turner falls

Sometime in the Spring, we were sitting around the Myer's kitchen table talking with the Arlington gang about a possible trip together.  Camping was discussed, but there were doubts about whether or not that would be fun in Texas, haha (myself included)!  Unbeknownst to me, Kevin started talking to Doug about their annual camping trip to Turner Falls.  Kevin said that Doug invited us to tag along, but I worried that they might want to keep it a family trip.  I ended up texting Tracy about it, and she said that they would love for us to come and she sent a GroupMe message to the gang.

After lots of messages, and several itinerary changes, we loaded up the Armada and headed to Turner Falls, Oklahoma with the Myers and another family (the Ghormley's) from their ward.  It took SO long to pack, but we were all pretty darn excited for the adventure.  All we knew about the place was that we were staying in "enclosures" because the cabins were all booked.  The temperatures were dropping since we went the second week in November, but with Doug's method of hanging thick plastic over the enclosure openings, and utilizing multiple space heaters inside, we all stayed nice and toasty.  

When we arrived, the kids were eager to get out and explore. The pictures don't really do the place justice, but the colors were beautiful and it just felt good to be out in nature.

We started setting up camp, but were taking a while because Kevin was sure that he could finagle a way to hang our hammocks inside the enclosure (little house) for us to sleep in.  Everyone else was ready to go on a hike before dark, so Kevin suggested that I go ahead with the kids and he would finish up.  That seemed like a good plan to me, except that I quickly became a little worried about keeping up with both kids on the trail. Luckily, Doug was extremely helpful with helping Brooke get down at each rock, etc. and Tracy was also keeping an eye on Brooke for me.

At one point along the trail, we had to completely crawl (scoot on our sides) to get into a cave opening.  Doug took one for the team and was the all-time baby and child passer as the adults made the scoot.

Brooke loved the adventure, and had fun keeping up with Britton and Cooper. By the time we made it to the bottom of the Falls, it was already so dark.  We still had the whole walk back to the campsite, which was at least a paved road, but Colby was done by this point. He didn't want to be carried, but he also didn't want to follow directions or walk forwards, or act normal. He probably cried for the last 15 minutes of the hike as I squeezed him in my arms and tried to force him to calm down.  We were both a wreck by the time we made it, haha. (This was the only bad part of the whole trip, so I would call that a win!)

The second day was the coldest, but we all managed to keep warm.

We hiked to a few "castles", and made it to a higher point and view of the Falls. It was gorgeous, and something that we had never experienced before as a little family.

Nora needed some convincing to get down for one of the castles, so I bribed her with candy bars.  When I showed everyone the bag of treats in my backpack, Doug made a comment about how I was a true Speech Pathologist, haha.  He knows that we always have a treat to bribe the kids. 

We went on another hike, but unfortunately the trail needed some major attention, so we were doing more bushwhacking than I anticipated.  The edge of the rock path was sheer cliff, so that was alarming as well.  Before we even made it to the top, we had to stop because the gate was locked, but it was still neat to see the Falls from a different angle. And I have this cool picture with Brooke that has an awesome backstory, haha.  She was refusing to look at the camera, so I crouched down to talk to her.  In the meantime, I almost sat on a cactus, so was picking tiny needles out of my behind for the rest of the afternoon.  I even made Kevin bust out the tweezers that night to get the ones that I couldn't get with my fingers.  It's funny now, but it was SO not at the time. (I guess that makes two bad things that happened on the trip, haha.) 

Kevin helped the kids feel how chilly the water was, and they still thought they wanted to get in.

Brooke rekindled her love for Finley, and was grateful that Miss Tracy let her hold him.

One afternoon we ate lunch by a river, and the kids loved sitting on the tailgate on the drive over.

I never mentioned that Kevin did, in fact, get the hammocks to work inside the enclosure, and we both slept really well in them!  The kids also did great, which was a relief.  Brooke was on a twin bed (in her sleeping bag), and Colby was in the pack n'play.  One thing I learned on the trip was that Brooke grinds her teeth consistently throughout the night, but thanks to two sound machines, it didn't bother me too much. 

Our final morning was a hat day for me since we weren't taking showers on this 3 day campout!  They had restrooms down the road that we used each night to wash our face and brush our teeth, but the port-a-potty right by our row of enclosures was perfect for quick potty breaks. 

Each enclosure also had a water spigot outside for brushing/washing/and meal prep.  Colby was happy to help with the strawberries for breakfast. 

The whole experience was really fun, and we are looking forward to crashing the Myer's camping trip again next year! I loved having the enclosures for us to sleep in, which also included a picnic table for meal prep.  We had one big camp fire where all three families prepared their meals, and it just worked out perfectly.  Everyone was laid back, and we were even able to put our babies to bed and enjoy time around the campfire as adults.  It really was such a fun trip, and I'm grateful for the memories we made!