vacation

This week we took a vacation. The first time in 8 years of marriage that we could say we were taking a family vacation without it involving moving a certain family member across the States. But this time we didn't travel that far. Tim has a fascination with southern Missouri hills so we took off. I was even able to incorporate some learning field trip time for school. Monday evening we rented a cabin on Table Rock Lake. The view is beautiful and the water is clear unlike our muddy river and lakes. I really enjoy landscape photos so I took pictures with my camera hoping to they would be good enough to hang on my wall.

The evening we arrive at our cabin we went walked down to the lake to take pictures and so Tim and Makayla could get some fishing time in.

The next morning, Ruben woke us up at 5:30 so we drove down to the lake for another view, but I forgot my camera. The fog sat very thick on top the lake and made it very beautiful.

Tim or I capture this picture about 8 am as we were leaving the cabin for our next destination. You can't see the beauty of the fog in this picture as well.

Our first stop for the day was the Conservation trout fishery by the dam that dumps water from Table Rock Lake into Lake Taneycomo in Branson. Here Makayla learned about different turtles, birds and snakes aside from feeding trout as part of her field trip.

Lake Taneycomo just before all the fog lifted. Again I forgot my camera and missed the heavier fog.

Then we moved on down to the Branson strip. I didn't take any pictures. Honestly, Branson nothing more the a blown up version of the strip at the Lake. There were I few things I would have gone to if planned like the Dick Clark Museum and the Oakridge Boys because they were comfort things from my childhood. From there we headed west towards West Plains. I felt sick almost all day from driving in the hills. We took a rest at Bull Shoals Lake just outside of Theodosia. There was a nice resort and camping area there right off the lake. We didn't stay more than an hour, but I would recommend it for a weekend.

Tim and Makayla down by the shore at Bull Shoals.

This is one of my favorite pictures. The clouds may look a little scary because of the sepia, but the skies were blue and the clouds were white and fluffy.

We came upon this rainbow somewhere in the hills between Gainesville and West Plains just before entering into rain.

This trip gave me an opportunity to review rainbows, fogs and clouds with Makayla. We stopped in West Plains for the night and continued back north on Wednesday. Eventually we found ourselves eating lunch at Ha Ha Tonka state park outside of Camdenton. Here Tim was able to teach Makayla about caves, springs and sink holes.

Tim and Makayla fishing the Lake of the Ozarks at Ha Ha Tonka.

Natural cave spring at Ha Ha Tonka.

From there we ventured home traveling the back side of the Lake of the Ozarks, and discovered some Amish country.

A thought came to me while traveling. I don't like to journal so I may not put my thoughts into practice, but it's an idea for others. I recall listening to my parents talk with other relatives about vacations and not being able to remember who all was present. I was thinking that creating a timeline would be helpful for my children. I could record the dates, places and events that we venture to with our children so when they get older they will know where they've been, and it may even help them keep their memories of where they went if we review the timeline every so often.

oops...still practicing

This time I gave Makayla a new haircut style instead of just a trim. It looks nothing like I was going for, but it still looks nice. Makayla really likes it because her hair is off her neck. I think it is good because she is getting old enough to start learning how manage and take care of her own hair, and short is simple. Maybe by next Spring it will grow out enough for me to try the cut I actually wanted.

beautiful missouri day

Genesis 1

11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree

that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the

tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was

good.

13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.

Today is the first beautiful day we have had in some time. It was only about 50 degrees outside at 8 am. Our widows are open and we are enjoying the fresh air. This weather energizes me to clean and organize. I am getting a lot done inside while Tim is outside cutting down limbs and playing with fire...men like to do that for some reason.

Summer is coming to an end, and fall is moving in. I didn't used to think much about fall because I get cold easily, but as an adult you seem to look at things from a very different perspective. The cool breeze, the pretty leaves, apple cider, fall festivals... I could go on and on. The downside is that the sun goes down earlier. The sunlight makes me happy. Without it, I get depressed easily...and I'm afraid of the dark.

Also, Makayla's homeschool material, My Father's World, uses a different topic for each lesson (i.e. sun, leaf, apple) These all fall right in the season so we can go outside and explore these topics.