Rio Frio

Our little family just returned from our first ever family vacation, just the five of us.

As I was planning our trip to the Frio River, I realized that we have never been on a vacation with just our family--we've always gone with extended family. This would be an adventure!

The past three days we stayed at a cabin in Leakey, TX. It was perched on the river bank and all we had to do was follow a trail through the woods to arrive at the river.

Our first day we unpacked in a hurry and got our swimsuits on as fast as we could. Then we played in the coolness of the river until dinner time. I loved the piece of the river that we were on. When you came to the end of the trail to the riverbank, to the left was a small area of shallow rapids, perfect for two little boys to float down in a tube. Cooper and Brayden spent hours at this part, floating down until a bend in the river and then walking back on a small island of rocks, then doing it all over again.

Past this area was a nice, calm part of the river that led to a deeper area with a huge dead tree sticking out. We played here for a while with our wave ball (I got this at Academy for our trip--it was a lot of fun and works well. We could all be spaced out down the river and Justin would throw it for what seemed like forever.) The big boys also played on the tree for a while, swinging from the branch.

Then to the right of where the trail meets the river is a deeper part, great for swimming and fishing. There was a giant ledge that jutted out you could sit or stand on to fish, and the water was deep enough below the ledge for the boys to do cannon balls. I loved being able to see the fish swimming. We caught a few but they always seemed to eat our worms before we could reel them in. I wish I had a picture of all the boys fishing our last night--Cooper stood on a massive rock in the middle of the river as he fished. But I didn't take my camera--next time I'll be sure to buy one of those bags that keep your valuables dry.

Lucas busied himself doing two things the entire trip: throwing rocks in the river and watching them splash, and at the cabin he searched around the camp fire pit for old pieces of wood and charcoal, and when he found one he promptly stomped on it.

The morning we left we went down to the river early and we had it all to ourselves for a good hour. It was incredibly peaceful and I was in awe once more of God's creation. How many beautiful places are there in this world? Too many to count. We were blessed to have three days enjoying the beauty here. Until next time.