Little Pink Turtle Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for the Little Pink Turtle. I hope you enjoyed browsing their fantastic merchandise and will consider making them your official bow headquarters.

I had a little meeting with Mr. Random.org and the winner he chose was....

Kim

Congratulations Kim!!! You will be receiving an email from the Little Pink Turtle to claim your prize.

For those of you who didn't win but would still love some free stuff from Little Pink Turtle, you are in luck because they do Mom's Night Out parties where you can earn free bows and other accessories. Contact them today to set up your party, and help your friends and neighbors out by introducing them to their adorable products. It's a win - win!

I Can Take Care of That for You

** My giveaway ends at midnight tonight, so be sure to enter if you haven't already **

It Wouldn't be Summer Without It

We just aren't ready for summer to end.


So, we are continuing to enjoy some of our favorite things about it.


One of them is most certainly WATERMELON.


Cool, refreshing, sweet, juicy and fun to eat. What more could you ask for?


This is Mia's first summer as a watermelon indulger. I'd say she is a fan.



It isn't always pretty, but hey who cares if you let a little bit dribble down your mouth and drip from your chin and chubby elbows.


For now, we aren't thinking about all the things we will miss when summer is long gone. We are just enjoying them in the moment.


And I refuse to think about how much bigger these little watermelon tinged toes will be when next summer rolls around.

**My giveaway ends on Wednesday so don't forget to enter**

Fair-ly Nostalgic

This week's theme on I Heart Faces is Nostalgia.


I chose this picture for this week's Nostalgia theme because it brings back so many childhood memories. The "Swings" were absolutely my favorite ride anytime we would attend the fair or a local carnival when I was a kid. I loved the breeze in my long hair, the feeling of flying and the view from the elevated height. If my family would have tolerated it, I would have used nearly all of my ride tickets to swing.
It is no wonder that my son is exactly the same way. Last year at the fair he rode the swings three times and begged for more. I stood there smiling knowing exactly how he felt.

For more Nostalgia themed shots click here.


**Only two more days to enter my giveaway**

If the Kids Could Decorate the Yard

There is a store near Nana's house that sells all sorts of indoor and outdoor art. They have common things like bird baths, ornate mirrors, interesting plant holders and taxidermy. But, they also have many uncommon items...like life sized elephants.


...and fierce looking tigers


...and dinosaurs of all kinds


The realism is unbelievable.


It is honestly a little strange that such a shop is located in such a remote area.


Austin and Mia were thoroughly enjoying the visit and wanted to take home many of the pieces.


This was Austin's favorite.


I wasn't sure if the caboose was for sale, but the kids were having a great time on it.


We enjoyed the brief visit, but as we left I had one question lingering in my head.

Who actually buys this stuff for their yard?


**Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already**

Woo hoo!

I'm so excited! I just found out that I was a top ten finisher in this week's I Heart Faces "Bubble" themed pictures.

Check out all the winners here.

Gardening with Nana

This year was the first year my mom stopped talking about wanting to have a garden and actually (with a little help from daughters and friends) made it a reality.

While we were visiting Austin spent a lot of time in the garden with Nana.


They would go out in the morning and afternoon and check on the progress of all the vegetables, pull some weeds and pick the days bounty.

Austin loved it!


He has always been a good eater and he was finding no problem enjoying the fresh veggies right there in the garden. (A little dirt shouldn't hurt right?)

There was always a face of satisfaction and joy as he would bring the baskets full of tomatoes, green beans, peas, radishes, squash and cucumbers into the house.


It was certainly a very special time with Nana and he wanted it to be all his own. He was happy to share the vegetables, but not the garden.

It was such a joy for me to see him doing something I loved to do with my Grandpa when I was little.


He had a big, beautiful garden every year and even some berry bushes. My sisters and I would go out and do the very same things that Austin was doing with his Nana.

They are some of my fondest childhood memories and it warms my heart to know that Austin will have the benefit of the same types of memories.

Thanks Mom for planting seeds in your garden and memories in Austin's life.


** Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already! **

Mud Bog

Last week while we were visiting Nana, their county fair was in full swing.

On Monday night after I had a day full of photo shoots in my old stomping grounds, we went to the fair to watch the Mud Bog.


In case you aren't familiar with what that is (because I had never been to one either), it is a section of "race track" filled feet deep with mud.

Trucks attempt to make it all the way through the mud by using a combination of lots of horsepower and fancy maneuvering.

The winner is the truck who either makes it through in the fastest time or if none of them make it through, the truck who goes farthest through the mud without making it to the finish line.



It was a family affair for sure. The four of us, Nana & Pap, Gigi & GP and Aunt Amy.


I don't know if the kids were having more fun being on our shoulders or watching the trucks.



Actually, I think it was pretty clear what Austin liked the best.


