A wall.

I have hit a wall. Not literally of course, but kinda.

Well it seems as though I have- lacking in creativity.

The creative juices have stopped.

I could just post pictures of Miss Avery.

Those pictures bring most people to check out this blog.

Yep. I will just do that until the wall leaves.

So no creativity-- just chubby checks. ENjoy.

Mr. Pendleton has left for training.

He got to boogie board this evening.

I rock the Wii.

And yes, I kill James at the wake-boarding game.

Who would have thought?

Father's Day

It is James' FIRST(officially) FATHER'S DAY.
Last year we were awaiting the arrival of Miss Avery.

(The above picture is a frame that "Avery" made for Mr. Pendleton)
We are so glad to be able to share this day with Mr. Pendleton.
***
Daddy. The strength and love that you bring into
our family provides a beckon of peace.
It is the small moments of laughter and joy
while playing after a long day of work.
It is the sleepless nights of holding me close.
It is the smiles and hugs.
It is the tender touch and soft voice.
It is you that makes all the difference.
-Avery Lyn
Happy Father's day to all Fathers!
**This goes to the men who are father-like figures as well.

Swim time. Abby and Sam.

It is Hot. Really hot + humidity.
It calls for a swim day.

It's even better to enjoy the waves with friends.
We went with Auntie Lyn and my friend, Samantha.
** She was my bridesmaid (of course).
We have been friends since elementary school.
Now we have children of our own.
Lifetime friendships bring a sense of "home" to any place.

Lil Miss gets a kick out of Miss Abby.

Anti-Balloons Festival.

(The beautiful morning excitement for some Hot-air Balloons)

Our Morning:

4:30 am- Wake up & shower
5:00 am- Get Lil Miss ready
5:15 am- Leave the house
6:30 am- Realize we were lost (Suppose to be at the Midway airport)
6:50 am- Finally got to the Airport for the festival
6:55 am- See the trucks with the balloon baskets driving past us (must be setting up)
7:00 am- Not too many cars and parking FREE (suppose to be $10, score!)
7:10 am- Lay down the blankets, check on Lil Miss (still sleeping)
7:15 am- Lyn goes to the Freebirds vendor to get us breakfast burritos
7:20 am- Man comes on the Loud speaker...

"Some of you might have seen the balloon trucks passing you as you came in,
USUALLY this is a GOOD sign which means they are going to set up to launch.
BUT, this time it means they are driving back to their hotels.
Sorry for the inconvenience but due to strong winds the balloon show is canceled".

(The empty sky where there should be balloons)

7:22 am- The crowd leaves and Lil Miss wakes up

7:25 am- Lyn comes back with the burritos... "do we have to move, where did everyone go"?

Me: "Everyone left. They canceled it because of the wind".
(Note: There was a VERY slight wind)
She had missed the announcement.

(These burritos are so yummy. Equivalent to Chipotle or BETTER. Yep, it's true)
So we sat on our blanket, eating our burritos, and
enjoying the sun trying to peek through the clouds.

(Our blanket and an empty stage)

8:00 am- we left the empty airport/field
9:15 am- Return home
9:16 am- Lyn takes a nap
9:17 am- Try to "nap" but realize Avery is up for the day.
9:19 am- Avery and I go on a walk to Thomas and Sonia's house around the corner.

Our day begins.
***
No nap ALL day long.
When noon rolled around it felt like it should have been FIVE already.
Needless to say a VERY long day, but the weather was pleasant with a slight wind.

Fort Worth Zoo

I was so impressed with this zoo.

Some zoos are just caged animals with metal fences and concrete.

The Fort Worth Zoo seems to provide authentic habitats for the animals.

The animal exhibits were so interesting with facts and the paths shaded.

They even had a bird exhibit that you could feed the birds.

Avery loved the birds and turtles.

She giggled with joy trying to reach out and touch their silky feathers.

We kept ourselves hydrated and cool the entire time.

What a joy to see lil miss exploring the sights.

Too bad the zoo was closed when we visited Texas with Mr. Pendleton last April.

We will just have to plan another visit together.

Flying AMERICAN.

We made a trip down to DALLAS to visit some of my family and give James some "guy" time.

I think James was done with the guy bonding before we even boarded the plane,

but the tickets we bought and bags packed so off we went.

The plane left an hour late. I was just praying that Lil Miss would sleep the entire trip.

It was the first time I was traveling with little miss solo.

I even used the "family" restrooms- very spacious and exciting.

It's a strange thought that I will be a regular visitor to those stalls for the next decade or two.

People are drawn to Lil Miss. As I have already stated before, Avery can work a crowd.

While we were walking down the terminal to the gate... she began to scream.

The louder the cry, the redder my face became.

The people around had to be thinking-

"oh great, we have to ride on the airplane with THAT baby".

We boarded the plane, finished a bottle in 3 seconds flat, and then....

For about an hour- HEAVENLY.

After lil miss woke up the stewardess took her to help pass out the drinks.

She even made a trip to the cockpit to meet the pilots.

It was a good flight. I was very nervous, hopefully the return home will be similar.

She is walking.

She is also patiently waiting for our plane.

She has about as much patience as I do.

We are both working on it.

Walk. Drive.

While I have learned to drive a 5-speed, this little one learned to take a few steps.

That is correct.... Little miss is beginning to walk.

And what fun we are having teaching her.

I was able to drive all the way to TJ Maxx. That is something to brag about.

Washington D.C.

This past weekend, we took a trip up to the Capitol (or is it capital?).

It was fun to get out and see some sights with the gang+grandpa.

It wore all of us out.

Talk about achy feet and ankles.

{What a beautiful thing- the American Flag of course}

We even got the chance to see some gi-normous gems and stones, like the hope diamond.

One topaz stone was about 120,000 carats.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well!

Summer Baseball

"Hello to all, from lil miss".