Monday, December 3, 2007

Throwing rocks


We were in the beautiful Ozarks for our Thanksgiving holiday where my parents own some property close to RB's family. We stayed in what my family lovingly calls "the shack," a little cabin that was existing when they purchased the land. Despite the chilling weather- thanks to an old wood burning stove- we were all toasty warm (the shack also now has new walls, a fully functioning bathroom, washer/dryer, seven beds, and a satellite- a regular hunting paradise). Here are a few pictures RB took of the rather scenic remains of some of the other original buildings still standing... barely.

We all had a great time there and despite the late nights, Noah still managed to rise at the break of dawn each day. I couldn't figure out where he was getting all his energy until I discovered his little secret...
After that, Grammy was willing to keep a close eye on him to make sure there was no more mischief.
Calvin was introduced to the 4-wheelers, again. Up until not too long ago, he was deathly afraid of them and their "too loud engines." Now, for better or worse, there was no fear. His uncles, aunt, and grandpa were all happy to drive him around to his heart's content. They even showed him a few tricks that will probably come back to haunt me someday.

This is how you scare your mom...
this is how you jump...
and this is how you die...
Along with the safety-first theme, Calvin also discovered the hereditary love of artillery-from both sides of the family. Grandpa and RB were all too willing to show him exactly what to do with a gun.


Fortunately there were other distractions besides the guns and ATV's. I've realized how much money we've wasted on toys! All both boys wanted to do was play in the dirt and throw rocks into the river. They honestly could have spent all day out there, just throwing rocks. I must be missing something. Luckily, with Christmas right around the corner, a big pile of rocks and dirt fits right within our budget.


One of our favorite things about this trip was that Thanksgiving dinner and the annual, pre-feast football game were able to be enjoyed with both families together. Calvin was in heaven with all of his grandparents, aunts, and uncles (sorry Any) in one place .




9 comments:

Julia Jones said...

RB, Please enter your pictures in a show. I bet there is an Ozark's nature show with a huge "cash money" prize! You must do something with them!

kristi lee said...

didn't know you were blogging care! YEAH!!! i found you through val. . .now all my ol roomies, except 1, are bloggers. love it! you're fam is adorable. i'm not posting or writing much these days due to lack of time and free hands. . .but i always check up on my girls. stay in touch!

JR and Steph said...

RB, those are some great pictures, could you please send the ones you took of Kim and Kendee's family to our e-mail? jarhowie@msn.com
Hope you have Merry Christmas

Scott Rowley said...

Looks like you guys had fun. Calvin is such a crack-up, especially in nursery. I don't know if she mentioned to you or not, but Lonica made a post on our blog about something he said when she was singing with them. He was the one who said he doesn't even like Jesus. http://www.scottandlonica.com/blog/

Lonica said...

Love your blog! Knowing Calvin makes it all the better. Thanks for the good read.

P.S. You pictures are amazing; I love them! Any tips on how to take such great photos?

Kirsten said...

Great photos you guys! I need photography lessons from you guys! It looks like you had such a fun trip and I bet Calvin was in heaven with all the fun boy stuff...guns, ATV's,etc. Thanks for sharing!
P.S. Remind me to tell you about Ammon almost dying on an ATV one time in Utah...doing some of the same stunts! ;)

Valerie said...

Looks like you guys had a fun Thanksgiving. The pictures were great. We took Owen up to the mountains this summer when we were visiting my parents and he loved throwing rocks in the river and playing in the water and dirt. I totally understand where you're coming at with the whole "why buy toys" thing. Now we just have to get our boys together some time. Can you imagine the fun!

Kristin said...

I have to admit, I was a little worried about the "Shack" when I saw the first picture.

Andréa Morrow said...

great pictures and hope you guys had a good Holiday and New Year!