Arkansas Vacation

We figured out how to do a long car trip with kids. If the trip has to be longer than one day of driving then the frist day start as early as possible (we started at 5:30am) drive stop for a picnic lunch at a nice rest stop where the kids and get some wiggles out, drive, stop for a nice dinner (we stoped at the Cracker Barrel) and then drive till you just can't drive no more. We found us a place to lay our bodies down around 11:00pm. We drove 1,000 miles in one day. You might ask why even stop when you only have 300 miles left to go? Hanging out with my family you need to be fresh and ready to go because the Renfroes can burn the candel at both ends. By the time we are finnished with our vacation we are ragged.

We arrived at 1:00pm at the Renfroe estate where we were greated by a nice conversation around the new tree house and a hope in the pool with all of the Renfroe and Wagstaff cousins. I loved being around all of the fun personalities of the kids. Adam and Zachary were absorbing all that they could. One of the most entertaining boys to watch was Braden. He never stoped. While we were at the tree house he was trying to figure out how to use a pully and a rope to pull himself up to the top. Even after slipping through the rope and falling from about 6ft up and hurting himself he kept on trying new things. Then he moved on to the cannon. He and Grandad worked on perfecting the right combination of chemicals to optimise the explosion that gave them the best result. Then they gathered an audience of cousins and shot the cannon off several times. Adam really liked it but Zachary not as much.

Saturday July 3rd, Zachary's 3rd birthday. Everyone did a good job of making his day special. In the morning as everyone was packing up to go to the cabin cousins gathered sang happy birthday to him and shot off the cannon at the end for a big bang. When we got to the lake he got to open his gifts and we had a little party for him. The day at the lake was the best! Adam went tubing and got up on the ski simmer. Unfortunatly the rope was attached on the lower hitch and water got in Adam's face and that did him in he wouldn't go after that. Boo. Josh performed great. He got up on two skis and then dropped one. He really progressed. I wake boarded and that is always fun. Then after dark we went and watched fireworks on the lake. We threw in the anchor, hitched up Grandaddy and Mark's boat ate suckers and watched the sky light up. I told Zachary that the fireworks were for him. We had a good time naming all of the different colors of the explotions. Zachary's favorite were the green ones. Adam's favorite were the red and blue ones.

The cabin that we stayed in was fabulous. It look like this couple from Texas built their dream cabin and then decided to rent it out. Everything was top of the line, the place was decked out to the nines. When I asked Boyd what he thought of the cabin he said "If heaven isn't like this then I don't want to go." My favorite feature was the stairs case. They were made of cedar logs cut in half. It was very comfortable for our big family of 22 people. What was nice too was that we were the first people to rent it out. Thanks Mark and Heather for finding such a nice place for all of us to stay.

Sunday July 4th, We packed up our families and went to church. It was a bit frustrating getting there. Our GPS took us to Berryville middle school. We called Heather and we eventually found it. It was really nice to go to church and feel of the spirit. The testimony meeting was really nice but did not disappoint in delivering some weird moments: prostate problems, and the meeting ended on a high note. Becca reported that on both occations that she looked over at us and Heather and I just were looking down. It's ture if i'm in an unconfortable situation I just look down and away because my face cant not hide what I'm thinking.

After church we went and saw Jesus of the Ozarks statue, then stopped at some mirical spring, drove through the beautiful town of Eureka Springs, and finnally the Thorn Crown Chapel. the rest of the day was spend hanging out at the cabin and playing with cousins. Althougth Adam and Brigham really liked eachother they both being the same age and like minded they tended to clash a bit. At one time Josh had to step in and correct Brigham and he came back at Josh and told him "You can't tell me what to do I'm from Soda Springs!"

After dinner Nana gave a little devotional to the grandkids about the Holy Ghost. As part of the lesson she asked the grandkids "have you ever made a mistake?" Hadley answered "Not me."

Monday July 5th, we got to the lake went out on Grandad's boat for some skiing and wake boarding. Josh got up on one and then skied for ever. I think he was falling in love (I hope). Nana (my 59year old mom) skied. She was told that she woudn't be able to hold her grand children and boating was not likely. Whe do MD's know. She is a fighter and a conquerer. I was really impresssed that she was out there. I waked boarded and knee boarded. Near the end of the day I went out on the ski. I had one of the worst falls of my life. I caught the tip of my ski, poped out, faceplanted and felt the back of my legs hit the back of my head. My back was toast. That was pretty much it for me for the rest of the lake time. I'm glad that I have been doing yoga and flexable because other wise I don't think that I would have recoved so easily.

Adam and Zachary had a blast swimming in the water around the dock. Adam's favorite thing to do was push Daddy (and anybody else he could) in the water. Zachary played with Ben and Hadley. We took the three of them to the marina bought them ice cream and fish food to feed the fish. I bought him a fishing pole which became a huge source of entertainment for him and Ben. Braden showed us all how fishing was done. He shummed the water and dropped in his bated hook and first time he caught himself a pertch. He let Adam reel it in.

