Thanksgiving . . . miss us yet?!

We don't miss you, & we wish we were missing Obama right about now . . . 2012!! :) (a billboard we saw on our way to Memaw & Papa's house) We had a great time in East Texas for Thanksgiving. We had planned to camp out, but the weather dealt us a rainy/cold blow & we ended up just hangin' at the casa. BUT, it was o.k. because we had a GRRREAAATTT time playing with our cousins, celebrating my birthday, being together, and having my brother come from Tennessee a few days early just to see me. :)

Here's a few pictures of the fun we had . . . (in no random order) :)

above: I saw a blimp for the very first time in my life. It was the DirecTV blimp---it had a big TV on the side. :) We saw it flying above Houston as we drove home.

below: Karston & Papa braved the cold temperatures and camped in the backyard. They both survived the night, & Karston said only his nose got cold---it was 25 degrees that night. Brrrrrrr!

above: Camee fell in love with yet another dog . . . Memaw's new rodent-like dog named, Josie. :)

below: Papa shows Karston his first BB gun. Karston got to shoot another one of Papa's BB guns, and had no problem hitting the tree he was aiming for. Josh & I talked about how much Papa & Karston were alike. They both like to camp, fish, shoot guns, and our both very mellow. :)

above: Camee got a hold of the camera to take a few shots, this one was my favorite. It was definitely Fall in East Texas.

below: Karston in heaven. He wants his own BB gun now.

above: With a lot of pecan trees around, we tried to eat some, but this nut couldn't be cracked. :(

above: Papa built a second story to the tree house. :)

below: The kids making goofy faces in the leaves.

below: Papa helped the grandkids make a race track in the leaves, so they could ride their bikes. :) Sierra & Camee take off on the newly created road.

below: Josh, Papa & Karston went fishing Thanksgiving morning, and since we were planning on camping out . . . we didn't plan on having a regular Thanksgiving meal, so we just had a fish fry instead. yummy!! :)

above & below: We visited Dawn Cooley's restaurant in downtown Lufkin . . . Confections!! We had yummy hot chocolate & enjoyed visiting our friend. :)

My brother got there about 11:00 on Friday morning . . . it was supposed to be a surprise, but my family isn't good about keeping secrets, and I'm not too good about just letting it go----I have to know what my surprise is. :) But it couldn't have been a better surprise!!! My brother lives waaayyyy to far away, & I don't get to see him as much as I would like. Thank you Josh for driving in the night time hours to spend a couple days with your sis. It really meant a lot to me!! I love my brother. :)

above: Abby & Chris had to work while I was visiting. :( But, that didn't stop us from coming up to the bank at Brookshire's to say hello!! I was looking forward to my Twilight cake, but as Camee said, "Abby makes cakes for everyone else but you." Sooooooo, Abby you owe me!! :)

above: (sorry for the blurriness) me, Megan, Abby & Josh

above: Karston & Burglar Girl (the bird) hang out. :)

below: Papa & Karston ready for their cold night outside in the tent.

above: My birthday party. :) Memaw made me yummy spaghetti and an ice cream cake. :)

above: We ate at my favorite restaurant . . . Ponchos (on the way there), so in Nacogdoches we ate at one of my other favorite restaurants . . . Pepperjacks. :) Yummy!

above: I ran from the forestry building on the SFA campus to my Mom's house. It is kind of a tradition that I run the morning of my birthday. As I'm getting older, it still makes me feel young to be able to exercise. It was the first time I have run since I broke my toe, but I made it ok. Josh gave me a mile and 1/2 head start, and he said he would catch up with me, but I couldn't let him catch up with me, so I pushed myself a little bit . . . there are some BIG hills in Nacogdoches. :(

above: Kayden made sure my cake was very festive by covering my cake with green sprinkles.

above: No offense to my siblings, but it was good to just spend one on one time with my Mommy.

above & below: Camee & Kayden hadn't tried on Memaw's wedding dress (all the other granddaughters had), so they had their opportunity this time around. :)

above: I couldn't just let them have all the fun. :) Memaw's dress is very pretty. Camee & I watch Say Yes to the Dress all the time, so we know wedding dresses, and we say Memaw's dress is one of the most beautiful wedding dresses we have seen.

Words can't really appropriately express how blessed I am as an individual. I have great parents, a great brother, perfect sisters, a wonderful husband, two sweet daughters, and such a handsome son. I love being with my family. & I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to be with them on this special holiday, my birthday . . . ok . . . Thanksgiving too. :)