It's not Barnum and Bailey's but there were TIGERS!

The traveling 3-ring circus came to Casper and my dear, kind, sweet friend Teresa invited us along. She in turn thanks her daughter Kayla for the small guilt trip that led us to the circus.

Little did we know the adventure that lay ahead.....

But first, the circus pictures:


Getting ready for the show.


Timothy and Teresa enjoy the show.


Timothy can't take his eyes off the tigers.


If you look closely, you can make out 2 of the tigers.

He can even eat cotton candy AND watch the tigers at the same time.

Kristy and Sarah enjoy the sugary treat also.

The 5 kids and I left at intermission for a few good reasons:

1. The elephant rides cost $40 for 5 people - we opted out -- to Timothy's dismay.

2. It was dinner time and the cotton candy was not providing the nutritional benefit we desired.

3. We had already seen the tigers, elephants, trapeze artists AND the pink and blue poodles.

AND the final straw,

4. Savannah's diaper leaked all over my lap.

As we loaded up the Yukon, we discovered that Kristy's backpack (with her unfinished homework) was in our vehicle. I called Teresa and we decided it would be fine to stick it under her car. Well, her little yellow car has NO room between the bottom and the ground, so I hung it on the side mirror.

Just as our family sat down to a nice steak dinner, Teresa called asking where the bag was. It didn't take me long to figure out that this was one of those few times she was not joking around with me.

The backpack was gone, along with the contents: 2 library books, a $80 Saxon math book, and the lunch box. To say Kristy was a bit concerned would be an understatement.

As Teresa and Kristy searched the fairgrounds to no avail, our family prayed. Something like this if I remember correctly:

Lord, please help them to find the backpack. Please make the heart of whoever took the bag hurt so bad that they cannot think or sleep because of the amount of guilt they have brought upon themself. Amen.

We figured it couldn't hurt.....

The evening wore on. Kristy settled down and went to bed. Our kids settled in and went to bed. I settled in and went to bed. THEN, the phone rang (after 10!) and yep, Teresa reported the great news that the bag had been found and would be delivered to Fort Caspar Academy first thing in the morning!! Thank you God!!

Thanks again Kayla -- we had a fabulous time at the circus and learned some great life lessons along the way!