Mississippi Summers

. . . sunsets shared with Glenda and Brian on the back porch

. . . girly girls

. . .picking peppers in our pajamas

. . .gazing across the hay field from the pea patch

 

. . . picking peas

. . . and shelling peas

. . . picking green beans at sunset

. . . pulling truckloads of pigweed from the pea field

. . . riding the four wheeler with Pappaw

. . . picking watermelon

. . . swimming

. . . silly faces

. . . chasing Pappaw across the field in the gator

. . . sunsets, glowsticks and cousins

Wonderful memories!

Conversations

Aleck:  “I love you, Mommy.”

Me:  “Why do you love me, Aleck?”

Aleck:  “Because the way you love me.”

That boy of mine makes my heart smile.

Kooky Cousins and Cupcakes

 

. . . serious faces

. . . silly faces

.

Happy Birthday, Ella Bella

Our sweet girl turned three yesterday.  We kept it simple and only invited a few close friends over for dinner.

 

With Joni’s help, I made this birthday banner for the special birthday girl.

I made bruschetta using our home grown tomatoes and basil.  It was divine! We had fajitas for supper, but I was too busy stuffing my face to take any pictures of that.

I found a party supply store that was going out of business last year.  They were selling everything at 75% off.  I loaded up on the princess theme, because, well, Ella Bella is a little princess.

Since it was a really special occasion, I pulled out my fine crystal mason jars.

Kris and Frank are the kid’s godparents.  We love them and are so thankful for them.  All the girls wore tiaras.  Frank was a good sport and donned the knight’s attire.

After dinner, the kids had a go at the piñata.

I love the look on Kris’ face.  We are kind of lucky that somebody didn’t get hit.

In the end, it was Tom that broke the crown.

I love the look on Ella’s face as we sing happy birthday to her.  She was adorable!!!

Trying to get the perfect picture, I usually have two or more takes of the candle blowing out bit.  I got this the first time and it was perfect.

Watching a YouTube video, I learned how to frost cupcakes and it was so much fun.  It was so easy that I don’t think I will ever buy cupcakes again.  I scanned some art from the table centerpiece and used Stampin Up’s My Digital Studio software to make the cupcake toppers.  If you look closely inside the heart, you will notice Ella’s name and the number 3.

 

Ella got her first charm bracelet from Joni.  The charm was a tiara.  Perfect!

Both Ella and Aleck love the leapfrog from Nana.

Ella’s big gift from Tom and I was a new dollhouse.  I’m not sure who likes it more, Mommy or Ella.  Really.  I’m not sure.  I love that thing!

Thank you, Lord, for my sweet children.  They bring me more joy in my life than I could have ever even imagined. 

Happy 4th of July

We spent the evening at Eagle Mountain Lake at a birthday party for one of Aleck’s friends from school.  The kids had an awesome time on the water slide.

 

Sparklers were a huge hit.

The sun was setting so this picture is dim, but I still love it.

The neighbors must spend thousands on fireworks, because the display was spectacular.

I remembered my tripod.  I didn’t know how to custom set the white balance for fireworks, so the colors in the photos don’t really show how spectacular the display was, but I had fun playing with my shutter speed to get different shots.

Happy 4th!