Escape - I mean an adult retreat

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a fantastic time enjoying family, the community, and the outdoors! A huge shoutout to Aunt Theresa and Uncle Chuck for watching the kids for a few days so that Matt and I could have uninterrupted adult decompression!

We started off our Thanksgiving by delivering meals for the community dinner in Boonville. Almost 800 meals were provided! We then had lunch at my mom's - lots of good food, MadLibs, and charades. Fun times. We then drove the kids to Aunt Theresa and Uncle Chuck's - a lot of road time but great visits! 

Friday was exit day for our retreat. We had a lazy morning and then headed down to the lake. Taunted the kids with this picture from one of our favorite ice cream spots. 

Baylee came with us! She was a little unsure of why she was there...

Our little cottage was fantastic. We were nearby to shops, restaurants, and quiet. Oh the quiet. 

We hiked around Ha Ha Tonka State Park. The weather was perfect. 

The Devil's Kitchen. 

Near Ha Ha Tonka Spring. Some great views. 

Baylee so wanted a squirrel! 

Castle ruins in the background!

I got the puzzle finished on Thanksgiving morning. Such an odd one! There was one missing piece - grrr. 
 

Fall concert and circus field trip

Nola had a big week of events which kept us on our toes! We hope that everyone is having a wonderful November!

Nola got all dressed up (in my clothes sans the jeans lol) for her 5th grade concert. She ended up matching her bestie (unplanned!). 

We Has Jazz had a lot of catchy tunes. Nola had a duet part with a classmate. She did great!

All the kids did great - it was a fun time. Thanks to Grandma Val for joining us! 

Friday was circus time in KC! Nola and her friends were so excited. This picture was following dad's order to get cotton candy ;)

The camels! We saw the jiggly hump camel that Brenner rode on his fifth grade field trip!

Nola decided that she wanted to ride the elephants.

Priceless face! 

Nice poncho, Brenner! He was chilly in the car on the way to Nola's basketball game.

Defenders won 14-2. Nola was sick the day before and bit sluggish. But she was still working on her boxing out - using the booty that the good Lord gave her! The team played very well together. 

Nola decorated her door and then had a friend issue the next day. She had good reminders that every friendship is different. Nola had the courage to go talk to the friend and they worked it out. Nice job, girl! 

A gorgeous sunrise - God is magnificent. 

Nola working on her saxophone skills. It's loud and sometimes in tune! 

We broke out this ugly fairy/unicorn/swirly puzzle that Aunt Lynnie gave Nola for her birthday - 1000 pieces!!!! Weird designs but we are getting it done. Thanks for Grandma Val's help on Saturday! 
 

Fall means basketball

We are up to our eyeballs in leaves and basketball! We have had some gorgeous weather and amazing sunrises.

My cell phone camera did not do this sunrise down to the bus justice - but it was spectacular!

So. Many. Leaves. Nice wind over the weekend....but they didn't all blow away!

Spectacular color with the leaves too!

Nola had some birthday money and wanted a watch that measured some vitals. She talked Matt into buying a more expensive one....hmmm.

Girls shopping day on Saturday. Nola picked lunch at Texas Roadhouse......she also ordered a blue lemonade which I said looked gross. It promptly gave her a stomach ache. Thank goodness for more rolls to settle her tummy! 

Defenders basketball gear arrived! 

The boys spent the weekend at the camera hunting (seeing few deer but freezing their behinds!)

Matt installed some new cameras to watch over the cabin from his phone. Who is the white rabbit in the picture?!

Sunday was Defender basketball. The girls are playing in a 5th grade league. They came ready to play! 

Blurry picture from facebook live video but Nola's form was perfection on this layup. She scored 5 points. Defenders for the win 15-4. 

COVID kept Grandma Val from attending games last year so we were so happy that she could come with us. Post-game celebratory shakes! 
 

Picture from Nola's fall party that I forgot last week. Matching cheek tattoos! 

Happy Birthday, Brenner!

We had a fabulous week celebrating Brenner's 14th birthday- we are so proud of the fine young man that he is growing into - right before our eyes! It seems Matt and I were just bringing him home from the hospital - sniff sniff! 

Obviously not Brenner, but the obligatory deer photo with dad!

Brenner asked for "The End" cake from Minecraft. He was very pleased with it (most of the adults had no clue what is was!). It was tasty - all gone by the end of the day. 

Brenner asked for money as he would like to build his own PC. He was so gracious reading the cards and giving gratitude to each one. He was so happy that Aunt Janet gave him arrowheads that Grandpa Bob found at Hermitage over the years. Very cool! 

Some of our rowdy crew - Uncle Chris, Aunt Lynnie, Cousin Charlotte, Nola, and Grammy Vo.  

Cousin fun! 

Brenner has passed up Grammy in height. (The fall foliage gave many of my pictures a red glow!)

He LOVED us singing to him! 

The boys sharing the crystals from the End. 

Black icing = black teeth!

The boys played games, blew up firecrackers, took walks listening to questionable music.....so the music. One friend brought a speaker that had songs with inappropriate lyrics.....I told Brenner that it wouldn't be played in our home and he said "it's not mine". Matt and I both said if it is played again, it will be taken away (hence the walk we think!). Then we heard some f-bombs being dropped so Matt went down and gave them a talking to....he came up chuckling said he got the "Yes sir" he was hoping for. Overall, the boys were excellent and had a fun time (according to Brenner).  

Leaf time for the girls! So much fun! 

Oh Aunt Janet - always a silly one!

Uncle Chuck, Brenner, and Aunt Theresa. 

Grammy, Brenner, and PawPaw Floyd.

Danielle and Kevin with Brenner (Wren made a presence too!).

Aunt Lynnie and Uncle Chris - stair steps! 

Aunt RuthAnn and Grandma Val.  So much love for Brenner - we had a very wonderful time celebrating him! Kudos to Matt for smoking brisket and pork - yummy stuff!