going back in [medieval] time...

ava's daddy steve, sherry, and uncle micah invited us to join them at medieval times a few weeks ago.  to be honest, i wasn't all that thrilled about going.  i'd been once before several years ago, and didn't remember it being all that exciting.  even ava wasn't too crazy about it.  all that changed when we got inside.  she was the perfect age for it.  she really got into the whole competition aspect of it. 

we were seated in the yellow knight's section, and proudly sported our crowns.

Micah and Ava were pretending they were guards :)



micah dressed up with a tie for the occasion, and ava tried it on ;)



steve and justin

girlfriend ate her chicken AND tomato soup!  she is a picky eater, so this was a BIG deal.  she thought it was crazy to not have silverware to use!

we went on a wednesday night, so it wasn't very crowded.  that meant we were able to sit two rows off the floor, and had prime seats to see/talk to our yellow knight.  ava was cheering for him and the two made eye contact.  ava gave him a thumbs up, and he gave her one right back!  she was in heaven. after he one his first challenge, he received flowers from the princess.  he kissed the flower and threw the first one right to ava!  she thought it was the best!thing!ever!



they also had a hawk that flew around during a part of the show.  i love this video because it shows just how happy ava was! i had so much fun watching her!

we even got suckered into buying the souvenir ;) 

if you have kiddos around ava's age, i highly recommend going to the dinner and show!



family fun on the fourth...

we headed to the in-laws on the fourth of july for some swimming, football, and a cookout. 

preston was ready to go!

his obsession with "gobbles" has continued, and this time he sported these gigantic blue ones.  priceless!

even though he took a time out from swimming to play football, he insisted on wearing his puddle jumper and goggles.  silly boy!



i'm pretty sure ava's only time to get out of the pool was to scarf down a hot dog.  she is a little fish :)

preston was insistent that he could swim all by himself.  little stinker :)

it was hot, so i think everyone was grateful for the pool fun!

this picture of brad and preston cracks me up! like father, like son...

these two pictures are absolutely precious!

one more from our day....the effects of wearing goggles for too long!

it was a great day :)

30 day challenge RESULTS [I didn't die]...

a month ago, i blogged about joining the 30 day/300 ab challenge that i learned about from Shannon over at life after i dew.  at the time, i was four days in, and honestly didn't know if i would/could complete the challenge.  i was sore, and so out of shape. 

here we are, 33 days into the challenge.  i am happy to say that i didn't give up.  but in an effort to be completely honest before showing you the results, i have a few confessions:

1.  the first 10 days, i could not do the scissors.  like, i physically couldn't get my feet off the ground after day one.  so, instead of completely throwing in the towel, i substituted leg lifts for scissors until my core got strong enough to handle the scissors. 

2.  i did not do the challenge for 30 straight days.  i struggled to get myself to do them on saturdays & sundays.  i know that might be pathetic, as it only takes 10-15 minutes to do the whole workout.  again, i wanted to give you full disclosure about my results.

3.  i only lost 2 lbs. during the challenge.  not anything really.  i told myself in the beginning that this challenge would not be a miracle worker.  i am overweight, and completely out of shape.  that being said, i think i had realistic results in my head.  i know that if i want a complete body makeover, its going to take more than a 10-15 minute ab workout.  baby steps, y'all. baby.steps.

4.  i was/am extremely nervous about posting the before AND after pictures.  as i noted on #3, my body is NOT a wonderland.  its defiantly a work in progress.  but i do think that this challenge was totally worth it, and i can definitely see the change. 

i think i have drug my feet long enough.  here is the photographic proof that i did, in fact, complete the challenge!

as i mentioned before, i still have a ton of work to do when it comes to my body and my ultimate goals.  but!but!but!  i am very glad that Shannon gave me the inspiration to do the challenge.  i am by no means ready to rock a bikini, but i do feel a little better that my muffin top isn't as ridiculous as it was before, and that 'the girls' are even a little smaller.  baby steps :)

if you are thinking about doing the challenge, i say GO!FOR!IT!  if you've done the challenge,let me know.  i'd love to see your results and hear your thoughts!

the goal is to keep this up for at least another month.  i've got a date with the beach, and want to feel a little better in the swimsuit, even if it is a one piece ;)



weekend recap...

