Mammoth Springs

Monday morning, we woke up in Hardy (at DJ's parents house) and after an omelet brunch, headed home to Tulsa. 

I recapped our weekend in this post. We had the best time with DJ's family!

Friday night, on our drive down, we passed through the tiny blip of a town, Mammoth Springs. It's at this town that the Spring River begins, from an underwater spring. The Spring River is in northern Arkansas, and tons of people flock there to float the river. DJ and I did it once while we were dating, and a water moccasin swam right in front of our canoe and I vowed I will never float the river again. But, we had driven through Mammoth Springs a million times and had never stopped. We decided that on our drive back, we would stop and let the girls see where the river forms. 

We got out and walked to the beginning of the spring.

On our way, we found a birds nest that had fallen out of a tree. There was a tiny blue egg cracked beside it. The girls were so sad that the nest had fallen and baby bird had died. 

DJ and Adalyn were way ahead of us since we stopped to look at the nest. Addy is waving hi!

DJ was explaining how the spring forms underground and how much water comes up.

We let the girls put their hands in the water to feel how cold the spring is!

Before we made it to this spot, we tried another spot, and as soon as Gretchen started to reach in, DJ yelled at her to stop because there was a tiny snake with its head above the water!!! We ran back as fast as we possibly could and scoped out the next area really well before letting the girls stick their hands in!

The water wear the spring comes up is right around 58 degrees!

After sticking our hands in (and avoiding any future snakes) we walked over to the dam.

Wasn't Addy Pearl looking cute in her MJ?!

I had actually brought the pants for Megan to wear, and then realized they were a size 2 and definitely did not fit Megan anymore! She had to wear Gretchen's shorts home, so Addy wore Megan's pants home!

We viewed and read about "The Big Gun."

Gretchen is a little history buff!

Then we went over the damn and watched the water fall.

The girls loved getting to explore!

Memorial Day Weekend Wrap-Up

Last Friday afternoon, DJ and I loaded up the girls and headed to Arkansas for the Memorial Day weekend. It's a 6 hour trip to his dad's house, so we didn't get in until well after 10. Thankfully, the girls fell asleep in the car, we carried them inside, and they went straight to bed. Despite the shrieking coming from the backseat (that's what happens when you have three girls sitting next to each other with no where else to go) our drive was uneventful.

Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early, and waited on DJ's sister to arrive. Pops filed up the sandbox and all the kids jumped right in. 

Since DJ's dad lives on a lake, we try to make sure the kiddos wear life jackets anytime they are in the yard playing. 

After some sand box fun, my girls wanted to go swimming, and Gretchen was the first one to jump into the freezing lake!

She was all giggles and smiles! I, on the other hand, thought it was entirely too cold!

After lunch, we loaded up on the boat, and the kids took turns tubing. 

DJ even took Adalyn out for her first tubing experience!

And, Megan and her cousin Zander went out for just a few minutes!

Gretchen tubed by herself and Megan tubed with DJ for a while. 

Megan helped drive the boat. 

And took silly pictures with mommy.

Adalyn wasn't a huge fan of her bulky life jacket, but she was satisfied taking selfies with mommy and eating snacks. She also loved to stand up on the seat and watch the tubers. 

Goldfish for the win!

After tubing and boat riding, we headed back to the house in time for dinner. 

The little girls played in the water table.

 And Gretchen made herself into a "mermaid".

The kiddos feasted on chicken nuggets and mac and cheese!

And later the grown ups enjoyed smoked meat, potato salad, and fruit! Grandma Dee always makes sure there's a plethora of food! I think we had at least three different desserts too!

Once it got dark, we went inside for baths, and the grown ups played cards while the kids crashed in the living room. They were exhausted!

Sunday morning, we woke up to rain showers, and I thought for sure that the guys golf trip would get cancelled! Thankfully, the rain subsided and the boys headed out to golf with Gretchen in tow.

I stayed with Grandma Dee and the little girls at the house and worked on some sewing. Then it was time for lunch and a nap for Adalyn! Once Addy was down, Megan and I headed out to the grocery store to pick out a birthday cake for her birthday! The grocery store in this town is tiny, and had a total of three cakes. I asked Megan if she was sure she wanted the one she picked or if she wanted to go to a different store with more of a choice, and she was very content with the cake she chose since it had balloons on it! I asked if she wanted to do anything else and she said no, so we went back to Grandma Dee's house. As soon as we arrived, so did Gretchen and the boys. 

The girls changed into their swimsuits and went swimming again!

That afternoon, we changed back, had a snack, and then celebrated Megan's 4th birthday!

We all made our own pizza with all of the toppings!

While the pizzas cooked, DJ and Megan fell asleep, and Megan ended up sleeping right through dinner! After dinner, we were under a tornado watch, so Grandma Dee shuffled us all downstairs for cake and presents. 

It was a great weekend with this guy!

I cannot believe she is 4!!!!!

Gretchen had fun wearing all the party hats.

She's such a goof!

We sang happy birthday, and Megan opened her presents. She got a coloring book with markers, and a sticker book. She also got a Doc McStuffins house from her grandparents that she is loving!

And, of course, grandparents have to spoil the other kids too, and they gave Gretchen a make up kit. She and Megan had little make overs! Oh, I can definitely wait until they start wearing make up for real!

Monday morning, we got up and headed back to Tulsa. We stopped at Mammoth Springs so the girls could see where the Spring River forms and walked around. (Those pictures are on my actual camera, so i'll have to share them later!)

