Family Vacation Summer 2007

June 29-July 6, 2007---Anna Catherine has been asking to go camping for a couple of months so we decided to honor her request and take an eight day family camping trip. However, we camped the only way I am willing to camp: cabin, electricity, running water, indoor restroom, full kitchen, television, etc. On Friday, June 29 we essentially packed up the entire house and left Pontotoc for the Crown Pointe Resort in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. Horseshoe Bend is located in the north central part of the state. It was a four and a half hour trip which drove both the kids and me nuts. We hate being stuck in a car for more than two hours. By then our DVD movie is over and we need to get out and stretch our legs. It was actually a very peaceful and relaxing vacation. Since Chloe can't be in the sun, she and I rarely left the cabin. I took my scrapbooking supplies and was able to get a lot of pages completed. We had packed Chloe's swing, play mat, bouncie seat, and lots of toys so she had things to occupy her time. She enjoys being outside so we would put her swing on the front porch and let her enjoy the outdoors in the shade for an hour or two every day. Rick took Anna Catherine and Jackson to the beach (yes, there was a beach area in BFE, Arkansas), the indoor pool, outdoor pool, and canoeing in the lake. The kids had SO much fun paddling the canoe. Rick's mom and brother came in late Monday night and stayed in the cabin next to us. The kids enjoyed being spoiled by Mimi and wrestling with Uncle Cliff. We spent the rest of the week just lounging, grilling out, and being bums. We did a pontoon boat tour of the lake one day and that was nice. It really makes you want to own a lake house. We spent the day of the Fourth of July in the Mountain View area of Arkansas (about an hour south of Horseshoe Bend). That morning we went to Blanchard Springs Caverns. Rick and Cliff went on the "Wild Cave Tour" in which they climbed over and through rocks, slid, and crawled through developed and undeveloped areas of the caves. It was a four hour event, and they were very tired, muddy, sweaty, and stinky afterwards. The rest of us went on the one hour "Dripstone Trail Tour" which was supposed to be handicap and stroller friendly. It wasn't easy getting the stroller up and down the extremely steep inclines and slopes, tight curves, and narrow passageways, so you would have to be very talented to maneuver a wheelchair through it. Mimi, the kids, and I went to the Ozark Folk Center to pass the time until the guys finished their adventure. The caves were amazing. We would like to go back when the kids are older so we can do one of the more advanced tours. That evening we went to the fireworks show at the Turkey Creek Golf Course in Horeshoe Bend. The fireworks were very loud but pretty. Jackson had me laughing so hard I was crying because with every explosion his eyes would get very big and he would say, "Oh my gosh, that was a big boom! A really, really, big boom! A blue one. A green one. On my gosh!". We left on Friday, July 6 and headed back home. After unloading the van, unpacking at least a dozen suitcases/bags, and doing a zillion loads of laundry, we have recouperated from our trip. It was a lot of fun and we are looking forward to our next vacation in November for a week long Thanksgiving ski trip to Pagosa Springs, Colorado (and Rick thinks he can keep us cooped up in the car for a 20 hour drive --straight through only stopping for gas, food, and restroom breaks--HAHA!!!).