i love the slower pace of summer. ava's out of school and my work load is pretty light, so we can afford to take long weekends and do fun stuff with some of our favorite people. this weekend, we did just that :) ava & i headed down to mansfield on thursday night for a sleepover with preston & sarah. we ran errands on friday morning, and after lunch and naps, we packed our cooler and bags and headed to a super fun pool for the afternoon! the kids had so.much.fun. sarah bought them goggles before we went, and I think they look so funny on the kids!

preston called them his "gobbles" and would correct me if i said "goggles" ;)

ava wore hers upside down :)

We attempted to get a photo of all four of us, but settled for this one...

so i snapped one of P by himself :)

both kids and mommas had a blast!  preston braved the frog slide...

and ava braved the big slide!

it really was so!much!fun, and i can't wait to do it again :)

______________________________________________

on saturday night, the kids headed so sissy and gpa's house, and brad and sarah took us out for my birthday!  we went to Four Day Weekend in ft. worth and it was really good! 

afterwards, we headed to Uno's for dinner.  i am so lucky to have such an amazing SIL & BIL who wanted to help me ring in my 27th year :)  Thanks s & b :)

i'm looking forward to many more great memories this summer with my people!

chicago 2012...

i had a trip to chicago for work last weekend, and was able to meet up with my mom and dad :)  it was great spending some QT time with them exploring chicago.  from their first taxi ride, to north shore beach, to fireworks at the pier and everything in between...we had a great weekend making memories.

30 day challenge [i just might die...]

about a month ago, one of my favorite bloggers, Shannon, posted that she was participating in the 30 day / 300 Ab challenge. fifteen day's into the challenge, she gave us a pretty awesome update .  and of course, she gave us the final results.  and i was inspired.  so much so, that i am on day 3 of this horrible gruelling i-think-i-might-die 30 day challenge.  and today, i'm in pain.  shannon warned that day 1-4 would be the worst, and as far as i can tell, she wasn't kidding.  while my abs are sore, what is even more surprising to me is the pain in the top of my legs.  apparently, i haven't used those muscles in years.  the scissors nearly killed me last night.  like, i had to will my legs off the floor.  no pain/no gain was my prayer the entire time.  ha! i'm also hoping that it will get easier! i've taken the before pictures as motivation...but i'm not ready to show those until i have the comparisons, so stay tuned!

Shannon is hosting a link up today for those who are/have/want to join the challenge and share their thoughts!  head on over and check it out!



that's a wrap...

we have come to the end of ava's first grade year.  yesterday we celebrated at school with her end-of-year class party. 

ava's teacher this year, mrs. adams, was amazing.  she made school so fun and enjoyable for ava!  we are definitely sad to be leaving her behind!

ava and a few of her buddies...

today was a half day, and i made her pose for a few photos so i could do a comparison for the first and last day of school this year!

i can tell she's taller, and her face looks so much older!  i cannot believe i have a second grader!

ava,

we are so proud of all you have accomplished this year!  you love reading, and i think its pretty fantastic!  you are such a kind, bright, funny girl, and we think you are pretty awesome. 

xoxo,

mom

a slice of summer...

summer is so close.  we spent a good amount of time outside this past weekend hanging out in the back yard. we lathered on sunscreen and let the kids dump water on our legs and splash in the pool.  a little sneak peek of our weekend ---



a little slice of summer.

quickfoot...

ava played in her first ever soccer tournament on saturday, and had a great time!  she had 4 games, and did pretty well!  she enjoyed playing with her friends, getting her face painted, receiving her trophy and dancing to the loud music :) even though she was a muddy mess, it was well worth it!

ava and coach noah

i wasn't kidding about her dancing...

building relationships + kindness = ava...

ava was awarded citizen of the month for her 1st grade class for possessing april's character trait "building relationships + kindness". 

on friday, april 27th we attended a special breakfast for the citizens who were chosen, and each child received a certificate and a "coyote" bandanna.  the bandanna can be worn for the entire month of may to symbolize that she was given the award.  she was so excited!

yay ava!  so proud of our girl!  its hard to believe 1st grade is coming to and end!