Nine.

My baby girl is nine! NINE.  It was a great birthday week. We had a camping party at Devil's Den. We had a lot of fun. She decided to collect donations for the animal shelter again. She got so much stuff! Luke and I are so proud of the young lady she has become. She is sweet, kind, generous, loving and beautiful on the inside and out. We are truly blessed to be her parents.

Buffalo River 2014

Last week we went back to the Buffalo. We seriously love that place. The trees weren't as pretty this year, but they were prettier there than at home. I was sick, so I didn't get to do much, but the kids had a blast. We hiked part of the Ponca to Steel trail, Ponds Trail, Mill Creek Trail, Twin Falls and a little bit of Lost Valley. We spent most of our time playing in the water at Kyle's Landing. We took family pictures, hung out in the hot tub and played horseshoes. It was a great trip!


Over the years I've had a lot of people ask me where we stay when we visit The Buffalo River. It all depends on who is going and what we are hiking.

So, here is a list of our favorite cabins:

1. Frannie's Cabin on the Buffalo- We love this cabin!  It is in a great location. It is located between Ponca and Jasper. It is a short drive to Lost Valley, Ponca Bridge, Boxley Valley, and Twin Falls. It has a gas fireplace, large deck, swing set, and hot tub.  Frannie is super sweet! She is building a new cabin and we can't wait to try it out next year. We've stayed here twice and loved it both times. The only reason we didn't get to stay here this fall was because it was already booked! Book early!

2. Buffalo River Cabin- We love this cabin too! It is located in the Compton area....so it is a drive to go to Ponca Bridge or Boxley to view elk, but it is a beautiful drive. It is still a great location and close to a lot of great hikes. It is near Old Erbie, Hemmed in Hollow, Paige Falls. Hideout Hollow and many more! This cabin does not have a hot tub, but it is a beautiful cabin and Jay and Marci are wonderful. It is beautifully decorated and has a pellet stove. If you are traveling with kids this is one of the most reasonable cabins! Kids 8 and under are free!

3. Foggy Hollow- This cabin is on the smaller side, but we traveled with the whole family and it worked. It is a beautiful cabin! It has wood burning fireplace and a hot tub! This cabin doesn't have a dish washer, but that didn't bother us. Luke and I are actually returning to this cabin in December for our anniversary! It is also located between Ponca and Jasper.

4. My Blue Heaven- This was a great cabin, but is located on the other side of Boxley Valley. It is close to Parthenon. It would be a great location if you were planning a visit to Glory Hole, Alum Cove or even a visit to Round Top Mountain or Arkansas Grand Canyon (Jasper Area) It's a nice cabin with a woodstove, hot tub, and swingset. The kids LOVED this cabin because it had a golf cart, river access, and a ping pong table. It also has an optional guesthouse to rent if you need more room.

5. Kyle's Landing- This cabin is on the smallish side, but has a great location. It is by Kyle's Landing and Twin Falls. It is close to Jasper. It has a firepit, hot tub and horseshoe pit!

There are a lot more cabins to choose from. I have searched and searched and these were my top choices. I'll update if we find a new favorite!

Goodbye, Willow.

We said goodbye to our sweet, beautiful Willow on Friday. It was a very long difficult week. I noticed he wasn't acting right on Tuesday. I took him to the vet on Wednesday. We did bloodwork which didn't show anything crazy going on. He had a little fever and was dehydrated. We went home with antibiotics and fluids to give subcutaneously. I had to force feed him wet food and evaporated milk. His fever hit 105 Wednesday night, but went back to normal on Thursday. I got him to eat on his own a couple times, but Friday morning he was lifeless. I knew he was dying. I made an appointment to have him euthanized, but he passed away on his own here at the house. I'm thankful I didn't have to go through the euthanasia, but he had a very traumatic death here at home. Traumatic for me. I pray that he was out of it enough he didn't know what was going on. I believe he was gone long before his body quit gasping for air.

Luke and I got Willow not long after Lolly. They were best buddies. We had him 13 years. He's been with us from the beginning. I named him Willow because my favorite tree is the Weeping Willow. He moved with us three times. He welcomed every new pet we got with kindness. He was a great hunter and he was great with the kids. I'll never forget Kanyon dragging him around in a headlock. He was the best.

 I'm heartbroken and miss him so much. 

Summer Snapshot

Hard to believe summer is over! We had a crazy, busy, wonderful summer. We traveled a lot. We made so many wonderful memories. The kids were really well behaved, which made it even harder to send them to school yesterday. 

We went to Cape San Blas over the Fourth again this year. We had a great time. The weather was perfect! We talked Grandma into going with us. We caught lots of sharks, fish, a sting ray, and a sea turtle!

Luke and I canoed the Buffalo River for his birthday. It was a great little getaway. I surprised him with a cake from Rick's Bakery. It was sooo good. 

Mom, Charity, Grandma and I went to Minnesota to visit family. Some of our family from Oregon flew in. We stayed at the Black Bear Casino again. This was my fifth trip up there. We loved visiting with our family and can't wait to see them again. 

We also camped at Lake Fort Smith and Devil's Den this summer. 

Kimber learned to ride without training wheels! 

The kids got along really well this summer and we wanted to end summer with a bang, so we surprised them with a trip to Branson.  We went to White Water and Silver Dollar City. They got airbrush tattos, rode tons of rides, ate lots of junk, and played some mini golf. It was exhausting, but so much fun!

Well, that wraps up our summer. 

The kids started school yesterday. 

They looked beautiful and both had a really good day. 

I'm praying that this year goes by smoothly.

I'll miss the kids while they are at school, but I am looking forward to fall and Christmas!