"Let Them Eat Cake!"

I wasn't sure Ava would fully participate in the traditional cake eating with a cake of her own...boy did she prove me wrong. I started by giving her a little taste of the icing and that was all it took. She dove in, and the more people clapped and laughed, the more she ate. Once she had covered her arms and eaten until I'm sure she had a tummy ache, I pulled her out of her chair, and pulled her shirt off. Big mistake. She took her hands, covered with icing, and wiped it all over her belly. I now know that pink and black mixed together makes a grey-blue color. We finally got her all cleaned off and that night we were cleaning icing from behind her ears! What fun!

Ava's Party

I am going to post pictures from Ava's party in two separate posts, only because the cake pictures certainly deserve their own post. I have ALMOST recovered from throwing my first child's first birthday party. What an amazing event, to all you moms out there who host multiple parties a year, props to you!

A few things to note, the playhouse Ava is peeking out of was a gift from my mom. She absolutely loves playing in it, and so did the other kids at the party. Her party was on a somewhat rainy day, so everyone had muddy feet...not a problem because the playhouse is plastic and can be washed out. Until, my adorable birthday girl took a spill and wound up with a muddy backside on her beautiful new birthday outfit, which was also a gift, from Blake and Dee Dee. Luckily we had brought 3 changes of clothes...which we wound up needing all three due to birthday cake mania! Also, for those of you who were unable to attend, maybe because youre on the other side of the world:), I wanted you to see her cake so I am posting that as well. I hope you all enjoy these!

Sea World

Paul and I took Ava to Sea World last Friday. We had an absolute blast! I think it was as much fun for us as it was for her. The picture with Paul is hard to see, but we were going through the shark tank with the escalator. Ava was truly mesmerized all day. Her favorite was, of course, Shamu. The picture with the whale is actually baby Shamu, who was very personable!

What do those clouds say????

Paul, Ava, and I are in Cape Canaveral for a conference Paul is attending. Anyway, we left yesterday and on the drive over Paul looked at me and said, "the clouds say Jesus." Naturally, I thought he had lost his mind...but there is was as plain as day, the clouds spelled out Jesus. I knew it was the end of times:)...or so I'd hoped.

Eventually, we noticed that they spelled out "turn to Jesus." How interesting! Then, Paul noticed something moving and we realized it was an airplane spelling out something else. This time, he wrote "U + God =smiley face." We realized it was in fact not yet time to be called home, but rather someone who had a very interesting ministry. We truly enjoyed watching as the words loomed over Interstate 4 in Orlando, I'm sure this man (or woman, which it must have been, seeing that she had impeccable driving skills) reached hundreds or even thousands. We took pictures and wanted to share them. At the time we saw the writings, we were on Highway 27, so they appeared upside down to us, so I have flipped them over so that you might be able to read them a little better. Hope you enjoy!

Our Pioneer Park Day Adventure

When I was 12, I LOVED Pioneer Park Days. As most of you know, my mom is the coordinator. I always wanted to tag along for the show every day. Well, this year I got my first dose of Pioneer Park Days with a child. Oh, what fun! First, we rode the pony rides.

Then we got ice cream and corn on the cob. And, lastly we walked the aisles, and by walked the aisles, I mean only 3 aisles. I was completely worn out, Ava was hot and whiney (as seen by the red cheeks in her picture) and it was time to go! All that said, I managed to buy some really cool Fiesta small bowls with a handle...which I have already used 3 times. That was our "day at the park."