Kentucky Adventures

We have started Day 3 of our road trip and everyone is still alive. Eric hasn't killed us and we haven't killed him.
Yesterday, after making a stop at the Bowling Green Harley Davidson store, we headed to Mammoth Cave National Park. I think I am coming to the conclusion that once you have been to Yellowstone and Glacier, all other parks are going to be a dissapointment. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, but the scenic majesty is just not the same. It reminded me alot of Arkansas and one of our state parks. They are also remodeling the visitors center. There is a lot of hiking trails and about 5 different tours into the caves that you can take. We didn't get there until 11:30, so our options of tours was very limited. We opted for the 1:30 tour that took about 2 hours and had 500 steps total. The walk in was very fun, it was straight down, very, very narrow, and occasionally wet. We saw lots of crickets, spiders and one baby bat. The girls had a fun time. Leah started to be a little scared of the dark at first, but soon got over it, leading the way. Before we went on the tour, we had to waste a little time, so we went for a small snack at the picnic tables and then a one mile total walk down a hiking trail. Mom would be proud.
After the cave adventure, we headed toward Abraham Lincoln's birthplace down scenic Hwy 31. Before we got far, Leah was asleep and Elizabeth was crying that she was hungry. It had been a long time since breakfast and we didn't really eat any lunch, AND we had walked a lot, we decided to stop for an early supper. Eric was determined to have a steak, so we ate at Colton's. Leah slept for 1/2 the meal, which was a relief for the rest of us. Once we were done with our meal, we started back down the road. Hwy 31 was a real nice drive. Lots of hills, farmland and beautiful houses. We were an hour late to get to see the birthplace of Lincoln. We were very dissapointed. We drove on down the road to his boyhood homeplace and we could walk around there. One thing I read was that the time the Lincoln's lived in Kentucky, it was not uncommon to have land disputes, and that's why they had to move around, and eventually Lincoln's dad moved onto Indianna. The spot he had picked to live in for there boyhood home was beautiful, in a valley, and I would have picked it too.
We then headed to Lexington to find a motel. I had the girls convenced that if they mentioned another word about swimming, we would never go swimming again. The time changed on our drive to Lexington, so we lost on hour. When we got to the motel it was 9:30 their time. I got the swim suits out as soon as we got there, and the girls were able to swim for an hour right before bed. I was told I was the best mom in the whole wide world!!
Today we are headed to Kentucky's Rockies - Natural Bridge and Red River Gorge. I have been typing while we have been driving on the Bert T Combs Mountain Parkwasy, and I think I have missed a pretty drive. Eric says he believes this would be beautiful in the fall. May have to bring him back. Poor guy.

I have heard I am in trouble for not writing more blog. When I began this I knew that would be my downfall. So take my apology now, I won't do as well as my Aunt Janna. BUT, Aunt Janna doesn't have a full time job, 2 kids and Eric for a husband. (God love him).
Elizabeth and Leah had ballgames last night. Both did really good, Elizabeth got several outs and Leah hit one of her balls hard enough to run to 1st and help Elizabeth to get to home to score. It was lots of fun.
Right now, we are on our way to Kentucky. we just crossed the river bridge in Memphis. We've been gone for 3 hours and Leah has asked a million times "Are we there yet?" When we stopped in Brinkley for a potty break, Elizabeth found us a hotel to stay in. We told her we weren't quite there yet. Eric has had one "run- in" with a truck driver. So this may be an exciting trip!!
We are planning to mark another National Park off of my list. I have a list of "10 things to do before I die". I haven't got 10 things yet, BUT, one of the 10 things is to take my girls to all 50 National Parks before I die. When we went to Oregon last year, I got to mark of 3, and since times are a little tighter this year, we are having a quick vacation to Kentucky. Mammoth Cave National Park is located in Kentucky. We also plan to take a drive to the Red River Gorge, which Southern Living had an article about in April. If times allows, we also plan to visit Abraham Lincoln's birthplace and boyhood home.
I hope to be able to blog our trip, but I don't know how well the air card will work, so we'll see.

Sunshine Sunday

Awesome sunshine today. It is beautiful, with a small chill in the air. This has been a nice week. No ballgames, due to the rain. We got rain all week long, even a little bit yesterday. Work went well this week, with not too many glitches. Elizabeth did not have to go to school on Friday - scheduled snow day. Since the school did not use their two allotted snow days, they are using them at the end of the year. She will be off on Monday also. We slept late on Friday, did laundry and just slugged around the house. It was a really nice day. Eric had to work. Grandma fixed supper for the Barne's clan for Ross's birthday. She made fried deer steak, fried okra, candied sweet potatoes, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, and wonderful yeast rolls. Oh it was soooo good. Mom had also went to the Greek Food festival for lunch on Friday and bought some baklava and shared with those of us who have a fine pallet. The men and boys didn't want any, but that's OK, more for me. After supper, the girls stayed with mom and dad and Eric and I went to the dirt track races in Monticello. Eric has a cousin that has been involved in dirt track racing longer than I have known Eric. Now Dale's son is racing, and so we went to see him. The problem with dirt track racing, is that it goes long into the night. It wasn't over until 12:30 and we didn't get home until 2am. We then had to get a shower because we were covered in dirt. Even though the rain has saturated the ground, it was dusty at the track.

