Thanksgiving and Birthday all in one month

I have a feeling November will always be a very busy time for us. Hunting season is in full force thus the store is humming, Ava celebrates her birthday on November 17th, and then Thanksgiving is right around the corner. This year, we had a very eventful November and I think the theme of this month was party.

We started the birthday celebration on the coast with Pancho, T, Uncle Harley and Aunt Pat, and Uncle Don and Aunt Pam. Our dear friends the Wilsons came down with us for the festivities. Pancho and T have a beautiful home in Rockport that has a great dock to fish off of. While I don't think it is a norm, I successfully caught my first salt water fish and it was a RedFish. Needless to say, Adam spent the rest of the night fishing for something that could beat me, but alas, he never did.

The Infamous Red Fish

The second birthday was in Castroville with KK. We went to a great steak house and then back to the house for a banana pudding cake. If you have ever been around Ava you will know that bananas are her favorite and when you add them with vanilla wafers.....oh boy you have made her day!

Ava spent a few days at home with KK and was not excited at all to return to the daycare. But when she walked into her class and saw the balloons and the cupcakes and presents her mood quickly changed. We are truly blessed to have the sweetest daycare that Ava attends.

Finally, the 4th Birthday, yes 4th Birthday was spent in Spearman with Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle T-Bill and Aunt Rosie, and Uncle T-Ray. Not only did we have cake at this birthday, we had a green jello salad and lasagna. Life could not get any better.......until a fancy pink four wheeler came around the corner.

Ava is not only walking, she is driving.

The bad news is she takes after her mother. She drives as fast as she can into every wall in the house and then just keeps on driving until you turn her around so she can do it again. Good thing we have insurance.

I don't know where she gets this, hopping onto her car prepared to make a phone call....

All in all November was wonderful and it was nice to go home and see my family and good friends Jenn and Lindsey and their kids. We are truly blessed! I know Christmas will be just as fun and cannot wait to celebrate every moment.

Happy Halloween

This year for Halloween we decided to paint pumpkins - well at least one pumpkin. It was so much fun but a bit of a mess.





I also had every intention of finding the perfect Halloween costume for Ava, but it ended up that we went to Austin for Halloween and had a pretty full agenda. Trick or treating was not in the cards this year, but I am sure she will not let us miss another Halloween full of sugary goodness.

We did, however, have enough outfits to last almost every day of the Halloween Week....

A Few Trips in September and October

Well ,the past two months have been a whirlwind. Between work and Ava, life just does not stop no matter how much I wish it would. I was looking through my camera at the photos and videos and truly cannot remember where the time has been.

We did have two very fun trips over the past two months. One was a trip to Spearman and the other was a trip to Concan. Just a little recap on our travels:


A Trip To Spearman
Jenn, Jeran, Ava and I took a trip up to Spearman the first week in September to visit Kasey and Blake and Lindsay and Bentley. Oh what fun we had playing with the horses and the tractors and of course catching up on lost times. IT HAD BEEN FOUR YEARS SINCE WE HAD ALL BEEN TOGETHER.

Jenn and Jeran on the Tractor

Ava just stood in front of the tractor. There was no way she was going to attempt sharing the tractor with Farmer Jeran!

The whole crew for a shot on the couch. It didn't work that well but at least it will be something to remember the trip by.
Introducing Mr. Blake Butts!


Ava and Jeran saying good bye to Spearman. Little did I know what was in store for us the rest of September. We successfully caught almost every type of flu imaginable. We dodged the H1N1 but caught the stomach bug (evidence was left in the isle of the Southwest Plane) and then it was just downhill from there. Thank God for immunity and I am glad we are done with that fun.


A Trip to the Frio River:
We also took a trip to Concan in October. Concan is a sweet little place nestled between Hondo and Uvalde on the Frio River. It has a beautiful golf course, wonderful people, and most of all great atmosphere, oh and did I mention cell phone service is minimal. IT IS THE BEST.


Ava loved watching the fish in the river but hated the fact that it was a little to cold to play in it. I tried to take a few pictures of Ava by the river and I am sure you all can imagine how well that went, but just in case, let me narrate -


Ava saw all of the rocks stuck in the mud and felt it very important that she check them out.




So after much work she pries a rock out of the mud, checks it out from a distance,

........and then (and there is no photo because I am screaming no...so you can guess) she sticks it in her mouth.........

So, after we get the rock out of her mouth, she decides to offer a taste of the rock to me....do you see the mud smeared on her cheek..... Just an absolute mess.

