The girls and I headed to Arkansas this past weekend for a fun, little getaway. My niece celebrated her 7th birthday, and we thought it would be fun to surprise her. Also, since we there's a teacher walk out in Oklahoma, we didn't have school to combat with on Friday or Monday. (Believe me, I'd rather be in school and working right now.)
Amelia was SO excited and surprised to see "the girls" when she came in from school. The girls played, while Gee made everyone dinner, and then we went to the local college to see a performance of Charlotte's Web. All of the girls were excited!
And the play was super cute!
When the play ended, we came home for a cupcake celebration for the birthday girl!
She opened presents, and then Megan and Adalyn went down to Amelia's house for a sleepover. I ended up picking Adalyn up around 9:30, and she snuggled up and fell asleep with Gee.
Saturday morning, my brother came in (he had been at the fire station the night before) and was determined that we should spend our day doing something. Gretchen and I had planned to climb Pinnacle Mountain in central Arkansas, but we woke up to sleet and the temperatures were freezing! So, we were up for an adventure. He convinced us to head to Hot Springs, and on our way, it started to snow. IN APRIL!!!! Gretchen was excited and stuck her head out the window to catch some snowflakes on her tongue.
Our first stop was the Arkansas Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo. We fed the cutest pygmy goats.....
saw an Emu,
and stood on pretend alligators, before heading inside to see the real deal.
My brother was the bravest, and held an alligator first.
Doesn't he look like a pro?
And then the worker, who was super knowledgeable about gators, put it around her neck like it was no big deal. Y'all, she was BRAVE! (And, a bit crazy!)
The first gators we saw were younger, and then we saw alligators that were 100 years old, and they were huge! And that worker girl, was slinging them around by the tail, and picking them up by the jaw. Y'all, she was nuts. (but in a good way!)
We stopped to pet a turtle,
And before we headed out, Gretchen decided she was feeling brave and was ready to hold the alligator by herself! She was a natural!
We left the alligator farm, and headed for lunch, but first, we stopped at a real hot spring.
The warm water felt so good, because it was so cold outside!
We showed Gretchen the historic Arlington Hotel.
And then went to eat at McClard's BBQ.
And for dessert, Gretchen and I shared peach cobbler! #sogood
On our way home, we stopped by Coleman's Rock Shop & Crystal Mines, to buy crystals. I've been reading a little about crystals, and using them in meditation, prayer, and spiritual life, so I thought it would be fun to pick up a few!
When we got home, we met up with the other girls (one went to a birthday party earlier in the day, and one spent the day with her Gee), and we headed to another birthday party and fish fry Saturday night.
Our nephew was playing baseball nearby, so Gretchen and I went to watch one of his games, while the little girls went to church with their Gee.
His team ended up winning their tournament and it was so fun watching them play!
We spent the rest of Sunday crafting with my mom, breaking open Gretchen's geode that she bought from the crystal shop, and having a big family dinner.
By Monday, we needed to head home for all of the girls activities. But, a trip to the country, sure did us some good!
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