MONTAUK STATE PARK & A LITTLE COUNTRY CHURCH...

The Memorial Day holiday was filled with all kinds of fun things for our family. We had BBQ's and good times both at church and with family.  We also spent a family day out on Saturday at Montauk State Park where we picnicked and played in the waters of The Current River.

As I mentioned in my post the other day, we live right in the heart of Missouri's Ozark Scenic Riverways, which is in my opinion, some of the most beautiful country there is. We are truly blessed to have a multitude of nice parks and areas of recreation right outside our backdoor in every direction. LITERALLY!  We are surrounded by rivers.  We have the Meramec River, Gasconade River, Current River, Huzzah, Black River, Jacks Fork, Big Piney River, Mississippi River, Missouri River, Niangua River, Bourbeuse River, and on and on and on!

Anyway, today I thought I would share a few pictures of our day at Montauk State Park with you.

The first thing you see besides river upon entering the park is this gorgeous old mill with it's beautiful patina...

I absolutely love things like old mills, cabins and covered bridges so this mill was the highlight of my visit here at the park.  It's too bad it wasn't open so I could have a peek inside.

The kids got a kick out of hand feeding the fish at the trout hatchery they have there...

I thought I took more pictures of that part but I guess not, so no up close pictures of the fish...BOO!

Sis's flip flop broke so she stayed at our picnic area while the bubs and I went for a walk alongside the river where there were lots of people trout fishing.  I think you can tell by this picture that the bubs was just a little too happy that his sis was not going to be able to come play with us...He's so ornery!

One of our favorite parts at this part of the river is the waterfall...

Though it's man made it's still pretty and the bubs was just dying to walk on top of it like the fishermen.

Of course, I said no because I really did not want to have to go swimming when he fell off. hehehe. I know I am SUCH  party pooper!

It was nice that there were lots of little areas to stop off for a rest along our walk...

And some areas that the bubs could get in the water and splash around a little.

Don't it look like they are walking on water?...

Too funny!!

We had such a nice time there and on our way home we got an extra little surprise when we stumbled across this cute old country church.

I'm not sure how old this little church is but what is amazing is that it is still in operation. Yes, they still have mass every Saturday at 3:30 p.m. according to their sign.

The reason we stopped is because it was just so cool and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take pictures of this neat old building (see I told you I love old buildings), the cute little gardens and other areas that someone has so lovingly taken the time to care for.

The entrance...

 I would have loved to have seen the Wisteria growing on the entrance when it was in bloom.  I know it would have been soooooo gorgeous!

 Thank you Jesus for the cross!!!

This is just a few of the gardeny areas they had on the church grounds and the parish grounds were even more gorgeous but we weren't sure if we were trespassing or not so the hubs wouldn't let me go that far or take any pictures there.  Awww!

Anyway, we had the best day. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cool, just PERFECT and we overall had a GREAT day spending time in nature with each other. Now isn't that what life is all about...or at least it should be!

If you would like more information on Montauk State Park go HERE, and if you would like to visit the little country church, it is located about 15 miles southwest of Salem, Missouri off Highway 119. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!

P.S. We missed a baby shower AND a cousin's graduation party that day in order for the hubs and I to spend quality family time with our kiddos. I hope no one is mad at us or offended because of that but we have decided that we are going to spend valuable time with our children every weekend this summer. We rarely get vacation time and we go to church on Sundays so that only leaves Saturdays to spend time together. Please forgive us if you plan an event on a Saturday this year and we don't show up. It's not because we don't like you! It's because life is short (and getting shorter by the minute when you reach our age), time is in short supply and money is tight (sorry we cannot give gifts either) and our kids deserve special time with us too. Thanks for understanding!