We took a short drive over to
Lake Tawakoni State Park to do a little Father's Day weekend camping. We had never been there before, but decided it would be a good place to set up the pop up and celebrate Father's Day. The drive was nice and pretty going through small Texas towns I had never been to before --- Forney, Wells Point, Elmo. We passed stands at the fronts of farms and orchards selling peaches, tomatoes, okra and more.
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| Oskar and Fidel in the Pop Up |
We got one of the last camp sites in the park, but I think we got the very best one: 22. It was surrounded by heavy woods and backed up onto the lake. It felt secluded and like it was just us, the birds, the bullfrogs, and the tree frogs. We set up camp, had lunch, and hung out for a bit before going swimming. We probably could have swam right off our campsite, but I was overly cautious about cottonmouths. So we went over to the little designated swimming beach. The water was nice and warm. Grace absolutely loved the sand and splashing around. She also made friends (as she does most anywhere she goes). By the time we left the beach, we had several little kids who had adopted us as part of their crew.
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We came back to the campsite and Grace explored and helped me gather firewood for our camp fire. The sun and tree canopy were just beautiful. When it started to cool off a little bit, we went for a little hike. Grace loaded up in her back pack and we headed out. It was beautiful east Texas woods. My silly Sookie Stackhouse novels came to mind as I jokingly wondered if vampires, fairies, and shifters ran through these woods at night.
We got back to camp and built our campfire. We cooked dinner --- veggie dogs, grilled veggies, and watermelon slices. Watermelon is one of Grace's favorite foods and we have been eating it regularly already this summer since watermelons started coming into season earlier this month. But there is just something so refreshing and fun about sitting outside on a hot day and biting into a slice of cold, juicy watermelon. We all had watermelon juice dripping down our faces and wore it as a badge of summer.
We sat and listened as the day sounds transitioned to night ones. We put Grace to bed and sat by the fire, watching moonlight on the lake. The tree frogs, bullfrogs, and other night creatures were so loud, their symphony coming from all directions. It was beautiful and almost deafening. Jeff with Fidel on his lap, me with Oskar on mine (Emma was in the pop up keeping an eye on Grace -- the good furry dogmother she is), we watched the fire and the lake and visited, raising our voices so that we were not drowned out by the frogs. It was a good night.
I woke up at our normal time, but Grace slept late. I took in my beautiful family in the morning light. My beautiful little girl, soundly in the dreamland, with her relaxed limps strewn every which way and her face as close to that of an angel as I will ever see. She no longer sleeps curled up like a baby, but takes up her space in the bed like the little girl she is. I looked to my left to my handsome husband, friend, and the most wonderful dad to our little girl. And our sweet furkids, Fidel by my side, Oskar below him, and Emma at my feet. Fidel watched me as I looked around making sure everything was ok. I laid back down and pet Fidel, smiling at the peace and togetherness of my family. Sweet voyeuristic moments when I have a timeout to appreciate how good it is.
When Grace woke, she grabbed her bunny and started making it hop while saying, "Hop. Hop. Hop." She turned and smiled and said, "Hi Mommy. Hi Daddy." with that metallic, angelic ring she has. We started our day, enjoying the sweet morning air and our family breakfast in our outdoor dining room.
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| Father's Day Gifts |
After breakfast, Grace and I went to get Jeff's gift from the car. Grace had decorated the wrapping paper, helped me put together the gift, and wrote on the car. I handed her the gift and she very carefully and slowly walked over to Jeff at the picnic table. He was still eating. I said, "Jeff, would you turn around." Grace smiled and proudly handed her gift to him. He opened it carefully, making sure not to tear the wrapping paper she decorated. She pointed to the framed picture and told Jeff, "Grace. Daddy." It was picture of them at the Rangers game on one side of the frame and a picture she drew on the other. He smiled and it seemed her smile got slightly bigger. It was a beautiful moment to have witnessed. Such a nice little girl and such a proud, happy father.
After cleaning up from breakfast, we took off for a morning hike. Beautiful little peninsula view of the lake. Also, incredible spider viewing and tons of webs. Beautiful in the morning, however, not where I would want to be in the middle of the night. It felt a little spooky even in the morning sun. Still a lovely hike though.
Grace and I went swimming after. She swam to her heart's content and I enjoyed the water, sun, and company. We got a snow cone from the park store on our walk back to camp. She was grinning ear-to-ear with red syrup dripping all over her stomach down to her toes. Happy kiddo.
Back at camp, we had lunch, then packed up. Grace cried as we closed up the camper realizing the trip was over. I put her to work helping me load the car though and the tears went away. Nothing like work and responsibility to clear up woes.
We drove back to Addison. Grace was sound asleep before we even hit the first town. As we exited off 635, Grace said, "Grace. Addison." Always nice to come home, but very nice little camping weekend. Happy Father's Day!
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