As soon as we could wake all the kiddos, we had a yummy surprise for them!
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| Choice and Rusty |
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| Shiloh, Juliann, and Choice |
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| Choice and Shiloh |
We'd parked for the night right beside a Krispy Kreme's!! That got them up and moving.
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| Choice, Shiloh, Juliann, Tate, and Ryder |
It was so fun to watch them all plaster their faces to the window in amazement of the donut making process.
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| Ryder, Choice, Tate, and Shiloh |
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| Ryder, Choice, and Tate |
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| Ryder, Choice, Tate, and Shiloh |
My favorite part of the process is when you get to indulge! This season's caramel sea salt donut is delicious!
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, Tate, and Jason |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, Tate, and Jason |
This then led to the need for a little parking lot Walmart Workout...
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| Jason, Rusty, and Ryder |
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| Jason, Tate, and Ryder |
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| Jason, Tate, and Ryder |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Juliann, Tate, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, and Rusty |
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| Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Tate and Choice |
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| Choice and Tate |
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| Tate, Shiloh, Rusty, Choice, and Ryder |
They had just enough time outside to get COMPLETELY filthy.
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| Rusty and Shiloh |
We got them cleaned up so we could go about the next part of our adventure. We went and saw the beautiful Elephant Rocks State Park.
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| Rusty, Jason, Choice, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh |
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| Jason, Rusty, Choice, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh |
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| Jason, Choice, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh |
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| Ryder, Juliann, Tate, Shiloh, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Tate, Juliann, Shiloh, and Choice |
Elephant Rocks State Park encompasses an outcropping of granite rock formations in the Saint Francois Mountains. It is named for a string of large granite boulders which resemble a train of pink circus elephants.
Elephant Rocks State Park consists of a tor, which is a high, isolated rocky peak, usually of weathered granite. The alkaline granite here was formed 1500 million years ago from a dome of molten magma. Water and ice worked to weather and erode the surface of the granite. Eons of weathering produced the rounded boulders that are the park's signature.
The park has many picnic sites and a one-mile circular interpretive trail in the Elephant Rocks Natural Area. This trail is called the Braille Trail. There are also several spur trails. Each of these spur trails has its own unique feature. One spur passes through "Fat Man's Squeeze," a narrow gap between two boulders, leading to the old quarry. Another spur goes through "The Maze," a 100-foot section of scattered boulders. Within the maze is a semi-enclosed area called "The Devil's Kitchen."
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| Juliann, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Juliann, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, Choice, and Rusty |
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| Tate |
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| Shiloh, Tate, Ryder, Choice, Rusty, and Jason |
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| Shiloh, Tate, Ryder, Choice, Jason, and Rusty |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Rusty, Tate, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Jason, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Tate, Rusty, and Ryder |
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| Choice, Ryder and Rusty |
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| Choice, Tate, and Ryder |
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| Juliann and Jason |
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| Juliann and Jason |
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| Jason, Tate, Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, Rusty, and Juliann |
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| Shiloh and Juliann |
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| Ryder, Tate, Choice, and Shiloh |
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| Ryder, Tate, Choice, and Shiloh |
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| Tate, Jason, Shiloh, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Jason, and Choice |
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Tate, Choice, and Rusty |
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| Shiloh and Jason |
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| Choice, Shiloh, Jason, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Rusty, Jason, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Rusty, Jason, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Jason, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
The kids were so exhausted after an entire day of climbing so we decided to stay in for the rest of the night and continue with the visits the next day.
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| Tate and Choice |
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| Rusty and Choice |
We woke up anxious for another great day!
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| Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, and Jason |
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| Juliann and Shiloh |
We started the day in Mississippi. Tate thought he'd take over the wheel for awhile. I can't imagine it was easy from inside of Jason's shirt.
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| Tate and Jason |
With Tate's help, we made it to our visit in Columbus MS. This was another visit that we were unable to reach ahead of time. We like to give it a shot anyway. We arrived at the home of Richard and Carolyn.
The kids drew them some pictures and were looking forward to meeting them.
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| Ryder, Choice, Tate, and Shiloh |
Unfortunately, we weren't able to connect with them today. We left the cards, pictures, and Be Better Bands at their doorstep.
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| Ryder, Choice, Tate, and Shiloh |
We also jotted down the web address for this blog. So, in the event that you are reading this Richard and Carolyn, thank you so very much for blessing our family during our time of need. Your generosity and kindness made an impact on our family that will forever be appreciated and cherished. Continue to spread the better and be an example to all you come into contact with. Thank you for blessing, inspiring, and motivating me. God bless.
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| Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, and Tate |
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| Tate, Shiloh, Choice, and Ryder |
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| Juliann, Tate, Shiloh, Choice, and Ryder |
From there we made our way to "the beautiful" Alabama.
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| Choice, Tate, Juliann, Ryder and Shiloh |
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| Choice, Jason, Shiloh, Ryder, and Tate |
Birmingham AL is home to a dear friend. We were glad to have the opportunity to meet up with Taylor today and his sweet daughter, Ava. Choice took to Ava quickly and proclaimed that she was his girlfriend. (I'm not sure she liked that title very much).
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| Choice and Ava |
We went to a gorgeous neighborhood park and let the kids play. An epic game of ultimate Frisbee was immediately underway.
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| Ryder, Taylor, Ava, and Jason |
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| Ryder, Taylor, Ava, and Shiloh |
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| Ryder, Taylor, Ava, and Jason |
The little boys decided to give in to the nearby swing set that was beckoning them.
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| Tate |
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| Tate |
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| Choice and Tate |
I must admit, they weren't the only ones who had fun on the park swings.
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| Choice and Juliann |
We had just enough sunlight left to take Taylor and sweet Ava back to their house. Taylor is a brilliantly talented artist. He gave us a "bus warming" gift. The piece of art in the picture below is one of many of Taylor's amazing creations.
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| Jason, Rusty, Ava, and Taylor |
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| Jason, Ava, and Taylor |
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| Ava, Taylor, Rusty, and Choice |
Taylor's artistry doesn't stop there. He is also a phenomenal musician. He and his beautiful wife, Kate, have their own band to express their talent as singers/songwriters. Not only does Kate sing like a bird, and Taylor is a master guitar player, but they have inspirational and uplifting lyrics.
Please click on the links below to enjoy two of my favorite of their songs. You can also hear Taylor's guitar skills on Jason's upcoming album. Stay tuned...
You guys are doing an AMAZING thing1
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