Day 212/365 - July 31

Brian and Mollie invited Avery to spend the night with them tonight, so she headed up to Auburn.

Wes and I watched a RedBox movie while enjoying peach daiquiris :)

A very peaceful and quiet night.

Day 211/365 - July 30

It's official...summer is just about over.

Today was Alexandra's last day keeping Avery and her friend Kathleen at our house for the summer.

The girls wouldn't let go of her!

Kathleen has an art camp next week and Avery decided she wanted to spend the week with my Mom. Wow, is it really just ONE week until school starts???

Day 210/365 - July 29

Wes cut the grass tonight and it took FOR-EVER!

These were the bags from the front yard.

These were the bags from the back yard.

Now, that's A LOT of grass!!!

Day 209/365 - July 28

My Mom decided she wanted to buy all the back to school clothes for the grandkids this year. Can you say WOW?!?

Although we didn't get everything tonight, we made a small dent - four polo shirts, two button down collared shirts, and two skorts.  We will have to head back over the the uniform store to get the remaining items. I know they have styles that fit Avery well and last too.

It sure is going to look strange seeing burgundy hanging in Avery's closet this year.  Changes, changes, changes.

Thanks again Mom!!!

Day 208/365 - July 27

After pleading with the nurse last Friday, I was able to get Avery worked in with the dermatologist this afternoon to have her first round of freezing treatment for the warts.

This is how they looked this evening after we got home. I know, not the prettiest sight, but again...this is our life, right now, today.

She has to go back in two weeks...the week school starts. I requested an appointment first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon and the nurse said there wasn't anything available. I kindly informed her that was the week school was starting and missing school was not an option. After about five minutes, we left with a 7:15 appointment for Wednesday, August 11th. The office doesn't open until 7:30, so we should be out in plenty of time to make it to school.

See, persistence and kindness do pay off.

Day 207/365 - July 26

Avery received a letter over the weekend with her teacher assignment for the coming year. She couldn't wait to get on the phone with her friends to find out if they were in the same class!

I'm so glad that she already knows some people at Forest Avenue. This was one of my favorite back to school traditions from Saint James and it's good to see that Avery is still getting to do it even though she is changing schools.

Day 206/365 - July 25

Went to the farmer's market today to pick up some fresh fruit and veggies. They didn't have any seedless watermelon, so I also made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick it up along with a pineapple.

We should be set for a little while!

We had fresh peas and cornbread for dinner, yummy :)

Day 205/365 - July 24

We had Christmas in July at the Lowe's house tonight. Kids were included, but Avery got a last minute invite to the lake with Sydney - they left mid morning and will be back tomorrow afternoon. Needless to say, we were the only ones there without a child but we still had a wonderful time.

It was great to catch up with some out of town friends that we haven't seen in a while and just visit with everyone else too. We also had our Dirty Santa ...amazing how much that can change when you've got kids around :)

Didn't the kids do a great job taking a group photo?

Day 204/365 - July 23

Avery has been begging to go to the new California Yogurt Kraze that just opened. Only thing...it's over in Midtown. Since that's right by MaryRen's house, Avery wanted to call and see if she could come along with us tonight. We picked her up and, I must admit, it was nice to have someone "show us the ropes" on our first visit.

You grab a BIG cup when you walk in, pick and dispense your own yogurt (after deciding between about 20 flavors), and then add your toppings. Wow, they had some toppings!

Good news for us...they are in the process of opening a location just a mile from our house. I definitely see us adding California Yogurt Kraze to "our places" to eat. It was our dinner tonight!!!

Day 203/365 - July 22

Talk about a day! Avery had an appointment with the dermatologist for some icky warts that have appeared on her leg and elbow and I figured I would ask about these white bumps she started getting on her arm while we were there.

I stopped by my Mom's house to pick Avery up and couldn't resist getting a few last pictures with my Grandmother before she headed home today.

Then it was off to the doctor. It never crossed my mind that they would do a full body exam for moles, etc. For anyone that's had this done, you know that it involves taking off your clothes. For anyone with a young girl, you know that doesn't go well and it didn't for us today.

Avery cried. I'm not talking a few tears, I'm talking the hysterical sobbing tears with snotty nose, etc. because the doctor "is a man and I'm a girl."

I should've known things were not going anywhere but down at this point, but I didn't see the warning signs.

Once he examined the warts, the doctor said, "let's go ahead and freeze them off." Well, Avery knew enough to know that was NOT what she wanted. The hysterical crying from earlier...it only got worse. The doctor finally left the room to "give Mom time to try and calm her down."

After about five minutes, she was calmed down. Her legs were no longer inner twined around mine and her arms didn't have a death grip around my neck. The sobbing stopped and we were able to talk about the procedure options.

