Last week when Mom and I checked the forecast, it was supposed to be in the 80s this week: unheard of in Arkansas in July! So we decided to plan a mini getaway with Max to Devil’s Den State Park. This place has special meaning to us, as we visited there often when I was a kid. So naturally I was thrilled to take Max.

The park has caves (one known as the Devil’s Icebox, which officially converted Max to wanting to pursue a career as a spelunker) and a lake. We rode paddleboats Day 2, which I have to say, is pretty damn hard when you have a short 4.75-year-old as a paddle partner.

For Mom and I, a vacation means drinking wine (more than usual) and eating fun cheese. Here we are doing both.

We invited my aunt to visit us, and we had a nice little cookout.

Remember that cool weather I mentioned? Didn’t happen. It rained and was humid the entire time. Oh well. We had a blast. And so did our little spelunker.

PS I took tons of photos I’m damn proud of, so I’ll spread them out over a few posts as so not to inundate you.