My Shark

Today I'm going to tell you about one of our smart purchases in the last year - a Shark Rocket Complete with DuoClean. Most RV's have some carpet but not enough to warrant a big, heavy vacuum. We also wanted something that could be used to sweep out vehicles easily since ours gets rather........filthy. Sharks are expensive and there is so many models that I kept shying away from them but thankfully Eldon figured out what we needed and bought it for me!

It's incredibly small for how much it sucks. We used the wall-hanger bracket that came with it to hang it in the garage where it's handy yet out of the way.

The lovely Shark. All it takes is a flip of the switch to go between carpet and hardwood floors which is SO nice since we have tiny bits of carpet in odd places and switch all the time!

It's no problem to reach back into narrow corners or grab that spider off the ceiling with the Shark. Just bump the wand release button with your foot and ta-da!

Another press of the button and the wand comes off and we have a very short vacuum that we can add any of the 3 attachments to. 

I love that there is no expensive, stinky bag but just a canister that is quickly emptied when it gets full. It's no lie to say that we use our Shark at least once a day. By we, I mean mostly Makayla and Michael. Thankfully the newness hasn't worn off yet and they still fight to vacuum so I'm good with that!

Junction, TX

This past week we took a quick overnight trip 100 miles south to Junction, TX. The main attraction was the South Llano River State Park. Floating the river was on our bucket list and this is the perfect spot! We were able to float for almost 2 hours and only had to walk about 10 minutes before we put in and after we got out, because of the way the river runs and the trails and roads they've made.

We had a gorgeous day to do it too-not blistering hot but still warm enough that the water felt good!

Loved the peaceful feeling of just floating.........when we weren't rescuing Emily or Michael from a bush or lagging behind :). We had some bungee cords along and they worked so well to strap our tubes together. Ethan had his arm floaties and wore a swim ring that we looped to my tube and he spent most of the time trailing behind me in the water!

After the first time these 3 decided to go again. I sat in the truck and meal planned while Ethan napped and Emily played on the tablet. It worked out well for us all! 

We also did a 2 mile hike first thing when we got there since it was a little cool to be in the water. This park has lots of lovely hiking/biking trails through wooded areas. We saw deer all over the place as well as lots of birds. This area has a lot of turkeys too but we didn't see any.

A note about the campground- I'm sure most big rigs COULD get in but it could be a little stressful and most sites aren't big enough for an RV and a vehicle. There's a lot of low trees and some of the sites are at a really strange angle. However, the City Park has huge sites and we "heard" that you can park there free for at least 2 nights. 

We opted to get a motel since we were only going one night even though I hate shelling out that money. Thanks to Priceline, we stayed at the Econo Lodge for less then $50. We often go to the cheapest motel and have had wonderful luck and this was no exception. It was clean (I checked around the toilet - it always tells the true story) and spacious plus it had a pool! They had an area with grills, picnic tables and a playground too. Breakfast was nothing to brag about but they had cereal and bagels, which are two things our children hardly ever get so they thought it was soooo special!!!

The next morning we went back to the State Park with big plans to do lots of hiking. The first trail was .7 miles but very steep to an overlook. 

By the time we got done with that it was heating up and the children were just exhausted and quite grouchy. We ate our picnic lunch and headed home! They all slept nearly the whole way, except Ethan who didn't sleep at all, lol. It was a super fun little vacation and we're so excited that Eldon's contract in San Angelo is up in only 10 days and then we'll be off to more new places!

Our new hobby

The following post consists of pictures and Michael and Makayla's weekly writing assignments. Some people "couldn't' think" when they did theirs ;).

Geocaching

Geocaching is where you find boxes and put something in and then take something out.

They are all over the world. You can find them on every continent. 

The best thing I ever found was a dollar bill.

Geocaching is a good hobby because it is exercise. Also, you are exploring outside.

-Makayla King, age 8

The tiniest one we've found!

These are the best size because they are bound to hold a few treasures.

Equipped with new items to trade in the next box!

Pretty shrubs

  The fun of geocaching

Where will they be?

Up or down?

High or low?

Where could they be?

Near or far?

O where, o where?

I'll tell you a clue.

They can be anywhere,

And are everywhere.

Sometimes they are tiny,

Sometimes they are big.

Some are the size of a dime,

stacked ten high.

Some are as big as

A medium toolbox.

What is in them?

Some have stamps.

Some have bouncy balls.

My favorite geocache 

Was one a group of 

Schoolchildren started.

My best treasure was

An orange whistle.

-Michael King age 6

Searching hard!

This was a hard find!

This child.........the gaudier the better :)

Love being outside!

Can you spot it? We had to come back a second time because Eldon wasn't about to give up!

Ta-da!

Try it! The app is only $30 and it's good for a year! We figure even if we only use it a few hours, it's still cheaper then mini golf or most other activities that cost :).