Bright Star

I can remember eating at the Bright Star as a small child with my grandparents, but I haven't been back in a LONG time, so I asked Will to take us. (By the way, did you know Sandra Bullock took her dad there for Father's Day?)  Anyway, Will was thrilled with the idea - especially if the trip could include a stop at Simmons Sporting Goods. 

It was the best meal I have had in a long time. The lemon pie was to die for! I'm already ready for another trip to the big city of Bessemer!

Catching Up! What have we been up to?

We have been getting back into the fall routine and really haven't had much free time.  But here are a few things GA has been doing lately. . .

"Reading" to her dolls.  She holds the books up just like her teachers and makes up words.  It is so funny!  She is also very into puzzles lately!

Playing with mommy's glasses (These are fake Costas that I got for $10 when she broke my real pair.  Now mine are fixed so she gets to play with the fake ones!)

Playing with Noah's ark with Uncle Kevie!  She loves to read the Noah's Ark book while she plays with her stuffed animals.

Enjoying some strolls around the golf course so Daddy can supervise the renovation!

Playing at the park and being so happy that is is only 92 instead of 102!

A few weeks ago we had a fun, quick visit from Aunt Ru.  I didn't get any pictures, but I stole this one for Aunt Ru's facebook.  They look a lot alike in this picture!

Fun Weekend - Great Deal, Great Friends, and a Great Bow Website!

        We had a full weekend, as usual! On Saturday morning, GA and I went to a huge yardsale that my friend Kim organized to benefit Neverthirst.  I am in awe of the hard work she and her family put into this sale to raise money for this organization.  GA had so much fun looking at all the toys, and we didn't leave empty handed. 

Elmo + Stroller = $4

        After the sale, we went home, took a quick nap, and headed to meet my wonderful college roomies and their kids for lunch and a trip to McWane Center.  Unfortunately, someone (not going to name any names) got my camera card mixed up with the camera cards for the wildlife cameras at the farm, so I didn't get to take any pictures.  But you can read more about the trip on Scarlotte's blog.  Here are a couple of pictures I stole from her:

VERY rare mommy shot:

Grace Ann and Georgia

Some of the kids (Tripp, Mary Evans, Georgia, Marianna, and GA - missing Xan and Whit)

Today, Will went with us to the park.

I had to post this picture, because the face she is making looks just like her Gam (Will's mom).  They both stick out their tongues when they are concentrating!  Also, if you notice, GA has a little dimple on the end of her tongue that Will and his mom also have.

One more exciting thing that happened this weekend was that my sweet friend Haley sent us a "prize"!  She sent GA all these precious bows!  Aren't they darling?  I looked up the website where she got them (http://www.graciebellebows.com/), and I am now obsessed!   They have great prices, but the best part is that you get to have the bows made EXACTLY like you want them.  You pick the size, the colors of the bow and the middle ribbon, a straight or knotted ribbon in the middle, and the type of clip you want.  They have these awesome clips that have a piece of felt in it to keep it from slipping out.  I ordered about 10 custom bows (some plain, some monogrammed, and some double bows) for $25 with no shipping charge.  Amazing!  GA has recently moved up a bow size so now she is set! In case you don't know me, I LOVE PINK, BOWS, and anything MONOGRAMMED, so Haley did a great job.  She certainly didn't have to send us a prize, but I'm so glad she did!

Family Day Trip

Will has a tournament coming up in Montgomery, and he wanted to play a practice round today.  I've really been wanting to take GA to the Montgomery Zoo to see an elephant (we don't have one at our zoo), so we decided to tag along.  I was so impressed with the Montgomery Zoo. It is definitely different from our zoo.  There are not as many species of animals, but the habitats are much more attractive. I thought the animals were easier to see, and I love that it just felt more spacious.    There were also a few animals that we don't have at our zoo, so it was fun to get to see some new things. They also didn't charge me since I have a zoo membership here (I think they are supposed to charge half price, but they just let me in free), and they let you bring your own food inside.  I only spent $2 for the train ride.  It was definitely worth the trip!

on the train

eating our snack at the picnic tables

(side note- We have just discovered a wonderful treat!  Yoplait Whips yogurts are wonderful if you freeze them!  Keep them in the freezer, take them out about 30 minutes before you are ready to eat, and then enjoy!  Will and I have been having this instead of ice cream for a healthier late night snack.  YUM! Also, they are great to pull out of the freezer and take in the cooler for lunch later.)

proud of herself for putting something in the trash

On the way home, we stopped at one of my favorite places - Peach Park!  We had peach cobbler, a fried peach pie, and some peach ice cream.  Mmmmm good!

It was a great day!  I definitely want to do it again when the weather is much cooler!

Last Summer Day

I wanted to make sure that I spent my last full summer day spending time with GA doing things that she enjoys.  When she woke up, I asked her where she wanted to go.  She replied, "Church!"  We didn't go to church, but we did have a nice day! We started very early at the park.  It was HOT, but GA enjoyed the slide

After the park, we went for a little shopping at GA's favorite stores, Barnes and Noble and Learning Express.  We didn't buy a single item, but she loves looking at the books and toys and playing at the train tables. 

For lunch, we went to her favorite spot:

We LOVE Panera Bread!  If you have not tried their macaroni, you are missing out!  It is wonderful, and GA loves it!  I also feel that Panera is fairly healthy - they use mostly natural ingredients and your kid's meal comes with organic yogurt! (We also love Jason's Deli for the same reasons - they don't use any MSG, trans fat, etc. and instead use lots of organics.  They also serve kid's meals with organic milk!) Anyway, GA ate all of her meal except the two bites of macaroni that I had to have!
After lunch, we went home for a quick visit from Rah Rah, a nap, and some lounging with "all the Minnie's".
As you can see, we really NEED our bows these days in order to see!

Can you say spoiled? I know this is ridiculous, but she LOVES her Minnie and Mickey dolls.  Linda brought the big ones this week.  They were Jennifer's when she was little.  They are as tall and GA! So fun!

When Will got off work, we headed to the pool!

We ended our day with her favorite supper - spaghetti!  I know that two pasta meals and no real veggies all day isn't great parenting, but it was just one day!

Last Few Days

The last few days have been fairly "unbusy" around here (in a refreshingly nice way).  However, Grace Ann has been FULL of energy (Will and I call it RUNNING WILD)!

We got to go for a swim with Haley and precious, precious Caleb! What a doll! 

And we went to a darling 1st Birthday Party for our friend Peggy

Grace Ann had a lot of fun at the party, and especially loved playing with Peggy's Dora doll and sitting in her chair (we have the exact same chair at home, but other people's toys are always so much better!)

I cannot believe how fast summer got away.  I think it was my favorite summer EVER!  Grace Ann was old enough to enjoy things like the park, zoo, and pool, and I just enjoyed being able to spend so much time with her!  I'm already counting down until next summer!