Hoke we homa

Our kids must have pronounced Oklahoma 17 different ways as we drove up on late Friday afternoon. They were so excited that we were going somewhere that none of us had ever been before. We talked about the Oklahoma city bombings on the way and so the minute we crossed the state line Ribbit asked "where is that building that blew up?".

It also rained off and on the whole way and finally Baby Boy asked " who keeps pushing the rain button?" That made us chuckle! He also saw a smaller bulldozer on the side of the road and exclaimed " look, that digger is just the right size for me!".

Devotions with Daddy at the dinner table. I am pretty sure this is when Goober asked if we had been married for 20 years :), nope, only 8!

Getting ready to explore and catch boots!

Putting our rainboots to good use. Daddy doesn't share our love for them :) I feel like I scream " I AM FROM ALABAMA" in this picture!

We took this picture while watching our kids splash in puddles and catch bugs. When I showed it to Adam he said "look at those old people".

Daddy Daughter swinging

When we finally got to our cabin the sun was out and the weather was perfect. We went to Lake Murray State Park and rented a smaller cabin for two nights. It had two twin beds, that we pushed together to make a large one for all 3 kids to share and a pull out sofa that Adam and I tolerated :). We honestly didn't spend any daytime in the cabin, only to change out of muddy clothes or grab something out of the fridge so it being small wasn't an issue. Our closest church friends and their two kiddos rented the cabin right beside us and we enjoyed having a big yard for all the kids to share, hammocks for everyone, a fire pit and picnic tables to share and being in yelling distance of all 5 kids at all times :).

Bikes for everyone!!

Always racing each other!!!

We were probably trespassing at some point as we climbed around, up and hung from this rock tower :)

The ultimate rock climber and his pose!

The cabin was right across the road from a park with plenty of sidewalks for our kiddos to ride bikes on, really close to several nature trails and steep bike trails. We were less than a 10 minute drive from a beautiful beach, nature tower, rock tower, fishing pier, mini golf, boat dock, marina and restaurant. It was super family friendly and ideal for a weekend getaway.

Panoramic view of tower and our little monkey

Listening to Daddy read from Marley and Me

The first thing we did on Friday night was have our dinner and devotions. Then we went exploring and found this huge rock tower that the kids enjoyed climbing all over and coming up with reasons for its existence, they all agreed it was an old jail. We rode bikes, played on the playground and as the sun set we headed back to the cabin for storytime (Adam is currently reading to them from Marley and Me) and bed time. Adam and I stayed up and read some and then conked out ourselves.

Early start on our day!

This lasted all of 5 minutes. I think she liked wearing my hoodie more than anything else.

Best Daddy Ever

He was a pro at casting before too long!

The next morning we were up and ready at 6:30...right on schedule for our kids!! I made pancakes with fruit and we got dressed to go fishing. It was such a family oriented place but we were still the only ones out on the pier for a while :). We "fished"....as in throw your line out as far as possible, scream at the ducks in the pond, point out every turtle and ripple you see, ask a million questions about fish and then wonder why we aren't catching anything...the fish would have to be deaf.

Wooly mammoth bones!

Stairs of DOOM

Yes, Adam is squatting so he doesn't see how high up we are :)

On one of the many balconies..it was a beautiful day and view!!

Next we headed over to Tucker Tower Nature reserve. We found out that it was originally built as a summer retreat for the governor of Oklahoma but it was never used in that way. Inside the nature center the kids got to feel different pelts, make butterflies, see stuffed local animals, watch hummingbirds, learn about the Indians who once lived there and see all kinds of marine life. From there we hiked up to the tower and explored it. THAT WAS NERVE-WRACKING. The tower goes straight up and is basically one long giant spiral staircase with a room and balcony on each floor. Our younger ones like to look backwards as they walk up steps and that combined with Adam's fear of heights made for an interesting and quick trip up to the top and back down. We did enjoy the beautiful views of Lake Murray from the top and learned a lot of history on the way as well.

One of the two beaches at Lake Murray

After gobbling down some snacks we changed into our swim suits and headed to the smaller beach, closer to our cabin. It had poured the night before so it was muddy and cold but the kids didn't care at all. Our friends rented a kayak and we watched them as the other kiddos played in knee deep water. They kept saying how cold they were but never got out. Then they would "accidentally" trip and before you knew it they were covered in muddy water. We headed back to the cabins after about an hour of that for clean up and lunch!!!

When we are camping with our church friends we always divide up meals. Its all together cheaper, more fun and leaves the wives with less planning and prep. That day we had sandwiches, chips and fruit....I think we ate everything the other family brought for the meal :). I was in awe as I watched all 3 of them put away two plates of food, I guess they had worked up an appetite!

After lunch Adam put up the hammocks and the kids enjoyed playing on those and doing a little hike right in between the two cabins. I took off for a quick run. I have finally been able to consistently keep my miles at 8:15-8:45, even outdoors, which for some reason being outdoors really slows me down. I got 3 miles in at 26.23 minutes and called it done. I was pouring sweat and loved that I was able to take on some of the hills around our campsite.

Watercoloring outside with momma

The little kids and I then did some painting, one of their favorite camping activities is outdoor art....I love it too since I hardly ever get to do my own thing!! Adam and Goober went off to do some trail riding with the mountain bikes and they came back COVERED IN MUD and Goober has not stopped talking about that time with his dad since!!!

Jesse and Ribbit, same age, best buds!

Baby Boy, Jesse and Ribbit

Bubbas in the hammock together

I'll wrap up the rest of our trip in a weekend post. I can't tell you how many days this one post has taken..between Gallery Nights at school, football, cheerleading, baseball, Ranger games and life we have yet to have a night at home since we got back from Hoke we homa :).