Wilderness Retreat

We packed up the car and headed to Robbers Cave State Park in OK for a wilderness retreat. One of our nieces, Emma, worked with her dad to plan a family camp out.

I'll be honest, I was tired, pregnant, and not all that excited about it this trip. Turns out, what you need most, isn't what you think it is. We had a great time being away from the city and enjoying God's beautiful creations.

Here are some memorable moments from our trip.

(1) Miss Sophie - Our camp site was on the bank of the river -- absolutely beautiful with the sun setting and fall leaves changing colors. While we were yet unpacking the cars, Sophie managed to do the unthinkable -- jump into the water! Of course, she claimed it was an accident. We should have expected as much from the crazy 3 year old...but she was given amble warning. Luckily, we could share Tanner's extra shoes/coat so she could be all nice and cozy.

(2) Mr. Tanner, on the other hand, had another "accident" that was completely my fault. On the car trip down, we put him in a diaper so we wouldn't have any emergency potty breaks in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. While we were getting settled in and making dinner, Tanner mentioned he had to go to the bathroom. I didn't feel like hiking down to the bathroom to take him -- so I told him just to go in his pants. He gave me a weird look and then repeated to ask to go to the bathroom. Well, needless to say, he finally headed my advice, except to my horror, I realized he was not wearing a diaper (Anthony had already put his undies back on). I just told my child to pee in his pants, awesome!

(3) Miriam - 8 years old, going on 20. My favorite quote all weekend, "I'm glad I'm not like those other fancy, frilly girls. Alls I need is a slick of chapstick and I'm good to go."

2nd Favorite Quote: Getting ready to eat pancakes and pouring Aunt Jemima syrup on Tanner's Pancakes. "No, mom! That's girls syrup. Do we have any BOY syrup?"

(4) Robber's Cave - We hiked up with the whole family about a mile to Robber's Cave -- an old cave that robbers used to make their escape over 100 years ago -- until finally it was purposefully dynamited to prevent such escapes.

We should have know with the ones, they always prefer to take the path less traveled. The was a easy trail for us to hike up, but of course, the kids preferred to climb the rocks no matter how steep. And with toddlers, it can be quite scary, to say the least.

Somehow we made it, safe and sound. Here's a breathtaking few from the top:

Inside the cave, we had our own sort of fun:

Nature's playground.

Cassidy is always the adventurous time, and if you saw her dad, you'd understand why.

(5) Roasting S'mores by the fire. The BEST part of camping and the only reason I agreed to come in the freezing cold weather. It doesn't get much better...

(6) Freezing Cold -- When I first decided to come, I didn't realize it would be in the 50s for the high. At night, it must have gotten into the 30s. Anthony reassured me I'd stay warm with the sub-zero sleeping bag. "When I use that sleeping bag, I don't need anything else on, otherwise I got too hot." Well-- I beg to differ. Even with my 3 layers of clothing, I froze. And poor Tanner did too. He kept waking up every 30 minutes. Around 2 am, he started screaming, "I want my shovel!" (i.e., another nightmare about having to share his toys). Anthony about had it and dragged him to the car. He didn't like that much either, but made a truce with him he could return to the tent if he was quite and slept in his own sleeping bag. It worked like a charm cause that was the last time (that night) he woke up.

(7) Keys. On second thought, though, it wasn't the smartest idea. On the late-night escapade, turns out the keys got left in the car and Anthony locked it. It's hard to think straight in the middle of the night. Luckily, a few phone calls and $20 later, we were back in our car. I was shocked at how quickly the "locksmith" worked his magic, but I'm sure there's a few scrapes I don't want to know about. The important thing -- we got our keys!

I've learned my lesson. Next time, we're sleeping in a cabin!

Despite the cold weather, we definitely enjoyed the beautiful scenery, mugs of hot chocolate, a quick snooze by the lake, s'mores by the fire, paddle boating in the sun, touring the nature museum, feeding the huge goldfish, and enjoying time with family.

The kids were entertained 110% of the time. Turns out, all kids need to be happy is dirt and shovel and spent majority of time building some sort of castle. They tried to go "fishing" but only caught weeds. At least they got to see/touch some other fisherman's trout. Tanner also enjoyed "going on bear hunts" along our hike the following morning.

Fall Festivities -- State Fair of Texas

In Texas, the State Fair is a BIG deal.

In preschool, they spent a few days learning about the State Fair of Texas and even had off one day for Fair Day. Tanner made a poster of the mascot, Big Tex, just as big as himself and he couldn't wait to see Big Tex in person. However, he immediately got scared when Big Tex started to talk. And I don't think he had any idea of how big "Big Tex" really was.

Down on the Farm

They have a cute exhibit where kids get to go through the motions of working on the farm -- planting seeds, watering the crops, feeding the animals, gathering the eggs, harvesting the fruits/veggies, and then delivering the goods to the market -- in exchange for money they use to buy a treat.

All these activities are right up Tanner's alley. He LOVED it!

Planting a seed in the dirt

Can what Tanner's favorite part was??? Riding on a tracker!



Petting Zoo

It's not every day you get to feed and pet a giraffe, zebra, you name it! Or see baby piglets just a few days old.

We also went to the horticulture building to see llamas and other sheep-like animals (can't even remember the names) getting their hair trimmed for upcoming competition. After they were sheered, they wore specials jackets to keep their coat soft and masks so they don't eat shavings -- they're on a strict diet. Never knew how intense these competitions can be...

