Family Fun: Back to Camping in Full Swing

We set up our camper Tuesday because we were up here for that fishing event, but we headed back home afterward since Brantley was at school. Wednesday we came back up, cleaned it up, did our grocery shopping and all that, and then called it quits for the night. Thursday I had to drive back home to take Brantley to school. He and I came back Thursday night. So today is our first real day of camping for this stint.

It was crazy hot all day. Tim and Brantley stayed in the camper. But I decided to pretend I was back in the '90s and lay out sweating to death in an attempt to get a little color on my skin. After going back in and spending a couple of hours catching up on school work it finally cooled off enough to go back out. We broke out all the decorations and decided to glam up our campsite.

We're camping through the 4th of July weekend, so I got these cute, battery-operated, LED lanterns at Dollar Tree for $1 a piece! I love them! 

I brought our citronella tiki torches from home. I found 3 terra-cotta pots I had once painted a pretty blue color, filled with sand, and stuck the tiki torches in when we had a tropical-themed backyard. Now those pots need to be painted. I planned to paint the red, white, and blue for the holiday, but then I realized we're camping. The worn look is ok. There's no need to spend money on paint just for that.

I found a cute chevron tablecloth at Hobby Lobby for 66% off! Check out their spring and summer items right now! They're crazy cheap!

We strung rope lights and... Voila! Our campsite is decorated! (Just between you and me, I hope to do a few 4th of July crafts before the holiday actually gets here to glam it up a little more).

The rest of the evening I played with Brantley...

While Tim grilled us some steaks!

I rocked Brantley to sleep, and then Tim and I relaxed by the campfire late into the night.

Ah... Camping and the great outdoors! (Or should I say "glamping?")

Adventures: Camping on Our Land ~ Mother's Day 2010

In 2010 we were trying to sell our house in central Arkansas that stood on a couple of wooded acres with a pond. It was the perfect house for outdoor enthusiasts, but it wasn't suited for a family at all. Mother's Day weekend of that year Whitney's parents came down to help us fix up the house some to get it more presentable to sell. After a couple of days of hard work, we decided to spend Saturday night and Sunday morning pretending we were far away from civilization. We kept a campfire going, cooked hotdogs over the fire, roasted marshmallows, sipped hot chocolate, and just enjoyed a getaway just outside our back door. Although we had no kids, it would be the perfect, free "getaway" to do with kids. If you don't have kids, change things up by camping out back with your spouse. Add a little zest without a lot of dough.

 

The dogs will be glad you did!

Keep Trying

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."

~Dale Carnegie

Setting Limits

"Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve."

~Mary Kay Ash

Go For It!

"Go for it now. The future is promised to no one."

~Wayne Dyer

Crafts: Baby Brody Gift Bag

In addition to the main gift my mom and I gave her for the shower, I decided she needed some help starting off her scrapbook for Mr. Brody. I gave her some scrapbook embellishments, and I make this gift bag to match the decor of the shower. I used a brown paper gift bag, scrapbook paper, 3-D embellishments, ribbon, and 3-D letters.

All Things Possible

"We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible."

~C. Malesherbes

Actions

"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Travel: Los Angeles ~ March 2010

Last week we shared the incredible Tahiti portion of our honeymoon with you. This week we are sharing the Los Angeles portion. We only spent a couple of days in Los Angeles on the way back from Tahiti, but we packed in as much as we could. Whitney's brother and sister-in-law lived in Malibu at the time, so we were blessed with knowledgeable tour guides to increase the efficiency of our stay.

 

We started out with a visit to Santa Monica Pier. You see it on tv shows and movies all the time, but it was cool to finally see it in person.

 

We left just as the sun was setting...

We had to see the Hollywood sign...

And get our picture made with it in the background...

LA isn't LA without a visit to the world famous Pink's for a hot dog!

And, boy, can they make a hot dog!! (Calorie free, of course!)

Too bad the Oscar's weren't going on.

But trying to catch a glimpse of Guillermo was fun (but not successful).

Having your picture made with one of the characters on Hollywood Blvd. is a must-do.

And the trip wouldn't be complete without seeing the stars.

When you're lucky you may catch a glimpse of a movie director.

Until the sun comes up over...

Yes, it was gone in a flash. But with very little sleep we crammed in everything we could to Los Angeles. Stay tuned for a more in-depth trip...

Courage Vs. Fear

Michigan teen, Angeline Levasseur, has spent most of her 18 years of life in a wheelchair as a result of spina bifida. Refusing to believe that she has a disability, Angeline set a goal for herself of which her classmates were unaware. Sunday, June 5, 2011, with the help of a full body brace and leg and arm braces, high school senior Angeline surprised all attendees as she walked across the stage at her Pinckney Community High School graduation ceremony. Acting on courage, Angeline cast all fears aside to reach her goal. (Source: ClickOnDetroit.com)

Being courageous does not mean you will have no fear. It simply means you will conquer fear, not allowing it to consume you. When life presses you down and you struggle to stand strong and suppress fear, know that God tells us in Isaiah 41:13, "For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Moments before that, in verse 10 of the same chapter, he said, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Believe in yourself. If anyone can conquer this situation, you can. None of us were created to be better than any others. We all have the ability to push through hardships and to stand courageous in the face of fear. The difference lies in how you choose to handle it. Will you master the fear courageously as Angeline did, or will you back down, say "I can't," and let fear win?

