I absolutely LOVE this time of year when Summer comes to an end and Fall begins.  Yesterday was officially the first day of Fall, although it is hard to believe when it is 88 degrees outside in sunny Forth Worth, TX.  Regardless, I am READY to bring on the Fall season!!  To me, it is just one long celebration as Fall gives way to Thanksgiving, which gives way to Christmas.

I already ordered and received Fall t-shirts for the kids and checked out all the local pumpkin patches and festivals for the season!!  Now let me add, I am not a big Halloween celebrator.  But any chance to eat candy and sweets is any reason to celebrate!!  I just love the feel of the cooler weather, seeing pumpkins, corn stalks, and scarecrows everywhere.  Aww, just brings joy to my heart!! =)

To finish up our vacation week, Saturday we went on a hunt for a pumpkin patch that we thought was already open.  It was not, but that’s ok.  We still had fun!  We ended up eating out at Red Robin, which is one of Jerry's & my favorite places.

 We didn’t get a pic of Brennan on the train.  He was actually quite pensive on the ride.  I wasn’t sure he was enjoying it, but later he told us he was ready to do it again!! =)

After the ride Jerry dropped Karis & I off at the Fort Worth Zoo to take advantage of our zoo passes while he took Brennan & Reegan home for a snooze.  We didn’t get any pictures, but mama and her girl had a fun time!

 As you may have guessed, we were not able to go on our beach vacation to Crystal Beach, TX, just outside of Galveston.  Saturday, after Ike hit, I scoured the internet all day looking for information on that area.  Little coverage was given to the Bolivar Peninsula, which was actually hit harder than Galveston.  A whole community was lost that day.  Only about 20% of the structures on their peninsula were left standing.  I found an aerial picture of the beach we were to live on for the week.  The houses are gone!!  So sad!

I’ve been mourning this loss the last few days and could only think “If we were there, we would be playing on the beach right now.”

On Monday, watching the kids playing in our little sandbox in the back yard would even bring tears to my eyes.  I don’t know why I took this so hard, but I had been so looking forward to this trip.

We decided to fill our time with activities in the DFW area.  Jerry decided to work on Monday and take the rest of the week off.   Even though it wasn’t a day of playing on the beach, they still had a good time playing in the sand in our back yard!!

I overheard Karis recently tell Reegan that Anna was adopted (her Build-A-Bear).  I realized she is at that age to begin understanding what adoption is.  We’ve had a few opportunities to talk about her adoption and how Brennan & Reegan were in my tummy, but that she grew in someone else’s tummy.  God’s plan was for her to be in our family from the very beginning.  It has always been great conversations that we have had! =)