Happy 9 years and 7 months to sweet Aspen!!!
October has been quite the fun month for you. I was able to spend 2 weeks with you (Florida and NC/VA) and will forever be thankful for the sweet memories!
October has been a VERY dry and sunny month and that makes us both happy! It's supposed to rain tomorrow - October 30th and that may be the first time it's rained in over a month. You love this beautiful weather and so do I!
We were gone on a 12 day road trip at the start of your birthday month! I LOVE the times we were able to FaceTime and check in on you people! This face is a perfect capture of you - crazy! LOL You love being silly. You have a tickle box and it cracks me UP when you get to laughing! Dee Dee has the same "problem!"
You LOVE to help! You think you can do anything - and I think you probably can. You remind us often that you ARE almost a teenager - you're almost 10 ya know! 🤣 You have a sassy side and a stubborn side 😅 - I'm praying that stubborn/pride side we see will get better - but you have my heart. You LOVE to run up and see me. You think it's hilarious if you can sneak past Pops and come back to our bedroom (if I'm reading or something). You make my heart smile and I'm grateful for your life.
We were sad that we missed your Dad's birthday! We were still on our road trip. Y'all went to Bass Pro!
Your Dad is a little cray cray too! LOL
He wanted your Mama to make him a peach cobbler. I hear it was YUM!
Your Dad went fishing on his birthday morning!
We were coming from Louisiana and you all from home and we met at Gulf Shores, AL! We met the day after your Daddy's birthday! You were trying to jump out of the truck to give me a hug before it stopped. It made my heart SOOO happy to see you and to be with y'all again! We spent Sunday-Friday in Gulf Shores. Perfect weather + good health + reunited = BLESSED! 💛
We had extra time before check-in so we went grocery shopping at Publix for the week!
Yes! You have me wrapped around your finger! You are such a fruit lover!
We made it to our house on Gulf Shores Blvd! It was a perfect hangout for us. It had the lagoon and a dock behind the house and the ocean across the street!
We had to wait 1.5 hours to check in... it didn't take long for y'all to start fishing!
The one fish you wanted to catch was a red fish and YOU did it!!!
Celebrating with your Mama! You were SO excited.
Y'all made a friend - your Mama named him Harold. LOL He ate anything you threw at him!
Our house was perfect!
SO grateful for sunsets...
You asked me to bring you a CO hat from our trip and we did just that! You were super excited!
The arrowhead knife was a hit too! 🥰
Ready for dinner on our first night... SO handsome you two are!
I love to listen to your stories...💛
SOOO funny. This was the Oyster House in GS! Someone recommended it to us. It was just OK!
You wanted stuffed flounder... or was it grouper? But it was stuffed with crab. LOL You are too big for the kids menu now. At least you think! ha!
Your Mama and Daddy were sweet to get you alligator bites too!
I LOVE that you love to get up and watch the sun rise with me! Such a special thing for your Dee Dee.
We were outside 30 minutes prior to sunrise. I'm always so surprised how bright it already is!
Harold followed us! 😂
I love how you throw your arms up! You've done this the last several times at sunrise! 🌅
Looking for the perfect conk shell!
We love to stand and watch for the sun to break through. SO sweet! 💛
Chasing Harold.... 🤣
You pulled I don't know how many jellyfish up on the pier!
Y'all caught several crab! 🦀
Going to an area where there were supposed to be a lot of seashells! Listening to your stories is one of my favorite things to do!
Y'all are SO cute!
Someone told us the white jellyfish were OK but the pink ones were not!
SEE! SOOO silly! 😆
You found a beautiful shell in the rocks...
WHOA!!! That's a good catch!
Our favorite place to eat was Doc's Seafood Shack! YUM! You had some raw oysters!
Your Mama wanted y'all to have a dock to fish off and she was SO right! It was the best part of the house!
You always want to try a new fruit.
You are very blessed to have parents that love each other so much! 🧡
I love watching you on the beach. You are sweet to stop and take a picture with me!
🤣 SO FUN!
We found so many good shells! 🐚
We went to Gulf Shores State Park a couple of times too!
The clouds were SOOO cool! I had never seen anything like this!
Officially my favorite picture! 💙
You caught a stingray. We saw quite a few from the dock too!
Playing Connect 4 with your Mama!
You are getting SO tall! Time slow down!!! 💛
😆
A sunset I'll never forget!
You and B walking with your sweet Mama!
We got take-out for dinner and while we waited we got your Mama and Daddy a new beach hat and you got a bigger net!
Vacation means cereal! 🧡
It sure was a pretty crab! 🦀 💙
Feeling SUPER grateful that we were able to go on vacation with y'all!
Y'all can fish off the shore for hours!
Y'all caught us dinner two nights! It was exciting to eat what y'all caught!
SO many cool things!
Your tent broke in the wind. I was grateful for some shelter from the sun! You cute! 🥰
We watched the sunset almost every night!
Downtown Gulf Shores...
We had a full day at the beach and I wanted a picture as we were leaving. SEE! You be silly! 😂
All kinds of things crawling out of the shells! LOL
You went out in the kayak with your Dad. You weren't very happy you couldn't take your own!
You can really cast a net! 🙌🏻
I lost track of the kinds and number of fish but we had fish tacos! 💛
Helping your Dad cook dinner!
You two were SO excited. You also had bunk beds in the room. And a PacMan game! 🙌🏻
We crossed the street at the right time! The turtle patrol people were digging in the sand looking for baby turtles that were left behind and they found one! They released it into the ocean and we got to watch and learn more about them.
The sky was AMAZING!
Our last night was wonderful! I am forever thankful for this week away!
We stopped at Buccee's on the way home - it's a new craze in the gas station world!