Courage

"Courage is resistance to fear; mastery of fear – not absence of fear."

~Mark Twain

Crafts: Monkey Cupcakes

To go along with the monkey theme of the baby shower from the past couple of days, I made some monkey cupcakes. The first couple of them didn't turn out how I hoped, but they got better with each one I did. I was happy with the end result.

True Happiness

You're familiar with them... Those people who put others down to try to make themselves feel better. Ultimately, are they happy? Now think about a time that you have done something good for someone else, thereby making them happy. Did it make you happy? True happiness does not come from being the best at everything, having the most of everything, and winning at every game you play. True happiness is much deeper than that. The wife who sacrifices going to get a pedicure so she can go to that ballgame her husband wants her to attend with him ends up with a better feeling than what a pedicure can give simply by knowing she was able to make her husband happy. Likewise, the husband who stops to buy his wife some flowers on the way home from work when he really just wants to get home and get out of that suit receives a happier feeling when he sees how much it means to his wife.

Zig Ziglar often said, "You can have everything you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want." Try doing an intentional act today to make someone else happy. You'll be amazed at the benefits you receive as well.

Yummy: Stacked Caprese Salad

If you want some yummy goodness for an appetizer, snack, or light lunch, here it is!!

~Take a fresh tomato from your vegetable garden or the local farmer's market.

~ Wash and slice it.

~ Slice mozzarella (or mozzarella log as I call it) to about the same thickness as your tomato slices.

~ Alternate stacking them on a plate.

~ Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

~ Sprinkle Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper.

~ Chop fresh basil (preferably from your herb garden... It's easy to grow even if you live in an apartment) and sprinkle it over the top. 

~ Enjoy the yummy goodness!!

~ Alternate methods:

    * Place a whole basil leaf between every other layer in your stack rather than chopping it on top.

    * Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar, too.

Overcoming Roadblocks

In the book of Genesis, Jacob sought the approval of his brother, Esau. Determined to earn his praise, Jacob gathered a host of gifts for Esau, and he set them on the path before him en route to his brother. After hearing that Esau was on his way with 400 men, Jacob was scared. He divided his men and livestock into two camps. At night, he ushered his wives, maidservants and children across the brook to safety, but he remained behind. A man wrestled with him all night. Jacob did not give up because he wanted to earn the man's blessing. By daybreak, the man was tired of wrestling with Jacob, so he deliberately threw Jacob's hip out of joint. He asked Jacob to just let him go. Jacob continued to wrestle, determined to not let the man go until he had blessed him. The man asked him his name, and when he responded with, "Jacob," the man claimed, "But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it's Israel (God-Wrestler); you've wrestled with God and you've come through." And he blessed Jacob.

Even after a painful injury, Jacob was so determined to earn the man's blessing that he persevered until he achieved it. His determination was rewarded. God says that He will "fight this battle for you" (2 Chronicles 20:15) and "equip you with divine power" (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Roadblocks are bound to happen. Often times, they will pop up when you least expect them. Regardless of what you are struggling with right now, if you will put your faith in God, He will "be your power in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). He can turn mountains into molehills, and He will do it if you are following His plan and guidance. Nothing is too difficult to overcome when you have Him by your side.

Enthusiastically Optimistic

"My Bible assures me that my past is forgiven AND forgotten. That takes care of my past. Jesus Christ said, 'I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.' That takes care of the present. John 3:16 assures me I will have everlasting life. That takes care of my future. With my past forgiven, my present secure, and my future irrevocably guaranteed, why shouldn't I be enthusiastically optimistic?" ~ Zig Ziglar in See You at the Top: 25th Anniversary Edition

Zig Ziglar is top-notch when it comes to motivational, inspirational and Christian living. How can you argue this statement? God put you on this earth. He is so loving and forgiving that, regardless of what your past holds, He will forgive you. You can truly let the past be in the past and move on with your life. He holds your life in His precious hands, so there is no reason to stress about your present. He wants you to be happy and live abundantly. If you believe in Him and put your whole faith in Him, he promises you everlasting life. As Ziglar says, why should you not be enthusiastically optimistic? Live your life, love your life, and conquer your life.

Travel: Moorea, Tahiti ~ March 2010

Ah Tahiti!! Need I say anything else? The word "Tahiti" pretty much speaks for itself. In March 2010 we were blessed with the dream honeymoon of all possible honeymoons! It started with a flight from Memphis to LA, one night stay in LA, and then a red-eye aboard Air Tahiti Nui. The last part of our honeymoon was a few days in LA, but we'll feature that leg next week. Right now let's focus on paradise... literally.

