Monday, August 23, 2010

Devil's Lake

While cleaning this morning, I realized that I was fighting a losing battle: the kids were actually making messes faster than I was able to clean them up. So I decided to cut my losses and leave for a day trip to Devil's Lake, a state park about 40 miles north. I left half the breakfast dishes in the sink, a couple loads of unfolded laundry on the couch, and possibly some other messes around the house. We took off!

We only forgot two things: the sunscreen (which cost us about $7) and the camera (which cost us about 8 megapixels). Oh well. Here are some phone pictures of the kids building on a perfectly sunshiny day:
Forestland surrounded the beach area on three sides, and the warm water extended for a hundred feet before becoming deep--just ideal!

This river system became more complex throughout the day, with dams, reservoirs, and cities across the area. 

Sunny Michael told me, "Mom, this is the best place in the world!" 

Adam has officially figured out how to play in the sand instead of eating it--hurray! Even though he missed a nap, he was a darling all day and really had his share of fun.

After scrubbing down and redressing (you've got to love those dank state park showerhouses!), we stopped by the concession stand and bought some reasonably-priced ice cream cones:
We ended up being gone until dinnertime, which was long enough to wear them out: three of the kids fell asleep on the ride home. I took this picture at a stoplight, which was probably even more irresponsible than leaving my housework undone at home.
I tidied up and de-sanded the swim gear tonight after the boys went down. Being in the sunshine all afternoon has made the clean quiet even more satisfying. Good day, good night. 

4 comments:

Sherrie said...

A bunch of little angels at Devil's lake...Cute, cute!

I remember feeling outnumbered many a day when it came to picking up. Hence the laundry basket method of cleaning up!

Mahaffey Family said...

What a fun place to spend the day!
One of my favorite sayings is: "Cleaning the house while the children are growing is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing!" SO true!

Joey/Denny/Emma said...

Sounds like a devil of a good time.

Ali said...

I've been thinking about this for awhile, but I can't decide. Is Utah just a boring place, or did you have as much fun here as you seem to be having in all of your new locations? I guess it just always comes down to the fact that you are a fun mom with a surprising amount of energy! I wish we could have come with you. :)