Trunk Show for Mom's Business - RAGALAK Designs

Everyone is invited to a.....



This the sewing business that my Mom and Mr. Bill Rigby of Forest have started - Even my daddy is helping them with some sewing!

Visit their blog for more pictures of their work:


Email me at the follwoing address if you plan on coming or need directions:
Ashley.Burks@tronox.com


Look forward to seeing all of you :)

Sea World in Orlando, FL

On Saturday, August 17th, Stephen and I went to Sea World in Orlando. On this trip, my sister, Ronda, and my sweet niece, Madeline got to with us! We has so much fun, even though it rained on us and was very humid. We got to see Turtles, Stingray, Penguins, Sea Otters, Dolphins, Sharks, and Manatee. Stephen and Madeline were able to touch the Stingray! Below is a slide show of the animal pictures from Sea World.

While at the Penguin encounter, Madeline wanted to show all how Penguins walked. It was so precious!


Due to Ronda being pregnant, she was not able ride with Madeline on the rides at Shamu's Happy Hour. Therefore, next in line was Aunt AE! We rode the Shamu Express (a pretty rapid roller coaster for a 3.5 year old). As soon as I sat Madeline in the seat and got her lab bar down and locked, she raised her hands high in the air and yelled "Go Shamu Go!" I was laughing from the get go with her on this ride. To my surprise, she kept her hands straight up in the air through out the entire ride and was also laughing! After the Shamu express, we rode the Jazzy Jellies. This ride lifted us straight up in the air in a "egg" and spun around the middle pole. And of course, she kept tell Aunt AE to spin it faster! The last ride that we rode was The Flying Fiddler or as Madeline called it, the Crab ride. This was a giant, bright red fiddler crab that took us 20 feet up in the air. It then begins to jump in a vertical descent in a quick series of short drops. During each drop, she just giggled! Riding these rides with Madeline was so much fun and I know that I have made my other sisters, mom, & dad very jealous of having shared such an experience with Madeline! Sorry Family! Below are the pictures of Madeline and me on the rides at Sea World.

Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa Bay, FL

Stephen and I went to Busch Gardens Africa today while we were staying with my sister in Rockledge, FL. Rockledge is about bout 45 mins southeast of Orlando. (We came to visit Ronda and my niece, Madeline, for our anniversary). Stephen decided that we would go to Busch Gardens because of the animals at the amusement park. He said what better combination: Safari animals, roller coasters, and water rides! But, little did we know when we set out for Busch Gardens that Tampa Bay was 2 hours from Ronda's house. But, at this point, we had already purchased the tickets online so we buckled our seat belts and told "Lucy" (the Garmin) to get us to Busch Gardens.

While at Busch Gardens, we took a train ride through a scenic habitat of hippos, hyenas, meerkats, vultures, a Nile crocodile, giraffes and oh such much more. We also walked through the Jungla where we saw Monkeys and Tigers - Oh My! Below are some of the pictures of these animals.

We rode the Montu - one of the tallest and longest inverted roller coasters in the world. It had the thrill of an inverse diving loop and a 60-foot vertical loop while we were enduring speeds of over 60 miles per hour and a G-force of 3.85. Wow what a ride! We also rode the SheiKra and the Kumba. The SheiKa is a one-of-a-kind experience: 200 feet up, 90 degrees straight down, traveling at 70 mph! It has a true 90-degree drop, an Immelmann loop and a second vertical dive into an underground tunnel. Oh, and did I mention that it was floorless? Kumba has an initial 135 foot drop, plunges from 110 feet into a diving loop, spirals 360 degrees, and also has a vertical loop.

We encountered the swift-flowing white water of the Congo River Rapids. And, of course, our side (me and Stephen) spinned through a geyser and face an ominous waterfall. So, as you can see from the pic below, I was not a happy camper and I did not like Stephen at this point! This was the only reason that I did not want to ride this ride.

But, besides being soaked on the Congo ride, we had a great trip. It was fun and a great adventure with Stephen! Tomorrow, we are going to SeaWorld..... I'll keep ya'll posted (hehe) on how that adventure turns out for us!

My Silly Niece and Nephews!!!

Below are video clips that a some girls record of my niece and nephews this summer. These 2 girls were staying with Kristin and Ken this summer in efforts to help Kristin out with them. As you can tell from the clips below, they had their hand fulls!

Joshua with Daddy's guitar and cackling!


Weird mask that Elizabeth got for her birthday!


Joshua and his monkey bread with his broke arm! Sugar makes him very hyper!!!


Story time with Elizabeth and Corban. Be prepared - you never know what is coming out of their mouths!!!