Squire Boone Caverns

Last Saturday was a rare day for us with absolutely nothing marked on the calendar!! We took a road trip to Squire Boone Caverns for the day. We had a great time! You had to go down a metal spiral staircase of 73 steps to get down there, with a few more steps to climb later. Once down, the tour took about an hour. Naturally, 10 minutes into the tour, Isaac said he had to go to the bathroom! He made it the whole tour, though. The cave was pretty cool, although nothing like when we visited Ruby Falls. There was one formation called "Fried Egg" that the boys liked. They were pretty fascinated with the whole cave, actually. After the cave, we visited the giftshop, mined for gems, and went to the grist mill. It was such a hot day that the 54 degree cave felt great!

Unbelievable!

It may sound strange, but I've been really bitter and upset about the whole wallet being stolen ordeal. It took me awhile to even replace my torn up remnant of what was returned to me. Part of that delay was I really didn't have much to put in a new wallet!! The other part was stubborness on my part - I liked my old wallet and looking at new ones simply made me mad all over again. How's that for honesty? I'd long parted with the stolen cash, stopped the missing checks, and replaced the cards. What I couldn't get back were the sentimental things - Andrew's library card with this sweet signature as a 6 year old on it, pictures, etc. I had decided that it was gone for good...finally gave in and bought a wallet a few days ago and let it go.

Today the phone rang and the rest of my wallet was found!! Praise God!! This part was actually discarded at the pool before they left. Jonathan went to open up some pump valve compartment, and there it was!! Perfectly dry and intact even! It made my day! :)

A Father's Love

I got the following in a forwarded email and the video just really touched me. Take the time to watch it to the end - you won't be sorry you did!

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?' The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's requestof going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad,let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' . For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island . Father and son went on to complete the race together. View this: