Little Rock Family Vacation

At the end of July we wanted to take a little family vacation.  We chose Little Rock because it's far enough away to feel like a "trip" but not too far to go for just a few days.  We chose several kid-friendly activities to pack into a three-day trip.  Avery is still not a great car traveler, but the boys were all happy to watch DVDs and have snacks the whole way.  Since Avery is almost three, I feel hopeful that in the next few years, traveling with the kids may be a little more relaxing. A light at the end of the tunnel!!

Day One was the five-hour drive, checking in to the hotel (which Avery called the temple the whole time), and then we went to a little Mexican restaurant for dinner. 

Hudson basically ate an entire basket of chips and salsa by himself.  It's one of his favorites!

Then we went to see Inside Out. There was no need to rush, as we were the only ones in the theater! The kids thought that was pretty great.  

Avery spent most of her time at the "temple" calling Manny from the room phone.  {Unplugging the phones is the first thing we do when we check into hotels these days.}

Day Two  Jamie took the boys on a hike at a nearby state park in the morning.  The little ones and I opted to stay at the hotel and swim. You can see my priorities =)

The hotel pool wasn't ideal for little ones.  There were no steps (other than the metal ladder), and the most shallow part was up to their chins.  So they spent a lot of their time playing with toys on the pool deck, including this ice bucket we found in the bar area!

After swimming and lunch, we headed downtown to the Museum of Discovery. It is full of hands-on exhibits, demonstrations, and imaginative play areas.  Definitely fun for all ages!

These wind tunnels were a favorite of all the kids:

Scarf Wind Tunnels from ashley walker on Vimeo.

This particular exhibit was full of brain-teaser puzzles and challenges.  Some of them were too challenging for the kids, but Jamie and I could have stayed all day trying to solve them!

During a demonstration of solids and gasses, and boiling points and freezing points of various types of matter, Boston volunteered to eat a cheeto dipped in freezing liquid nitrogen!

Liquid Nitrogen Cheeto from ashley walker on Vimeo.

The last thing on the agenda for Day Two was an Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball game.  Except for the suffocating humidity, we had a great time! The kids all brought their gloves and had high hopes of catching a foul ball.

(Avery had just been woken up from a cat nap in the car, so she was not in the mood yet)

Let's just talk about how things turned ugly towards the end.  Everyone was really in the baseball spirit for about half the game.  When the kids started to get antsy, I decided to take them for a walk to the other side of the park where we'd heard the Little Rock Zoo had a booth with some animals.  

Sadly, the animals were gone already, and the excursion had taken us perilously close to the Kid Zone full of bounce houses and arcade games.  After spending the amount we had on tickets and over-priced ballpark food, I told the kids I didn't really want to spend another $20 for them to play in the Kid Zone while Dad watched the game on the other side of the park.  The kind lady at the entrance witnessed all this, called me over and said, "Honey, I stop charging after the top of the 7th inning, so bring them back and they can go in for free." Score! 

We walked back to our seats with the promise of returning after a few more innings. During the 7th inning stretch, we made the trek from our seats on the 3rd base line over to right field. Just as we walked up, all the lights in the Kid Zone went off and we could see the silhouettes of the bounce houses deflating against the city skyline behind it. Apparently it closes after the bottom of the 7th inning.  What the what?! Minor league baseball innings last about 5 minutes! I wish the ticket-taker would have mentioned that.  Basically it was only free for half an inning. But in her defense, there was a huge sign stating the closing time that I hadn't noticed before. 

I cannot explain the mayhem that ensued.  It was already about 9pm, well after a reasonable bedtime for a long fun-filled day.  We were all sweaty, exhausted, and disappointed.  Avery and Hudson immediately burst into tears.  Mercifully, Cade did not throw a fit, but he did pout about it the rest of the night.  Boston handled it well, as I recall. Not knowing whether to cry or laugh at the disastrous situation, I called Jamie, told him to grab the bags and meet me at the entrance; we were calling it a night. All eyes were on my sorry crew as we made our way out.  They could probably hear the bawling from the parking lot. 

Jamie saved the night by snagging some cotton candy from a vendor on his way to meet us, so the tears were soon dried, and we were able to get everyone bathed and slipped into bed without any more mention of the Kid Zone Disaster!

Day Three was our last day. We checked out of the hotel and headed to the Little Rock Zoo for one last outing. 

Fortunately, we had the zoo almost entirely to ourselves.  Not too many other people wanted to brave the scorching heat, apparently!

This little one had a great time, as she was wheeled around in a wagon all day by her Daddy!

A few hours of walking around in the 100 degree heat is all we could manage before we hit up the gift shop for some souvenirs and then headed home!

