Need a good laugh?

Fact: Dog grooming is not my calling.

Sorry, Louis. I love you. I really do.

(Also, for the record, this haircut was not an option. It had to be done. I hadn't been doing a thorough job of brushing his legs and they were full of tangles and mats. Lesson learned.)

Music

Here is another lovely perk about living in this area: the United States Air Force Band plays downtown a handful of times over the summer. It's free. You just bring a lawn chair and a cooler full of beer or wine.  Of course, if you have a Honey & Papa (like we do) then you just show up and they already have an awesome spot reserved with lawn chairs and beer.  It's awesome.  Be jealous.

Linc had trouble sitting still.  Does that surprise anyone?  And by "trouble sitting still" I mean that he did not sit still for one full minute.  Also, I think he thought that every round of applause was for him.  Look at that face, he's totally eating up the praise...

This was a sweet moment.  Lincoln was collecting dirt and rocks and then throwing fistfuls of it in the direction of the innocent elderly who were peacefully listening to the music.  Ava, on her own accord, redirected his behavior and suggested that he put his fistfuls of rocks and dirt into the pocket on his shirt.  This boy doesn't know it yet but he has two Mothers.  Lucky Lincoln.  

Oh boy.  I hope I didn't already wash that shirt.  I better go do a dirty laundry pocket check...

Exploration

When you can't take 'em on an African Safari just drag 'em over to your local PetSmart!

The following scene reminds me of that girl in that movie. You know the one? In Finding Nemo she is the dentist's niece who visits the fish tank in his office. She is brutal. She bangs on the fish tank and terrifies all the fish. Remember? Yeah, well, Linc is that girl.

And a bonus picture because, really, how cute is this?

Day-O-Fun

Fun day at Busch Gardens...

Festhaus Fun

Psssst...

Hey!

It's us...

Guess what.

Come on! Guess!

Look, I don't want to have to sick the mini Van Damme on you, so just guess.

Now you're going to make me threaten you with chocolate fingers?!

I'll do it.

I will.

I'll make her Shrinky Dink your butt!

Better yet, we'll challenge you to a "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" dance off.

Ugh.

Fine.

I'll just tell you already.

The point-and-shoot camera has been replaced! Obviously.

Hooray for all the picture-heavy blog posts to come!

SURPRISE!

We enjoyed a fun, albeit quick, visit from some good ol' friends!

 Jon and Chris have been friends since the beginning of time (pretty much, anyway). We were neighbors (more or less) while we lived in MD and started our families around the same time (close enough). It's amazing to think that at one point it was just Jon & Becky and Chris & Michelle and now we've multiplied and multiplied and multiplied. They're such a beautiful family and I look up to them for many reasons. I thoroughly enjoy our time together and it never feels like enough time...

J&B - Thank you so much for stopping by to visit us on your way to the beach. We really miss you guys!

Auntie Carrie

Happy days! Auntie Carrie came to visit recently and we had A LOT of fun!

We went grocery shopping (a favorite past time)...

Auntie Carrie taught Ava some important lessons...

I escaped for a much-needed evening out with Auntie Carrie. This is my FREEDOM shot that I took as we pulled out of the driveway ;-)

We went to Inflation Nation and jumped our little hearts out...

We made baked goods (in our underpants)...

Seriously, we had soooo much fun! Thanks for visiting, Auntie CLO! We can't wait to see you again :-)

Many more to come...

There will probably be many more of these posts to come b/c these two are inseparable...

Splatter & Spray Painting

I had so much fun with this little artist...

Working on these cool paintings...

First up: Splatter painting, Pollock style...

The finished product...she calls this one, "Louis' Shooting Star."

Next up: Spray painting...

The finished product...she calls this one, "Crying Waterfall."