Goal Completed!

On August 2nd, Charlotte completed her goal of reading 20 books from Launa's Little Library !

She was excited to place her stickers on the map after we finished each book. I'm beginning to see a little competitive streak in her and I like it!  

 (photo disclaimer: and nothing to do with the topic of the post --- this is a wonderful example of HORRIBLE cropping! To my defense, I had my prime lens on and could not zoom out, but I totally cut off her right hand. AND that hand was in the most adorable position! UGH -- live and learn!)

The prizes for completing the goal were a hot wheels car of your choice and a silver car charm to place on your book bag -- I don't know which one Charlotte was most excited about: the red car she chose or the bling added to her bag.

I praise Ms. Kliever for her love and commitment to the library. She has definitely made our library experience everything we dreamed it would be.

The variables

Photography is art and beauty both wrapped up together with a pretty bow ~ Grosgrain, of course, not the stick-on kind!!

A great photo can make your soul sing. BUT.... a great photo takes studying your camera and LOTS of practice.  I am not claiming that the photos below are great, but I'm proud of them because it shows that I am trying. For the past year or so, I've been reading up on my camera and trying to learn the tricks of the trade. Though there are some tricks, what I'm finding is that, because there are so many variables, you have to really know your camera inside and out. 

And what I strive for is to take beautiful photos of my family -- photos that tell our story.

So I'm going to keep practicing until I get it perfect (or close to perfect).

A huge thank you to Bullseye and Tigger for modeling for me when Charlotte had had enough!

In the words of Norman Maclean:

"All good things.... come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy."

A Day in Her Shoes

What fun it is to be 3! 

(excuse me - 3 1/2, as Charlotte corrected me the other day when a women in the store asked her age.)

Charlotte's days are filled with fun, creativeness, and imagination. I love love love being home with her and witnessing her growth minute by minute. We are especially thankful for the weekends when Justin gets to play too as he brings a whole new element to fun!

In the blog world, I've learned (and constantly learning) so much about trying to capture the special moments in our family. Though I'm not a quarter as creative as some moms out there, I'm trying my best to preserve and capture the moments that I want to remember in the future. Time moves fast and this, hopefully, will allow me to stop for a moment and reflect on the cute, fun things that are important to her right now. 

Last Saturday we had a family outing to the mall and Charlotte chose to bring her animals along. Everyone thought she was adorable pushing her stroller through the mall and would stop and ask her about her "babies". And each time she would say to me as the people passed, "they're animals, not babies".

 But, I know she LOVED the attention!

Oh, I knew it was only a matter of time before she got sucked into it too! 

The "it" I'm referring to are the planter boxes at Northpark that the kids climb onto and slide down. These are right next to the small duck and turtle pond that up until recently was all she was interested in. But my 3 1/2 yr. old, loves to do anything that older kids are doing (especially older girls) and thus, joined in on the fun. She was attempting to run up and reach the top of the planter box. Though she tried (AND TRIED), she just missed it. One day soon, it will be no problem for her, but now, she's just a few inches short. 

Her favorite thing at Northpark is to have "pretzels and yellow cheese". Aunt Anne's pretzel sticks are very addictive and Charlotte is one of their biggest victims. 

A daily favorite of hers is watching Sesame Street. While at Target the other day, we found this cute tee. She loves it so much that she wore it for over 24 hrs straight.

I'm taking a photo class now and one of the things that was taught was to stop saying "SAY CHEESE" when you take a picture. Because your result will most always look like this....

But regardless, I still think it's cute!

The Girl Loves Stamps

Last weekend Justin and I were outside doing yard work (in the extreme heat) while Charlotte was inside watching a video. Or, at least we thought she was watching a video....

 When I peeked through the window to check on her I saw pink ALL OVER HER. 

For a split second the Pinkalicious book popped in my head, but as I got closer to her, I noticed it was stamps. She was beaming with pride until she noticed my reaction, which was quite the opposite -- I kept thinking -- Oh No, this is not coming off easily! 

It is funny now to look at the pictures and wonder what was going on in her head as she was stamping her entire body??  Though I wasn't thrilled about it and FYI, it only came off after vigorous scrubbing, I admire her for her creativity. 

Yes, Charlotte, I can still see you!

May you always be adventurous and creative, but next time, please use the hot pink lipstick I gave you instead.

Summer Vacation

We recently returned from our summer vacation to Hilton Head, NC. We went with Justin's family to celebrate his mom and dad's 40th wedding anniversary. I think it's really neat that both of our parents celebrated their 40th within months of each other. 

We are blessed to be surrounded by their love and commitment.

Below is my favorite picture! I love Charlotte's facial expression and her excitement. 

