Go Jump in a Lake

Norfork Lake that is. This Labor day weekend, that's what we did. And it was Wesley and I's first time ever. For her that makes sense, being that she's 4 and we don't live near a lake. But for me it was a little bit of a bigger deal.

See I'm not the bravest of people. I don't do heights, planes, open water, falling, roller coasters, or roaches to name a few things that send me over the edge. So jumping off a boat into open water that you cannot see through....a murky 100ft abyss that possibly had roaches.....Ok maybe I didn't think there were roaches, but still.

But here's the other side of it. I don't enjoy being a fearful person. I don't choose to lose control of the volume of my voice when I fly somewhere. I don't like having heart palpitations when swimming a few extra feet out at the beach. And therefore I certainly don't want Wee to get that from me. I want her to be safe, but not anxious. Anxiety is no fun.

And so I vowed to try new things at the lake and not be {openly} fearful.

Saturday morning we loaded up the boat and headed out. See how excited I am.

I actually did really enjoy being in the boat. Norfork Lake and the surrounding forrest and mountains are gorgeous. I could lay on the boat all day long. But about 30 mins in, the boat stopped and we dropped anchor and it was time to jump in. Moment of truth. The kids jumped right in. My sweet angel baby girl was in deep water without a care in the world. 

And that was what inspired me to jump. Not a conscious choice to just "stop being scared" which is what my husband wants me to do all the time. Nope, I just transferred my fear. I was more afraid of having my 4 year old in the water without me, then me being in the water. And so I jumped.

The day continued. Everyone swam, and tubed and lived. And the weekend was a success. I am currently scouring websites for cabin deals, and craigslist for boats. So I say, "go jump in a lake!" You just may have the time of your life.

What did you do for Labor Day? Have you ever tried something you were terrified of, just to fall in love with it? What will you do for your kids even though you hate it?

Brancis, MO:: Final Round-Up

Our last night in Branson we went to a show. But first we had to grab some dinner. Being on the laid back, country tour that we were on means we landed at Cracker Barrel. One of my guilty favorites. While we waited Wes and I checked out the Old Country Store.

She did this by herself, even 4 year olds catch trends. 

I think she has talent y'all, there is a future in accordions

After dinner we went to see Hamner Barber's Variety and Magic Show. It was cheesy and awesome. I laughed the whole way through, but no pictures allowed so you'll have to take my word on that.

One quick story that happened because of the show. At the the end they did a beautiful tribute to Veterans since it was Memorial Weekend. The tribute included footage from an interview with WWII survivors, along with pictures of them going off to war as teenagers. It was very moving and several adults teared up, but I didn't think Wesley understood any of it, until I looked down to find her silently crying while flags bellowed and a life size statue of the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima magically appeared out of thin air on the stage.

I picked her up and asked her if she was all right and she said she was but she needed to have a serious talk with me as soon as we got out of there. So we made it to the car and I asked again, nope she wanted to tell me when we got "home" it was very serious and everyone had to be "sitting down and paying attention."Direct quote. So we got back to the hotel and I asked again. She had to make sure Mom and I were sitting still and looking directly at her and then she said "Remember that show were they talked about soliders." ME: "Uh, the one we left 5 minures ago?"Wee: "Yes, well this is very serious...{tears up}...it's just that...{more tears}....they were so...so...OLD! {melts into tears}." Mom and I literally had to hold our faces at this point. Wee: "I was trying hard to care about them, but they were so old, and I wanted them to be like they were before in their pictures." I cannot make this stuff up y'all. Hilarious. We explained that everyone grows older and we need to care for everyone no matter their age. Wow Mom.

The next day we just wanted to take a quick drive down "the strip" to get the full experience of Branson, then head on back to Memphis. I'm sure glad we did or we would have missed this giant statue of President Reagan's head! I know all my friend's love to tease me for being a card carrying Democrat, but in all seriousness, I'm actually just patriotic and want good, strong, honest, smart leaders leading our country, so I was happy to pose with one of our nation's presidents, so there. 

Our drive landed us at the outlet mall, how fortuitous! Wesley didn't last long in the stores, but they did conveniently place these cooky rides around every corner.

Please notice the foam visor with stick on embellishments and crossover glitter purse.

After "stores and stores and stores"-Wesley, we finally started the long trek home. The drive was long but gorgeous. The Ozarks are just another reminder of God's glory and power. I really enjoyed the scenic route, even though it went by quite slow--- up and down so many mountains. 

"The Hills are Alive....With the Sound of Music!"

Me and My girl! The picture is awful because it was on the side of the highway and raining, but I needed this shot!

So that finally wraps up the Branson trip, one month after the fact. It was a great one, and I loved doing it with all three generations of Larson girls this time! Very special. Can't wait till next year!