As you can imagine, spending 10-days in Tahiti for your honeymoon means pictures, pictures, pictures. So prepare yourself for a boatload of pictures. Unfortunately the pictures could never do that place justice, though. It is something you really have to see to believe.

We flew into Tahiti's big island, arriving around 8am. We slept on the flight there, so we were ready to tackle the day and make the most of our time.

Upon arrival we got lei'd.

 

We caught a ferry over to the island of Moorea. 

 

And eventually arrived at our resort.

We were scheduled to stay in an overwater bungalow a few nights, and the rest of the time was to be in a garden bungalow. Although it would all be amazing, we knew we wanted to soak up that time in the overwater bungalow. As we checked in the girl at the counter told us there were some booking issues. We were about to get frustrated until she said, "Do you mind if we put you the entire 9 nights in..... an overwater bungalow?" Yes... a free upgrade to spend the entire Tahiti honeymoon in an overwater bungalow! We couldn't believe it! Hut #80 was ours for 10 days!

 

Our bungalow was beautiful!

 

 

  With beautiful views!

...A dock with a ladder going straight down into the unbelievably clear water...

 

 

...And a window in the floor to see the water below...

We spent some time just enjoying the resort...

 

...Chasing crabs on our deck...

 



...And some exploring the island in a buggy...

 

 

Food was ridiculously expensive. We were on a budget. But we weren't there for the food anyways. We were there for everything else. So we agreed that we would fill up on the breakfast buffet every morning...

(Yes, this was our view at breakfast every morning)
...buy a french baguette fresh at the store every day for $1, take the complimentary Babybel cheese at the resort, snack on a baguette and cheese throughout the day, and only buy meals at dinner.

 

Our wonderful dinner on night #2... wine, cheese, crackers, and bread on our balcony.

 



Exploring the island we saw some beautiful sights from higher elevations.

 

 And some beautiful sunrises from our resort... 

We enjoyed a couple of days doing nothing but relaxing on our deck and snorkeling off it.

 

 

And enjoyed a french dinner at the crepe bar over the water near our hut.

 



On day 4 we made the awesome decision to take an ATV tour of the island one morning.

Where we made several stops along the way for scenic pictures...

  

 

Atop Magic Mountain...

 

...And zooming in on our resort from above...

 

... Stopped to view the famous mountain shaped like a gorilla playing a piano.

Traveled through the pineapple plantations...

And got to stop to try the most amazing pineapple we have ever put in our mouths!!!

 

 

 

 

We ate dinner at a not-so-tasty-but-ridiculously-expensive Italian restaurant called Aito's.

 



 

We loved exploring the island so much that we rented a buggy another day to go explore some more. Everywhere we turned was a photo op. (If only we would've had our good DSLR back then!)

 

We had to stop and get a pineapple to take back to our bungalow with us for dinner that night.

 

Had fun with pics by a cool tree...

 

 

Tim cooled off in a water hole...

I did my best to shake a mango out of the tree...

My superhero had to pose...

The palms were so majestic!

I was addicted to taking pictures (obviously)...

And Tim worked and worked at trying to crack open that coconut.

 We dreamed of picnics under the palms...

Tim did his best to pose for a cool pic. Although it never worked, I thought these pics turned out awesome!



 And then we continued on enjoying the incredible sights...

 

 

We splurged one night on a Tahitian show and buffet at our resort. My hot husband wore his signature linen look. It's so him!

I was given this beautiful lei, and Tim was crowned with this crown.

 

Of course I had to have fun with them the next day, and he broke out the camera while I was calling to check in with my parents to share our incredible adventures and let them know everybody was doing great!

Walking back from the show we saw some decent sized stingray...

And Tim continued to work to get into that coconut...

We finally discovered the best bait to attract sharks to our hut, so we had fun sitting out on the deck at night feeding the sharks and watching them swim beneath our feet.

We enjoyed a sunset catamaran cruise. WELL worth the money!

After the cruise we ate at a wonderful French restaurant, Te Honu Iti. The French know how to make French onion soup!

There were about 12 stingray swimming around the restaurant, so we decided we needed to get down there and pet them. They ended up letting us hand feed them.

We had to get a few shots around the resort.

 



He got into that coconut!! On our last night we had a fest of fresh pineapple, sweet grapefruit, coconut, and something else that we weren't sure of what it was.

We relaxed in the bar at the resort while waiting for our car to take us to the ferry. This just looked like a Corona commercial (but for Tabu instead), so I had to post it.

We took the ferry back to the main island...

 

Bye Bye, Moorea. :-(

 

And our final send-off was the amazing indoor/outdoor Papeete airport.

We were back off to Los Angeles for the second leg of our honeymoon. Although you're probably thinking this was a ridiculously expensive trip, we took it for a very reasonable price considering where we went and what we did. Tim booked it through TravelWizard, and they hooked us up! We can't remember the cost, but it was much better than we ever imagined. If you're considering a trip like this, please don't hesitate to ask us questions. We'd love to answer anything we can!