A Trip to Galveston

July has been a busy month, but we are truly blessed with great friends and family. This month, we took a trip down to Galveston for an early "Happy 1 Year Jeran Butler Weekend." We went to the beach and watched the kids play in the sand, in the water, and with all of the wonderful toys Jeran has. I am so glad that Josh, Jenn, and Jeran live so close to us; I can only imagine the trouble we will get into as the kids get older. I especially enjoyed Saturday night eating fresh seafood and playing board games until we were all simpled out and laughing at everything. I had forgotten just how much fun Scattegories was! Well, it could have been the people we were playing with or the fact that I won the game :)!!!!

On another note, if you haven't been to Galveston in a while, you must go! The beach is clean, they have done a great job of restoring the homes and the well...pretty much everything else on the island seems to be getting back to normal. And did I mention fresh seafood. It was a great weekend and while we were there I actually saw rain. I could not believe what I was seeing - there was actually water falling from the sky. I feel like it has been so long since that has happened around me. I just cannot get over how hot it is outside. My family all loves to be outside but it is unbearable right now. We decided to take a leisurely stroll on Saturday at around 4:00 (my first problem) and by the 4th mile (my second problem), I had my head glued to the road praying I could make it up the last hill (my third problem). I am so ready for some rain or at least some days that stay in the low 90s. I had to laugh yesterday, there was actually an add on TV about a local Nissan Dealership that was running a special from now until August 8th, here was the deal "Buy your car now and if it rains on August 8th, we will pay you car in full." I mean seriously. I am almost tempted to go out and buy a Nissan just to give me hope that it might rain!!!

A Fun June

One thing that the Wilsons and the Lowes both love to do is eat good food. While Vegas food is not cheap, it was delicious. This restaurant had the best steaks (since I am one of those that eat my steaks rare - it has to be good for me to write a review about it). Plus at this restaurant (Manamegabee - or something spelled like that) you get to sit and watch the water feature at the Bellagio. It was a great way to kick off our trip to Vegas.

Don't ask me what we are doing....I just had to include it because it has the Cirque Du Soleil in the background. We saw "O" and it was a great show. A little too late at night for me but it was truly amazing!

This is a terrible picture of Adam and I but if you look in the background, you will see the roller coaster that Adam, Garrett and I went on. It was so much fun!!!

While the boys played golf, Abby and I had a day at the spa. Some of you might know that spas and Ashley don't usually go hand in hand. I did my best to relax but even the lady giving me the massage was laughing at the end of the session. I think I was named the one that it is least likely to relax by Spa Mandalay. Well at least it was a pretty place.....

An excellent seafood restaurant in Vegas...but the most interesting part of the meal was the dessert that Garrett got - Bananas, Peanut Butter, and Bacon inside of a cinnamon pastry.

It was delicious.

Mom and Ava are saying hello to Rufus

Only John and his 7ft. arm span could wrap his arms around both Ava and Ryan's car seats with ease. For those of you from Lubbock or that just love Lubbock like we do, the new, smoke free Cap Rock Cafe is GREAT

Ryan Charles at 2 months old and almost 15 lbs

Ava Nicole at 7 month old and almost 15 lbs.

This little boy has his daddy's height and his mommy's looks

Ava is clapping because everyone is taking pictures of her - whatever it is it is a celebration

Happy 81st Birthday Bubby

Grace and Ava are ready for the lake

There were no lifejackets that would fit Ava so we just made do. Thank goodness we did not get stopped. My new mission is to find a life jacket that will fit her.

Playing at the lake can be hard work.

Daddy and Ava both where stupid looking hats to keep away the sun.....

The good news is that we don't use a pacifier....the bad news is that we love our thumb

We had so much fun in June. Adam and I went to Vegas (and 1/2 of us had a successful trip); we survived being away from Ava for 4 whole days, went home to Spearman to see my family and all of the baby horses; we watched two of our dear friends get married (Adam had to make a speech ....... most of you know what happens when a Lowe makes a speech); we met the sweetest baby boy, Ryan, and caught up with his parents while in Lubbock (I miss it so much); we celebrated Bubby's 81st birthday in Horseshoe Bay; made our first trip of the summer to the lake; and for all that care - we still don't have to budget for formula :)

Ava was 7 months on June 17th and this little girl is a busy body (I have no idea where she gets that). We have perfected the army crawl and love to receive applauds for any little thing that we do. I have a feeling that on my 8 month report of Miss Ava I will be begging for her to go back to being that sweet little baby that laid in the middle of the bed and talked to mom while she got ready....time just won't slow down. We also learned this month that Adam's sister Katy and her husband Chris will by having a little boy in November. I am very glad that Ava will have a little cousin so close to her in age. I was really hoping that I could hand down all of Ava's clothes and hats and bows and hats and bows but am so glad that Baby Davenport is healthy. So now I just hope that He grows up to be big like his dad and strong willed like his mom. If this happens, I certainly will not have to worry about anyone messing with Princess Ava.