It snowed!

We were in NWA for most of spring break and the weather was rainy almost the entire time! It put a damper on our plans to bike on Katy Trail in Missouri, but we'll give it a try later. We did have a little excitement on Saturday - it snowed. I have been wanting it to snow while we were up there. It wasn't a lot, but it was pretty. It sleeted early in the morning and then snowed enough to give us a pretty cover over the grass, decks, etc. It warmed up a little in the afternoon and melted. By about 4:00 pm it was snowing again - huge flakes! I can't believe I didn't get any pictures, but you can see a little snow out the window in the picture below...


Melissa and the boys came over Saturday night and spent the night with us. Miranda and JA joined us for dinner and a little visit.
I asked the boys to smile so I could take their picture and this is what I got!

Evan and Hair

Evan is so funny about hair! When he and Melissa were here, he would take a break from playing to run to Melissa, rub her hair on his face, belly, feet, whatever....and then go back to playing. It doesn't have to be Melissa's hair, he likes mine and Miranda's too. Here he is in heaven, hair on both sides!

Lake Catherine with the Boys

Isn't it great this time of year? After being cooped up all winter, it is great to get outside and enjoy everything Mother Nature has to offer. We took the boys to Lake Catherine State Park on Wednesday. Phillip and I hiked this area a couple of weeks ago and I still can't believe this great place is so close to us and we are just now discovering it! This day we packed up a lunch of fruit salad and ham and hit the trail. It was 80 degrees - warm, but still a little cool for wading - but that didn't stop the Pitts boys. Everybody was wet from the waist down, so for the trip home they stripped to their underwear and munched on cookies and milk - what could be better?

Another Hike

This past weekend (March 7th) we hiked at the Lost Bridge Trail, north of Rogers. It was a very pretty hike around a cove on Beaver Lake. This was a 5 mile hike. I know, our hikes keep getting shorter, but they have also been increasingly difficult. We got up early that morning and had breakfast at Wesner's Cafe in Rogers before heading out. We actually saw someone that we know (our neighbor from Australia). I really feel like we are locals when we run into someone that we know :) Sunday afternoon we all went to Fast Lanes to celebrate Jayden's Birthday. He was going to have a birthday party with his friends from school, but decided he wanted to play lazer tag and ride go-carts with his family. It was so much fun. Somehow the boys (Kerry, James-Alan, Jayden and Kyler) beat the girls (me, Melissa and Miranda) at lazer tag 1250 points to 350 points! Kyler and I paired up on the go-carts and there was no catching us! After three laps, I was dizzy! The picture above is Jayden and Kyler driving the go-carts.

Lake Catherine

Today is our 29th wedding anniversary! We went to Lake Catherine and hiked 6 miles. Even though we hiked 7 miles at DeGray, this was much more challenging. I am amazed by the beauty of Arkansas and there is so much that we've not seen. This trail had some great views of the lake and a waterfall! It was such a great day, but I am totally tuckered out....

For Valentines Day I took Phillip on a picnic. We hiked 7 miles at Lake DeGray and had a lunch of all of his favorites - including homemade brownies. We are trying to get into shape for our summer trip, so we added books to our backpacks to get used to the weight. Before hiking into the Grand Canyon, we had many weekend hikes at DeGray - with our backpacks loaded with books. It is a great way to get into shape!

Another weekend in NWA

Phillip wanted to finish putting in the new heat pump in the guest cottage, so we headed north again (yes, I know, my husband can do absolutely anything....that he wants to). Saturday afternoon I took the boys to see "Hotel for Dogs" which they loved. Right before the movie began, I gave Kyler a package of animal cookies and at the end of the movie, he was still holding the unopened package. He is so funny - so engrossed in the movie that he never moved or took his eyes off the movie. All three (yes, all three) boys spent the night with us on Saturday night. They were so excited about seeing Auntie M. In fact, when we pulled up they headed straight for her place. Auntie M stayed over at our place and helped with bathtime and bedtime stories. Sunday morning we got up early and walked along the lakefront. Phillip and I had seen some cool rocks the weekend before, so we took the boys. We found a ton of cool rocks - and they literally felt like a ton when I was carrying the bag of rocks up the hill to our house! Another great weekend in NWA!