So Much To Be Thankful For

I guess you can tell from all the smiling faces that we had a fun Thanksgiving!

We left for Oklahoma on Tuesday evening. We arrived at my grandparents' house just before midnight. The kids fell asleep about 30 minutes from their house, so they were wired after they woke up. We stayed up for a while talking and laughing at the kids, then we called it a night.

On Wednesday, we made a big breakfast and went for a walk. My grandmother went with us and, let me just say, she kept a pretty good pace for an 80 year-old woman! We walked down to the creek and back. Addison walked the whole time, too. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed walking and talking. We have four-wheelers up there, but I like to get out and walk too. You can see so much more when you are walking than you can when you are riding. I want the boys to see the deer tracks, mushroom, flowers, bugs and any other fun thing we pass along the way. You can't do that from the seat of a four-wheeler.

Thursday, we decided to just have cereal for breakfast and eat Thanksgiving dinner for lunch! Drew and I had fun making all the side dishes. We spent about 3 hours cooking and everyone was stuffed in about 20 minutes. We didn't make a whole turkey this year. We just had a turkey breast. We also had ham. We don't get all fancy or anything up there. We just keep things simple. No one to impress up in the woods in Oklahoma! I didn't even matter that I forgot my entire make-up bag at home!

Friday, Drew, Bryson and I went on a hike across the creek. We always try to do this at least once while we are there. Jackson had a bad experience hiking last year, so he didn't go with us. He stayed back at the house with Addison and my grandparents. The water in the creek was so COLD and I have to mentally prepare myself to cross it. We only got wet up to our knees, but when it is that cold it is pretty painful. The creek is about 30-40 yards wide, so we were in the water for several minutes trying to cross. The water was rushing pretty fast and the rocks are slippery, so we had to go slowly or risk falling in.

On the other side of the creek is a steep incline that we climbed. Once at the top (maybe 100 yards up) we walked along the ridge to the waterfall. This is where we always go when we cross the creek. It has been fun to see it in each of the different seasons and how it has changed in the years we have been going. Bryson slipped and fell in at one point, so he was in a HORRIBLE mood for part of the trip. I was surprised to see two hunters up the creek, also. We have never seen any other people and I was a little scared when I heard men's voices. They did ask why we weren't wearing orange. I guess we should have thought about it being hunting season. Once Bryson fell in the water, though, we didn't need orange on. His crying and wailing announced our presence to all around! We hiked for about 2 hours that day. The weather was absolutely beautiful.

Today we spent the morning playing in the fire outside and sitting around talking. We finally made our way back inside and got ready to leave. We hate to go, but we will be back for Christmas. Bryson just cries his little eyes out every time we leave. It just breaks my heart. He loves it up there and loves all the attention he gets from my grandparents. I remember my sister and I crying the same way when we had to leave. I am so glad my grandparents are still around to spoil my kids with attention and affection. I am thankful that they get to experience some of the same things I did as a kid. I feel at home up there and want to enjoy it as much as I can while it is still available to us.

I took about 250 pictures this week. I will post most of them on Facebook.