Vacation on the Homestead

Vacations could be defined as a period spent away from home.  However, it can also be defined as a time of respite from something.  It’s a break from the norm; an escape from the busy schedule; a time to relax.  Here on the homestead, we chose to vacation at home…stay-cation. 

Here is what our week looked like.  Each day we slept in later than usual because we stayed up late the night before.  The kids played all day and my husband and I worked on the barn.  

 

We took a break from the heat every day to swim at our friends’ pool and in order to simplify and get the most time out of our week, we ate at home and went right back to what we were doing.  (My husband smoked ribs one day and we made Oreo ice cream…better than any restaurant I’ve found!)  

We even got to go to the community pool one evening.

If we wanted to stop and sit in the shade then that’s just what we did.  Our evenings were spent on the barn porch around a fire, occasionally getting dive-bombed by June bugs and always being diligent to cover ourselves in mosquito repellent.   

The kids chased lightening bugs and caught frogs late into the night and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.  It was the perfect stay-cation.

By Thursday we were a little tired and it felt tremendously hot outside so we took a road trip.  We drove down to Davis, Oklahoma and ate some amazing ribs and pulled pork at Smokin’ Joe's Rib Ranch.  From there we drove to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, stuck our feet in the river, took a little hike, and visited the Nature Center.   

On our way back we found a neat little place on Hwy 77 in Davis called the Caveman Museum.  They had a neat collection of antique motorcycles and cars and the owners were super friendly.  

From there we HAD to get some Arbuckle Mountain Fried Pies before heading back home...the lemon is my favorite!

2 out of 3 kids got lemon like me.

All in all, we had a great vacation.  We spent time together as a family and got to do things that were out of the norm.  We were productive with the barn building project and although it was hot and the work was hard, we enjoyed it.  There’s just something about working together and achieving goals that is very satisfying.  I love my life!

My Take-Aways:

1. Stay-cations are fun.  Don’t underestimate the simple life and try it sometime.  It saves money too!
2. The more time we spend together as a family, the stronger our relationships become.
3. BBQ and fried pies are a must when in Davis, OK.  (Otherwise, our home-smoked ribs and homemade Oreo ice cream does the job just fine!)