Our Little Cowgirl

Not too much to report, but I have tons of photos from this past weekend. We traveled up to Tennessee to visit and to bring some furniture back from Alma's house. We worked all day Saturday loading a U-Haul to drive back to Atlanta.

We had a great trip--especially Riley. She got to saddle up at Papa Burn's house and loved every minute of it!

Papa Burn (my dad) helps Riley saddle up.

I just love this picture--she's so happy!

She was a natural!

Here's the total cowgirl pose.

Riley poses with Papa Burn.

She was really hamming it up!

Cactus Jack (the donkey) and his best girl.

My absolute favorite photo of Riley!

For a while now, a group of donkeys have been living in the field directly across from my grandmother Alma's house. We often walk across the road to check them out, give them a bit of attention and feed them some treats.

A few of the donkey's in the field
across from Alma's house...

Riley loves to go and feed them treats.

They love to eat them!
(Pretty aggressive about it, actually.)

This red donkey was my favorite--such
a great personality and so pretty!

This little Jack is only two weeks old!

Riley was so proud of her new Crocs and all

the Jibbitz she has collected. She just had to show them off.

Riley also got to play with a new
friend--Shawn (Dennis' grandson.)

Now for just a few random shots from the weekend--Charles did a great job taking pictures with the new digital SLR camera:

The view from my parent's front yard.

The view from the back yard.

Mom's garden (looking through the gazebo).

Another view from the gazebo.

Doug's newest cabin--it even has an "upstairs!"

View from the cabin's window.

I Want That!

For the past several months (way too many for me to count), we've noticed that Riley, while watching cartoons and such on TV, will randomly shout out, "I want that!" or "I want to go there!" It can be extremely annoying--especially while I'm trying to work. Picture it: It's super quiet and I'm upstairs editing news stories and posting them online or, worse, I'm on a conference call with six people from all over the country and all of a sudden, a mighty shout rises up the hallway..."I WANT THAT!"

Lately, this phenomenon has been occurring during practically every commercial break--there's always some new and exciting toy or food product that she must have. I know, you're thinking, "Just turn off the TV." I would, but she's addicted and her watching Chowder or Johnny Test allows me the time to get some work done. (Judge me all you want--no one has accused me of being the perfect mother.)

Anyway, we've been asking her to try and refrain from making such loud exclamations all day, every day, but she continues this bizarre ritual. Charles gave me the reason after dinner this evening: He says he talked to her about this and asked her why she keeps yelling out, "I want that!" every time she sees something interesting on TV. Her answer was priceless...

Riley said, "I have to yell out like that, Daddy. If I don't, how will Santa know what I want for Christmas?"

Her logic makes perfect sense. I will no longer complain!

We Miss the Beach & Old Gap-Tooth is Back

Well, we've been back in Hotlanta for a week now, but we're still missing the beach. Overall, we had such a good time and were so glad to be able to see Mark, Ellen, Emma, Zoe and the whole gang on Tybee Island. As we were leaving Tybee, Riley asked, "Why can't we just live with Mark and Ellen?" We'd love to make a move down there, but Charles hasn't been able to find a job in the area. Maybe one day...

Not much to report, but I did have the first half of a dental proceedure done today--my dentist removed all the old bonding from my top front teeth and cut my gums a bit to make way for some shiney new veneers! It was a two-hour process and was far from fun, but the results will be well worth it. Unfortunately, my teeth now look like they did when I was in sixth grade--I have a ginormous space between my two front teeth. I would post a picture, but it's way embarrasing. Charles says they don't look that bad (isn't he sweet?), but when I showed Riley, she simply said, "Wow." I bet Charles that two quarters would fit in the space and he said, "No way." He was wrong--they fit quite nicely.

Anyway, back to what I came here to do--post some pictures. Here's a look at what we did all week...

Riley & Charles pose on the dock at Hudson's Restaurant.

Riley lets the clown at Hudson's put a little "art" on her hand.

After dinner, Riley skips shells on the water.

The boats docked at Hudson's.

Riley creates her own "pool" on the beach.

She's such a ham when it comes to pictures.

Riley loved playing miniature golf with a pirate
theme (she's so into pirates right now).

She was so focused on her shots--she
took it very seriously.

Random bird we spotted while we were
riding our bikes around the island.

This picture just cracks me up--this

was taken at Hilton Head Ice Cream.

Riley playing with her cousin, Ann.
Ann looooved Riley's Croc's!

We stopped at Uncle Bubba's to eat on our
way to Tybee Island. Saw Uncle Bubba, but no Paula Dean...

View from our "private" table at Uncle Bubba's.

The spread on Tybee Beach for the Fourth of
July--lots of fun people and "adult" beverages!

Shrimp boat right off the beach--it was
swarming with seagulls and dolphins.

Low tide was super messy--here's Riley
with her friends playing in the muck.

She got a little muddy...

The Three Stooges--Mark, Jim (he's with the Coast Guard) and Charles.

I guess it's back to the real world now...

Hilton Head Vacation

We arrived on Hilton Head Island on Saturday and we've already had a busy week. Riley is enjoying the beach--especially the ocean. She has no fear! She wades out into the water until it's up past her waist before she becomes the least bit cautious. Seeing her so confident makes me wish she had just a bit of fear of the water. We have to keep a very close eye on her!

She and Charles have also enjoyed the pool. She likes to get in and practice her kicking--I think we'll need to sign her up for swimming lessons soon.

Riley and Charles try to warm up after an early evening dip.

Riley with a clown outside Hudson's on the water.

Riley with Grandma and Papa on the back porch.

We have a new "mascot" here at the house this year. In years past, we always see the usual turtles and in the past couple of years we've been visited by a rather large alligator or two. This year, we have a much smaller visitor...

Our new "mascot" for this season.

He's coming right for us!

Riley has named our guest Spiderman--right now she names everything Spiderman and it can be a tad annoying. She likes waking up in the morning and checking to see if he's out in the pond or sunning himself on the bank. Yesterday, he came right out of the water no more than 15 feet away from the steps of the back deck. It's wicked cool!

That's it for now, but I'll be sure and post more photos when we get home. We hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend. We'll be visiting the Fulkerson's on Tybee Island then to enjoy the fireworks on the island.