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.

Babysitter Lessons

After coming home from our date we were getting the report from our babysitter on the boy's behavior. I was asking details about the bed time routine and she said "yeah, after I read a couple of books to them that they wanted me to read the "Book of Mormon" to them I didn't really know what to do and then they wanted to pray so I knelt down by them. After that they wanted hugs and I gave them hugs. LOL"
I was so proud of my little ones. I'm so glad that even though we weren't here they wanted to read scriptures and pray. I didn't think to tell the babysitter about scripture and paryer part because I really didnt' think that the boys would do it unprompted. It is just a testimony to me that consistency will turn into good habits for our little ones later on. Also I wonder if that was the first experience that our sitter has had with pray in a long time.
I went in to check on Adam and he was still awake and told me about what happened. He told me that she didn't give him a squawg so I got to give him one. Just so you know a squawg is: a combination of a hug and a squeeze and as you are giving one you have to say "Squawg!" in a loud way. This is a little ritual that Adam made up and has become one of his favorite wrestling moves.

It must be summer

I didn't take too many pictures this week (like none) but I should have. We went with our friends the Nells to one of the beaches at Sandy Hook. I must have looked like a pack mule walking out to the ocean side. I had the unbrella, picnic, chair, toys, and bags all straped to my body and my kids not far behind me. We set up our site and before I knew it Adam was in the water having a blast. Zachary didn't go too far from our blankets because all he needed was right there; sand and toys. I hurried and got sunblock on the best i could by myself. My bathing suit was a little lower than I remember it being and I didn't ask our friends to help since they were in the water with Adam so i just did my best to spray and thought that I would be ok.......Wrong! It is obviously the beginning of summer because I thought I would be burnt and I would stay in the shade of my umbrella. I'll just say I have the weirdest tan lines ever! Oh well, Josh is the only one that will see that anyway.
Adam was in heaven playing in the ocean. That makes me so happy to see my kid having a good time doing somthing a little dangerous. There were times that I was out in the water with him and a wave would come up and wash over him. I could see this big eyes and face under the water and I thhought that "ugh-oh, this is it Adam is going to be scared and want to leave." But every time I was wrong. He would come up and shake it off and we would celebrate how cool that was.
Zachary on the other hand was more than content to not touch the water. I tried to get him to at least touch his toe to the water and he wanted nothing to do with it. Being the stubbern mom that I am I held him on my lap and touched his toes to the wet sand where the water had just receided and that got him really upset. It is funny to me how kids come from the same parents, have the same of a lot of things but they are as oppisite as can be. I know that God makes each one of us and we are all special to Him. Because it was so hot that day I would fill a bucket up and get Zachary wet to cool him off and he didn't mind it. But just don't try to get him into a body of water.
We went swimming at a friends house on friday. It was an inground pool and had different levels of depth. He was fine with the shallow end but he would have nothing to do with me holding him and going into deeper waters. I worrie about our trip to the lake and him having a good time. I know that I'm going to have a hard time with him not being adventerous and fearful. I just don't understand that kind of thing. I need to be patient with this and that is not my forte. I pray that he'll have a good time.
Summer really is the greatest time of the year for any age. I love being a mom during this time. It is so much fun. I really feel like I get to soak up my kids. I even don't mind if we stay home and just relax. Between playing in the yard, looking at bugs, playing with toys, picnicing at our fort, jumping on the tramp, picking the day's harvest from the garden, and reading library books we are occupied. LOVE the summer.

Birthday Weekend!

We kicked off this weekend with Adam's b-day party. He wanted a big party and after last year's rain out I decided to go for the do nothing your self (except invite your friends) route. I really got to enjoy Adam having the time of his life. During this past school year Adam went to the Teens & Tots program at the high school. He got to be really close to one of the Sr. boys named Jacob and naturally we invited him to Adam's b-day party. He came with an invited friend (Dan) and these two were the life of the party. They were like the biggest kids there. They went through thte tubes, played int he balls, wresteled in the jumpie and most of all made Adam feel like he was #1. I credit Jacob for helping Adam get over a few of his obsticals this year and really mature.

After coming home from the party the McCains came. Adam was thrilled to see his cousin Jacob and they had a great time being bunk mates.

Saturday morning the party continued. We took the McCains to see the Statue of Liberity. It couldn't have been a better day. The weather was perfect, there wasn't any wait, and our kids had a blast. We even got a bonus because there was an Air show getting ready to start and we saw a ton of helicopters, coast guard & NYPD boats and for Zachary that is a thrill. At Liberity island we had a bite to eat and walked around. Adam and Jaconb had a great time, eating together, playing games, playing chase at the base of the satue. Those two are like french fries and ketsup. I really got a kick out of watching them enjoy each other. The best part for me was that Kristin was there with her camera and she took family photos of us. There is nothing I want more that a good family photo (which I seem to never get, my kids hate taking pictures and so does Josh). The other part that I really like is walking passed the super long line of people waiting to get on the boat for NYC and us walking right on aboard the boat bound for New Jersey. Yes, that was pleasurable.

