Weekend Recap!

This past weekend we ventured north a little ways to float the Buffalo River. We left Friday after I left work and picked up a few misc. things and headed to Silver Hills, Arkansas.

We were the last of the family members to arrive - there were 7 of us total. We stayed up late talking (and a few of us drinking) on the front porch of the cabin - watching (and screaming) as the bat(s) flew by.

The next morning, we headed out to the Buffalo River Outfitters to get on a school bus that dropped us off at the river with our canoes. We had 4 canoes total. Out of those 4 canoes, only our canoe tipped over the entire trip! We were right off of the launching site and I had just gotten seated when the hubs attempts to get in and tips our canoe over! I went in the river, while he managed to somehow not fall in! Figures, right?

Anyways, we did the 6 mile canoe float and had a great time! We packed sandwiches and had lunch out on the river. We swam about every 15 minutes and we kept slathering on the sunscreen. I managed to escape the 6ish hours without getting sunburned! Woohoo! While out there we also ran into a few coworkers celebrating a 30th birthday and a few relatives that we had no idea was out there!

We then went back to the cabin, showered, and began grilling out hamburgers and hotdogs! The food was great! I must've been tired, because after eating, I passed out on the couch and slept until the next morning!

We all headed back to our homes the next morning. We had a great time, but I was glad to sleep in our own bed last night!!

After getting home, I did 5 loads of laundry, went grocery shopping, went to Home Depot, and then we grilled out some hot dogs and ate chips and dip! Btw, I made homemade Guacamole dip - it's to die for! YUM!!

Today marks day one of the Half Marathon training! I'm up for 2 miles after work! Sounds easy peasy except that the high today is 102!!!!!

Weekend Recap!

I didn't tell yall this, but...we went to Branson this weekend!

Hubs and I rented a one bedroom condo that had been recently remodeled - we were the very first people to stay in it! We loved the condo - it even had its own huge jacuzzi! It was wonderful! Then, my family stayed in a larger condo about a quarter of a mile away!

We drove up Friday after work and made it there around 7pm. We met up with my family and ate at the Olive Garden there in Branson. Afterwards, we made it back to our condo around 10pm and I hit the hay! I was so tired!

Saturday morning we made it to Silver Dollar City right as they were opening. We rode just about all the rides!! I even rode some kiddie rides with my cousin who is 5 years old. We had an absolute blast!! The very last ride we rode was called WildFire and I screamed like a little girl the entire time! My brother, myself, and my dad rode it and they laughed at me while I screamed!!! Seriously, I screamed the entire ride. We even bought the picture AND the video! I thought it was really cool that they have these video cameras mounted on the seat in front of you - I had no idea! I may have said "Holy Sh!t" after the ride had stopped and the camera totally caught that! Oooops! I'm gonna try to scan the picture and see if I can upload the video some time this week. I'm sure ya'll would love that!

Then Saturday evening we hit up the pool and played in the sun some more. After showering, we called in some real Italian pizza (that was wonderful) and played 4 games of Taboo! It was awesome! It was so funny, my dad said "Where you go after a night of drinking..." and I screamed out "a whore house!" - everyone laughed and said "What?!" - the answer was Waffle House. Oooops! After leaving their condo, we went back to ours and enjoyed our jacuzzi!

Sunday, we tidied up our condo and then headed to eat at Fudruckers before heading home. We love, love, love that place. Seriously, you all should eat there if given the chance. Yum!

So, there you have our weekend! I took some pictures of the condo but that was it - I'll post those sometime soon (they're still on my camera). My stepmom took a few pictures while we were in the park, but I'm not sure if I'll get my hands on those or not.

TGIF!!!

Today, I'm so happy that it's Friday! I know it was a short week and all, but I've been in vacation mode (still) all week.

