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!

My baby girl is a whole year old!

You know, it's just amazing how quickly they grow. I simply cannot believe that it has been a full year, 365 days ago to the minute, that Reese was born. WOW! It seems just like yesterday she was just a little baby blob that didn't do anything except eat, poop and cry.

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Now she's such a big girl! She can crawl, walk, smile, play pat-a-cake and scream amazing baby cuss words at you when she's mad. She can eat by herself, and won't allow anyone to feed her. She's a BIG GIRL now!

I am just grateful that, when she's tired, she will let me hold her and cuddle her. She still gives her kisses freely and giggles when you tickle her under her chin. She still has little dimples on the backs of her hands instead of big kid knuckles, and her skin is still just baby soft.

She no longer calls me Mama. Everybody (except Nana) is Dada. For some reason she calls Nana by her name. The only time I hear "mama" is when she's not ready to go to bed and is standing in the crib wailing "maaaa-maaaa!" What a guilt trip!

I am just so grateful that she is happy and healthy. She loves her big sister and she hates to be restrained. She is talkative, even though you can't understand a word she's saying. She has the cutest dimples in her cheeks, both the ones on her face and the ones on her bottom! She loves the water, and tries to get in our little wading pool everytime we're out in the yard. She is a voracious eater, and hasn't found much of anything that she won't eat. She is one of the biggest treasures in my life. She is my baby girl. She is Alyssa Reese.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY! I LOVE YOU!