Little Rock Children's Discovery Museum

(By Steve) We originally planned to visit this museum on Monday as well as tour the state Capitol, but after doing some research we discovered that they are closed on Mondays.   We decided to visit on Sunday afternoon instead, even though we knew it would be more crowded.   The kids were bickering much of the morning, and Genna was very whiny and driving Mom crazy, so I offered to take them all to the museum and give Linda an afternoon all to herself.   As soon as the words left my mouth, I thought, "What have I just said??!?"   

It turned out just fine as they all did well for me.   Jake slept on the way over which really helped.  The museum would have cost $10 for adults, and $8 for kids but was completely free for us because of our reciprocal membership.   The museum itself was a fraction of the size as the one in Oklahoma City and cost nearly as much.  Although it was small, it was well done and the kids had lots of fun.  

Shanan made some impressive drawings using the pendulum.

Jake was fascinated by the finches; he kept talking to them.

Gross...giant cockroaches

For some reason, the littles felt the need to lounge on the big map of the Arkansas River.

I think these curtains were Jake's favorite 'display' in the whole place.

Yes, that is a close up of the hairs on Alyssa's leg!

This records you walking and plays back an animated version of you walking on the screens.

This shows that it easier to pull yourself up with more pulleys.

The docent enjoyed showing Genna this exhibit.

This bowling exhibit was right up Jake's alley...pun intended.

Pinnacle Mountain State Park in Little Rock

After leaving Texarkana, we drove to yet another COE park outside of Little Rock, Maumelle Park, located along the rather impressive Arkansas River.  This is another nice park with clean, hot showers!  The sites are nice and spacious, though we totally could have done without Mr. Camp Host coming to supervise/assist Steve get the rig parked.  Yeah, thanks to him, an easy parking job turned difficult and took way too long.  As soon as he left, we got the rig parked in short order.  Whew!  One fascinating thing about this park is the number of "Medical Extended Stay," full hook-up sites, which Steve was sure would all be empty.  Au contraire, they were full!  We actually met a guy at one that is a retired rice farmer, staying here for cancer treatment in Little Rock. His sage advice was to enjoy your kids while they are young and avoid being a workaholic.  He was speaking from experience.  Think we've got that one under control, for the most part! ;) 

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This was just before she completed the hike of her life.

We went up the harder East side and down the West side.

Maumelle Park is the perfect place to stay if you want to visit Pinnacle Mountain State Park, since it is just two miles down the road.  We decided to do the Pinnacle hike as a family, toughest not-quite-three-mile hike we have ever done, I think!  We went on a Saturday, and while the weather was beautiful, it was also super duper crowded.  Per Steve's research, we took the steeper East Summit hike up and the less steep (though still steep) West Summit hike down, and then, Steve hiked the mile and a half along the base trail back to the truck to come pick us up.  Genna had her most impressive hiking day ever and hiked/climbed the entire way up all those rocks/boulders to the summit!  Sure, there was some serious complaining by the end, but she did it!!  Definitely a challenging but rewarding hike!  The view at the top was awesome!  I had Jake on my back the whole way up, and then I wore him on my front (because he was exhausted and sleeps much better on my front) on the way down.  I will admit that my legs felt like jello!  At the West Summit parking lot, there were plenty of picnic tables and an impressive playground, but unfortunately, nowhere near enough parking for a busy day, unless you happen to have a handicapped sticker, of course!  Seriously, there were a lot of handicap spots, and almost every single one was open.  The place was teeming with people!

I just loved the speckled sunlight through the trees

It is starting to get steep, but she was determined that she could do it!

Dogwoods in bloom

Now it is really steep.  Steve spotted her from behind, and we took one rock at a time.

Looking down at where we just climbed up

She did it!   We are so proud of her!

Little Rock in the distance

Arkansas River

Lake Maumelle

Texarkana

After adding a day to our stay so that Steve could get his crown just right and so the rain could clear out, we packed up and took off, knowing this time that we'll probably be gone for another six months.  On the one hand, it felt just right to be going back on the road again in earnest, because that is what is normal now, and on the other hand, it was a little sobering, too, because again, we don't know what the future holds.  We don't know what our end game will look like, so spending time with family & friends felt a bit bittersweet, not knowing whether this is where we'll be back to settle down or not.

Alyssa's Birthday Tulips were blooming beautifully while here

We took off for Texarkana.  We stayed in a beautiful COE park on the Texas side, called Clear Spring Park on the shores of Wright Patman Lake.  What a great park!  It cost just $20/night for full hook-ups, and there were hot showers, a playground, a beach area, and spacious sites.  Lots of tall pine trees!  It was beautiful, it was peaceful, and the fellow campers were friendly.  It just doesn't get any better than that!  We spent two nights here, but we could definitely have spent longer, just enjoying the surroundings.

Loved our campsite here...though the kids didn't love the plethora of caterpillars

You may not think this is beautiful...but our campsite had its very own trashcan, and that is a beautiful thing!  Poopy diapers, anyone??

We did go into Texarkana and take the obligatory pictures of the Texas/Arkansas Texarkana sign.  Then, the big girls and I went and toured the Ace of Clubs House while Steve took the littles to the children's Discovery Museum.  While I'm pretty sure we could've managed the tour with the little ones in tow, they advise against bringing little ones because of all the antiques and the "no touch" rule.  I know for sure that they definitely had more fun at the children's museum!

