A Weekend in "The Natural State"

Another weekend, another trip! We just got home today from our long-awaited visit with family up in northwest Arkansas. My cousin Meryl (she goes by Alain) recently married a great guy, Brian, and held some small receptions for the convenience of her friends and family. She had one in Oklahoma City, where they live, a few weeks ago, and this one was in Eureka Springs, where she was born and where some of our family live.

We left early on Friday, and I was anxious about driving the 7-8 hours with my irascible 10-month-old. Solution(s)? Her very own DVD player with Baby Einstein selections, a new mirror that plays music and a light show, TONS of toys, and new cups that hold her little treats like her puffs and allow her to reach her hand in without spilling them. Well, in theory. Audrey and Noah both did really well (he also had a DVD player, plus his LeapPad and plenty of other entertainment... there's no shame in preparedness!), but we did discover that she would much rather scoop and crush her treats out of the new cup than simply eat them. You should have seen her car seat! Anyway, we arrived in Eureka Springs at 5:00 and met up with Uncle Dan, a.k.a "Tuna," and Uncle Butch for dinner at Sparky's. Delish! Afterwards, Tuna took us to a neat little park tucked away in the hills, and Noah played until he was drenched in sweat. (It doesn't take much, if you know Noah.) My parents got in pretty late, but the kids were still up. Side note: does anyone have a solution to putting kids to bed when sharing a hotel room with them, aside from all going to sleep at 8 p.m.? Anyway, that's when I learned that my parents were getting a cheaper rate than us, even though I had booked my room earlier AND talked to the manager about getting the best rate... this was only the first issue...

Saturday's reception wasn't until noon, so we piled into Mom's car for a scenic drive to Onyx Cave, to which only I had ever been before. We followed Google Maps, which took us a back way... and it seriously seemed like we were driving on a tiny road in the middle of nowhere for 20 minutes. We passed the turn and had to pull over at a little airplane museum (I know! But it was unfortunately overpriced) and ask for directions. We headed back, retracing the last mile of our drive, only to pass probably FOUR huge signs for Onyx Cave! Those museum people probably thought we were nuts. We found our way to Onyx Cave and Dad instructed us to step aside as he "negotiated a group rate." The man told him, "Yeah, we do group discounts, but I didn't see you show up on a Greyhound!" Nice try, Dad. I think it's probably been twenty years since my Aunt Jan-Jan took me, Diana and my cousin Evan to Onyx Cave, but I'm willing to bet that nothing about the tour has changed! Full disclosure: I'm basing that guess on the line at the end of the audio tour, stating to "take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but flash cubes in the trash can." ?!? I seriously just googled, "What is a flash cube?" 

Noah at the entrance, before a steep, slippery walk down to... the actual entrance...

Chris and Audrey--throwback headphone tour!

Looking at some of the tiny formations

This looked like a giant elephant holding up the cave ceiling!

Meryl and Brian's reception was lots of fun--they had a great turnout, and most of my family from Branson and Eureka Springs attended. The food was TO DIE FOR (props to Aunt Lynn, Aunt Jennifer and everyone who worked so hard on it) and the weather was cool but pretty. Noah and Bryden enjoyed catching up, and baby Jackson, who's not such a baby anymore, entertained everyone!

Meryl, my oldest cousin, with Chris and Audrey

Audrey fell asleep like this. I can't believe it, either.

This was the first time Grandma met Audrey

Jackson Townes (20 mos.), the son of my cousin Ally and her husband Drew

I rarely get to hold my sleeping baby

Audrey LOVES walking (with help)

Bryden (3-1/2) and Noah (4-1/2)
Second cousins

Some of the siblings: Mom, Aunt Lynn (#1), Dad (#4), Aunt Jennifer (#9), Uncle Dan "Tuna" (#7), and Aunt Jan-Jan (#8)

The cousins at the party: Chris & me, Carolyn & Daniel (Jennifer's son), Brian & Meryl (Lynn's daughter), Ally (Jennifer's daughter) & Drew

The second cousins: Noah & Audrey, Jackson (son of Drew & Ally) and Bryden (son of Evan & Jenn; grandson of Janet). Missing second cousins: Gabriel & Zurielle, and cousin-on-the-way Kate!

Roly-polies

The newlyweds!

