Our Little Trip...

Last weekend we went away. We desperately needed some time away from work, the house, and our day to day troubles. My husband's aunt and uncle have an amazing place near Effingham, Illinois in a tiny town called Farina. They have 15 acres and two lakes. I took lots of photos to share with you all. Here are a few - Enjoy!

This is the view from the front door of the house. They have a very long gravel drive.

We saw some interesting insects living on the trees.

These are the steps going to the pier.

Here's looking at the main lake from the Gazebo.

This is the turtle who lives in the gazebo. I love his coppery coloring.

The old gazebo doesn't get much company, but the spiders love it there.

There are so many amazing wildflowers growing all over the property.

Peeking down one of the many nature paths on the grounds.

More of the fields of flowers.

I just adored how rustic the gazebo looks.

Here you can see my daughter Caitlyn and son Thomas cruising on an ATV.

The family going for a cruise of the lake on the pontoon boat.

The scenery was so amazing! LOVE this old barn!!

In town there were these grain thingies that were so cool and industrial looking.

This is the town's ice cream shop.

It's called sweet things.

This is the only restaurant in town. It's called Ellen's Restaurant.

There's a gal there named Norma Jean. She's about 3 feet tall and

80 years old - she's just about the cutest thing ever!

The white building is the town newspaper building. I could not

get over how adorable it is.

These are the grain thingies again. I loved how architectural they are.

I just couldn't stop staring at them.

This park bench is under the trees, next to the main lake on the property.

I could have sat there for days just reading or stitching or simply

listening to the silence.

Looking up at the sky through the trees was so amazing!

God is the perfect artist.

Here is a view of the back of the house. I spent a great deal

of time on the deck in a complete state of calm.

While walking we found this snakeskin. Thomas loved it

so much that we brought it home. Thankfully we didn't

see the snake who used to own this - cuz he is awfully big!

Here is how the main lake looks from the deck. The green stuff

covering the deck is some kind of clover looking thing - annoying as heck!

Here are my goofy kiddos. They aren't too excited to be going on

an adventure, are they?