When Tim is away.....

...the rest of us will play!

Actually, he would be loving this and I know he wishes he was with us now.

Tim flew out of the Denver airport at the completely unreasonable hour of 6:10 a.m.  When you are an hour and a half from the airport, that means getting up at 3:00 a.m.  Ugh.  Double ugh.

Because the Departure's section of the airport has serious height restrictions, we dropped him off at the Arrivals area.  He grabbed his carry-on, gave me a quick kiss as we switched out drivers, and headed into the airport.  I - after much frustration at trying to adjust the driver's seat - headed into the sunrise.  Something has happened to the seat adjustment thingy, and it won't go anywhere!  So I now drive with a pillow behind me, sitting on the edge of the seat.

Abe and Conni were asleep the whole time.  They don't even remember dropping Tim off.

I drove until 6:30, then couldn't keep my eyes open.  I found a rest area and pulled in between 2 tractor trailers, crawled into my bed, and slept for 2 hours.  Then Abe started driving.

As we were rolling along, we started talking about what we wanted to do; where we wanted to go.  We had no real plans; nowhere to be at a certain time.  We wanted to do something on the water.  After being around such neat rivers and streams but not really being able to enjoy them because they were too cold, we really wanted some water to play in.

We pulled up good old Google and searched for an RV camp with water.

Bingo!

Found one- a little nondescript campground near Salina, KS.  Out in the country.  Gravel roads.  Past a bunch of corn and wheat fields.  Lakeside Recreational Park.

We pull in and see this:

That's what I'm talking about!
It is a 63 acre privately owned park.  (Abe is happy it's not a National Park with lots of rules.)  They have a 12 acre lake that is clear and beautiful!  It used to be a sand pit, so the entire bottom of the lake is sand - not that goopy, slimy, mud stuff.  And look at that beach!  It's so nice!  And best of all, we pretty much have it to ourselves!

Another bonus: there are 2 diving platforms and a swing on the lake. The kids have spent hours out here!

 Between 15 and 20 feet deep at the diving platform.  Much deeper out in the middle.

 When I first got in and wanted to go jump off the platform, I was instructed to start with the high one - don't even LOOK at the low one.  So I did.  It is high!  Higher than the rock we jumped off of into the Merced River in Yosemite.  But the water is much nicer.  Feels so good.

Another bonus:  a 400 ft. water slide!  Here's a view of it through the trees behind the sand volleyball court.

Because we are the only one's here, the family that owns the park allowed us to use the slide the "fun and fast" way.  In other words...minus the rules!  Up at the top of the slide, they blocked off the water for a while; allowed it to build way up.  Then they let it out and all went down one right after the other. Way more water - way faster - way more fun!

Shooting out the bottom.

It was a really fun ride.  I loved it too.

Now here comes a little promotion for Lakeside Park.  Not only does this place have lots of amenities and gorgeous scenery, the owners are Christians!  I have really enjoyed spending time with Renae; talking about life, family, and our faith.  Encouraging each other! :)

They have 4 kids - exactly our kids ages.  One girl, three boys.  The boys have spent a lot of time with my kids playing a crazy-wear-you-out game in the water called ball tag.  Lots of running, swimming, jumping, throwing.

The guys moving a floating golf green.  It was a bit water-logged.  Abe (17), Daniel (17), Josiah (19), Sam (15).

Tonight, we had pizza together.  This is a shot of their house from the beach. They have been so warm and friendly to us.  As Renae said, "I don't think you just HAPPENED to find this place."

I've so enjoyed getting to know this family and hope we can stay in touch.  I'm amazed, again, at the blessings and surprises the Lord has given us!

Not sure how much longer we'll stay.  One day?  Two?  Three?

Gotta get home someday soon, but meanwhile...

More reconnecting = more blessings!

Wow.  What an amazing trip this has been.  So many unplanned, unexpected events.

We've been so blessed, and so encouraged by being able to reconnect with several relatives and friends.

This past week, Tim was able to spend time with one of his first cousins - Connie Jean Baker.  He hasn't seen her in over 26 years.  It was a very joyful reunion!

