CHICK TRIP: bath houses, diamonds and pink poodles

I went with Carissa B. and her friend, Shannon on a much-needed chick-trip a few weeks ago to Hot Springs, Arkansas. What a fantabulous (thats my new word- because fantastic and fabulous just aren't good enough;) adventure we had!! It was a five hour road-trip and we made a detour before we got there, through a small town to dig for diamonds. That's right! We came equipped with our own tools and got our hands dirty, looking for real diamonds. Unfortunately, we walked away with just some nifty looking jasper and quartz stones, but I had the best time spending my imaginary fortune in my head while I was digging for it :) Carissa was REALLY pumped as we got ready to dig.....We were excited to arrive at the historical Arlington Hotel on the main strip in Hot Springs. It has one of the few running bath houses left there in the city and part of our package for staying in the hotel was to have a mineral bath and massage. The whole bath house experience was quite unique and one that must be told in proper Misty form- in person, for the full-effect:) But it was overall relaxing and we can now mark it off of our to-do list. (Next is sky-diving, by the way.) We went on a dinner cruise one night and saw some really pretty views. We spent the rest of the trip eating at great little restaurants, going to tons of shops, laying by the pool and hanging out. Carissa and I always have so much fun together. And I am so glad to have met her friend Shannon. She is such a sweet person, who loves God and is fun to be around. Here is a pic of our hotel........ This is the ceiling in one of the bath houses........And I can't forget Katie Belle, the pink poodle! We saw her at Snazzie's (one of the shops we went into a couple of times). She has been dyed pink (with some kind of cake frosting) since she was a puppy. She was so cute........ And don't feel bad for the boys......... Drew and Jake spent that weekend with our friends Dustin and Jill at their lake house. I don't have any pictures, but Andrew said they had a blast. Jake loved jumping off the diving board into the lake and swimming around with their dog Macy Lou ("the Lou dog"). We are looking forward to going out there for a weekend with them sometime soon!

--We just home from a two week, multi-state vacation, but I'm too tired to post anymore. So, to be continued......