Falls Creek - Mayo River State Park

It was hot today. Dang hot. I wanted to find something wet for the kids to do and Rebecca found the Mayo River State Park. We've actually been the Mayo Park before, but I noticed on the map that there's a different section of the park way to the north, near the Virginia border. In that section is Falls Creek and the waterfall that gives the creek its name. it looked like it was pretty easy to get to, didn't require a bunch of walking, and had a place for the kids to splash around.

 It didn't disappoint. The falls were pretty and the pool in front was so inviting...

 The kids wasted little time getting in the water. A big bonus is that the bottom is mostly sandy and not very deep. even at the base of the falls, the water only got waist deep. 

The kids loved climbing on all the rocks. There were shallow little pools on each level where small fish, crayfish, and waterbugs had gathered. Ezra spent a lot of time trying to catch a minnow with his bare hands. No success there, tho.

 Getting into the falls themselves was like a refreshing massage. It felt so good!

 We had the place to ourselves for a full two hours, but when another family showed up with kids close in age to Ezra and Emma, they lost no time making friends. They even had two pit bulls with them that were the sweetest dogs ever! Shorty, the girl, wanted Irene to do nothing but throw the stick for her over and over! After 3 hours of swimming, climbing, and playing, the kids were tired and getting hungry. We will definitely be going back there soon, tho!

Cookout at Aunt and Uncle B's

Rebecca's Aunt Bethany invited us down to spend some time and cookout with her and her fiance, Bob.

Grandpa, Aunt Kelly, and Cousin Patrick, along with Emily and Callahan came over as well.

Bob's 8-year-old daughter Parker was super excited that the kids were coming over and made a sign to welcome them.

The kids were all really excited about going because Bob's got a great pool with lots of floats.

He also has these fun little things they called "dolphins" that propelled them across the pool. They were easy enough to use that even Irene had no trouble with it.

We had a great time meeting Bob. The kids, in that way kids have, quickly labelled him "Uncle B" since he and Aunt B are together. :) 

Camp 2015 - Sunsets, Sunrises, Stars and Goodbye.

Camp is one of the most beautiful places on Earth when it comes to sunrises and sunsets. Well, usually it is. This particular year we had a lot of foggy mornings, so the sunrises were mostly just a vague brightening of the fog.

 We did have a nice sunset or two, tho.

 Then, the next-to-last morning, we woke to a picture-perfect sunrise.

As we wrap up this series, I just want to throw out a few random things that we did, saw or captured while we were there.

 We did get a chance to go up to Bog River a couple of times and the kids played around in the lake and on the rocks while I fished.

 Fishing was pretty good this year. I caught 5 keepers (smallmouth bass for those inclined to that kind of thing) this year, 2 in our lake and 3 in Bog River. These two 16" beauties were from Bog River.

 I have no idea what's going on in this picture... 

 Nor this one... nutballs.

 The kids played Blokus for the first time. 

 The lake was a daily thing for the kids. We told them before we ever left home that they'd have a huge pool they could swim in every single day.

 Even Irene and Emma were generally friendly toward each other. At home, they spend a good deal of time pestering each other. :)

 The paddleboard was pretty popular with everybody.

Even the wildlife.

 We brought a couple of Lego sets for rainy days, but we didn't have much rain until the day we were packing up to leave, so we just let them build one during a quiet time.

 I love the details they put into things like this... The dresser, the skull, the coffee mug...

This is my favorite thing about being up here. The stars are stunningly clear and bright. 

 So many!

This was really a wonderful trip for us. Sometimes we feel so torn between coming up to Camp or going out to Colorado, but we have yet to regret our choices. :) 

Our next opportunity to come up here won't be for another 3 or 4 years, probably, but it will be well worth the wait!

Colorado 2014 - A Visit with Ruth and Dick

Last year, we were blessed to spend a day with our good friends Ruth and Dick at their apartment and pool. When the kids found out we were going back to Colorado this year, it was one of the first things they asked about: "Are we going to see Mister Dick and Miss Ruth?" They were very happy to hear that we were.

 Thius just happened to be the hottest day Denver had had so far this summer at 98 degrees. 

But, amazingly, it actually felt really cold when the kids got out of the pool. Gotta love Colorado's low humidity!

 Irene was having a good time pulling up and standing on the chair.

 She looks like such a big girl! Now if she would actually crawl and pull up on things at home...

Ruth and Dick got a new dog, Bailey, who just loved the kids and the kids loved her. :)