An actual family day on a Saturday!

What a deal! John doesn't have to preach tomorrow, so we actually had a "real" family day today! For all of you who are not pastors or pastor's wives, let me just explain what a rare treat this is. Normally John spends the better part of Saturdays at the church studying and tying up his sermon, so the kids and I are on our own. And it's not like I can call up one of my friends for a play-date because everyone is having his/her own regualr family day on Saturdays. Thankfully, John takes Mondays off so we do have a weekly family day. We do try to fit in fun stuff on Mondays, but it is usually filled with the house projects to-do list or errands. All that to say, I was incredibly thankful to have today purely as a fun family day.

For those of you who know John, he's incredibly spontaneous and always has an idea that he's completely ready to execute at the spur of the moment. I'm much more of a planner, but I am learning to be more flexible. This morning as we were finishing up our pancake and bacon breakfast, John says, "Let's all go to Lake Ray Roberts today." In my mind, I'm thinking, 'Ok, that means we'll need to pack lunches, sunscreen, sippy cups, milk, snacks, extra change of clothes...and what if it's too hot? It is Saturday, what if it's too crowded?' As I'm verbalizing all of these concerns to John, he simply says, "Let's just pile everyone in the van and go and we'll find a place to eat nearby."

I consented, but still managed to pack snacks, sippy cups, sunscreen and some sand toys for the kids. I'm so glad that we went because it was such a beautiful day and the kids had a blast. Here is Christopher taking a break from digging for dinosaur bones.


Here is Sarah, also digging for dinosaur bones.


In VAIN, I kept telling John to keep Hannah's outfit from getting wet. Every time he'd pick her up and move her toward the beach, she'd turn around and plow full steam ahead toward the water. I thought about packing swim wear, but didn't because I just figured we wouldn't swim. So much for being a planner! I wish I had at least packed a swim diaper for Hannah because regular diapers simply soak up whatever moisture is nearby. Her diaper must have weighed 5 or 6 pounds when I took it off!


Sarah takes her 'work' very seriously.


Christopher pauses from his work to say "cheese".


Sarah runs along the shore carefully carrying her 'treasure'.


Here is Hannah soaked head to toe, but boy did she have fun splashing around in the water!


There were outdoor showers under which I held Hannah and rinsed off all of the sand that was stuck to her little body (she did NOT appreciate this!). Thankfully, I did pack a change of clothes for her.

After a very enjoyable morning at Lake Ray Roberts, we went to Chili's for lunch and stuffed ourselves with burgers, fries and mac n cheese. I'm typically not a red meat eater but seem to crave a good hamburger whenever I'm pregnant, much to John's delight.


After a full day and a full tummy, Hannah quickly zonked out in her car seat shortly after we left the parking lot of Chili's. She woke up briefly as we unbuckled her and carried her into the house, but fell right back asleep and continues to slumber even as I write.

Thus concludes our last big outing as a family of 5! By next Saturday, we will be a family of 6, Lord willing!