Brancis, MO:: Bears in Nature

A big part of our road trip was spent enjoying the great outdoors. One of the greatest gifts my mom ever gave me was an appreciation of God's creation. There is just so much beauty in nature. So of course when we spotted this little waterfall at the Arkansas-Missouri border we had to stop and take it in.

On day two of our trip we hit up Branson Landing. It's a great outdoor shopping center right on a lake. It's anchored with Bass Pro Shop where my little model had to pose witha grizzly bear, because we love all Grizz.

Then we went to build a bear and she picked out her on bear to love and cuddle. 

Adding a kiss to her heart

Now getting the heart nice and warm

Putting the heart in

Giving her a " bath"

All done! Posing with Gamma

 Next we took a trip on "The Ducks" these are those touristy things that start out as a truck on land then they drive into the water and it becomes a boat tour. Super fun.

Wes getting ready to eat her duck on the Duck.

Waking up after a quick nap,  surprisingly a tour of downtown Branson did not hold her attention.

Woke up just in time to get to drive the boat! 

Getting a little over confident, captain had to step in

Now a licensed Duck Boat Captain!

As you can see the second day was a blast. Relaxing, tousity, natury, just ducky!

Brancis, MO:: Antique Roadshow

Our first out of school excursion was a quick trip to Branson, MO. Which Wesley pronounces "Brancis." We had a great time. We had very few plans just get on the road, catch a show and do some shopping and that about sums it up.

On the way up there we took our time. Stopping every time something looked interesting, like antique shops, diners and picturesque parks. Here are few finds from our stops.

A silver lade to replace the glass one I broke

Sweet mid century pilsners

Mid Century Condiment Server

Vintage Footstool with Storage!

I spent a grand total of $43 on all of it! Super score. So obviously I know have the bug. After I wrap up the trip posts, I do one on my new Mid Century Modern bedroom redo!

Meet me in St. Louis

Last weekend Matt and I hit the road for St. Louis to be in our dear friend's wedding. Dave and Meghan are so fun and of course their wedding had their personality which made it a joy to be in. The worst part was leaving this sweet face on Friday and not seeing it til Sunday!

I mean really....

Matt and I were honored to be asked to play and sing in the wedding. Although I will say, I didn't know we were ALL the music until about 2 weeks before the ceremony which was a little daunting, being that we are not wedding musicians! I was not sure we were going to pull it off when we had our first run through on April 5th (no one tell Meghan), but I have to say on April 13th we sounded pretty dang good! Or at least people lied to us and told us we did.

Here's us and the happy couple at the rehearsal. See---they look happy, we must not sound that bad?!?

Then we hit the bowling alley for the rehearsal party. SO MUCH FUN!!

Dave doesn't look impressed with Matt's form

Adorable!

Saturday we didn't have wedding commitments until 3:30, so we wandered the Central West End and found the largest mosaic collection in the United States at Cathedral Basilica St. Louis. The amount of work in this beautiful church amazes me. The mosaics, which cover 83,000 square feet of the church and contain 41.5 MILLION pieces of glass in 7,000 different colors took from 1912 to 1988 to complete. These pictures obviously don't come close to doing this work of art any justice, sorry. I also snapped a shot of the chair the Pope sat in when he came to town in 1999. I'm not catholic, but that's still cool.

You can see I couldn't get a lot of close ups, because they were having mass at the time we stopped by. We technically weren't suppose to go in at all, but an usher told us to go quickly and be quiet so we did.

I couldn't get a very great picture of the outside because the church is so big. But the architecture was stunning. And Matt read the difference between byzantine cathedrals (domes) and English gothic (spires) is a symbol of the different doctrinal beliefs. Spires point to heaven in the sky--somewhere else, while domes symbolism God bringing heaven back to Earth someday. Pretty cool. So again, not catholic but I can certainly appreciate honoring the prayer "thy kingdom come, thy will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven."

After that we headed to Delmar Loop. A hip little neighborhood by Washington University. It had great vintage shops, a record store and it is home to the actual Blueberry Hill where Chuck Berry evidently found his thrill.

So then it was time for the wedding. Matt and I were super nervous but also excited to get to do some great music, since we both haven't been in a band in years. We had 7 songs prepared for the prelude music, and everything went smoothly until we realized we had no way of knowing when they were ready to start the wedding and we were on our last song....  So we just started the processional with hopes people would start walking out, and when no one came out I just started making up new verses. It worked, and no one seemed to notice "Be thou my Vision" doesn't have 12 verses.

After the service the bride and groom were so happy they collapsed, it was hilarious.

And then we hit up Oliva's on the hill for a beautiful, fun reception. 

Sometimes when you are the blogger in the family, and picture taker, there are never any good pictures of you....this is the best I got all weekend.

Sunday morning we slept in, walked to brunch and then said goodbye to our beautiful hotel. 

What a great getaway weekend! Thanks Meghan and Dave for getting married, see you again soon!