Lexie's table and chairs

As one of Lexie's 2nd birthday gifts, I wanted to give her a table and chair set. For months and months I could not find what I was looking for anywhere. If I did find one that I semi-liked, it was outrageously expensive and I had to assemble it.
I (Lexie too) have always loved the table/chair set my Mom has at her house. But the chairs are fire truck red and the table is just coated with polyurethane. That wouldn't exactly go with my decor. But she told me that she bought the table/chairs locally but did the table/chairs herself (meaning she sanded, painted/stained, and coated them with poly). So when I was in town one week in March, Lexie, my mom, and I stopped off at the same local store. Everything there is unfinished real wood furniture - something you hardly see these days. You have the option of selecting any color stain. They can stain it for you (for an extra amount fee) or you can do it yourself. And with the table and chairs, I nor Dave had to assemble them. I browsed the place and found a set that I adored and thought it would go perfect with the house. Then I selected the color stain - which was the darkest, Java.
All in all it took about two and half days to finish the project due to having let each coat dry for a certain amount of hours, etc. There are a few imperfections but I was pretty proud of the way it turned out. Lexie is no longer eating in a booster seat at the table (unless we are somewhere other than our house). She has lunch/dinner at this table now and loves it!
All you need is sand paper, paint/stain, a rag, gloves, and polyurethane to start your project.

Table and Chair(s) before sanding, staining, and poly.

Chair sanded and stained. Waiting for the poly coats.

Table waiting for the same poly coats

Chair with final poly coat.

Table and chairs - Finished product!!

Father's Day

We had the pleasure of celebrating Father's Day at the Lake with my parents and our fun friends, the Frermans. Josh and Kathryn live close to us and we hang out quite a bit. Ava is nearly a year older than Lexie but they really enjoy eachother. Lexie talks about Ava constantly. It's neat to see these little girls bond so well.
Once again, another fun weekend at Lake Martin!
Happy "very late" Father's day to all you dads!

Popsicle time! These two L-O-V-E popsicles!
Lexie and Ava watching Tinkerbell

Watching Annie

Sweet Ava having some down time with Mickey, Minnie, Elmo, and Pluto

Josh and baby Andrew napping

Dave doing the same. . . .

Lexie enjoying another popsicle with Su Su and Papa!

What a great way to end Father's Day. Look at this pretty sunset!

Memorial Day at the Lake

We spent Memorial Day at the Lake back in Bama. John, Michelle, and Amelia were able to join us for a few days. I think the girls went non-stop the entire time. They played extremely well with each other and had so much fun!

Cool cat

Sweet girl!
Splish splash!
Cousin fun in the pool.

I guess the boat ride made this little one sleepy. . . .

I guess Lexie thought I needed to eat since she was. . . .

You can never be too young to learn to drive a boat!

It looks like they just were caught doing something they weren't supposed to. . . .hmmm

Southern California

Dave's company had a big week long convention in San Diego towards the end of May. Since I've never been to Southern California, I was able to sucker Dave into taking me out there for a few days before his convention.
We stayed in Laguna (San Juan Capistrano) for a few days with some dear friends, Mike & Callie Wray along with their adorable kids Emma and Nicholas (Mike is also one of Dave's coworkers). They have one of the most beautiful homes I've ever seen with one of the most gorgeous views. One of the things I was most impressed with was their garden in the back yard. They had lemon, lime, peach, and avocado trees! You could literally make lemonade with your own lemons!
Callie took me shopping for the day. Later the guys met us for lunch at the Beachcomber at Crystal Cove (Newport Beach). Crystal Cove is also the location of the famous Beach House from the movie "Beaches."
One evening, we left the Wrays house to go visit Dave's cousin Tamie and her family who literally live 15 minutes away from Callie and Mike. It was so nice to visit with Tamie, Mike, their 3 boys along with Bo (Dave's other cousin). Tamie cooked an amazing dinner. It was so much fun to catch up with family we hardly ever get to see!
Another evening the Wray's took Dave and I to dinner at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna. We were able to see the sunset go down over the water. I totally get the fascination with southern California! From the very nice climate (no humidity and it never really gets below 50 degrees year around), to the views of mountains and the ocean, to the landscapes - it was breathtaking. If I didn't have such deep roots from the south, I'd want to pack my family/bags and move out west!
After a few days in Laguna, we headed back south to San Diego for a few days. We stayed at the Hilton Bayside where Dave's conference was going to be held. We had dinner reservations at George's Rooftop Terrace in La Jolla, Ca with some of our friends Brian and Ashley who were in town as well (Brian also works with Dave). Dinner was amazing. Again, we got to watch another beautiful sunset go down across the water. La Jolla is another very cool, quaint area.
Dave and I spent the next day sightseeing. We drove over to Coronado, Ca. Another slice of heaven on earth. I think it was my favorite place in California. It's a tiny little peninsula consisting of only 16,000 residents. It's the home of the famous hotel, Hotel Del Coronado (a.k.a. the Del). It's the hotel that Disney World modeled the Grand Floridian hotel after. I also feel like it's a pretty safe place. . . .it's where the Navy SEALS train. . .
After touring Coronado, we walked around downtown SD. We were able to walk into Padres Stadium. It was so cool, it's in the heart of downtown and has a park inside the stadium where you can bring your dog. Very cool. There is a neat area in SD called the Gaslamp District - it's a historic area that consists about 16 blocks of restaurants, bars, shops, offices, etc.
My last night in SD, I was able to meet up with my sweet friend, Lindsay. She was my pledge sister and sweet mate while at Auburn. It has been since AU that I have seen sweet Linds! She has been living in SD for about 2 years and caught her right before her and her hubby were about to move back East to Charlottesville, VA.
The trip was so much fun. I hope to return soon!

