Last Summer Vaca: The Frio

LONG POST AGAIN! VIDEO CLIP AT THE BOTTOM... Don't Miss 'Em!

And PLEASE disregard the HORRIBLE spacing issues... not sure what's going on!

My goodness! I cannot believe that it is August 11th! Happy Birthday Meli P!!

At the beginning of the summer it seemed as though it would take an eternity for our August vacation to get here, BUT alas, it came, it triumphed, it ended! :(

Last Thursday we headed a bit south and a lot West to the Frio River. KK and Albi put Aunt Ermie and Uncle Sporady (both nicknames to be explained later) and the Cox Fam up for a week in this... ...spectacular home appropriately named "Bella Vista" in ConCan, TX! Ever been to ConCan?! Yah, us either, but it was a sweet little secret that we found to be quite delightful! I know you won't believe it but despite the 100+ degree weather we spent the ENTIRE week outside. I guess going that much further west and being the ONLY house on top of a "mini-mountain" were a deadly combo where the heat was concerned... there were very few times when we ever had to retreat inside because of the heat. Our days were spent by the pool, in the pool or up under the protection of a lovely shade porch! It was PERFECT!

When we got there on Thursday, we did a little unpacking and then it was STRAIGHT to the pool! Poor Caden hadn't been swimming in nearly two weeks and was READY! Thankfully, he was feeling and acting just like the old Chade again so he was ready to PAR-TAY!

After swimming we had the munchies so we broke out some of Aunt Ermie's corn dip and went to town! Caden always seems to find his Aunts to be particularly giving when it comes to food. I think I remember a similar pic with Aunt Ree Ree in Port A! He's got this Aunt thing figured out!

When we took off Caden's rash guard after the pool it gave him quite the impressive new look! Spikey Cox! What do you think?!

Friday was RIVER DAY! Chade and I stayed behind at the house and had a SUPER fun morning hangin' by the pool, but the other crazy kiddos headed out to FLOAT THE FRIO! My super smart and savvy hubbie decided to get a waterproof camera to take some pics of their journey!

Albi and KK...

Justin and Aunt Ermie... (I know it's killin' you... I'm getting there... Ermie and Sporady will be explained!)

KK cheersin' the camera with her Ozarka bottle! :)

Albi looking ahead for any rapids...

The Frio... beautiful!

All tied up with the important stuff in the middle...

Justin wanted to be sure he was in a pic... nice feet! I guess he didn't realize that he had several beer-crotch shots to choose from! :)

After the floaters got back from a long day on the river they decided that it was definitely the perfect night for a steak! SO after Chade went down for the evening we fired up the grill and put the rice casserole and olive bread in the oven and ATE! KK also made a yummy salad... we were pretty impressed with our spread so KK wanted to be sure we got pics...

NOTHING BETTER than dining outdoors... especially when this is your view! Bella Vista!

Steak and vino... YUMM-O! The steaks were SO good! I think I finished mine in about 5 minutes... all 8 ounces of it! Yep! That's right!

Are you hungry yet?! Because I am!

Another shot of our view...

On Saturday the boys played golf and the girls and Chade did a lot of this...

Caden swam more in the week we were there than he ever has! We swam morning, noon and night and LOVED every minute of it. You don't realize how great it is to just walk out your backdoor and take a dip until you have the opportunity! It is awesome!!

Sunday we headed back to the Frio, but this time Chade and I got to tag-along! We didn't float but we found a nice spot to hang out for a few hours! Caden LOVED the river. He favorite thing was throwing rocks with Aunt Ermie... okay are you ready?

So Caden and Aunt Ermie were doing some serious bonding in the river. She would collect rocks and then he would throw them and then they'd repeat! So we were all hanging in the river and I thought hmmmm Aunt Emmie sure isn't sticking, but maybe Aunt Roxy would since she and Caden are bonding over rocks. Aunt Ermie said that she would go by anything, but she's really only had one nickname in her life and that was Ermie. Her brothers called her that when she was little and it kind of stuck. With this new information it was a little HARD to pass up such an opportunity... Aunt Ermie... are you kidding?! It doesn't get much better than that! So we're givin' it a go... what do y'all think?

