Belated Birthdays.

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Both of these boys birthdays were actually a month ago. But our schedules have been so busy that we never were able to get a whole day set aside for this event, until yesterday.

We had an all day adventure at a state park.

We had an interesting trip over with our caravan of three vehicles. It began with the trailing car hitting a pot-hole, which caused some significant damage to the wheels and one tire.









Then it was off on a series of back-road misadventures which pretty much doubled our time getting there. Let that be a lesson to me. Whenever leaving my car at home, make sure I grab my map!

Good thing it was a fabulously glorious day, and the scenery while driving was wonderful. Add that to companions that you love, and we all had a great time anyway. Even when we created a one ring circus at an intersection that would have made the Ringling Brothers clowns green with envy.

The park was practically empty, just like we love. One of the perks of homeschooling is that you can arrange your schedule to hit everything on off days and off hours.





After a picnic, made all the more delicious due to the unexpectedly lengthy anticipation, we took off for a hike, choosing a path that would take us to a lake.





We stopped along the way, looking at the native plants.





The woods were beautiful, the weather was perfect, the smells of the forest were so refreshing.





It wasn't long before I, with my camera, and Donna, with her painful knee, began to drop back with Elaine and take a slower pace.













We really enjoyed the sights, sounds, smells, and conversation.





We descended down the ridge and began to see a glowing and beautiful teal color visible through the trees on all sides of us.





And by the time we arrived...





...everyone already had their shoes off and were playing in the water.





I have willing subjects; skipping stones in unison.





Some napped.









And we couldn't figure out why this fisherman, on a deserted lake, came over to try to fish where a bunch of young adults were doing a heck of a lot of splashing and laughing.









There was even wildlife.





We had other things to do so, after deciding we were coming back soon, armed with canoes and swimming gear, we headed back to the trails.





The guys thought this candle set up was killer. 14 plus 16 candles equals 30 of them.













And we came up with another great idea; reusable gift bags. No, we are already saving them and using them again. This idea was even better. One person brings gifts in bags, then after they are given, the next gifts are stuffed into them for opening. It saves time, money, space, and comes pretty close to perfection. Hey, we are as 'green' as the rest of them!





We played catch, had bubble blowing wars, and did the usual state park party stuff.





We played tennis.









We laid on picnic blankets, snacking, reading, napping, talking, and enjoying the day until the sun went down and it was getting a little chilly for our summer clothes.

Happy birthday guys! You're the best!

~Faith

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