Fun in the "big city" and at home

On Wednesday Mark had a special Camp War Eagle parent session in Birmingham, so Turner and I decided to take a small road trip and join him for the day.  We actually drove up and spent the night on Tuesday.  Mark scored an awesome deal at the Wynfrey, so the Galleria was just a few steps away...but who needs a carousel or shopping when there are ESCALATORS!!??  Now, let me insert here that this was Turner's first stay in a hotel...so she was quite intrigued by the whole thing.  But y'all, it was almost embarrassing - she didn't know what to think of the huge revolving doors, but when she saw the escalator she started screaming (literally - in the lobby of the Wynfrey) with excitement.  Approximately 4 rides (up and down) later we finally got checked in and headed up to the room, where she jumped all over the huge puffy bed! :)  I really felt guilty - Mark and I travel a good bit and like to stay in nice places and experience nice things.  But we typically leave Turner at home...  :)  So, in this situation she was seriously "country come to town" and didn't know what to do with it all!

Of course, we had to go walk through the galleria a little and Turner got to ride the carousel. (She's so country, when we told her there would be a carousel that she could ride she said, "We are going to the fair??!"  Oh poor thing...) 

Wednesday morning, while Mark worked, Turner and I headed to the McWane Center for the morning.  I had never been before, but it was really neat and there were plenty of things to occupy this little girl for a couple of hours!

By far her favorite toy of the day - perhaps construction work is in her future?

By far my favorite toy of the day...a giant LITE BRITE!  Oh I could have played with it all day!

This activity was a close runner up to 1st place for the day...she couldn't get enough of this!

After visiting the McWane Center, we headed across town to visit with some dear friends from college, Elizabeth and Lauren (and her oh so cute daughter Maggie).  We had a fabulous visit at Zoe's Kitchen (somebody please open one of those up in Auburn!) and it was a blessing to catch up with good friends after so long.  Girls, let's visit again very soon!


Turner had tumbling class tonight, and I haven't taken my camera in a while to snap some shots of her progress.  This little girl LOVES tumbling class, and I am so proud of all the things she can do and how strong she is!  I would have more pics to share, but I had to stop using my flash and the pics I took without it weren't great.  Here are a few that showcase a few of her skills.

And on a random note...this little guy was in our backyard this afternoon!  How fun is that?

We are packing again, this time for a short trip to Atlanta to visit the Georgia Aquarium with both sets of grandparents.  Mark's parents arrived tonight, mine will be here tomorrow, and we'll head to Atlanta tomorrow afternoon.  We are looking forward to a fun weekend with family and some really cool fish!  :)

Bubbles!

As you can imagine, Turner misses her daddy so much when he works late nights. Mark works really hard to make sure that when he's here, they do some special things together.

Now, when I give Turner a bath, it's pretty much with one purpose - to get her clean and get her out. But, oh when daddy gives her a bath, it's so much fun! The giggling, playing, squirting, and splashing is audible across the house. A special tradition for the two of them.

Last week, after a long CWE session and lots of late nights, Mark decided to spice up the bath routine by letting Turner get in our big tub and then attempting to turn on the jets. She doesn't like loud noises and has been frightened by this before, but once he got them on she went wild with excitement! The bubbles (made purely from leftover shampoo mind you) grew larger and larger the longer the jets blew. I had to snap a few shots of the fun!

Celebrating at Lay Lake!

Last Sunday, while Mark was busy sweating at Camp, my parents and I headed up to Lay Lake (near Sylacauga) to celebrate the birthday of our dear friend Susan Haines.  The Haines family came into our lives approximately 12 years ago when Jacob and I became friends at Auburn.  They are so dear to us, and it is a precious blessing that though Jacob and I live about 8 hours apart, our families have maintained closeness all these years.  What a special treat to get to visit with them last weekend.

Turner and Joshua (Jacob's almost 5 year old son) got to visit last year for an afternoon and they hit it off.  But this year they really enjoyed playing together!

Turner loved gathering rocks in cups...

...and pouring them into Pop's hand.  I swear, my dad will let this child do anything for entertainment.

Checking out a fish that Matthew caught.

There is no telling what conversation is going on here...

And here are some pics of Turner and Joshua all cleaned up after swimming.  Aren't they adorable?  I could just eat him up he's such a cutie!

And a special thank you to Christina (Jacob and Annie's 10th grade daughter) who always plays so sweetly with my Turner.  We got home and Turner said, "Mommy, what was that girl's name?"  When I told her Christina, she said, "Yes. She was so nice to me."  Jacob and Annie, anytime you need to get her out of the house for a while, please send her to Auburn!  :)

Thank you Haines family for a wonderful weekend!  We are looking forward to seeing you again this fall!

A special Saturday morning treat!

