Ahhh...vacation. I miss you so.

Summer 2010 marked a new first for our family...we finally took a true family vacation. At least in the sense that it was just the four of us, we weren't headed somewhere for an event (wedding, funeral, reunion, etc), or to a destination where we would want to pack a lot in (ie. Disney World).

We left our Lone Star State and ventured 6 hours to the northeast, to Petit Jean...Arkansas' first state park which was established in the 1930's by the CCC. It sits up in the mountains along the Arkansas river...just high enough to be cooler and free of mosquitoes. Cooler and mosquito free? When can we move?

Anyway, with no real plans other to take our time and enjoy one another, that is exactly what we did.

We took time to:

Let the girls meet their first walking stick...


go on lots of hikes...

admired small creations...

and rather large ones...

we explored-sometimes with hesitation...

and other times quite willingly...

we conquered things alone...

and sometimes with the help of daddy...

and sometimes just stood looking pretty...

sitting pretty worked too...

we even let strangers take our picture...obviously at their suggestion...sans makeup and washed hair!

we explored caves...

and saw turtles...

rock turtles at least....

we played games...

and actually enjoyed them...contrary to faces on pictures...oh how they despise mommy with the camera!

observed sunsets...

wondered where strangers were when you needed them. Thankfully the minivan made a pretty good tripod...

am I the only one that grew up having parents take pictures like this one?

we even took a boat out...

it is amazing what $20 buys at a state park...no experience necessary...

though it was pretty, the girls were not too sure about experiencing the lake that way...

so we headed to the park to hang...

and slide...

and just to look at each other...oh how I love this guy!

It's been a good 11 years of marriage. And a fun 16 years of knowing him...my best friend.

he spent time with her...

while I spent time with her...

and while I spent time with her...

he spent time with her...

and of course they spent time together:

on a bridge outside our cabin...

at the cabin's playhouse...

and in the pool...

much more comfortable in this water than that of the lake...

especially since Daddy could "touch"...

we spent some more time exploring...

and when they tired, silly girls hopped on daddy for a ride...

we stopped at a couple more vistas...

one last picture of the girls (and raccoon and beaver) before packing it up...

and within a matter of minutes we had another wonderful vista...right in our back seat...

as we approached Texas, the skies were dark...

we heard that it rained the whole time we were gone...

which means our garden, flowers and yard survived vacation as well.

Unfortunately, the mosquitoes did too.