Playing in the creek

I promised more playing in the creek pictures, and I'm going to deliver!  Boy howdy, am I going to deliver.  To the point of driving you nuts, I think, but you would probably all agree that since I have been slack in reporting things as of late, it's okay.  For now.

Since Marisa and I are good little girls, we went and spent a nice little afternoon with our dad on Sunday.  One of Daddy's favorite things is to get in the creek that runs through the back of his property when the weather turns hot.  Marisa and I used to play in the creek all the time when we were little, so it was quite a treat for Daddy to have his grandbabies out in it!

Ashley Kate didn't bat an eye at the cool, rushing water or all of the moss growing underneath her feet and bottom.  No, she immediately commenced splashing around like she does in the bath.

Um, Katers, what's with the Chicken Dance pose?

"Did you just call me a chicken?"

Ella and Papa striking the same pose I have seen in pictures from the past...

All it took was the promise of a milkshake and Ella agrees to lay down in the running water.

(Don't mind Daddy's painted on shorts.  Or his sock line.  That's how the McGraw's do it, you see.)

Aw, sweet sisters

Aw, sweet cousins!

Speaking of sweet cousins, they don't get much sweeter or cuter than Anderson!

I mean, just LOOK AT THIS FACE!  I'm dying over here!

I have more pictures, but won't subject you to them just yet (because it's another photo series! gasp!).  All in due time, all in due time. :)

Ella's Father's Day gift to David

For Father's Day, Ella gave David a deep feeling, way down in his gut, that he's going to have BIG TROUBLE with the boys. All it took was this picture from our trip to my dad's (to play in the creek - more pics to come) to seal the deal.

Nothing says Happy Father's Day like an ulcer, don't you think?!

The Water Gun Fight or The Longest Photo Series Ever

Since we are fortunate enough to have plenty of room and plenty of shade in our back yard, we made good on a promise to Ella that she could FINALLY have a pool. As much as Ashley loves splashing water in her baths and during water play at school (they had to cut water play short one day purely because of the mess that my baby was making!), we knew she would be a big fan of a pool too.

Yesterday, I picked Ella up from preschool early, telling her that she was going to go help me with something - but I didn't say what. We went to Chick-Fil-A and got her a milkshake because, after all, this was special 'Mama and Ella' time and nothing says special to Ella like a milkshake. (Side note: CFA's milkshakes are so stinkin' good that you feel positively naughty when you drink one. I highly recommend it.) Then we eased on over to WalMart and once in the parking lot I told her what she was helping me find... I don't think I have ever seen Ella Grace as excited as she was when I uttered the word pool. And I mean ever - not even Christmas morning beat this particular level of excitement!

We found what I had picked out online (and for only $35!) and made our way back home so that she and Ashley could get in it STAT. Only 30 minutes with the hand air pump later and we were filling our 10 ft. long pool with ice cold well water! The girls didn't mind one bit that the water felt practically arctic and played in it for quite a while. Finally Ashley tossed in the towel and started requesting 'Out! Out!' but not before Ella and David engaged in a little water gun fight:

David filled Ella's with ammo first so all things are not equal here

And so you can imagine what Ella decides to do

Which is awfully brave of her (Ashley makes like a tree here, which is very smart)

The battle begins and Ashley is still quickly scooting off

Ammo is flying (notice that Ella has taken a step back here)

And another step

Ella's giving lots of ground

She's been hit!

RETREAT! RETREAT! David smells blood

Sneak attack! Ella tries the behind the back maneuver

But David is too quick!

This is what you call running for it because your opponent is brutal

Brutal, I say!

How does he still have water for this kind of extended attack?!

Surrender!

Ella knows of her daddy's love for revenge so don't go feeling sorry for her. Maybe she also knows of her daddy's love of complete domination when it comes to things like this so that's why she got in the cheap shots while she could? Probably so, probably so.

(You should notice that I won't be getting into any water gun fights with David until we are properly armed with Super Soakers. None of these piddling guns for us... No, if we're going to fight, we're going to FIGHT!)

The adventures of Pink Goggle Girl

Say what you want about her choice of eye wear in the tub, but Pink Goggle Girl is always having a good time!

Just for the Doerters

I think I get my appreciation for great puns from my mom and Grandaddy (bless their souls!). Since they are faithful readers of my blog, I feel like I just have to post these puns that I happened across. Enjoy, you punny people!

Creative Puns for Smart Minds

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s Round Table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated in an algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.

6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.

7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, “You stay here, I’ll go on a head.”

14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said, “Keep off the Grass.”

16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.”

17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

20. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

21 A backward poet writes inverse.

22. In a democracy, it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism, it’s your count that votes.

23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

24. Don’t join dangerous cults, practice safe sects!

Did somebody say HAT?

Yes, yes I did, much to the delight of David when he had Ashley in his arms. The girl loves hats, and it is generally an exercise in futility for David to wear one when she is around, especially when he's holding her. Except for those rare times that she is so engrossed in what Ella is doing (probably standing on Lilly's head, or some other extremely important and illegal activity) that she doesn't even give it a thought. Until Mean Ol' Mama picks up her camera and says 'Hey Ashley! Look at Daddy's HAT!'

Sometimes I just can't help myself!

Cramping my style

Ashley Kate's clumsiness as of late is really cramping my style. Mainly my style of kissing her about the head and face repeatedly. She hasn't quite gotten into the habit of looking where she is going, which naturally leads to multiple spills.


Last Friday morning she fell right at the hearth and hit her cheek bone on the rocks. It bruised up instantly and made me wonder if preschool was going to turn us in to children's services. Then last night she took another tumble, face down onto the heating vent on the floor. That one bruised up instantly too, with two lines on her forehead. Poor Baby Kate.

Speaking of foreheads, take a look at the size of this head! (Granted, the angle is funky and her hair doesn't help, but STILL!)


As I was busy snap, snap, snapping pictures of Ashley in the bath, she slipped up again.


Thankfully, this time she didn't hit anything or otherwise hurt herself. How would I have coped with being unable to kiss even more of her?!

Mercifully, she still has this belly and these pudgy legs which are still available. My goodness, babies are fun!

From the yard, again

Yesterday was one of the nicest days that we have had in a long while due to the constant deluge of rain that our area received. Fortunately, David was off during the evening and we got the chance to hang out outside, all four of us.

You know me, I went out armed with my camera so that I can bother you with more (no, not more!) pictures from the yard. There is good news... and there is bad news.

Bad news: the peach tree doesn't have a single fruit on it anymore and the pear trees are looking like they might head that way as well. Dangit!

Good news! The big ol' pecan trees - like these big ol' pecan trees-


- are starting to make baby pecans! I know one day I will be cussing all of the nuts being on the ground, but for now I'm getting excited thinking about all of the delish recipes that include pecans!
I recently discovered that the two bushes that flank our front walk are gardenias! I know you're jealous, but don't you worry one little bit- I'm out there sniffing my, your and the population of Alabama's share of the loveliness every single time I walk in and out of the house.



And one final thing to note: My Explorer is now officially 'dressed.'


It's phonetic, and I LIKE IT!