Night Flight

This was supposed to be our 2nd 

Family 5K this year

but our first one was flooded out.

That made us even MORE excited for this one!

AND because it was at night!

Mom and Dad turned Weston loose

and he bolted off with the other runners.

I held by pace with Mom.

Here's my bouncing glow sticks 

We made it!

Weston flew in at a break-neck 25:05.

I crossed just a little ahead of Mom around 32 minutes.

I walked briefly twice (maybe 10 seconds total).

Jack ran THE WHOLE THING!

That was his big goal.

Dad ran it and then ran BACK to cross again with Jack.

#runninggoals

#fastest6yearoldinleessummit

Turned out we won some awards:

Weston 1st 12 and under boy

Jackson 3rd 12 and under girl

(there was some sort of entry error there!)

and Mom 3rd for 40-44 women.

All that and a bowl of ice cream?

A good night.

Something to remember me by...

 I really liked my 3rd grade teacher

Mrs. Strickland.

So when we were tasked with making

her a little going away gift,

I was pumped.

She's opening it...

Cool, huh?

A real summer kick-off

We got used to the morning rain this weekend.

Once it passed,

we were out again!

The Orfords thought about just heading home,

but seeing us on the water...

...got them to join us after all!

Lots of family time

and "fishing" time

We all had some driving time with Dad

After some swimming,

we decided to check out more of our flooded landscape.

This is Crow's Crossing, 

a ramp we often use.

Um, it's non-existent at the moment.

Here's Highway 13 on the way into Osceola

Just a bit high

We barely fit underneathe

But all the flooding didn't stop us!

It was a fabulous weekend

at our fabulous double-wide/cabin/"Lake House"

To do lists

We had a lot of "stuff" we wanted to do this week.

We got a gummy bear maker a few years ago.

Mom PROMISED we could make some

if it rained.

Well, when we woke up, it was raining.

BREAK IT OUT!

The "gummies" ended up being

just some thick jello.

We were pretty excited anyway.

And oh, those red-stained fingers!

Meemaw taught a bunch of us

how to play Spoons.

It got pretty crazy pretty fast.

While Dad installed our new screen door,

Mom, Tuck and I tackled painting our kitchen door

with chalkboard paint.

Miraculously,

all the paint actually stayed on the door

After our morning work,

it had cleared up nicely.

Let's check boating off the to-do list!

Today, EVERYONE came out--

Carol, Mandy, Kurt, Cooper

(Meemaw returned too)

and all the Orfords!

It was a great day for playing in the water

and trying out our new floaties

A perfect day on the water.

Hello, summer!

Back at camp,

we played on the swing

had some brownies and snuggles

and rallied for an epic poker game

cheered on by the peanut gallery

Too much fun!

What rain?

There has been A LOT

of rain this year--it's been the

wettest May on record.

The lake is at its 2nd highest level EVER.

That means you can put in your boat

just about anywhere...

check out the canoe on a golf cart

we passed.

Yep.

We're definitely at the lake.

We couldn't believe it...

we were headed to one of only 2 docks

open in our area when Grandpa

stopped us and said he thought we could put

our giant boat in the water at the end of the road.

It's worth a shot!

So Dad backed down about a mile

and sure enough,

we could slip right into the water.

This picture may not mean much

to the inexperienced eye,

but the water is SO HIGH!

The dam sign is half underwater in this pic and 

completely under water the next day!!!

The lake is hardly recognizable, but there's our cabin high and dry.

It was a beautiful day!

We did a little exploring.

We drove to Tally Bend where we usually put in.

This bridge is usually waaaaay above us

(about 30 feet higher...)

Dad got a crazy idea.

A wonderful idea.

A crazy, wonderful idea.

We should HANG from it!

And so we did...

How about that???

Me and Dad and the Highway C bridge...

Yep.

Definitely a weekend for boating hijinks.

We were feeling rather photogenic

We decided to do a little fishing

and eventually braved the water

Can you see Meemah's face?

It was a little chilly.

A LOT CHILLY!

Getting back to the truck

was a bit tricky.

We needed some tree trimming

and may have a cushion that needs some fixing,

but we got it done

This "rainy" weekend is starting off pretty well!