Annie's Antics :-): Catch-Up Time

My last blog was in late July ... lots of fun and exciting things have happened since then ... allow me to send you on a photographic journey of the past six months:

In early August, Emily and I crammed ourselves and our preschoolers into her ride and trekked to Virginia to visit Kim & Gabby. Let me tell you - driving cross-country w/ three youngens is NOT. FOR. PUNKS. I don't think there's enough wine & Valium on earth to convince me to do that again.

I didn't have a good enough angle to get the full gist of our traveling quarters, but you get the idea ... Ah, yes, my 3-year-old still had a paci. Sue me.

This, my friends, is a true picture of road-trip success:

First stop - INDY! We met up w/ our buddy LYNN and her lil man Jonathan!! We ate at Cracker Barrel and worked real hard not to get kicked out. Jonathan & Anna acted as if they'd known each other forever ... people even asked if they were twins - I tried to convince Lynn they were so as to lighten our load, but she wasn't buying it. BUMMER ;-)

And another of random eye-candy along the way. Thank you, Ohio.

Once we got there, Anna was in HEAVEN. I don't think I've ever seen this child quite as happy in her entire life. The weather was hot, but we didn't mess around - there were apples to be picked, animals to be fed, rivers to splash in, etc ... it was heaven on earth for my spicy gal!

Getting down to business:

Apple-pickin' is some serious work:

And my girl doesn't go anywhere without making sure everyone has something to eat:

We spent some time on Gabby's grandma's horse farm. Talk about bliss:

Pondering the meaning of life: (or, actually, gazing at the fish in the pond below)

Pure joy:

Such a lady:

With the record-high temps, Miss Thang was certain to make sure we all stayed properly hydrated:

Poor lil' Nick wasn't a fan of the wildlife:

Where are those horsies?

Not in here either ...

I've got big plans for those horses when they finally show ...

It gets no better than this!!

Hmmm

Of course, no vacation would be complete without hitting as many of these as possible:

Onward to the SAFARI!!

This here fella cracked us up -

This guy thought it best to take matters into his own hands:

Medusa lost a few years off her life after this fella head-butted her ;)

Cool shirts:

At the end of the safari was a ZOO. YAY!

Where are those stinkin' giraffes?

After 3929 tries, this was the best pic we could come up w/ ;)

About 4 seconds after buckling up:

Whaddya know! More apples to pick! We Heart Virginia :-)

Chilling in the gardens at the library:

Hmm, I wonder if this is removable?

Vandalizing nature:

The cutest little stores on earth were right there:

Someone's got the right idea ;)

I refuse to act normal:

Heck, me too ;)

The reason we aborted mission and headed for the thrifts:

Cows? Whoa.

Hey there, buddy:

Poor stray dog ... we found his home though ... about 4feet from where we picked him up ;-)

Shortly after returning to Southern Illinois, we decided it was high time for Anna to have a real hair cut. She was NOT a fan of having it brushed and I was NOT a fan of having my eyeballs scratched out on a daily basis.

Before:

During:

After:

Then we decided to have a photoshoot w/ her new 'do. (Ok, *I* decided this)

During the dog days of summer, we spent some time terrorizing stables, running in the sprinkler and just being downright silly:

Then summer came to a screeching halt and it was time for PRESCHOOL!

Let it be noted - Mama was VERY brave on that first day.

Where there's mud, there's ANNA.

WAL-MART is pitching a tent in our front yard. One afternoon they were installing the air-conditioners via helicopter, so Anna and I spent a good bit of time observing. Gotta love free entertainment ;-)