 I was committed to getting a good picture of the 3 of us while we where there to have and use for our Christmas card. Last year, we had a "professional" picture taken and I was so disappointed by the quality  that I swore I wouldn't waste the time and money doing that again this year (sorry, I guess I'm still a little bitter.) ANYWAYS...... I think I succeeded because I LOVE it!

Charlotte's 1st time in the ocean. She LOVED the waves! By the end of the week, Justin was teaching her how to boogie board. 

We spent one day visiting Savannah, GA. 

And, of course, back to the beach...

We had a great trip and created lots of memories. Charlotte's already looking forward to next year's beach trip.

My 5 favorite memories of the week:

1. Watching Charlotte's excitement for the beach
2. Building sandcastles
3. Riding bikes all over Sea Pines
4. Seeing alligators (from a distance!)
5. Quality family time

Nothing's Sweeter...

than ice cold lemonade on a HOT summer day!

Per Charlotte's request, we made home-made lemonade and had friends come over to enjoy our refreshing drink.

My adorable helper at work.

I have to say (or brag) that it was really pretty tasty! Charlotte loved making it and said she can't wait to have her own lemonade stand someday. 

As the boys were walking up to the house, Charlotte was yelling, "LEMONADE! Come get your LEMONADE!' 

If she did have a lemonade stand, I know she would be very successful!

Summer Fun

Summer is here and so are the H.O.T. temperatures.

 It's temperatures like these that prompt me to ask Justin why we don't live in Maine but his answer is always the same: Because we live here. And then, as if I were reading straight out of a novel, I reply "but my soul resides there". A little dramatic I know, but drastic temps calls for drastic measures!

Even though, we are living with our daily forecast above 100, we are making the most of it and still managing to have a great time.

One of the 1st "to-do's" to check off my list this summer was to fix our kitchen door. This door is where I post all of our Christmas cards that we get so that everyone can see them when they walk by. This past Christmas, however, I used double-sided tape and when I went to remove the cards, the paint came along with it. The door looked polka-dotted for nearly 6 months, until I followed through on a great idea a friend gave me which was painting the middle of it with chalk board paint. I have to say that we are loving the finished product. Justin and Charlotte immediately were drawing all over it and leaving sweet messages. I recently had my fun too by listing fun things to do this summer....

This summer I'm still trying to convert someone in my family to loving snow-cones as much as me. I have always LOVED them and in high school worked at our local Summer Snow. I swore that Justin loved them too, because he always drove by back then and bought one from me. It wasn't until we were dating that I learned the only reason he would stop to get one was because my car was parked there and that meant I was working.  oxox

Charlotte began learning tennis this summer. She goes to a clinic once a week for 3 1/2 - 5 year olds and is enjoying it. Justin and I are both amazed at the opportunities she has. Neither of us picked up a racquet until middle school aged.  We enjoy watching her "play", and enjoy the margaritas that we order while we sit on the deck and watch.

My little helper at work. This summer, we're really enjoying making home-made pizzas. I almost refuse to order them from a local establishment now... unless, of course, time is an issue. But, I know Charlotte likes cooking and it's a fun activity to do together in the evenings. Her favorite toppings are cheese and mushrooms. 

Learning to spell her name and write her letters.

Our trip to the Dallas Museum of Art. I packed a clip board, drawing paper, and a pencil and let her draw her favorite paintings that she saw. We made a lot of stops to sit and draw! What was interesting and educational was when we stopped at an African "boy" sculpture. She sat down and drew it very anatomically, laughing and asking if I knew what "that" was. Oh my little girly, please never grow up!

Camping out in the living room. Charlotte and Justin decided on this adventure together. My 1st question was, "are we sleeping there too"? Thankfully the answer was NO! But we did have a fun night with the teepee Grammy made and yummy s'mores.

Running through the sprinkler

Dancing with daddy is always the most wonderful!

Lakewood 4th of July parade

Ready to watch fireworks with friends. I think we're the only area in Texas that did not have a fire works ban. The drought conditions are unreal this summer. Texas needs R.A.I.N.!

Always a terrific show!

Having fun at a local Rec center with friends. 

The highlight of this trip was that Charlotte got registered with the city's parks and recreation centers and was given her own ID card with her picture on it. I'm seeing a request for her own wallet soon!

And finally, the little gem we found in Lake Highlands, Launa's Little Library. It is the most darling library! Exclusively for children, this library is free to the public and ran out of Mrs. K's home. We went yesterday with friends, but went back today so that Charlotte could get her library card and book bag. AND... to check out 5 books this time. A little fact that Charlotte did not forget!

She joined her 1st reading club! If she reads (or read to) 20 books from LLL this summer, she gets to have a car charm placed on her book bag. Charlotte replied, "WOW!". A goal we'll be proud to complete!

Char and Mrs. K (the saint)