We embarked on the longest road trip yet with our two youngin’s in tow over the weekend. We went to visit our family – my grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousins – who now live in the Ozark Mountains in Northwest Arkansas. While I felt a bit on edge here and there with the upkeep and nervousness of being on the road with a 4 and 6-year-old, it went really well, and we had so much fun. The kids did exceptionally well in the car. Sophie was PERFECT. She colored, drew, watched TV, and stayed quiet the entire time. There literally may have been two times when she annoyed Bryce in the entire 3 days. Whereas, being 4 and male must require you to annoy, irritate, and whine at least 3 times an hour or you’re kicked out of the club. All kidding aside, he did really well, but had a few moments of being absolutely done with being in the van and on the road. However, I have to say that seeing they got several hours less of sleep every night in a different bed, meals on the road, tons of junk food and soda, and just the pure physical exhaustion of going, going, going; he did EXCELLENT. It was only in the last half hour before we got home that he finally began to break down. I can’t blame him, though. Even Chris and I had our moments of fussiness, as embarrassing as that is in front of our patient family members, but we all settled and had such a fun, fun time. I truly think the only one that didn’t stress out at all from traveling and lack of sleep was Sophie. The kid is resilient!
So the drive up was with my mom, our cousin TJ (“Uncle TJ”), and us in our rented brand new Dodge Caravan (LOVE!!). I have a new love for stow-n-go, I think. Our family members chipped in to help us out with the cost of the van and gas costs, for which I’m really thankful. They really went out of their way to make our visit happen, and we’re really blessed for that. The drive up was great. It was really fun for the kids to see the landscape change from flat to foothills to much higher mountains.
Our family has a really great piece of land on the side of a mountain right across from a really beautiful state park. Sophie said that Aunt Patty and Uncle Lee’s house was made of Lincoln Logs, haha!
We went to their house and got a nice walk-through of their homes (beautiful!) and then left and went across to the State Park where the kids played and had a great time. Such a beautiful setting to have playgrounds and picnic areas in!!
After we left, we went to Cracker Barrel and then headed to the hotel. We had an early morning ahead of us!!
Bright and early just after 4am (yes, not a typo), we got up and got ready for our 2nd road trip – to Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri!.
It was still dark out, and the kids got a kick out of that. Our group of 3 vehicles maneuvered through the twisty turns of our 3-hour-ish road trip to Branson. We made a quick stop at Starbucks and were on our way. The mountains were foggy and just beautiful. The rising sun came across the mountains with the white misty fog hanging in the valleys. Picturesque!
We saw lots of fun things like the little calf running amuck with his tail straight up in the air – frolicking around his mother and brothers and sisters… They all looked so sweet and happy out there in the pastures on the mountainside.
I’ll have to admit that the turns of the mountain streets got to most of us. Sophie threw up, I was incredibly car sick, and Bryce had his moments of groaning. The Dramamine didn’t do too much for us that morning, but once we got to our destination, all was well!
Sophie really, really surprised me. The kid got on a ride that scared even her daddy away!! Many people couldn’t believe that she not only rode it, but HAD FUN!
My sweet family was so patient – Chris and the kids – for allowing those of us who really wanted to ride the big rides to do just that. It wasn’t really too crowded at first, so some of those popular rides had relatively short wait times. I haven’t ridden true roller coasters in years, and I had SO MUCH FUN! Chris told me I was crazy several times, haha! The two best “big” ones there were called “Wildfire” and “Powder Keg.” I’d seen the loopity loops of Wildfire, so I knew what to expect. However, when I stood in line for Powder Keg, I had NO IDEA what was coming. I just went on the faith that my cousins said it was awesome. IT WAS SO DOGGONE FUN!!!! We rode Wildfire twice – once in the very front (which was the best for the drops) and then once in the middle (which got to my stomach more). We waited longer for front row seats for Powder Keg, too, which made all the difference. The takeoff was soooooo fun fun fun!!!!!
