Missouri

It was great to visit Stacy, Greg, Katelyn, Mason and Gracie in Smithville with Nana last weekend. Sadie and Gracie are 2 peas in a pod. They had so much fun together, which was also a nice break for us. They played Polly Pocket, colored and watched Dora or Snow White most of the time. Gracie was so attentive and patient. She would do anything Sadie wanted to do and for how ever long she wanted to do it. We threatened to bring her home with us since she would be such a good babysitter.

We went to the Smithville High School football game on Friday, where Greg is head coach, Katelyn is a freshman and Mason will play football next year. It was cold, but an exciting game. Sadie and I stayed for the first 45 minutes or so before she needed to go to bed, but she clapped and cheered when the rest of the crowd did. She was really paying attention, because once she even said, "He caught the ball!"

On Saturday, we visited a pumpkin patch in a nearby town. There was a petting zoo and playgrounds for the kids (and some questionable singing talent). We had a grandfather driving our hay ride out to the pumpkins, who was a little crazy and I was sure we would end up covered in the mud that he splashed through. Sadie can't wait to see her cousins again!

Port Aransas

We had a great trip to the beach with a whole crew of friends from Austin (mostly Trinity folks.) Except for the ER trip to diagnose Sadie's ear infection, we enjoyed a relaxed weekend in the Tangerine Dreamhouse.

The weather was great and the house was perfect for the 13 adults and 3 kids that stayed in it.

I have decided that October is the perfect time to visit a Texas beach...cooler temperatures, no crowds and off-season rates.

Unfortunately, these were the only pics I took of the weekend because a wave jumped up and splashed the camera (and Sadie) shortly after this shot was taken. She was happy to play in the sand after that. Her daddy even dug a hole deep enough for her to sit in, which she thought was funny.

We even had a shrimp boil the last night, which was a perfect ending to the weekend.

Dana's visit

Sadie loves her Aunt Dana. We had a quiet few days hanging out at Bebe and Papa's house, shopping a little and eating Mexican food before Dana had to go home to NYC on Monday. We missed "Eeeeeen" this trip, but hopefully we'll get to see him soon. Looking forward to Christmas when she comes home again!

Gramps and Mimi

We had a great visit with Gramps and Mimi, who came all the way from London a few weeks ago. We Skype with them some and talk about them often, but it was so nice for Sadie to get to spend some quality time with them and make her own memories.

Waco Zoo

Weeks ago we woke up on a Saturday morning and were watching Jack Hanna when Sadie said she wanted to go to the zoo. I had heard that the Waco Zoo was great, so we packed up and headed out. It more than lived up to our expectations. It was lush and green and the animals were active and accessible. The picture above is Sadie sliding down the otter slide. She hesitated as she slid down and it looked like she was going to get wet.

This was the closest to a giraffe I have ever gotten. So cool!

There were lots of little play areas for the kids (and kids at heart).

The orangutan was part of a new exhibit that had just opened. I wish I had been quicker with the video camera because when we walked up he raised his arms to stretch and Sadie mimicked him. So cute. We will definitely go back.