A Surprise Trip

Kevin surprised Anna and me late last week with a trip to the lake. We left Sunday morning after worship services and took Mason to Papaw and Grammy's house. Mason spent Sunday night with them and Monday night with Mimi. He seemed to have a great time with his grandparents. Every time we called him, he was in a great mood. He loves to talk on the phone but only for a few seconds at a time.

We stayed in a lodge/house of a guy that Kevin knows. I wasn't expecting anything much...but WOW was I wrong! When we pulled up in the driveway I realized my low expectations were way off! This is where we stayed...

It is great from the outside but even more beautiful on the inside (all hardwood floors, two stories with a third story loft, decorated gorgeous, etc.). Anna loved the second floor which held a pool table and toy slot machine. She spent a lot of time playing up there. This was her first time to play pool. However, she played by her rules (and as Kevin stated it was more of herding the balls into holes like they were cattle.) Sunday afternoon we drove around the lake a little and found a play area. Of course Anna wanted to play for a while.

Watching the hazy river on Monday morning.

Monday we rented a pontoon and went out on the lake. Anna has been to the lake twice before but she was so young that she doesn't remember either trip. So this was like a first time to her. She loved everything about the lake. She loved swimming, jumping off the boat into the water, and riding around the lake. She even did a little fishing with her new Barbie fishing pole. (Nothing was caught though.) The only thing she didn't like was a storm that blew up in the afternoon and ended our outing. We waited at the dock thinking it might blow over quickly and we could go back out on the lake. After waiting for over an hour we gave up and went back to the lodge to play. Anna did enjoy feeding the large fish at the dock while we waited.

Enjoying the ride!

"When Daddy let me drive."

Tuesday we went trout fishing on White River and Norfork River. Anna enjoyed riding in the fishing boat but the trout fishing was too slow paced for her. Plus she couldn't keep her feet and hands out of the water or stay quiet enough to fish! None of us caught a fish. But that is understandable when you spend more time riding around than actually fishing! The water in the rivers was freezing cold and it was all we could do to keep Anna from jumping in full body. She kept asking, "When can I get in?" It was all I could do to wade up to my ankles!

Using her Barbie fishing pole.

After several hours of "fishing" we packed up and headed back home to get our little man. Mason seemed happy to see us. When we picked him up at Mimi's house, we traded Anna for him. Anna spent the night with Mimi and played at her house on Wednesday. Mason was glad to be back home. He got home, put on his swim hat and started playing!