Hanna Land and the Granddaddy's Hike

For Labor day this year we went to the Land (Are you surprised?) We did all of our usual fun things, but this year was extra fun because we went on a hike to the Granddaddy's. 

Bella loves The Land almost as much as we do. 

We inherited this little 4 wheeler, and thanks to Tyler for fixing it up because its the perfect size for Brynn to ride around the pasture. 

Caden loves to fish with Tyler and the Jones boys, and I just know one of these days he will catch a fish. 

Grandpa may or may not have fallen in the river... ok, he definitely fell in the river. 

Makayla took me on a 4 wheeler ride up the mountain and we had the perfect view of the sunset. Teenagers are so much fun to hang out with. 

Tyler has talked for years about doing a hike to the Granddaddy's because he went on a hike when he was a teenager and knew the kids would have fun. The Granddaddy's are just a short 20 minute drive from the Land and a long hike to the lake. I wasn't going to go on the hike, but FOMO made me go (fear of missing out). Tyler and the teenagers jammed out to my old cd's from my college days and told me they didn't know I had such good taste in music. 

This was pre hike. See how we all look so happy? 

The hike was so hard. It was straight up hill for like 4 miles. The kids did great and were so far ahead of us. I had to keep stopping because I was so out of shape. But we finally made it. The view was pretty amazing. 

The boys tried to fish but didn't catch anything. 

Makayla agreed with me... we don't really like hiking. This is her ornery face. 

The hike back wasn't as bad, but my feet were killing by the end. At least I can say I hiked the Granddaddy's now. 

Brynn, Cam, and Grandma stayed back at the Land. They had fun swinging and playing games. 

After a fun weekend we headed home and got stuck in horrible traffic. Good thing we had my old cd's to help get us through. "K-man and E-Dawg's traveling tunes volume 2," and "Songs that rock your face off" was just what we needed. 

Happy Birthday to Me!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!! My birthday and back to school!!

Best birthday gift ever... sending all of the kids back to school. 

Just kidding. I really do love having the kids home during the summer, and I get so happy to send them back to school. This year the kids' first day of school was on August 21st, my 41st birthday!!

Caden is in 7th grade this year and officially in middle school at Elk Ridge. He is excited for 7 different teachers. Caden is taking honors math and Language Arts and I know he will do so amazing this year. 

Caden had to go a day early for 7th grade orientation, so when he was done we all decided the reward for the first day of 7th grade had to be Chick-fil-a. 

Makayla is in 8th grade this year. She is excited for dance company and to be in classes with all her friends. Makayla is taking honors math, honors Language Arts, and honors science. 

I love that these two will be in school together. Hopefully when they see each other in the hall they will be nice. 

The great news is that because of construction by the school, the kids get to take the bus. Do you know how much time this saves me not having to drive them to school in the crazy morning school traffic? I had to document their first walk to the bus stop together. 

Brynn is in 4th grade this year and her teacher is Mrs. Bailey. Makayla had Mrs. Bailey, so we know she is a great teacher and we know Brynn is going to have the best year. She is the only kid left in elementary school, and I'm just sitting her wondering where the time went. It seems like just yesterday we had all three kids in elementary school. Brynnli is so excited for 4th grade. She is in the same class as all of her friends Hazel, Keira, and Paisley. Let's home Mrs. Bailey has good classroom management, or the girls will just talk the whole day. 

Because it was the first day of school and the girls had dance that night, we didn't do much for my birthday. The kids spoiled me with some gifts that night and Tyler said he had a whole date night planned for that weekend. 

To celebrate turning 41, we had a great night away, just the two of us. We stayed at the Little America hotel (which is where we stayed on our honeymoon). We ate at all of my favorite restaurants downtown, went shopping, and slept in. It was such a fun get away with my favorite person. I'm one lucky girl.