Spontaneity Is The Spice Of Life, Right?

Sooo...the previous day was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  We all just want to forget how miserable it was.  It's time to move on!  So here we go!

Jon wasn't supposed to be in town.  His trip got cancelled, which meant he got to be home.  (Which also meant this was the start of his week+ off of work!)  We decided that since we had the bonus of having him home and the added bonus of the gorgeous weather we have been having, we better take advantage of the time. 

The weather was perfect for a little drive out to Osage Hills State Park.  We love Osage Hills, we just don't get out the very often.  It is so pretty there.  There are trails, a river, great picnic areas, waterfalls (small, but waterfalls just the same), a great playground...it's just great.

 

 For some reason, none of the kids had ever been to this area at Osage Hills.  They had no idea what they would find at the end of the path.

They were pleasantly surprised!  

As usual, there had to be a little bit of drama.  Ben found a trail and wanted to take it down to the river.  It was taking a long time for him to catch up to us, so Jon went to look for him.  My mom senses went into overdrive and immediately started thinking bad thoughts.  I can't help it.  You hear stories all the time about how a kid wanders off and is lost for a good long time.  Just about a week prior there were reports of a mountain lion in our area.  I hate having such terrible thoughts, but, as a mom, I don't know how you avoid them.  I tried not to freak out as I kept Abby and Luke while Jon went looking for Ben.  I didn't want them to worry, but was saying quick little prayers as they admired the waterfalls, the beautiful sky and a dragonfly.  Thankfully, I heard familiar voices and knew that everything/everyone was ok.  Ben, somehow, made it to the opposite side of the river, but he was good.  Just being a typical teenage boy.  Grrr!!!

It took a little while for the anger and frustration to subside, but we were all able to move on.

We didn't intend to get wet, but that's what happened.  And it wasn't a bad thing.  The boys all had so much fun!  Spontaneity is the spice of life, right?

Since Ben was already wet, he wanted to do a little bit more exploring.  We saw some guys swinging on a rope swing and jumping into the water, so we knew that it had to get deep at some point.  He found it!  He loved it!  When Luke saw that Ben was swimming, he wanted in on some of the action too.  (:

 After spending quite a bit of time down at the river, we decided to move on and go play for a little while at the park.  Luke was not happy to leave the water...

But he was happy to play at the playground.

Jon and Abby did a little bit of batting practice and played a little bit of catch.

Ben thought swinging might help dry his jeans.  Ha Ha!!

Swinging didn't help much, so he opted to try covering himself in the hot rubber mulch.  Surely that would do the trick!  Not so much...

Look at these cuties!  They weren't thrilled to sit for a few pictures, but I couldn't resist!

Abby asked to borrow the camera while we were driving home.  I had no idea what was going on in the back seat, but there was a lot of laughing going on.  I can see why!  I love these silly kids!

After being home for a while, I discovered that there were fireworks happening in Tulsa later that night.  We had been to these particular fireworks before and they were great!  I was a little disappointed that we didn't know that they were happening and that we weren't able to be there.  When I mentioned it to Jon, he said, "Well, why can't we go?"  Ummm...it was the usual excuse that it's all the way in Tulsa.  It's a long drive, which means gas money.  Apparently Jon didn't care.  So... we ate dinner, packed up and headed to Tulsa.  There's that spontaneity again.

I don't think we would have been so gung ho to go if the weather hadn't been so perfect.  It was unseasonably cool for the beginning of July, so we had to take advantage of the opportunity to go watch good fireworks and not sweat our tails off!

My firecrackers (:

Me and my man! (:

Crazy kids!

Believe it or not, we were all chilly while waiting for the fireworks to start!  When has that ever happened?!  Never!!  I refuse to complain!!

I love fireworks!  They were great!

This was one of my favorite days that we have spent together as a family in a very long time!  The weather was amazing!  The togetherness was fun!  The laughter was abundant!  Need I say more?  This was the best way to start off a week of "vacation"!  (Maybe I should call it a 'staycation'.)

I love my family!!