Canoe Trip Down the White River in Arkansas

On our drive to Arkansas, it snowed...in October!  Haha!  Just kidding.  The below picture is of a cotton field all ready to harvest.  I've never seen a cotton field.  It was beautiful, with white fields for miles.  I'm glad it was a pretty blue sky too.  Oh, what a beautiful world! 

So after the photo shoot (from the previous post), we enjoyed steaks at Colton's Steak House & Grill. 

The next morning we went down to the White River intent on canoeing.  The employees we were renting the canoe from scared me with stories of people falling out in the cold water.  I was ready to turn around and head back to the hotel when I heard that!  But Nels convinced me that we would be fine.  I didn't know it at the time, but Nels is an expert canoer thanks to Boy Scouts.  I was surprised I didn't know this, after all we've been married for 8 years. 
Don't you love when you learn something new about your spouse?? 

I'm happy to report.  I did not fall out.  In fact, I did not even get wet!  Hooray!

So here's some pictures of our adventure on the White River.

Nels, the canoe and half of an employee.

Isn't this gorgeous!

Nels, so happy to be canoeing on his birthday. 

The White River is a very well known fishing area.  This lodge flies people in on helicopters to go fishing!  We heard a few helicopters as we floated, I mean paddled down the river.

Me...So I wore my life jacket the whole time, except when we were taking pictures.  I'm not good with water.  And even though the river was less than four feet deep most of the time, I still wore my life jacket.  I was so scared for the first half hour of the trip. 

Nels was sweet and gave me tips as we went.  He would say, "you might want to hold your paddle like this...we can go faster if you go like this...we need to maneuver out of this motor boats way...etc."  He was very patient with me.

Towards the end I was getting used to it.

Nels relaxing...haha.

My one arm picture...not too bad I think.

I loved the cliffs and trees.

Pretty homes.

We took this picture at an observatory.  It's a great view of the river and the "mountains."

So will I go canoeing again?  Yes, I will, but I hope to go in warmer weather.  So if I do fall out I won't freeze to death.

 A picture of the dam for my Dad.  :)

Fall Photo Shoot

In October, for Nels's birthday, I planned a little getaway.  I love getting away!  It was absolutely wonderful.  THE most relaxing vacation I have ever been on.  We woke up early, took naps and went to bed early.  :)  When we weren't sleeping we did some fun things, which I'll post about later.  So where did we go for all of this relaxation?  Arkansas...Mountain View to be more specific.  We were a few miles from the Ozark Mountains and the White River.  We stayed at a Hampton Inn with a great deal.  (I love working for Hilton.  The perks are great!:)

Once we arrived, I convinced Nels to do a photo shoot with me.  So we found this little park just as the sun was setting. 
Me - Swinging (obvious, I know.  But I thought I'd point it out. haha.)

I'm really into plaid.  I love flannel plaid shirts and Arkansas was the perfect place to where them.

We had a little tripod that we set on picnic tables, set the timer and the below pictures are what you get.

Not to shabby, eh?

And this is how I know Nels is done taking pictures haha:

Hope you enjoyed!

Outdoor Movie Night

In September our relief society put on a ward activity.  We had a Southern Outdoor Movie Night.  We held it at a member's home.  The menu for the night was delicious Memphis BBQ, side dishes like mac and cheese, green beans, baked beans, corn bread and fruit...and for dessert lots of pies.  There was a bonfire, games and of course a movie.  We fretted over the movie due to copyrights.  But Lori was diligent and acquired short animations from BYU.  It was perfect.  In between the stories were old, funny commercials.  

We served popcorn and cotton candy.  People sat on hay bales, chairs and blankets for the movie.  The weather was perfect and so was the night.  

Here's a few pictures:

For the movie screen, we used a sheet wrapped around PVC pipe.  Then strung a rope through the pipe and tied it around trees.    

The R.S. presidency: Lori, Alayna, Me and Monica...Monica's hand is blue from making the cotton candy. :)

The food...

Sign to welcome them all.  Get it Hey--Hay.. haha.

And the amazing pies of every kind. Raspberry, cherry, apple, chocolate, pecan, banana just to name a few!

We had a great turn out and a big thank you for all of the help!

The Memphis Zoo

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh my!  But wait, I didn't see Lions or Tigers at the Memphis Zoo.  Maybe next time.  We did see Grizzly Bears, Black Bears and Polar Bears though. 

We finally made it to the Memphis Zoo.  My work (Hilton) had a Family Zoo Night.  It was great.  We got off work early and Nels got to come too.  Hilton provided dinner, dessert and we got in for free. 

Here's some pictures:

Monkeys

It's been so long, I can't remember the name of this monkey...I think it was an Orange oh wait an Orangutan.

Giraffes:  Such pretty patterns.

Me and Nels:  Um, we did not match or even coordinate our colors.  Orange and Red...I will try not to do that again!

Cool cactus or Prickly Pear Cactus.

Zebra:  Yikes, Stripes, Fruit stripe gum...remember that advertisement?  Yep, I'm getting old!

Elephant.  My sisters favorite animal.  I rode an elephant once at the San Diego Zoo.

Cheese:  see orange and red...oh dear.

Bald Eagles:

I love this fact about the Bald Eagle:  "Bald Eagles mate for life and will only select another mate if their mate should die." 

My favorite section was called the Teton Trek.  Probably because it reminded me of home.  Love the Tetons.  Anyways the Grizzly Bears were super active.  I got a great video, but alas, it won't load today. 
I wanted a cute picture of us on this adorable wood bench with the lantern above us.  Here's the picture, but once again, orange and red...not so great.  haha.

So picturesque, don't you think?

Bird in the Garage

I know it's Snowy December and I'm writing about the warm August months.  But I'm catching up here!

One day I left the garage door open and a wee little bird flew in and couldn't get out.  I  figured the bird would come out eventually so I didn't worry about it.  But I casually mentioned it to Nels. 

Sweet Nels went out to the garage on an errand to rescue the bird.  He used a broom to gently guide the bird out of the garage.  For some reason the bird liked the broom and just perched there for a few minutes.  Well, long enough for Nels to go into the house, get the camera and take a picture. 

I learned that Nels has a soft spot for wee little birds trapped in garages.  Way to be a hero Nels! :)

5k Race

I've always wanted to volunteer to help at a race.  I got my chance in August.  We had about 10 people from our ward help with the Forrest Spence 5K race.  Other than being early in the morning on a Saturday I really enjoyed helping out.  We had a lot of fun. 

Here's a few pictures:

We were course directors, so they loaded us up in a van to drop us off at our locations. 

The race was at Overton Park, downtown Memphis. 

Cheese...My fellow sign holders. My friend Lori and her two teenagers. 

Here come the runners.  I was impressed by how many women came running around the corner with strollers and kids.   I was the first directional sign, so they hadn't been running for very long.  But I still cheered the runners on.

Me and my friend Lori.

My friend Vanetta, timed the runners for Mile 1.  She shouted out their time to them as they passed.

Sara and her daughter.  See how fun it is to volunteer. :)

Nels and my friend Vanetta's family:

Nels was Mile 3.  He lost his voice from shouting out the times. :) 

The Finish Line:

After the race they had food and entertainment.  We enjoyed the bread, bananas and oranges.   I was happily surprised by how many runners said thank you to me for holding the sign.  It gave me that warm, cozy feeling. :)  I would definitely volunteer again.  It was a good experience and always more fun to do with friends.