Home, Sweet Home!

Isn't Colorado just amazing?

We had so much fun visiting with family up at Doug and Teresa's! And even at 9500 feet above sea level, time flies when you are having fun. Our nine days of family fun left us a little moist in the eyes when we all had to say goodbye.

Twelve and a half hours is quite the hall for a Mom with a bunch of monkeys in the back seat of her van! Yet, still a few hours from home, and juggling picture books, crayons, licorice and wipies, this Mama was surprised when she was overcome by the scenery that was so reminiscent of home!

Why the surprise? Maybe life is so busy that I forgot to appreciate the simple things of home? Maybe I've not been away from home long enough to realize how much Missouri has settled into my heart? Maybe the insanity of Apple Season has inflicted me with a good case of brain damage? Likely, it has most to do with the fact that the Apple Farmer was anxiously awaiting our arrival home and we were just as anxious to be at home with him!!

What is it about this place that really appeals to me? Could it be all of the bug guts on the windshield? The green hills are beautiful! The long and winding roads that slow the pace of life, old crooked farm houses filled with family pictures and friendly people, the old abandoned farm houses that were once the stage of a beautiful family story, the friendly wave of strangers as they pass you by on the highway, big red barns and tractors all over the place!

And the bugs? Ew~ I have mixed feelings here! I hate 'em, absolutely hate 'em, but they are the source of some of the most hilarious family memories!

The first tick of spring! I spotted him crawling up my arm not long after my arrival home!! Ew! But it sure is nice to be home!!