A Weekend Getaway to Bridges Bay...

Just barely getting her feet wet...

Enjoying the lazy river

Some cousins came to visit

Breakfast in our room

Jumping on the bed!

Our little "bell boy"

We escaped for a weekend getaway to Bridges Bay in Okoboji. We did not get there as soon as we would have liked to on Friday night as Brad had a million service calls. This always seems to happen when we have plans to leave town. We were excited to take Ava as we thought she'd have so much fun this year with her being older. She wasn't thrilled with the actual pool part. She walked around a little, but in true girl fashion, got frightened every time someone splashed or got near her. We then opted to put her in her float and enjoy the lazy river. Enjoy was exactly what she did. She loved it! She grinned for the entire time she was in it. Then my cousins came down from Minnesota and the real fun started. They paid lots of attention to Ava and were very willing to chaperone her trips around the lazy river after my cousin Lisa and I felt nauseated from the 100 or so trips around we made. I would guess Ava spent 3-4 hours in the lazy river that day! She cried when it was time to get out. Following two nearly sleepless nights (loudest place we have ever stayed & Ava got woke up several times), we checked out Sunday and managed to do a little Christmas shopping on our way home. It was a fun weekend, but looking forward to a peaceful nights sleep!

The Puzzles & Misc Pics

Her best "cheese" smile Pointing out all the animals

Gotta love cool whip! Puzzle time!

Ava has become obsessed with puzzles lately. She will take all of her puzzles out because she can't do just one at a time and proceed to put them all together, sometimes with a couple going at a time. She loves her puzzles that make sounds and the shapes one is probably her favorite. She now knows all the shapes, but still is not willing to commit to the colors of the shapes. If we are home all day, she probably sits down with her puzzles at least 3 or 4 times. They rank pretty highly along with her babies and her play food!

Snow!

Not quite sure what to do

Well, it was bound to happen, the first snow of the year. I decided to bundle Ava up and put on her boots (which she wasn't thrilled about) and see what she thought of playing outside in the snow. When I first opened the garage door, she just stood there like she was going to melt away if she actually placed her boot on the snow. After much convincing and me making a fool of myself dancing around on the driveway, she decided to give it a try! She discovered it was pretty fun to make tracks all over the driveway and sidewalk. Ava seems to have no problem tolerating the cold weather. She never complains, and it is always a struggle to get her to come inside.

Bed Head!

I thought it only fitting to post these pictures of Ava displaying her "bed head". It seems that the longer her hair gets, the more wild it gets in the morning. I will tell her when she gets up in the morning to go look in the mirror, and she now will agree that her "hair is crazy!". One other small trait she inherited from her mother....

Thanksgiving 2009 at the Kleis's

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday at the my sister Shelly's house in Sioux City. It was Shelly's first attempt at preparing the entire meal solo and she did a great job. I felt I had it pretty easy this year with only bringing a pie. We all successfully ate way too much and the kids seemed to enjoy thier time together. Addie and Ava seem to be getting along a little better all the time which is nice. Jim (Shelly's father-in-law), Brad, Shelly, and I even enjoyed a nice walk around the neighborhood in what was a very beautiful November day.