Summer Road Trip - Part 1

(Delayed post due to technical difficulties!) 

For the remaining weeks of summer, I've told the kids that one day each week we will take a road trip. They are busy with work and activities, but hopefully at least two of the four will be able to go each trip. 

Yesterday Zachary and Tyler were able to go. 

They wanted to play golf at Hinton, at a beautiful course that Zachary has played before. Unfortunately that course has closed again. It's a shame because it was so pretty and surely brought visitors to gnat town!

We decided to go to Weatherford, where they were able to play 18 holes. I love watching them play. Some day I won't get to do that. I don't think grown men would want their moms following them around a golf course! 😂

Tyler wanted a selfie. I wasn't ready when he snapped this! 😂 Obviously he was!

It was back to Hinton for lunch.

Zachary had eaten here before, so had raced about the place. It didn't disappoint! That chicken fried steak was HUGE! We had lots of it left for my husband. The green beans were delicious! The boys liked the rolls. The mashed potatoes weren't homemade, which is always weird to me, but they were okay. I wanted coconut pie to go, but it was gone. That's okay. Didn't need it, anyway!

Our final stop we looked in the gift shop at the 50's diner, Lucille's in Weatherford. 

What a fun day for our first SUMMER ROAD TRIP!

Summer Vacation 2015

Every time I think, "This may be the last time."  And this time was no different, except this one really probably was the last time. The last time we will go on a "big" family vacation with just the six of us. Most likely next summer, at least one of the six won't be going.  Change is coming.  And though I may not like it, I know it will be okay.

So for this summer vacation, we went to Florissant, Colorado, which is just west of Colorado Springs.  We stayed up a mountain in this beautiful home found on vrbo.com.

When we look for a house to rent, price matters, but since we booked later than usual, we didn't have as many options.  This one cost a little more than we usually pay, but had everything else we/I wanted. I like a nice kitchen. It's fun to cook in and clean up a beautiful kitchen, for me, anyway!

It was especially helpful to have a nice, well organized kitchen because we are getting ready to remodel our own, and it gave me some ideas.

We also want plenty of comfy seating.  One house we rented was skimpy on the comfy furniture.  This one had tons of space and comfy places to sit!  This basement room was our favorite.  It was a basement, but also opened out in the front part to look like the lower level of the three stories!  It was a "rec" room, they call it.  We enjoyed it, immensely!

Another requirement is a place to eat outside.  We ate some evening meals out on the patio.  So nice!

We like outdoor things to do, but being on a mountain limits the things to do.  The homeowners did have a horseshoe place that Joe and the boys really enjoyed.  If it was our own house, we would put in a basketball goal!  But, for little ones, there was a baby swing and tire swing hanging from a tree, plus they had a few other outdoor games to play.  Our family enjoyed running and walking the roads and exploring the mountain a little.

The only thing we did as an activity was go up Pike's Peak on the Cog Railway.  This little marmot is the only animal that lives that high on the mountain.  They remind me of prairie dogs.

There was quite a bit of snow/ice on the road near the top at at the Summit this year.  And it was windy!!  Fifty-five mile per hour winds and 27 degree wind chill.

But we made it! And had their delicious donuts and hot chocolate!

On the way down the mountain, I was alone. The rest of my family hiked back down.  The youngest vows to NEVER, EVER do that again!!!  We thought he would decide to ride down, but he didn't.  Now he wishes he had, but some day (hopefully), he will look back and be proud of that HUGE accomplishment!  They were SORE for a few days!!  They didn't even want to look at the mountain the next day when we drove into town to eat! Ha ha!

This wasn't our cog. Ours was double, but I like this picture. It reminds me of "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood". :)

This was the morning we left Florissant.  We were ready to get home, ready to not climb stairs, and the boys were ready to hit golf balls out in our wide open field (can't do that on a mountain unless you want to spend a lot of money on golf balls!), but wow! What a great vacation home!  There were five bedrooms, two living areas, an office, four bathrooms, and much more.  The last night we played the hide and seek game, "Sardines".  It was so much fun and there were lots of places to hide!!!

