Back in January, we took a family trip to an area of Oklahoma called Broken Bow, with a group of friends. Even though it rained and was cold all weekend, we still had a blast, and we decided to get even more adventurous, and invite seven families along this time! This works out to 14 adults, 6 pre-schoolers, and 7 toddlers. Wow.
We arrived on Friday afternoon, after a surprisingly enjoyable 3 1/2 hour drive in our new mini-van! I was nervous as we pulled up, because I had kind of organized the trip and found the lodging, and I was really hoping that it would be as good as it had seemed online. I didn't want 7 families looking at me like, WHAT, we drove this far with little kids for these crappy cabins? But thank goodness, the 3 cabins were super cute, the land was covered with beautiful big trees that were starting to change colors, there was a perfect little toddler playground, and a large fire-pit. What more can you ask for?
So I'm not going to lie, the weekend was filled with chaos, crying, whining, falling, tantrums, etc...all the usual things that go with having small children, but increased tenfold because we literally had an entire TEAM of children. But it was SO FUN!! The older boys all got along so well, and were happy to just play with each other, and run around the property exploring and laughing and smiling. The dads also took them on their first fishing excursion, and from what I heard, they caught some whoppers (ok they may not have been huge fish, but the effort put forth was huge!). The babies were thrilled to have a slide and a swing and STAIRS to climb up and down constantly, requiring us parents to always be on the look-out, naturally. But really, for having 13 children on this vacation, it all went remarkably smoothly. And honestly there could not be a sweeter, cuter group than this one.
My boys have gotten so used to travel that bedtimes are a cinch, and sure enough, by 8 pm my crew was bathed, jammied, and happily in bed (if not totally asleep), and everyone else seemed to be right there with us. And then some much needed adult time took place as we enjoyed grilling dinner over the fire, having some cocktails (except preggo me of course), and just laughing and telling stories. GREAT TIMES! I swear sometimes when I'm with this group my cheeks start to hurt from smiling and laughing so much. We really are blessed to have found such amazing friends here in Texas.
We talk about making this an annual trip, but I don't want to wait another year!
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