Our trip to Kansas, no, Missouri, no, Arkansas!

So my dear friend Ashley, graduated senior of Baylor, Fulbright scholar to France in the fall, and twin sister in Mu Phi Epsilon, invited a bunch of her friends to the Lake in Missouri. I'm not sure of the name of the lake, but the place was Holiday Island, Arkansas. It's right on the boder, hence all the confusion. Her parents rented two lake houses and her whole family, a group of one of her sister's friends, and the rest of us (Ashley's friends) all met up there for an awesome little vacation.

The drive up was a bunch of fun. And I learned that Dina and Sharon are not only terrific drivers, but really fun in the car! We laughd about goofy names of creeks (such as Dirty Creek, Muddy Boggy Creek, and a bunch of others I can't remember now), goofy names of cities and lakes, such as Eufaula (to which Dina replied "I lead, and Eufaula"), and the goofy music we all liked to listen to. We each made a choice of different music to be played, including Rascal Flatts, The Police, U2, mix cds, and Bach. The best part was the tail end through Northern Arkansas. It was high up in the mountains, really curvy, and truly breathtaking. Sharon was terrified, and we played Bach to sooth her. It didn't really work. She got used to the height after a couple of days though.

The morning after we arrived we went straight to the lake for skiing, tubing, swimming, and sun burning. Surprisingly, I managed not to get burned at all except for my scalp right above my forhead, where I guess my hair is too thin to block the UV rays. Oh well. I tried skiing but didn't really get a chance to perfect my technique and actually get up on the skis. It was time for lunch and everybody was waiting for me to be done. By the late afternoon, we were full of sun and lake water and ready for a nice nap. I had to get rid of a mean headache before joining the others for some pre-dinner discussions.

That evening we had a little devotional. Ashley and Katie played violin and guitar to lead us in a couple of worship songs. And Dr. Peterson gave us a nice talk about leadership. Later we all played a game of charades. Some good ones were Edelweiss, Fergalicious, and Where's Waldo. The Peterson's are really good at Charades.

Tuesday morning a bunch of us worked on eggs, waffles, and pancakes to say thank you to the Peterson's for hosting us for such a fun vacation. I worked on waffles, and I've never been more inconsistent with anything! They enjoyed the breakfast. Ashley's group went in the afternoon for more skiing and tubing. This was one of the best parts for me. There were two tubes behind the boat. Two girls on each. Dina and I hangin on for dar life on the left tube, and Katie and Megan on the right tube. I was doing great until Katie decided to hop on my and Dina's tube, commanding Dina to hop over on the other tube. Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely hilarious! Then we all sat up on the tubes, did a good loud "sic'em bears!" and rolled off the back for a nice finale. It was a blast!

After our shift on the boat, Sharon, Ashley, Katie, Randy, and I all wanted to stay out in the sun so we went to the pool. We had fun just floating in the water, relaxing our muscles from all the work and having good girl chat, which Randy didn't mind at all.

That evening we went to dinner, out on the town, in Eureka Springs. Eureka Springs was a beautifully historic and charming town. The restaurant was Sparkies, and most of us got hamburgers or salads. Here too, in addition to every dock we ever stopped at on the lake, all the girls gathered in a line outside the Ladies Restroom. With 15 girls, it always took forever to get through all of us. But everybody was very patient.

That night we played pictionary, peanuts or nerds (like double or triple solitaire), and had a pretty deep and truly encouraging and enlightening conversation (well Sharon, Dina, Ashley and I had the good talk). Oh, Apples to Apples was also a game frequented on this trip. The Bible edition of course. Also we put in The Baby Sitter's Club, which I had never seen before, and was greatful to not have, after watching the first half or so.

Wednesday morning Sharon and I decided to head out a little earlier so we could explore Eureka Springs a little more, and head home to battle the rough weather with plenty of time to spare. The town was still very charming on closer inspection. Sharon and I both bought earrings, chocolate, and candy. I bought coffee at a starbucks (it's hard to get away from all your urban conveniences) and we took some good pictures of the train depot there.

The drive back was not nearly as fun as the trip up. Though all the more exciting, considering the heavy rain we couldn't seem to escape in any state. In Oklahoma we missed a pretty important exit, but we caught ourselves only 10 miles past and got on track immediately.

I feel as if I wouldn't need to drive ever again to be happy!

TMTA Convention

This past weekend I went to the Texas Music Teacher's Association convention at DFW Airport. I drove up with Sharon and Meredith. And Leah and Holly followed behind. We made the trip with no problems. The convention was at the Hyatt Regency and we had a room there on the second floor. The hotel was in the middle of renovations but unfortunately our room hadn't been renovated yet. But it was still really fun. I enjoyed staying with Sharon, Holly, and Holly's sister, Hailey (I'm not sure if that's how she spells it). Holly and Hailey are really funny sisters. There was never a dull moment. My favorite part was watching them play a game on their bed. They each lie down on the edge of their own side, hands tucked to their sides. Then Holly shouted "GO!" and they both roll over at each other trying to get to the other side before the other sister. It was hilarious and it may be something you just have to see. Friday night we went shopping at Grapevine Mills Mall, ate at Panda Express, and ran into Dr. Marks on our way down to the bar, where we had a drink (well, Sharon had two) and an appetizer and desert. Saturday was a busy convention day. I heard Dr. Marks' presentations which was very interesting and felt like a bonus piano lit. class. I also went to a session about teaching duets. The reason I had to come to the convention was for the opportunity to judge an festival. It was really neat to offer critiques to young students of piano. I enoyed fulfilling my duty! Also our chapter of MTNA at Baylor will get money for the three of us that volunteered to adjudicate. Yay for BUMTNA!

The least exciting thing for me was going to the ensemble concert. It was very long and very boring. I enjoyed seeing our group go up though and I felt their piece was one of the better ones. Not only was it lovely, it wasn't long at all.

I also had a little chat with my pedagogy professor. It was nice to get to know her a little better and to talk with her about my options after graduation. She was very encouraging and gave me a few good ideas.

Finally I went to Cracker Barrel with Holly and Hayley. I had yummy macaroni and cheese. Then I drove back home by myself.

I talked to Jenny for a bit and collapsed into bed to get up early for church the next morning. I played from one of the books of church music I purchased at the convention. I got lots of great music while I was there.

It was fun, though I spent a lot more money than I had planned on. I ended up having to pay for the hotel room quite unexpectedly. I'll get paid back soon though. No worries.

Today I went to work, read some books, and went swimming with Holly. Now I think I'll go practice. Hooray!