Turkey in Texas

This thanksgiving all of Mark's family went to his parents house in Texas. They live on their ranch in the panhandle. It's about 2 hours northeast of Amarillo. It was the first time in a long time all the family has been together. I think I counted 41 of us! We left early Wednesday morning and 10 hours later we got there. The weather was beautiful!! So here are a few things we did beside eat.

The quads got a real workout! Mostly by the kids but Mark and I took our turn too!

This is where Kace spent all of his time. He would come in just covered with dirt and a great big smile.

Kensie and Whitney (Vern's oldest) are great friends and spent a lot of time on the red quad. They played a mean game of find the pumpkin with the boys on the other quad.

Kensie and Whit loved giving all the little ones rides. They were usually loaded down.

Vern kids brought their Wii and as you can see that was a big hit with all the kids. Kade plays a killer golf game!

Since the weather was so good the Dad's loaded up the guns and the trucks and went out to be prairie dog murderers. When I saw this picture I thought it was just a little bit scary. That is a lot of guns and a lot of Sherwoods!! When Lincoln saw it he was way scared because he thought they were aiming at his cows!! They weren't, they just aimed at the hundred prairie dogs running around.

I am proud to say that all of my family are accomplished prairie dog murderers. I am so proud!

Even Kensie shot one!

Kace got a couple!

I think Kade got the most!

Here is one of Kades victims. We really did consider taking this one home so Uncle Mike could stuff it. Too bad we didn't bring a bag to haul it in! After two days of shooting the Texas prairie dog population went down quite a bit!

The one thing Mark wanted was a picture of Lincoln and his boys on horses. He plotted and planned and thanks to Lane and Brenda he got it done! It really did turn out great.

We had to get one of Mark and his Dad! Mark just thought they would get on the horse for the picture. He should have known better. Since they were all there and on horseback Lincoln put them to work. Not very much work but they did de horn one of the heifers. They had a great time!

It really turned out to be a great trip!! The cousins just played and played. The adults just visited and we all just ate and ate. The other great thing was all the pictures that were taken! What great memories we have. Thanks Mom and Dad for putting up with all the craziness!

A Quick Trip

A few weeks ago Kensie had her worst week ever. ( 1st real boyfriend= 1st real heartache) It seemed like everyday that week something happened to make it worst. I decided it was time for a change of scenery so that Friday after work Kace and I (Mark and Kade stayed for football) gathered her up, drove to St. Johns and picked up my mom. We then drove to Gilbert to spend the day with my sister. We took Kensie over to my brothers house and my sister in law, Heatherlea, cut and colored her hair. Just spending anytime with Heatherlea lifts your spirits. She is just too much fun! One of Kensie's favorite cousin is Doug and Heatherlea's daughter Anslea. Of course she was there for the whole hair appointment so that also made Kensie smile. Her hair turned out adorable and that always makes everything better!

Kensie thought maybe a drink would make things better. They went for the hard stuff: Dr. Pepper and Figi Water!

The rest of the afternoon we just got to hang out at Liane's house and visit and play with her grand babies. Those cute little one's were great therapy for Kensie. She loves the little one's. One of the best things is that Liane's daughter Kesseli had her third little boy a week before so we got to love on the newest baby. As you can see Kensie loves him. They had a really good nap together. -a little side note- this sweet little new one is Tayce Carmichael Goit and is my sisters fifth grand baby. He is my parents thirteenth great grand baby.

Later that evening Liane's son Jace called some buddies and they all took Kensie out. She had a blast!

Sunday morning we headed back home. It really was just a fast trip but just getting away and spending time with family was really the best medicine. On the drive home Kensie told me it was all going to be OK because as she put it "I'm date able"!! Yes she is. Last week she had two dates in one night. Time really does help and Kensie's heart is mending nicely!!

Snow Witches Anyone?

This is what we woke up to the morning of our Trunk or Treat (which was on Wednesday night). Not only was it snowy all day it was dang cold!!! But we were troopers and still went and passed out our candy at the church. Surprisingly there really was a good turn out and I just love seeing all the little ones in their adorable costumes.

The weather was way better on Halloween. That made the kids happy because they all had things to do and places to be that night. Kace has been a very adorable nerd for the last two years but decided it was time for a change and for his party he dressed up as Officer Sherwood. Oh my!!!! He is such a hoot!!!

Kensie and Jonette had tons to do: institute dance, haunted houses, and a party. They had a blast! Jonette the cowgirl and Kensie the mobster.

Kade is my Halloween stick in the mud. He quit dressing up several years ago. Oh well. He just doesn't get his picture on this blog. He did go out with his friends and I think he even wore a mask!!! (he would probably deny that) Over all we had a fun Halloween. Now...bring on Thanksgiving!!