Table Rock Lake

A few weeks ago, Paul and I went to visit his parents in southern Missouri.  They live on Table Rock Lake which, for those who don't know, is one of my very favorite places. 

Table Rock is so special to us: it's where Paul's parents went on their honeymoon (camping-love that), where Paul vacationed with his family every summer growing up, where we spent our first vacation together with our families (we were 18), and where we've made countless memories with family and friends. 



my first trip to Table Rock ~ 2002



And when Paul's parents retired a few years ago, they moved down there full time, which means we can visit any time we want.  Yay!

This year we road tripped it down there for Memorial Day.  It's a 12 hour drive which might seem long to some, but we don't mind.  Especially if it means Oscar can come along :)

The first night we were there, Bob and Mary had everyone over for a cookout.  Paul's aunt, uncle, and cousins were in town for the weekend too and it was so fun to see them.

This is the view from Bob and Mary's deck.  It's so peaceful.

The next day we went out on the boat all day but I didn't take any pictures.  boo.

But take a look at this picture...

On New Year's Eve this year,  Bob and Mary's neighborhood was hit by a tornado.  Luckily it didn't do any damage to their house, but it completely destroyed their dock and did a lot of damage to their boats.  This is actually a picture of their neighbor's dock.  Crazy huh?

On Memorial Day we took the fishing boat out to see if we could catch anything.  Unfortunately, the fish weren't biting.  Paul caught one, but he was the only one.

That night we boated over to Big Cedar Lodge for dinner.  It's one of our favorite spots on the lake.

For our last day, we decided to canoe the Buffalo River.  I've only done this twice before, but it's always so much fun.



Bob & Mary

 

Paul does most of the rowing hehe

 

swimming across the river





And then I saw this...two snakes (I think they're Water Moccasins) nose to nose in the water.  Eeekk!!  I get the chills every time I look at this.



Toward the end of the trip, Paul and I were talking about how awesome we were because we hadn't tipped our canoe once.  Well, we spoke too soon because about 5 minutes later, we hit a rock, tipped the canoe, and were swimming downstream haha.

The next day we had to head home.  We had such a great time, as always, but it's never long enough.  Luckily we're going back later this summer!  I already can't wait.

I'm Back

Whoa, I sort of fell off the face of the Earth for a while there!  Sorry about that ;)

Paul and I are officially Pueblo residents.  We found a little condo to rent and moved in two weeks ago.  We've been busy settling in, unpacking (me), and working (him).

My impressions of Pueblo so far:

* The people here are very friendly.  Everyone from Paul's co-workers to the lady pumping gas next to me at the Loaf 'N Jug have been nothing but nice.

* It has a small town feel.  Pueblo technically has a larger population than Boulder, but it feels so much smaller.  It's the kind of place where everyone knows everyone.

* The cost of living is lower than Boulder.  Rent, gas, food, alcoholic beverages..all cheaper than what we're used to.  SCORE! 

* It's very desert-y.  I don't really feel like I'm living in Colorado-it feels more like New Mexico.  Maybe that's because New Mexico is less than 100 miles south of here. ha!

So far I really am enjoying it here, other than being a little lonely when Paul's at work.  We definitely miss our friends in Boulder, but in time we'll make some new ones here.  It just feels so good to finally be living with hubs again!

I'll be back later this week with recaps of two trips we took before me moved and maybe even a tour of our new home.  Until then, here's a little sneak peek of each...

Have a great week!