Over the Labor Day holiday, we packed up once again and headed west to Louisiana to visit with Matt's family. When we arrived, Pappaw was beside himself to show the kids his new project. I laughed when I saw it, and Matt and I both made a comment about grandparents not letting each other out do one other. The kids were of course delighted to have another jeep to play with and since their yard is plenty big, the kids roamed around like they owned the place.
We couldn't let the summer end without playing with our cousins at the lake, so the holiday also made for a great excuse to have a little fun getting dirty and eating some fried food. 
Since we don't get together as often as we would like, Mamaw Elsie makes certain that we get her great grandbabies together for a group photo. Then, so that no one feels left out, she also asks for a picture of all the families. We appreciate her kind gesture of asking for our picture as well, but we all know that the only picture she is really concerned about getting is that of her sweet little kiddos. But then again, who wouldn't if they were all this cute?
Matt and I took advantage of the Fisher household babysitting service, so we brought our bikes with us and headed to the state park to do some mountain bike trail rides. Of course, we forgot our helmets and were thus not allowed to ride at the park. So, Matt informed me that we would be running for 45 minutes instead. I made it, with a few breaks of course, but informed him that we would be buying helmets so that we could ride our bikes on Monday instead of going running again.
Once Pappaw and the kids were ready for their nap (ha, ha...somebody has to give him a hard time and I gladly accept the role!), they headed for the house while Matt and I headed out for the trails one more time. Of course with our luck, minutes into the ride I heard what sounded like a firecracker. Unfortunately, I knew what it was before I turned around to find Matt off of his bike. Yep, he blew a tire. Perhaps it was due to all of the rough trails that he conned me into going down with him. I thought we were doing the beginner trails, but halfway through the ride, I commented that they sure didn't seem like beginner trails to me. He replied, "Oh, I missed that turn a while back...we're on the other trail now." "Thanks, dear...hope my life insurance is good," I replied.
And last but not least...the guys all went to check out the deer plot or whatever you call it. This marked Will's 1st trip with them, so I had to get a picture. I think both of the men were just as excited to take Will as he was in going. Thankfully, I believe he is going to enjoy hunting...otherwise, he would greatly disappoint his father's side of the family.
While the men folks (my grandmother always refers to it as such so don't make fun...yes, this comment is for you, Laura) were away, Caroline took full advantage of having Mamaw Kat "all to her own" as she calls it. They made mud pies on Mamaw Kat's kitchen stove that she enjoyed playing with as a little girl and of course played with all of the baby dolls (by far Caroline's favorite past time).
Anyway, the weekend was so much fun and a great way to wrap up a summer that flew by way too fast!
Last Friday, the kids and I joined our friends, Tamah and Abby, and their friends, who are quickly becoming our friends as well, Martha, Joe Gunn and Hollyn and met up at the Jackson Zoo. This marked the first time Caroline and Will have been to a zoo, so I was excited to see what they would think about it. As expected, they loved it. (Oh, and for clarification purposes, Will decided he needed to wear his cowboy hat and refused to take it off even though I informed him that it didn't match and is starting to get a little bit too little for his head.)
Will was probably the most intrigued by all the animals, which made it difficult for me to get him to say bye to one animal and move on to the next.
Our timing was perfect because we made it just in time to meet the zoo keeper and see him feed the chimps. He told us all about the newest chimp...the son of Joe and Missy who has properly been named Mo Joe. How cute is this little fellow? We also enjoyed getting all of the zoo gossip from the zoo keeper who was the nicest man.
The funniest animal we met was by far the crazy monkey, whose name I can't recall. He had the kids laughing their heads off. He would turn around and shake his little bootie at us, slap at his feet, and then make a very unusual growl face at us. It was definitely for show because he seemed disappointed when we moved on to see other animals.
While the Jackson Zoo may not be as large as most zoos, it is the perfect place to spend a weekday with the kids. There aren't many people, so the kids can roam around a little more...
there isn't a line for the elephant slide...
and it is the perfect place to have a picnic and then finish the day with a carousel ride! 
When we got home from out fun outing, I asked Caroline what her favorite animal was. Can you guess what she said? The pigs! What?!? Out of all those beautiful creatures that we rarely see, she still prefers a regular farm pig! She is such a mess.
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