This morning, Turner and I accompanied Mark to the Camp War Eagle Parent/Counselor reception.  We've never attended before, but this year it was in a really fun location - the President's suite in Jordan Hare Stadium.  So we spent the better part of our morning taking in the skyline of campus and the vastness of the stadium from a much different view!  And of course...there were photo opportunities!  It's always funny to me when the feeling strikes, but this morning was one of those times that I still get a little sentimental that I actually get to LIVE here in Auburn.  We take it for granted that so many of the Auburn family members who love this place so dearly, only get to come here a few weekends a year.  We are blessed to be able to call Auburn home.

The biggest sprinkler Turner had ever seen!

Just keeping it real...do you think this little one was happy about having her picture taken?  All she wanted was to be where her daddy was...and obviously this wasn't that place.  :)

And once Turner started making this face, Mark had to get in on the fun too!

"Mommy, Daddy said I look like a redneck!"

I can't say that I disagree?  Turner was walking through the garden today, in only her white underwear, and Mark called her a redneck.  In her most whiney voice she "told on him" and I just cracked up.  The sad part - Mark says the fact that we allowed her to play in the yard like this all afternoon makes us rednecks too!!  Scroll down below the pics to learn about the SURPRISE we experienced this afternoon...

Notice Turner has peppers from our garden (that she picked) in her hands.

Then she just had to stick her tongue out...looking like Bubba Armstrong, not Turner.

Showing off the "junk in her trunk" as Mr. Scott calls it...

Please notice the beautiful plant's she's watering - my own Daddy took care of these bulbs all winter, grew them all spring, and last Wednesday transported them 140 miles to plant them for me. 

If you read my previous post about Father's Day, you know how I feel about my sweet husband.  But if you'll let me walk you through our afternoon I think you'll have a true picture of why he's so wonderful.  Mark is still trying to catch up on sleep from last week's CWE, and though he needed to nap, he came outside to play with us.  Then we had to go pick up our patio set at a neighbors' house and load on and off a truck twice.  Then we went to Kohl's to spend a free $10 card and Mark entertained Turner the entire time we were there - sitting in the floor reading to her in the toy section.  He happened to point out a small bistro patio table like I have been wanting and within about 10 min he had carried this super heavy table to the front of the store, PAID FOR IT, and then carried it to the car!

Then the real fun started...Mark comes flying through the kitchen with a hoe.  If you grew up in the country like we did, you know why he has the hoe. This lovely creature was on our back patio.  That's Mark's size 12 shoe for reference.  Let me be more specific about location here, this snake was curled up about 1 foot from the pool you see in the pictures above...where Turner had played all afternoon.  Good times.  Happy Father's Day Mark - you get to kill a snake (and be my hero - mommy doesn't do snakes).




Then, just to solidify his status as husband of the year, he came inside and promptly put my table together and placed it on the back porch.  While I made dinner, he bathed Turner and got her ready for bed.  Any questions as to why I am confident I am the luckiest woman alive!?

Father's Day 2010

The longer I am married to Mark, the more thankful I am for his grandfather, Charley Armstrong and his father, Ernie Armstrong.  Mark had amazing role models as a young boy and he watched closely as these two men served and loved their wives and families well.  I honestly believe I am the most blessed woman on earth to have Mark as my husband and the father of our precious daughter.  Not a day goes by that he doesn't amaze me in some new way.  He is a selfless, giving, and loving husband and father.

Turner absolutely adores her daddy and wants to be where he is and doing what he's doing.  They have several special traditions - taking out the trash on Tuesdays, a nighttime bath ritual, Sunday mornings with pop tarts and Sid the Science Kid, discussing the fact that his "whiskers are not off", playing down the street in the sand and rocks (see picture series below - only a daddy would do this), and eating grilled cheese that only Daddy can make. I could go on and on.  But it's safe to say he's her favorite friend and playmate - she loves her daddy so very much. 

A funny...Turner helped me pick out Mark's Father's Day card.  And once the lady standing next to us opened one of those that play music, we just HAD to get one of those for her daddy.  So, we came home with a card that blares the song "That's What I Like About You".  It was neat because there was a space where we could record Turner saying something also, so we had a good time late last night making a special recording for Mark.  This was all good and fine - until Turner decided to tell Mark last night, "Daddy, we bought you a card!  And it plays music!  Mommy, can we give it to him now?"  (This was last night...)  Since she did the same thing on Mother's day I guess we've learned our lesson on who in this family can keep a secret!?

Here are a few of my favorite pics of them taken over the last couple of years.

It's safe to say that my Dad and I have a special relationship and he's always been my hero.  I honestly believed growing up (and still do) that he could do anything. For example, when I was in 1st grade the teacher said we needed an 8' by 8' spiderweb for Halloween and I replied, "My dad can build that."  So, my dad built it.  It's a running joke now that my go-to comment is, "Well, my DADDY can do it."  I love so many things about him - how he respects Mark and makes him feel as if he's always been in our family, how he still takes care of me and works tirelessly to make sure I have anything in the world I might dream of, and oh how he loves my child.  It is truly indescribable.  I am a lucky girl.  Happy Father's Day to you Daddy!