Last weekend, the Schattes invited me to come along to their camping trip for Esther's birthday!
It was a huge blessing to spend some quality time with them and get to know them better!!!
And of course, half of the fun is the trips there and back!
Andrew, Esther, Mrs. Schatte and Rach in the front.....
and Faith, me and Liz in the back! We had a lot of laughs on the 2 1/2 hour trip!!! :)
passing by the airport is always fun!!!
getting to our campsite, and found we had our own little trail down to the lake!
isn't it gorgeous?!?! :)
Gorgeous Es!!!
our pile of bags in the screened in shelter
setting up the tent
Liz airing up the air mattresses
I ran into town with Mrs. Schatte, and saw this cross up on the hill :)
took this picture for Ashley! ;)
Andrew relaxing....
eating goldfish and watching people boating on the lake
pure awesomeness!!! :D
I took this picture of my feet, and then stood up and dropped my camera in the lake....
Thankfully it dried out!!!
this pic was during the drying out....kinda gave it a neat look! :)
Sam mixing Gatorade to go hiking
doesn't it sound.....romantic? ;P
the pics don't do it justice....these were pretty neat drop offs!!!
down in the 'hollow'
Us and the cliff....and for some reason this pic won't rotate....
Beautiful Liz and her camera
me taking a picture of Es taking a picture
Gorgeous Faith!
cactus on the cliff
Liz was always out in front leading the way! :)
us!!! :)
and us....again!
Faith :)
hiking the trail
view of the lake from the trail
poison ivy..... :)
Andrew and Liz on the fishing dock
Es!
the trail went along the edge of the lake...
the people in front of me.....
and the people behind me
pretty flowers along the way
one of those 'we just finished the trail, now where exactly did we go?' pictures :)
there was a lot of cactus everywhere!
two pretty stone tables at the top
a stone fireplace
heehee....us.....again....resting after the hike :)
more flowers
some random people repelling
Sam and I on the lookout
the view from the lookout
watching some repellers
on one of the cliffs
these look a lot neater in person! pics just don't capture them right....
we took our lunch down to the lake and ate on the rocks!
:)
And after Lunch we went hiking again! this time on the trail that goes back to the primitive campsite
aren't we cute? ;)
we came out on the horse trail and there was a practice area for the Army Camp nearby
we followed the horse trail for a while
then back into the woods! :)
pretty purple flower
and more cactus! :)
Samuel pointed out this heart-shaped cactus! :)
it looked like there had been a fire here last summer or something...
and there's the lake! :)
After the hike, we went canoeing for a couple of hours!
Faith, Liz and Ange were in a canoe together
and, Sam and I were in the same boat! :)
one of those awkward, self-portraits...but I like it! :)
Faith, Liz, and Ange....and Esther, Rachel and Mr. Schatte
our campsite is somewhere there.... :)
Me relaxing while my special fellow rowed us in circles and we talked...
...and trailed our hands in the water...it was very relaxing and fun!
the island on the lake
somehow, Samuel and I got the most wet on our canoe ride..... ;)
Rachel cooking burgers on the grill for supper
the picnic table
the trail back to our screened in shelter...isn't it just adorable? :)
going swimming after sunset....because we're crazy.....it was soooo much fun!!!!!
Mr. and Mrs. S on the shore
:)
yes, there was some splashing..... :)
haha, two very wet and slightly sunburnt, but smiling people! :)
we decided to walk home in the dark....
So Faith got up on the spillway wall, and then the rest of us followed her up there.....
we walked the whole length of the spillway!!!!! :D
coffee and laughing that evening!
Sam was trying to study
Es was taking pictures of her self
and I took one of me so Faith could get a pic of us taking pics of our selves.... :)
the two Esthers!!! :)
this was our 'running water'.....kinda fun to wash dishes here.....who knows, I might be doing that on a daily basis sometime!!! :)
trail down to the lake
:)
doing devotions on the lake with my special guy....hard to beat that!!! :)
well, I sneaked one of him, so I guess he's entitled to sneak one of me.....
trying to set up the timer to get one us us together.....
This one's blurry, but I kinda like how it looks :)
Family bible time after breakfast
making sandwiches for lunch
what would a camping trip be without hot cocoa? :)
all of us in front of the shelter
looking at pics....
and taking some more....
the trail behind the restrooms
ran into this little guy
the steps down to the lake
:D
found a trail and followed it for a while
failed reflection shot.... :)
for some reason I like taking pictures of this guy!
yep, that is the spillway wall we walked on top off the night before! :D
going wading....
Faith
Liz, Rach and Es
Me with a scruffy stranger... ;P
us with our shades....
that duck just sat on the wall and watched us....
and that one just floated and watched the boaters
finishing up the coffee before we had to head out....the weekend went to fast!!!
saying goodbye to no. 15
a heart-shaped rock we found on the pathway
the courthouse in I think it was Weatherford....the road split around it...really neat! :)
and.....more airplane pics....which means we're passing by the airport again!!! :)
So, the GPS got mixed up in the construction, and Samuel took the wrong exit, and we ended up in the airport....like we minded! :)
we found our way back out though.....
ok, so this is a random church, but they have their logo painted on their roof, so people flying into the airport can see it! how neat is that?
iced cappuccinos from QuickTrip :D
heehee, another sneak pic of Sam! and the Le Madeline's we stopped at with our dads on our way home from the airport back in April....fun memories! :)
we were almost home, and I realized I hadn't gotten a car picture!!!
Me, Rach, Faith, Es, Liz, Ange and Sam
this was a very fun car ride!!!!!
back at the Schatte's house....I went out and helped Samuel move the cows :)
:)
Es opening her birthday gifts
Faith got the camera....
...then Sam got it.....
Faith and I being goofy together!!!
Faith playing the guitar, with Liz clapping along :)
Alas and alack, I didn't get pics of the rest of the evening!!! We had a lot of fun, thought! Sam played his guitar for me, then we played a few games of volleyball, then a fun truck ride home with Faith and Sam!!!
Thank you Schattes for letting me come with you, and for making me feel like part of the family!!!!!!! :D
1 comment:
Hi Es! I have been keeping up with your blog for awhile, and am enjoying what I see! :-) I think I found your blog through someone else's, and I immediately knew I had found a like-minded family in you guys. I, too, come from a large, conservate, home schooling family. I think it's great watching you and Sam go through a courtship like that! I know that is definitely what my parents want for me.
You seem like a neat person! Looking forward to more posts...
Your sister in Christ,
Mikala
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