2017 Arkansas Family Trip

We took a little family trip this summer!  Our first family trip of 5.  We waited until mid-August, when it was the best time for Keane to leave the farm, right before school started for the big kids.  Keane has been wanting a mountain vacation where he can fish in the streams for quite some time, and we were not willing to travel too long or far for the sake of Farrah, so we settled on the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas.  I searched long and hard and found a cabin right on the White River that was beautiful and serene.  We booked it for two nights and we stopped in Branson for one night on our way there.

I made itineraries for everyone (Farrah's had emojis for each thing listed), and we loaded up the vehicle with clothes, fishing gear, food, and a lot of extras, and we headed out early on Thursday morning.  A lot of rain and thunderstorms were in the forecast for this trip and about an hour into our trip it started to rain.  On our way, we stopped at the Wild Animal Safari Drive Thru Zoo!  We kept this a surprise from the kids until we pulled in.  We had to wait about 20 minutes for a break in the rain, but we saw all the animals we really wanted to see.  I went as a kid and we were able to feed the animals from our vehicles at that time, but now you could ride on a safari bus and feed them out your window, or you could drive your own car but without any food (which is what we did).  The animals, however, still came up to our vehicles which made for a lot of laughs!

After that, we stopped for lunch at Lambert's Cafe: home of the throwed rolls.  It was my first time eating there.  The food was similar to Cracker Barrel, but their rolls definitely were delicious.  We then made it to our hotel in Hollister, right outside of Branson, and I gave Farrah a much needed nap while Keane took the big kids to the hotel swimming pool.

We then got ready and headed to the Branson Landing to Buster's Old Time Photos - the one thing I had to do on our trip, and it was a blast.  Keane chose the era as the Wild West, the kids looked amazing in their attire, Farrah had fun playing dress-up, and the two girls working were amazing with her and made it a fun experience!  It was costly, but we purchased five 8x10 photos, plus a beautiful wooden frame with a mat.

After that, we met up with my old coworker, Debra, and her fiance, Tre', for dinner at Garfield's overlooking the water.  After dinner, it was too late to catch Electrify, the music and light show at the Ferris Wheel, so we headed back to our hotel room and chowed down on some Ben and Jerry's before bed.

The next morning we headed out to find the waterfall and old mill remains at Mirror Lake.  It was gorgeous, and if we ever go back, we will make sure to bring some hiking shoes and go on the trail that leads to the bottom of the waterfall.  We then made a trip to the lovely (dreaded) Wal-Mart and got our last minute supplies before driving down the long and winding path to our cabin!

 

The cabin was gorgeous inside and had such an amazing view.  A huge bluff was on the other side of the White River, practically in our backyard, and mountains were the view from our front yard.  It was peaceful and relaxing, and it was everything we had hoped for in a cabin.

 

Now, the fishing wasn't the best, unfortunately.  After some of Keane's research, it seems we were a little too far down on the river, and fishing is better up north where trout are released each year.  Plus, there was a lot of rain before our vacation, and after a lot of rain is not ideal fishing either.  We seriously had some answered prayers on the weather, though.  For a couple weeks before our trip, rain and thunderstorm chances were at 80% the whole weekend, and it didn't rain on us at all while we were there, except for on the trip down and a little on the trip home!

The boys went right to fishing, though, and caught some small bass.  Us girls played in the sand and put our toes in the very cold water.  We relaxed, enjoyed grilled burgers and brats, homemade sides, baked cookies, ran around the cabin that evening and watched a movie relaxing on some nice leather furniture.

Both kids had their own rooms, and Farrah slept part of the night in the pack-n-play, and woke up and ended up in our bed sometime through each night.

 

 

On Saturday, Keane decided him and Kaden would rent a boat for half a day to do some trout fishing.  Luckily, they each caught one so we were able to have some freshly cooked rainbow trout for supper, which was very delicate and delicious! 

 

 

While they fished, me and the girls went back to Blanchard Springs Cavern (where Mirror Lake is) to swim in the spring.  It was cold, but warm enough to get it, slowly, and the water was so clear!  We could see fish swimming at our feet.  We then went and ate at Angler's Restaurant and waited at a small beach until the boys returned.

 

That evening, Kylie and I fished at our cabin with the boys while Farrah napped and we both caught one of the small fish, too!  When Farrah woke up, we all played in the sand for quite some time, building castles and passageways and I buried Farrah in the sand. 

 

We stayed up late watching a movie.  There was a meteor shower that evening, but it was overcast and we were unable to see any stars.  There was a strange glow among the wooded mountains, however.  We think it was the moonshiners!  We packed up and left our cabin by 10:00am on Sunday, to head home.

We stopped and had lunch at a Sports Restaurant and Bar.  After saying a prayer at dinner at the cabin, and before we headed home, Farrah has been hooked on pray Jesus, so at the restaurant, she wanted us to pray before we ate.  We all held hands, bowed our heads, and prayed!  We stopped at two Red Boxes but were unable to find the movie the kids wanted (Boss Baby), refueled on gas, and then we stopped at a Kohl's to buy the kids back-to-school outfits.  We were merely 60 minutes from home, after being on the road for 707 miles on this trip, and Farrah finally and accidentally fell asleep!  It was a monumental moment for our family!  However, about 20 minutes later, Keane stopped at a grocery store to pick up some Swiss brats for supper, and this awoke the beast.

We were so happy to be home.  Rudy and Lenox left us snacks and other goodies purchased by my parents (they were on pet duty while we were gone).  It was definitely a nice welcome home, along with a cleaner house than we had left it.  Keane and I both agree that while vacations are nice and you need the get-away every now and then, what we enjoyed the most was coming home and appreciating what we have every day.  Keane and I spent time in our garden, Kaden went right to fishing, Kylie went right to the couch and caught up on her social media with Wi-Fi, and Farrah played fiercely with all her toys and baby dolls.  

