Frio River Reunion

Leakey, Texas! One of my favorite places in the world. We go every year, since I was a little girl. My dad has been going to the same cabins, every year since he was a young boy in the 1950's! So, this annual tradition goes way back! We look forward to this family reunion all year. It is with my dads side of the family, and we always have a blast. We kicked off the trip with a dinner at a local, very small restaurant. We took over the entire place. This man was playing music, he was amazing! So, we got up and danced...this was not a dancing type place, but we moved some tables and danced away. The singer said no one has ever danced to his music! He said, "having you dance with your children to my music goes down as one of the best moments in my life!" So sweet! He was wonderful, and it was a great start to our long weekend!

My morning workouts were very fun. I had quiet the crew of ambitious participants. All my nieces and nephews jumped in and took on the challenge. My sister in laws and cousins worked out too. We climbed trees, did pull ups on tree limbs, lunges up hills, and used nature to challenge ourselves. So fun! My dad felt good on this trip too, which is a blessing. Traveling is getting very hard on him. But, he made it in great spirits! He also took his first selfie, which was so funny! He loved relaxing with the beautiful views and watching his grandchildren and family have a blast!

Swimming in the Frio River is the highlight of our trip. It is so cold!!! The river is next to our cabins, so we hang out at the river all day. We play on the rope swing, which the boys did for hours! Hours! We skipped rocks, lounged in tubes, and visited. Scott and my brother tested out the rafting trip before the kids went because last year was pretty rough...the rapids were too fast for the kids. Scott and Chad headed out first. We can start the tubing trip straight from our cabins. It takes us about an 1.5 hours down the river to a stopping point, with rapids along the way. Scott said the trip was good to go. So the rest of us headed out to tube the Frio. Scott, our kids, all the other young cousins, my brothers, aunt/uncle and my dad stayed back and played! Our kids may do the trip with us next year, they are still a bit young to take. So, I got to enjoy the rapids kid free, which was fun! However, Scott and I did the rapids by our cabin with our kids 100 times! There is about a 10 minute section at our camp site with good rapids. We would go down, then walk back up and repeat. Over and over. The kids loved it and got a good feel for tubing rapids!

Oh Faith Ann. She was the focus most of the trip. She entertained everyone. Her sassy little attitude and confidence just makes us laugh. She played football with Parder, danced and performed for everyone. She is too dang cute for words. She was right in the middle of everything. She keeps up with all the kids and has a blast. The boys are in Heaven in Leakey. They catch lightning bugs at night, make smores around the campfire, tell ghost stories, swim, eat, run and play, climb trees, swing...good ole fun! Bentley comes with us to Leakey. She loves swimming in the Frio, she is in doggie Heaven for sure! She runs and swims all day!

 

I love my kids enjoying their cousin time. They all love each other so much. They all get along so great, unconditional love. They look out for each other, protect each other, they love/play/fight hard! Jake (13 years old) was inventing games and missions for the kids to complete. This was entertainment for the adults too. Faith Ann and Gabriella (just turned 3) were right behind the kids, acting like they knew exactly what was going on. Ally, as usual, was a big help. She watched Faith Ann a lot of the time. We played lots of football, bean bag toss, and so much more. The kids are making memories that they will cherish forever! 

 

And the Garner State Park dance...one of my favorite memories growing up! I used to love to get all dressed up and go to the dance at night. I would love to wait for a boy to ask me to dance the 2 step! ha! Garner State Park is a few minutes from our cabins, so we load up the car and head to the dance on Saturday night. Faith Ann and I put on our boots and ready to go! The kids take over the dance floor and dance with each other. Scott danced with Faith Ann, which was so precious. Melts my heart. He loves this girl too much! Hunter loved twirling his cousins! Hunter even asked a girl to dance. It was so cute. He tried to 2 step with her, and he tried to carry on a conversation with her- asking her name, etc. It was so fun to watch his little face and confidence!

Trent and Faith Ann danced the most together. They were hand in hand! I love this picture of them dancing while she won't take her eyes off Scott. Scott has a huge smile as he watches his sweet kids enjoy each other! Trent would not ask a little girl to dance, no way! Maybe next year! My dad got out on the dance floor and danced with his grandchildren. What a special memory. He danced slow and unsteady, but it was such a sweet moment to watch! Leakey 2016 was a huge success! We had an awesome time. As always, looking forward to next year!