Back in the Groove

07.18.13

One thing Hallie really missed about Texas was her sweet neighbor friend.  So we were glad to get together with her for a quick picnic at the Splash Park!  Fun times and sweet memories!  This was Harper's first time at the Splash Park and it was a hit.  You'll have to forgive the brightness of the pictures.  It was pretty early in the afternoon and SO bright outside that I could hardly even see my camera's picture screen to check the brightness.  Oh well. 

And an outing isn't eventful without a nosebleed.  Poor Hallie!

Harper's first swing at Mountainview Park!

Love.  Harper was THRILLED to have Hallie swinging beside her.  So sweet.

Heading Home

07.10-11.13

All good things must come to an end.  Sadly, that's true.  We ended up leaving a little sooner than we had anticipated...yet a little later in the day.  No matter, we drove until Vicksburg, MS where we decided to stay the night.  No room for the weary to be found.  Didn't we know it was Pageant Week?!  They were holding the Miss Mississippi Pageant (a prelim for Miss America) that week.  Yes...that's something we keep track of.  Ha.  So we drove on.  In fact, we drove on to Monroe, Louisiana.  No room for the weary. Seriously.  I bet we went to 6 hotels.  And at one last stop (which was actually a long-term stay hotel), there was ONE room!  With a queen bed and a pull out couch.  We took it.  It was fun, though, because it was right by Pecanland Mall which has a really fun and gorgeous double decker carousel!  I've been wanting to stop at it, but it's usually during the night when we pass it.  It was the perfect time to make a few memories!  The mall is actually a pretty great mall, too.  We had a good time, but needed to get on the road.  We thought about stopping at Duck Commander again to see if the Duckmen were in, but we decided against it and kept on trucking down I-20.  We made it home in record time...before dark!  Everyone was thankful to be home and in their own bed.  But we left a little piece of our hearts in Alabama.

Harper loves hair.  During this good-bye, watch her thought progression.

H: I love hair.

H: I would really like to get a good handful of Hallie's hair...but it's a little too far away.

H:  Yes!  I can reach Nonna's hair!  Score!

Riding the carousel at Pecanland Mall...on the second deck, of course!

Harper's first carousel ride!

Hallie rode it THREE times.  Daddy and Harper watch.

Home Sweet Texas Home!!

Check out the Daddy photo bomb in the window!  Ha!

This picture looks darker than it actually was.  It was 8:00 and still daylight!

Nonna & Pop's Girls

07.09.13

Each summer (or each visit) I try to take some pictures of the cousins together.  This year we added a new face--sweet Harper.  I think this was one of the hardest times I have ever had trying to get a picture!  It was hot.  The gnats really liked Abby.  And the girls just weren't really interested in having their picture taken.  Ha.  I think I got a few cute ones, though.  Of course, that part really isn't that hard when the pictures are of these four cute faces!

My absolute favorite.

(Sadly, I forgot to take my first born's picture and took it after all the others...and I couldn't get the lighting right...and she was pretty much done)

 And now...some of the "ACTUAL" shots that were taken.  Haha.

This one just makes me laugh.  I was so frustrated at this point because Jonathan was out there "helping" me...only he wasn't.  He was telling them to smile like vampires.  Sigh.

Granny Dell

07.07.13

After church, we had lunch at Father & Son Grill in town with our sweet Granny Dell (who is actually Iva Dell...my great-aunt...my grandmother's sister).  It was so great to both visit with Granny Dell and try the new restaurant in town.  Both were excellent!  We snapped a few pictures afterward that turned out beautifully!  These are definitely framers!  We love Granny Dell so much and are so thankful to have her in our life!

Photo by Hallie...she's getting really good!