And I got to meet Connie for the very first time!  Tim has always told me I would enjoy being with Connie...he was so right!

Shawn and Blaine took Abe and Tim up into the mountains to ride dirt bikes. They had such a good time.

Connie has a little business called The Nest.  She buys and sells furniture and decor that she refurbishes.  Besides having her stuff for sale in 2 stores, she also sells at the French Nest Open Air Market the third weekend of every month.  We got to watch (Abe helped) them get packed up and ready for this event.

We showed up around noon to check out the market. Shawn and his "helper".

Here's a look at Connie's booth.  They did a lot of business that day.

Planning mischief, I'm sure.

Shawn decided to model the bedspread.  He did quite well.  Mr. Stoic....

That didn't last too long!  I thought you weren't supposed to kiss the mannequin!

On Saturday evening, we were able to attend this yearly event in Ft. Collins.  The Walker Manufacturing Company (as in awesome lawn mowers) hosts a hymn sing for the public.

It is free, has no agenda, promotes no church, no plate-passing - just good old-fashioned hymn singing!

Psalm 95:1  Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!  Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

There were over 1,000 people there!  I don't know what impressed me more:  the number of people there wanting to praise the Lord in singing, or the gorgeous grass!  JK  I do have a thing for a nice lawn though.  Probably because we've never had one.  This one practically invited you to take your shoes off and go barefoot.  And as I'm not one to turn down an invitation....yeah, it was lovely.

The singers sitting next to us.

Everywhere - people singing and praising God!

This lady was cranking it - really getting into it!  She was fun to watch.

View from the front looking at the crowd.  Amazing, huh? I've never seen anything like it!  I know a few privately owned businesses in VA that should get together and host something like this! :)

What a blessed time we had together.  It's hard to catch up on the 26 years apart in just a few days, but we made a start!  And we all agreed that we will stay in touch and NEVER let that many years go by again - regardless of circumstances.

Psalm 106:1
Praise the Lord!
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Two wonderful weeks!

For two weeks, I've had all of my family together - husband and all four kids.  It has been a wonderful time.  Memories to cherish forever.  I love these four so much; am so proud of each one of them, and thank God for every moment we had together.

Yesterday, we dropped Angi and Marci at the Denver airport.  Time to fly home.  Vacation was over for them.  Marci has three weddings this weekend, and Angi has two clients due next week.  Duty calls.

Originally, we planned on being home June 14, Thursday.  But time was flying by too quickly; we wanted more time together in the west.  So we opted to fly them home on Thursday, giving us a few more days together.

It was hard to have them leave.  I already miss them.

So now, we're down to four.

Looking forward to enjoying the last 10 days of this epic trip!

In memory of Rue.

Remember this little fellow?  This is Rue.

He was Conni's rescue pet found the day before we left on our trip back in April.

He was such a cute little guy.  Loved to scamper around on us and the RV.

Rue had to be fed from a teeny weeny bottle.  He would hold onto it with both "hands" and slurp it down.  He really was a cute little fellow.

And then, one day, he took a tumble from the kitchen counter down to the floor.  Spread eagle.  Splat.

Two days later, he was dead.

Since then, he has been in our freezer.

For almost 2 months, and 7,000 miles.

Today, Conni found the perfect place to put Rue to rest.

First of all, she built a raft.  Then she tested it and found it seaworthy.

Next, a little run back to the RV to retrieve Rue out of the freezer.

She placed Rue in the raft and added a flag.

Making sure the "Good-bye Rue" flag is up.

There he is... a little fur ball on the raft.

And he's off.  Happy sailing, Rue!

 Kind of like being buried at sea.  One day, barring complications, floods, waterfalls, fishermen, and predators, he'll end up in the Gulf of Mexico!

Abe giving a respectful send-off salute.

A near collision!  This dog was out playing fetch with a frisbee.  Rue and his raft almost bumped into him.  You can see the raft between the rock and the dog.

We're all glad Rue has been properly disposed of.  What a way to go, too.  Floating peacefully down a gorgeous river in WY!