The Great Outdoors

Little Man loves the outdoors.  He is such a different child when he is outside and has the freedom to run, play, climb, and explore.  A few weeks ago, we went to Karl's hunting land to put up a tree stand.  This was Coop's first time to visit one of his daddy's favorite places.  He got to ride a horse, ride on a four-wheeler, play in dirt, look for deer tracks, and have a picnic on a trailer in the middle of a beautiful field.  All with a perfect blue sky and feel-good temperatures! 

 The boys on Hank the Horse.  Cooper loved the horse!

 This child did not want to waste a second!  He was ready to go!

Pappy (Karl's dad) showed Cooper what a shooting house looked like.  He was more impressed with the ladder than anything else.

He just couldn't pass up kicking and stomping on the piles.  

After all his hard work, we were sure he would sleep the whole way home.  He was asleep before we even hit a paved road.  I haven't seen Tuscaloosa since the tornadoes last year.  I just never wanted to see the destruction in person.  I saw the pictures and heard the stories-that was enough for me.  However, since we were so close, we decided to drive through.  Karl saw it within two days after the tornadoes, and he's seen it many, many times since.  At one point, we were on 15th Street, and I was looking to my right.  On my left was my old apartment building.  For a split second, I didn't know where we were.  I didn't recognize that spot at all.  As we continued on, I felt my eyes tear up.  Everything looks really good; it just looks different and knowing what happened there and why it looks so different was emotional.  I remember watching the television when the tornado was cutting through Tuscaloosa.  I was standing in the kitchen looking into the living room.  Our new neighbors would be coming over for dinner soon.  The news station did a full screen shot of the tornado.  It was the most horrific thing I've ever seen.  I looked at Karl and said, "There are people down there."  And then I lost it.  It still makes me cry when I think of it.  That was a sad, sad day, and we were so fortunate.  As we got ready to pull on the expressway after our little drive-thru, I heard a sweet little peep from the backseat.  Our wild man was awake after maybe a 30 minute nap, and we had an hour and a half until we would be home!  He did good though and didn't fuss at all.  After all, we were in Karl's truck, and Coop loves riding in the truck!