September at Lake Hartwell

In September we had the chance to grab a quick weekend away at Lake Hartwell. We always have a good time camping, fishing, and lounging around in the hammock. We are really good at the camping and lounging part, but the fishing thing is a little hard to come by at the DeWalk household. So it is really fishing if you don't catch fish?

Gabe found a rope swing this trip, but the water was a little low so we didn't get a chance to jump in the water. Basically it was a swing of death. Ok, maybe not death, but probably a cracked rib or broken arm if we had not overcome our fear and harnessed our strength. Basically, Gabe and I took turns showing off how strong we were while Mom and Christian admired our strength.

The point is - we're awesome.

Soon enough Christian will brave life and limb and soar high above the mud and rocks like Gabe and I. Melissa, we'll need you to get on board with that.

I love camping with my family - it makes me smile.

Summer 2010 Trip

In July we got to take a fun trip to Ohio for a family reunion, Pennsylvania to visit my family, and then Washington DC. It was a long trip but we all had a great time!


Family Reunion:
We had a good time visiting with all my extended family. Of course we wish we lived closer to everyone, but we are grateful we get to see them a couple of times a year.


Trip to Pennsylvania:
A trip to Mimi's and Grandpa's is always an adventure. We got to visit with my sisters and just have a great time spending time with the family. We got to go swimming in the lake, fly down the zip line, and sliding down my sisters home made slipnslide.


Trip to DC:
This was sort of a last minute trip, but we are so glad we went. We got to tour DC and just have a great time visiting the Smithsonian and spending some quality time with each other. As much as I love my Mom, Dad and sisters, it's always nice to just have a few days alone to laugh, cry from walking so much(Christian), and to hang out together. Of course there was the midnight, expedition to CVS to get some medicine for Gabe's swimmers ear - he was in a ton of pain. But Dad was so brave and explored our capital in the middle of the night looking for a pharmacy. What would a trip be without a visit to urgent care or the pharmacy?

freckles. . .

. . . otherwise known in our household as angel kisses!!

10 years and my new toy. . .

so rick and i celebrated ten years of marriage this month.  CRAZY!!  it doesn't seem like it's been that long.  you know that makes rick super old!!
it is exciting to reflect back on God's story in our lives over the last ten years, and know that we would not be where we are in our marriage, in our parenting, or in our lives without His guidance and direction.
thank you rick for being committed to me for the last ten years.  thank you for being a leader in our home.  thank you for my two little boys.  thank you for being sacrificial father to them.  thank you for our past together.  thank you for today.  and. . . thank you for your forever.  i love you!!
alright. . . on to my new toy.  i have been wanting a nice camera for awhile.  however. . . it is nothing that i would spend the money on myself.  well. . . rick totally suprised me with my anniversary present.  a nikon 5000!!

thanks for the camera, too!!!  can't wait to learn how to use it!!

powell family retreat 2010. . .

we had a great weekend with my family in the mountains of north carolina.  my uncle steve builds luxury log cabins close to the wolf laurel ski resort, and the powell side of the family borrowed one for a long weekend. 

we enjoy spending a part of just about every week with my parents and my sister and her family.  they live less than seven minutes away.  my brother and his wife live in louisville, ky, and they visit often, but it is rare that all of us get to spend four days away together 24/7. 

our kids had a blast.  they played and played and played.  they never seemed to get bored.  whether is was playing uno on the deck, picking rasberries, collecting the chicken eggs, or throwing rocks in the pond outside our back door they enjoyed spending every second with their cousins. 

our husbands had a blast.  uncle steve has a couple of jeeps that the big boys toyed around with for a good portion of the weekend.  they were up and down and all around the mountain roads or making their own roads for hours at a time. 

the evenings were filled with fun games.  mostly rummikub and hand and foot.  i can't remember exactly who came out on top. . . but i do know, there were lots of laughs!!

it was a fun weekend.  thank you mom and dad for treating us.  thank you uncle steve for putting up with us.  thank you, Lord, for a family that loves You and encourages us to keep living out Your Story in our lives!!

camping 2010. . .

i think that most of our friends and family know that we enjoy camping.  we have been tent camping for several years.  i had two requirements for an enjoyable camping experience. . . a hot shower and an air mattress.  we never camped anywhere without those two things.  and i actually really enjoyed myself. 

we had been faithfully looking on craigslist for several months for a camper that we were interested in.  we finally found one that had only been used a couple of weeks, and they were offering a great price.  on top of that, it was stocked with dishes, pots and pans, bedding etc. that they didn't want to keep. 

we were so excited and purchased the camper in march.  we have been camping several times, and i wanted to document all the fun we had this spring on our camping adventures.  enjoy!!

Happy July 5th!

Struggling to find something to do today...you know the day after July 4th that everyone has off work but no one knows what to actually do. We decided to head up to the Saluda/Tryon NC area to visit a place call Pearson's Falls. It's a private falls(whoever thought to buy a piece of land with a water fall then charge people to see it - is brilliant. I am now searching for land with a large water fall so I can quit work.) Anyways it was a fun trip and a great chance to hang out with my awesome family.

Gabe has perfected the act of finding little creatures that no one would even notice.

Here are some pictures from the day.