The Mystery of "Lava"

I have only been to Lava Hot Springs once and that was when I was about eight........so I don't remember much about it. Many people in our neighborhood LOVE going and visit Lava quite often. So this summer we thought we'd take the kids on a little vacation and see what there is to see and do what there is to do. We spent A LOT of time on the internet and making calls to see where we should stay. We decided on a cute little cabin in a campground. Before we even got to the City of Lava Hot Springs I received a text from Cornells stating that they where laughing hysterically at our "little" cabin. It was VERY little, but it grew on us and we kinda liked it in the end.

After getting settled we wanted to go visit the heart of the city, which we passed two and three times, before we realized we were in the heart of it all. There was not much to see and even less to do since it was Sunday night. We only brought food for breakfasts and lunches.....thinking there would be at least a McDonald's in town. Noooooooooooooo, there wasn't. So upon recommendation we ate at one of only a few restaurants in town. A Thai restaurant that serves dog food, er, I mean, chicken lettuce wraps. Every single thing we ordered was so yucka-do that I ended up eating Rice Krispie Treats back at the little cabin. We did scout out a few tube rental places and found out what time they opened the next day.Anxious to hit the river the next morning, we ended the day with some snacks around the campfire.The sleepy little town of Lava does NOTHING before 10 am. This did not go over well with Blake, who gets up at 6-6:30 every morning and likes to fill every waking moment with something active and exciting.

We did finally find an open rental place and got a great deal on the tubes....thank-you Tanner!

With that many kids in swimsuits, it takes awhile to get everyone sun-screened and ready to go. It did not take long to learn who LOVED the mini-rapids and who was scared to death. We had two 4 person tubes and one double. Blake and I were voted for the double tube since it was the most unstable. Sure enough, within the first 3-4 minutes we went flying into the river. It chewed us up a bit and before we were able to stop and get back on our tube, I was pretty scraped up. But it was a fun adventure and we all went down one more time with kids screaming for their lives (or so they thought) before we got smart and did it in shifts.

The boys took the first shift. They did it the manly way...ride the river down, carry your tube on your back through the city, and then float the river again and again.

Like Father, like Son.

Then it was the girls turn. The guys were chivalrous and drove us from the bottom to the top with our tubes so we didn't have to walk, which meant that we got to run the river many more times.Seth had more fun watching us come down under the bridge and waving at us then floating the river.

Hi Seth!

The girls made each ride better than the last! The only not so fun part was the old freaky man sitting along the bank with a hose squirting people with ice-cold water.

We found some super cool popcorn in a pan things that said "do not cook over open fire". So we did just that. And boy was it fun to watch a yummy to eat.The second day we went to a fun water park with lots of water slides. The water was warmer than any public pool since the water came from the hot springs. We only took one photo this day from a far off distance. Karissa had fun jumping over and over again into John's arms. Later that night we went to the only other recommended eattery in town.....a Burger joint. Karissa is always set to go, no appetizers necessary. She absolutely LOVES ketchup. The quickest way to enjoy it is straight through a straw!

SaY ChEeSe

Don't you just love this candy machine? The hamburger place had lots of old stuff in it. The ceiling was covered with old records of all sizes. When the kids saw them they said, "Wow, look at all those C.D.'s". Funny thing is, the youngest kids won't even know what C.D.'s are.

After dinner we walked around town,

then headed back to the campground for some s'mores.

Nice and sticky, but cute as can be! Another marshmallow anyone?

The last night the three oldest kids thought it would be fun to sleep in the back of the truck. So we parked the truck in between Cornell's trailer and our cabin, tucked them in tight and headed to bed. A few minutes later just across the river raccoon started fighting and it was crazy loud, super scary, and lasted for what seemed like forever. Needless to say, Blake and Kenzie came running back into the cabin before John could even get outside to reassure them that everything was fine. This is all that was left of their "sleeping under the stars" adventure.

After a mini vacation to Lava Hot Springs, we are convinced it is a fun(ny) place. We will definately being playing in Lava again. Bigger lodging will be sought, more meals will be brought, and kids under 7 on the river.....definately not.