Clean Your Plate

I was craving a big bowl of spaghetti one night.  Chad was craving pizza.

So we decided on Bariola's.

Good decision!

Some of the best spaghetti I've ever had!

Eli liked it too

;)

Golf Tournament

We went to Forrest City a couple of weekends for a golf tournament.

Chad, Chance (my brother) and Randy (my step dad) were signed up to play in a 3 man scramble together.  They have been trying to find the time to play a tournament together for the past few years.

We went on a morning walk so Eli could ride his bike.  It brought back so many memories of riding my bike when I was young.  I loved growing up in my neighborhood!  Riding bikes and skateboards, climbing trees, building clubhouses... I was definitely a tomboy!

And I hope Eli makes some memories in this neighborhood as well!

Mom and I rode on the golf cart following the boys on both Saturday and Sunday.

They played really well overall, coming in 4th in the tournament!

I have a feeling there will be many more tournaments in the future!

A Walk in the Park

Is he not the cutest lunchdate you've ever seen!  I sure think so!

Eli and I did a little shopping last week.

 

He was so good while shopping I promised to take him to the park to play.

We haven't been to this part of Wilson Park since Eli was a baby.

I love this little castle area in the park.

I treasure my days off when the weather is nice.

I have a feeling Eli and I will be spending lots of time at the park in the next couple of months.  It seems the 100 degree heat is gone.

Thank goodness!

The Greatest Show on Earth

 So we woke up Saturday morning and Eli was feeling great!  NO FEVER!!!  We couldn't believe it!  We took our time getting ready, went to eat breakfast, then set out for the circus.

I didn't realize until recently how many people had never been to a circus.  I feel bad for those of you who have never experience the greatest show on earth!  It's truly amazing!  Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is not only for kids... adults love it too!  The clowns are not stupid or scary, they are really funny!  And all the acts are just amazing!

As soon as we walked in Eli saw all the cool light up toys and stuff.

Of course he had to get one!

Proof that I actually got to go too!  I'm never in any of the pictures since I'm always the one taking them!

Waiting patiently for the show to begin...

We were in awe of these people!

One of our favorite parts of the show!

And of course who doesn't love the elephants?!?!?!?

Eli called them all "Dumbo"!

We had a great time and I'm so glad we were able to go.

Eli's smile was totally worth every moment!

I guess Eli had a short-lived fever virus.  He had no other symptoms except fever and chills.  And it only lasted about 12 hours.  The night we got home he had a low grade fever again, but after a dose of Motrin and sleeping it was completely gone.

I wish all viruses were that easy!

Semi-Vacation

 This past weekend had been planned for a long time.  Back in May when Chad and I went to Dallas for the Dave Matthews concert we thought it would be fun to go for a long weekend and take Eli with us.  We originally planned to go to a Texas Rangers game and to the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus.  I bought the circus tickets and was super excited about taking Eli.  The closer the weekend got, the more we wished we were just staying home.  I mean, we were excited about the circus, but we were having problems finding someone to dog sit for us.  We decided to just go for one night (yes, it's a 5 hour drive for us), go to the circus and come back.  I know, it's a long trip for the circus but Eli didn't even really know what a circus involved and we were excited to take him.

We get on the road Friday morning and Eli is quiet.  Chad mentioned his eyes look glassy.  I immediately knew what was wrong.  FEVER!!  We stopped at the first Walmart and bought a thermometer and Motrin.  Hey, I'm a nurse... I MUST know how high his temperature is!  Poor thing had 102 degree temp and wasn't complaining a single bit.  Of course turning around crossed my mind but we kept driving.

All Eli kept saying was he didn't want to stay in a hotel, he wanted to go back to his home.  I promised him it would be fun and he would love the circus.  If we even made it...

We stopped at Chick Fil-A for lunch on the way.  He wanted to play on the playground but since he had fever he had to settle for a milkshake instead :)

We took my friend's advice and had dinner at Uncle Julio's.  And boy am I glad we did!  It was delicious!

