Sunflowers for the Soul

I had a really terrible no good very bad day a few Sunday's ago. It was a series of events that spiraled downhill. I wasn't feeling well and on top of it and Dave had meetings and a fireside in the evening. We left a baptism early because Avery was really tired and hungry. On our way home feeling discouraged for trying to support a family in the ward we came to this sunflower patch. It blooms every late summer and its free to roam around in. It was good for the soul to be around so many beautiful tall flowers. I was invited to go to a party and since Dave was going to be gone I chose to go. It didn't go well and I ended up leaving and feeling really bad about everything in my life. I read a quote as I got into bed that changed my perspective for the next day. "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying I will try again tomorrow." So I tried again tomorrow and remembered the pretty sunflowers:) 

Indianapolis Open House

We had the amazing experience being close enough to go to a new temple open house. The Indianapolis temple is just over two hours away. We decided to make a day trip out of it. We went to the children's museum all day beforehand and the girls loved it! It was a great museum and so many hands on experiences for them. We got to go to a little Sesame Street planetarium show there was well. We were also celebrating Dave's birthday a little early so we went out to a nice dinner and changed into our church clothes. It was some of the best wood fired pizza we've both had in a long time. Poor Avery was done by the time we got to the temple. I spent most of the time chasing her around the halls. They had a nice video beforehand explaining the purpose the temple. The inside of the temple was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. They had a lot of pretty dark wood intergraded into the inside of the building. We ran into a family from our ward afterwards and the girls enjoyed playing with them by the fountain. I loved being able to take my whole family into such a sacred and peaceful place. I'm grateful to know that families truly are forever! 

Makel And Greg

We got back some of the professional photos from Aunt Makel and Uncle Greg's wedding in July. They turned out so nice! I love the pictures of the girls jumping on the trampoline and Avery running around with treats in her hand:) 

I'm TWO Cute!

Our Avery Mae turned TWO! Dave took the day off of work and it was a fun filled day of celebrating. We started the day off with sprinkle pancakes with whip cream. Avery woke up wanting to go pet a dog so we granted her simple wish. We headed to the mall to the pet store. If you pay a dollar you can pick a dog and they put you in a little stall and let you play away. The girls picked a puppy that liked to nip so Avery didn't last very long. Addison would have stayed in there all day if we would of let her. We ate a quick lunch at the mall with Grammie and Papa before heading home. Avery got to open her gifts when we got home and boy was she happy. She was spoiled by her Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents. Her favorite gift was a little flower purse that she insisted on carrying around the rest of the day. Addison had picked her out a book about owls that she wrapped carefully. Addison did a really good job letting the day be about Avery. Avery shared a lot of her toys and Addison was happy to play with what she was given:) Avery took a good long birthday nap with made us all happy. Sadly I wasn't feel good at all and had thrown up at the beginning of the day. After naps Dave and I gave her our gift which was a mini trampoline. Her new phrase is, "Watch this!" as she jumps her way up and down. Avery picked macaroni and cheese and fruit for dinner. Avery's party theme was Milk & Cookies. The girls played a game with finding cookies hidden all over the house. We sang happy birthday and dug into a giant double layer cookie cake with pink frosting. We topped it off with mini milk jugs full of pink strawberry milk. We jumped in the car after our bellies were full and the girls were hyped up on sugar. We told the girl that we had a surprise for them. We took them to an indoor trampoline place and they LOVED it. Addison even made a few baskets in the basketball hood area. She was able to jump pretty high and got it in a few times. Both girls ran over and over into the foam pit. We were all worn out by the end of the night. Avery had a great day and is loved by so many people!

Avery's Favorites:
Food: Fruit snacks (she begs for them every second of the day!), Macaroni and Cheese and apple juice
Toy: Cinderella Baby doll and the shopping cart ( she runs it all over the house and crashes it mostly into the table and cabinets)
Words: Her language has exploded since we finished speech therapy about a month ago. She'll repeat everything and anything you say!
Favorites: Kitty Binky (it's so gross and we'll be lucky if she doesn't go to kindergarten with it!), a soft blanket wrapped over her while rocking her to sleep (I love that she still lets us rock her to sleep everynight), Swinging in the back yard (She could sit and swing for hours. Addison is getting pretty good and pushing her as well:), Getting into my makeup EVERY time I turn around.

We love you Avery Mae! This year has been a challenging one in learning who you are and how to communicate with you. We love your cheesy grin and how you swing your arm back and force and waddle when you run. I treasure the cuddles that you give me each and every day and hope that they continue for a long time!!