Avery finally agreed to let the doctor try to freeze one of the warts. If it hurt too bad, he would stop and we would regroup.  All of that went out the window when he walked in the freakin' door with the thermos thingy open. I really could have hurt the man at this point.

So, we left the office with a prescription for some cream to put on them at home. It takes months (yes, you read that right...months) to work and causes lots of blistering and rashes.

To say I was embarrassed by the whole thing would be a slight understatement, but I know how fearful Avery is of medical procedures.  We have just gotten to the point that she can actually walk into the doctor's office on her own knowing that she will be getting a shot - HUGE step!

Well, after we pull up at the pharmacy and Avery finishes talking to Wes on the phone she tells me "I think I want to do the blistering method." This is a liquid medicine the doctor puts on in his office every two weeks over the course of several visits. I headed back to his office, but they were already closed.

Looks like I'll be calling back tomorrow and pleading for an appointment before school starts. That's if they will still see us :)

Day 202/365 - July 21

My nieces are spending the week here - days with my Mom and nights at our house. The girls REFUSE to be separated at bedtime and always manage to cram together in some shape, form, or fashion.

Sunday night, Caitlin slept on Avery's couch and Paige was in the bed with Avery. They switched spots last night and tonight was back to the original arrangement - gotta be fair.

I was pretty shocked to walk in and find this sleeping arrangement this morning.

Avery "kicked and elbowed" Paige until she finally had enough and moved to the floor.

She was obviously sleeping rough - look at her. Turned sideways on the bed, comforter pulled completely out and over her head.

That's Caitlin on the couch with her feet hanging over the edge. She insists that it's "really comfortable."

Will they want to stay over again tonight or give in and stay at MiMi's???

Day 201/365 - July 20

After a much needed visit to get my hair cut and colored, I met my Mom to pick up the girls. They were getting ready to eat dinner at Chick-fil-A, so I just headed over and joined them all for dinner.

Couldn't miss a chance to grab a quick picture of all of us together!

My grandmother is here for week! How exciting is that?!?

Day 200/365 - July 19

I know that I have TOTALLY been a slacker when it comes to my flower beds the past year (or two). Still, imagine my surprise to find this when I came home today.

It seriously came out of nowhere! Oh, and it's right by my driveway. And at least six feet tall. {ducks head in shame}

Day 199/365 - July 18

Even after staying up late, the kids were still up bright and early this morning! After warming up breakfast, we were all back in the water and out on the boat.

I totally forgot about getting the pictures of Avery wiping out yesterday and mentioned to Jeff that I wanted him to flip the girls one time today. That's all it took for him to kick it into high gear immediately. A few circles later, this is what happened.

That last picture shows Avery going into the water.  She took a HARD hit into the water after flying over the top of everyone and was crying immediately. Of course, Wes and Jeff were nice enough to tell her, "your Mom wanted a picture" which really didn't help the moment at all.  Sure enough, she's got nasty bruise already coming up on her left thigh (and it's BIG).

Avery got back on the tube one time afterwards with the little girls, but got really scared (even though Jeff wasn't being rough) and wanted to got off. I must admit that I felt pretty bad at that point. Was the picture worth it? Nope, negative, nah, no.

She did perk on up later in the day as you can see here.

We fixed a late lunch, cleaned up, and were on the road heading home by 3:00. What a great weekend!

Day 198/365 - July 17

We were up bright and early this morning preparing for a trip to the lake with the other softball coaches and their families.  I was responsible for bringing breakfast for Sunday along with a few munchies for today, so there was some cooking to be done.

It's so nice to have such a huge and beautiful lake nearby. We were at the Stevenson's house within 45 minutes and in the water by 11:00.

We all had a great time floating, cruising the lake, and the kids tubed LOTS.

Here are a few of my fave pics from the day.

Avery, MaryRen, and Caroline about to wipeout.

Avery would have been safe like the others, but she let go....

...to hold her nose!

Ouch, that had to hurt. Nope, not really!

All the ducks in a row as we pulled back up to the house!

You can see that it's already starting to get dark, but everyone is still swimming and having a blast.  I captured this sweet shot of Avery playing on the water mat. Did I mention this mat? Holy cow, it's awesome! It's a foam mat that floats! The kids can jump on it, slide across it, lay on it. Just have a blast - and they did!

Avery almost fell asleep on the couch around 8:30 while dinner was being grilled. Based on that, I figured she would be the first to bed. Nope, those kids were up until midnight! Any chance they will sleep late tomorrow? Ha ha!!!

Day 197/365 - July 16

Avery asked if we could put a puzzle together tonight. Of course, she wanted to do it on the floor in her bedroom and it took twice as long because of the carpet.

We still had a great time though!

Day 196/365 - July 15

Kathleen spent the night with Avery tonight. They were having a great time but decided to change into their jammies early (5:00) since they were so yucky from the day. Of course, I made them take a bath first.