Finally the day that Adam has been counting down on his count down calendar for 27 days has come. Adam's 5th birthday was today June 20th. He has been wanting Ben 10 alien toys for such a long time that it was a real pleasure to give him his presents. Ben 10 everything! He has been in heaven. Adam and Zachary have been pretending to change into different aliens all day and waring their watches. After we ate his special b-day cake we snuggeled on the couch and watched a ben 10 show. When it was time for bed he fought it (which he doen't normally) we went out side and cought lightning bugs. He expressed the desire to catch them and squish them but i expalined that you just catch them and make friends with them and the next night they will be there to greet you. Man, he really like the idea of making friends with the bugs and so that is waht he did. He was so excited to catch them. He would say "look now we are friends. Bye friends." Zachary didn't get the idea of catch and release. He caught and squished and with a big grin on his face would bring to you his "new friend" like a dog brings in the snake that it killed for you. Such a sweet heart. Our vegitarian neighbor/baby sitter Courtney didn't find it as funny as I did. Especialy because he gave to her his catch.

Busted!

Adam came home from church on Sunday with a couple of pictures. One that was titled "blessed are the peacemakers" and the picture that he had below was our family. The other hand out that he had was a frowny face that you could turn upside down and make a smile face. he showed me the face and sang the song "turn that frown upside down."

I asked him about his pictures and as he explained to me I thought this would make a great lesson. We found Matt 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God." I marked the scripture with one of his bakugan cards.

We took our oppertunity to have Family Home Eevening. Adam had the floor to teach us about peacemakers. I handed him the scripture to read, he went to reach for the distracting bakugan card and I seezed it. That made him a little upset but he let it pass.

During the lesson I gave Adam and Zachary examples of peacemaker/not peacemaker. So I would say "is biting being a peacemaker?" Everyone would respond "Noooo". "Is sharing toys being a peacemaker?" "Yessss." Then Adam took a turn at this little game. Starting off with some easy ones he said "Mom, is biting, kicking, hitting, being a peacemaker? Mom, is taking bakugan card being a peacemaker?"

It took me a second to relized what he had just devised. I was impressed with his cleverness. Definatly his father's son. I was busted. I smiled and gave him back his card. What a smart boy.

Dandelion Sweethearts

I have got the sweetest boys. I can't tell you how many bouquets of flower weeds that I've recieved this Spring. I've never loved dandylions and clover flowers this much in my life. I am often spoted with a bright yellow flower tucked behing my ear and wearing it with pride. Whenever we are out, weather it be at a park or just walking to the car Adam and Zach (following his footsteps) will stop to pick me a flower. It is the sweetest thing.

Adam knows that I like flowers and will often state while we are in the car, "Mom, you love flowers. Don't you?" If he finds himself in a tense moment with me he'll go outside and pick me the biggest dandelion that he can find and bring it back to me with a wide grin. I'll recieve his token of affection always the same. I exclaim how much I love it and how beautiful it is, and how good it makes me feel. I love watching his little spirit sore as I dote over his gift.

It is not only Adam that doesn this now it is also Zachary. He has been following his big borther's example and will bring me little plucked blossoms. This past Friday as we were hurring into Adam's schooling screening Adam took the time to pick me a flower (which at this time irritated me a little bit because we were in a hurry). Then Zachary felt inclinded to join in on the show of love and pick me a flower. As he was trying to catch up he tripped and scrapped both knees. Oh, I felt so bad for my little guy. He is such a sensitive sweet heart and I love that I get to recieve such sacrifices.

This past Saturday Adam was "playing" in his soccer game. He actually kicked the ball this time. As he was running up the field I saw him slow his pase and start looking at the grass. He bent down and plucked up a clover flower. He took the next few moments trying to find a way to stick in his clothes so that he could give it to me at a later time. He found me in the crowd, walked off the frield, and presented me with his flower. Who needs a soccer star when they have a sweetheart.

We're a little crazy

This last wekend we adventured to Niagara Falls. Our plans were to leave on Saturday early morning, do the falls, spend the night, on the return stop in at Palmyra, NY and return home. However, as life goes with kids our plans changed because Adam and Zachary got violently sick. It seems like whenever we go on vacation one of our boys gets REALLY sick. Last year Zachary ended up in the Hospital twice during our two week vacation. Anyway, we knew that Adam wasn't geeling well but he sait that he really wanted to go and see the big waterfall. So we went along with the plan. We got 30min into our 7hr drive and Zachary threw up. I wanted to turn around and go home and just do this trip another time. That was not going to fly with Adam. He protested to us turning around and that got Josh to make the decision to press forward. We got there, rode on the boat ride "Maid of the Mist". This ride takes you right up to the falls. It was awesome! After we acomplished that Adam was spent. He asked to go back to our roomand we got there just in time for him to toss his cookies. He had such a good attitude. Better than mine and I wasn't the one that was feeling gross. Adam wanted to go back out and so we did. Adam was exhausted and fell asleep in the stroller on our walk. We went to a restuarant that over looks the falls. We ate dinner sa we over looked the falls. It was incredible. Best view I've ever had while eating.

I was areally impressed with Adam and his will to not let anything get in his way of having a good time and seeing the falls. If he gets an idea in his head there is lettle that can stop him. Trying to hone that strength had been challenging but Adam has strong desires to be good.