My kids doing the obligatory picture.  They were okay with it :).

We hiked this long (not showing the whole thing) road and Joe and the boys ran it a lot.  It was 2.5 miles just down the mountain to the main road!  I can't imagine this in the winter, but would love to be there to see it some day!

Joe and the boys played golf here one day. It was a beautiful course!

Colorado sunset....
One of my favorite things about vacation was that Wednesday night Joe had each of the boys come up with a short Bible lesson.  He did one, too.  We sang, we listened to each of their lessons, we read the Bible, and then talked about what they each chose.  Interestingly, they all went together.  I think that's because the Bible is meant to go together. It DOES go together.  That evening, plus the other devotional times we shared, singing in the car on the way....those are some of my favorite memories.

The hiking group!  The two oldest boys made it down the mountain in 2 hours and 51 minutes!  They RAN because they wanted it to be over!! :)  Joe and the other two made it in a little less than six hours.  They ran a little, but mostly walked.  They were all tired, very thirsty and hungry when they came down!  I'm so proud of them!  And guess what? My husband runs the Pike's Peak Ascent and Marathon this weekend!  He's CRAZY! Ha ha!!  

Summertime!

It's summer vacation time! We just finished VBS last Thursday (I'll post about them this week.) and are looking forward to a still busy, but not crazy busy summer.  Well....actually, for the boys and I.  Joe will be still crazy busy, maybe even more so.  But now we can help him with those things!

What are you doing this summer? Are you getting some relaxation time? Are you refocusing on the important things?  Taking a break from some important things?

I remember years ago I didn't like summer time. It seemed that while so many were on vacation and enjoying the summer, that the church work kind of slowed down, too.  I didn't like it.  But now I do like it.  I see that it's okay to take a break and refocus - while still doing work for the Lord - but then gear back up on certain things when school starts back in August.  The problem is when we totally forget about God, Jesus, and the work of the church in the summer.  That's when there would be a problem.

Taking more time be together as a family is important in the summer, but this past Saturday, we went as a family to help out another family who had tornado damage a few weeks ago. During the school year - and even for many Saturdays in the summer, we wouldn't have had that time.  We were so thankful to be able to help them because they needed help.  We wanted to help.  And my boys will be able to help their dad with things at his work because they'll have more time to do so because it's summer.  So in a way, summer time makes us able to help others more.  That's a good thing!  No...that's a GREAT thing!

There is an illustration that I always think about when it comes to serving the Lord.  We can rank our priorities and try to put God/Jesus, the church, spouse, family, work, service,  in order of importance, but sometimes those rankings get out of whack.  What is BEST is if you put God/Jesus in the CENTER and build out from that.  God/Jesus is in the center of the church.  God/Jesus is in the center of your marriage, your job, your family, your service.  That's when everything will be lined up where God wants it to be.  If you rank things, He may be left out of something.  He wants to be a part of everything.  Make Him part of everything this summer.  And have a great one!

Summertime!

Although it's not officially summer until June 20-something, when school is out - it's summertime! I dread the over-100-degree heat, but the 80's that we've been having here in southwest Oklahoma has been really nice.

Summertime for our family brings VBS, which just ended yesterday, little league baseball for three of our children (much easier this year than last when all four were playing!), Bible camps, ball camps, and FFA camp. It also brings snowcones, swimmming, sleeping in a little later, and playing outside until dark.

I am looking forward to not making lunches. I get tired of making them sometimes during the year (sorry to complain a little!). I am looking forward to not having to watch the clock as much or to meet deadlines quite as often. I am looking forward to having my children at home with me more, instead of gone over seven hours each day. Our whole family is looking forward to attending our neices' wedding in early August, which will mean a short vacation to Tennessee.

Summertime is a fun time, a relaxing time for many people. Unfortunately, though, many people forget about God and Jesus in the summer. The fun, lazy days of summer are enjoyable, but let's all remember what's most important: Keeping God first and serving Him as Jesus did....living by Jesus' example. Jesus died for us. What would be so important that we would forget about Him - even for one day, much less an entire summer?

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33