How can October be gone???

Miss me?  I thought you might.

Anyone else feel crazy right now?

I absolutely adore Autumn.  LOVE the change of seasons.  The trees changing.  Ahhhh...

I just don't feel like I have been able to soak it in this year.  Might be the 2 crazies I have tailing me.  Or, it might that we are just so blessed in so many ways right now that I can't seem to remember what day it is.

Blah, blah, blah.

All that to say... I missed a few days of blogging that I wanted to do.  You lived.  I lived.  All is well.

Something super fun.  We just got back from a little mini-vacation to Branson!  LOVE it there.  We usually go at least once a year, and it is usually with my super-great mom and dad-in-law.  They love our kids so much and we love spending this awesome family time together.  (I bet they are always more than excited to get back to their "quiet" lives after spending extended periods of time with the crazy.)

We did so many fun things, but also relaxed. 

We went to a really neat cat refuge.  It blows my mind that people choose to take on, oh say, a tiger OR a bear as a pet and then decide after the poor animal is mostly grown that they can't handle it.  Really!  Blows my mind.

A bear... always a good pet choice.

Love this one and his expression!

There was a monkey named GOOBER... awful close to someone
else's name! 

So many of these animals had just been released into the wild.  Can you imagine?!?!  Some, had been rescued from their homes after owners decided it was too much.  I just couldn't begin to wrap my mind around it.  There are lots of them.  Dozens of tigers, lions, bears, a monkey, caracals and other cats like panthers and more.  My house feels like National Geographic at times with 2 dogs, a cat, a lizard and a frog.  But, wow.  Crazy...

We saw a fun show that was full of pets.  Cats, dogs, pigs, birds, oh my!  It was so kid-friendly and my two boys loved it.  They could be loud during parts of it and not get shushed!  So great.

We did a bunch of shopping.  Because, it is Branson.  Love the shopping.

Cooper went to a show with Grandma only.  Elvis.  Loved it.  He now has some new "moves" and a love for a dead performer like no other.

We went to the Butterfly Palace.  Always fun.  The kids still don't understand why they can't touch and pick up the poor critters. 

My kids look excited... I know.

We ate.  Oh, did we eat.  Lots.  We had a few "moments" in restaurants, but mostly they were because of a lack of decent service.  We did find a mexican restaurant that was AWESOME.  I love that kind of fare.  LOVE.

The trees were in full color this weekend.  It was beautiful.  I, of course, couldn't catch a decent shot of it while we were driving.  I tried.  Really.  But, this photography thing... not my thing.  I am happy with a couple decent shots.  My photographer friends will cringe, I am sure. 

I wish I could have captured it better.  It was something.

We laugh so much as a family.  I am very thankful for that.  There are times when I could lose my mind, but we usually find the comedy in it.  For instance...

Carter took a bath with his daddy, (I am sure Cory wants me to share this!) and he is learning to use the potty, (see previous post!) and there may have been a moment when Cory was yelling for me to come into the bathroom and I was doing my best to not hear it.  Maybe.  It is amazing how quickly that little one can tell you what he needs to do and then... Whoops!  Does it.  In the tub.  With his daddy.  HA HA HA HA!  I laughed.  Cory did too, I promise.

Also, Cooper always, always makes us laugh.  His one-liners and zingers keep us on our toes.  He was feeling a little car sick and Grandma was trying to help by pointing things out to look at outside as we were driving.  Cooper looked at her and said with much concern... "Did you forget my stomach hurts??? Can you stop talking?!?"  Oh dear.  NO manners. 

Then, he was watching a video on the way home and was repeating a part of it where a little boy is singing (badly out-of-tune) to a little girl, whom he loves.  Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.  Finally I looked at him and asked why he had to keep watching that part?  (The out-of-tune was wearing on my nerves.)  And he let us know he was getting ideas for one of the little girls in his class.  Great.  Already. 

I could write a novel just on the things that make us laugh coming out of these two boys.  Maybe someday I will. 

We had so much fun.  We laughed and pulled our hair out.  All-in-all, a success!!!

Love & Laughter,
abby