April 17-Swingin'

While I worked during the morning, Matt took the babies to the fair and then I Met them at a park. The park had a water play area and then the babies wanted to swing for a bit. This was Little Man's first time in a big boy swing! He did really well!!

April 16-Tea Parties? That's old school

Around here we serve Chocolate Lattes. Well, at least Ava does to her babies during her parties. I really wish I could say I made her serve them, but she came up with the idea all by herself.

Just another Ava-ism for you!

April 15-Work and Play

We ran errands today and on our way home we stopped by Joey Tomato's to have lunch. They did pretty good, but you know kids...they are crazy. Luckily, they weren't busy so we were able to just be us for a little bit. The babies enjoyed their food and it was nice to be there and not have to make something! :)

While Chris (my boss) was talking to a guy about some stuff Little Man toddled over to him to be held. Ava tried to go too and when I told her she needed to stay and finish eating she looked at me and said, "but Momma, I'm NOSY."

Oh. Boy.

April 14-which is better?

Cool Whip or Jello? To be honest, I only got the Jello so I could eat the Cool Whip. I saw it in the fridge and thought...I don't know if I can get away with a heaping spoonful of this stuff, what do I have to eat it on?? We had ice cream, but I wasn't willing to put the work into getting it out of the container (you HAVE to burn some calories doing that, sheesh), and I saw the Jello cups. The two go together like, well, like Cool Whip and Jello!!

And it was Yum.

April 13-The Diva waits for no one.

Playing dress up today, Ava decided she wanted the princess wear. Not that it doesn't fit the attitude. She decked herself out complete with shoes, sunglasses and a purse. Yes, the purse had money. She found it around, I suppose. I'm getting them lunch and she comes to me and says, "ok, mom. I'm ready to go to Oma's now."

Yes, ma'am. I'll pull your car around.

April 12 {She works hard for the money...}

Anna has quickly become one of my favorite friends. She is a lot of fun, always smiling, giggling and laughing. She has a wonderful personality and she loves her Christian life. I love being around her because you can't help but being happy, bubbly and remembering why life is so much fun. Even when work sucks (*gasp* sometimes it does) it's more manageable when Anna Banana is there.

April 11-Air show

Today was the last day of the Air Show at Eglin. I really wanted to take the babies but Matt couldn't go because he was working. My parents were there with their Mustang Club so I headed out there. We parked so far away we had to take a shuttle bus to get to the flightline. Picture this: Me. Ava, Brayden, a double stroller and our bag. Yikes. Luckily the people working there were very helpful with the kids and helping me get the stroller off and on. I had to fold it up and although Ava does really well staying with my Brayden isn't as good at it. But we made it there, found my parents and walked through the exhibits. The Thunderbirds waiting on the runway before their show. This is the best snake picture I could take. The other times I was trying to keep Brayden from grabbing the snakes from the poor Army Rangers. No fear, my child.

After the show we got to meet some of the Thunderbirds and get their signatures. I was probably more excited than the babies were! We only got one of the pilots to sign before they had to go. But Thunderbird 6, Capt. Aaron Jelinek signed our book. I really thought he wasn't going to because they called for the end of the meet and greet and I was hoping he would. He reached down and looked like he was putting his pen away and I was really bummed. He kept talking to Brayden and said, "before I go, I have something really special for you!" And he pulled out a mini flag! He told them he flew it on his mission today and gave it to Brayden!! I was really pleased and I didn't get any pictures because I had resigned myself to the fact that he wasn't going to even sign our book (which he did, too!)!

The babies were troopers and did so well, and we rode the bus home and went to see Matt at work and went home and slept hard!

April 10-While mommy is away...

Matt's FB status tonight: "Fun time with the kids, yes just the kids and I. I don't think mommy would approve to the things we are doing"

??

I come home to the sofa bed out, everyone laying on it with pillows from our bed and watching tv. Hmmm...

I asked him and he said they were eating Easter candy and jumping on the bed. *sigh* I really wasn't mad. I'm glad they had fun.

April 9-Fishing with daddy

This is my official picture of the day. We both had the day off and Matt wanted to go fishing. There is a place that is a fishing spot and a little beach so we headed off there. They also have a playgroud area, so all in all, a pretty family fun place. We got Ava a fishing pole for Christmas and this was her first time using it. Matt actually helped me set up this picture, I Just wanted the fishing poles but then her flip flops were there and he said what about if I put mine too?? And I think it really turned into a cool picture.Ava did pretty good casting, we didn't put a hook on her Princess pole but she had fun.The Thunderbirds were practicing for the weekend's air show and Ava wasn't so happy with the noise. Out of the 15 or so kids there, mine were the only ones who screamed when they flew over. Awesome. But she was still jumping around in the water, even with her fingers in her ears. Bubba got a little too much sun today and he was hurting on his shoulders. I don't know how we missed it and I feel like such a bad mom because he would say "ouchie ouchie" every time I touched his shoulders. :(

April 8-coffee with friends

After work tonight, a couple of coworkers and I sat and just chatted for a little bit. We just got a new one cup coffee maker because we really don't sell that much coffee. I hadn't tried it yet so I made one to go and then we ended up just sitting and talking/venting. Sometimes it's nice to hear that frustrations of others are often the same as yours and then together you can work on fixing it.