After the party, we made the drive out to Grandma's place for relaxation and more catching up. The day warmed up a little, and Grandma's flowers were prettier than ever, so we spent most of the afternoon outside. The kids and some adults went down to the pasture to hit golf balls, and Noah and Bryden especially enjoyed more play time!

Sisters-in-law Ally and Carolyn at Grandma's house

The big pond by the house--it was so still and serene!

An impromptu containment device

When we returned to our hotel, Noah used the restroom... and proceeded to clog the toilet with too much toilet paper. Chris was quite frustrated, and retrieved a plunger from the front desk. He worked on that toilet for 45 minutes, I kid you not. He actually wore a blister on his hand from plunging. (Some people are so stubborn, they don't admit defeat.) Finally, I got him to go to bed and we could report it in the morning, since the toilet would do a very slow flush and not actually overflow... but there was no way it would handle toilet paper or anything else. 

In the morning, I reported the toilet issue to the lady at the front desk. She was, well, a bit odd and hard to read, but she told me they were having problems with the main line, apparently. I asked her if they would get a plumber out and she looked at me like I was from Mars and said, "It's Sunday." Um, I know, but you are a hotel. I'm sure there's a plumber out there willing to charge you a premium weekend rate... anyway, I told her I thought ours was clogged in addition to the main line problem, but she didn't really listen... more on that later. We attended worship at Berryville Church of Christ, which is on the way from Eureka Springs to Grandma's. We then picked up some KFC to take for lunch, and I was on the phone with Grandma. She was concerned about whether we'd have enough dessert, and then she said, "Oh well, I won't eat any. I really hardly ever eat dessert." That was, like, the funniest thing I heard all weekend, because I had just watched her eat two pieces of cake the night before, and Grandgeorge says she doesn't hesitate to eat ice cream for breakfast! We spent some time with Grandma and Grandgeorge, hiking around the property a little, and then Aunt Lynn and Uncle Butch arrived. They wanted to take us out to Buffalo River in Ponca, Arkansas, to see the elk. We drove for quite a while and stopped to see a trumpeter swan, but never could find the elk. 

Trumpeter swan

Still, we walked along the Buffalo River and hiked a short distance up to a historic log cabin. I was really enjoying the cool weather, in June! It was in the 60s at best on Sunday.

Aunt Lynn with Audrey

Noah poses by the outhouse

We drove back to Eureka Springs in time to meet Uncle Tuna for a yummy Italian dinner at Cafe Amore. Then, as the sun was setting, we entertained ourselves at the brand new music park in Eureka Springs, where you could play on a giant marimba or run along a jungle gym of chimes, to name a few of the features! 

We returned to our hotel, only to find that our room had not been cleaned, our toilet hadn't been fixed, and when the main sewer line was repaired (guess they found a plumber), apparently some of it had backed up into the tub. Awesome. Luckily, a very nice lady was at the front desk, and she was very apologetic and got us moved into a new room with a working toilet, of all things! As Chris and I packed everything up, Noah and Audrey were with Mom and Dad in their room. We got settled in and the kids came back to get ready for bed. Chris was in the bathroom and I stripped Noah down to check for ticks (gross, but we found them on all of us but Audrey. It's that time of the year in the Ozarks). When he was totally naked, Noah suddenly and desperately had to tee-tee. I considered: get him dressed again and walk him to Mom & Dad's room, hoping for no accidents, or have him knock on the bathroom door and tell Daddy? I should also mention that I was nursing Audrey. Well, I had him knock on the door. Chris was so mad because he had FINALLY gotten a working toilet... well, I won't go into detail, but he was so irritated that he had to let Noah go... and next thing you know, Noah decided he also had to sit and have some man time in the bathroom! Chris was making me laugh so hard with his antics, but hey--he should have checked to see if anyone else needed the bathroom first! So funny. 

We slept later this morning than EVER (8:00 for Audrey and me! Wow!) and hit the road at 9:30. Between bathroom, nursing, and eating stops, we didn't get home until 6:00. In the car, as Audrey watched Baby Einstein, she would occasionally bark at the TV (really. She barks.) and we would turn around, and sure enough, there would be a puppy trotting across the screen. The child won't do sign language or say "Mama," but she barks like a champ anytime she sees a dog! I'll have to get a video soon. Enjoy the pictures!