So Aunt Ermie it was and is! At least for now! :)

There is nothing like nature to inspire the greatest ideas. So while we were still laughing about Aunt Ermie's new name and the beauty of the Frio... look how clear it is... we decided that Uncle Josh needed a new name too... so I came up with Uncle Sporady. You see, Uncle Sporady has a little bit of a chest hair issue... it's growing a bit sporadic in his old age and on the first day we got there and we were swimming I called him Sporada-Hair because I am his older sister and this is what I'm supposed to do... we all giggled and had a great laugh at his expense. So when Aunt Ermie came along it was pretty clear that Uncle Josh would be Uncle Sporady... Uncle Sporada-Hair is just a bit much...

And there you have it... the evolution of Aunt Ermie and Uncle Sporady! Like 'em?!

Our time at the river was peaceful and lovely. The river is gorgeous and it certainly does not get its' name by chance. The Frio is as its' name boasts... a very refreshing shade of cool! :)

After a few hours at the river we went to the ConCan Country Club, where the boys played golf the day before, to have lunch. They RAVED about their hot dogs served on a sourdough buns so we knew that the hamburgers wouldn't dare disappoint and they didn't! Best burger I've had in a long time... and onion rings, OH MY-LANTA! SO good! And SO tasted them the rest of the day... but worth it! For sure!

Lunch on the porch... not hot... SO nice!

We were all a bit enchanted by the gazebo and table for four under it's shade outside of the main dining porch. It was pretty, but we couldn't quite figure its purpose, so we settled on weddings... in ConCan... it's the HOT SPOT for weddings!

The rest of our trip was spent being SUPER lazy and it was JUST what we all needed before we headed back home to face the crazy weeks that lie ahead of us... at least for all of the workin' folk! Caden and I came back to a dirty house but other than that we are pretty much business as usual! :)

Caden did some amazing things while we were at the Frio... perhaps he TOO was inspired by God's beautiful design and decided to do and say a few new things:

He learned to SWIM! With his floaties! Before this week he has been wearing his floaties but has not been able to support himself without my help. One week at the pool and DONE! He started jumping (belly flopping) off the side too. He is FEARLESS when it comes to the water but not so much when it comes to pool floats! He is scared to death of pool mats, tubes, etc. As long as he's got his floaties... he's king of the pool!

Look Mom no hands!!

SPLASH!!!

Ready to jump! As soon as he'd come up he'd say "GIN" or again! :)

He also started saying "ice" with a very long "ssssss" at the end and he said "pool" and has continued to say BOTH since we've been home. He was a jabber box all week... coming up with new words (not quite ones we understand) but then some that we were like YEP, he just said Ice! The doctor said his speech would start taking off and BOY has it! I can't imagine what it will be like when he get tubes! Watch out world... he's gonna be on fire!

Caden likes an audience of course, so it was the BEST THING EVER to have so many people to show off for each night as he took his last dip in the pool!

Uncle Sporady and Albi!

My little water dog...

Aunt Ermie and Uncle Sporady... so cute, so cute!

Aunt Ermie giving Caden "ninja kisses." This is something new that Aunt Ermie started the last few times we've seen her but having a whole week with her gave Caden an entirely new appreciation for the art of "ninja kissing." Aunt Ermie acts like a ninja and sneaks up on him when he least expects it. Sometimes she'll give him a warning-pucker and even a BIG smack of her lips to let him know she's on the pursuit, but there is NO running where Aunt Ermie is concerned or at least he hasn't learned to do this YET, but he will! So she's sweeps in and GETS him! AND HE LOVES IT! He gets the biggest cheesiest grin! SO FUNNY!

SHE GOT 'EM!! Eat your heart out Uncle Sporady! Uncle Sporady is actually pronounced Sprady, just so we're clear... Spor-ady would be a mouthful still! But Sprady works!

WHAT A VACA! It was SO FUN and super relaxing! The Evans Fam always knows how to relax... and it's a good thing because I think we all needed a bit of R&R!

Thanks KK and Albi... y'all are the best! We appreciate you spoiling us so! Where are we headed next year??!! :) We love you!!

NOW...for a few video clip of our little swimmer!! Enjoy!! Happy Swimming!