Happy 35th Birthday to Me!

Well, the big 35 rolled around for me this year, and we celebrated! My parents took us out for dinner on my birthday, and we headed to the Great Smoky Mountains the next day for a party with the whole family. The mountains are absolutely my favorite place to be, and we grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, ate birthday cake, roasted marshmallows and played in the COLD river with Ava. Guess who didn't seem to mind? You can tell by the pictures! I declare that that river is getting colder as I get older! ha! Enjoy the photos. For you locals, we went to Metcalf Bottoms for our mountain party.

We enjoyed a nice dinner at a place we'd never been to before called Lakeside Tavern. Delicious!



Ava's first experience with a coloring placemat and crayon. We wanted to see what she'd do, and well, she started eating the crayon! No surprise there!



Family picture down by the lake.



Look Mom, I'm in the river!



Mimi and Ava in the cold river! Ava had the best time playing and splashing around.



Mommy and Ava in the cold river - did I mention it was cold?



Daddy taking a much-needed nap..



This is my swyngomatic from the 70s! Mom and Dad hauled it to the mountains for Ava to swing in, and it still works!



Too much water safety? Bless her heart. We finally took the lifejacket off.



Notice how deep Ava is in the water. She has NO fear!



She sat down in the river, and we all cracked up. She did say "ooooo" when she sat all of the way down.



Ava playing with the big boys. Cousin Wes is on the left, and his friend, Aaron, is on right.



Ava was exhausted after a big day at the river!



Great Aunt Syd holding Ava.