I have posted lots about my life-long friends but, I'm not the only one that met their besties in grade school. Ryan has two friends that have witnessed him at his best and worst and everything in between. They survived HS, college, marriage and now kids together and although we'd love to see them so much more often we haven't all been together since December 2012! Needless to say, we were loooooong overdue for a reunion. We finally found a date that worked for everyone and we just spent the BEST weekend at Jellystone Park in Waller, Tx.
We all got their within minutes of each other and as soon as the conversations started, I knew it was going to be a great two days. I miss these people - the kind of miss that every time we talk, I think about life in their city, or try to talk them into moving to ours. We threw our gear in the cabins and headed straight to the water park. 6 adults and 7 kids and 1 tiny baby in a belly (not mine)... we were a crew!
(Side note: If you are thinking about visiting here... do it. We stayed in the Yogi on the Lake cabins and besides a pesky bug infestation and the minor black out...it was great. Clean, cool, comfortable. It's not the Ritz or even a Holiday Inn (love you, Stanton family) BUT, it's camping(ish) and it's not supposed to be.)
Radley and Owen wanted nothing else but to go down the BIG slides, so Uncle Jamie volunteered to be their escort and I'd say their faces tell the story of how much fun they had.
I don't think I could have planned a more perfect shot!
Radley and Owen weren't the only ones being brave, Emmy decided that she liked slides and although these 3 stories high, they seemed as tall as Jack's bean stalk to her.
Owen and Karys had already made their way up and down this monster, but Radley waited for Ryan to go with him. He told us he wasn't sure if he was tall enough, but I think he just needed some Daddy courage to get things going. And once he did, we couldn't get him to stop!
We splashed around for a couple of hours going back and forth between sections of the park to make sure all the kids (and adults) got to do what they wanted. In between the shouts of slow down!, no running!, and don't squeal so loud!, we got in some catching up conversation.
We made our way back to the cabins for dinner and ended the night with some tasty fajitas, warm cookies, a failed Uno game and lots of laughter.
After a good(ish) night's sleep we enjoyed a slow morning and made our way to the recreation area for a romp on the giant jungle gym and a train ride around the park. This place is huge, with enough space for cabins, RVs, campers, and tents - so whatever you are wanting to do with your family, it seems like they have you covered. And some of these families were not messing around - they had the entire set up with canopies, grills, turf grass under their tables, hammocks, you name it. This was clearly not their first rodeo.
Radley was pretty excited to see that they had a miniature golf course in the park. We had an entire team of tiny Tiger Woods eager to show off their skills. Landry uses the "drop method"... she picks up her ball and just drops it in the hole. But hey, she always gets a hole-in-one.
;)
I was glad that this trip coincided with Owen's visit to Texas. I know that we loved having him with us and I think he had a pretty good time, too!
Yeah. Pictures in full sun = no fun for anyone.
The afternoon was spent being silly with new friends...
getting drenched by the "giant picnic basket"...
cooling off with a cold one...
(I mean, could I have cropped this picture any more perfectly?? HAHAHA!!)
being 2 peas in a pod...
and making memories with our cousins.
We couldn't have asked for a better day, more wonderful weather, or any more perfect company to spend it with. We headed back to the cabins for one final shared meal and busted out the s'mores as a special treat. Someone didn't mind the mess at all.
And slowly the sun began to set, and we sat and watched all the kids play. The occasional argument over a stick, or turn to feed the ducks was nothing in comparison to the laughter and giggles.
The kids just played by the water side and looked out for fish...
while we tried to keep them from falling in. ;)
In these moments I pause and give thanks to His plan for us, because I couldn't have planned it any better myself than to end up with friends as great as this.
After we put the kids to bed, we gathered in the street and chatted away until the flame ran out on the citronella candle. We didn't discuss anything life changing, we told a few jokes, discussed some Aggie football, and planned a business or two, but mostly we just enjoyed the company of old friends. The familiarity of their voices and thoughts, the comfort of their presence, and the safety of our love and support for each other.
What started as 3 guys from Sherman...
has become so much more...
and I am so excited about the next 20 years of 3 Stripe weekend fun!
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