Camp Highland 2013

What a blessing it was for James and I to spend last week with over 600 kids and teens at Camp Highland! Such an awesome week! We are so very thankful that his parents came to keep our kids (and our dogs) so that we could be a part. SO SO THANKFUL! 

There is something special about what happens during this "Best week of the year." So much spiritual growth and a whole lotta FUN!! I know the kids and teens get a ton out of the experience, but so do the adults! We came home tired (every night was a late night), but full of the Holy Spirit! So very blessed!

James taking part in a very serious game of Three's a Crowd. So fun!!

CJ drinking and then upchucking the "SHAFT Shake!"

WATER SLIDE!!!

The kids came out in the afternoons to swim during our free time! It was so great to get to see them!

Dax (one of James' 10th grade guys) was baptized Thursday night! 

Great week with an awesome 10th Grade Class. 

Top right pic is me with the girls in my cabin. Loved getting to know these girls! Bottom pic is of all the 10th grade girls that I have the privilege of teaching all week. Such a great group of ladies! 

And although I spent most of the week with the 10th grade gals, I can't forget about my Juniors! I was with them last year at camp and taught their huddle all this past school year. They are my first born and I love them too!!!

Hometown Visit

The kids and I spent the week in my hometown of Mountain View, Arkansas visiting my family. We had such a great time! I really do love Memphis but there are just some things that you can't do in the city. It was good to get back for a few days and enjoy country life! 

e

Em snuggling with Uncle Tyler

Hometown favorite! Yum!

View from brother's house - If you're going to live in a place called Mountain View, you might as well have one!

Getting ready to help break in the new Ranger!

Looking for crawdads

Cousins

Summertime Funtime

Welcome, Summer! 

Mt. LeConte

In case you don't already know, James and I are big fans of the Smokey Mountains. We've been on many hikes in the park over the past nine years, all of which were beautiful and unique in their own ways, but I believe that our hike up Mt. LeConte takes the cake. Maybe it was the hike, maybe it was the company or maybe the combination of the two....but it was fantastic!! We had such a blast and it could NOT have been any more perfect! Big thanks to the hubs for planning and organizing it all! This is something that he's been trying to get reserved for years and finally, last fall we got the news that we got in and had a cabin reserved for 12 at the Lodge. There are other smaller cabins for couples or groups of four, but going with a big group was so much fun!

We hiked up the mountain on Friday. It took us just over 3 hours and we gained over 2,500 ft. The trail was marked "strenuous" and I'd say that is a good way to describe it. Challenging but not so much so that you don't enjoy it. I enjoyed every bit of it. 

Dinner was served Friday night at the lodge and we devoured a table full of delicious food. FYI - I believe they bring fresh food up on lamas a few times a week. There's no way up the mountain other than by foot or four legs. Then after a beautiful (but cold) sunset we turned in for the night. We awoke to a cool foggy morning and another delicious home-cooked meal for breakfast...pancakes, biscuits, eggs and ham. It was so yummy! 

Then a couple hour hike back down the mountain followed by Five Guys in Gatlinburg!

****WARNING**** PHOTO OVERLOAD

There were just so many that I couldn't narrow them down any further. Sorry! And thanks to Grant and Jessica Dasher for 99% of these. My phone (camera) died on the mountain and was unrecoverable so I lost all of my photos. 

Dinner the night before

Getting ready to head up!

Did I mention that we nearly froze waiting for the sun to set?

But it was worth it!

Night view from our deck of Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge

Fog burned off to reveal another beautiful day!

Erin's cute pregnant belly!

We did it!