Bentonville, Arkansas

Let's see, where did I leave off? Ah yes, we had crossed the border into Arkansas and spent the night in West Memphis. Well, we got up and moving early in the day on Monday, planning to drive across the state and be at Amy's around 4:00. This was a pretty reasonable goal, since we didn't plan on stopping other than to have lunch.

Have I mentioned yet that my kids are STELLAR roadtrippers? Well they are! We have discovered that the secret to no bickering is to put Kendall in the 3rd row seat and Noah in the middle row. We put the two middle row seats together so he has a "bench" to put his things on beside him. Then both kids take fleece blankets to drape across the seats to make their own individual "tents". This works like a charm! Kendall has a shallow Rubbermaid tote which slides under her seat that she fills with movies, snacks, books, games, etc...and Noah puts all of his stuff on the seat beside him or in the pockets on the back of our seats. Everyone has exactly what they need, and it's all within reach. When they get tired of movies or video games, or looking at books, we play games like "My Father Owns a Grocery Store" or "Would You Rather...", the latter of which gets really gross from time to time. For instance, here is a question that came up during our latest game..."Would you rather drink a package of the juice left over in the hot dog package, or a cup of someone's foot sweat?" Seriously?!?! So disgusting...but just so you know, we all picked hot dog juice!

Aaaaaanyway...we stopped at a rest stop for lunch and the first thing the kids did was to find a little lizard on the picnic table they had chosen. He was a fast little sucker, and while they tracked him for a while, they could never really catch him. Plus, we just wanted them to sit down and eat! Finally they did, and afterward we let them explore a bit before loading back up in the van.

We made it to Amy's with no problem, and the kids were totally excited not only to see her, but also that she had picked up a few little gifts for them! She had a kite and a tube of bubbles with a big wand for each of them. VERY COOL! And we were blown away that she had gifts for Barry and I too...2 bottles of our very favorite wine (which we can't get in Ohio anymore)!!!! I was so touched that she thought of it! All these states we drove through, and I never thought once to stop and see if anyplace had any! But Amy was on top of things, as usual.

Once we got settled, we decided to head to a local park so the kids could play and wade in the creek...it was so hot! Plus, since Bentonville is in a dry county, we wanted to head on over to the neighboring county to pick up some beer for our cookout that evening, and maybe another bottle of our favorite wine to take home. Hey, I'm just being honest here...I love me some King Estate Pinot Noir!! The kids had fun running off some excess energy at the park, and the wading was extremely welcome since the heat was oppressive...
That evening after Joe got home and we ate dinner, we headed out for ice cream at a local place, called Braum's ...it was good, but couldn't hold a candle to my first love, Graeters. We were so glad to be there, we all slept really hard that first night!

On Tuesday, we planned to go into Rogers to check out the Daisy Airgun Museum. It was a fairly small storefront museum right in the heart of the downtown, but really cute. The tour was self-guided, with the little hand-held devices that recite the information as you walked through. The kids sure got a kick out of that! Kendall's favorite part was the display dedicated to the making of "A Christmas Story"...who doesn't love Ralphie?After the tour, the kids got fitted for their very own Daisy BB guns. Barry and I had already discussed this the night before, and I agreed...with the stipulations that we also purchase safety eyewear and have numerous gun safety lessons before the guns come out. The kids were surprised and thrilled when we pulled some guns down to try out. They had no idea!
We were so happy to have found this little gem of a museum...it was only $2.00 per person, and Noah was free! What a great way to spend some time out of the heat! so if you're ever near Rogers, Arkansas, we suggest you give it a try!

(Notice how I got myself in this picture too...in the reflection?? Hey, whatever works, I always say!)

Check back tomorrow for the continuation of our little trip...we have a few more exciting stops yet!