OUR BLOGSPOT HAS CHANGED

I am no longer adding blogs to this site. However, I continue to update our other blog, so please visit www.thecampbellchronicle.blogspot.com to see our updated pics and videos.

"Lunchtime at It's Best" Video

Click on the title to watch my all-time favorite video of the girls...

Our Trip to Connecticut and New York

Keith and I got to have a weekend getaway to CT and NY while Lee Lee watched the girls. CT was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We took a day trip drive up to Massachusetts and back down through CT. The scenic drive was beautiful and the trees were just starting to change colors:We stopped at a Rockwell-esque little town in Massachusetts, walked around, and found a quaint tasty chocolate shop:We ended the day trip in Mystic, CT- a small seatown with lots of scenic areas:While in CT, we stayed with my brother Adam, his wife Carlee, and their little boy Jack. We found a really tasty breakfast spot the first morning there, and took my brother and family back the next morning. Little Jack is a bottomless pit and ate more than Keith and I combined- I'd be a bit worried, but my brother was the same way as a boy:After breakfast, we headed up to a park that overlooks New Haven, followed by a quick tour of the Yale campus, where my brother recently started grad school:After the Yale tour, we headed to NYC to visit Keith's stepbrother, Michael. Michael and his girlfriend Maclaren took us on a few fun walkaround tours of the city, which is particularly fin since Michael is an expert on the history of NYC:
And we came across quite the interesting scene while walking around one night- a robot war contest inside a bar complete with a Pimp Referee and background commentators who reminded us of the commentators' scenes in the movie Dodgeball:

They had a mini-stadium setup with tons of tiny figurine "fans" sitting around the arena while the actual contestants sat outside the arena and controlled the robot battle royale:





















Our Trip to Nana and Papa's

With Nana and Papa's busy summer travels, we decided a trip to Houston was long over due. Avery was thrilled to be there and went into wild child mode once she got around my sister Angela and her husband Scott:

And she got Papa to join in the rough housing:
Unfortunately, getting a good pic of the wild child is near impossible:
So I guess I have to settle for at least getting her to face the camera:
Addie, on the other hand, is our photographic angel and smiles whenever she sees a camera pointing in her direction:










Our Trip to the Exotic Zoo

With the weather finally getting bearable, we decided to take a trip out to a drive-through exotic zoo. The resort guides gave us a few bags of food to feed the animals, and the animals really will come right up to the car:

Avery was thrilled to see the zebras:
But she got a little freaked out at how close they got to us in order to ger to our food. I was even a little worried- I've never heard of death by zebra biting, but this one flashed his teeth right in my face, and I threw half a bag of food out the window to get him away from the car:
The ostriches looked the meanest of all. I opted not to feed them and rolled up the window whenever they came close:
The emus didn't appear to be quite as angry about life as the ostriches, but their beaks are even pointier and their eyes are red, so they made me just as nervous:







Out and About

A Fun Day at Krause Springs:

More Feeding the Gigantic Catfish at "The Pier" Restaurant on Lake Travis:
Although the my sister and her family sadly moved away from San Antonio right as we moved to Austin, we were pretty excited to have Keith's dad and family move back to San Antonio (from San Diego) this month. Papa John and Keith's brother Jake came up to meet Addie and hang out for a bit:
Addie was able to join in on the pool fun at our second trip to Volente Water Park:

While Avery couldn't get enough of the frog slide:
Addie was quite proud of the disastrous, disgusting mess she made of herself with her biter biscuit. Thank goodness a pool was nearby, otherwise we would've had to hose her down:
A Third Round at our Favorite Inks Lake State Park- a great place to picnic and swim:


And the potty training has proved so successful that even in a bathing suit in the water, Avery held it until she had a chance to get her swimsuit off and use our port-a-potty:












Around the House Antics

Yet again, Avery finds a way to turn a slightly risky situation into a straight-up dangerous one: Addie's not only proud to be eating solid foods, but adamantly tyring to eat them on her own:
And she finally sits up well enough to join in on the pirate pool fun:

Avery and Addie's First Bath Together-
Addie looks a bit hesitant about being confined in a small, slippery, wet place with her crazy, unpredictable sister:
Perhaps we should've approached the potty training with a promise of a "Go Diego" acton figure. Keith bought her the figure on his way home from work as a gift for her first successful potty training day. I've never seen her so excited to open a gift. She held it up and exclaimed "WOW!":
Avery Continues Her Random Playtime-
She loves to find new, random things to line up in OCD-esque manners. On this day, she got a hold of plastic, colored CD cases and decided that her Polly Pocket dolls needed to be placed inside the cases and lined up on the piano:






Our Princesses

One of Avery's favorite things to do is dress up as a "princess" with a tiara, her tu-tu, high heels, and a wand. She was quite upset with me at first for letting Addie be a princess with a tiara and wand as well, but soon realized playing princess is more fun when you have a fellow princess to enjoy the excitement:












Hamilton Pool and Salt Lick

Keith's former P.A. school friend, Travis and his girlfriend Katy, came down to visit from Atlanta for a few days before we all headed to another P.A. school friend's wedding in a little town called Yoakum, TX. We had a fun day visiting a natural spring pool called Hamilton Pool followed by eating out at the most famous near-Austin barbecue restaurant- The Salt Lick.


As soon as we got to Hamilton Pool, Avery put Travis to work demanding he keep her entertained: And, as usual, Avery had no problem making friends with other kids her age: Addie enjoyed some time in the pool, but little piggly-wiggly is always content when she has a bottle in her mouth:
A final photo before we headed off the Salt Lick:

As we ate the all-you-can-eat-barbecue, Avery came up with a new way to request food. She'd shove the fork in my face and have the fork tell me her resquests for food in ventriloqusit style. It's most popular request was to say "Mommy, I need to feed Avery some more beans":

And Addie, as always, chilled in the stroller: The Aftermath of a day in the sun followed by all-you-can-eat barbecue: