Elephants and Shut-Ins

We went on another Morris Summer Excursion today. We had some friends drop by last night who had just been to the Elephant Rocks State Park. That gave me an idea. Jason and I had both been, years ago, but our kids had not. So, this morning, we ate breakfast, packed a picnic lunch, and headed east to one of the most unique Missouri state parks I've ever been to.

The boys, naturally, LOVED climbing and exploring the faces of these massive, smooth pink granite boulders. Corwin was unstoppable, and Owen wanted to be unstoppable, but his little legs wouldn't allow it. So, he hanged onto Mommy and Daddy, and just trusted us to catch him, or see him over the crevices.
These pictures just don't do these "elephant-sized" rocks justice. I've never seen rock so smooth and round, and so HUGE! They are gorgeous. Truly the handiwork of a Master Creator.

Owen kept sitting down on the little rocks and saying, "take picture, peas, Mommy. CHEEZE!" I told him no more after the 4th or 5th rock.

Again, I wish you could understand the steep grade and massive size of these mountains. Absolutely amazing.

Final pose is with Daddy on a climbable rock (with assistance). On top of the boulders you could see for miles. (Don't worry. This 4-month pregnant Mommy stayed securely down below.)

After the elephant rocks, we travelled thirteen miles to Johnson Shut-In State Park. I didn't take my camera down here because I knew the terrain was treacherous, and the camera probably wouldn't survive. So, I've hijacked some off of someone else's Flickr account. Again, these pictures do not do the place justice. This place is GORGEOUS!!!

Here the kids can enjoy natural "water slides" and waterfalls. The Black River here is so clean and fresh, it looks like a commercial for filtered bottled water. The boys absolutely LOVED this place! Unfortunately, we weren't prepared and clothed appropriately, but we let the boys indulge anyway. They loved the place so much, they cried when we had to leave.

They cried so much that we've promised to go back some day when we're more prepared to spend the entire day. Even I'm looking forward to that! :)

It was an amazing day. We're all exhausted, but have memories that we'll never forget. Mine will be the sound of my boys' laughter as they floated down the river, and Owen and Corwin's "oohs" and "ahs" over the "big, big wocks". Thankful for, yet, another memorable day.

Camp Niangua 2011

I just got home today from a week at church camp. I had the honor and privilege of helping lead 200 teens (plus sponsors and workers) in praise and worship every evening in an amazing worship service. I've done this for the past four years, and it is one of the major highlights of every year.

This year did not disappoint. Camp Niangua has been blessed beyond measure. God changed the lives of everyone in that camp, including mine. On the last night, Bro. Pinkerton asked those who had grown closer to God--experienced Him in a new way--to stand. The ENTIRE room was standing. Phenomenal.

We serve an amazingly awesome God, folks. He is good, and I am so honored to be able to work for Him and see the results.

Second Annual Morris St. Louis Trip

I suppose we're making this an annual event--a trip to St. Louis, Missouri. Last year we went for a Cardinal's baseball game and to tour The Arch. This year we visited the Science Center and world-renowned St. Louis Zoo. (We chose these two particular activities because they are FREE!)

We started off from home around 7:15 a.m., only to turn back because I forgot my tennis shoes. So, we restarted our road trip at 7:50 a.m. We arrived around 9:45 at the St. Louis Science Center. The boys enjoyed exhibits about dinosaurs, geology (of which we had to "reword" to eliminate all the evolution mumbo-jumbo), weather, life science, computer science, and lot of physics. They had a fun demonstration on gravity where a man dropped things from 5 stories up to see how gravity affected items of different weight, size, mass, etc. Then we watched a very interesting chyrogenics demonstration where a lady scientist froze all kinds of things with liquid nitrogen.

Then we had lunch and headed over to the space exploration section. Corwin and I enjoyed a show at the planetarium while Daddy and Owen explored for an hour, or so. Then there were lots of space and solar system things to check out. And, NASA gear! Oh, man! The fun Corwin had! He still has a fascination of space and NASA.

Don't let this picture fool you. Corwin did NOT build this arch with his Daddy. Daddy and I built this arch because Corwin lost interest about half-way through. But, he did thoroughly enjoy destroying it directly following this Kodak moment.

That evening we went to a hotel where Corwin and I went to the pool while Daddy and Owen took a nap.

The next morning we headed out early for the St. Louis Zoo. The first stop was Sting Ray Bay where we were able to reach in a "pet" sting rays. I must say, they don't feel like I imagined they would. They are very soft and smooth, and feel a little slimy. I think they even LIKED being touched. They would swim right by you and high in the pool for a touch. Very, very neat! Then we road the carousel.

They also have a "Kids' Zoo", where kids can pet domesticated animals, and play on playgrounds, and see things from a little different perspective.

My "otter" family. Too bad we couldn't get someone to take the picture for us so I could be the fourth otter.

This is Owen doing his hippo impression inside a hippo.

I didn't really care much for the bug house. I just felt queasy and uneasy the entire time. (I don't like bugs!)

Here's the real hippo.

We saw the sea lion show (a must-see for me). I always love a good sea lion show!

Owen got down and looked right into the eyes of a chimpanzee. They sat and stared at each other for a little while. I wonder what they were thinking....

This was Corwin's favorite, I think. We visited there twice. The Penguin and Puffin House. Outside were the warm environment penguins, and inside were the COLD penguins. The building is maintained at a cool 45 degrees, and you can get up close and see them swim and stuff. Very cool (pun intended).

We rode the zoo train for Owen. That boy still loves trains! At every station, he'd yell "All ABOOOAAARD!"

Corwin told me he was tired at the end of the day, but not too tired that he'd have to take a nap on the way home. Whew. I'm glad he CHOSE to take a nap.

Owen was out before we left the zoo parking lot.

We definitely had a good time. God has blessed us with several months off together, as a family, and I'm glad we're taking advantage of that time! We've definitely made some sweet memories. These days with little boys will be gone before we know it, and I'm glad we're taking the time to savor it. I'm thankful for this precious time.