Missouri Fun

My last trip of the summer was to Missouri to see my mom and dad. They moved to the Springfield area last March and this is the first time I've gotten to visit. I also got to see my brother and his family who live there too. It was so nice to visit with them all. We had a great time.
Missouri is one of the most beautiful states to me, of course I grew up in that state, so I might be a little prejudice. I just love the rolling hills and all the trees. Mom and Dad seem to be very happy, and I can see why. They have a lovely home and are really enjoying the area.



This is a picture of their new home. It's on a beautiful shady lot with lots of trees and a nice view.



They have a patio in the back of their house, which is a nice place to sit and enjoy the scenery. Dad has several critters he feeds back there. This is a picture of a couple of ground hogs that live under the patio.


This is Dad and his "new" truck. It's really sharp and he is super proud of it.


On Saturday we went to Silver Dollar City. It was super hot, but we still had a great time. There is so much to do there: shows, rides, water park, historical demonstrations, crafts, shops, etc. I highly recommend it to everyone.... except people with very small kids and babies. I saw some poor little ones that looked pretty miserable along with their parents.


Dad, Mom and me in jail. :)


This was a swinging bridge over a little stream. There was some beautiful scenery around the park.


One of the shows we went to see was an ice circus. It was a very good show and a great place to cool off.




We enjoyed watching this group of girls dancing. They performed several dances like clogging and River Dance. They sure did look hot, but were always smiling, and looked like they were having so much fun.

Visitors

The other night I was sitting in my recliner reading after Danny had gone to bed. It was pretty quiet, and I was enjoying my book when I heard a little sound by the window next to me. I thought it was my cats at first so paid no attention to it. Then I heard it again and saw my cats staring out the window. I turned around and looked and saw I that had two little visitors, Mr. & Mrs. Toad. You can see them in the pictures below. They were catching insects that were attracted by my light. They were soooo cute hopping along the window ledge. The cats and I watched them for quite awhile. Danny says I'm easily entertained. :)

Caldwell Zoo

The Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, TX is a great place to take the family. Megan, Eleanor, Casey, Shane and I went in July while they were all here for a visit. We went early and left by lunchtime. It was not too hot because of all the shade along the paths. This is a small zoo but an excellent one. I'm so glad we live close to it.


Casey, Megan and Eleanor enjoying the shade in front of one of the animal cages.


Eleanor did very good at riding in her stroller and she loved all the animals.


They have large natural habitats for most of the animals.


This is my favorite animal at the zoo, the meerkat. He is to the left of the large dirt mount. Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet is a great show, although it makes me cry sometimes, it's one of my favorite shows.


Eleanor enjoyed the petting zoo. It was so nice to have goats that didn't try to knock you down for food. They were so sweet and just lay there and let all the kids pet them.


Shane and Casey in front of one of the pretty shady areas. It's hard to believe they've been married one year already.


Eleanor and Aunt Casey check out the lions. I think the lions may be Eleanor's favorite.


The zoo has lots of different birds. I especially like the two bald eagles they have.

Indiana Road Trip

Our second excursion this summer was a trip to Indiana to see some of Danny's family. We decided to drive so we could bring back some of Danny's stuff. The first day we drove about 9 hours and stayed at Drury Inn in Sikeston, MO. That's one of our favorite hotel chains and the one in Sikeston is great because it's close to an outlet mall and Lambert's restaurant. The only bad thing is we didn't go to either this time. It was too late, so we just relaxed in the hot tub and turned in early. We got to Danny's dad's house about 4:00 the next day.

Danny grew up in Somerset, and his Dad and one of his sisters still live there in the house he helped the family build. We had a wonderful visit with them and his younger sister who lives in Indianapolis.



This is Danny's older sister, Shelby. She has a super green thumb and this picture shows her and just a few of the beautiful flowers in their yard.


This is Danny, his younger sister, Charlene and his nephew Rick.


The picture window in their living room has several bird feeders that attract all kinds of birds. There are a couple of yellow canaries in this picture. (If you click on the picture I think it will enlarge on the screen for a better view.)



This is Danny and his Dad (age 90) relaxing in back of their house. It looks out over a reservoir and the view is beautiful. We watched all kinds of water activities.