hideout on the horseshoe

Friday afternoon we picked Kent up from work and headed north to the Guadalupe river.  

For months now, Kent has been planning this little getaway.
At first, he wanted it to be a surprise to me, but we knew it would be more fun if we had friends come with, so as he said,

"I need to tell you where I'm taking you so that you and Allison can plan."  

Which is husband-speak for "I really want to do this myself, but I know you'd be happier if you knew in advance and could plan the food, make the packing lists, and orchestrate every last detail."

He knows me well.

 

Our cabin was high above the river, with a gorgeous view off the patio.  Nicholas was constantly running outside so he could look at the "wawer" again and again. He wasn't as excited about being in the water as he was about looking at it.

We floated the river on Saturday, and we quickly found out why there weren't as many people doing it as we were expecting for a Saturday afternoon.

The river was quite shallow.  We had a few bruised bottoms and legs by the time we were done, but really it was pretty hilarious--going down the river and getting "beached" over and over again.  

Nicholas was fine sitting on my lap, but he didn't want me to put my hands in the water, and he didn't want his feet to get wet at all.

He's not the most adventurous child.  

But you know, maybe that's a good thing.

 We had so much fun with the Foulks, as usual.  And they were such troopers, sleeping on the futon in the tiny living room with no AC.  I hope they enjoyed the trip as much as we did, because we are so glad they came along.

Nicholas found himself a new friend in Mike (why do I want to call him "Uncle Mike"?).  He learned to say "Mike" and they became buds, putting stickers on Nicholas, playing with his ball, and taking control of the TV remote together.

 We did a little Easter Saturday--Nicholas got his basket.  Fruit snacks, jelly beans, goldfish, and a Nicholas-sized camp chair.

Oh, and you see that scrape on his knee?  He wears it like a badge of honor, constantly reminding me of his "leg, knee, owie" and wanting me to touch it. 

 We dyed eggs camping-style in plastic cups.  There was sort of a kitchen in the cabin-fridge, microwave, and sink, but it still felt like camping.

And true to most camping trips, all the food we ate was super delicious, particularly the taco salad we ate after floating the river.

Other notable happenings:  leaving the keys to our car in the (locked) cabin and leaving the keys to the cabin back where we parked the Foulks car when we floated the river.  Allison, Nicholas, and I waited in our wet swimsuits on the patio while the guys walked back to get the car.  Nicholas kept standing by the door and looking at us like "whose plan was this?"

The raccoon that enjoyed our leftovers from the trash can on the patio.

HGTV late at night.

Nicholas slept in our room for the first time since he was a newborn.   He finally sleeps quiet and deeply enough for us to do that. He's been in his own room since he was 5 weeks old.
It was actually really fun for us to have him right there, and when he woke up (too early in the morning) we'd pull him into our bed in the dark and he'd snuggle with us.

 Another excellent weekend--and still to come, California reunion, LA getaway, and birthday in Utah!