labor-ing part 2

the closest and "fun-est" place we found on the Trace is below.
the jones' told me about this place-
plus my parents had already been here
so... joey and i packed up our crew and headed for an adventure. we grabbed mimi and padre along the way:)

waterfall fun (oh so cold)

the bear thought he was quite the navigation pro- thanks to padre for being on lifeguard duty.





obstacle course creek bed fun...

over and under and thru the creek to where it ends we don't know... oh but wait- crazy part is... we did find the end of the cool creek. thing just stopped and i guess went underground???

splash fun

and very importantly... birthday celebrating!

2 cousins, padre, and my crew after a small hike for a not- so- amazing view. sticking with just the waterfall next time!

only a small bit of labor-ing was done on Labor Day this year and that consisted of what i would call "smallish hiking" and lots of fun.

Here's to the end of summer and start of fall. even though the weather doesn't feel to fallish right now...

labor-ing part uno

our labor day weekend started out with a b-fast in honor of "aunt dee's surprise visit to the America". she does amazing things in China. what an awesome lady:) we love you aunt dee!

it was so wonderful to be apart of this moment.. aunt dee flew from China and surprised her dad "Grandpa Wayne". it had been a long while since they had seen each other and well... she was hidden behind a couple of the big guys in the fam until she got right up to him and he spotted her in the crowd of folks. and let me add- as usual there is always a crowd of folks around grandpa wayne- he has more grandchildren than i can even remember (>40) plus great grandkids and there are always strays around too!

a motley crew with precious puppies. my bunch loves hanging out with these cousins (ok- 2nd cousins).

more cousin love.

(with a shout out to jade's mom- it's time to start your blog!)

******* *******

labor-ing part 2 begins like this...

a quick road trip with padre following behind in the jeep...

and the wind in our hair...

stay tuned for our adventure!

local stuff

find a local country market that serves dinner and has a band and i promise fun will be had and bellies will be full.

then find some friends, yes even little ones will do. then sing, dance, eat and play. but don't count on everyone posing for pictures!

yummy breakfast and porch time

Saturday we spent time doing some favorite things...
eating a yummy breakfast here...

and hanging out on the porch here.



Joey helped build this wonderful little cabin in the woods. It's not our cabin, but we are family!

Bear loved the front steps...

Mimi sat for a quick pic too before she started rockin'!








I could sit on a porch swing forever- especially with my hubby beside me. Man oh man, what a great place to do some thinkin' and sittin'!

Padre did some widdle-ing and story telling of his younger days...

the big kids tried it all...

they can't wait to sleep there. me? i'll have to think on it:)

we had a perfect restful family day full of memories!

bales

i love bales of hay. i love to see them in the fields.
my kids love to play on them.
here are my munckins flanked by the 2 C brothers!

bus ride

hey come on, you wanna take a bus ride...

Tuesday was finally the big day. Braxton got to board the ole school bus with Briley. He's waited a long time for this!

more bittersweet memories!

i say a prayer every morning as now 2 of my kiddos ride off to school.

little,BIG

though they have more than their share of quarrels...

little brother is going to miss BIG brother when he starts disappearing every day to school.