The Annual July 4th Picnic

With our crazy and hectic schedules, it is so nice to not have to think about making plans for July 4^th since that is when Granddaddy Charlie has his annual fish fry.  He looks forward to it all year long, and that fact alone makes it a special occasion that we simply couldn’t miss.  This year did not disappoint from gorgeous weather, great company and yummy food.  Charley sure did miss playing with Kobey and Laney, but between the 36 people there, she had lots of entertainment.  Amma and I found several videos and pictures on our iPhones after Charley went around telling everyone to say, “CHEESE!!!”  Please take notice that in most of the pictures Miss Priss is holding a flag.  For weeks we have been pointing out American flags.  Charley always spots them, and even if we don’t see one she makes sure to tell us that flags are blue…red…and white!  So a pack of flags from Wal-Mart, aka Mall-Mart, was a must for this 4^th of July picnic!!! 

Stay-cation with Granddad and Amma

Typically when Amma spends a few days out of the week with us, it’s mostly for me to work and take care of business.  When Granddad gets to come down for a visit, I usually have a to-do list for him to take care of.  So when the 4th of July fell mid-week, we found a little down time to just have fun and enjoy Nashville for a change.  For years we have been saying we wanted to try out the Loveless Cafe, so we did!  It was cute and fun, so we are glad that we went and enjoyed the experience.  The food was good, not great, so I plan to fulfill my veggie cravings at Copper Kettle from now on...plus I won’t have to drive as far or wait as long!  We also took Charley to the zoo, and we couldn’t have had a better day.  The weather was gorgeous, so we got to see all of the animals in the zoo.  Charley had both Granddad and Amma to do whatever she wanted, so she loved every minute of it....which I am pretty sure they did too!  Granddad even got a long nap with her afterwards, which is rare since she wants Amma when it’s time to sleep.  Our last minute stay-cation was lots of fun, and it really got us all even more excited about our family vacation coming up in September!!!

Charley was complaining of her ear hurting, so Granddad got to see where she goes to the doctor! 

Sleepover with Keyton and Michelle

Even though we are in Benton quite a bit and occasionally have a play date with Keyton, there just never seems to be enough time for the girl’s and momma’s to get together!  We finally found a day when Michelle and Keyton could come for a visit and sleepover...in hindsight, we might have picked a crazy weekend since the girl’s both had swimming lessons Friday morning, Craig flew in from London, and Amma went home, all within a few hours.  Michelle and I did get Mal-Mal to come babysit while we went to the Melting Pot, but when she left Craig said Keyton was hysterical, so we quickly paid and headed straight to the house.  Saturday was Charley’s turn to be in a mood, but all in all, we had a great time catching up and letting the girl’s play.  We even learned a few lessons...we need two of every toy...the mall is a stupid idea...get matching “fancy” jammies...and late lunches are not for little one’s on a schedule...and with that, I think we are much more prepared to plan our next sleepover!!!

Charley Says the Darndest Things: Take 1

Oh me...since the day Charley was born we have anticipated when she would start talking and carrying on conversations with us.  In the last few months, she has caught us by surprise on several occasions with the craziest comments and responses.  She is definitely a sponge and does not miss anything that is going on or being said around her!  A few (unnamed) people might need to start watching their tongue’s a little better!  Some words don’t sound so sweet coming out of that cute little mouth!  I am sure this is going to be the first of many, so here is Charley Says the Darndest Things: Take 1!  

One day she was at Josh and Rachel’s house playing with Sam.  Apparently she kept saying, “uh-oh!” over and over, so Josh asked her if “uh-oh” was her favorite word....she said, “No...it’s hocus pocus!”  

After getting out of the shower one day and dressing, Charley said, “Look...boobies!  Momma, put a bra on your boobies!”  As I was putting on a sports bra, she pulled a black bra with lace out of the drawer and said, “oooh...snazzy!”  (Really...boobies, bra, snazzy???)

Somehow a bird managed to get inside the exhaust vent in our master bath.  For weeks that momma bird got on my nerves, but when the babies hatched in the vent I almost went insane.  While standing in the bathroom one morning I looked at Charley and not expecting a response said, “What are we going to do with those silly birds?”  Without hesitation she put her hand up to her ear and said, “We need a mouska-tool...oh, Toodles!!!!!”

For weeks Charley has been putting her hand up to her ear anytime a noise is made and says, “Hear-dat?”  It just so happens to be the same way she yelled, “Oh Toodles!” (And I could not miss out on a picture of that!)

A Weekend with the Fella's

It just so happened that Charley had her first play date with Jaxon, Uncle Justin’s birthday and Father’s Day all in the same weekend.  Don’t let the picture with Jaxon be deceiving...they may look cute together, but they didn’t play so cute together!  In Jaxon's defense, Charley was invading his Granddad and Gram territory, so I can’t say that I blame him.  As far as the other fella’s in her life, I am not sure who she has wrapped around her little finger the most???  Between Uncle Justin, Granddad, Daddy, Uncle Mike, Granddad Charlie, Papa and Pops, she just about always gets her way and is always learning something new and more than likely something well beyond what’s appropriate for a sweet, well-behaved two year old, little girl.  I am just so thankful she has so many fella’s that love and adore her right back!

Just an example of her getting her way...Granddad PROMISED she wouldn’t get wet since we were about to get her ready to go somewhere...not only was she wet, as she put it, “I am soakin’ wet!”  It looks like he really needed her help getting those tires clean!