Annual Conference 2010 - another great year at the lake!! We are just getting home from a week up at the lake, and once again it was WONDERFUL! It was sort of like Isabelle's birthday in that last year was so full of the emotion of the "firsts" with Isabelle and this year was just about being a family and being able to enjoy our time together :)
We rent a house that we share with two other families, but Isabelle is the only little one...which she LOVES! Thanks to Kirk, Cheryl, Judy and all the "big" kids for loving on Isabelle all week :)
The best news of the week was actually a piece of "official" conference business - after 2 years of study and LOTS of debate over the week, we voted by about 2/3 to keep Annual Conference at Lake Junaluska! It makes little to no sense on a practical level because nothing is air conditioned, we can't even fit all the people who are required to attend into the auditorium, the handicapped accessibility leaves a lot to be desired, etc., BUT the lake is the lake.
There are folks who have rented the same houses for 40+ years. There are generations who have been raised going every summer and who now do the same with their children and grandchildren. I can't even begin to express the intangibles for me. It's good for the soul. The spirit. For my church and for my ministry the time at the lake offers something that 4 days at a hotel in the mall parking lot in Greensboro just couldn't begin to touch. And so we stay. I am so grateful! We've already put down our deposit for next year :)
Houses rent by the week, and so even though conference didn't start until mid-week, we went up on Sunday right after church. This gave us time for relaxation and fun and also a LOT of (VERY much-needed) time for me to work on some of my reading for my classes this summer. I am so behind it isn't even funny.
A few pics from our week...
Butts on the Creek BBQ restaurant is an annual tradition...I don't always go with the same friends, but it seems like I always end up there at least once!
Okay, I thought this would be a fun comparison...here's Isabelle in June 2009 on an early morning ride around the lake...
...and here she is this year!
One of my favorite stops is Mast General Store, and down in the basement is an old-fashioned candy store (the upstairs is awesome clothes and stuff). Anyway, I very rarely let Isabelle have candy but I told her about this store and that I'd let her pick out candy. She picked out 2 lollipops, 1 tootsie roll midgie, and 1 hershey's kiss. Then...
...her true obsession came out! STUFFED ANIMALS! She went nuts! There was no way we were taking home this giant (and ugly) dog...
...but "Kitty" is the newest stuffed furry friend in our house. I think this is probably the first time ever that Isabelle has asked for something when we've been out that I've actually given in on. Love her but am not into the spoiling her thing. But it was vacation. And she looked so cute. And I was impressed that she'd only picked 4 pieces of candy... So here she is in the book section with Kitty. Books and Kitty. Who needs candy?!
Waynesville has a great rec center and Isabelle loved it! We got to go with my friend Katie and her kids, Micah and Claire, which made it even better!
So I just had to add this one. You know how sometimes you take a picture and don't pay too much attention to what's in the background? Yeah, well this was one of those times... I promise the duck wasn't really pecking Isabelle's head!
And a good time was had by all! Now, I think I need to sleep for about 3 days to recover...sharing a room with Isabelle is, well, tiring. 'Nuf said.
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