Sisters Retreat

Where has April gone?! My last blog post was in March! My next few posts will play catch-up for anyone intersted in what I've been doing for the last month.

April began with a wonderful "sisters retreat" to a cabin up in North Carolina. I was so busy relaxing and enjoying myself that I didn't take many pictures. (That's Audra & Jessie's job when we're together, anyway.) But here are a few experiences I did catch.

One of the first days we were there we took a little walk along the river and railroad tracks at the bottom of the mountain where our cabin was located. Everything felt a little rustic and old-fashioned-- I loved it.

We took a drive into the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and walked around a campground there. We discovered this old church-- originally built in 1836 and later reconstructed in 1912. This picture is meaningful to me because while we were there Abbi started reading the book "Christy," which I then read once we got home. It was set in the Great Smokey Mountains in 1912. It's fun to imagine that this church is similar to the one she taught in.

At the same campground we took a walk along the river. It was actually a horse trail that we followed, but we were careful to watch where we stepped. :)

We wanted to get a picture of the four of us together, but since no one was around to take one, Jessie came up with the idea to hang the camera from a tree and use the self-timer. It worked!

On our drive back to our cabin we passed a family of elk. I think there were about 5 or 6 in all. They seemed used to cars slowing down to take their picture.

In one of our trips into Bryson City I fell in love with these beautiful blossoms. I later discovered it is a Pink Dogwood. Someday I want to have one in our yard.



I missed getting pictures of the gorgeous cabin we stayed in, the yummy meals we ate, the good books we read, and of us watching General Conference and the NCAA tournament. Our one big adventure was that on our last night a big storm came through and knocked out the power to our cabin. Luckily the cabin was prepared with flashlights and candles. And in the morning it gave us a good excuse to check out a couple hours later than we would have otherwise. Of course I missed David and the girls, but I can't imagine better company than my three wonderful sisters. They are the best friends a girl could want.

(Mom, next year you are coming, too!!)