Take me to the RIVER...

This past Tuesday the kids and I packed up to head to a cabin in the woods.

My mom rents this cabin every year and made it seem like it was going to be one of those cabins you see in scary movies. Its secluded she says, there is nothing nearby to shop at she says. Insert panic mode.

We decided, ok *I* decided this would be a great idea. To pack three kids, by myself, drive 2 hours north, and sit in a cabin and swim in a river - with fish - anyone who knows me, KNOWS I do NOT do fish... UGH!!

I am doing this for the kids - I am doing this for the kids - I am doing this for the kids!!!

So, after finding a sitter for our lovely pup, Jude - we headed out.

With my navigator AKA Skylar at my side we headed north.
We arrived 2 hours later to thee most beautiful cabin in the woods - after we passed a Walmart, Winn Dixie and a Dollar General... ( Nothing nearby? Psh)
We pulled up and it was breathtaking... trees dripping with Moss, A hammock next to the brick firepit by the beautifully clear river. Kayaks lined the shore by the dock. The inside decorate with tons and tons of ducks - the name of the cabin was Wood Duck Crossing. Yes, they name their cabins.

It was a beautiful full stocked 2 story home. 4 bedroom, 2 bath and an outside shower. Complete with board games - we played Monopoly, Skylar whipped us... and DVDs - we watched Little Miss Sunshine... and a nice kitchen... Momma made us Spaghetti for dinner, supplied us with tons of lunch meat and then made us Pancakes the next morning for breakfast. There was fresh fruit cut on the counter for walk-by snacking and drinks in the fridge. Yeah, we are kinda spoiled.  My 3 brothers even came down, it is rare to have us all together.

It was perfect! I learned to Kayak. Dakota swam all day, Eli loved throwing Pine Cones off the dock and Skylar took about 24 hours to warm up to the idea of being outdoors without her electronics, but she finally made it out and kayaked with Gramps. We only stayed one night. But it was great. It filled my heart meter back up and I SOOOO needed that. I have been feeling defeated lately.

We are now home and refreshed for what ever comes next...

Here are some photos from our trip...

View from the Porch

Skylar on the hammock

Dakota and Grandpa kayaking

Eli and Grammie on the big float

View from the deck

School's Out for Summer

Ok, So I haven't really kept up with this blog like I wanted to. Truth is, I am just not that exciting! The past couple of weeks have been uneventful, but I am thankful. We had my youngest brother over last weekend to attend church with us, which was totally awesome! He liked it so much he stayed another night to attend Life Group with us! I was stuck tending the little kids, but he says he had a great time and even participated, which is more then I did, my first time! It was so nice getting to spend time with him! We even bought him a new Quest bible, which he seemed REALLY excited about, in fact he barely put it down! Praise Jesus!

Dakota graduated on Wednesday from Preschool at Sexton. It was bittersweet. It is so hard to fathom that he is going to be five years old this year. My little baby is turning into a little boy. Where has the time gone? Skylar successfully finished 4th Grade and is now in her final year of elementary school. Although she did get one "F" on her report card in writing, which we kinda expected. But everything else was A's and B's. I have decided that I am going to do one day a week through out the summer, of some sort of teaching, so that she doesn't lose track. I decided to start today with bible studies that I found online. Today was the story of Abraham and Sarah having a child at age 99. Skylar was reluctant to go outside to do it, but when we got out there and I started reading - she really listened. When I did the study and asked the questions, she got all of them right. It was amazing! She had 2 worksheets to do and happily did them, Dakota had one to do too. He happily colored his. When I said it was time to go back inside, Skylar wanted to finish coloring her worksheet. All I could do was smile, to see God's light shine in them.

We also went to the Taste of Pinellas this weekend, which was hot but filling. I had so much food, I thought I might burst! LJ scored a t shirt from crabby bills. My mom and step dads restaurant had booths there, so we stopped there first and filled up on their stuff. Then as we started out to try other booths I got pooped on. GRRRRR. Stupid seagulls! But all in all it was a great day! With great food!

So that was my last week in a nutshell. Hope yours was equally as pleasant!