Conversations with Farrah // Episode 2

 

My oh my, is Farrah growing and changing so much and so quickly.  She keeps us busy, that is for sure.  I have absolutely loved this stage since she's turned two.  She has finally stopped being anti-daddy and she will cuddle somewhat (usually when she's watching cartoons on the tablet).

She talks a lot, so much, and her vocabulary is so big.  She just recently switched from saying "help you" when she wanted help, to "help me."  This made me a little sad.  She has learned big words such as finished and delicious.  She will repeat what she is saying over and over until she is acknowledged, but you have to say exactly what she's trying to say or it will upset her.  

She was talking so much during one of Kylie's softball games, nonstop, asking for popsicles and jabbering about the girl in the way at the concession stand and the boy on the bike and wanting to play with rocks and asking for her drink and dropping Lambie and asking where Kylie was and on and on.  Eventually some people around us looked at us and I said I was sorry and they all laughed and said that's nothing to be sorry about.  One lady said her husband had said, "She's actually making me want a popsicle myself." 

She talks about how she drank milk from Mommy's boobies when she was a baby, a lot.  And she was asking about Daddy's nipples and I was trying to explain the difference to her.  I picked her up at daycare the other day and she pointed out my boobies and her teacher, Emily, said, "Yeah, she's been talking about boobies all day.  She's very talkative."

She never wants to sleep, but then she sleeps really great.  We had a set back on the night time sleep when we attempted the big girl bed, but more on that in another post.  

I keep jotting down notes I want to write about.  Before she turns 16 next week (seems like), I want to remember her at 2!  She loves playing hide and seek and she usually hides in the same spot over and over and she'll giggle while she's being searched for.  As she was searching for Kylie the other day, she noticed where Kylie was obviously hiding and instead of finding her, she said, "ummm, where are you?" just like we do when we are pretend looking for her!

She's starting to tell little fibs like she says she sees something before we even get close to it: I see it!  or she said Kaden hit her the other day when she wanted him to go to "time out," and that Nana and Papa's black cat bit me when it had only rubbed her leg lovingly. 

 

She likes watching Bubble Guppies and Roar and Mickey Mouse.  She has enjoyed some Blues Clues and Dora, and she has just discovered Peppa Pig.  She loves to swim and help me water flowers and help spray and wash the coffee table and just about anything you'll let her spray.  She loves to wrestle, wrestle, wrestle with Daddy each evening.  

She is moody and unpredictable.  She is like a sleeping dog, you leave her alone when she's pleasant because she is likely to switch moods entirely for no reason. 

She is bubbly and sweet when she's happy, and when she turns down my offer for something, she'll check, Mommy, you happy?  You not sad?  to make sure she didn't hurt my feelings.  She calls the four wheeler four wheeler ride and likes to lay on the dashboard in the pickup truck when we're driving through fields.  She likes to play in the dirt and get dirty, but she doesn't like bugs and mud on her feet in the lake. 

She loves little animals and loves playing chase around the house with Kaden and Kylie.  She likes to eat and clean up after herself.  She loves ketchup and ranch.  She drinks a lot of milk and water.  She wants a band-aid on every little boo boo, and she loves to wash her hands, brush her teeth, and play in the water any chance she can get.

Here's a fun little video I made.  I love her little voice and demeanor.  I never want to forget this stage of Farrah.  I don't want to forget the way she says slide saa-liiide and the way she tries to cup her hands around her mouth to holler but ends up covering her mouth and how she says Umm...turtles (Ohh Toodles) on Mickey Mouse.

Conversations with Farrah / Episode 02 from Kristina Brooks on Vimeo.

Potty Training my Little

Potty training has begun!  I started it on a Wednesday, I bought her some big girl panties and we tried them on.  I watched the clock intently and took her potty 10 minutes after she drank anything and every 15 minutes after that.  She had two accidents and after the second she cried for her diaper on.  I wasn't sure that we were ready, but I was afraid she was giving up and I was uncertain if I should not push her and encourage even when she wasn't willing, or if I was supposed to let her decide.

We tried again the next day and spent the entire day running to the potty, usually for nothing to happen, and we had a couple accidents as well.  But we stuck it out the entire day.  I felt exhausted and overwhelmed and wasn't sure if we were making progress.  The following day, Friday, she went to daycare and they said she did great and kept letting them know when she had to go.  I had sent a sticker chart with 1/4 stickers, and she completed the chart at daycare!

On Saturday, Farrah spent the night with my parents while Keane and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary at an oyster bar in STL listening to a Blues Rock Band.  I had forgotten to take her potty ring she had been using, but surprisingly enough, she did so great using the regular potty chair.  She earned 6 stickers that evening!  She has been doing wonderful since, with only a handful of accidents. 

She is quick to let me know when she has to poopy again, which is how she says she needs to pee.  Yesterday, Sunday, she went poop in the potty for the first time, and she has a couple times since then.  A lot of the the other times she seems to time it when she has a diaper on, which I put on for car rides, sleeping, and when we go out to places in public.  Once she used the little toddler potty in the living room to go, and she said Kaden, Kylie, Daddy waiting Farrah's poopy come out as they sat on the couch and tried to mind their own business, ha.

She has been waking up dry in the mornings and after aps.  She likes to wipe and flush and tell her pee bye Farrah's pee pee...see ya later...next time!  We go potty a lot outside and she thinks that's great!  I have to give her the most credit for this potty training success.  She has done a lot of it on her own and I am so proud of her for it!  Stickers, stickers, and more stickers at our home!