The girls fell asleep about an hour outside of Springfield, and we were able to make it three hours into our trip before we stopped for lunch. 

We decided to eat at Red Robin, and I let the big girls have a special treat. Megan chose a vanilla milkshake.

And, Gretchen had a root beer float!

We were just trying to keep Addy content!

It's pretty hilarious that when we go out to eat, we can pretty much clear a section with our crew. The couple behind us, quickly paid and cleared out, and two other ladies who were seated after us requested to move tables. We were eating around 2 in the afternoon, so I didn't fully expected to ruin other's lunches, but it is what it is. I'm pretty sure I could write an entire post or two about eating out with our kids and the experiences that we have. Try as we might, someone will always throw something and someone will always have a screaming fit. 

We made it home around 6, and broke out Megan's new Doc McStuffins toy!

We had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend; it was a great kick off to our summer! 

What's Up Wednesday

I'm linking up today with The Larson Lingo, Mix & Match Mama, and Pinterest Told Me To for What's Up Wednesday! 

It's been a crazy month and today is the last Wednesday, and the next to last day of school- Amen. Stick a fork in me, because I am done.

What We're Eating This Week:

Um, I have no idea! I haven't had time to meal plan at all and we have been eating out a lot. With our upcoming move, our house is in shambles, boxes are everywhere, and I've been running late out the door every day. Last night, we had spaghetti, because I had half of the ingredients, and I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store before heading home, and I'm pretty sure that the next week or so will be the same way. Have any great suggestions? I need crazy quick and low cost!

What I'm Reminiscing About:

Megan turned 4 on Sunday! How in the world can she be 4?!?! It's been all kinds of fun looking at my Timehop App and seeing baby Megan and 4 year old Megan. We've had so much fun celebrating her over the years!

What I'm Loving:

I shared this picture in yesterday's post, and I am loving my new bracelets! The pearl bracelet came from HM Willow, the sparkle from Accessory Lane, the green from Rustic Cuff, and the tiny arrow from Stella & Dot. Bracelets make me happy. 

I'm also loving my Celebration Box from The Celebrating Momma. Jamie loves finding any reason to celebrate, and she'll celebrate you by sending you or a friend her Celebration Box! You can go here to get your monthly subscription, and pretty soon, you'll find a little goody from HPA in there too!

What We've Been Up To:

We're wrapping up the end of the school year with graduation and award ceremonies. 

And, we spent Memorial Day weekend at the lake visiting DJ's dad and step-mom. 

And, we've been cleaning out closets and packing. Majorly packing. 

What I'm Dreading:

Have I mentioned that we're moving? I'm totally looking forward to it, but it's been pretty stressful, and the actual act of moving our stuff from one house to another, with three wee ones, is enough to make my heart pitter patter and not in a good way. 

What I'm Working On:

I'm trying to get everything wrapped up at school. I really think I have a good handle on things after working like a mad-woman last week. I just finished up 10 shirts for my daughters preschool class, and right now I'm taking a much needing biz break just until this weekend! I need to spend a few days with my kiddos and hubby without pulling my hair out at all that needs to be accomplished in just a few short days!

What I'm Excited About:

MOVING! Have, I mentioned we're moving- ha! Seriously, as crazy hectic as our life is right now, I cannot wait to have our own house again and to get to decorate it how I want! We are painting at least 2 of the 3 girls' bedrooms, and I have a pinterest project I would like to do our console in the living room, and I cannot wait to see the house come together. In my head, I know exactly where everything is going, how furniture will be placed, and what's on our "to-do" list. I just can't wait to do it all!

What I'm Watching/Reading:

The Bachelorette! Anyone else? I was totally Team Kaitlynn from the beginning, and I can't wait to see what this season holds!

And seriously, nothing else is on t.v. right now since all of the series finales are said and done.

Reading? I really don't have time for that right now.

What I'm Listening To:

My very favorite radio station is KLOVE. But, XM radio has also had their preview this weekend, so I'm enjoying some country music too. My kids are loving Miranda Lambert's "Little Red Wagon" and I'm listening to them sing it over and over again. 

What I'm Wearing:

Jeans..... Amen.... Our principal made the last week of school a jeans week, so with the exception of today, I'm wearing jeans. (I'm only not wearing jeans because I have an IEP meeting that's pretty important, so you know, professionalism is key.)

But, if I could put together any outfit right now, it would be this one:

I'm loving all of these fun finds.

What I'm Doing This Weekend:

Since we've been out of town the last two weekends, I'm looking forward to being at home! I'm really hoping the rain will stay away, so we can get down to the pool! I'm also pretty sure we will finish packing this weekend and pick out paint colors for the girls' bedrooms. Honestly, I'm just excited that we have NO plans!

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month:

We have big plans this summer! Besides, moving, we'll be spending lots of time at the pool, and we'll have some mini weekend getaways. I love being off in the summer, and spending time with my girls. We'll make it down to my mom's, we're heading to Indiana/Chicago, and at some point in June, we'll celebrate Megan's birthday with her friends, and have a house warming party! 

What Else Is New:

Um, nothing.... I think I about covered all of our crazy right now! 

And, each month, there's an "extra" question, and this month, it's all about our favorite summer grilling food! Can you believe, I'm not much of a griller. Honestly, I leave that up to DJ. I don't even know how to turn on our grill!

We love to grill steaks, but his true passion is smoking foods in his smoker. He makes some pretty awesome ribs, pork tenderloin, and grilled potato salad.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Hope you had fun!

Find Aprils What's Up Wednesday's Post Here.

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