We also stopped at DD! Me and you don't like coffee - or doughnuts! So we tried a new blood orange drink!
Home sweet home - for 2 nights before we head to the mountains! B wanted to celebrate with sparklers!
We all took off for Blowing Rock, NC on Monday morning. Your Mom and Dad were celebrating their 10th anniversary a little late. 🧡 SO! Y'all were able to spend TWO nights with us! SO much fun! I was concerned y'all wouldn't want to hike as much as we did but you did PHENOMENAL! This is Rough Ridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway!
The leaves were so pretty!
You LOVE the fact that you and I are the only ones that want to get semi close to the edge. Pops won't let us get too close! 😅
You are a little bit of a cliff lover like me! I love this picture!
Our infamous foot pose at the top!
We left and went to the original Mast General Store. I gave y'all $25 to spend...
You love arrowheads. I was so proud of you. You said you wanted to save your $20 remaining because you didn't see anything else you wanted. That is HUGE progress!
You and Pops went fly fishing behind the store at the local park!
Great job! You caught 5 trout! You even let Bennett use your pole to catch a fish! I was proud of you! 🧡
What a cool park... several things carved out of a tree!
Our cabin had a great view!
We ate dinner in Boone, NC!
Pops and I had this bucket list hike on our list of "hope we can do!" I was a little nervous to take y'all because it was over 8 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation and involved ladders! LOL You did such a great job and only complained once!
We had to get a permit for the hike!
WARNING! Huge cliffs! 😅
You are my cliff buddy and I love it! 💛
You two are pointing to where we have to go! Calloway Peak was beginning to get in the clouds!
"Dee Dee! I can't take another step!" But you did! 💛
Pops found a snake on the trail and you wanted to hold it - like always! 💙
More roots and rocks than on most any hike I have seen!
You always look for heart rocks for me... we couldn't bring this one home but we sure could get a pic! 💛
The first set of ladders!
You loved it!
The clouds covered up the mountain but we caught a small glimpse of the 2000 feet below!
The trail was tough and steep in sections!
We brought sandwiches and had a picnic! 🧺
We couldn't SEE how hard we had worked but we could feel it! LOL
Going down is harder than going up!
We saw an old plane wreck from the 80's too!
It's not unusual to be near boulders and hear... "Dee Dee - LOOK!" 😳
Such a gorgeous area!
💛🧡💛
Another "Dee Dee - LOOK" moment! LOL
We were so hungry! We went to downtown Blowing Rock to MM!
On Wednesday morning we met your Mama and Daddy to head to Grayson Highlands State Park in VA!
SO many rocks to climb!
This year the ponies weren't on the trail like last year. I'm glad you spotted these!
You three are silly! Looking for wild ponies on the way down the trail!
You were SOOO mature about it but you fell on the way down and hurt your elbow. You were very brave. We had to take you to urgent care for help!
Thankfully it wasn't your fly fishing arm! 😅
What a beautiful rainbow you caught!
We ate dinner in West Jefferson, NC! Your Mom and Dad found this place earlier in the week!
Our last day and our last hike! SOOO glad we did this one. We did the chimney's in Linville Gorge!
This picture says it all! We're trying to keep you alive and trying to convince B he's not going to fall off the mountain! 🥰
So many boulders and crevices!
It was hard to capture the beauty!
We climbed up to the huge rock for an incredible view!
It was a tough hike in sections but I'm so thankful we could do it!
SO FUN! We left the trail and saw an ambulance at the trail head. I pray everyone was OK! We stopped for dinner in Greenville, SC and headed home incredibly grateful for a beautiful trip!
You tried some freeze dried biscuits and gravy that Pops gave you and loved it!
You and your Dad have been racking up on the fish!
What a HUGE catfish your Daddy caught!
Weighing one of the rabbits. You two learned how rabbits have babies and we watched them try to multiply. We will know in about 10 days.
Yep! It's squirrel season 😂
We've had a week long game of Phase 10 going on...
Oh my heart! ♥️
Glacier has been sick. He hasn't really been 100% since y'all brought him home. You all did everything you could to save him.
You cared for him well!
25 pounds... ehhh... that's nothing you said! LOL 💜
Another great fishing day for you and your Dad!
Glacier eventually passed away this month. It was sad!
I LOVE YOU!
You are so silly! You and B even had a competition to see who was as crazy as I am. SOOO funny! I love, LOVE when you bring your lunch up to eat with me outside!
We carved pumpkins for Nelly's birthday and you pouted because yours didn't turn out like you wanted. It's so sad to see you SO set in your ways and not willing to have fun with pumpkins.... 🥲
I bought you another one at Publix and we tried round #2. You did MUCH better and had fun!
What a fun and blessed month this has been. We've had safe travels, good health and so many wonderful memories to remember forever. You had a small cold but recovered SUPER quick. Your Mom has really changed y'alls diet and keeps you set up with vitamins! It's so fun to watch her passion come to life and to see how it's benefitting y'all. PRAISE the LORD!
I love you, Buddy! I am praying for you and school. Some days are a hard battle. You can be a little stubborn and don't always have an open mind when your Mama is teaching you but I can see growth and learning and SO much more and it's such a blessing!
I can't wait to see what November holds. Your Mama is getting ready to decorate for Christmas. She's so excited. I'm a tad bit excited. haha! I can't wrap my brain around it almost being Thanksgiving month. And daylight savings - BOO!!!!
BUT! I am looking forward to watching you grow - looking out the window and watching you explore - celebrating Thanksgiving with you and so much more.
I'm praying for a healthy, happy, fun-filled, lesson learning, growth of a month.
I love you, Aspen! To the moon and back and back again! 💛
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