I wish I was back here. Funny story: Hubs and I tried kayaking in the ocean while in Mexico. We'd always wanted to try it, so we did. Well, ya'll know I'm uncoordinated - seriously, I can't do the whole rub your tummy and pat your head thing. It's that bad.

Anyways, I ended up smacking hub's feet, his paddle, and his leg with my paddle. Ya'll I'm a horrible paddler. Finally, he just told me to stop trying to help because I was making it worse! Hey, I didn't have a problem with that! Needless to say, he said that we wouldn't be attempting this again (such a lie!!). But, wouldn't you know, we have a camping and canoeing trip planned in late July! I guess I couldn't have been that bad! Or maybe he's planning on putting me in someone else's boat?

We Went...

PARASAILING while in Cancun! Now, if you know me, this is a major thing because I am deathly afraid of heights! Seriously, the first time I flew, I couldn't even reach over to shut the window covering because I couldn't get near the window - once in the air, I'm mostly okay, but climbing, um..not so much!

I told hubs that I wanted to go parasailing on this trip. I knew it would be high in the air, but I knew that I would enjoy it, too! So, we signed up! This is a little different than your normal parasailing though - you'll see why in a moment. It was scary and there were more than a few moments that I questioned loudly why on Earth I was doing it and why on Earth there wasn't a seatbelt or harness....yep, you read that right - nothing was holding us in this little contraption!





Before going...
Up in the air! Can you even see our boat?! We're WAY up!

The beautiful water.

Apparently, hubs thought it was funny that I was holding on for dear life!!!

Up in the air!

You can see our parachute!

Afterwards. See?! Nothing but a seat and some life jackets! Scary!!!!

The Pools...

Today, since I don't have a ton of spare time... we're gonna talk a little about the pools! There were 7 different pools on the resort property. Which, btw, the resort was the only resort on "this side of the island." Meaning, there were no other hotels, condos, resorts - nada - near us (which was super nice). Anywho, back to the pools...

There were 7 different pools and then countless hot tubs as well. If the pool didn't have a swim-up bar, it had a staff member circling around asking us what kind of drinks we wanted. There were two "lazy river" pools - meaning, that there were two different areas we could go to that had a long, lengthy pool that we could float around on our rafts and the pools looped around different buildings. Also, along all of the pools were bed-like structures and chairs with coverings over the top. Some of the pools even had hammocks laying over the water (I really enjoyed those).

It seemed that whenever we were walking around, we'd always find a different pool that we didn't know about. It was really quite nice!


A large pool with swim-up bar & restaurant.


Me enjoying the hammock!

Part of the lazy river.


The end of one lazy river.


A "secret" pool.

The bed like things and chairs.





By the way, if you want more information on this resort or want to see what other locations they have, here is the link.

I Have A Secret...

Last week, I wasn't in Arkansas. Nope, I was in Playa Mujeres/Cancun, Mexico! Hubs and I took a week long vacation and stayed at the Excellence Adults Only - All Inclusive, 5 star resort! We had a very relaxing time and so this week, I'm going to share bits and pieces of our lovely vacation with you!


Today, I'm going to show you our room! Beware - picture overload! :)


Our Bed

The Mini Bar

The Mini Bar..mmm, candy!!


Some Chips :)

Our Very Open Bathroom


The HUGE shower

The Window in the Shower!!!

Looking into the Shower from the Bedroom


Our Radio


The Other Part of our Room


The Jacuzzi!!!!!



Part of our Balcony

The Other Half of the Balcony!!




As you can see, we had a very nice room! Everything in the mini bar was included and restocked daily (or once the big bottles ran out). There was 24 hour room service that was included with the room - and used a few times! ha! The service at the resort was outstanding! The huge shower had two shower heads in which you could control the temperature for each. There was a telephone in the bedroom and then another in the bathroom (I have no idea why!?). There was also a desk and flat screen tv on the other side of the room - I forgot to post that picture and it's not with me at work. The balcony was great to sit out on in the mornings and late at night and read or just relax. Hubs and I have already said that we will go back to this resort and would definitely recommend it to friends and family.

