Three years old! It's a pool party!

We had a fun pool party to celebrate Asa's 3rd birthday with his friends. We managed to choose one of the hottest days thus far this summer, so thank goodness the pool was nice and cool! Asa was so cute as his friends were arriving. He was floating around in the pool and everytime he saw a friend arrive, he'd say "Hi! Do you want to come to my birthday party?" Of course they did!! We had tons of floaties and the kids had a ball splashing around, throwing the beach balls and just being silly. The highlight of the afternoon was the pinata! Our neighbors surprised Asa with a Thomas pinata filled with tons of candy. The little ones weren't quite sure what to do, but the bigger kids showed them how to hit it as hard as you can. What fun! We are so thankful for our wonderful friends that came out to celebrate Asa's special day with us. Lots of fun memories were made.

Asa's train birthday cake

The canopy which provided much needed relief from the heat and where the goodies could be found.

The birthday boy taking a swing that the pinata

Asa's friend Ethan showing the younger ones how it is done

A hug between good friends - Asa and Ivy

Carriage ride at the local rodeo

The local rodeo had a special day this summer when kids and parents could go for carriage rides and hayrides. Asa really enjoyed riding in the carriage and hearing the clip clop of the horse hooves.

Getting ready to go on the carriage ride

The carriage we rode on

Looking cool with our shades on - notice Asa's are upside down ;)

Birthday Putt Putt

On our way home from chuch in Fayetteville, we would pass by a Putt Putt course. Asa had been asking us for months to go play putt putt, so we decided it would be a fun birthday treat for him. It was quite toasty out that day, but he had a great time and we swung by Cold Stone Creamery for a cool treat afterwards.

Practicing his golf pose for future photo shoots ;)

'Assisting' mommy with her ball

Daddy showing Asa the proper golf stance

Enjoying his birthday treat - love those rosey cheeks!

Let's make a cake!

This was one of the most fun meetups our playgroup has had. There's a place in Springdale, AR called 'Cake Party'. The kids were able to decorate a cupcake and a small cake to take home. They had a blast squirting the icing, adding decorations and of course eating the cupcakes. With the cakes, they had a chance to use some airbrush paint to decorate them. Lots of fun!!

First baseball game outing

We went to our first baseball game this summer. We watched the Arkansas Naturals play, munched on hotdogs and enjoyed the great weather.

New experience, takes a serious approach.

Arkansas Naturals' mascot "Strike"

Chillin' out

Last hoorah at Gymnastic Joe's

A monthly meetup for our playgroup has been Gymnastic Joe's. It has been great fun to meet with our friends, celebrate montly birthdays and let the kids run and bounce around for an hour. Asa absolutely loved going and couldn't get enough of the trampolines. We definitely miss our Gym Joe meetups.

Birthday celebration with family

About a week before Asa's 3rd birthday in June, we headed down to Benton to celebrate with the family. Grandparents, great grandparents and an uncle were there to celebrate his big day.

Summer time and s'mores!

We spent several evenings in June making s'mores with our neighbor girls in Fayetteville. We had a lot of fun seeing who could roast the perfect marshmallow :)

Devilish grin as he eats a marshmallow and notice the weapon he's holding! With our friend Jasmine.

Too much fun!

Our dog Hershey trying to score a s'more.

Hershey's best friend Rocky waiting patiently for his share of the loot.

Scraping off every bit of marshmallow that he can.

Snackin' and people watchin'

Asa has always been one to take transitions slowly and needs time to warm up to new places. Such was the case this summer when our playgroup went to a local splash park. It has several toys that squirt water and buckets that fill up with water. Asa however, preferred to sit, eat and people watch. He had a wonderful time doing so :)

A good friend's 3rd birthday party!

What could be more fun than a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese?!?! Asa's good friend Alice celebrated her 3rd birthday in style at Chuck E Cheese. She and Asa are just a couple of weeks apart and have known each other since they were just a few months old, taking turns crying in the church nursery. Oh what memories ;) They have grown up since those days and now enjoy more mature things such as playing games and being silly with bubbles. It was a great time!

Hey you! I'm driving here!

Catching a ride with the birthday girl.

Boy cand daddy drive FAST!

A trip to the Fire Station

In May, our playgroup took a tour of the Bentonville, AR firestation. It is a brand new facility and ranked as one of the top in the nation. The kids had a wonderful time! They got to go through all of the fire trucks, check out the rooms the firemen sleep in, their kitchen and TV room. They weren't too sure of the fireman in full gear, but thought his gear was pretty cool when he took it off.

Asa reading a very important fireman magazine

Checking out some of the equipment

This is serious business!

Cheese :)

Check out the 2 happy guys in the middle :)