Happy Birthday to Baby Daddy!

Greg turned 40 on Monday, June 28, and to celebrate, I surprised him with a trip to Vegas. Meme came to keep Avery, so this trip was adults only! This was our first real trip away since Avery became a part of our family, and though we missed her like crazy, we really enjoyed the time away as a couple.

We stayed at the New York New York Hotel & Casino and really enjoyed it.

Sunday afternoon, I used my sweet connections to score us a private tour of the Hoover Dam. We really enjoyed our behind the scenes tour, courtesy of Tim and Judy, and Greg especially loved not having to wait in any lines.

We actually got to go inside the Dam, which was really cool. Almost as cool as me in a hard hat.

After the Dam tour, we headed to the Gold & Silver Pawn shop to check out the scene of the hit show, Pawn Stars. Though we didn't get to see Rick, Big Hoss or Chum Lee, it was fun checking out the shop. We even recognized many items featured on the show, but unfortunately, couldn't afford them!

The morning of Greg's birthday, we drove out to Red Rock Canyon in the Mojave Desert. It was too hot to hike (115 degrees) but we did the 13 mile scenic loop and stopped at many of the overlooks. It was amazing and so beautiful.

The photo below captures one of my highlights of our excursion: posing for a photo with Tiny Elvis. Like Chelsea Handler, I'm a little infatuated with midgets.

We celebrated the night of Greg's birthday with a fantastic dinner at Wolfgang Puck's CUT, followed by the Wayne Brady show.

Greg was genuinely surprised by the trip, and we couldn't have had a more fabulous time!

"Hewo?"

Last night, Avery spied Greg's calculator sitting on the coffee table. She promptly picked it up, put it right up to her ear, and said "Hewo?"

Avery talked on her cell phone throughout the evening.

Neither Greg or I could figure out just who Avery was talking to...

but she sure had a lot to say on her fancy blue cell phone calculator!

The Beach, Continued

The fun at the beach continued when Heather, Jay and Luke joined us for the last few days of the week. Avery and Luke had lots of fun floating together in the pool, and of course, my closest friend and I enjoyed tuna nachos and beers at Rita's while the kids (and husbands) were napping, and a romantic evening walk on the beach.

On our last day in Folly Beach, one of my oldest friends from high school, Kristin, and her son Liam joined us for a day in the sand and pool. Liam was the big kid, and showed Avery how it is done with buckets and sand toys!

Other highlights of our week included celebrating my 33rd birthday. Avery was no so cooperative for my birthday dinner out, but at least she looked precious in her fancy Ragsland Kids dress that I paid a fortune for!

One morning, we decided to check out the Morris Island lighthouse. It was kind of a bust!

We spend quite a few mornings burning off steam at this playground, named Pirate's Cove. Luke even joined us one morning, and he and Avery were adorable swinging in the baby swings together. Too bad I forgot my camera, but I do think Heather got some shots.

We sure had an enjoyable week at the beach, and have lots of great memories from our time spent with family and close friends!

Folly Beach Trip: Post 1

Last Saturday, we headed to Folly Beach, SC, to spend a week with Meme and "Pa," Avery's recently determined adaptation of Grandpa. Avery was a good little traveler, so long as we let Violet ride alongside her and plied her with snacks and juice. I also employed a tactic recommended by a couple of my mom friends for road trips and introduced a shiny new portable DVD player. Thanks to the Bohlens and Saezes,the Sesame Street, Olivia, and Spot DVDs we played for Avery completely captivated her and made the 6 hour drive tolerable for us all!

We stopped at Freeman's BBQ again this year not only because it was on the way (outside of Augusta) and delicious, but also because we thought it would be fun to take the same picture we took last year on our way to Pawley's Island to see how much Avery had grown. Check it out here!

Our drive was well worth it, because when we arrived at the condo, we were rewarded by this awesome view and fantastic location.

And later in the week, the sunrise over the Folly Fishing Pier offered an even nicer view.

Avery was very happy to arrive at the beach and couldn't wait to explore the sand, surf and sea.

We had many more fun adventures and even some visitors later in the week, so we'll be back soon to share those pictures and stories, too!

Memorial Day Weekend

We sure had an eventful weekend on Lake Alatoona over Memorial Weekend with the Kahlan family and friends. Believe it or not, despite the rainy weather, a flood in one of our cabins, a random car fire in the parking lot, and a sunken boat among the boat owners in the group, we all had a really great time in our group of 16 adults and 11 kids. Avery was the youngest of all the kids, and spent most of the weekend doing big kid stuff. She loved Ava's kid size chair and made herself quite comfy, so comfy in fact, that I had to make a special Target trip to get Avery her own Princess chair.

When Ava, Emme, and Baylor drank Capri Suns, Avery wanted a Capri Sun. When they ate popsickles, she wanted to have one, too. And when they got Silly Bandz, Avery wanted in on the action!

And of course, any weekend spent outdoors requires a good slathering of sunscreen. But maybe not that good, Daddy!

We're off to the beach for a week, so will back to share stories and photos when we return!

Moo, Woof, and Roar!

Avery knows several animal sounds, and wanted to show off here in a quick video clip. "Roar" is definitley my favorite!

Little Miss Independent

Avery exclusively feeds herself now. And Spaghettios are her new favorite. Can you tell?

We'll be back later this week with Memorial Day photos and stories :)