40

Barrett turned 40 this weekend! It was a weekend of celebrating this wonderful husband and daddy in our family!

Saturday evening we went out for a birthday dinner at Red Lobster!

The kids checking out the lobsters

Playtime for the birthday boy...

For Christmas Barrett got this mini speed boat.  This weekend was the first time he tried it out in the pond by our house.  It was so much fun to watch!

Jack liked taking control of the boat for a short time too.

 Presents!

 Barrett opening presents with his 2 little helpers.

 Clothes, shoes, bubble gun (from the kids), and coupons/notes to go out and do some shopping.

 One thing he got to pick out and install was a new light fixture for the breakfast room.

 On the evening of his birthday (memorial day) we had a cookout/birthday party.  Barrett grilled out burgers and hotdogs.

 Some of the kids found their own little nook to eat their dinner.

 Amelia had fun playing with some of the toys and costumes that the cousins brought over. If Amelia had hair, this might be what she would look like! Not too bad!

 Jack happily sang "Happy Birthday" to daddy then promptly blew out the candles at the end of the song without even thinking about it.  Poor Jack felt horrible about it too!  The sensitive little guy got all sad and didn't even want to eat any cake he was so upset.

 We re-lite the candles and the birthday boy was able to blow out the candles on his own.

 Barrett got some extra snuggles from Jack while Jack tried to calm down.

 Amelia tore down the balloon garland I had hung over the fireplace but she was happy as could be carrying the cluster of balloons around the house (and sharing them with daddy while he opened up his presents.)

 The party guests - some family and a couple neighbors

 Amelia and Lorelei were twins for the evening...this wasn't even planned!

40 and Sporty!

The hat was compliments of his big brother Brantley.  You can't tell in the picture, but the 40 lights up and blinks!

 I am one blessed lady to have you as my husband, Barrett!  Life is sweeter with you around.  I look forward to everyday ahead with you.  I pray the year ahead will be full of lots of joy and happy memories made.

 Happy 40th Birthday, Barrett!

Mount Mystic Cabin

We had our first real getaway without the kids. Our excuse to go away was to celebrate Barrett's birthday (the big 4-0).  It was amazing! We went to Broken Bow, Oklahoma - about a 3 hour drive from home and stayed in a BEAUTIFUL cabin at the top of a small mountain.  Everything about it was perfect! We were gone 3 nights.  The weather was outstanding!

We stopped in Paris for lunch on the way to Oklahoma (Paris, TX that is...)

We ordered the sack of burgers at Braums.  We may or may not have finished them all off. Delicious!

Who can go to Braums without getting some ice cream? Not me!  One scoop of Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate in a waffle cone, please.

We made it up the mountain to the cabin! We actually got to ride in the jeep.  That is a rare                                 occurrence since car seats don't fit too well in it.

Notice the big pile of firewood in front of the cabin and the campfire area down the hill behind the house.

Our view

View from the bedroom.

My pictures don't do it justice.  It was perfect!

Dining area

Living area and kitchen

The bedroom

Back patio

Hot tub and campfire

First night - grilled steaks, baked potatoes, and asparagus

  Dinner on the back patio

We went hiking a couple of the days

Taking a break on the U shaped tree.  We had never seen a tree quite like this before.

A view of the canoes

Each night Barrett built a campfire for us.  So much fun for him to build and so relaxing for me to just sit and enjoy.

Each night we also enjoyed smores!

My mouth is watering just looking at this picture.

One morning we went on a 5 mile kayak ride.  We parked our car at the end of the 5 miles, rode a van to the start of the 5 miles, then kayaked back to our car.

It was so peaceful and quiet on the water.  We took our time and enjoyed the beauty.  It took about 3 hours going at a slow pace.

I thought it was so interesting to see how different trees had such different root systems.

All of God's creation is so interesting!

Partway through our journey we pulled over onto a rocky beach to stretch our legs.

One evening at the campfire we tried out the BB gun.

We had lots of time to just sit and read.

Breakfast

More reading, apple cider, and a view.

 More hiking

 Lots of steep hiking our last day.

We considered fishing but found that trout fishing is way different from the cat fishing we are used to.  With trout fishing, all the fishermen were out IN the water and it looked more like fly fishing.  

 Our last dinner out was at the Blue Rooster

 Fried Catfish, hush puppies, fries & fried jalapenos (which ended up being my favorite!)

 It was fabulous having several days away to just enjoy each other.  We definitely couldn't have done it without the help of Mom-mom & Pepa watching Jack and Amelia.  They are such a blessing!

Until next time Mount Mystic....

For anyone interested in more information about this cabin or others in the area, here is a link:

http://www.hiddenhillscabinsok.com/cabins/mountmystic.html#.U3-u88tOVes

Their pictures of the actual cabin are so much better that the ones I took here on my phone.