Zoo

Gabe & Hadley Lee, Gabe, & Patricia
Kiddos with their Daddies
Hadley feeding the birds

Over the weekend, some friends of ours came up to visit. Lee & Brent did their Masters together at UA. Lee & Patricia were moved to Fort Hood after Lee finished school. Since the last time we saw them, we both have little ones. It was great to see Hadley & Gabe play together. You would have thought they were old buddies. On Sunday we went to the zoo. We live really close to the FW Zoo, but we had never gone. It is considered one of the top zoos in the nation for kids. One reason we have not been is because of the weather. I'm sure that rhino dung is really stinky in 100 degree heat! But now the weather is a little better, it was time to make the visit. The zoo had new lion cubs that we got to see. There was a neat bird area. You could feed the birds with a little stick covered with bird seed. Hadley was a little scared at first, but Gabe was really brave, so she began to follow his lead.

It is always fun to visit with Lee & Patricia. They are always on a new adventure. Lee is in the army, so they have lived all over the world. In January, they will be moving to Brazil for a year. Patricia is from Brazil, so I know she is excited to be home for a year. Hadley even picked up some Portuguese while they were here.

Tedder Celebration

Every year, my Dad's family have gotten together in early fall to draw names for Christmas. This event usually took place the first weekend of October at my grandparents house in celebration of PawPaw Mack birthday (Oct. 4). Although they have both passed, this tradition has continued, but with a few changes. Now it is celebrated near my Dad's birthday (Sept. 20) at Square Post. Dad fried fish and all that other good stuff that tastes good in grease. Then there were plenty of sides and desserts provided by aunts, uncles, and cousins. This year, Dad & I counted 52 in attendance. I know this sounds like a bunch, but I counted over 40 that weren't there. Oh the joys of a big family. There were several little cousins Hadley's age. Rex (Hoot's son) is just a couple of weeks younger than Hadley. So they had a blast together. Shaylee (Kim's daughter) and Taylor found a mud hole that seemed to good to resist. At first, Hadley did not join them. She even protested and told Taylor it was a "no no" to be in the mud. She told me that the mud smelled bad. Hadley tried hard, but those other girls just looked like they were having so much fun. So then my brave girl tipped toed across the mud. Then she walked through it briskly. Then she got a rock in her shoe, so she sat down in the mud to retrieve the rock. After that, she was running with mud splashing wildly around here. My daughter, who until recently would not step on the grass with bare feet, was a total mess.

This reminds me of a Tedder get-together on a Sunday afternoon when I was little. My grandparents lived in a house at the Stanford school. They had the key to the gym and all of us gradkids would play ball there. To get to the gym, you had to cross a ditch (sewer ditch). There was a make-shift bridge to cross it, but that was not very exciting. All of the older kids were jumping it. I thought I was just as big, so I made my giant leap across. Unfortunately, my leap "across" landed smack dab in the middle of the ditch. Did I mention that it was a sewer ditch? So instead of playing outside or in the gym, I had to take a bath, put my church dress back on, and stay inside with the grown folks. At least I let Hadley continue to play.

While In Walnut Ridge. . .

After Little Rock and Searcy, we headed on up Hwy 67 to Walnut Ridge. Brent had to go to Fayetteville for work and see the Hogs play, so it was just us girls. Hadley got to spend tons of time with Grannie & Granddaddy, Nana & Pop Pop, and the Forrester bunch. Here are some pictures from our fun filled visit. Luckily, we had several people to visit because people kept getting stricken by the stomach bug. Taylor, Jackson, Dad, and Mom all fell victim. I guess it was only by God's good grace that we did not catch it.

Visiting Family for 10 Days

As south Texans were headed north to avoid Ike, we decided to join them. We left on Friday afternoon headed to Little Rock to begin our now 10 day trip to Arkansas. Traffic was a little heavier than usual, but I heard that it was worse on Saturday. We spent a couple of days with the Halbergs. Hadley enjoyed playing with her cousins. Hadley thinks that Madelyn is something. Especially after she saw her at dance lessons. I tried to get a good picture of the 3, but it was a little challenging. Sweet little Will just sat so still and smiled really big for me. I have about 6 shots of Will and his sweet smile. Hadley was really too busy to have her picture taken.

Go Frogs!

Over the weekend, Jan & Dewey came to town to visit. While they were here, Jan & I took Hadley to the Frog Alley before the TCU football game. (Brent & Dewey went to the Rangers game.) Being me, I really didn't know where I was going or what to expect. So by the time we got to the kids Frog Alley, Hadley was exhausted and hot. We got there just in time to see the TCU band perform. We had perfect position for the parade. We were front and center. Later we did run into our friends Amanda & Tom. Fort Worth is becoming a little smaller everyday. While Dewey & Jan were here, they also did a lot of work. The yard looks much better. Dewey cut back a bunch of the shrubs and now you can see the front door! We took them to one of our favorite places to eat, Joe T's. We all had a really great visit.

Jesus Loves Me

Her is Hadley singing Jesus Loves Me. Don't cry Nana, but it is really sweet. Sorry about the poor lighting. I need to figure out the lighting in the living room.

Our Little Cool Cat Crayon Crusader

Hadley is becoming such a big girl. She enjoys wearing her sunglasses on her head, just like her daddy. Then she says that she is a "cool cat". Here is a picture of Hadley taking care of some business. She is pretty convinced that colors do not need a paper wrapper to tell you its name. It is her duty to free all crayons of those dreadful paper shackles. She works feverishly to accomplish this important mission.