Valentine's Weekend Getaway!

Last weekend we took a little trip to a timeshare of Micah and Kim's near Tyler Texas. It was called Holly Lake Ranch. Due to Kim having class until 4:30 and Alyssa having gymnastics after school on Friday we didn't get away until 6:30 Friday night. It was a 6 1/2 hour drive so we didn't get up there until 12:30 that night.

As we got nearer to Tyler we encountered what looked like a lot of snow on the ground!!! It was cold but not snowing and the roads were pretty much dry except in spots. There was about 3-4 inches of snow on our steps going up into the condo. I was really surprised at how snowy it was up there. It is in a woods and quite beautiful in that area. There are several lakes and a river. there are cabins all around the property and some very beautiful homes along the lakes and golf course.

The next morning Micah and Kim had to go to an informational meeting which took 4 hours so Alyssa and Samara and I went to the Activities Center for some fun! ( It was very cold, wet and snowy outside) They entered a coloring contest and each won first place in their age group . Then they had fun decorating Valentine cookies provided by the center. We decided we needed to explore a little so we took a walk up to a small lake and fountain on the golf course--still covered with snow and water! We had to avoid deep puddles and lots of mud. Anyway, we were on the way back to our cabin when some young women stopped and wanted to take pictures of Alyssa and Samara standing on their hands. I thought, " Whoa, what is going on here!", but they were fun loving types and they explained that they were on a scavenger hunt! As they left they said, "We're off to find a girl in a wedding dress!" Sounds like a fun kind of a scavenger hunt to me.

After Micah and Kim got back we went over to the Activities Center and played games. Grampa came over at 5 for dinner. They had live music (a man singing and playing his guitar--not bad, either) they had a catfish dinner special for the whole family and we got it. After we got home, we watched some olympics and then the kids went to bed. Erin came about 10:30. Here are some pictures of the kids' sleeping arrangements.

The next day continued to be cold, foggy and a bit windy. We drove around the area looking at the lakes and lovely homes nestled in the woods. We had lunch at the condo and then watched some more olympics. Finally we thought it had cleared up enough to go out and play some mini golf with the kids. Kim had to do school work and Bob chose to stay in but the rest of us played! That evening, Bob made steaks for us and we had a great dinner. The next morning we left early to come back home. It was a fun time and I think this would be a great place to go in spring or summer. There is swimming, boating, fishing, golfing and tons of hiking trails through the woods! It is not quite what I would call a romantic setting for Valentines day but definitely a very family oriented vacation spot.

The picture posting button doesn't seem to be working today on this post so I guess I'll have to post them on a separate blog!