Water=Happiness

Back in August we went boating with some friends of ours here at the lake and it was a BLAST. A few months prior I had been living in pure anxiety and fear about the future and for that one day, it felt SO good to just let go and have FUN. I felt ALIVE. It was definitely what our family needed. Max stayed at my friends house while the rest of us enjoyed a few hours at the lake. I can't think of what the term is, but we were pulled behind in a tub while the owner of the boat would drive us around. My entire body was sore for DAYS from having had to hold on for dear life. I did fairly well holding on, figuring it was my first time doing that. After boating for awhile, we had lunch and I enjoyed jumping into the lake from off of the ramp. I felt like a little kid again. I am hoping that we can do that again next summer. It was a highlight of the year for me.

The day before we left on our big trip to Minnesota, Amanda (a friend of ours from Georgia who moved to Texas a few months after we did), came and stayed the night with us and then the next day we (minus the kids) went to Schliterbaughn! It was our first time going and I think I could easily become addicted to that place. I'd like to get a summer pass so that we can take the kids...OFTEN. We went around the "lazy" river like 10 times in a row! I was feeling like my body was going up and down with the waves hours after we had left. Justin and I were DRAINED. Spending all day at a water park really wipes you out.

About a month ago a good friend of mine+her kids and me+my kids went to a beautiful river 40 minutes away and we spent 4 hours there. I was in pure heaven. The weather was perfect and the river was shallow enough for Max to play in without having to worry about him. There is just something that makes my heart HAPPY when I'm in nature and enjoying God's beautiful creations. Didn't hurt that the kids and I got a little tan. :)

We went back a few days later as a family and went camping. What an adventure! We had recently bought a tent and wanted to put it to good use. We didn't get to the park in time fully enjoy the river (swim) but the kids and Justin had fun skipping rocks. We didn't prepare adequately enough and so it was a bit chilly during the night. Seems like being cold is just part of the camping experience, right??
I was pleasantly surprised that Max was the first out of all of us to fall asleep. I thought for sure that he'd be the last to go to sleep (thank goodness that wasn't the case!). After everyone had fallen asleep, I heard an animal right next to our tent. My heart was pounding a million miles an hour and I dared not even breath. Speaking of breathing...the animal was so close that I could hear it breathing!! My mind was coming up with all sorts of horror stories so I tried to calm myself down and just say that it was an innocent deer...nothing more nothing less. I've never prayed so hard in my life and the whole time I was thinking "why the heck did we decided to go camping!?" Obviously enough, we all survived but that experienced may have lessened my love of camping...