On Memorial Day weekend, we took a trip to a little state park about 50 minutes east of Austin. It rained on and off all day Saturday, but it was a warm and cleansing rain. Because of the threatening storms, it felt like we were practically alone in the park even though it was holiday weekend. While it rained, my girl and her bestie caught raindrops, played in the water, dug in the mud, retreated to the shelter, played charades. When the clouds would clear they’d throw the baseball around, go for walks, make snacks, play more charades. Saturday night was full of Texas sized thunderstorms, complete with unfathomable amounts of lightening and ribcage rattling thunder. We had secured a shelter, so staying put was the best option during the deluge, but I was up most of the night watching the radar, and monitoring the water level of the small lake that we were camped close to. The damage to the west of us, in Hays county, was catastrophic that night. Many low water crossings between the park and Austin were flooded, but we were on high ground, and while the strength of the storms was frightening, we were safe where we were. The storms broke early Sunday morning. The day was cloudy, but the next band of rain held until the evening and we spent a good amount of time on the lake and hanging out at camp. We headed back to Austin, late Monday morning, before the skies opened up again and the flooding started. I feel so grateful that we were able to get away from the city and enjoy our time at the park for a couple of days…and then, that we were able to retreat to the comfort of our home before the next storms spurred flooding, tornadoes, and more destruction.