We kept Mortin in Eli as often as we could but his fever just wouldn't stay down.

He was such a trooper!  He never complained about not feeling good.  He kept saying "I feel fine, Mommy".

 When we got back to the hotel Eli crashed in our bed.  He's such a sweet patient when he's sick.  He definitely gets that from Chad and not me!  I tried to force down some Tylenol since it wasn't time for more Motrin.  Bad idea.  He threw up all over the bathroom floor.  He has a sensitive gag reflex ;)

 He finally fell asleep around 11:00pm.  We were afraid we were in for a long night and just kept hoping his fever would be gone by the morning so we could go to the circus.

To be continued...

That's Grape

 Each year we love going to the annual Tontitown Grape Festival.  I didn't think we were going to be able to make this year and I was really disappointed.  It actually kinda popped up on me and I didn't realize it was even taking place until it had already started!  Those darn Olympics cut into our nightly news ;)

Anyway, I realized at 4:00 that night would be our only chance to go this year.

Sooooo.... we ran around like crazy when Chad got off work and made our way to the fair grounds.

And I'm so glad we did!  Eli had a wonderful time.  And it was the perfect way to kick off our long "semi-vacation" weekend.

Eli wasn't afraid of any of the rides.  He wanted to ride everything!

We had a great time and I look forward to next year's Grape Festival.  And maybe next year I won't be on a diet so I can eat the homemade spaghetti and fried chicken.

That's what I look forward to each year!

Mother/Daughter and Grandkids Trip

Mom, Robyn and I plus Eli and my nephew, Matthew, took a short overnight trip to Branson.  It was 100 degrees but we decided to brave it and go to Silver Dollar City.  It actually wasn't too bad!  We rode a water ride to get wet then spent the rest of the time drying off.

Eli, Me, Robyn and Matthew riding the tram into SDC

Mom, Eli and I on the tram

This is Eli's heaven.

The vacuums in the ball pit.

He could spend days here I think!

Playing while waiting on our table at Joe's Crab Shack.

I was out of quarters so Matthew just shook the car for Eli

Eli couldn't tell the difference!

Ha!

Robyn and I shared this drink.  Together we couldn't even drink half of it!
We're lightweights and we know it!

My dinner!  Yum!  Crab legs are one of my favorite meals!

When I was a kid, I would always play with the crab claws after Mom and Dad finished their crab legs.  Eli thought they were pretty cool too!

Eli woke up and wanted Matthew to get on the top bunk with him to watch cartoons.

Eli thinks Matthew is the coolest thing ever!

 It was a short trip but a fun one!

Down on the Farm (Part 3)

 Sorry for being so late in finishing my farm pictures.  I'm really behind in blog posts.  I'm going to try to play catch up tonight.

This is my final and last farm post.  It only took 3 different posts to cover all the pictures and happenings!

More golf on the farm.  Mom brought the little golf clubs for the kids to use.  I think Eli still has a little growing to do.

Is this not the best picture of the entire weekend????

This pretty much sums up our weekend...

 Relaxing!

I only wore makeup one time the entire 4 days!  Now that's my kind of trip!

 

Slip n slide time!  This was a big hit for the kids!

Eli is such a jokester.  He got a big kick out of spraying other people with the balloon sprayer.

My step dad took us on the river to look for flying carp.  It was the craziest thing.  These HUGE fish would fly out of the water (sometimes towards you or into the boat) as we trolled down the river.

The kids got to ride in the back of my car instead of in car seats.

Our motto for that special occassion...

"What happens on the farm, stays on the farm."

The kids chanted this the rest of the trip!

All in all, we had a nice, relaxing trip visiting with Chad's brother, sister-in-law and their kids.

 Who doesn't want a vacation where you can go to truly get away from life?

Even the dogs loved it :)

Who cares if there are no pretty mountains or beach scenery.  I truly think farmland is beautiful and peaceful.  I find myself missing the flat fields of cotton and rice.

We all agreed to make this a yearly trip to...  The Farm