Life's a Zoo

“There's no limit to how much you'll know, depending how far beyond zebra you go.” ~Dr. Suess

Boy do I love a three day weekend! Any time we have to spend together as a family is priceless to us. We woke up Friday morning and embarked on a journey that kept us outside until after sundown. Our first stop was for sticky buns and milkshakes at Knaus. Those friendly Amish farmers to our south truly know what they are doing. We stood in line for 30 minutes just to get our fingers sticky with yummy goodness. Connor enjoyed each bite, and wanted more milkshake than we were willing to share! Their milkshake brings our boy to their farm. (Oh I said it!)
From there we headed to meet our friends at Miami Metro Zoo. I'm not sure what more visitors were watching, the animals, or our crew. We were a sight, and the kids were a hoot. Connor isn't quite in the baby world, and not quite in the big kids world, and toddles around in between the two. We enjoyed the time we all spent together. I am constantly in awe of how long we have known each other, and how much we have all grown up together. I still remember the sleepovers and the adventures, and now it will be fun to watch our little ones grow together. Now the real question is who is going to start dating who first and how much toilet paper are we going to have to clean up from our front yard as adults!
Our little boy really had so much fun!!! We gave him the freedom to run around and be silly, and he even got to feed the giraffe. Our huge giraffe friend seemed disinterested after a few moments of his noshing with us, and I had to have a little talk with him. Let's just say he answered to "Geoffrey".


Day number two of our wonderfully long weekend consisted of finally building Connor's big birthday present! Our friends/neighbors lent us a hand and Robert and Tim worked all day to build our great swing set. Connor and I spent all day in the yard watching and playing. Our little C-dog loved being outside and came up with all sorts of new ways to express himself. He loves to be "silly" and even has the most adorable "silly" face. Eyes up to the side, mouth open in a giggle, and head bobbing, and we know we are "Being Silly". It is my new favorite. He's also trying to express himself with new syllables, and we have been hearing "kopey kopey gopey gopey" a lot recently. Who knows what he's saying, but I'm sure he's creating his dissertation.


All done and Connor is ready to slide. He knew just how to climb up the ladder all by himself and sit right down to slide. He does it over and over again and is just smitten with his big boy swingset. Now we have to teach him how to climb the rock wall....no biggie.

Virginia is for Lovers

Dogwoods blooming in the springtime
Blazing colors in the fall
The softness of a summer twilight
Sweet honeysuckle fills the air
My heart will always lead me there

Mother to our Founding Fathers
Birthplace of Democracy
Your fields bear scars of raging battles
Witnessed the fight to set men free
The triumph of equality

~Virginia by Lynn Klotz Rinker

I couldn't wait to get up into the mountains. I couldn't wait to see the beautiful fall colors. I couldn't wait to breathe the crisp fresh air. I couldn't wait to see Casey, Hilary, and the Bakewell's. Now I can't wait to go back. The flight up couldn't have been any better, and Connor even got to have his own seat. His face on landing was priceless, and he seemed to love every minute of this flying experience.

It was a bittersweet trip, and we thought of daddy many times. Our last fall LU trip was to celebrate his 60th birthday, and when planning this trip, he was planning on being there. It became very important to try and recapture one of my favorite pictures from the previous trip and we went on a wild goose chase to find the right street. All we could remember is that when we had passed it the first time we had all gasped and dad quickly parked the truck on the side of the wet road so we could jump out and snap a shot. Above is what we got this year. I think it was even more beautiful on the previous trip, and it makes me happy to think we all got to experience the beauty in all of it's glory together.
Uncle Casey is now in the process of getting his Master's, and to many freshmen he is known as Mr. Guise. He holds a GA position and I couldn't wait to see his little cubicle, and then even more thrilled to see that Hilary's cubicle is caddy-corner to his. I am so proud of both of their hard work, and I would have loved to be lucky enough to take a class with them as my "teacher". Those kids don't know how great they have it. The school has grown so much and there were times I was amazed at some of the changes. It's huge, offices have moved, and maybe we were a little lost. Way to go Liberty!