April 7-touch and go

Matt had the day off today so while Ava was in school, Brayden, Matt and I took a drive to

Destin. As we were passing the base, we watched the planes (I don't know which ones they are, I know I'm bad) practicing what we assume to be touch and go's. They would fly in a huge circle, land on the runway only to lift off by the time they got to the end. I got some pretty neat pictures but this one was my favorite. I just like the position the plane is in. Matt was really interested in them and luckily we were stopped at a light so he could watch for a little bit or else I had to pull his head back in the window so he could drive!

April 6-Work is...fun

I am fortunate enough to work with/for a family that I am very close with. Although I don't LOVE my job (I cook, enough said) I do have fun much of the time. Today was no exception. For some reason, we were super busy (strange for a Tuesday) and it was ridiculously hot in our kitchen. Chris, the owner and my friend of over 10 years, just couldn't take it anymore. I think the heat got to us too but as he was making pizzas he realized how "stereotypical Italian" he looked and it just went downhill from there. And after a long day of work, who couldn't use a glass of wine? :)

April 5-Ducky pjs

These pjs were Ava's when she was littler, and I thought they were pretty gender neutral. I finally pulled them out of the drawer to put on Brayden and I just get a kick out of these on him. I'm not sure why, he has plenty of footed pajamas, but these just crack me up!

April 4-Happy Easter!

Easter morning with the baskets and hunting for eggs. Ava had a better time hunting for eggs and Brayden realized that if he found one and opened it he could eat the candy. So he just ate the candy.

April 3-Mustang power!

My parents had a car show and we went with them because they had an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Although it was all day the babies had such a great time. Here they are, before the judging, hanging out in Oma's Pony.

This Scion was painted with chalkboard paint so all the kids (and some adults too I'm sure!) were able to draw on it with chalk.

Before the egg hunt Ava and Brayden were so excited they couldn't wait to get started. When it finally started, the crowd overwhelmed Ava a bit and she freaked out. Little Man knew exactly what to do and went to town!

April 2-visiting daddy

We went to see Matt for dinner and the babies really did so well there. Sometimes I have to worry about them running around, screaming and being not so good. Today Ava and I had a talk before we walked in and I was so proud of them. They also ate all of their food, gravy including. We are some Whataburget chicken and gravy fiends, really!

April 1-April Fool's Day!

Although that really has nothing to do with my picture. Matt had the day off and I had to work that evening so we were all enjoying the afternoon outside. The babies were so excited to have their daddy to play with they wanted to sit with him as they ate lunch. So they all shared sandwiches and sat together in a pseudo picnic.

March 31 Ava and Ava

A little after Ava was born my grandmother got a cat (she really has a ton) and named it after her. The cat is Little Miss Ava. She is sick with a tumor that is still growing. My Grammie is very sad, she loves LIttle Miss Ava and the cat is really a sweet cat.

March 30 playtime!

Playing outside in the beautiful sunshine. Unfortunately it is tough to get my kids to play on their OWN play things. They always want to run onto our neighbors' porch or if another neighbor is out doing her gardening they are in her way. It drives me crazy chasing them down!! This is a rare moment of Little Man sneaking up the tunnel to the slide!

March 29

It was getting to the end of the day and I had picked the kids up from my mom and dad's. I had no picture and didn't even know what I was going to take a picture of. So I asked Ava what I should do because I didn't have a picture and I was sad. She said, "take a picture of my flowers!"

Perfect. EVery time she visits my parents she comes back with "buttercups." These are her buttercups.

March 28-All she wants to do is dance, dance...

I wish I would have videod this. Hilarious. Without a doubt, made me tear up I laughed so hard. Ava's new dance is a booty shake while running around singing, "It's a butt, it's a butt..." I don't know where she got it, who sings it or who taught it to her, but it was funny. And apparently not new to her daddy...

March 27

This might be cheating, but it is my picture today. I wanted to take a picture of my actual place that I work, but will settle for the banner. Today was an extremely busy day at work. I was late, my boss and well, I guess they are both my bosses, were stuck in Alabama and didn't get back until after 7. By then we had been slammed and had one of the girls walk out. She "couldn't handle it tonight." Hmm. Ok. Sure. We had just finished our rush and were cleaning up and she couldn't handle it THEN? I guess. All I did was tell her making salads when we had nobody was unnecessary and that I needed help with dishes.

March 26 Indulgence

I bought this today because every time I walk into JoAnn's, I look at it. I love the look of all the paper although it isn't stuff I'm used to using. I can't wait to see the outcome of my projects now. And it was $14.97. I did the math and it was super cheap per sheet. I don't remember now, but even better than 6 for 96 cents :).