It was interesting to see this magnificent, opulent house built just 100 years after the American Revolutionary War.  The Ace of Clubs House is part of the East Texas Historical Assocation, and while on the one hand, I understand why, on the other hand, it seems odd that an example of how only the most incredibly wealthy, most elite makes it on the historical registry.  In other words, this house, though magnificent and interesting to tour, is not an example of how most people lived back then.  It cost around $10,000 to build in the 1880s, a huge quantity of money in those days!  Its basement with a dry moat, in addition to double hung windows, and a cupola, helped cool the house in those days before air conditioning.  The last "lady of the house" left over 500 pairs of shoes which are displayed in the house, and it was said by her children that they never saw her cook!  Did I mention that this was an example of how only the wealthiest lived??  Fascinating...but it would also be interesting to see how the middle class lived back then!

The Yaga Saga Continues

 

Honestly, I can't exactly remember when Genna's imaginary friend "Yaga" surfaced.  I think it happened sometime during my pregnancy with Jake, but I just can't remember exactly when.  Nonetheless, this imaginary friend thing is fascinating to me because it's new to our family.  Genna is our first to concoct one.  Oh, the stories...it's all rather amusing.  Yaga was an everyday part of our lives when we moved in to the RV and for the first several months.  She actually faded into the background over time, however, and I realized one day it had been what seemed a long time since we last heard about Yaga.  Have no fear, though, she's baaaaaack, in full force again, and she has a new friend, Ali!   Yaga, in particular, has done everything you've ever done or dreamed of doing, and she's done it better and to new extremes over, above, and beyond what you could ever do even on your best day.  She has about a million lives because she often dies when she's accomplishing one of her most spectacular feats, but she always comes to life again!  Did I mention that this is all verrrry fascinating?  Anytime there is an active discussion, be it in the truck en route to somewhere, or at the table around mealtime, Genna spontaneously concocts an unusual tale of the goings-on of both Yaga and now Ali.  Her very concrete older sisters often have trouble letting her go on these little rabbit trails, but alas, I think it is her way of both passing the time (long drives in the truck) and contributing to and making conversation.  I know this stage won't last forever, so I'm choosing to embrace it and be immensely amused by these antics. :)

She woke up and immediately came out and started drawing.

Little cowgirl

Just exactly how much socialization can one squeeze into a weekend??

That's right...we had the chance to see more friends, and we are not ones to pass up such an opportunity, as you can plainly see!  After church, we went to lunch with some old neighbors and good friends of ours, the Tetsch family.  They patiently asked questions and caught up with what is going on in our lives while tolerating the antics of Genna and Jake who where primarily interested in crawling over my lap and swiping napkins from the napkin dispenser (Jake, of course).  We learned that some people will put honey on just about anything and eat it (Tim, of course)! ;)  Fun times catching up with you guys!

We used to live across the street from the Tetsch family.  Their middle child Ben is missing  due to illness.

We had been planning on getting together for a while. We are so glad we finally did.

Of course, we left lunch with the Tetsch's and made fast tracks to Alyssa's birthday gathering, and wait, we still weren't done!  We left the Gordon's house and stopped by the Hargus' house to pop in on a going away party for the Bonnet's who are now in Sierra Leone, Africa for two years as missionaries!  Whewww...I for one was exhausted by days' end!  It really was fabulous to see everyone though!

We hadn't seem Amy in at least 6 years, but it was just like old times.  Hope it won't be so long till the next time! 

Jake and his buddy Michael Bonnet. They're quite fond of each other.

Alyssa Turns 9

Hard to believe that we're already on birthday #3 of birthday season!  Alyssa's birthday fell on the day we toured the Braum's factory and drove back to the Dallas area.  I think she was kind of bummed about that.  However, her best friend's birthday is just two weeks after hers, and Zaynah had asked her mom if she could wait to celebrate her own birthday until Alyssa returns!  Super sweet, huh?  Well, Alison decided to throw a little impromptu birthday gathering for both girls before we took off again.  Friends, pizza, and ice cream cake....  We just couldn't swing the usual Zavocki birthday traditions of choosing the menu for the day and choosing your own cake because it was too crazy busy, and our oven is acting up...bummer!  Alyssa did get to choose some birthday flowers, albeit belatedly, and they were beautiful!

Sorry we didn't get to celebrate in the usual way, Alyssa, but I'm so glad you got to celebrate with one of your best friends!  And by the way, how in the world did you get so big?  The memory of your grand entrance just nine years ago still seems so crystal clear in my mind!  It was such a huge blessing that you came so fast!  Nine years later, you continue to bless us with your amazing smiles, laughter, and helpful spirit.  Soooo glad God made you a part of our family!

Alyssa and her best friend Zaynah

Alahni and Satara baked ice cream cakes for the occasion!

The birthday girls!  Zaynah is just 2 weeks younger than Alyssa.

It was a beautiful day for playing outside

Jake thought the dog dish was made for sitting

Fighting for the driver's seat

Cuddling with Auntie Alison

Cousins Day

My sister Wanda and her kids came and spent the afternoon with us while we were staying at Lewisville Lake Park.  Steve scored some major points by willingly agreeing to watch the kids (all seven of them -- our four plus their three), so that Wanda & I could go out with Alison & Leslie for a final Ladies Night Out.  I will admit that I have missed those while on the road!  Wow...the kids had a fabulous time!  I think the pictures say it all!  And Thavyn decided Uncle Steve was soooo incredibly cool!  Apparently he made a game out of calling him "Daddy."  Love, love, love to see cousins enjoying each other so much!

As you can see, we had a nice backyard at this campsite.  Steve is keeping a close watch on them all...while reading "The Hobbit"

Jake loved all the attention