Of course we spent time out in the beautiful fall weather, and I tried to get as much of it on film as possible. Connor wasn't thrilled with sleeves on this trip and we found it difficult to even put a jacket on him. What a funny little guy. We would put him in a long sleeved shirt and he would hold out his wrists and look at us and moan. One thing he did love was his Uncle Casey. He couldn't get enough of him and lavished hugs and kisses on him. It is so precious to see the bond they have, and I am grateful for it. A young boy cannot have enough strong, loving, Christian men in his life.
While we were there we got to see a theatre production. This was my first ever show in the new Tower Theater and I was in awe. Little Shop of Horrors was wonderful and the whole complex is enviable. No raked stage for them. Real rehearsal rooms. A costume shop with sewing machines. I was amazed. Again, those freshmen have no idea how great they have it. Way to go Liberty!


Fall and Football always go hand in hand, and really was a main reason we went up at this time. We met up with the Aunt Merilee and Cousins Megan and Lindsey for a wonderful afternoon of football fun. I was so excited to spend time with them, and Tim couldn't be any happier to get in a game of Liberty Football. To make it even better we won! I love spending time with my Bakewell family, and they got a baby fix. Aunt Merilee even got to hold a sleeping Connor for a little while. Now it's Megan or Lindsey's turn!

Just to add one more gold star to this weekend my dear Hilary put together a little play date with some of our LU Theatre friends. It is amazing that our little ones are all within about 6 weeks of each other. It was too much fun seeing them together, and even more fun for us girls to talk. I found it so interesting to see how quiet Connor got when he was around the other two. I've never seen him like that. It took him a little while to warm up, but after they all got together pounding out a beautiful melody on the piano, Connor felt better about everything and started to act like himself. I took lots of pictures of the playing and we have great video of the giggles. I felt like I already knew these two beautiful babies, but it was so heartwarming to get to know them in person. Rhett is such a character, and his joy is contagious. Bea is so feminine and dainty, and seems just so self-assured you just stare in awe. When they started running after each other squealing down the hall my heart just felt so content.

This trip seemed like it was over too quickly. I wasn't ready to leave. I needed more time to enjoy the happiness I felt while I was there. Every moment we spent there was so full. We didn't know when we booked it, but I needed this trip. It was just what the Lord knew I would need. It is a reminder of what Fall represents, but there is hope in knowing that Spring will come. There is so much I could write about this wonderful weekend. We laughed and cried. We saw beauty all around us, and that includes in the eyes of our loved ones. Many new memories were made, and maybe the most memorable would have to be Connor's first kiss.
Now how precious is that?

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!

Good Grief, Connor’s first foray into trick-or-treating was a success. Naturally, thanks to Connor’s natural appearance, he went as Charlie Brown. We then got creative and Kristin went as Sally and I went as Linus. "My sweet Babboo" was uttered multiple times throughout the night. At first, we were a little concerned because the weather here has not been cooperative of late. Over the weekend and into Monday morning, parts of South Florida had accumulated almost a foot of rain. However, by Monday afternoon, most of the rain had moved away and left a nice cool evening in its place.

Our first stop was to Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Hackett’s house. It was here that we first devised the plan for Connor to go as Charlie Brown so we figured it would be appropriate to stop by. After that, we went down to Grandma Glenda’s. From here we took Connor/Charlie Brown out to a few houses on the block. Connor’s walking has been getting better daily so we decided it would be fun to allow him to walk as much of the neighborhood as he could. He did great. We stopped at a few of Grandma Glenda’s neighbors who knew Connor and they were excited to see him. For the most part, the decorations did not bother Connor. Occasionally something would trigger a prop to scream, or something would move suddenly and he would briefly pause, but after a second, he would brave on forward. The same can not be said for our little pup Roxy, who of course went as Snoopy.

After meeting up with Aunt Kaitlyn and her friends for some more trick or treating, we headed back to Grandma Glenda’s to sort through our spoils. For Connor, this meant climbing over, sitting on top of, and throwing any and all candy he could get a hold of. As a treat, Connor got his first lollipop. Not surprisingly, he knew exactly what to do with it and finished it off with no problem.

This coming weekend we are going back to one of the places we truly love. We are heading back to Lynchburg to visit Casey and of course Liberty. As is usual, this trip is going to be busy and full of fun, food, friends, football and theater. We plan on taking Connor (this will be his second trip to Liberty) to his first Liberty Football game. I of course am most excited about this. We also plan on taking in Liberty’s production of Little Shop of Horrors while also setting aside time for great friends we have not seen in a while and family coming up from North Carolina. I expect this to be exactly what we need right now.