We saw the fattest, biggest pig too. If I had to guess, it was over 10 feet long.

Lil Rodeo

Tanner got to be a real 'cowboy' and participate in his first rodeo.

Tanner had to rope a "cow" and be the first to knock it down. He didn't really know what was going on and gave me that look "why the heck did you make me do this" beforehand. Can't help it, it's what moms do best.
But he made a new friend. And enjoyed riding on a "horse."

Car Show

We also watched the Ultimate Dog Show and Mother Goose Story time.

On a whim, I decided to let Tanner have a peak at the car show. And honestly, this was his favorite part. Who needs rides or deep fried food anyways?

He could have stayed here the entire day. He was so enthralled. And for once, they don't mind if you pretend to take a test drive the real-deal.

Fall Festivities -- Dallas Arboretum

At the beginning of Fall, I felt like summer had gone by way too fast and before I knew, it was already over.

But in Texas, Fall is really where it's at. It's too hot in the summer to do anything outdoors that doesn't involve water and swimming pool. So we definitely make the most of our beautiful fall weather.

My favorite place to celebrate fall is the Dallas Arboretum -- we love the pumpkin village, hay maze, petting zoo, Kindermusik, and yes, even face painting.

And this is where the obsession with Spider Man ALL began.

(Laughing after getting a peak in the mirror)

Watch out for those spidey webs!

Petting the soft pony. Tanner thought he had made a new friend until he looked away and the pony almost knocked him over.

And there's nothing better than hanging out and playing with friends!!

Blessings

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect upon the many blessings we have in our life. And this year, our hearts have been especially full of gratitude for our answered prayers, blessing us with a new baby arriving April 2012.

And in case the picture doesn't give it away, it's a GIRL!!!

We've been trying everything in our power to get pregnant ever since last summer after the loss of our other sweet baby girl, Aubrey. We came so so close, yet so far away.

We even began the initial stages of fertility treatment. But then we decided before relying upon science, we should see if the Lord could help influence this decision any. And we prayed like never before.

Even Tanner joined us. All summer long, he had been telling us, "I want a baby I can take to home!" After seeing newborn cousins and friends, we concluded he didn't like sharing :) We gently reminded him that is this is what he wanted, he needed to ask Heavenly Father when he prayed. And he did.

One morning, when Anthony and I were still asleep, Tanner came running into our room. "Mommy, mommy, there's a baby in your tummy!" Being half awake, I had to ask him again. "What did you just say?" But there was no mistaking, "There's a baby in your tummy!" He pulled away the blankets and wanted to take a look. I asked him. "Tanner, how do you know this?" His simple reply, "Jesus told me when I prayed."

Honestly, I was shocked he even understood the whole logistics of this pregnancy and that first the baby has to grow inside my belly before it's ready to be born. I never had to explain any of this -- he just seemed to know. And he was ready to tell the whole world, "There's a baby in my mommy's tummy!!

I had found out a few days earlier by taking a pregnancy test, but had decided to wait until my first appointment. On one side, I was completely ecstatic and excited that we were officially pregnant, but on the other, completely worried that something could go wrong -- again. I felt like I couldn't "really" be happy and celebrate until I was holding a newborn baby in my arms.

Tanner's reassurance was all I needed to calm my fears and bring me to tears. This little baby girl was conceived exactly one year from our loss -- and was no coincidence! I know she'll have a special place in our family -- and knew it was a girl before the doctors told me.

And she was definitely trying to keep that part a secret! She wanted no part of having them look at her bottom. [2 sonos later, laying on different sides, using the bathroom -- trying everything -- she finally let us have a peak!!]

Unfortunately, Tanner is the only one not excited about that part. He's still in denial. At first, he would say it was a girl, but eventually, he got dead set on the baby being a boy -- just like him!! Trying to explain gender to a 3 year old isn't really easy, either. Then I tried to explain maybe we could have another baby boy later, but he started telling people, "There's 2 babies -- a girl and a boy!" But I'm pretty sure when he meets this little girl for the first time, his heart will be completely won over.

Fall Festivities - Sea World

If you're wondering why I haven't posted, it's cause there hasn't been time!!

Every other weekend we've been backing up our bags and heading out for some new adventure. It's been awesome having year-your 3 day weekend since Anthony and I are both off of work in Fridays...

During the week and when I'm not working, I pretty much sleep. Thank heavens Tanner still takes a nap -- cause nap time is now an essential part of my day too. Being pregnant sucks all the energy out of me. But overall, no complaints!

Sea World -- AGAIN!

Originally, we were going to head to San Antonio for a dental conference. Anthony decided it would be better use of his time to hang out with us, and who can complain about that??

Feeding the Seals

Yup, that's a real fish. Yum, Yum!
Loved the tiny little baby seals lying in the sun.
These seals definitely aren't shy or quit!

Feeding the Dolphins
Dolphins are so much to watch. These dolphins are not shy either, but can definitely tell when you have food and when you do not!

Inside the shark tank

Deep Sea Diver

Seeing Elmo's 4D movie. Not sure I was ready for the realistic effects -- like wind, water, vibrations, holograms -- you almost feel like you're actually in the movie.

And of course, rides!


And oh yes, even the parents can join along.

Tanner loves to pretend he's a cookie monster (who doesn't!). But seeing him in person, he was super shy!