Harvest Party fun...

Well let me introduce you to the cutest little giraffe that's ever lived...

Everly never actually liked having the giraffe part on over her head. Oh well. You'll have to use your imagination and trust me that there was a giraffe on the end of that costume!

And now some family shots:

The Doctor and Mrs Pepper

Cici the Nerd

Besides the recent party, another fun fall event included picking out and decorating pumpkins and gourds! Who doesn't love that!

Now to find the perfect one...

Vacation from sunny South Carolina

We went to the Charleston area with my family during the first week of August. Our vacation began and ended with some airport delays, but Everly was a trooper and great flyer! Here she's having a snack with Alex...

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We stayed in Seabrook Island, a little town outside of historic Charleston, and it was nothing short of wonderful. We were able to spend lots of time on the beach, which Everly lived for! Usually the first thing she said in the morning or at naptime when she woke up was 'ooooocean'...meaning hurry up and get that swimsuit on me, I'm ready to hit the beach!

Seabrook Island was lined by the ocean and its beaches, but also had tidal marshes and lagoons meandering inland. See the marshland meeting the ocean in the background...

The boys tried their hand at fishing a few different times and in different places. Here they're getting their poles ready on the local crabbing dock...

The first catch! Everly even touched Cici's fish!

They also tried fishing in the ocean, just off the beach. Look what Alex caught...A stingray!

There were rumors of alligators, but when they saw this guy floating along in the little lagoon they were fishing in, they wrapped up shortly after :)

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We drove into Charleston a few times to explore...Pretty old buildings and houses lined the streets in the city where the first Civil War shot was fired...

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Other fun little side trips included:

*Visiting a tea plantation

*Visiting the Angel Oak Tree...a live oak tree estimated to be 500+years old

*Visiting a Fun Park with sliding, bouncing, go-carts, and minigolf!

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We had such a great time and Everly is still talking about everything we did and the ocean she experienced. She was loving things non-stop all week but finally on the car ride back from the airport, just couldn't hang on any longer :)

IA State Fair

I can't believe how far through summer we've come... so far that it's IA State Fair time! We've been a busy busy household this summer, whether that be with church events, house projects, vacations, or just outside fun. Hopefully I can get some pics posted soon on some of those other happenings as well ...

But for now...

Earlier this week we were able to spend an evening out at the famous fairgrounds. Everly's favorite highlights included touching a calf, horses, pigs and seeing all the other animals...

...driving the fire truck...

...and spending good family time with Daddy, Mimi, Pa, Cici, and Alex. What a blast! We are blessed to have them!

And look at those tattoos!!! She loves showing off her sweet tats to anyone who will look :)

Oh what fun it is to be ONE!!

Hard to believe, but at 8:55am on December 3rd, Everly Mae was ONE YEAR OLD! What at joy she is! We are so blessed to be able to call her our daughter.

This has been an eventful week for us. For starters, we got a Christmas Tree! Everly is a very big fan of the lights and was a big helper in picking the ornaments up and putting them on the tree.

She even made sure to give them a kiss and wish them safe keeping for while they're on the tree.

Then later in the week Daddy got his bass guitar out and the two of them had a jam session. Everly loves dancing around and drumming on things whenever there's music to be heard. I like the picture that looks like she’s singing along :)

Another thing this week…a little someone started talking on the phone! Everly would hold it up to her ear and we’d say ‘hello’ and she’d start jabbering away. Too cute! In these pictures it looks like she’s tending to very some important business…maybe it’s her agent :)

And finally, Friday was her birthday! Dustin took the day off so we could all spend some time together on this momentous occasion. We even got to meet up with Grandpa and Grandma for lunch! What a great day. Can’t wait to see what’s ahead for this precious little peanut!