Double Digits!

Catherine is 10 today!  It has gone by so fast!  She was born at 3:50 in the morning on Thanksgiving Day.  We were (and are!) so blessed and thankful to have the gift of her.  Here are some pictures of her throughout the years.

Catherine at 2 days old.

6 weeks old.

Almost one.

2 years old.

On her third birthday.

At four.

Now five.

Age six.

Seven years old.

Eight.

Nine.

Taken last month, at nearly ten years old!

Happy Birthday, Catherine!

October Zoo Visit

In the first half of October, we went to the zoo for a field trip. 

Checking out the flamingos.

Posing at the orangutan statue.

Seeing the real thing!

Lunch time.

Stopping to look at the zebras.

And we saw the 3 week old baby zebra!  The kids loved that.

Looking at the sleepy young lion.

This lion was not so sleepy!

Taking a break.

Yay, our friends are here!

Climbing time.

Anthony loved the little lion.

A favorite spot for kids.

The girls with Mr. Ape.

The kids piled onto the tiger statue.

Looking at the blind cave fish in the jungle.

A picture I've never taken before - one of the vampire bats!

My lovely friend and one of her daughters.

Caiman.

The king cobra was raising its head!  Never seen that before.

This yellow anaconda was active as well.  We cannot go to the zoo without seeing the snakes!

Early October

Here are some pictures from early October:

Enjoying a treat while sitting on a giant bag of beans.

Ni Ni Wolf!

Anthony with one of his beloved cats, Mittens.

Snuggling or squishing?  You decide!

Catherine with Cloud.

Anne with one of the black cats.

Ah, yes, it is Boots.

Late September Cookout

On one of the last days of September, we had a rare still day, so Dan started a fire in the fire pit. 

Every one sat around and took turns cooking our dinner.

Roasting hotdogs.

What a fun cookout spot right on our own property!

When the kids were full, the dog (and cats) got a share.

On to the good stuff:  roasted marshmallows!

We had a fun, relaxing time.

Trip to Branson, Day Four

On our fourth and last full day in Branson, we went back to Silver Dollar City for the day.  We had buy one day, get one day free tickets, and we were able to use them two days later. 

Ready for some more fun!

We went right in to the ticket takers.

Playing in the giant tree houses.

Anthony had a blast.

We went to the homestead area, where the kids got to pet the goats.

Anthony loved the goats.

We stopped for a while and watched a man making boards out of a tree trunk with an axe.

Anthony and I waited while the rest of them went on the Lost River.  I took this picture and then looked up and they were going by.

The river explorers.

The mother of all play structures!

There was water to shoot at things.

Up inside the play structure, there were lots of balls everywhere and you could shoot them from several different levels.

Ready, aim, fire!

We were up really high!  Anne is down below in pink.

At the bottom there were contraptions to get the balls up and delivered all over.  The kids loved sending the balls up.

Go Anne!

Everyone also got to ride their favorite ride, which for the oldest four, meant roller coasters, which meant mostly me riding with them.  I certainly got my fill of roller coasters for a while.  After SDC, we went back to the hotel, ate dinner, then went to the pool for our last evening.  On Saturday, we packed up and left Branson.  What a fun trip!