My mom rode the “tea cups” with the kids, and other family members shared some of the other rides with the kiddos, too.
Chris rode one non-water ride with the kids, which was the big Viking ship, and that was enough for him. He was done after that, except for the log ride. He has a weak stomach and no “fear-seeking” gene. He basically comes off of those rides and says, “Why did I do that?” rather than the hootin’ and hollerin’ that I do. Hahaha!
TJ, Chris, me, and the kids rode the log ride. We put TJ in the front thinking he would block some water or something… What he actually did was make the front really heavy (think football player), so the water went OVER him, mostly over me, and SOAKED Chris!!!! The ONE water ride he rides, and the boy was soaking wet. It was pretty darn funny!!!!
We really wanted to ride one of the other water rides, but we ran out of time. We could’ve easily spent another 3 or 4 hours there before riding all that we wanted to. Unfortunately, they close at 6pm.
When we left the park, we went to the hotel where we all had adjoining rooms. The kids had a BLAST playing with Kendall, my cousin’s baby girl. She’s almost 2, and she was having a good ol’ time running with her two older cousins. She did so well considering she was going on less sleep and lots and lots of running, too. I don’t think I ever heard her really cry the entire time we were there! The 3 kids ran from room to room to room playing and goofing off with everyone. The hotel had late-night dessert as part of their complimentary services, so at 9pm, we all went downstairs for cobbler, cookies, and ice cream! After our treats, we all went back upstairs and went to bed.
The hotel had a nice hot breakfast, so some of us stayed and ate, while others went out for a quick bite. With a late check-out of 1pm, we got to sleep in and take our time.
We all checked out and headed on our way to check out Branson. We went to see the horse stables at the Dixie Stampede (although we didn’t watch the show). We were also going to see the mall, but there was a run/festival thing going on, so it was so busy that there were literally NO parking places left anywhere.
We changed our minds and eventually just went to have lunch (Mexican!) before saying goodbye to our family. It was a really good lunch, too. It was nice to sit with everyone before we headed back home.
After getting our bellies full, we hugged everyone and said our “I love you’s” and left.
The drive from Branson to our home was 6 hours – not including time to stop and eat or pee…
It was between 8:30pm and 9pm before we finally pulled into our drive. My mom rode with us and got some naps in, while the kids did art projects and watched the DVD player the entire way. Sophie was quite carsick on the way back, as was Bryce, but I gave the Dramamine another chance. This time it worked, and both kids made it home without barfing, thank goodness!!
As I mentioned earlier, the only time Bryce finally melted down was just before we got home. Almost 7 hours in a car will do that to a 4-year-old, I guess, especially if he’s never done it before. He was soooo exhausted. He was still teary and crying as I rubbed his back lying next to him in his bed. However, he woke up this morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and has been going nonstop ever since. In fact, he just rolled a dump truck past my feet with the little doggy he got from Silver Dollar City riding in back. (Their Grammy gave Chris a credit card to buy them souvenirs – Bryce got a little black and white dog, while Sophie got a white squirrel – they were so tickled to pick something out!)
I guess that brings us to today – we’ve been up and at ‘em with cleaning and unpacking and getting ready for the “back to normal” aspects of life.
I love vacations – and road trips even more. I wish we could afford to do it more!!!
While Arkansas isn’t the destination we hope to one day call home, being there and being surrounded by mountains, lakes, and the beauty of the atmosphere made me a little sad to be returning to the ‘burbs outside of Memphis. I love my little house and where I live, but I think I’ve truly allowed living in this general area all of my life to “run its course,” and I’m more than ready to uproot these babies of mine and replant them in Oregon. They deserve to call such beauty home – the mountains, the ocean, forests... Until then, we’ll just patiently wait until the day we make it happen… one day at a time!
G'bye Memphis!!
