Wash Day is Difficult for Audrey

I thought this picture was just too cute. It says a lot about Audrey and her attachment to her blanket. She has a hard time making it through a couple hours without it. That is why it is so difficult for her when I have to wash it. She can hardly stand it that she can see the blanket hanging on the clothesline but she can't hold it and cuddle with it. So this is the next best thing I guess. She was also very tired today and that made the separation that much worse. When she saw that I had washed it she cried big crocodile tears for 15 minutes or so and then settled for just standing by the clothesline cuddling it and sucking her thumb the best she could.

Labor Day in Indiana

Audrey was like Jake's little mommy at the zoo. She loves it when someone smaller actually listens to her. It's like having a life size doll!

The cute baby tiger at the zoo got lots of attention.

Casey and Caleb are holding pet snakes that Brad found in the yard while mowing. The snakes got rides on the slide and got lots of attention before being released later that night.

Since it seems like it had been quite awhile that we had been out to Indiana we decided to head out over Labor Day. We left Saturday morning and came back Monday afternoon. It always seems like kind of a quick trip when we go just for the weekend but we were able to pack a lot of fun into those couple days. Saturday the kids enjoyed just playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Dad got a "new" bike for Casey which he was thrilled about. After his first ride on it he was already trying to make a deal that he would trade his bike at home for this one that dad got him. He said that it goes a lot better in the grass. They played ball in the yard, held snakes that Caleb and Kadin brought over, and enjoyed running around with Chip, mom and dad's dog. Friday night dad made a campfire and we made smores and then the kids had an "outdoor theater" night. By 8:00 they were pretty much all ready to crash. It's was baths and to bed for all the kiddos! Sunday we had planned to do something outside since it was supposed to be nice. It didn't turn out to be quite as warm as we had thought. We went to a park that has a little beach and the kids played in the water a little bit but turned blue pretty fast. So mostly we just enjoyed the park and a picnic lunch. Saturday night Ryan and I had "date night" and left the kids with mom and dad. We went out to eat and intended to go for a walk on a scenic trail through the woods. Our supper was very good and extremely relaxing. Our walk....not so much good or relaxing! We made it about 100 yards and were both getting eaten alive by mosquitos. They put an end to our walk pretty quickly. Monday was probably the highlight for the kids as we headed to an outdoor Amish run "zoo". They had all kinds of animals. The first thing we saw was a baby tiger. It was the cutest thing! The kids all got to pet it. They also enjoyed feeding the animals, milking a "cow", and riding on a pony cart. After eating a few snacks at the zoo, we headed for home. The trip home was kind of long as Chelsea didn't sleep much and she's kind of hard to entertain for that long. We were happy to be back and were also glad for a nice supper than Ryan's mom had waiting for us when we got back. We all pretty much crashed when we finally made it home and to bed!