Crystal Cove @ Newport Beach
Me and Callie

The "Beaches" house then. . . . .

The "Beaches" house today. . . . .

We had so much fun playing with Emma & Nicholas.

Name what we are. . . .

Sunset at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna

Mike, Callie, me, and Dave

Mike and Callie's view from their backyard

Mike and Callie's very own lemon tree!

Dinner at George's with Brian and Ashley

Me (and my sun burned face) and Lindsay

The fabulous Del!

Five Years

On May 6, 2011 Dave and I celebrated five glorious years of marriage! Since our sweet baby was at Su Su and Papa's for the weekend, we treated ourselves to our favorite restaurant, The Lobster Bar. In my humble opinion, there is hardly a better steak or fried lobster tail anywhere else in the Atlanta area. I thought they were going to have to roll us out of the restaurant. The food was fantastic (as always).
Dave, you are the most wonderful, tender-hearted husband I could have ever imagined God giving me. You are truly a blessing and I'm so proud to have you as my husband and the father of my sweet angel! To many more wonderful years!

Sea Island Fun!

Two days after Lexie's birthday party back in April, we packed up and headed south to Sea Island, Georgia. It was our annual mommy/daughter trip there with my amazing friends Stephanie, Mandy and their children. Stephanie's in laws have a beautiful estate in Sea Island. They were gracious enough to let us invade their place once again.
All 3 of us Moms decided to bring a sitter just to help out since there were going to be five kids during the week long stay (three 2 year olds, an 8 month old and a 5 month old). Jo was our sitter. And I must say that she is the baby whisperer. She has the sweetest/calmest voice, yet the toddlers listened to most every word she said. She was so great with the girls. She definitely kept them entertained. She took them down the beach on "treasure hunts," instructed them in paint lessons, and even traced their little bodies for them to color. I couldn't imagine our week without Jo. She was awesome!
Below are some pictures. There are a lot but I always have a hard time narrowing down the ones I like. So bare with me!

Sea Island last year (June 2010)

Sea Island this year (April 2011) - it's extremely hard to get these 3 two year olds to stand still for a picture.
Taylor and Lexie holding hands walking to the beach.

Tay and Lexie still being so sweet!

I just love Sweet pea's curls!

Lexie and Zarin having fun splashing in the water

I love Z's expression in this one

We all know that Lexie LOVES day days (a.k.a. dogs) but who would have thought she would be able to spot my FAVORITE kind of dog (scottish terrier)?? My sweet Scottie, Blitzen had passed away before Lexie was born. This picture was bitter sweet.

Jo letting the girls go wild with the paint. . . . . .Lexie before. . . . .

Lexie After. . . . My little warrior, "Braveheart!" As Mandy liked to say.

About to go on a "treasure hunt" with Miss Jo.

And they are off to find treasure!

Miss Jo keeping the girls entertained on a rainy day.

My sweet little one sleeping in a big girl bed. No more pack-n-plays!

Miss Jo reading a bedtime story to Z, Tay, and Lexie

These were the girls last year. . . . . . (Tay, Z, and Lexie)

And this year. . . . .Z, her baby sis Sloane, Tay, Tay's cousin Sienna, and Lexie. They were all ready for Easter (notice the crying girls from last year were much calmer this year). We had another fun time this year! Again, thank you so much to the Nalley family for letting us enjoy their home away from home!