Girls Day Out

We went to the mall yesterday to return a few things and had a great time together. One of the first things we did was head down to an area where they have a carousel and a place to pet stingrays. Yeah, you read that correctly... As luck would have it they were feeding them some squid when we arrived. Annslee was THRILLED to watch them eat and I reminded her that we love to eat squid too : )

Here she is reaching in and waiting for one to swim up to her. I never caught a good picture of her petting one (it happens pretty fast) but trust me, she loved it.

The carousel is great because you pay one time ($4) and get an armband so you can ride as many times as you want that day.

We rode it many times and of course the baby was strapped in too

After we made our returns we headed to lunch. She enjoyed herself as always! I think the people sitting behind us had a pretty memorable lunch too ; )

My goal was to get home in time for her nap but she fell asleep in the stroller so I just walked the mall for an hour and a half while she slept. She woke up in a great mood and since we were still at the mall...we headed to the carousel for a few more rides : )

Maggie Day!!

*update* the prayers are working...she called Gwenn MAMA today and is smiling!

My friend Gwen met her sweet daughter Maggie today and she is requesting prayers as Maggie is having a hard time. Here is a link to their blog so you can follow along!
Here she is...in her Mama's arms...

Annslee gave Miss Gwen a big hug for giving her some M&M's last week : )

Weekend Wrap Up

We had a great weekend with GiGi and GrandD but I admit I didn't really take many pictures..I know {gasp} I did take quite a bit of video because Annslee was having so much fun playing. I will try to download some later.

One thing we wanted to get done this weekend was the much needed repair on what we call the "Velveteen Blanket" If you don't get this reference because you haven't read the Velveteen Rabbit then go read it and come back later! This is a blanket GiGi gave us before Annslee even came home and it was Daddy's when he was a baby. She obviously has loved it more than Daddy did because it is literally falling apart. It was important that GiGi come fix it for her and she was very concerned looking as the "surgery" was going on and she of course wanted to help : )

Her new favorite toy is the toilet paper holder. Yeah, glad we spend money on toys LOL She uses it as a flute, a trumpet, a pen, a stirrer, a baton....I could go on and on. It got a lot of use this weekend for her parades

One night we all had on tiaras and were waving wands. Annslee of course didn't have clothes on {sigh} but her facial expressions were cracking me up!

She grabbed Jasmine for this one and added a 'stork stand' .... I know Mama doesn't look that great but I just had to put them both on here b/c I couldn't decide which of her expressions I liked best : )

Zoe was a hit as always!! By the end of the weekend she was saying "Zoe" so well it was amazing...she loves getting dog kisses!

See you again in a month GiGi!!!

Football!!!

GiGi and GrandD came into town to see us of course but also...their team was playing our team today!! We got there early enough to do the Fun Zone with Annslee. They were letting people make signs for their team so Annslee colored in one and GiGi made one for herself. Annslee looks very serious about her team spirit LOL




We went over to the slides and other inflatables and she went WILD!



With a noon game and the time change it was inevitable that she would need to nap some during the game. We even scored a touchdown during this with fireworks and all...she didn't notice.


A powernap was just what she needed to have a fun time during the second half




GiGi was jealous that GrandD was getting all the lovin ; )



Today would have been my Dad's 77th birthday. I couldn't help but remember that the last time we went to a Tita*n's game on my Dad's birthday was 6 years ago and both my Mom and Dad were there (coincidently so were GiGi and GrandD) Now of course they are both gone and today really made me miss them. I would have loved for them both to be there watching their crazy grand daughter having fun! I am so happy hubby's parents are able to see us so often .... she loves them so much!

Playground fun!

I didn't have a chance to post these because of Halloween but here are some of my cutie at the playground last Sunday. To say she had a great time would be a huge understatement.

This platform moved and so she made it into a dance floor

There is nothing more joyful than the sound of a three year old enjoying life!

Mama even took a ride in the tire swing

She really enjoyed a game of chase...she and Daddy were running from Mama (the bear) Sometimes just covering your face is a good way to hide lol

Pushing Daddy on the swing then running to get out of the way was a source of good giggles

We are currently running to the window occasionally and looking for GiGi who is coming for the weekend!!!!

My Little Tinker*bell (updated)

What a fun Halloween our girl had! I often think this is my favorite holiday....it is autumn, there is football and the kids dressing up is so much fun!! We tried to practice saying Trick-or-Treat but she couldn't get it. One of the sounds she is working on is Boo...how convenient so we went with that. I think a lot of people were surprised to hear TB yell BOO at them LOL

Once we were finished she got to help hand out candy and she may have liked that better than going door to door herself. For all you fashion gurus, I know the cat bag doesn't match her outfit..it is one I had made last year with her name on it and so I wanted her to use it each year. As we were walking around I tried to get her to let me hold it so she could hold her wand and lantern but she made it clear she was NOT letting someone else hold her candy!

We had to do a practice run at trick or treating.... I told her to ring the doorbell but she yelled instead ~ hmmm, no answer ~ oh, there Daddy is ~ yay, CANDY! *click on the collage to enlarge

Where should we go first?

