Rick and I have decided that this is the summer of making lemonade out of lemons. We have tried to take a family vacation for two months. Each time we put a vacation on the calendar, a medical or financial crisis would creep up on us. With each failed attempt, we hoped for another opportunity.
Our last attempt to leave this pit of hell, a.k.a. Texas in July, was two weeks ago. When that trip had to be cancelled, we decided to throw in the beach towel. Instead of vacating, Rick took three days off for "staycating" last week.
The first two days were spent on some local attractions. Well, if you can call the doctor's office an attraction, then we spent two days at our local attractions. If not, then we spent one day in the doctor's office and one day at the movies.
Anywho, we saved the third day for the best. We drove to Chickasaw National Recreation Area near Sulphur, OK for our favorite swimming hole. One jump into that spring-fed body of water, and you forget that it is indeed sultry July. The water is about 65 degrees in the direct sunlight.
We left home after breakfast and arrived at Chickasaw two hours later. All 5 of us were carefree and giddy, until we saw this posted at our favorite spot:
Dad gum! You've GOT to be kiddin' me! What were we to do?
We threw caution to the wind and jumped in anyway.
I'm kidding. We jumped in before we saw the bacterial warning. Gulp.
Once we noticed the sign, we pulled everyone out of the water. There was much whaling and gnashing of teeth. Until Rick told me to suck it up for the kids.
I kid. Sort of.
Shortly thereafter, we paid the park ranger a visit. She told us that Chickasaw's bacterial standards are much higher than most national parks and that she swims in it herself. She said that we should be careful not to drink the water.
Well, thank you.
We spent the next few minutes weighing our options and decided that we would allow the boys to play in the shallow water with an extra warning of not putting the water in their mouths.
They were pleased. They spent the next hour pushing logs upstream and watching them roll with the current.
Rolling with the current...it's a fine art I'm trying to learn.
Daddy's help was requested, and he jumped right in. Actually, he fell in.
I love to make fun of my husband. He can dish it as well as he can take it.
Garret, oh my Garrett. This photo is of him in timeout. After hitting his brother out of frustration.
I would like to think that he was pondering the reason for his timeout. But past experiences tell me that he was sulking.
All in all, it was a fun day. We were able to cool off and enjoy our family time.
I wanted to share the next 3 photos with you for one reason. Because my boys need their glasses 100% of the time, it is rare to photograph their beautiful eyes without the glare of polycarbonate lenses. God blessed me with such handsome boys, and their sparkly eyes remind me of the joy in life.
Liam the rock collector
Jack has the longest eyelashes God ever created. I've tried countless times to catch his lashes with the camera, and I fail every time. Trust me when I say that you would covet his luscious lashes.
And my G.
Liam will take a cat nap and then ride with a smile.
And Jack will sleep the entire trip.
I'm pretty sure God is trying to teach me a big lesson in making lemonade this summer. I am a blessed woman, and I need to remember that.
1 comment:
Micah is like Liam! He collects everything! There is a jar on his dresser that we call the "treasure jar". It is full of a 6 year old's idea of treasure. =)
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