good times...

saturday morning started off with a trip to the market......i have really enjoyed the farmer's market this year....it always gives my saturdays a great start....i am not going to be able to go again for about a month, but i will pick back up in august ..here are my amazing finds...i love my flowers again this week ~ the zinnias were so colorful!

fresh chilton county peaches, yummy gouda cheese, basil, wild yeast sourdough bread & homegrown tomatoes......wow!


poor audrey was pooped saturday afternoon & crashed for a very uncommon weekend nap....she really needed it! plus it got her all ready and rested up for her cousin bella that night!!

payton had a travel ball tourney in alabaster so the mixsons crashed at our house for the night....which worked out great because brett & i were headed to a cookout with my friends from work.....we had so much fun!! thanks again yonna for having us....

me, andrea & yonna standing...phyllis, kellie, emma, sonya & alethia sitting....

it was a great night.....just a little warm.....the hair had to get pulled back.....i am in definite need of a haircut but that's a whole other issue....it's really hard to find good people that know how to cut thick, thick curly hair...

isabella & audrey were so sweet this morning when they woke up....they "camped out" in the living room.....audrey couldn't stand it that payton wasn't awake yet, so when uncle keiven got up the kiddos woke up pay-pay....

this week should be pretty low key and then the fun gets started again.....fourth of july/payton's birthday next weekend.....then the next weekend we leave for the beach.....whooohoo!!

it's all greek to me...

this restaurant has quickly become a favorite in our household.....we love it!! well, recently i came across this article about brett & i's favorite dish ~ the friday night pasta special ~i just knew i would have to try it at home.....and tonight i did just that!! it was great.....yum-o :) and the beauty of making it at home is you can give yourself larger portions..... though i must say when i leave taziki's i am never hungry!

VBS...

today was the last day of audrey's vacation bible school.....tonight we had a family fun night and great program to end an awesome week....inflatables, chick-fil-a & praise....good times...

linus....

we have always said grant is our little linus baby.....he LOVES his blue blankie & drags it all over the place.....well, while browsing through my local target i came across this awesome shirt....

perfect!!

no matter how rough & tumble he appears to be, when it comes to that blue blankie he just melts.....and so does my heart....

random.....so typical...

this week is VBS at our church....Crocodile Dock.....audrey is having a blast....this is the first year she has been to VBS, we are looking forward to many more fun filled years....thursday night is family fun night & the conclusion to a great week.....look for more pics later....

yesterday audrey was outside "working" with her dad and brought in a surprise....

"i'm picking up a baby bumble bee....won't my mommy be so proud of me....."

yup, she sure did! audrey found, picked up, & captured a bee.....crazy.....

dinner last night was audrey's choice.....she loves this cookbook my mom gave her at christmas....the recipes are simple things but the thoughts of it being her cookbook & her cooking is the best part....

pigs in a blanket.....yum-o! we used brats instead of regular hotdogs, they were really good!

such the proud chef :)


and here's me.....being me.....

i was actually testing out my camera.....it started giving me fits again yesterday.....i took it to wolf camera and the guy said it probably got too hot & humid this weekend....i just had to laugh ~ i mean who didn't get hot & humid in this ridiculous weather!?!??! so, under his instructions i took my camera apart and aired it out.....then i aired out myself, because the thoughts of not having my camera working properly gets me all hot & bothered!!

trifecta....

wanna talk about cramming a lot into a weekend....or should i say one day?!?!.....we headed over to hiawassee, ga to spend some time at the family cabin this weekend....lake chatuge was beautiful as always....we had a great time boating, tubing, fishing, swimming, cooking out, etc....sunday brought about lots of fun....father's day, grant's 2nd birthday & the official first day of summer....we had the opportunity to celebrate with ALL the richards family for father's day.....this is the first time in at least 10-12 years that all the family has been at the cabin together....and you know what happened?????

my.camera.stopped.working!!

you've got to be kidding me, was my first sensible reaction.....my later reactions were not so nice....not only was i missing out on some great family pics but when we got home that night we were celebrating grant's real birthday with our little family....UGH!!! ~ i downloaded a few pics from brenda's camera while at the cabin and then when we got home i pulled out the video camera and took a few pics with it....the resolution & quality is HORRIBLE but at least there is video footage and pics of his little family celebration....anyhoo, here are the pics....

brett was awesome tubing......megan & i went tubing too....we have no pics to prove it but i have a vinyl burn on my chin to prove it.....so much fun!!

the greatest daddy in the whole.wide.world!!!

happy father's day....brett is an amazing father and i am very, very fortunate and blessed to have him in my life.....i love you dear!

wild man grant.....i was afraid he wouldn't keep his hat on so i put sunscreen all over his fair-skinned head....and this is what resulted...

painting with cousin ansley....

lunch with all the "richards" cousins....jack, will, hunter, ansley, audrey & grant....

and let's not forget baby drew :) he was getting some good sleep during our loud lunch....you can tell he is the third baby in a house of boys....

here they are, horrible....pics from grant's little family celebration at home....he really liked his itty bitty cake :) my children have definitely gotten some mileage from their birthdays....i feel like i have been celebrating.all.month.long!

f.y.i. ~ my camera is now working. apparently though it said the battery was fully charged, it was not....so after a hour or so of charging my battery, the camera started working....hmmm, still confused....the camera would turn on, you could flip through the pics, etc...but when you went to focus and take a pic it wouldn't work....in every mode, automatic or not.....weird, just weird....any tips from anyone out there??? i'm thinking i may need a new battery, if it is not holding a good charge....who knows!!