Saturday, after sleeping in late, Eric went to run errands and finish working on his Ranger at Bradley's. I went to see what was happening on Barne's Hill. The girls were playing on a mound of field dirt that mom and dad have covered with a tarp to keep the rain from washing it away. They were soaking wet because they were standing at the top of the mound with a water hose and sliding down. Mr Roy Harrington was there and stated "They're tougher than a nickle steak." After lunch, mom and I took the girls with us to a nursery in the small town of Ouchita. My friend Penny has built me a raised garden box and now that it has stopped raining, I have got to get it planted. I didn't find much there, but I found lots of great flowers. On the way there, we spotted a u-pick strawberry field. We stopped and picked for about an hour and got some great strawberries. When we got home we sat around eating strawberries and saying our good buys to Grandma Barnes. She left today for her summer job in Yellowstone. We will miss her sooo much. I can't wait for October, when she will come back.

More Rain

It was a typical Friday, except Elizabeth didn't have to go to school. She has had a lot a trouble again this year in reading and math, so we are checking into seeing if she has a learning disability. I took her to her pediatrician this morning and OF COURSE, she had to refer us to a place that test for this sort of thing. She may just be like her mom and dad, and just doesn't like school. After a visit to the doctor, we went to the pet shop, just to look. The girls like going, I hate it because it stinks. After that, we went to eat and play at Chic-fillet. Then off to Walmart to shop for weekly groceries.
When we got home, I took a nap while the girls played real quiet in their room. That was real nice. I then got up and fixed supper and after that we went to Fordyce to pick up a power washer that Eric purchased. His brother's church youth group is having a rummage sale to help pay for their way for a mission trip. Somebody dropped off a really nice power washer and Eric snatched it up. We didn't stay long, because it was late, and the girls slept all the way home.
Today we have spent the majority of the day doing laundry and picking up this messy house. Once again it is raining. I tried to take a nap with Leah, but all I could do was think about what I needed to do. Eric helped with the house cleaning before lunch, but now has left to go to Bradley's to work on his ranger. I think the girls and I are going to find a last minute mother's day present. I have to work tomorrow, unless something changes.

Rain

Even though this should have been an easy week, it has turned into a blur. How does time fly by so fast. Sunday we went to church and after church we went to what I call "Harrington Holler". Sunday was the 1 year anniversary of one of our dear friend's death, Waine Harrington. He has been missed ssssoooo much over the last year and I don't think missing him will get any less. His family came up with a wonderful idea to have a picnic at their farm for all of his friends and family in his memory. His mother said it would be better than crying all day. Despite the rain, many people showed up. We had to have the picnic in her house, but after we were done eating, it stopped raining and we were able to play some games with the kids outside. Everyone had a great time and Waine would have been very happy to be there. Sunday was also Eric's birthday. Mrs Audrie fixed him a delicious chocolate birthday cake. This was a hard day for Eric, so it really touched him that she would do this for him.
We haven't had any ballgames this week. It's been a nice break from the rush. I only worked 1/2 days on Tuesday and Wednesday, to spend time with my dad. We rode down to the hunting lease yesterday to see if the river flooding had made it up to our cook shack. Not yet, as of yesterday and I don't think its going to make it. On Sunday, I poured 5 inches of rain out of the rain gauge and on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, we got another 3 1/2 inches. Plus we got a little rain in between all of that - so there is water everywhere!! I wish the water would conserve itself until August. When I read post on facebook, all people are talking about is the rain. Sheridan schools even closed because the flooding made it impossible for some of the busses to make their routes. Elizabeth was quite agrivated that she had to go to school.

Deep Breath

I haven't blogged in several days due to a family emergency. It's not something I want to talk too much about just yet, so forgive my discretion. Wednesday night was, I believe the scariest night of my life. I bought a book yesterday titled " The Survivors Club". I heard about it on the Glenn Beck program, a talk radio host with conservative values who talks politics. I just began reading this book about people who have survived from impossible situations and I love this statement from the book " The best survivors understand that normal is just a fleeting state of mind. Indeed normalcy may seem steady and constant, but it's really just the intermission between the chaos and messiness of life." I love my family and my friends, and I have a great family and great friends. They have lifted me in thoughts and prayers this week like I have never been lifted before. Last year on May 2nd, a tornado ripped through our community and this week another "tornado" has ripped through again. We are hanging on to that tornado, and when we fall back to
normalcy may I be found to be a survivor.