All of a sudden I hear screaming from the bathroom. I rush in and they are both yelling about a bug in Kathleen's hair. First thing that comes to my mind is that icky, nasty lice that all of school had last fall.

Nope, couldn't be that simple. It was a big bug in her hair.

It was a tick.

Have I ever seen a tick ON a person? Nope.

Has Wes (who happened to come home at just the right time) ever seen a tick period? Nope.

Are you kidding me? Why do these things happen and especially when the other kid's parents are out of town?!?

Needless to say, once I got both of the girls calmed down, I was googling it faster than you can imagine. Wes made a call to our veterinarian who is also a friend.

Let me just say that tick removal from the scalp = NO fun! It took five minutes to get that sucker off, Kathleen cried, Avery cried (because she found it and got Kathleen upset), and I know without a doubt that it hurt too.

After FINALLY getting through all of that craziness, I gave up on fixing dinner and just ordered pizza.

The girls both calmed down and settled in to watch our FAVE summer show, Wipeout!

Notice Princess on top of the tent? It only took 20 attempts (seriously) to get a picture of her actually visible and looking towards the camera. She doesn't show up very well :)

Day 195/365 - July 14

Last week, Wes found a gift card for Build A Bear that Avery obviously received back at Christmas. She has been pestering me to death to take her to spend it and I finally gave in tonight. I needed to return a few things to Target first and while we were there I picked up this super cute new nightgown.

In the car, on the way to the mall, Avery let out the loudest burp I've ever heard from her. Without skipping a beat, she said "that one came from the heart."

She obviously gets this from her Dad.

Day 194/365 - July 13

Today was election day - run offs for several elections in our municipality and state.

I didn't have a chance to vote before going home, so I took Avery and Kathleen with me. The ladies at the precinct thought they were "so cute" and gave them each several stickers. This would be the end result :)

While making dinner tonight, I went to pull the shredded cheese out of the fridge. There was obviously a huge split down the side (that I wasn't aware of) and at least a cup of shredded cheese spilled on the floor.  Luckily, I was right on the clean up effort.

Good thing they {heart} cheese!

Day 193/365 - July 12

Continuing along with Avery's room re-do, Wes decided to hang her ceiling fan.

By himself.

Wes is not an electrician. He has worked with electrical stuff once (I assisted) and got shocked pretty good (thanks to his assistant, truth be told).

To say I was a little hesitant when I walked in and saw this would be an understatement.

Then I see how he has it rigged with a coat hanger.

And I have to wonder, is it really working now that it's hung?

But it is. And he did ALL by himself. With no help from a single person.

Way to go sweetie! I am SO proud of you!!!

Now, I get the pleasure of touching up the ceiling paint. It REALLY would have been a good idea to take the old fixture down before painting the ceiling.

Day 192/365 - July 11

After church today (our first time in several weeks - bad, bad, bad), we stopped for lunch with the Lushingtons at Jalapenos. It was great to catch up with their family! We hadn't seen them since regular season softball wrapped up and just love them all so much!

We headed home and Sydney came over for a few minutes before we took off to Millbrook for Kylie's birthday party.

They had a great time working on their masterpieces!

When we got home, Avery was ready to head up to Shakespeare to ride bikes around the trails.

We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful park nearby! If only we didn't have to load up the bikes to get there.

p.s. - Wes made it quite clear that he would be purchasing a new seat before riding again!

Day 191/365 - July 10

Happy Birthday Wes!!!

We started the day with a trip to WalMart since Wes recalled a bike that he kind of liked there. It didn't take long before his search narrowed in on one specific bike. Good thing he didn't settle for something he didn't really love last night! 

Avery's bike money has been burning a hole in her pocket. She knows that she saved so hard to buy a new bike, but never could find one and finally made up her mind that she was buying a bike this weekend. Her reasoning? So she could stop having to "save" her bike money and spend what she wanted. Not quite the lesson I was hoping for but hey, at least she didn't blow her bike money!  FINALLY (after months of searching) found a bike that fit her she fit on properly AND, more importantly in her mind, loved the color of!

Don't they look thrilled to be taking a picture inside WalMart? The funniest part would be the fact that Avery actually thought that picture would be sufficient. She really doesn't know me that well, does she?

Here are the good "when we got home" pictures that Avery thought she had avoided.

Look at my poor sweetie cutting the grass on his birthday :(

Wes's parents took us out to dinner tonight. We ended up at Texas Roadhouse because our first stop was closed on Saturday. Really? What restaurant is closed on a Saturday?!?  Then we headed home for cake and presents.

36 years. I remember #18 like it was yesterday! Summer between high school and college. That was a good year full of fun memories!

I think, well hope, Wes will agree that it was a very nice birthday! And, Wes is older than me for a few weeks :)