Burney '09

Where to begin?  Last Sunday we headed north to one of our most favorite places on the planet- the "eighth wonder of the world"...Burney Falls State Park.  Brian and I discovered this wonderful bit-o-heaven on a trip we took back in 1996 (our first anniversary).  Neither of us had traversed the Lassen area before and we were delighted by what we found.  McArthur Burney Falls State Park has become an annual trip that we anticipate with great excitement each June.  It holds so many memories for us and it was so wonderful to be back up in God's country...just our family, enjoying each other and the creation that surrounded us.

Brian and the older two spent the early morning hours fishing while Silas and Mommy awoke in a more lazy fashion.  There is nothing like waking up to the sound of nature and Si and I enjoyed this together.  (He's not quite at the age where he wants to get out there and fish-it-up like his brothers.)  This was a delight to me because he was my little buddy all week.  We took a walk down to the base of the falls together, got ice-cream at the General Store and rode our bikes down to the beach and wrote "secret messages" in the sand to each other.  These days pass so quickly and I was thankful for the time spent alone with Silas (something we never really get.)  

Highlights of the trip included a drive to the Subway Cave, a volcanic lava tube which was created when molten lava flowed under the earth and left behind this cave that is amazing...totally pitch black and so cool.  Silas (our little volcanist) loved this place.  He even found a Petzl Head Lamp at the end of the trail, much to his delight.  We also spent time cooling off down at the beach and scoped out the bald eagles that are residents of Lake Britton. Daily bike rides to the General Store to get Burney's famous soft-serve ice cream :0) will not soon be forgotten.  Delicious!  Evening time was spent reflecting on the mercy of the Father towards our family and His amazing provision for us.  Wednesday night in particular was quite special to me.  We read a chapter out of a book I'm reading that had touched something deep in me earlier that day.  It was about how God's presence fills up all of the spaces of our lives (the good, the bad, the tragedies) and how He brings us closer to Himself through it all.  The book is called "Divine Nobodies" (just an F.Y.I...great book!)

Thursday morning was pack-up fest.  We were out of there by 10:00 and on the road.  We wanted to get home by 5:00 in order to unpack, do laundry, and repack for a totally different kind of trip...Lake Tahoe, here we come!!!  It was now time to celebrate Dad and Mom's 40th Anniversary!  That's a whole other story and I'll save it's telling for another eve.