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 :).

Chickasaw National Recreation Area

Last week we were able to fill in the Oklahoma sized hole on our map! Our friends over at Our Moving House had visited here earlier this year so I added it to our bucket list too! The Chickasaw National Recreation Area is located in the Arbuckle Mountains (who knew Oklahoma had mountains?!) and truly is an oasis in the desert. Trees, springs, and lakes are everywhere. We could only be there for 2 nights and didn't do the area justice at all but it whet our appetite. 

The first place we went on our day of exploring was the Travertine Nature Center. It's free (SCORE!) and has live animals as well as many mounts. We spent over an hour wandering around and the children did their Jr. Ranger books. Ethan was thrilled because they gave him a 1 page scavenger hunt and he got a badge too!

This bee hive was captivating! The pipe on the right leads outside so they could collect nectar. We loved watching them work!

And what is a nature center without turtles? Ethan wanted to watch them all day.

Many buildings in the area are made of rocks, all local and in perfect shapes to build with. 

We thought it very clever of them to build the Nature Center over the creek!

If you find a bug, you must play with it :).

From the Nature Center we "hiked" about 2 miles to see 2 different springs. The path was wide and flat and extremely easy walking. There were many little pools and waterfalls along the way and they were all crystal clear.

You can't see it well but we spotted an armadillo and were able to get within 10 feet of it!

Antelope Springs. Fascinating how the water simply flows from the under the rock!

So clear and delicious!

Buffalo Springs had a neat little pool around it.

Bubbles would randomly appear at any time. It was rather hypnotizing. 

Of course they had to taste it too!

People were diving off these falls so the creek must be deep there. We certainly didn't try it!

Typical expressions! Micheal is "Not doing anything but smiling!" and Emily howls, "He's not being nice!" Our next stop was the Chickasaw Cultural Center. It's huge and we were all hot and tired so we didn't pay for the tour but we did enjoy our time there.

There is a Cafe there so we had lunch. Eldon and I both got an Indian taco with grape dumplings and pashofa. Delicious!

Michael and Makayla shared the bison burger, which was also amazing! The prices are very reasonable and I'd highly recommend lunch here if you're in the area!

It seems like we should have been learning about the Chickasaw but the children wanted to feed the fish so............ :)

Turtles and huge catfish were in the pond!

The children all got THREE badges instead of one.

In order to get their badges, one of their projects was to pick up 10 pieces of trash. While painted rocks are a fun hobby, it IS illegal to leave them at National Parks so technically it was trash. We saved them to hide elsewhere.

And we even found a penny press so we could get our favorite souvenirs!

I bought a jar of this too. It's amazing on crackers with cream cheese!

Later in the evening (after all the grouchies had naps) we headed to the Arbuckle Lake and went swimming.

The water was bathtub warm!

Our campsite.......we had 50 amp and water hookups but no sewer. This was site 43 but several others were also very spacious. It's fairly easy to get around, if you are used to driving a big rig :). The road into the campground is curvy and hilly but nothing extreme. There's a lot of trees and big rocks though so it's a great idea to have a spotter when you're backing into your campsite. 

Water shoes are a must if you go to lakes and rivers much!

The trail behind our campsite went down to the lake and the children played in the woods every chance they got. They also got bitten by chiggers and mosquitoes quite badly too so be sure to use repellent.

Where is home?

     When Emily was younger we had a book (from a Cheerio box) called Where is Home, Little Pip? It was the kind of book that a child latches onto and wants you to read it 27 times a day. So we did, and as a result I can still quote most of it. 

     For Little Pip, the baby penguin, home is a pebbly nest on the cold Antarctic shore. She loves to play and explore but is constantly warned by her doting parents not to wander far. Every night they sing a song reminding her that:

 "Our home is where the land is free
 from hill or mountain, twig or tree
in our pebbly nest by the stormy sea,
where Mama and Papa and Pip makes three."

      One day Pip wanders off and becomes lost. She asks the different animals that she encounters, "Where is home?" But for each creature, home is a different place. Alone and frightened in the frozen wilderness, Pip sings the song that Mama and Papa taught her, and it brings them together for a joyful reunion. When Little Pip asks them to take her home, Papa sings their song with a different twist:

"Where is home? Is it far or near?
Is it a pebbly nest that we all hold dear?
No, home is where there is nothing to fear.
Since we're together, home is right here!"

