Eureka Springs Adventures!

A couple of weeks ago, Grandpa Paul and Nonie Jo came to visit from Milwaukee! We took a day trip to Eureka Springs, AR where we explored the town, had lunch at Sparky's and rode the ERNA Railway. We all had a wonderful time:

Lucky boy got to ride in the ENGINE with Grandpa because the Engineer recognized Drew :) What a treat for both Brett and Grandpa!

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Of course, we had to have popcorn! Thanks, Nonie!

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Brett liked the Conductor.. And I think he liked Brett too :)

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Part of the train ride included smashing coins on the tracks

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Waiting for the engine to smash our coins

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Drew's mom Lynn had a birthday on June 11th! We all surprised her with an "Academy Awards" themed party on the 4th.. she had NO CLUE!

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More pictures and adventures to come..

Silver Dollar City

Once again, our wonderful neighbors Tasha and Chad invited us to use their extra passes to Silver Dollar City! We had a great day and Brett rode rides for the first time! He was just tall enough at 37 inches.. Drew also got to ride the thrill rides with Chad (since I'm a weakling).. check out all of these faces:

It was a little chilly out but not as bad as the last time we were there in December! We are so blessed with good friends who are generous enough to invite us each time they go. Maybe next time I'll ride the rollercoasters?? We'll see ;)

The Month of May

May has been a busy month for us! We've seen Nascar cars, been to Jump Zone, had a baby shower for Aunt Angela and baby Parker and traveled to Sugar Grove to see lots of family! The Home Depot car was at our local Home Depot a few weeks ago. The driver wasn't there (dang it, Joey Logano is mommy's favorite) but it was still fun! Afterward, we went to Jump Zone to burn off a little energy.

Our trip to Sugar Grove for cousin Jacob's birthday was short but sweet.. Nana drove with me and Brett because Drew had to work :( It was great to see everybody and show Nana around Naperville, IL where Drew grew up!

Back in Fort Smith, Angela's baby shower was a huge success! She had lots of friends and fmaily there and got tons of good gifts for baby Parker. He'll be here before we know it!

Sadly, this is one of the only pictures I took that day.. I was too busy keeping Brett out of trouble! Imagine that :)

The Bristol Experience

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee has to be one of the most beautiful places in the country! And not only is it beatiful, but there's SO much to do there too! Our group of eight was Scott & Breanne from Chicago, Casey & Travis from Alma, AR, Dixie & Ryan from Rector, AR and Drew & myself. Brooke and Justin were originally supposed to go but they had too much going on at home to leave town. So a last minute phone call to Dixie brought them into the mix! We spent three days eating, exploring, laughing and having some great adventures :)

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This is the ad photo of our cabin.. I forgot to take a picture!

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another stock photo.. but this is where we spent our evenings playing games..

and laughing until it hurt :)

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the view from our porch.. so peaceful!

Most of us sat outside each morning and had our coffee

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Drew and Dixie goofing off in Gatlinburg..

we walked around and had lunch at a great mexican restaurant.

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Dixie made about 20 phonecalls to get us the best possible price for ziplining in Pigeon Forge :) A few of us were aprehensive (and downright scared at moments) but it turned out to be an AMAZING adventure!

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Group shot before the zipline tour began

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I waited until next to last to go.. I was really scared and shaking

until I went off the edge of the platform.. then it felt like I was flying :)

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No more fear.. I was having a BLAST!

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Drew's turn.. I don't think he was too nervous..

he HAS jumped out of an airplane before so this was "small potatoes" to him :)

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He was probably wishing it would go faster..

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Coming in for a landing!

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After ziplining we hit about five different go-cart tracks in town. These were not kiddie go-karts either.. These were 40mph, slick track, get your racing shoes on go-karts! We had some great competitive races and all of us got a little bruised up from ramming into each other but it was fun :)

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Sunday morning we left the cabin at 7:00am to make the two hour drive to Bristol, TN. It was so exciting to roll into that small town and see a huge motor speedway nestled in the valley!

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We had to check out the merchandise trucks before the race..

and make a quick stop in front of the Bristol Motor Speedway sign..

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Look who I found! My FAVORITE driver, Joey Logano :) Cute little #20

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Breanne chose a Denny Hamlin shirt, Dixie couldn't find a "cute one" but I found my #20

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and there he IS! Be still my heart.. The other guy is Trevor Bayne..

he is also a youngin' and won Daytona this year :)

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Kyle Busch (Drew's favorite driver) about to win after the final restart :)

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What an awesome trip! We had a blast! We were sad that our other buddies Brooke & Justin couldn't make it.. but we're already planning next years race... Back at home, Brett shows off some of his car skills:

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Good grief, son.. where are your pants?!