Weekend In Review + Start To The Week

This past week we were pretty much stuck at the house because Ava Jane was running 101 fever from Sunday to Wednesday and had broken out in a rash all over her body. By Wednesday morning I decided it was time to go see the doctor and thankfully I did because it turned out she was Strep positive, which had caused the Scarlet Fever, and a wound behind her ear that was either Strep Impetigo or a Staph Infection so she was immediately put on an antibiotic and we waited to hear the results of the culture. Needless to say, by Friday, the kids and I were all quite sick of being house bound so when my Dad called to see if we'd want to go to the Mid America Science Museum for the afternoon, I was more than willing to make the drive, anything to get out of the house!!

Mom and Dad picked the big boys up and headed to Hot Springs a little bit earlier so that the littles could rest and I could pick Adam up after a meeting at the hospital. The kids had such a great time running around trying out all the exhibits.



Being that its a kids museum it was so nice of them to make sure we knew where the "pinch point" was.



There was this 200 lb Anaconda that they have set out for you to try and lift. All the boys got in on this action.





This huge catfish was strung up and had an opening in its belly where the kids could pull items out that the fish had eaten. That was a pretty interesting exhibit. Who knew these bottom dwellers ate bones and even shoes?




There was a self-hoist pulley system, that took quite a bit of muscle. Laws needed a little help but Peyton was able to do most of it on his own.



Emerson and I told secrets from across the room in the "Whisper Dish".


Even Ava Jane got in on the action. She loved the graffiti wall but particularly the tinker toy area.





The kids enjoyed making shadows with Daddy while G-Dad had fun making some music with the pipes.



I will give you fair warning, there is a Tesla Theatre where they show how lightening and voltage work. Well, its tremendously loud and Emerson more then flipped out so we had to leave, it was SO loud and rightfully so, there was 1.5 million volts of electricity flowing thru the cage, YIKES!



I was so glad for the chance to get out of the house to see some new scenery and oh so thankful that Ava Jane was feeling much better!


On Saturday, our D-group from church gathered at the splash pad for some water fun. It was our first time this summer. And as you can see the kids had a blast!!




We enjoyed some hotdogs, burgers and the fixings.


The cookies and brownies were quite a hit with these two, I think between them they inhaled about 8 or 9.


Yesterday we enjoyed some pool time with friends and today we paid a visit to our local library for story time, book gathering and of course, a DVD rental. Can't go to the library without getting a DVD, right? They were hoping for Swiss Family Robinson again but all the copies were checked out so they decided on Milo and Otis. Lawson asked to take his picture with the robot then all the boys wanted in on the pic.


We got there in (unplanned) time for story time which had a farm theme going on. They listened pretty well to all the stories but getting to go pick out a puppet to hold was by far the best part for them.




After the library we ran a few errands which included the grocery store. When Lawson saw this cardboard cut out, he said very enthusiastically, "Hey Mom, can I get my picture made with him?" I said "sure, why not?!" He's not always the most cooperative of our children while taking pictures, but as of late he's become extremely interested in both taking pictures with his own camera as well as me taking pictures of him in certain places or with specific people. I feel like I should encourage his willingness in any way I can so, there we were on the yogurt aisle just posing with Brad.


It was a fun weekend and we've had a good start to the week. I'm very much enjoying time with my kiddos, I can hardly believe the summer is halfway over.

CFA- Cow Appreciation Day

One of our most favorite places to eat is Chick-fil-A, it's always good food and totally kid friendly, which in this stage of life, is greatly appreciated! Some of our good friends are the owner/operator of one here in town so I took the opportunity to get in on the hype this year. Some how, some way, something's always come up where we've not been able to attend one of these most fabulous days! Who doesn't want to dress up like a cow and get free food?

I didn't go over the top, just did some white t-shirts with black felt spots sewn on, had cow ears on headbands for the kids and signs around our necks. There was some whining due to the twine itching their necks and the headbands squeezing their heads. "C'mon kids, who wants free chicken?" Finally, they all bucked up and got in the car so we could get to the restaurant before the lunch rush.

We enjoyed eating with friends, waving to the cow and getting some ice-cream. We'll have to make Cow Appreciation Day an annual tradition! It's the little things in life…food, friends and chicken.

July 4th - Lake Trip

Well I had 5 days to "recover" from my China jet lag when I got to throw clothes and food and lake items together for a spontaneous trip to the lake but it was right up our ally! Lake Ouachita is one of my very favorite "happy places"…it never disappoints! We enjoyed our late night cruise on the water, it is beautiful there!


Emerson had a big time on the tube. He was quite hesitant and on the verge of jumping off of it as the boat started to pull him, but he finally settled in and actually enjoyed it immensely. There were four sweet kiddos who had a blast riding around on the water. How cute are all those little feet?



Being on the water is always a treat.




This little guy got up on the first try and because of his courage to try, ALL the kiddos finally got out there. Way to go Peyton!





We had fun hanging out. I thought this sequence of pictures of Pascha wearing Whitney's hat was pretty cute!




Where there are people, there must be food…and we had quite the spread. You'd have thought we were planning to stay a week rather then just for the day.




Ava Jane kept herself quite busy with the bottled waters and eating ice out of the ice chest.



Even Lucy enjoyed herself. Anywhere she can find a place to snuggle, she goes for it. When Emerson finally conked out on the boat, Lucy found a real cozy place to take a nappie poozie.



Adam got some pretty good air; Gigi's still got it; and I almost held the rope with my foot, unfortunately it slipped off.






There were some s'mores eaten and sparklers that were enjoyed thanks to Aunt Whitney and Uncle Rob. And the kids really enjoyed dancing in the moon light with their glow sticks on.




We had a fun 4th! Happy Birthday America! Can't wait for our next lake trip in a few weeks.