We knocked out the last hike for Gavin’s Hiking merit badge today and it was a doozy!  Well over six hours after starting we wrapped up and headed back home.  In that time together we saw so much wildlife, it was crazy!  Amongst the critters we saw were muskrat, mink, beaver, snakes, osprey, bowfin, other random fish, turtles, sandhill cranes, hooded mergansers, blue wing teals, coots, geese, mallards, warblers, dragonflies, butterflies, and a bounce of other birds.  It was AWESOME!!!  How cool to see so much of our local wildlife while being out and about.

Time out in the sun outdoors, viewing so much wildlife, soaking in the beauty of the driftless, getting a wonderful endurance workout in…  awesome.  Having the opportunity to do all of that with my family?  Priceless!

Under normal circumstances Becky and I would usually be heading out to a nice dinner for just the two of us to celebrate our anniversary.  Obviously that’s not much of an option so we decided to go with Plan B.  Becky had the wonderful idea of getting food from Lovechild to share with the entire family.  Why not include the boys while we celebrate, right?

The food was AMAZING!!!  For reals, it totally blew my mind due to its deliciousness.  Outstanding!!!  We had a great time enjoying the meal as a family.  For the entire meal the boys were totally polite and nice to each other.  Everyone passed everything around so we all had the chance to try a little of all the awesomeness.  By the time the dust settled we were all full and pretty much everything had been eaten.

The food was outstanding, celebrating our anniversary was great, but spending time with the entire family made it all the more awesome!

Isn’t it funny how when we take time to look around us we can see so many blessings, around us?  As I think through all of the gifts that today has brought I realize that none of these would’ve happened had we not had everything going on as it is currently.  While I can’t change the situation itself I have the opportunity to decide how I will act on the situation and what attitude I will choose.  Today I choose gratitude.  I am so thankful for the bonus time with my family!

Thanks!!!