Arkansas was AWESOME!

Trip to Arkansas was a great success! We had all kinds of adventures! Gwen had the best time, I think, and was hardly grouchy at all (once we gave up on trying to sleep Gwen with her cousins in the same room and put her to bed in our room. She just had too much fun in there... sleep didn't happen. Side note, but I gotta add that even after we moved her into our room, we once heard her jabbering during a nap... and discovered that her cousin A had climbed into her packnplay with her and they were just chattering away!)

If it looks like the trip revolved around food... um, it pretty much did! We were treated again and again by both my parents and my sister's family and let's just say we got pretty spoiled! (good thing I got a work out every morning with either my mom, racquetball with my dad/bro/hubby, or intense gym-going with my amazingly in shape sister!)

click on any pic to see it more detailed. these collages can get kind of tiny, but it is faster than uploading individual pics

Welcome BBQ with Spencer at the grill... oh, man, the food hit the spot! and relaxing together while the kids played was amazing! I love the both cousin J and cousin A chose to pose with their bacon when I came over with my camera... :) And you gotta love the stacked cups next to Gwen. She thought they were toys. She also thought the plastic knives and forks were fun... she kept dropping them between the wood slats so they'd fall irretrievably under the deck.

Enjoying the kiddie pool... not just for kiddies! Eric and my bro, Spencer, had a lil splashing contest that turned into wrestling. Boys. Go figure! the gorgeous gal is my older sister, Tamara, and the goofy guy in orange spraying down the kiddos is my dad. He loves being a Grandpa. :)

Gwen, cousin A, and pretty much everyone enjoyed picking fresh blueberries from Grandpa's bushes. I think it was a morning ritual for Gwen and Grandpa to check to see if they were ready. She was quite "regular" on this trip!

One of my best friends from HS, Carly, and her sweet daughter, Im..., came for dinner to hang out and catch up. It was so wonderful to see her and share our lovely children!

Gwen and Grandpa demonstrating that the smores were good

Mexican dinner with everyone except Spencer. Love the pixie tails on lil cousin L'S!

Splash park with the Heiners. J and A were totally into it... Gwen wasn't so sure. Though after we left she kept asking for days to go back to the "splash".

Post Splash park frozen yogurt with the Heiners... Caroline is there, under her carseat cover.

Had some shopping--just us gals!-- my sis posing in cute shoes to prove it. Had some of us together, but unfortunately, I looked awful beyond crop or photoshop fixup, so those pics didn't make the cut.

Swimming with the Heiners-- Eric was a great jungle gym.

Pizza to celebrate cousin J's sportiness

Kayaking with the Heiners

Off the dock activities!

Lunch with everyone at Huhut Mongolian BBQ... DELISH!

Gwen sitting with Grandpa

Gwen learned how to ride a tricycle... and LOVED it!

Gwen relaxing with Grandma "Sugar"

My Mom and Dad

Grandma and Grandpa lovin on Caroline. She found her feet on this trip!

Gwen really grew up in my eyes too. She remembered everyone's names, used complete sentences with finesse, and developed a real bond with her cousin A, closest to her in age. Even though we've been home for 2 weeks now, she still asks me regularly "what is A doing?" or "Gwen to go play with cousin A? At his house? Please mom?" How can I refuse a request like that? We'll just have to do it again soon... see ya'll at Christmas! :)