Over the River and Through the Woods ...

I know. I know. I'm sorry.

Here's some more things we did in November:


I loved on my Grandma Candy



Lennon loved on her Queenie


Shawn loved on his Meggie

These two loved the site of their legacy all together




These three realized were all very thankful for one another




These two were just super cute

These two freaked out about this:

Ahhh...there is nothing like going on a walk in the woods with a nice red wine roadie. That is until your really expensive annoying dog...

Runs off the side of the trail and gets tangled in the brush...

Then gets off her leash and finds a mysterious mass of hair and starts running...

And running ...

And running...
Until Aunt Laura, who is much more accustom to country life, stops her and discovers her big catch. A dead rat. Nice Freida.

What table manners Lucie has. I knew something was off when I signed her up for etiquette classes and the teacher wanted to be paid in milk bones.

This is why I love the farm so much.

Oh and I ran the Turkey Trot again this year. I did MUCH better this time and actually sprinted the last mile!

Then Valerie came over ....

And got a makeover.

This plus...
This plus...
This plus...

Equals ...
Two SUPER cute gingerbread houses

And four sugared up cousins.

Take me to the River 2009!

Andy and I joined our friends again this year for the trip to the Roaring River State Park in Missouri and Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It was a little rainy this year, but still beautiful. I love this place more and more every time I go. It's so spiritual and peaceful and though the first day is hard without it, I really like that I get zero cell phone coverage. It was our 4 year wedding anniversary as well. Happy Anniversary Farvre!

This is the view from our balcony patio. We were in new cabins this year ... totally not roughing it!Of course I had to make some treats for the trip. Fishing bobber cake pops. Oh Lordy, I'm becoming obsessed.

I thought I made way too many, but they were gobbled up like candy. Wait, they ARE candy!

All of these things, plus bubbling, steaming, perfectly combined, Laura's - uh hem ... Chris' World Famous cowboy stew equals ...

Three very happy boys home from a full day of fishing and three very happy girls (not pictured as we ate our chili for breakfast and it was way too early for make-up and curling irons and botox injections).

Now ... that's better! Here we are before indulging in our spa treatments at the Palace Hotel in Eureka Springs. I'm SO FREAKING jealous that that Val and Laura both got Curtis aka Kip from Napoleon Dynamite aka Magic Hands. He's so awesome, seriously, marriages are in danger.

Here's me in the steam room channeling Lucille Ball.

The story about this hotel: this crook Dr. Baker "treated" cancer patients with his magic elixir. Total crap, he wasn't a doctor and people dropped like flies around this place. The "hotel" had a morgue if that tells you anything. Dr. Baker was later figured out and finally arrested.

I love coming to the Crescent but I'm 100% sure I could never spend the night.

Not with pictures like these hanging on the walls. I mean what's wrong with a good "ole sparky" demonstration displayed outside of the bathroom which is down a long, creepily quiet hall, which has antique fire hoses on the walls like... "The Shining"?

Nothing is wrong. Just like there is nothing wrong with these "Sleeping Angels". Umm..Sleeping's ass...they are dead and they creep me out.

So does this owl/gargoyle/demon thing that is on the mantel in the hotel lobby.

Then we leave the hotel and see this. THIS I love. Hippies make me happy.

So do hula girls and Snoopy, and tiny monkeys and troll dolls and Burt, and frogs and snakes. What... snakes! Yes snakes glued to the side of hippie vans make me really happy.

But not as happy as naked Barbies doing the splits - hot glued to a top of a mini van. Yes ... that really rocks. Don't judge me.

And please don't judge my sweet friend Chris. He didn't know that he had a Guinness Award Winning eye brow hair. He also didn't know that my other sweet friend Bryan would be - oh so willing -to pluck it for him. Dude on dude plucking ... ummm yeah.

P.S. Happy Four Years My Andy. I love you more that you can ever fathom. It's too much sometimes. But it's always fun and it's always real and it's always just the way it's supposed to be. I'm sorry I didn't get any shots with you on the fly rod. You did great this year! We ate soooo good.

And we played really fun new games. A game in which I ruled at by the way. Sorry about your luck Val-a- wa!

And we saw things like this hanging outside of a bread and breakfast downtown.

And we saw this in someone's front yard. We're so not in Kansas anymore. I sure do love me some Arkansas.

And Laura made this. This is the best, most addictive thing EVER. Chex Mix to the extreme. Sweet and Sour. I gained 10 lbs and I loved every second of it.

Then Val and Laura made this. This is not camping people. This is gourmet on a paper plate. This is why I really, really love camping with the Tolar's.

See how happy we are. Cheese and noddles and friends and salad and laughter and bread and memories and wine and a baby growing in a belly and cake pops and SNL = one dang good night.

And on our way home we saw this in someone's front yard. It's about 7 feet tall and they dress him up for the seasons. Jack the rabbit. Get it?

What's been going on ...

October so far has been busy ... 6 days in (Happy Birthday Rylie Girl) and it's already nuts.

So I'm choosing to start of on a positive note:

Flowers from my front flower bed. This year I was determined to keep at least 50% of the things I planted alive. I was so unbelievably happy that these not only lived but are thriving. Everything for the past three years that I've planted in the front beds have died...finally success. Other winners this year: purple sage (4 out of 5 bushes), elephant ears, St. Augustine grass (after three seasons of trying), lantana, these random "bushes" that ended up being trees - still trying to figure out what these are, 1 out of 4 Crape Myrtles. Not too shabby considering I killed almost everything last year. This green bottle of baby poop looking gunk, plus a two year old who loves makup =

A 2 year old with baby poop all over her face. Nice move Lulu.

This is why I love my husband. Mickey Mouse pancakes with M&M's and bacon...

No wonder he's their favorite. Well, I figure I will give him this time of their lives. Once they start dating at the age of 25 they will come running back to me. Oh yes ... they will.