Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

As a writing teacher I spent many hours of my life trying to show my students that there were more interesting ways of ending a story than "and then we went home and went to bed". As I began uploading the thousands of pictures for this post, I noticed a recurring theme. Most of our events ended with Ava asleep in her carseat.
You see, Josh and I aren't sure how long our summer will last. Once our house sells we'll be busy packing, moving, my new job will start, and Josh will begin three years of intense law study. We are trying to pack in as many summer activities as possible. Our days are spent in the front yard in our little pool and running from park to boat. Our nights and breakfasts are later each day. I promise that Ava is getting enough rest, even if it is in the car.

On Saturday afternoon we went out on Lake Whitney with Baba and Pops.


Hold on tight, Pops is driving

Beautiful

Pops and Josh helped Ava catch her first fish, a little Sandbass.
It was really too small to keep, but we kept it for a little while for her to enjoy.

Checking on her catch in the live-well

Splashing at the front of the boat with Mommy

Cooling off with Daddy

Swimming together

In the cold water

Swimming with Daddy

Munching on the boat

Ava decided to let her little fish swim back to his mommy and daddy.

Enjoying the last of the boat ride with Baba and Pops.

With sun-kissed cheeks and a pizza-filled tummy Ava drifted off to sleep on our way home.
- translation -
"and then we went home and went to bed"

Sliding at the park on Monday evening

Clapping, happy to be playing at the park

Climbing

Such a big girl, climbing up to slide.

Ava made a friend while we were playing.
At one point the little girl went to get a drink from her mom and Ava looked up and said, "Where did my beautiful friend go?"

The sprouts are plants now.

For weeks we have driven by Lions Park in Waco, hoping to ride the little train that goes around the park. Last summer we frequented this spot, and Ava knew what to expect. Unfortunately the train has not been running. Once when we drove by she said, "Maybe it will work tomorrow, or we could ride on Sunday." Such a mature response! Anyway, on Tuesday night we met Patrick and Courtney for dinner at Ninfas and discovered that the train was running.
Ava was obviously very thankful to see her old friend.

Ava was a little worried that Josh wouldn't make it back from buying our tickets in time to ride the train.


All aboard

Ready to ride

This is what Ava does when we ask her to smile for a picture.
You'll see this silly face a lot in this post.

After our train ride, a coffee stop, and a long visit to the Broaddus house Ava was exhausted.
She pooped out on us before we hit I-35
- translation -
"and then we went home and went to bed"

On Wednesday morning we woke up to overcast skies and low temperatures (94 for a high instead of 100), so we decided to go to Six Flags in Arlington. It was the first time for Josh and I together, and Ava's first time ever. There were no lines, and we had a blast.

Our first ride was El Sombrero.

Next we rode the teacups.

The employees at 6 Flags could not have been more gracious about taking pictures of the three of us. Most of the time we didn't even have to ask, they would just wait to start the ride and offer to take the picture. Here are all three of us in the teacups. This was the roughest ride of the whole day.
We were all SO dizzy!

In the stomping boots
Ava said, "Mommy, we bounce like Tigger!"

Sittin' pretty...pretty sweaty

She heard the train whistle.


Guess who's tall enough to ride the Mini Minetrain?!
36 inches will get you on a lot of fun things at 6 Flags.
We were able to ride everything that we thought was her "speed".

Cooling off

Hanging out, waiting in line for lunch.

Ready for a ride on the carousel.
After watching Mary Poppins she may have been expecting more than a trip in circles.

Checking out her horse

Pink Thing!
Only $2 for this wonderful 6 Flags treat, who cares that most of it ended up on Ava's shirt?

On the Kiddie Coaster

One flag over Ava at Six Flags over Texas
My favorite ride of the day was the relaxing hot air balloon, which was more like a calm Ferris Wheel. The breeze was cool, the seats were comfy, and I was with my two favorite folks.

Ava rode the mini swings all by herself! I was pretty nervous about this, but Josh assured me that centripetal force would keep her in her seat. She LOVED this ride.

When the sun popped out from behind the cloud cover and the humidity had us in a Half Nelson we retreated to our cool car. I changed Ava out of her icky (Pink Thing/Ketchup stained) clothes and within five minutes this is what we saw in our rear view mirror.
- translation -
"and then we went home and went to bed"

This picture is a preview of an upcoming post, hmmm.

Watch for another post later in the summer about the following picture.
Josh and I will be watching Chelsea Football Club (soccer for us Yankees) in a match in Arlington on July 26!
We're excited to see the inside of the new Cowboy cathedral, and Josh is pumped to see his favorite team from across the pond.