Starting To Get A Weee Bit Excited!!

It has hit me - the Half Marathon excitement! Tomorrow is my last long run and I hope to do well on it, but as I was reminded - it's only a training run! So, screw it if I don't do well - it doesn't count anyways! LOL

After work yesterday, I stopped by and bought another running shirt. I started thinking about my outfit and how I wanted to be easy to spot... Well, I went in for a bright pink shirt {to match the pink in my black and pink shorts} but I came out with a black shirt. I know...everyone will be wearing black. But, as we know, I hate shopping {mostly} and I just wanted a new shirt {truth be told}. I did try on a few bright pink shirts, but I didn't like the fit. This black one however fit perfectly and I'll be trying it out tomorrow on my long run. Also, I'm trying the Gu's exactly how I'll be using them on race day. So, I'm excited {and nervous} as I've never ran this long and I'm hoping the Gus settle well {they have been thus far, so why shouldn't they?}.

Anyways, I'll take a picture sometime soon of the race outfit. :) Something else I'm excited about is ...

We're going to Tunica this weekend! A little background, before I go further. The hubs works a ton - a TON - so I haven't seen him since Monday night. Yes, Monday night. Now, don't get me wrong, he does come home, but I'm already asleep by this time {think midnight and later} and I get up at the crack of dawn to come to work. Anyways, I mentioned earlier this week that I was ready to go back and eat at Paula Deen's Buffet at the Harrah's in Tunica. Well, I knew it wasn't going to happen, because hubs has been working weekends too. Well, he called me last night and told me to book a room - we're going to Tunica! Yay! Neither of us are big gamblers by any means, but we do like to visit about once a year. So, this will be a much needed mini vacation.

And I leave you with a picture from last year's visit at Paula Deen's Buffet {it's a cutout}:

Part III - More Pictures

The beautiful water. I miss it.

A tricycle out in the ocean. I wanted to do this, but hubs thought it was alot of work!

A close up of the tricyles.


Sailboats. We contemplated these too.




Getting ready to go snorkeling! We saw a shark (no kidding) about 30 feet under us. I didn't freak, but I didn't feel comfortable about it either!



The boat that took us snorkeling.

Waiting for the boat to be ready. Nice picture, huh? LOL

We saw a cruise ship.

A little looksie of the pier.



Hubs thought we should take a closeup of my makeup-less face!

Hubs, taking a little siesta on his flippers!

Hubs, ready to go!

The bottom of the boat.

We saw a TON of fish while snorkeling. It was my first time ever and I loved it (after I had my panic attack - I had to get used to breathing while my face was under water). They put out some fish food (minnows) to lure the pretty fish close to us. It was pretty cool. They were bright blue, striped, and rainbow colored - just like they are on Finding Nemo! ha! And while we were looking at the reefs and all the pretty fish...a shark (about 8 or 9 feet long) swam under us. All I could do was point at it - it's not like I could've swam back to the boat and jumped in! Everyone came up all at once and said "Shark!" It was pretty exciting, but the shark swam away. I was looking for him the remainder of the time we were snorkeling. :) But that was the only shark sighting!

Bahamas Part II

Here are a few more pictures to tide you over. Hopefully I'll be able to post more on lunch and tell some stories!

Yummy, yummy nachos! We had these almost everyday! Yum!

Christopher standing in part of a pool..thingie... Not sure what it's called.

One of the main pools.



Another picture of the same pool.



The swim up bar at that pool.

Another pool..

A relaxing spot. Those fire pits are lit at night. So, so relaxing!

The private island - we visited and it was awesome. But, we forgot the camera.

The brick oven pizza place. They make pizzas just how you ask them to!


Another pool. We liked this pool better, it was closer to our room.

The entrance into our building.

Christopher..hiding from the camera!

He decided to cooperate!