weather is here!

the weather is finally starting to turn to fall and aven finally got to wear her fall boots to school. she absolutely loves these boots and has been wanting to wear them all summer. she's doing really well at school, still not sitting down the entire storytime but that's to be expected and we're working on it.

aven loves oreos and chocolate pudding, too!

after our visit to the park, we stopped and got a treat for the ride home. i noticed aven was being REALLY quiet (anyone who has kids knows this is NOT good) and this is what she was doing.... i've created a monster! she has since learned to dunk them in milk, without dropping i might add, and she'll go "umm..." with a huge smile! and everyone knows chocolate pudding isn't as good unless it's smeared all over your face!

walking tonic

went to the park with tonic and aven loved "helping" walk him. if you saw it in person it would look more like him walking her... he's so tolerant and gentle with her. i love that dog!

artwork at the gym

this is what aven was doing the other day at the childcare at the gym when i walked in to pick her up after my run! how fun- she was so proud of her polka dots. it's now hanging on the fridge. do they make bibs as large as this smock? ha ha :)

maya's welcoming baby shower

here are a few pics from the baby shower jen and i threw for pam and maya. notice aven helping me with the table and the food. that was her favorite part, the little thief!! everytime i turned around she was standing in the chairs eating. again... so much like me :) the last picture is of all of us from savannah, stephanie and teri have since moved away and it was so great to see them!!

aven's started preschool

aven started preschool on wednesday and is doing really well so far. the only recommendation the teachers have as of now is to work on her sitting still during storytime. yeah right! but we'll try... she's the youngest in her class because her birthday falls late in the year, but she is enjoying playing with the other children and is exhausted when she comes home. for the month of september they are learning the letters A & B, the numbers 1 & 2, and the colors red and blue. the last picture is of the artwork that she did the other day and they hung in the class for the parents to see. thanks to everyone for checking in on how she did her first day!!

thanks for a wonderful visit!

a HUGE thanks to jen for letting us stay with her and eli while we were visiting alabama! we had such a great time!! it is always so hard to say bye, but we can't wait until our next visit!! i love you guys!!

aviation museum, random pics and a little humor

we went to the aviation museum at ft. rucker where aven and eli got to fly a cobra and run around and look at tons of helicopters. aven loved playing in the back of the chinook and talking to all the people in the exhibits, she just didn't understand that they weren't real and wouldn't be talking back! i got the tank top pj's at the gift shop- they might be pushing the line towards tacky, but they made me laugh!!
the rest of the pics are just random from our trip-
hope you enjoy and much love to everyone! i miss you all and can't wait to see you again soon!