Summer of 2015 is coming to an end. We ended our school year just about a month and half ago, then immediately set off for Texas. We were all ready for a little taste of home Texas home! The weather back home is usually very comparable to the weather in the Land of Sand, but due to the abnormal amount of rain received this year in the East Texas the temperatures were nice, warm but nice! It was in the high 90's (farenheit) every day and the evenings were cooler with a nice breeze. Lovely! All the while back here in the Land of Sand they were dealing with 120F+….Yikes!!
This summer must have been a very busy time for everyone because although my oldest had plenty of time with his friends, my two younger boys were not so lucky. Where my youngest saw his two closest friends a few times, my 2nd born did not see his at all. He did see a couple of church friends during their week at church camp and he had a blast there, but his two closest friends were unavailable. One of them moved to another city the same weekend we arrived back in Texas, and his other friend's family was just SUPER busy! I am very proud of the behavior and attitude of my two youngest. When they could have been super whiney and disgruntled, they were helpful and understanding instead. That made it much more bearable for this momma!
We saw friends and family as much as we could and then due to some unforeseen expenses we decided to cut our Texas visit short by two weeks. It is very expensive trying to live in two countries at the same time, especially when you return to your home state to find you have to spend money on new tires for your very large 3/4 ton truck, a large deposit on electricity when you didn't have to do that the year before, a hotel expense due to no electricity because of a mix up with the electric company (and you need electricity for the AC in the summer in TX), plus trying to entertain everyone….the $$$ add up quickly! So it was determined that it would be more cost effective to change our flights and join my hubby back in the Land of Sand (he was really missing us anyway, so this brightened his outlook..LOL).
So our last fun activity before packing up and catching a plane back to the sweltering Land of Sand heat, was an outing to a local East Texas family-fun spot called Camp Tonkawa. Camp Tonkawa was at one time a Boy Scout camp. For many years the location sat unused after the Boy Scout camp was closed. Part of the campground was a nice spring-fed swimming area with a sandy bottom and beautiful blue-green water. It is now under new ownership and has become a Good Sam camp ground. They have RV and tent camping spots available but you can also pay for just day use. The overgrown brush has been cleared and in its place picnic tables and fire pits have been added. Families come in from all around to have some good, clean, cool fun! You can grill, swim, float, and swing on ropes out into the water! The water is VERY, VERY cold due to the springs that feed the pool. (At one time Ozarka bottling company bottled the spring water from this location.) You can actually go up to where the main spring begins and fill a bottle up if you would like.
We gathered family and friends and made a day of it at Camp Tonkawa! It was a great way to wrap up our trip home! We had hotdogs with all the trimmings, chips, cookies and drinks, mixed with laughter and smiles!
Then it was time to pack our bags…board the plane…and fly off into the wild blue yonder! We are now back in the Land of Sand and just like everyone back home, preparing for the upcoming school year and just enjoying the last few days of sleeping late and being lazy!
This summer must have been a very busy time for everyone because although my oldest had plenty of time with his friends, my two younger boys were not so lucky. Where my youngest saw his two closest friends a few times, my 2nd born did not see his at all. He did see a couple of church friends during their week at church camp and he had a blast there, but his two closest friends were unavailable. One of them moved to another city the same weekend we arrived back in Texas, and his other friend's family was just SUPER busy! I am very proud of the behavior and attitude of my two youngest. When they could have been super whiney and disgruntled, they were helpful and understanding instead. That made it much more bearable for this momma!
We saw friends and family as much as we could and then due to some unforeseen expenses we decided to cut our Texas visit short by two weeks. It is very expensive trying to live in two countries at the same time, especially when you return to your home state to find you have to spend money on new tires for your very large 3/4 ton truck, a large deposit on electricity when you didn't have to do that the year before, a hotel expense due to no electricity because of a mix up with the electric company (and you need electricity for the AC in the summer in TX), plus trying to entertain everyone….the $$$ add up quickly! So it was determined that it would be more cost effective to change our flights and join my hubby back in the Land of Sand (he was really missing us anyway, so this brightened his outlook..LOL).
So our last fun activity before packing up and catching a plane back to the sweltering Land of Sand heat, was an outing to a local East Texas family-fun spot called Camp Tonkawa. Camp Tonkawa was at one time a Boy Scout camp. For many years the location sat unused after the Boy Scout camp was closed. Part of the campground was a nice spring-fed swimming area with a sandy bottom and beautiful blue-green water. It is now under new ownership and has become a Good Sam camp ground. They have RV and tent camping spots available but you can also pay for just day use. The overgrown brush has been cleared and in its place picnic tables and fire pits have been added. Families come in from all around to have some good, clean, cool fun! You can grill, swim, float, and swing on ropes out into the water! The water is VERY, VERY cold due to the springs that feed the pool. (At one time Ozarka bottling company bottled the spring water from this location.) You can actually go up to where the main spring begins and fill a bottle up if you would like.
We gathered family and friends and made a day of it at Camp Tonkawa! It was a great way to wrap up our trip home! We had hotdogs with all the trimmings, chips, cookies and drinks, mixed with laughter and smiles!Then it was time to pack our bags…board the plane…and fly off into the wild blue yonder! We are now back in the Land of Sand and just like everyone back home, preparing for the upcoming school year and just enjoying the last few days of sleeping late and being lazy!