The next night we were supposed to go back to ride the rides, but it poured rain and we returned on Wednesday.

As we stood at the ticket counter to buy our wristbands, Austin noticed that the woman helping us had an obvious "flaw."

He promptly and loudly said, "Hey, your teeth fell out!"

When she didn't respond to him he assumed she didn't hear him, so even more loudly and this time with an accompanying pointed finger, he said, "Hey, your teeth are missing!"

I think she quickly realized she better acknowledge him. So, she said with a toothless smile, "Yep."

Needless to say, we were just a tad embarrassed though we realized he is 3 and was just making an observation.

Off to the rides we went.


I was sure Mia would not be a fan of us leaving her on a ride, but she did well on the first one.



"Dumbo" was a hit, but the second ride of little rockets that went up and down was NOT. Mia cried the whole time and they stopped the ride early when she started trying to get off.


Austin was a fan of any ride we put him on, but he needed a little more intensity than most of the kiddie rides offered. You can see his obvious boredom with the pace of these vehicles.


After watching Austin ride the train, twice, she decided she wanted to ride it too. And she loved it!


I thought she would like the carousel, but wrong again. She would have been fine if it has just gone in circles, but the up and down motion was not her thing.

Don't you love Mark's, "annoyed at her drama" face?

Finally, after riding kiddie rides for a while Austin was able to ride the two adult rides that he was allowed on.

First the bumper cars, which we all did.

And, second, the highlight of his night....the Ferris Wheel!

We could see the tractor pull that was ongoing while we were up there and he loved it.

It was a great time at the fair with so many people that we love!


** Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already! **

This is What Happens After We Come Home From a Trip

Bubble Beautiful

Woo hoo! My first top ten finish.



This week the theme on I Heart Faces is bubbles. I took this picture of my friend's daughter last week and I love the simplicity of it.

To see all the other great entries this week, head over by clicking here.

A Girlie Giveaway

The Little Pink Turtle

I have a great giveaway for all of my readers with little girls, expecting little girls or who ever buy gifts for little girls.

My great friend Stefanie and her neighbor have started a new "bowtique." They have the cutest stuff and I know you will be impressed with the quality and selection of accessories.

They have a huge selection of ribbon colors and will make bows to order at no additional cost.

Here is just a sampling of their beautiful bows.

In addition to bows, they also offer binky clips, diaper cakes and adorable bow holders.

Seriously, how fantastic are these?

So, to help get the word out about their new business, I am hosting a fabulous giveaway.

One lucky reader will WIN one of their fantastic bow holders and TWO beautiful fall bows!

All you have to do to enter is visit The Little Pink Turtle, browse around their selection of bows and other items, and then come back here and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite item was. (Be sure to leave me a valid email address so I have a way to contact you if you are the lucky winner.)

For additional entries: (after the required one above)

1. Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave a comment with the link.

2. Become a Follower of The Little Pink Turtle and leave me a comment telling me you did.

3. Become a Facebook fan of The Little Pink Turtle by clicking here and then leave me a comment telling me you are a fan.

4. Post about this giveaway on Facebook and come back and tell me you did.

5. Purchase something from The Little Pink Turtle before this giveaway ends and leave me a comment telling me what adorable thing is now yours.

This giveaway is open to all US residents and will end at midnight on Wednesday, August 26th.

Good luck!!!

Long awaited Playdate

When I moved to Florida after college and got my first teaching job, I met Lissette. She and I were embarking on quite an adventure as new teachers in a challenging elementary school. We were friends from the beginning and though we only taught together for two years, we have remained friends.

She and her husband traveled up for my wedding and I traveled down for her bridal shower because her wedding date was too close to my due date when I was pregnant with Austin.

Though she lives within a few miles of many of my family members, we had not, until this trip, had the opportunity to connect and meet each other's children.


Her little girl Leah is absolutely beautiful and it was so much fun to have the kids play while we caught up a little bit.


My kids were so happy to be around toys that they seemed to be all over the place, but it was a fun time.

One of the great things was that Leah only speaks Spanish and my kids mostly speak English, but that didn't phase them one bit.

We tried to get a group picture before we left, but Mia was not cooperating, so this was the best I could get.

It was definitely a nice highlight of our vacation.

My Little Fish

One of Austin's favorite parts of being in Florida was having access to a pool day....and night.

One night we let him stay up a little later than usual and go for a night swim with Grandpa. He loved it!


He is a little fish and has no fear of the water. We made sure he had a life vest on at all times because of that.


He was learning and practicing the backstroke from the deep end of the pool.


Grandpa was wearing him out (so he would sleep REALLY well) by sending him right back when he made it to the shallow end.


By far his favorite pool activity was jumping in to do "cabinballs." He did them over and over.


And came up smiling every time!

That's my little fish!