Happy 8 Years!

Eight years ago, I had no idea what life and marriage had in store for us. I had no idea that we would live in 4 different houses or work in 5 different cities. I never dreamed we'd get to build our own house. I didn't know that running the water while I brushed my teeth or leaving my bathcloth rung out on the side of the tub could drive someone crazy. I had no idea that a man had the ability to literally tune out everything around him or that it never occurred to him to fold the laundry in the basket by his chair.

I couldn't have imagined the fun I could have just watching a DVR'd show of Teen Mom with my husband. If you'd told us we could build a house without so much as a disagreement, I'd have laughed.

I always assumed we'd have kids. But I didn't know how comforting it would feel to have him worry about me as our baby grew in my belly. And never in a million years could have I imagined the sweet, precious little girl that God would give us and how very much we would love her and want the world for her. Nor could I have imagined how much more I could love a man who let his little girl tape a  monogrammed pocket to his Nike tee. I could never have prepared myself to try to make him relax because the baby has a high fever and pneumonia. I didn't know how my heart would swell to walk into a room and see him reading to her.

I didn't know how proud I would be of the man he's become or the Daddy he is to our girl. I didn't know that I would be more in love with him now than I ever have been because of those things.

I knew we'd experience heartache. And I knew we'd experience joy. But I could never have imagined how happy I would be with our life 8 years later. We've worried, we've lost, we've won, we've laughed, and we've disagreed. There is absolutely no other person I'd have wanted to spend the last 8 years, or the next 80, with, no matter where we are in the state or in the world, Dusty Davis!! Thanks for being my sweet husband!

Scott Farm Swim #1

I put #1 because we plan to have several swim days at the Scott's over the summer....if Miss Priss will swim!!

This morning, we got our clothes on and she was looking at herself in my full length mirror (as she loves to do) and I heard " Oh, I wook so cute!"

She was so excited and promised me she was going to get in!

She wanted nothing to do with getting in the water. She loved getting out pool toys and throwing them in the water, though. She did jump in to Lorie a couple of times and immediately wanted out!

She loved sitting on the steps talking to Chaley like they were 18!!

Fun with "Old" Friends

Several of my "old" friends came over to my moms Friday to play and swim...Justin, I use the term "old" loosely. Thirty is by no means old!!!but being friends for 30 years does makes us "old friends!"

The kids played and all but one of them swam!! One of them walked around the pool and played but sat down quickly when I tried to get her in. I'll give you one hint which one that was:

We battled the clouds all day and finally got out when we knew rain was near. We tried for a group picture...

I love this one because I caught Mattie's escape!

I absolutely loved spending time with these sweet friends! We have promised to do it again soon (and we're gonna add more friends to the mix)!

Avery Claire went to Piggly Wiggly where I introduced her to the kid buggy. They've had these buggies since I was her age! 

And here she is with two of her favorite people in the world!! Ask her who her favorite friend is, she'll tell you "Sawah" every time!!

Summer Zoo Trip

We wanted to take Avery Claire to the zoo for her birthday, but it was so cold. So we decided a nice June day would be perfect! And it was! Not too hot, not too crowded. We loved seeing her reaction to the animals!

I didn't take a picture of the real gorilla, but Avery Claire thought he looked so sad and that he needed a friend! She doesn't like for anyone to be even in a room alone and thinks we're all better off if we have a friend!!

That picture was the test pic after my camera dropped 2 feet onto the concrete floor. It seems to be okay, but I wouldn't be shocked if it died any day.

Train ride

We loved watching the elephants this year!! Two of them were "fighting" over a water hole and pushing each other in and out of it. We'd never seen elephants so active and playful.

We happened to make it to the giraffes during feeding time. Guess who wanted to feed them?

I never thought she'd do it, especially when the girl told me if she was 3, she had to go by herself. (Unless I wanted to purchase another $3 ticket to walk the 3 feet over to stand with her.) Do not listen to my husband when he tells you I almost got ugly with the ticket girl. 

She agreed to be big and go by herself (because we told her how proud and jealous Becca would be because she has always wanted to feed the giraffes). 

She walked right up and started handing leaves to those giraffes!

She was so proud!! She told us that he licked her thumb a little bit!! I asked her what his tongue felt like and she said "not smoov, scwatchy!" Since then, she keeps saying it felt like "twash!"

We loved our zoo trip!! Avery Claire is at the "why????" stage, so we answered LOTS of questions! It was so fun to see how curious she was and how much she enjoyed watching and learning about the animals!

When Avery Claire woke up, we surprised her by arriving in Clay County!!!!