Formal birthday pics for Reese

I have already talked about Reese's second birthday, but I didn't post the birthday pics we had taken of her at Images by Gayle here in Searcy.

Gayle has been our favorite photographer since she did Katie's first birthday photos over six years ago.

She did our wedding, and we take the kids there for Halloween pictures every year.

I thought Reese looked adorable in these pictures! Gayle really captured her personality. Happy Birthday baby!

Marsha's Pool

One of my mom's good friends gave us free run of her pool this summer. We didn't make it out to her house much, but when we did, we sure had a great time!

Reese was FAR more interested in the chips than the water at this point...

Katie used Chris as her own personal surfboard.

Reese was having a great time learning to swim, but she wasn't all that comfortable in the water yet.

I actually got in the water, too. Amazing. I hate to swim...

Diamonds are a girl's best friend, unless they're buried in the dirt!

You know, it seems like we stayed in the road all summer. This is the first summer that we have totally enjoyed in a LONG time!

Mid July we went to Murfeesboro, AR, to dig for diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds State Park.

My brother, Jason, and his wife, Allison, came down with their camper and my two nephews, Caleb and Nathan.

My mom and daddy brought their camper down, too. We stayed with them since we don't own a camper trailer.

It was HOT! I don't mean 87 degrees hot, I mean 110 degrees in the sun! We all went out to dig for diamonds in the diamond field, but let me tell you, it was MISERABLE!

We didn't have any luck finding a diamond, but a nine year old boy found a 2.75 carat brown diamond while we were there. He named it the Brown Eyed Beauty. I think I want to borrow Amy's four boys and take them with me next time. It seems like little boys have a talent for finding the diamonds just lying on top of the ground!

Nathan, pictured above, is usually our little dirt bug. Everyone was making bets that he would be the one to bring in the big one, but it was too hot for even him to stand it for very long...

The park had a WONDERFUL swimming area. There were three big slides and a huge play structure in the middle of the pool. The deepest part of the pool was 42" deep, so I could just kind of let Katie run wild. Reese loved the fountains in the floor of the shallow end. She liked to back her booty up to it and let the water hit her in the butt. It was funny.

We had to head home after only two days there, but we had a great time. Can't wait to do it again, but maybe in November this time!

Independence Day in Ohio

We headed up to Lyons, OH, to celebrate the 4th of July with David's family. His mom and dad recently purchased an old catholic church and are planning to convert it into their main residence. It is quite an amazing building. I loved it!

My baby girl is TWO!!

Reese had her 2nd birthday on June 20th. We had a party out at Nana's house. She had such a great time! Anytime that she can be outside playing is a good time for her!

Blacksburg, VA

We went to Blacksburg after we parted ways with David. The kids and I couldn't wait to get up there and see Amy and the rest of the family. We spent the rest of the week with them. We went to the pool, did a little shopping, and, of course, went to Macado's for food! I didn't take very many pictures while we were there. I was too busy enjoying the great company!

Busch Gardens

Our second day in Williamsburg met with the kids' approval much more than the first day. We headed to Busch Gardens. Isn't that every kid's dreamland? It was wonderful! The first thing we did when we got there was eat. The food at the first restaurant was mediocre, but we didn't care. We were just happy to be there!


Reese had never really been to an amusement park, so she wasn't really too sure about the rides. Katie was such a great big sister. She held her hand and took care of her when they rode the clydesdales!


After the tame kiddie rides Katie was ready for a roller coaster. The one she chose was the Loch Ness Monster. We didn't realize that the coaster had three loops and a long dark tunnel. Check out the before and after pics of Katie:
BEFORE:


AFTER:


That roller coaster scared that child to death. Needless to say, we didn't ride any more coasters that day!

The rest of the day passed in a blur of food and fun. I think we ate at almost every restaurant there, but our favorite was the meal we had with the Oktoberfest presentation. Reese was AMAZED with the dancers and singers, and even got up on stage to do the chicken dance! If you know how shy Reese is, you know that's amazing! We went to see the Oktoberfest performance two different times because she loved it so much.



I took a ton of photos, so I'll just post my favorites and say that we had a wonderful time.