out in the pasture: happy thanksgiving

we were so fortunate to have a week off for thanksgiving. it was heavenly. we spent 5 beautiful days in central texas with gary's family. 

so let me tell about my man. my man turns into a country boy when he goes back home. therefore, my man spends his time with guns. his days were spent shooting his ar-15 (he built it!) quite a lot while i, got to spend a lot of time with the kids (don't I always?), playing games, crafting, and eating yummy food. my in-laws have a large piece of land and several times during our stay, we would take rides into the pasture to say hi to the cows and goats among other country things...

the days were gloriously and sunny. 

and a sidenote: i am loving this parenthood thing!!! the part i love most are those teaching moments, where they learn something new from either gary or me--heck, even papa & nana (they are the wisest, don't you know? winky face.

one day, andrew watched me pick a few pecans in the front lawn at the house. he was so fascinated by the idea that his nana suggested we go into the pasture to pick up some of the larger ones that grow. we went, and well, they were all gone (thanks, deer) and they barely managed to pick just a couple. needless to say, they were a bit disappointed. 

so the next best thing? throw sticks at the water. they could have done that all day.

while they threw sticks, daddy took care of loading up the rifles for the boys.

....and they really have to work at their aim....something about closing one eye and focusing on the other and standing up straight is super hard for a 6 & 4 year old. but the boys did really well their first time shooting the "chipmunk."

little girl was hilarious with the big ear thingies...(the name escapes me at the moment)...jonah got a great laugh out of it, as did i. just look at her beautiful face!

i am forever grateful for that time to just enjoy the moments. even though i didn't get to shoot off the guns with my country boy like we did here, it was still pretty sweet to see the kids enjoy the time out in the elements--the wild outdoors!. andrew even took my camera a few times and discovered 'new plant species' which he enjoyed telling everybody he came face to face with. he was also fascinated by the thought of going hunting. but maybe in a few years...

i'll post the pictures of our actual thanksgiving later this week. how did you spend your thanksgiving week? was it wonderful? i hope so.
'til next time,