Tuesday July 6th, rain set in for the morning. We ate some scrumptous deliumptious french toast caserol and played the card game scum. Josh and Grandad did P90X out on the front deck, the boys watched a movie and played toys. Eventually the rain cleard up and we went boating. It felt like we had the lake all to ourselves. The water was glass smooth and we were the only ones to really enjoy it. After a trip to the marina for ice cream and feeding fish we made our way to a place with beautiful bluffs, a waterfall, and a rope swing. It was like we had arrived in shang-ra-la. We finnally got Zachary to get in the water. He clung on to Josh's back like a pilot fish on a shark. We made it over to the waterfall where the water was really shallow and there was a little island of rocks to sit on. Zachary and Adam were in boy heaven. If we would have let them they whould have sat there and threw rocks all day. Eventually we swam back to the boats and ate lunch. Zach, Adam and I sat on the back of the boat and fed some fish the crusts of our sandwiches. They were going crazy over it. They were so close that Zachary reached out and tried to grab them. Josh and I took turns climbing up the bluffs and swinging off of the rope swing. That was a good thrill. The day ended with getting Zachary and Ben to go and a tube ride with their dads. The times that I had the most fun wasn't riding the waves or jumping off of the rope swing but when I saw my kids have a good time. I'm finding more that I'm starting to find the best thrills through my children.

Wednesday July 7th, We got a late start because of the rain. It was nice to be able to relax and not feel like we have to hurry our herd along. Josh and I tried our stuff at wake surfing. It is pretty challenging but a lot of fun! Austin and Mark showed us all how it was done and then Josh took a stab at it. He did pretty good especially for his first time. He never fails to impress me. Then I was up. I was able to feel the grove and find that sweet spot for a little bit. Nana went. Then Kathryn and Heather showed us all what blue crush was all about. I really want to try this out on the Jersey shore. Back at the dock Braden busied himself sinking himself to the bottom of the lake and bringing up all sorts of treasure: sunglasses (I lost them 4 yrs ago), a CD, Zachary's casting plug that snaped off of the line, Kathryn's cover up that she couldn't find... Braden is a crack up. Adam, Zachary, and cousin Ben were like three peas in a pod on the dock they ate, swam, played, and pushed people in together. I LOVE THE LAKE!
Thursday July 8th, Our last day at the cabin. We packed up and checked out of the beautiful cabin and headed down to the lake. Josh and got some runs in and then we forced the boys on the tube. Finnally! I hate to force my children to have fun but I'm the parent and I know what is best right? Well, this time the forced fun payed off because they really did have a good time. The Harris family departed to go see Boyd's family and then head back to South Carolina. I'm so happy that they moved down there. It is one of the places that I've been wanting to see and now I have a huge reason to go down there. Yeah! The rest of the day was recovery.
Friday July 9th, A few moments were taken by us moms to have pedicures. It is something that I really like doing with my Mom and sisters and is something that I really miss. So once a year if we can fit it in we have a girlie moment together. While I was gone Grandad took the boys for a ride in his overfield. Then we all shot beebee guns and took the boys to see "Toy Story 3." After that the Wagstaffs came over for the evening. Adam and Zachary were in boys heaven.

Saturday July 10th, One of my favorite days. We went on a hike with the Wagstaff cousins and Grandad. We drove out in the middle of the Ozark mountins near the Buffalo River to a place called "Lost Valley." This hike had it all: water falls, swimming holes, caves. At the first water hole we stopped and caught crawfish, threw rocks, splashed, and explored. We saw a water mockesen snake, climed inside a tunnel of rocks etc... I thhought that we had arrived at eden falls but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was just a little way down the trail. We found our way and picnicked at the falls. It was georgious! NJ doen't have anything on the Ozarks. When we made our way upto the cave where we went splunking. Josh and I managed to get our family in the slippary cave but not wanting to get anyone hurt Zachayr and i stayed behind as Josh and Adam made their way back to a small opening in the rocks and if you go through (on all fours) you are birthed into a big room with another waterfall. Adam got a big kick out of going caving and using his flashlight. Zachary was tickeled pink to use the head lamp. We got our dirty selves back to the Renfroe estate and built a fire and roasted hot dogs, went swimming, and ate smores. I love Arkansas!
Sunday July 11th, We went to church and then after we visited Great Grandaddy. Adam and Zachary got all of the folks really excited. GGrandaddy was the envy of the place because he was the one getting hugs and kisses from our cute boys. Man, they were sharp looking with their church outfit on and their hair combed. I think that we would have had more compy if they could have walked. Adam was a good boy and gave G Grandad hugs but Zach kept his distance. It really is hard to see my beloved Grandad in such a state of being. I pray for him. Our visit with Great Grandmother was really nice and the boys were really excited to see dutches. G Grandmother had little keepsakes for the boys and me. I recieved my dad's golden baby cup and the boys recieved collector's coins. I felt like it was too short of a visit but she was getting over being sick.

Dad took me for a joy ride in his fancy BMW. getting a ride in that car was the most adrenline that I felt the whole trip. It really got my hear racing. LOVED IT. That eveing we had a very nice dinner with the family and enjoyed eachother's company.

Monday July 12th, It was time to start the ascent to reality; laundry, gathering stuff, packing bags, goodie run, etc... I got to go and visit Heather's cute house and see all that she has been doing. Adam and Zachary got to play with with cousins which they loved. While we were there at Heather's house Josh met up with a professor of Chemical Engineering and UofA. He toured some of the labs and was invited to be a guest speaker in the fall. I thought that was really great!
Back at the house Grandaddy took the boys for a ride on the tracktor he even let the steer it. Then we threw ourselves in the pool for one last good soak. We said our good-buys to the Wagstaff family and packed up our car. We made ready to leave before the first light.

Tuesday July 13th, 5:30 A.M. wheels are rolling and we didn't stop except for gas, bathroom, and food. We totally broke our 1,000 mile record with 1,300 miles in one day. We pulled in at 4:30 A.M Wednesday July 14th and surfaced back into reality.