I told you so!

I do believe I said I would not be good at keeping this updated! Things around here just get so hectic!

For July 4th we went camping at Inks Lake State Park. I was so worried about the weather because there was a freak thunderstorm covering ALL of Texas (except the panhandle and El Paso!) I was glued to my computer all day Monday checking weather forcasts for the Burnet area (guess I could have spared a moment to post!) The forecasts varied from 40-70% chance of rain for the days we would be camping.... but most said HEAVY RAIN, not just a chance of a thunderstorm... HEAVY RAIN. And when you camp in a tent HEAVY RAIN is not a good thing.

We discussed canceling our plans and heading to San Marcos for a shopping trip, but decided to stick it out for at least the first night. So we packed up all our camping gear, loaded the igloos full of all the necessities, and crammed the kids into the van and headed out. It poured rain until we got about 30 minutes away. So by this time I'm really thinking we made a bad decision.

We arrived at camp, chose the perfect site that was on the water and began setting up. Being
the mom that I am, we of course had to decorate for July 4th, so I came prepared with a multitude of American Flags. After we finished setting up, we decided to go check out Devils Waterhole... I have no idea where the name came from. We took the trail down to the waterhole, then went up the cliffs that overlooked Devils Waterhole. It was stunning! There were a bunch of hooligans jumping off a large cliff on the other side of the lake. We told the kids "No way! Don't even think about doing that. We are just here to swim!" And headed back to camp for dinner. Luckily, it never rained!

The next day we got our suits on, slathered on the sunscreen, blew up a gazzillion floats, and headed back to Devils Waterhole. The water was FREEZING! I could barely stand it. I laid on my pink float the whole time, and have come to the conclusion that I need one of those Coleman floating islands to just park my butt in when we go to a lake! We watched person after person jump off the cliff into the water below. (There were even some idiot grown up diving head first! The last thing I wanted to see, or wanted my kids to see, was a dead body floating in the lake) We finally decided we'd let the kids do the short jump (about 15 feet)... seemed safe enough, they had on life-jackets afterall. I told hubby that I bet D1 would love to do the higher jump, what did he think? So he tells the kids he'll only come jump if someone will do the higher jump with him! Of course all 3 want to do it! Next thing I know, all my babies are hurling themselves off a 30 foot cliff into unknown waters below. Signs saying "Underwater hazards present. Swim at your own risk. No lifeguard on duty" all around! WHAT WAS I THINKING!!! But they loved it! And I guess I should be glad that I don't have sissy children :o) We spent several hours down at Devils Waterhole... letting our kids jump off a 30 foot cliff. Hubby and I got burned to a crisp since we laid out on floats, completely surrounded by reflecting water. Bad thing is we were candy striped for a while.... the bumps on the float evidently wore the sunscreen off! Hubby's burned on his front and I'm burned on my back side so we're a great pair! Still no rain on day 2!

The next day we were trying our hardest to avoid having to be out in the sun too much. (Of course the kids are like fish that must swim if there's enough water.) Our plan was to go tour Longhorn Caverns that morning. We took our time cooking a big breakfast, going to the store to buy more ice, changing shoes, etc. The cavern was extrememly cool! Hearing the history of how it had been a fugitive hide-out, a Commanche Indian councilroom where they held hostages, and even a dance club and speak easy. The kids loved it! And it was 3:30 by the time we had to go down to the waterhole :o) That meant only 2 hours of swimming! And NO rain! Woohoo!

Morning came and we packed up camp :( It didn't seem like long enough. We left Inks Lake and drove down to San Marcos to still fit in some shopping! And never had a drop of rain!