Our Place of Refuge

I've written about our lake before.  And you all know how much we love to whip out there and spend some time in the sun...

But yesterday,  we had some introductions to make.

But Mom, Little Dude has been to the lake....

What a difference 3 months makes. Now he walks, and explores.
Back then, he nursed and slept.

He had not made a real friendship with our peaceful haven, yet.

But yesterday... he ventured out.  We even took off his shoes and let him feel the water and the mud. (yes, it's Texas... icky mud) He wasn't thrilled, preferring to stay on the pebbly sand.

He watched his siblings as they wound their way along the water's edge.

The lake level was low.  Very low. Nothing like getting back to nature to witness how bad the drought is, firsthand.

The kids examined the newly exposed sand, and what emerges when the layers of water are peeled back. A sobering experience, to be sure. But nature is always beautiful, and they came back jubilant with their treasures.

Fall in Texas is a time of brown colors and long shadows. Even in the height of the afternoon, the light is slanted and the sun has whitened.

This old Mama is learning, though. I'm learning to enjoy the seasons as they come.
I'm learning that we don't pass this way again.

We need to pause. We need to breathe it all in with everything we have.

:)

Friday Afternoon

A break was needed.

Bickering children and sighing mom, we loaded up the buckets and shovels, the blanket and chairs.

We packed up our shriveled and worn souls.

No music, no laughter. Just a gritting of the teeth determination that this is needed.

No matter if they/I deserve this respite from the messy house and littered life.
No matter if the oldest is about to pitch the fourth through the window (and with good reason, it seems...)
No matter.

Fighting traffic, fighting despair, we make our way to the open.

As the highway signs give way to trees and other life signs, my shoulders relax, my jaw un-clenches. The kids notice the birds: hawks and kites, swaying in the breezes that buildings of suburbia inhibit. The clouds are wisped with a painter's stroke.

Too long, I think. It's been way too long since we've done this.

Since we've escaped.

The weathered woman at the park entrance drawls her southern greeting and I smile. Unused muscles creak, and my tired eyes light up. Asking if we need a map, I shake my head. We have traveled this road... we have traveled these roads many times, too many times.

Yet not enough.

Winding our way to our place of respite, the kids squeal in delight:
















An empty landscape to make their mark.

No paths to follow, no mistakes to undo. Pure, clean and new.

We bring our burdens... we lay them out. And we work. Building and re-building. All of 5 of them work it through. The castles are tipped, the sand is carved. Moats, mortar, sticks and feathers.

Digging, laughing, squealing in the frigid water... wind-whipped hair, they circle around me as I lay on the blanket and soak in the warmth.

My camera dies, and I understand. The present is now, and I must capture within... the view of sand and children and sunshine reflected.

Muddy and spent, we head home... stopping for ice cream and treats.

No, we didn't deserve them. We don't deserve this.

Any of it.

:)

Guess Where We Went Yesterday?

Sparkling sunshine

Reflected and refracted.

Rosy cheeks

Flushed in triumph.

Hands held high

Grasping the prize.

Shimmering waves

Glistening bodies.

Laughter and Splashing...

The only noticeable dirt lies at the bottom of the tub.

:)

What to do... the spontaneous version*

~when your computer explodes (not kidding, what a smell! like burning tires...)

~and your husband is off to work in a moment, taking his laptop with him

~and your kids finally seem to be kicking this bug that stuck around for 2 weeks

~and you are so tired of being stuck in the house

~and it's going to be 101 today...

Head to the lake of course!

See ya~

:)

*Um... unless a certain Little Dear wakes up with a fever and a sore throat. Good thing I'm (argh... offer it up, offer it up) flexible, huh?

Guess we'll be staying in...

:(

Guess Where We Went Today?

And the lovely Mamas who came with....

















Girly time...
















Boys and dirt/sand. Must. Dig.

















Little Love...





















Lunch-a-ble Little Boo...















But the question remains.....

Was it worth it?





















HMMMMM.....
















:)

The Perfect Cure...

... for a "sure-to-be-burnt-out" Mama?

A spontaneous trip to the lake.

The perfect pictures of said trip?

The ones you take with your mind and hold in your memory.

:)

The First Day of Summer

Otherwise titled, "What Summer in Texas is Supposed to be"...

After days and days of rain and overcast skies, summer finally came. Blue skies, sun and very high temperatures. The only thing to be done was to head to the water...





