Welcome Fall!

We were so excited that Auntie C and Cousins H&B were here to celebrate the first weekend of autumn.  We love when they come to visit us and always plan special things to do.  

 Roasting hot dogs, marshmallows and sipping apple cider...the perfect way to begin the autumn season!

Our day for pumpkins began with some delicious pumpkin waffles and then we were off to the pumpkin patch for some autumn fun.  

Three kiddos excited for some pumpkin fun

 We were excited that the farm we visited didn't just have a pumpkin patch, but a large open area filled with fun activities for all ages.  The kids were thrilled too!  They had a small feeding and petting zoo with goats, chickens, pigs, and rabbits.  There were also rubber ducky races, a large playground, a wooden fort, a ginormous slide, tricycle track, a corn maze and the list could go on and on.  

 "Pumpkins in the cornfields

Gold among the brown,

Leaves of rust and scarlet

Trembling slowly down.

Birds that travel southward

Lovely time to play,

Nothing is as pleasant

As an autumn day!"

~Author Unknown

Ahhh...life in the country!

Look Who's Five!

  Happy 5th Birthday, Cousin  B!!!  We enjoyed celebrating your special day with you.

August Mini Get-Away

Since Daddy had a busy work week, Titus and I decided to join Papa, Grammy, and Cousins Hadley and Braxton for a mini get-away in Branson.  Our original plan had been to take the kids to Silver Dollar City for some fun.  Unfortunately, they were closed for the week so we had to come up with other alternatives to keep three kiddos entertained.

One of our alternatives consisted of a visit to College of the Ozarks.  I love the idea of this college!  It is a non-denominational Christian college where students work their way through college with zero tuition costs and when they finish zero debt.  The students work hard and earn their degrees.  What a concept in today's society!  ;)   On their campus they have many things to see and do.

Our first stop was to the Ralph Foster Museum.  It contains the original clunker car from the show The Beverly Hillbillies, a huge weapons display, Native American artifacts, many taxidermy wild animals, a collection of Kewpie dolls, musical instruments, and historical pieces from around the Ozarks.

They also have a beautiful chapel on their campus.  I love looking at old churches, what a spiritual history they hold within their walls. 

The next stop was Point Look Out.  The highest point in Taney County.  What an incredible view!

Branson in the distance

College of the Ozarks also is home to a mill, a basket weaving shop, a jam and jelly kitchen, a dairy farm, and a tractor museum.  

A grave reminder of Matt 18: 5-6: "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.  But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."

A Walk in the Park

After months (literally) of daily high temperatures being in the 100 degrees, this week was a very nice reprieve.   It has been in the low 60's each morning this week and the afternoons have been in the 70's and 80's.  Ahhhh, autumn...we are so ready to welcome you!

The heat has kept us from taking walks and playing in the park, and we have been missing it a lot.

18 month pictures