Nothing but excitement 'round these parts!

This trip had been planned for months. Babysitters lined up, assistance with transportation of my kiddos arranged, food bought, menus planned.

And then two hours before we were scheduled to leave, Autumn decides NOW is a good time to have her litter of kittens. Really, I'm glad it happened that way, otherwise I would have missed the whole thing and been sorely disappointed.

At noon, her water broke. I was so excited, I made Joe run and get Isabel from school so she could see the birth. This is the only litter we're letting Autumn have, so we had to get the most out of it as possible. Mamaw Kay and Mamaw Carol were here, as well as Joe and Gabe. Poor Autumn, I'm surprised she was still able to labor with all of us gathered around!

After climbing into my box springs (!) and having to be cut out, she finally settled into this cozy spot inside my bedframe.


Her first kitten was a dark striped boy, who Isabel named Casper. After watching two of the kittens being born, Gabe announced, "Oh, my stomach is hurting!". I was worried that the birth process was getting to be too much for him, when he said, "It's making my stomach hurt 'cause they're SO STINKING CUTE, Mom!". Love him...

None of us had ever witnessed a cat giving birth, so we were all enthralled. However, it was time to get going on our trip. When we left, there were four kittens. Isabel called me an hour later to announce the birth of the fifth (and final) kitten. I dreamt that night that Autumn kept dropping kittens throughout the entire house! I'm so relieved there are only five!

On to the rest of the weekend...

We had gorgeous autumn weather, high's in the low 60's, lows in the 40's, with yellow, orange and red leaves everywhere you looked. Couldn't have asked for more.

My brother-in-law, Paul, turned forty-four while we there, and we couldn't resist teasing him while we were at "Old Man's" cave on Saturday. He was a pretty good sport about it.

Pictures just don't even do it justice, but you can get the idea.

The views from inside of Rock House were amazing. I love these pics...

It was a peaceful weekend, full of quiet moments like this one:

But also filled with laughter, card games, hiking, (drinking) and eating. Lots of food. Some at restaurants, some cooked at the cabin. This delicious meal was prepared totally by the men, while Rhonda and I chilled out by the fire. Heavenly, I tell you.

Sunday, we hiked around our cabin and up to Rockbridge. While on the path to Rockbridge, we were able to see the zipliners careening through the woods. It looked amazing! We are SO coming back next year to do that!

Once the kitties are a little bigger, I'll post some more pics. If I can keep them safe from Gabe's VERY loving hands, that is...