A Weekend to Give Thanks....T-Day wrap up

Turkey day started with Alex taking one of our Toms for Our Friday Turkey dinner with the Carleton Family. We brined the bird and it was delicious. Very thankful! We left shortly after this for Oregon.

Talin coming out to see what's going on....Turkey Turkey!

Photo courtesy of J. Carleton

Good friend Sheelagh has already completed an absolutely fabulous post complete with wonderful pictures of our great Thanksgiving weekend in S. Oregon with her family, but here are a few more pictures. Please go to her blog for a great read! Her husband John has some amazing camera skills and his pictures are wonderful at capturing the moment! But, as a rundown, our two families met just 7 miles east of Port Orford Oregon at a wonderful cabin on the Elk River. The Elk in late November is famous for great salmon fishing. And this is a known fact as there were dozens and dozens and DOZENS of other drift boats on the river. But, alas, wonderful fisherman Alex with his sneaky drift boat access provided by the cabin we rented was able to hold his own amongst the pros and have a wonderful couple of days fishing.

Meanwhile all of the rest of us adults and kiddos had fun playing, hiking, walking to the fish hatchery, amongst all of the usual tidbits that go along with a normal day in a oh so excellent cabin on a holiday weekend, (playing on a three tiered bunk bed! Roasting s'mores in a oh so cool sun-room with a wood stove! Movie bliss---parents get a break, yay!!!) We also consumed no less than about 40 apples from our tree, one half of a huge pumpkin made into pumpkin pie/waffles/soup/ you name it!, and the majority of one 14 lb turkey! Sheelagh was nice enough to bring the rest and besides the above mentioned items, was the master chef in the kitchen, whipping up such delicacies as gluten free stuffing, terrific tacos,  aMAZING kiddie ramen, pumpkin bread and waffles, and the PIE!!!!!! She was truly the superb chef!

Tree house fun! Photo courtesy of J. Carleton

Now THAT is what I call an awesome bunk bed! Photo courtesy of J. Carleton

Blissful Book reading! Photo courtesy of J. Carleton

All 6 wonderful little faces at the fish hatchery

looking at the fish ladder...

This could be Forrest and Talin, (on a good day ;-) But it's Jonah and Talin! It was really great to see the kiddos get along with one another, and for the two soon to be 4 year olds, Jonah and Forrest, who are just 5 days apart, help the little brothers of the group.

There's a whole lot of kids in that great bath tub and one is even missing!

We are so thankful for great weekends like these. As Sheelagh so aptly said, not much sleep was had, but the whole experience was really priceless. From our family's perspective, being able to be a part of the Carleton's holiday weekend is so great because they are a family with not just two young kids, but FOUR WONDERFUL kids! The way they run their household, the parts of the day where they are super organized, (mealtimes, bathtimes, diciplining) and then the parts where the great free-spirited Sheelagh and John PLAY with their kids, truly treat them as people and friends was a pleasure to see. It teaches me, in my smaller, but still very much chaotic household, that it really does pay to be organized and timely with those certain things, and with other things, it certainly pays to be flexible, to put yourself in your kids shoes, which they are certainly doing a wonderful job at!

Till next year Carleton Family! Looking forward to great adventures with your big clan of little people!

The Turkey Dinner meal makers trying those drumsticks!!!

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The whole gang!