Thankful

We are home from a few relaxing, rejuvenating days in Broken Bow, OK. It was hard to leave today, knowing we'd be heading back to the crazy of our normal lives. But it was a great getaway and we have so much for which to be thankful.

As always, our car was packed to the brim. You just never know what you'll need!

Of course we brought all the fixings for our full Thanksgiving meal. We decided we made our best turkey ever!

The girls enjoyed some hot tub time each night. We all laughed because the swimsuit Emma brought had clearly lost its elastic thanks to all the use this summer. Needless to say, we didn't bring it back with us when she was finished soaking.

Our cabin was situated on a quiet dirt road and I enjoyed several walks with Jim, just soaking up the great outdoors.

The weather was cool and mostly rainy, but Emma got out as often as she could. Juggling ...

... ladder ball. 

Sara did venture out to play with her a bit here and there, but mostly just enjoyed being cozy!

They did work together (briefly) on a gingerbread house, but did more snacking than decorating.

Jim loved the freedom and roam and sniff!

On Friday we ventured out to the Mountain Fork Brewery - one of our annual stops - to watch the USA vs. England World Cup game. We got lucky with a spot in front of the only TV showing it, and also simultaneously enjoyed the Yule log channel, which made us laugh.

Even with all the rain, we enjoyed several camp fires late into the nights.

Jim really wanted in on the s'more action.

Fresh popcorn on the stove, terrible wifi, and gravel and leaves underfoot ... I just love all the simple cabin pleasures. 

When Steve started looking for reservations a couple months ago, I wasn't sure we needed to make the trip again this year, but everyone else was fighting for it ... I'm so glad they persuaded me. It was just the time I needed in a beautiful place with the people I love most.

Good Fall Times

Time to blog mid-day ... what is this?!? 

It's Thanksgiving break!! Before we head to the woods of Broken Bow, I'm going to recap the last couple of weeks.

Another softball season ended. This was a tough one for the girls, playing up in a top bracket. They learned a lot and persevered. During one of the last games of the season, all of the lights in the park went out (we found out there was an electrical fire), so the teams took an in-the-dark picture together before heading out for the night. They had already played a couple of tough innings, so it was fun to see the girls just all have silly fun together.

Sara's football season ended. The football team lost in play-offs, but Sara LOVED football cheering. She got to do lots of tumbling and calling cheers. One of the football moms told me, "Wow - Sara was made for this!" Such a nice compliment after lots of hard work. She'll cheer for basketball this winter and then get ready to tryout for high school.

These girls love a Starbucks run.

A couple weeks ago we started a Christmas puzzle while listening to Christmas records. We still love Thanksgiving, too, so I couldn't completely get rid of the decor quite yet!

This past weekend was the best! Adam surprised Melissa with a birthday trip to Plano, and the girls had the best cousin time with Cal. He just turned three and is SO MUCH FUN! He loved watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with them.

On Saturday we went birthday bowling. I promise he loved it more than it looked like in this picture.

We never did get a group picture, but at least I got one with my sister on her birthday. It was so fun to celebrate together. We basically hopped from establishment to establishment (between the bowling, of course, and soccer tournament games). We managed to get to the mall and find a fun spot to watch the first US World Cup game, too.

In between it all, Emma had a very COLD soccer tournament. They went 5-0 and beat a really tough team to bring home gold!

And of course we had birthday cake: Cal - 3, Melissa - 38. So, so glad we got to celebrate with them.

Now we're packing up and will be headed to OK in the morning. Our Broken Bow tradition has become a family favorite and I know we'll enjoy every minute.

Halloween

We had a fun and festive Halloween (even if it was on a Monday, which is the worst). It did mean that we got to spend a Saturday night carving pumpkins and listening to the Halloween record, so that was a bonus! 

Hard at work on digging and designing!

Our finished products ... Emma made the ghost, Sara's was the Taylor Swift tribute, and Steve's was the hand coming out of the ground (running inside joke around here). So I got stuck with pumpkin face.

I was just planning to wear a Halloween shirt to school, but Sara insisted a costume would be better so she crafted me an outfit ala Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" video. It turned out to be a huge hit at school (as she knew it would) and I had a super fun day. Played some games with my staff and students to keep the festive feelings going!

Taylor and Taylor (the next day her new tour dates were announced and we're hoping to snag some tickets this week!)

Taylor and Hermione 

The Daffron Dad's Club wore costumes to open car doors at carpool the morning of Halloween. Emma was sure that Steve would humiliate her and tried to talk him out of going. I'm glad he went anyway!

Sara went trick-or-treating with friends; Steve and Emma went through our neighborhood together; Jim and I stayed home handing out candy (and ringing doorbell made for an exhausting night for Jim).

Now here we are nearly to Thanksgiving. My favorite time of year!