At most of our neighbor's houses she just ran right in..silly girl!

OOOOO...I like this one!

Are we finished with pictures so I can get to the good stuff??

Sorry for so many pictures but I honestly couldn't decide which ones I liked best!! Here is a link to last year when she wouldn't keep her mouse ears on : )

Trial run, SP & Addison's Mommy

This morning she came to me asking for her costume for tonight. I thought, sure why not do a trial run. Well, she loved it and wore it for about an hour. Yes, I plan on at least brushing her hair tonight!

We got home from being out of town to find our Secret Pal gift had arrived!! As usual it was full of great goodies for Malia and a little treat for Annslee as well. The soft pumpkin is so cute and full of little goblins to play with. I love the SP card..too cute!! Thank you so much SP!!!

We also received a treat from Nicki (Addison's Mommy). I had admired her hair bow hangers on her blog and she sweetly made one for each of the girls. She even included a birthday goodie for Annslee : ) She was one of the first bloggers I read when we chose Vietnam. Her commitment to the integrity of adoptions in Vietnam is unbelievable. If you are adopting from VN you must read her other blog

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!

Two "alternate" costumes & note to my SP

On Sunday we went to Boo at the Zoo and had a blast. Annslee had suddenly decided she wanted to be a pirate and I told her that was great..she could be anything she wanted 364 days a year but on Hall*oween she was going to be Tink*erbell as we already had it purchased and she has been talking about it for 2 months : )

Well, I asked her what she wanted to wear to the Zoo and she grabbed her cat ears. Aunt Beth gave her a really cute leopard skirt for her birthday and since we had the ears and tail...all I needed was some face paint. We got dressed, grabbed her baby clouded leopard and headed to the Zoo. Uncle Jason showed up with Jake and Zoe and he was dressed as a pirate...guess who grabbed his sword and became a Pirate Leopard! I cannot look at this picture without laughing b/c she is so serious about her sword skills as she protects her baby leopard : )

There were several "characters" there so we thought this was a good trial run for our trip to Dis*ney next month. The funniest thing was when the ladies were dancing and invited people out to dance with them...Annslee jumped at the chance and shook her booty. She is blurry in the picture b/c she just couldn't be still

She got a lot of candy and other treats, ate quite a bit of it, rode the carousel backwards and had a great "spooky" time.

On Monday night we went to gymnastics for their Hall*oween party. She grabbed her pirate gear and we were off! I didn't have a sword or a real costume but we made due. I was quick enough to take ONE picture of her with the patch and earring on!


We got to gymnastics and she walked the plank and tried the parrallel bars with her hook...then she ditched it all so she could run wild!!

*Secret Buddy...we did receive your wonderful package...I need to take a pic and post my thanks : )

A trip to Big Orange country

On Saturday we went to Daddy's old stompin ground and walked around. It was gameday but we were on campus really early so we beat the crowds : ) At the bookstore she found this chair she loved and then rescued a stuffed dog from the back. She found him on a cart and put a belt on him for a leash and took him around the store introducing him to everyone. We noticed he has a bad leg and think he was probably returned to the store but Annslee loved him and now he is ours!

We heard the band practicing and walked over to watch. She LOVED watching and listening. She particularly enjoyed the baton twirling




It was a fun day hanging out on campus. We didn't go to the game (a little late for Annslee) but watched it on TV...WOW...exciting!!


We wanted a picture with Daddy in front of his dorm but she wanted to make faces instead...but she finally gave us a smile : )





















*we also went to the park and Boo at the Zoo on Sunday...coming soon : ) Oh, and the jumper is from Cracker Bar*rel...I am sure they have your local team there!

Pumpkin Painting

We did our second annual pumpkin painting tonight and of course she loved it. She likes to mix all the paint together so it mainly turns out brown. At least this year she didn't wear the same shirt 3 days in a row and she isn't drooling as much LOL


Here she is last year... I can't believe how big she looks now.... *sigh

I was trying to get her to say all the colors but all I got was purple, then a big oooooo eyes,and "Anns" blue (which also sounds like oooo)

*Oh, and I saw the Southern accent comments about me..ha ha...Southern but not country (and yes there is a big difference)

Swimming in corn, picking pumpkins & being silly

Last Saturday we took Grandaddy with us to the pumpkin patch and we all had a great time. The weather is still really warm but we tried to get in to the autumn mood anyway : )

This year they added something new and while I thought it was a crazy idea, Annslee thought it was great!


Yep, she is literally swimming in corn!! She loved running in it and throwing it in the air too

Even sitting in a bunch of shucked corn she is beautiful : )

She got to pick her own pumpkin and she was very excited about it. As usual she loved milking the cow, swinging and riding the barrel train.

The next morning..after opening her birthday gifts of course...we went to a pumpkin stand down the road and got two big ones to carve. She insisted on getting a little pumpkin for herself and she loved it



Daddy had to run into the store to get some ice and I was trying to occupy her in the car by having her make faces at me....silly girl!