St.George

We went to St. George last weekend and had a great time! We went because Randy played in a softball tournament. He works so hard and I think this was a GREAT break! He, of course, always plays so awesome and I always wish they had replays in softball! LOL! There were a few things I figured out on this trip: First of all, Ava rarely sleeps good in hotel rooms. I've come to realize this is the fact and just go with the flow. Secondly, Ava would rather have a hamburger than chicken nuggets! I had no idea! Go figure. Thirdly, the outlets down there are getting MUCH better. There are so many more stores than there used to be. Only one problem that my sister in law pointed out: There is no Gap! Does anybody else find that odd that there is no Gap in the whole area? Personally, I don't shop there that often, but that doesn't change the fact that there SHOULD be a GAP down there. Lastly, a trip to St. George is not a real trip unless you go to Nielson's Custard. Here are some pics from our trip.


Ava LOVED swimming. She had to wait FOREVER to actually get in the pool, but once she did, we couldn't get her out. She even got to swim with her cousins!



This is Ava's mad face when we told her she had to get out. Needless to say, she was so upset we let her stay a little longer!

Here's Ava with her Aunt "Jesha" or Jessica as the rest of us like to call her. These two had a lot of fun and even got a lot of sleeping in on Saturday morning! Needless to say, Jessica now knows how it feels to be in a King Size bed with a little person and have it feel like you're sleeping on a tiny cot. :)

Why We Love Ava . . . . . .

Mostly it's because she cracks us up constantly! Here are a few random pictures to show you how:

Yesterday, I told Ava we were going to preschool and she had to hurry upstairs so we could get ready! She took off up the stairs and I found her like this. She said, "Weady for Pweeschoo!" Seriously, it may have been freezing, but what more do you need to be socially acceptable than a Dora Bandaid, Princess Pullups, and cute little shoes?!

By the way, I did manage to get her dressed and ready to go:


This morning, I was dead set on getting the house cleaned. I told Ava if she was a good girl, we would do something fun when I was done. Well, she took it to heart. She asked for cartoons, I turned them on, and she got herself all situated in my bed just like this. I love this girl!

One more thing in this random post. For my birthday, my mom was putting candles in my cake. Ava was bound and determined to do it all by herself! We were all cracking up watching her concentrate. It was the cutest thing. Here is a picture of her concentrating on her masterpiece:

Here is the masterpiece itself :)

More Fall Pics . . . . .

This time it's the Scarecrow Festival again with a couple of Ava's friends - Carson and Cohen. We had a gret time AGAIN, but I think we're all "Festivaled" out now! :)

With Painted Faces:

The cute kids:

Fall Fun . . . . . .

Lots of it in a short time! Yesterday all of the cousins went to the Scarecrow Festival. It was a BLAST! Ava loved every minute of it. Well, except for the fact that every time the train drove by playing music she'd run for me crying with terror in her eyes. Like I said, besides that. :) Anyway, they had a TON of stuff for little kids. Bouncy houses, Bouncy slides, Kids Games, Train Rides, Pumpkin Patch, and even an area for toddlers with a ton of toys where they could just play to their hearts content. Ava LOVES her cousins and her Grandma and Grandpa and it was a great day. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for such a wonderful time! Here are some pics:

Grandma and Grandpa and most of the cousins . . . .

Ava and Miss Hailey . . . . . .

Mommy and Ava on the train ride (Yes - we convinced her to go and Yes, she liked it. At that point though, the scary clown was not riding on the train :)

Grandpa and Ava

Ava and her painted pumpkin . . . You'll notice she's pointing to the wrong side. She LOVED it so much!

Ava and her cousin Jayden. She doesn't quite have the "too cool" stance down yet! :)

Fall Fun (Part 2) . . . . . . .

As if that wasn't enough fun, we went to the Barnyard Boo the next day! Ava had a blast again. We went with some neighbors and their kids and had such a great time. We went on a wagon ride, had balloons made, frosted cookies, played ghost bowling, and rode ponies. Now, to be honest, we waited in line a LONG time. Probably 45 minutes for the balloons (which of course popped immediately after). We went to frost cookies thinking we'd get sprinkles and candy to decorate cookies, but in reality, the kids got a cookie and a popsicle stick with a little bit of white frosting. Oh well, they enjoyed the cookies anyway. Then we waited in line for the pony rides. Ava and Gavin had been talking about it all day so we had to do it. 1 hour and 15 minutes later, we were at the front of the line. What happened? Well, my child decided she didn't want to ride a pony. Oh no, there was no way we were NOT riding a pony. Using all of my force, I stuck her on that pony and she rode it! :) It only took a second and she was loving it. Thank goodness. We had a great time and the kids did too! Thanks for inviting us! :)

"Ava and her "Pitty Fower"

On the Hay Ride . . . .

All of the kids . . .

Enjoying the Frosted Cookies

All of the mommies . . .

Ava on her pony (FINALLY!) . . . .

Maybe a little bit "too" much fun in 2 days? :)


Disclaimer - I don't beat my child. She just gets hurt a lot. This particular injury came from a nose dive into the cement at daddy's softball game. With that said, I do realize that the majority of my posts have something do with an injury. :)