Blue River Camping

My favorite quarantine weekend adventure was our camping trip along the Blue River in Tishomingo.  We had been monitoring chances of rain the week before going.  It wasn't until Friday night at 7:30 we decided camping was a GO.  We quickly gathered up our camping gear, headed to bed and were off the next morning!  

I didn't know what to expect in Blue River but it was phenomenal.  Absolutely gorgeous!  We scored the best campsite right along the river.  Our campsite was secluded, river access, multiple fire pits and river rope swings, trails going every direction from the site and no other campsite in our view!  You couldn't reserve campsites so we chanced it by driving 2.5 hours not knowing if anything was open.  Totally out of my comfort zone but 100% worth it!  

 Sadie was our tent watchdog!  This house dog has become quite the adventurous dog!

These views were amazing!

 The kids loved the rope swings!  Would love to go back when the river is warmer for swimming!

Mason's birthday kayak was a super fun addition to camping!  We had the perfect water entrance at our campsite.  Tyler and Mason kayaked and fished the entire day!

 While they were fishing the rest of the crew went exploring! 

Such a hidden gem in Oklahoma!

We had on and off rain while we were trying to cook dinner.  We would get everything out, fire started, it would start raining, we would pull everything in the tent and then the rain would stop.  This happened on repeat but we were able to get dinner, smores, campfire stories and games all in!  

This picture was during one of the rain stints.  A little rest never hurts! 

We had a fun late night in the tent playing cards and twister with the kids.  So many laughs and memories made.  This will be a night I will never forget!  A night of camping with my people was so good for the soul!

Everyone slept great!  The running river was the perfect noisemaker for a peaceful sleep!  We definitely plan to have another camping adventure soon.  It was a hit with the entire Miller family!

  

Happy 6th Bday Mason

Happy 6th birthday Mason Miller!  You love life BIG and live everyday to its fullest.  You have the biggest and most loving heart!  Your huggies can make any day better!  I have no doubt you will continue to squeeze with so much love forever!  You love everything big but nothing compares to your love of God.  Anytime you express your love for something it is followed by "I love you more than anything in the whole wide world except for God".   Your big brown eyes tell the best stories and help you get whatever you want.  It sure is hard saying no to those big brown eyes and long eyelashes batting!   Those big brown eyes and your cuteness probably contribute to your ornery side!!!  You have a love for sports and playing them with your friends.  You sure are one talented 6 year old!  We love watching you dominate baseball, soccer, basketball and football!  Your love for sports and nature is your daddy's dream!  You could fish with daddy everyday and never get bored!  You also could eat pancakes or waffles at every meal!!!!  I'm buying at least one bottle of syrup every week!  We love you so much  buddy and are so proud of everything you do!   I have no doubt six is going to be a big year for you!  You make my mom heart so full!

The birthday fairy visited and did her magic making Mason's birthday wakeup so special!

 Couldn't resist a masked picture!  These are the days we will never forget!

Just a few of Mason's most requested and favorite presents.  Introducing the newest member of the Miller family, Boomer Mark Miller.  His name has been very fluid so it is still subject to change!

 Mason has asked for a kayak for his birthday or Christmas for years but we always say we don't have room to store one.  We came across this two seater inflatable kayak and it could not be more perfect.  Just what Mason wanted and it can fit in a bag after being deflated.  One happy boy!

Mason planned his 6th birthday party for months.  He adamantly wanted a sports birthday party to play soccer, flag football and any other sport with his friends SO we booked him an indoor field and were going to make it happen.  That is until Covid hit  . . . all non-essential businesses are closed and gatherings of more than 10 are prohibited . . . party CANCELLED.   We had to celebrate our special boy so we decided to have a drive by silly string and water gun attack on Mason!  He hadn't seen his friends since school was cancelled and lockdown started so it was extra special!

Preparing with a little extra lysol to all the stilly string cans.  Don't want to be passing any crazy germs!

 We aren't super good at social distancing with our neighbors so our drive-by might have turned into an outdoor gathering :)

Payback for all the times Mason has sprayed adults with a water gun at our pool parties! 

 Mason doesn't love cake so he requested donuts and waffles!  So a donut hole tree and waffle tower it was!

This wasn't the birthday we had originally planned but it ended up being a HUGE success!  Mason said it was the best birthday!  We all had a blast celebrating our favorite 6 year old!  Happy birthday sweet boy!

Easter

Easter looked a little different this year but different ended up being pretty darn good!  Different made celebrating the ultimate sacrifice and our relationships with God the main focus of the holiday weekend.  We are still under a stay at home order, due to Covid, so Easter church service was online, there were no big Easter egg hunts and Easter meal was a little more low key!  

We still decorated Easter eggs.  We tried out the EggMazing and it was amazing!  Never going back to regular egg dying!

 We started a new tradition making resurrection rolls on Easter Eve.  The kids loved finding the tomb empty after baking!

I hadn't put on clothes other than workout clothes, dried my hair or put on full makeup since the lock-down happened.  Easter was a great excuse for us all to get ready for Easter service on our couch!  It felt so good!

 Our service started with all the worship pastors singing Amazing Grace together from their homes.  It was amazing and brought a tear to my eye!

 Last minute we threw together a little Easter egg hunt with some of our neighbors.  We drove golf carts from house to house hunting for eggs at each house.  Super fun and hopefully our new egg hunting tradition!

It was a happy Easter at the Miller house!  We are learning different is good!