New Hair Style

Ava's hair keeps getting longer, but it has been difficult to do anything with it. First of all it is hard to get her to sit still long enough for me to make it cute. Then if I put in pigtails or cute barrettes Ava usually pulls them out within a hour. I don't care so much that her hair has a cute style. I just want to be able to pull her hair out of her face, so we can see her beautiful blue eyes. After struggling with this since Ava has had hair I finally came up with a solution.

First I put in a short video. Just something long enough to distract her and allow me to work some magic. The other trick is how I do her hair. I found that the style below works because she can't pull it out easily. I also think it looks pretty cute. I'm now hoping as time goes on and hair grows I will be able to try some different styles.

Can you say "sucker"?

Unfortunately I can.

Ava loves Buzz Lightyear and with the last Toy Story movie there is so much merchandise. The good thing is Ava is still young and doesn't want everything Buzz. The other good thing is we are pretty cheap and have no problem passing things up. With that said the marketing companies do a good job preying on my weaknesses...a irresistibly cute daughter and cheap cheesy food. So when I saw the Toy Story Cheez-Its and Mac-n-Cheese I couldn't say no. I guess a few splurges here and there aren't too bad.

Conversion Complete

Last Sunday we finally converted Ava's crib into a toddler bed. It was really easy, but for some reason we had been resisting the idea. I don't know what we were thinking because it has been great. Ava loves being able to get in and out by herself and is still sleeping well. I actually think she is sleeping better and is less likely to wake us up unless she really needs to.

Sleeping Beauty or Hibernating Bear?

We recently discovered Ava snores. She doesn't snore like you think a cute little girl might, but instead sounds like a sleeping bear. At night while we are getting ready for bed and reading scriptures we can often hear Ava snoring through the wall. It is pretty funny and kind of cute at the same time. We just hope it doesn't get any worse.

Apple Hill

Last Saturday we went to Apple Hill with Rich's parents and his brother Dave's family. We stopped at a couple places. At Boa Vista Orchards we bought some apples, pears, apple cider, and apple pie.

We then headed over to Ridge Ranch where we ate lunch. Jessica and I waited in line for some BBQ pork sandwiches that were almost worth the wait and money. Everybody else ate sandwiches from home. After eating, the kids, dads, and grandparents ran around the pond. Bruce had a good laugh at the city folk "fishing" in the pond. Ava liked the ponies for the pony ride, but we decided the line was too long. We didn't want to wait in line to end up with another train incident (screaming and refusing to ride).

After lunch most of the kids (and parents too) were tired and done. We headed back to our house for some more fun. Ava slept for a long time. The rest of us had nachos, played Wii, and made necklaces. We also enjoyed 2 kinds of apple pie and some cider.

It was a great day. We love being with family and can't wait for the next Bowling family adventure.

Ava & Eli

Kobie and Lily checking out a stand with fossils and other cool rocks.
Rich, Ava, Grandpa, and Kobie across the pond. Rich had to hold Ava back because she wanted to get in the yucky water. Papa holding a very tired Ava. It was a long hard day for Ava. She slept on the way there and on the way back.

Got Insomnia? Then Hit the Bike Trail.

Yesterday was a weird day. Ava didn't really take a nap and had tons of energy. She didn't show any signs of wanting to sleep until we went for a bike ride. I guess being out on the trail is soothing to her because before we got home she fell asleep.

Sorry for the poor picture quality. It is not easy to ride a bike and take a picture without causing injury.

Chocolate Strawberry

On Friday Rich brought home a chocolate covered strawberry for Ava. She loved it of course and showed her appreciation by giving Rich hugs after each bite. I was happy Ava enjoyed her treat, but not happy about the strawberry and chocolate stains on Rich's shirt and jeans I have to try and remove.

First Bite

Italian sign language for good

"I Want More!"

"Thank you daddy. I love you!"

Bath time

Ava's 1st Friend Birthday Party

Last week Ava went to her first friend birthday party. Her friend Andrew turned 2 and had some friends and their parents over. We were happy to go and had fun. Ava played with her friends Jill and Andrew a little at first, but then became tired and wanted to be held for most of the evening.

Weekend in Gridley

Last weekend we headed to Gridley Saturday and stayed through Sunday. We went for General Conference and Lily's 3rd birthday. Ava had a great time playing with her cousins and visiting with Nona, Papa, and Great-Grandpa.

Lily, Ava, & Nona

Lily & Ava checking out Nona's pumpkin patch

Lily helping Ava find her way through the orchard to the pumpkin patch

Can you guess what this is a picture of? There is someone hiding...guess who?

This is the birthday girl doing one of her favorite things...swinging.

Ava and daddy on a butterfly hunt. At first she tried the pool net, but realized it was too big and heavy.

Ava and Great-Grandpa Bowling

Ava and Lily

By Sunday evening the kids were tired and a little wild. Dave was kind enough to carry Ava around with Baby Eli. I love this picture because Lily is leaping over the couch. Rich took a good action photo. And check out Bella in with her cool hat...too cute!

Dave with all the kids watching an animal documentary. I think they were learning about Komodo Dragons.

Got to Love the Pigtails!

Goodbye Summer and Fresh Tomatoes...

...Hello Fall and Fresh Broccoli and Lettuce.

Yesterday Rich ripped out our sad summer garden. We didn't get a lot from our garden this year, but we did have a plentiful amount of baby tomatoes. This was good because Ava gobbled them up. She actually preferred to eat them outside straight off the vine. We didn't mind, but a few times we had to stop her before she ate too many and regretted it later.

Yesterday we also bought some broccoli and some lettuce to grow this fall/winter. Ava loves broccoli and I have learned to eat it, so we thought we would give it a try. The lettuce is actually for our tortoise Mo. We have grown lettuce in the past with success and I'm excited to see if we can get a good crop of broccoli.

Fun Fact: This weekend while visiting Rich's family we talked about growing broccoli and fall gardens. During our conversation a Grandpa Bowling quote was shared: "If you plant broccoli in October you will eat it at Thanksgiving."

In the summer we give Mo some zucchini, squash, and leaves and flowers from our garden. Ava loves to feed him. This year we bought this Tortoise home, so we could put Mo outside during the day to enjoy the weather without loosing him or having to worry about an animal attack.

1st Lesson in Cake Decorating

Last Wednesday we had a cake decorating lesson for the Young Women's activity. I was suppose to teach the girls what I learned from my cake decorating classes. I didn't think I needed to prepare or practice but I was wrong. I took the classes 5 years ago and haven't used the skills I learned in a couple years which was apparent when I tried to make some basic flowers. The decorating lesson was a flop, but it was still fun to be creative and experiment.

When I was baking the cake for the activity I made one for Ava. I knew there would be left over frosting and thought she might enjoy decorating too. She was excited and ready to go. At first she squeezed some of the frosting onto the cake, but she liked spinning the lazy susan while I squeezed the frosting out. We made a good team. When the frosting was gone we let her sample her work. Of course Ava loved it and for the rest of the week she would try and pull the cake off the counter to get a piece.

This is Ava's new smile. We will ask her to show us her teeth and this is the face we get. It cracks us up.