CAMPMEETING - Part 2

WEDNESDAY THE 23RD - Today was the hayride. The kids ride and all of the adults stand outside tents with water hoses and buckets. Afterwards, they all have watermelon. During the children's singing of the church service, Ava saw a little boy using the microphone. She went straight for it and the boy put his arm out to keep her from it. Ava fought her way in and started singing. The little boy elbowed Ava in the neck and then Ava pushed him back. Everyone was laughing and Jane (the leader) refereed and picked up Ava. She teased that we were going to have a fight on our hands. We were all proud of Ava...probably not right to be but she held her own.




More updates and lots of pictures!

THURSDAY THE 24TH - Lots of pictures to share. We went to my grandparent's farm house to pick blueberries. Ava said, "I pick bewberries bucket." Then she kept sneaking to the bucket to eat them. She had fun with sidewalk chalk between tents, swinging and then we had bowling night. The whole campground goes. This is the only place that we know of that has bowling shoes for toddler's. Ava thought she was cool. When we left bowling, we asked Ava if she had fun and she said, "Yes (long pause), I did." Oh, and today was the "Loudsville Olympics" and Ava decided to play some of the games.









FRIDAY THE 25TH - Today was tubing for the campground. We stayed at the end and just let Ava play in the water while we waited for the others to come down. I didn't take pictures.

SATURDAY THE 26TH - This is our last day at the campground and it makes everyone sad b/c no one wants to leave. We had more family come to visit that we had not seen in a long time. Ava had fun singing this morning, having "yemade" and letting go of balloons. We took her back to babyland to see the babies and then got back in time for slip and slide. Everyone helps and has a great time. Kevin convinced Ava to go down....and the day is not over yet. The children's program is tonight and then we will all visit before heading home tomorrow.





Here are some pictures of my Grandaddy's kiln and the chair he would always sit in while the pottery was being fired.

CAMPMEETING - Part 1

We are in Cleveland, GA. To most, Cleveland would just be a country town in the mountains with nothing to do but to us...it is the happiest place on earth. Instead of explaining what campmeeting is, it might be easier to visit www.loudsvillecampmeeting.com. We have been here since the 16th but the time goes by so quickly. We are coming home on the 27th. Here are some things we have done.
THURSDAY THE 17TH - We had to clean the "tent" (we did most on Wed.) but for the most part, we just stayed at the campground and played. Ava immediately loved it. We would ask her if she liked Georgia. Then that night, she asked her Nana if she could "call talk to Georgia." I guess we had said it enough to where she thought Georgia was a person.
FRIDAY THE 18TH - We (Kevin, Ava and I) went to the Atlanta Zoo. Since the aquarium is so amazing, we thought the zoo would be fun but it was pitiful. The animals were all asleep and it was a small place with not too much to see. This was Ava's reaction the entire time. Seriously.
When I looked at pictures I had taken, most were of animals behinds. That should just about sum up the theme of the trip. It was fun to do something together though.

SATURDAY THE 19TH - We started by helping clean benches that go under the arbor.
It was work day. We laughed b/c we never stopped but the men that live around here would do a little, take a break, etc... After lunch, we went to the river to play. The water is freezing! The girls found abandoned tubes so they would go back and forth riding down. We were able to get Meme out too. Ava decided to eat her sandwich. I wish I could remember all of the funny things Ava has said and done but at the moment, I can't remember any of them.




SUNDAY THE 20TH - We had to decorate cupcakes for the family reunion. We played "are you smarter than a meaders?" (my side of the fam) It was a lot of fun and I was proud of myself for knowing more about people than I thought I did. I was one of the "fifth graders." This was Ava's rough day. She fell a lot and was just overall grumpy. Things just weren't going her way. Everyone is at the campground now. It is fun to see everyone.
MONDAY THE 21ST - We are HOT! No air conditioning but we all manage. We took Ava to Babyland for a short while and she loved seeing the babies.
She was more interested in the candy counter in the store area. How does she already know what candy packages are when I don't buy that stuff for her? Clever packaging I guess. Church services began. Believe it or not, Ava made it through the whole thing! I was shocked!
TUESDAY THE 22ND - Today the children's singing started at 9am. Ava was up and down and I think her favorite part was drinking "yem-ade." She took chairs from the preachers tent and walked them down the sidewalk and sat. It was precious.
It is going to be another hot day so we went to the Mall of Georgia in East Atlanta. We ate at PFChang's and walked around a little. Kevin got shoes but that was it. It was disappointing but at least it was cool. We don't like to go anywhere towards the end of the week because of all the activities for the kids. When we got back we got ready to feed the preachers and their families. That is always fun. Then church started at 8pm. The kids sang "This little light of mine." Ava decided she would sit and play in the shavings instead. It was raining and she would come down off of the stage and go stand in the runoff from the roof. The whole church was watching and laughing b/c she did it over and over and we would have to go run after her. Eventually, she went up front and started singing.

Ava's Birthday Party

Oh my goodness what a whirlwind day! I woke up to a to do list for Ava's party at 10:30. Decorate cupcakes. check. Ava dressed. check. Chickfila picked up. check. Her party was at the Watermelon Patch and it was worth every penny. The helpers unloaded my car, set everything up, were so organized, kind and interactive with the kids. They cleaned up and packed the car back up. It is a very clean place and we had the whole facility to ourselves. I couldn't have asked for more. The best part was watching the kids. They were all having so much fun. I don't think there is anything better than seeing a child just being a child. Ava really had a fun time with her family and friends. We had a Snoopy theme since she carries her Snoopy around with her wherever she goes. I had gotten everything off of ebay but didn't go overboard. My sister, Melanie, made the cutest Snoopy doghouse so I could put the party favors (snoopy head cookies) in it. That was a big hit. She only opened a few presents there so we are about to dive into those in a minute. I really had a hard time trying to figure out if we should give her a birthday party with friends or just a small family one but I'm so glad we opted to have friends and family. I'm glad Kevin video taped the whole thing so I can go back and really see Ava's reactions. I was busy snapping pictures most of the time.

Ava's first haircut

This is a big week for Ava! Yesterday was her birthday, then today was her first haircut and Saturday is her birthday party. Gracious. Of course I had cameras in hand for the event today. She never cried or fussed. At first she just looked at Holly (hairdresser) just trying to figure out what the heck she was doing to her and then she would sweetly say "give out." Translation is get out of course. Her curls are all still there but it looks less like a squirrel's nest...at least until she wakes up in the morning!

Ava's 2nd Birthday - Monday

Kevin took the day off so we could spend all day doing Ava's favorite things for her 2nd birthday. I made muffins, we went and played at the park, had "cheebuga & fee fies" for a picnic and then topped it off with ice cream. When we went to the ice cream shop, she immediately started pointing at the brightest ice cream and saying, "that one mommy that one that one!" After her nap, she played outside in her pool. Then we went to Mac. Grill for dinner. Thankfully, she wore her "birthday girl" t-shirt because they brought her free desert that we all got to have. Yum! Kevin and I kept saying that we couldn't believe our baby is 2! Family called and would sing happy birthday to her and she would sing along. She was very excited about her balloons and gifts too. It was wonderful to spend the day with her. Of course she doesn't really understand what is going on but Kevin and I did and really enjoyed spoiling her.