I remember as a little kid my parents would take my sisters and I on random, impromptu Sunday afternoon car rides. I remember these times quite vividly. We would all pile into the car and head out not knowing exactly where we would end up. My parents loved doing this. Family time was important to them and I think it was one of the things they wanted to pass onto us. To be honest, now that I am a father of three young kids, I am not always the most spontaneous person on the face of the planet. I am pretty boring and predictable – well at least up until last Sunday. I was sitting in my usual spot after church on the couch watching a bit of sports. My kids were doing their thing and my wife Jamie was doing her thing. As I sat there out of the blue I got this thought we should all jump into the car and head and spend some time at the river. It has been absolutely scorching hot the past two weeks in our area and with the kids out of school for the summer, I thought it would be fun to do something impromptu. I informed the family of my plans and everyone grabbed the necessary items for the river and we headed out on our adventure.
I didn’t know what was going to happen but I knew we were to just enjoy the moment. We arrived at our destination and began a short trek in the forest to our secret destination on the Vedder River. My two oldest kids had been here before as I usually salmon fish this area, but my wife and youngest son had never spent any time here. We made our way into the warm, clear, river and spent the next two hours having so much fun! It was awesome. To see and hear my kids and even my wife enjoy themselves meant the world to me. This moment brought me back to my childhood. Unfortunately, we live in a time where people don’t value moments like they once did. I know I haven’t been the best moment maker as an adult. I hope that will change with this experience. Here are a few photos of our time at the river.