October Happenings: Mississippi

At the beginning of October we took a road trip to Natchez, Mississippi for my cousin Julie's wedding. We had been looking forward to this trip for several months.  Almost the entire Lightsey family was there, so we got to see grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins galore.  Such a fun trip!

We caravanned with my parents and brothers and sister.  So when we made a stop, which happened every few hours with 16 people, we made quite a scene.

Breakfast pit stop 

The kids really did well on this trip.  Minimal whining and crying. They really enjoyed the stops, though!

This mini rocking chair at a gas station/restaurant was just their size!

Natchez is a beautiful little town on the Mississippi River, rich with American and Civil War history.  Jamie and the boys enjoyed a picturesque run!

Our hotel overlooked the river. We spent a lot of our free time across the road from the hotel, where the kids could climb trees, lay in the grass, play tag, and try to get in the fountain before any grown ups caught them!

This town is full of these breath-taking old plantation homes.  We toured this mansion, Rosalie, and even the kids enjoyed learning about the history and seeing the many original items still in the home. 

Julie and Bryant's wedding definitely showcased their love of small towns and rich history.  The location of the ceremony was kept secret until the day of the wedding, when we were led by police escort to this little chapel: quite literally in the middle of nowhere.  We traveled out of the town, turned onto a little country road and then continued onto a dirt road when the pavement ended.  Then we came to a clearing where stood this beautiful old church. 

I didn't get many pictures from the reception, but it was as beautiful and intimate as the wedding.  They had kids tables set up with books and activities to keep them entertained during the party and take home as keep-sakes.  We had a great time visiting with cousins I don't see very often. 

And obviously, Sister enjoyed herself thoroughly. 

Houston/Galveston Vacay

Earlier this week we took a short family vacation to Houston and Galveston.  It was a quick trip, but such a memorable one!

We stayed with our friends, the Warner's, at their new home north of Houston.  Lauren and Jamie used to work together.  Then when Lauren quit work to stay home with her kids full time,  we started getting together and quickly became close friends.  She's just one of those people that I feel comfortable having over when I haven't showered, my house is a mess, and the kids are eating goldfish and fruit snacks for lunch.  She's just genuine and relaxed, and we share so many of the same beliefs, values, and goals for our children.  

Matt and Lauren have four adorable kiddos that are close in age to ours.  Just the opposite of us, though--three girls and a boy.  As soon as we arrived on Sunday, we picked up right where we left off when they moved away last year.  

Another of Jamie and Lauren's coworkers, Kevin, happened to be in town the same day so they joined the party in the afternoon.

Monday we got up and took a day trip to Galveston, an hour and a half away.  We had heard that the seaweed was especially bad this year, so we followed the advice we heard to bring a rake to clear a path.  But we were not prepared for how bad it actually was! 

Jamie tried to shovel through it, but it was useless.  There was just too much of it! After a quick google search, we learned that it's sargassum that washes up on the gulf coast every year.  This year because back to back cold fronts kept the seaweed out to sea longer than usual, it was able to flourish and grow much more than usual.   

The kids were disappointed; this was their first beach experience.  Jamie and the boys did decide to climb over it to get to the water and try out their boogie-board.  

But it was just so thick in the water, it wrapped around their legs and grossed them out too much.  After they got over the disappointment, we decided to just stick to the sand.  Jamie introduced them to the fun of being buried in the sand, which was a big hit!

We brought a pop up canopy, which was a life-saver when we needed some shelter from the sun.  The younger ones and I spent some time sitting and eating (of course) in the shade.  

 We also enjoyed going for a stroll along the beach looking for shells and other treasures.  Hudson's favorite find was a pile of sand toys! It took some serious convincing to leave them there for their owners.  

After we were all dirty and sandy and wind-blown from being on the beach for a few hours, we packed up and went for a ride on the Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry.  There was a nice breeze, and we saw several dolphins! 

We ended our long day with dinner at a local restaurant.  I ordered seafood (when in Rome...) and even tried fried oysters just to see if I like them. Turns out, I do not! 

After a long fun day full of sand and sun, we headed back to our friends' house.  I have never been so happy to be clean! The kids enjoyed some serious play time on the futons...

...and then crashed!

Somehow I didn't get any pictures of our last day there! It was Hudson's birthday, so we went to a splash pad and then out to lunch at a fun casual Mexican restaurant.  Lauren and I had a conversation about how eating out is not what it used to be.  Going out with all your kids, especially the tired/hungry/prone-to-melt-down variety, is often like paying people to have a stressful experience! We had a good time, but eating out with eight children is always a lot of work!

We said goodbye to our friends Tuesday evening and drove home.  It was a long drive, with some bad weather and cranky kids (just Avery actually). But we made it.  We easily could have spent the whole week there. The Warners were so hospitable and welcoming, and it was nice just to be away from our usual responsibilities and routine!