Guess what having Sirius meant??? SIRIUS TUNAGE!!!!! Are you kiddin'? Hair metal and Elvis 24/7? "Heaven isn't too far awaaaaay!!!"
Leaving the flatlands of Tennessee and Miss'ippi!
The van's innards...
No, that wouldn't be a place for extra large adults...
Nic's snack of choice...
When Southern folks get bored, well...
This behemoth thing is a nuclear power plant tower. Yes, as in Homer Simpson's place of employment... it's HUGE and scary.
Aunt Patty and Uncle Lee's house! Sophie swears it's made of Lincoln Logs!
Just behind my aunt and uncle's place is my grandmother's cute little modular home. It's so cute and perfect just for her, complete with a screened-in porch!!
They had such a nice, homey little cabin in the woods. :D
Momma and Christin (my cousin)
Aunt Patty and Christin's little girl, Kendall (Kendall Bug!)
Sophie and her great-grandmother
Bryce and his long-legged friend!!
The kids, a lake, and 2 very orange "Orange Crush" moustaches... Matches the hair well, doesn't it?
How would you like to have THAT playground just around the corner? If you turned the other way, you'd see a huge lake with mountains behind it.
Poppa (Uncle Lee) and Kendall
My sweet boy havin' fun!!
Sophie and Lee had a fun time exchanging secrets through the horn...
Christin and Chris
Patty and her grandbaby havin' fun, too...
Me and Chris
Memaw and her great-grandbabies looking for butterflies...
Four generations!!!
Where's Pee-Wee Herman???
Look close - that says 6:43am. We'd been on the road at that point for an hour! Sunrise!!!
Patty and Lee needed a pumpkin spice latte, haha!
Chris' breakfast of choice for the ride...
Pretty sunrise, but unfortunately with a row of chicken houses (probably owned by Tyson). If you are ever curious, just watch the documentary "Food, Inc." to find out more about them. Ew!!!! They're EVERYWHERE along the countryside in Arkansas.
Yay!!! We're here!!!!
They had SUCH beautiful fall decorations all throughout the park!!!
Sophie gets pinned with a badge!
Lost of craftspeople like blacksmiths, woodcarvers, glassblowers, etc...
The gang...
Most of us on the swings, our first ride. That would be my grandmother there in the front...
Mid-air - you can sort of see me (blue T-shirt) with Bryce and few others...
I canNOT believe Sophie rode this ride!!!!!!!!
Momma and the kids in the teacups! Unfortunately, my belly won't handle these!!!
Lunch break!!!!
On Wildfire - Aaauuugghhhh!!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Look at TJ!!!
No pictures from PowderKeg, but here's a video:
You can't tell, but all three (especially Chris) are DRENCHED from the log/flume ride!!!!!
Me (post log ride drench) and Kendall
My sweet girl riding the train
Back at the hotel after baths - lots of laughs were had that evening thanks to silly Kendall!
Branson was HOKEY to the max, but fun to see!!!
Taking a peek at Dolly's horses at the Dixie Stampede's stalls
It's hard to see how HUGE these Belgian horses are, but they were MASSIVE creatures - and beautiful!
Isn't she sweet?
The best picture of my babies in a long time!
Going home!!!
Driving through mountains!!
What's funny is that we were turning around to go back and take pictures of what's next when we saw this, hahaha!!!
Turning in to take pictures, we passed this guy...
"Come on, kids! HAR HAR HAR GRRRRRR!!!!"
First I saw this... Funny since Chris always references having to poop with, "I got somethin' brewin'."
But then we saw the OTHER sign...
And he JUST HAD TO DO THIS!!!!!
This is the picture you get when you snap the picture of the "M-bridge" coming back into Memphis, get tired of waiting for the shutter to close, and then bob the camera around until it does, hahaha!"
THE END!!!!!!!
Looks like an awesome trip! Can I go live in your Aunt and Uncle's house? Looks like a slice of heaven! Seems you guys should road trip more!
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