The Lake

So I get a free Saturday and think...hmm let's go to the Lake of the Ozarks for the day and let's ask Liz to go with us! That's not really how it went down but that's how it seemed. Liz and I were laughing as we were on our way to the Lake to leave it up to us to drive out of town and not know where we are going! Ever since going to the Lake for the Girls Weekend over the summer, I have been wanting to go back and visit with Pamie and shop at the outlet mall. Olivia has outgrown all her fall/winter clothes and I thought the outlet mall would bring some big savings...not so much. I didn't find anything...bummer, guess I'll be going to Target after all. Deb Do, Samantha and CJ were also at the Lake which made for more fun!

Anyway, we finally made it to the Lake around 4:30 p.m. - I know, also leave it up to me and Liz to not get an early start! We went straight to Pamie's store. As soon as we walked in, Alex's whole face just beamed. I wished Jimmy could have been there to see him. Before we left, I asked Jimmy to give me some examples of guns he wants to look at. He only told me what kind of gun he wants for Alex. And of course, Alex picked up on it. So while we were off making our potty breaks, Alex was off with the sales guy looking for the kind of gun that Jimmy wants him to have. He couldn't get enough of the store. Rachel asked if Alex had ever shot a gun before. I told her no and that I have never shot a gun either. Liz also chimed in that she hasn't either. Rachel decided we need to become de-virginized (is that even a word?) and go down to the range and shoot one. Olivia then says "I want to shoot!" Typical that this little girl would want to do something so daring and fearless! At first, I didn't want her to see us shoot so Deb Do kept her upstairs and then she came down for a few minutes. She was too interested in looking at all the animals and such that I don't think she witnessed us shooting. Liz was hilarious. She was nervous about shooting. Of course being the big sister, I said "just do it!" Rachel gave us each a lesson on how to shoot the Glock 9mm she picked out for us. Liz felt very empowered after shooting. I was so nervous when Alex shot but he did a good job. He even shot the orange center a few times. Crazy!! When it was my turn, I couldn't believe how powerful that gun was. It really had a kick. Thanks Rach, for teaching us! We had a good time!

When we finished, the store was closing so we parted ways and headed over to the mall for our shopping excursion. We met up again at Applebee's for dinner. After dinner, we decided to go over to Pamie's and visit a little before heading back. 3 hours later, we finally left. We had the best time! We laughed and laughed. I swear, I haven't laughed that hard in so long. We went up and sat in Rachel's room since Jim and CJ were asleep downstairs. Liz had her camera so Alex tried to get pictures of us. The 4 of us posed and waiting with our smiles so big and then...nothing. Alex would make a big sigh! We started cracking up. Finally, we figured out the problem and he took a few pictures. By that time, we started getting slap happy. Everything started to be so funny. Then, we found out we could go downstairs and we thought it was time to head out...yeah right. Samantha and Rachel returned from the movie and brought popcorn home. So we sat around the kitchen island talking some more, eating popcorn and quenching our thirst. We told stories and laughed and laughed some more. What a great time. What great memories. I love my family!! Pamie kept insisting we spend the night and we kept insisting we would be fine. However, I think next time we might just stay. The ride home was uneventful except for Liz deciding she knew the way and getting off on some exit to head towards Columbia. Of course, big sister knew the way along with back up from the GPS. We got back on track and made it home in 2.5 hours. It was a great, great day. I love spending the day with the people I love and who mean so much to me! Let's do it again!!!