Just Another Day in Paradise

My sister and her family rented a cabin on the Sabinal River in Utopia this week and invited Dwaine, the kids and I to join them for a day. So we packed up and headed to paradise for a day of fishing, swimming, rope swinging, eating and visiting...

We started off with a little fishing. Alli insisted that she knew what she was doing and would not let Dwaine or I help her at all. Needless to say, she didn't catch any fish, but she had fun anyway.

Maddy with her fish. The Barbie fishing pole really works!

And, TJ with his fish. Apparently, the Scooby Doo fishing pole is the real deal also.

Daddy showing TJ just how it's done...

More success!!

And then for some rope swing fun...

At first Alli thought hanging on the rope was lots of fun until she realized she couldn't drop down without being in the water not knowing what to do from there (the water was deep right off the bank). We assured her the life jacket would keep her afloat, but she wasn't buying it and began to panic, so Maddy and Uncle Russell had to pull her back to the ground. It took quite a while after that for her to get back in the water at all.

Dad's got rope swing skills!

And so does 4 yr old Lainey!!! That girl was fearless.

You Tarzan, Me Jane

TJ and Alli watching the fun safely from the sidelines.

Finally back in the water for Alli!

I thought this pic was funny cause it looks like I'm a momma duck with her ducklings trailing behind. Actually, the girls were the "rescue team." Every time someone would jump in or float to the other side of the river, they would quickly swim to the rescue. It was very cute.
TJ running back to the cabin to show me the "apple" that he found while he and Daddy were hiking around. It was actually a pepper of some kind, but he calls every fruit an apple.
Time for smores. Not a good idea in August- the chocolate was melted before we got it out of the package so my job was to squeeze chocolate onto all the crackers. And as you can imagine, it was already hot outside, so that fire- well, you understand. Let's just say we hit the river for some more rope swing fun right after that. Mmmm, roasted marshmallows are still very yummy though.
Oh and there were cupcakes too!
For Alli, there was cupcake icing (that's how she typically eats a cupcake).
Maddy getting her fill of the icing too. I think she has a better idea with the spoon.
And of course the peaceful ride home. Both kids sacked out. They were filthy, but we took them home and put them straight to bed anyway.

You just can't beat days like that!!!!!