The Great Lake Adventure

A few weeks ago, Quentin & I got the opportunity to hang with some of our friends at Lake Norfork. We desperately needed a weekend away WITHOUT the kids and we knew we were running out of time with the pending deployment....and as always, money was short.

Enter my best friend, Misty. She always comes through for me and often knows what I need before I even know! LOL! Her in-laws had a place at the lake we could all stay and her mom had a boat for entertainment! Perfect. Count me in.

Saturday it rained, but that was fine by all of us. We drove up the road a little ways to a little town, called Branson, MO. We did a little shopping...ate at Joe's Crab Shack...and just enjoyed not having to do anything in particular. We rented some movies for the night...and ahhh...bliss!

We woke up Sunday to sunny skies and the water calling our name. I felt like a teenager again...could be because I had not been on the lake in 19 YEARS!

Misty and I in between getting thrown off the tube...

Misty & I...hanging on for dear life...we were laughing hysterically, which could be part of the reason it was so hard to hang on... I love this chick! If I need to laugh. She's there. If I need to cry. She's there. If I need to vent. You guessed it...she's there. She's who I think of when I read scripture like..."a friend that sticks closer than a brother" or "gladly lay down his life for his friends." Both are true for this friendship and it's a two-way street. There's not a thing I wouldn't do for Misty.

Ok...enough of that sappy stuff...on to the rest of our tubing adventure....

This picture says it all...I'm pretty sure we were thinking we are way too old for this. Our bodies were so tired...I'm not sure if it was from being bounced all over the place or laughing! Or trying to hoist our big bad selves up on that tube! Hilarious!!


Shannon...the show off! After watching Misty and I struggle for 20 minutes to stay on the thing, Shannon decided to show us how it was done. I personally think we weren't driving fast enough if he can ride with NO HANDS! I will give him credit...he had been battling a kidney stone for the previous 2 weeks and only the day before did he pass the thing...so a little credit...but he's still a show off!!

My hubby, Quentin....pulling himself back to the boat after also making the ride look effortless. Maybe we should've made the guys ride together to see if it was still just as easy?!

We had an amazing weekend...very relaxing...only mishap was me deciding not to wear sunscreen because I wanted to get "a little sun." I got it! And am still pulling the dead skin off of my back and arms.

Vacation Day 7

The back yard at Waterside Lane...where we stayed...isn't gorgeous?

After a full week of relaxation, it was time to pack up and head back to Arkansas. I was ready. Don't get me wrong...I absolutely loved the beach and the time to just be...without shuffling kids from one place to the next...without housework and bills...no one to pick up after and keep up with, but myself...BUT, I missed my family.

Me...relaxing in the hammock


JoAnn relaxing

We got up early (4am in SC, which is 3am in AR), loaded up the car, and hit the road. We stopped in Greenville to pick up Christina and watch her perform in a play "It's Not Fair." Those kids did an awesome job and to think they only had 3 days to memorize and perfect their lines! WOW!

We drove straight through (16 hours)...only stopping for fuel and food...and an occasional anxiety break! We were almost hit twice by a semi. Once in Atlanta, when one wanted to share our lane and once outside Chatanooga when he had to take the shoulder to keep from hitting us in the rear. But God protected us.

A church in South Carolina in full patriotism


The 3rd member of our party...JoAnn, GARMIN, and Me...couldn't have done it without him!!

Actually, I felt God throughout every aspect of this trip. I heard him softly speaking to me, showing me a glimpse of the plan he has for Mallorye, as well as the plan He has for our family. I watched Him provide for us throughout the week and witnessed His blessing and favor on us. I sat in awe and wonder at the majestic creation we call earth and praised Him. From the ocean in South Carolina to the mountains in Tennessee from the flatlands of Arkansas, one thought prevailed.... "I serve an awesome and mighty God."

Vacation Day 5/Day 6

The view at Surfside Beach

Day 5;
Sightseeing day!! Ok, remember...we didn't PLAN anything for this trip, so we spent alot of time today driving up and down the road.