Webster's Dictionary says that home is:
1       a :   one's place of residence  
        b :   house

1. 2 the social unit formed by a family living together 
2. 3a :  a familiar or usual setting :  congenial environment; also :  the focus of one's domestic attention b :  habitat 
3. 4a :  a place of origin b :  headquarters 
4. 5   an establishment providing residence and care for people with special needs 
5. 6   the objective in various games; especially :  home plate

6. at home

   1. 1  relaxed and comfortable :  at ease 
   2. 2  in harmony with the surroundings
   3. 3  on familiar ground :  knowledgeable 

        The last week I've been thinking a lot about what the word home means to me and it's been interesting to see where all my wandering mind led me. It's definitely defined differently in my mind then it would have been 2 years ago. 

     When I think of my permanent home, I think of heaven. And I'll be honest, I have a hard time imagining a city of gold being beautiful so I choose to focus on the fact that Jesus will be there and that being in his presence will outshine all that gold :). But for right now, I'm thinking about my earthly home.

Heaven, my eternal home. (not my picture)

     This picture brings forth many warm, fuzzy feelings. It's the first property we owned and poured thousands of dollars into. It's the house we brought 3 of our 4 children home to. It's the house I went through a deep, dark winter and the house we created a million happy memories. But, it's just a house to us now that we've sold it to someone else.
 

Our house in Arkansas, that we sold in November 2016.

     Then there is the Colorado mountains that I grew up in. Every time we go visit my heart aches with the beauty of it and the happy growing up memories I have. But the house I helped my dad build and we lived in for years is long sold off and everything in the area has changed so much that it no longer feels like home either.

Picture taken July 2016 on Owl Creek Pass, near Ridgeway, Colorado

     This is the house my parents currently live in. It also invokes some feelings of home because my mom and dad are there as well as many familiar objects that I grew up with. It's the place where mom is cooking up some delicious food and dad is outside tinkering around with a project, just like when I was young.

My parents house, near Hillsboro, Texas

     Then there is this huge old farmhouse that Eldon's parents have lived in since the day they got married. Not much has changed. The clothes the children wore and toys they played with are all still in the attic, unless said children claimed them. The couches or carpet haven't changed in 40 some years and it's all so familiar and feels fantastic to go back every year and not a single thing has changed (well, most of it feels good ;) ). Mom still cooks the very same amazing, fattening food and dad still endlessly teases and lets me know that my children get it legitly!

Eldon's childhood home in Belleville, Pa. His grandmother planted the huge tree in the front yard.

     I suppose technically this is our home because it's where we sleep at night. Side note, it's adorable to me how we can be parked anywhere in America but when we pull up to our RV Ethan gives a happy sigh and says, "Home." We've only had this rig a couple months but it does feel like home. Moving this last time made realize fully that it's not the building, but the people. I've left pieces of my heart all over the country but home for me is where ever I'm with people that I relate with in some way and can feel the love of God connecting us in an invisible bond.

Our current rig, 2010 Keystone Raptor 3912

     It's those moments when my soul gives a happy sigh and I know that I've once again experienced one of God's greatest blessings - the feeling of being loved and understood and knowing that I belong. I've gotten that glorious feeling so many times the last few years. A campfire with family. Laughing around my parents table. Blowing bubbles with my children. At Chick-Fil-A with a family we mostly know online. Group texting friends that truly get me (or at least put up with me). Late night campfire talks with my husband. Brand new friends at the playground. Eating pie that my Mother-in-law especially baked because it was my favorite. Through it all is God's love shining strong and letting me know that as long as I'm with Him, He will lead me to people who make me feel home.

July 2016, in Durango, Colorado on my 30th birthday. Laying in the grass laying with my favorite little people.

Our family at the Lower Blue Lake in Colorado. A hike that I nearly didn't make but we stuck it out and all made it it the top!

Watching my husband with our children. Monhans Sandhill SP (Texas) April 2017

Mother's Day 2017

Because, Truly,

Where do you consider home? And why? You just might be surprised what answers you get if you think about it long and hard!