Thanksgiving Staycation

This year for Thanksgiving we did something that we've never done. We stayed home. No work, no school, no obligations whatsoever. Just lots of sleeping, Netflix binge watching, and spending time together as a family. We were in desperate need of some R&R, and I have to say that it was amazing. 

One evening we made s'mores and watched "A Dolphin Tale".

The kids loved the movie so much that Parker had Andrew help him make a dolphin tale the next day!

Andrew and I were even able to go on a day date! We went to see "Mockingjay"....

....and out to eat at Five Guys. It was my first time, and it did not disappoint.

We had some beautiful weather, and enjoyed playing outside.

We snuggled and took family selfies...

....and the kids have several sleepovers.

We spent Thanksgiving with our friends, the Winkelmann family, who graciously opened their home to our family. We had a wonderful time sharing the day with them. Somehow I didn't get any pictures, but we did snap a family shot at home.

We also went hiking at Garden of the Gods. 60 degrees + November + Colorado = perfect day!

The kids were thrilled to see a deer....

....as well as a rock climber.

We followed up our hike with lunch at Rudy's BBQ.

Although it was hard to be away from family for the holiday, Thanksgiving Staycation 2014 was definitely a success!

~ Thanksgiving 2013 ~

Thanksgiving was a couple of weeks ago, and we sure made quite the week out of it! We decided to go to Arkansas to be with Andrew's mom's family, and we stopped in Oklahoma on the way there and back to sleep and see some more family. Here are the kids in the car!

We were excited to see Andrew's dad and Grandma and Grandpa Strait and enjoy a nice visit!

Next we were off to Arkansas! On our way there, we were passing some of Andrew's old stomping grounds, so we had to stop and take a couple of pictures. Here he is at his high school.

We were all so glad to finally make it to Arkansas! We stayed at a resort near Bull Shoals Lake, and had a great time over the next several days hanging out with family!

Second cousins!

The guys.

Sadie with Nonni!

Thanksgiving dinner....

....and the rest of the crew!

Our family on Thanksgiving....the thing I am most thankful for.

The kiddos with Nonni.

Some of us walking down to a playground near the lake.

Swinging!

He's a monkey bars pro!

Nonni and Parker.

Sadie and cousin Abbey!

Just us girls.

Playing football with Nonni!

The girls swinging.

A little down time.

Guitars and card games.

Sadie and Abbey were sad to say good-bye!

One quick shot of everyone before leaving!

Saying bye to Nonni and Bret....

....and Papa and Gram!

Arkansas to Colorado is a two day trip, so we stayed at my parent's house in Enid coming and going. On our way back home we got to see my grandpa and his wife, Mary Lou!

Saying bye to Grandma and Poppy!

On our way back home, we got a real treat! We stopped at a gas station just after leaving Enid (one that we never stop at, by the way), and happened to run into some awesome friends that we haven't seen in waaaay too long. We were only able to stand a chat for a few minutes before getting back on the road, but it was amazing to see them! Miss you, Emily and Doc!

After 8 days and nearly 32 hours of driving, we were ecstatic to see the mountains in the distance welcoming us home!