Little Boo and Papa















Little Love hanging out














The girls...







The boys aren't pictured here, because every time I whipped out the camera, they were already out on the other jet ski....

It was an awesome day.

Meeting in Minnesota

I know many of you already heard this story and got to see the pictures, but I'm telling you, I have the scoop.


I thought that would get your attention.

:)

Yes, the indelible Margaret was late. After waiting over an hour the thought suddenly crossed my mind that maybe she had chickened out. (yeah, it took me that long to think that.... quite the mastermind I am) And since I had no cell phone reception, I couldn't call her and find out.

But seriously, I was starting to get worried that something had happened. Those Minnesota country roads were a tad bit confusing and the road into the State Park itself wasn't very clearly marked.

5 minutes after all these thoughts went through my head, two sprightly young men crossed the bridge and headed towards us. Such polite little men! I inquired as to their names and they shook hands with me most cordially before tearing off into the river with my boys.
















And then, finally, here comes the lovely Margaret and her three princesses. For those of you who don't know this, Margaret's pictures do NOT do her justice. She is absolutely gorgeous, no kidding. And she is cheerful and fun. Even amidst 2 yr-old tantrums, (subject will remain nameless to protect identity and preserve dignity) she smiles and jokes with the complete strangers passing by.

She is sanguine, through and through. That fact we firmly established.

I, on the other hand, am a pure melancholic. We got that one nailed down pretty well, too. You see, after being in the heat and the slime and handling tadpoles and sandy little girls, I was craving a shower and a latte. My beautiful hostess provided the latter, ice-cold and perfect. And we moved away from the crowds and slime to have a cool picnic in the shade, and a rousing game of sword-fighting croquet.... (ahem)

Here are the pictures, my fav's anyway:

























































What a lovely day!!

:)

The many shades...

... of RED.

As in, sunburn.

Yes, we went to the lake today. One more hurrah before we scurry off to points north.

And even though I thought I was being careful in re-applying the sunblock... holey moley.

I never knew that red came in so many colors.


And so, for "dessert" tonight it's:

Aloe, solarcaine, lots of H2O, and advil...

:)

The Snake Fiasco... (or how to enamor yourself to your neighbors, Nutmeg-style)

I took my kiddos to the lake again on Thursday, and included in my repertiore our adopted son-from-down-the-street, Andrew. He is 10, and since he had spring break and both of his parents work, he was at our house pretty much all day, every day.

No need to ask how this impacted our homeschooling week.

(ahem)

Having never spoken to his mother before, I was a bit apprehensive about what she thought of our crazy, over-sized family and the impending field trip. She was a typical mom, concerned about the child to adult ratio, (6 to... um... 1) and exhorted her offspring to obey me at all times.

As it turns out, having Andrew in the group was a real perk, since his presence provided all of the excitement. He was the one who caught everything:

a snake

a fish

and Little Boo (but that's another story)

Catching the snake was probably the least exciting catch of the day, since it was just swimming along in the water, minding it's own business, when we scooped it out and passed it around. I emptied our cheese container, and we made a nice cozy wet home for Rover and continued on with the more pressing needs like baiting the fishing rods, keeping the pocket knife out of Little Love's hands, and practicing my math skills by constantly counting to 6.

After we had eaten lunch, taken a successful bathroom break, and gotten sufficiently sun-burned, we headed home with Rover in tow.

The next morning, Andrew shows up at our door relaying the hysterics that had occurred the night before when his mom saw Rover the snake. Turns out, Texas has quite a few species of venomous water snakes, deadly enough to kill after a single bite... and this native NYer didn't have a clue.

So, I packed up the kids and the nasty snake, and we headed out to a fish and reptile store to see if the owner could identify Rover for us.

I went into the store first and told Mr. Tatoo/multiple-earring-dude how we caught this snake at the lake-

He said, "You pulled this snake out of the water?!?"

I nodded.

He said, "Ma'am, here in Texas, you need to leave those water snakes be."

I nodded again.

And then I herded in the brood, along with the snake, where Tatoo-man identified Rover as a harmless black corn snake.

WHEW

Much to my relief, Rover was never a threat. But much to my neighbor's consternation, Rover is now a permanent household fixture.

Yer welcome, Ma'am.

:)

*next post will concern "how to enamor your neighbors by RSVPing in the negative for a boys' sleepover, then letting your boys ride their bikes out front while the party is starting" (sheesh)*