Another nice weekend, a little extended...

This weekend we had some great family time, made nicer due to the fact that Ran had an unexpected, but good, day off on Friday, so it made it a long weekend. We fit in some fun outings, including a trip to our $2 theater on Friday eve. to watch Kung Fu Panda, very cute and funny (I laughed out loud a few times).

Saturday we did some stuff around the house in the morning and in the afternoon we headed over to a park we've been wanting to try out. It was nicer than I expected, had a good sized lake with walking trails around it, a playground and little walled in sections with barbecue pits and picnic tables. We spent a couple of hours there, walking, relaxing (me with my book by the water), while Ran took Ev around the paved pathways to ride her little bike and play in the playground.






One thing I discovered about myself while there, and I'm sure it's not a new discovery, is that I feel the most peaceful and relaxed surrounded by nature and especially around a body of water. Add a good book into the equation, right now I'm reading "Captivating" by the Eldredges, and I'm a very happy camper. It was interesting because I was sitting there reading the section on a 'Beauty to Unveil' and coincidentally (or not :) this was a passage "...Compare that to what it's like to come into a beautiful place - a garden or meadow or quiet beach. You find room for your soul. It expands. You can breath again. You can rest. It is good. That is what it is like to be with a **beautiful woman. You are free to be you. It is one of life's greatest gifts."
So fitting as I sat there and was able to drink in my beautiful and peaceful surroundings!! (my note ** when they say "beautiful woman" they mean a woman that isn't striving "...beauty flows from a heart at rest.")
Anyways I was at rest and it was a good thing...because it's not only our bodies that need rest (I think I get plenty of that...:) but our hearts and minds need times of rest too... and mine quiet often is not.

Saturday night, tired from an afternoon in the sun, and needing more groceries, we just decided to do Outback takeout, yum... Ran was able to do this in conjunction with picking up a cheap guitar he found on Craigslist (more about that in another post).

This morning was church, a little drive afterwards and then lunch at home. We headed over to the pool for a little swim late afternoon and tonight Ran did his famous ribs, yum again! and we caught up on a few of the Olympic events I missed and had DVRed.

Before bed, we let Ev do some more left over sparklers (from the 4th, we had alot and are dragging them out over the summer). It was our own little version of the closing ceremonies... :) hee hee

now it's time for bed for me....as another week begins again....