A Hidden Gem

Recently the Tool Man has had to assume an extra role at work.  He’s no longer responsible for just his office management work, but now he’s also out in the field managing a project. It’s no fun having him working so much, but we are thankful for the work.  While he’s away, the Lord has blessed him with a quiet, little gem of a place to stay.  It’s a small state park, not 5 miles from his jobsite. And it’s the perfect place for me and the monkeys to hang out when we tag along with Dad sometimes!

The park is built around a manmade lake.  There’s a small, sandy beach with a swimming area, picnic tables, gazebos, and a playground.  Wide, concrete walkways and a huge, covered pavilion provide the perfect place for the monkeys to ride bikes and scooters.

So far, we’ve joined the Tool Man on a couple of trips, and we’ve stayed in one of the park’s fully furnished cabins.  Tiny, but sufficient, the two-room cabin is the just the place for us to do our school work while dad’s at work.

I’m not gonna lie, though.  That cozy, two-room cabin tends to get smaller and smaller as the day goes on.  Usually by the time the Tool Man gets home from work in the evening, I am more than ready for Dad to take over the parental duties. 

Here are some pictures I took a few weeks ago as we explored the park’s amenities.

Down by the water I got some cute shots of my sweet girl.

While Lucy was posing, Ty was playing.  He and his dad had a blast on the playground equipment.  Their favorite was the spring-loaded see-saws.

They pretended they were bull riding and couldn’t use their hands.

And you know the monkeys had to climb the monkey bars!

Look, Lucy! A grasshopper.

Daddy wouldn’t let Lucy ride hands-free on the “bull”, so she found this springy chair instead.

After the kids worked off some energy, we made the trek back up the hill to our little cabin in the woods.

Ty was eager to run all the way up the stairs…

…but Lucy decided she needed a lift.

I’ll leave y’all with my favorite picture – my monkeys spending some quality time with their daddy.

(Apparently Ty did not want to get his shorts wet.  Lol.)

Lindsey

Down on the Farm

Wow!  It’s been quite a while since I last posted something here - a blogging break that I never intended to take.  It seems like I’ve hardly had time to breathe over the past several months.  I blame most of that on cakes! You see, I used to do things like rest and blog on the weekends, but that happens to be the time when most cakes are due.  So now most of my Fridays and Saturdays are spent decorating and delivering cakes instead of blogging. (Sad face.)

Ah well, more about that another day.  Today I come to share photos from Lucy’s recent trip to the pumpkin patch/Christmas tree farm.  Her preschool took a little field trip last week, and Ty and I were able to join the fun.

What a gorgeous day for a field trip – simply the perfect fall weather!  Everyone enjoyed a brief hayride around the farm, a stroll through the corn maze, and an opportunity to pick a few pumpkins.  Then the kids got some free time to play around on the many activities provided by the farm – rope swings, corn piles, haystacks, slides, petting zoo, tractor tires, and a water pump game to name a few.

By far, my kids’ favorite activity was this horse swing.  I got dizzy just watching them twist and spin round and round and round!

Two cute little blondies in a school bus.  I don’t know what was so interesting about the ground, but these two did not want to look up for a picture.

Who knew pumping water could be so much fun!

Ok. So I really hope it’s not another 3 months before y’all hear from me again.  Hopefully with the holidays coming up there will be plenty of photo opportunities and lots of fun stuff for me to share with you over the next few weeks.  Can y’all believe it?  Christmas is almost here!  I can hardly wait!

Lindsey