We drove down to Myrtle Beach (crowded) and then back to Surfside Beach where we got out and I walked along the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean. I was in awe at the vastness of it! Just the magnitude of it and all the sand that was packed so hard. I serve an awesome and mighty God!

God made the ocean and all it's power

We walked along the Pier at Surfside and just took in the sights...the parasailers, the fisherman, the families, the sharks...oh yeah...there were sharks! I had never seen a shark in it's natural habitat (not sure I ever desire to see another one).

SHARK...need I say more

We got some awesome ice cream..."Bunny Tracks" ...in a waffle cone, and ate it along the beach. It was so carefree and peaceful...even with the waves crashing in I felt a very certain calm.

Me and JoAnn on the Pier...don't you love our windblown hair?


JoAnn gettin' her feet wet

Then we went on a souvenir hunt. I got Mal a very kewl shirt from Harley Davidson and Blake and Q just a shirt. We spent hours looking for Christina (JoAnn's daughter) a shirt. She wears a small, which you'd think would be easy to find, but wasn't! We finally found one in Myrtle Beach at one of those road side souvenir shops. We shopped a little more...bought more scrapbook supplies...cause you know we didn't have enough;)...we drove to Pawley's Island to find this cute scrapbook store, but it was closed (we'll try tomorrow). The trip wasn't wasted though. We found an awesome store called "As For Me And My House"...everything was embroidered with scripture. I'm talking everything...sheets, towels, aprons, even upholstery. I got me a really cute apron and some dish towels.

Day 6;
We went back to Pawley's Island to check out the scrapbook store (they were open!), stopped by the neat Christian store, and then went back to the beach house for more scrapping!! We got some really neat pictures of a pelican playing in the water and just tried to soak in everything on our last day!

Me and JoAnn at Scrapbooks By The Sea


Just a sign I've never seen in Arkansas...lol...did I ever tell you I have this thing about signs?

One more day to go...stay tuned!

Vacation Day 1/Day 2

Ok, so I have had an amazing week! I have so much to tell you guys and so many pictures to share and have no idea where to start....so, I'll start at the beginning (good place right?)

Day 1;
We left Paragould around 9am to travel to Alpharetta, Georgia (outside Atlanta). Pretty uneventful trip, but we had a really awesome hotel that JoAnn got for us for only $59 that had a great hot breakfast. We did a little shopping at the mall (I was good and didn't buy a thing)...we got lost trying to find Target. We could see it, but we could never quite find how to get to it. Luckily, Garmin helped us out!!

Day 2;
My first experience with a mega church! It was amazing! I was privileged to hear Andy Stanley preach in person at Northpoint Community Church. He spoke on the power of ideas and how the most powerful idea is "forgiveness." He shared the story of the Rawanda people and some pictures from a trip that he and his family just went on. It was so amazing!! These people fought against each other and killed hundreds of thousand of their neighbors, yet somehow found the compassion in themselves to forgive one another and live peaceably together as brothers and sisters in Christ. The Worship Team was pretty amazing too...actually, they were flawless. I have to admit it felt a little like a concert, but I was able to finally focus and get over the shock and awe, and just worship God.

After church we headed to Greenville, South Carolina to drop Christina off at the Bob Jones University Drama Camp. It's a very conservative school and I thought she was very brave to go to a camp where she knew absolutely no one.

On the road again. A little more eventful. We stopped at this gas station where there was an irate customer. He was peeved about the price of gas and I really thought for a minute he might pull out a gun and start shooting. Freaky! We got our gas and got out of there where it rained for the last 2 hours of our trip. We arrived at Murrels Inlet, South Carolina and met our hosts for the week, set up our rooms and crashed!!



The beach house on Waterside Lane that we stayed at! Isn't it cute?!


One view of the back porch...we did most of our stamping and scrapbooking right here!


Ok, this is already long...so I'll post some more tomorrow. Consider this your teaser!