Cousin's Week at Greers Ferry

The boys and I spent last week with my family in Arkansas. I am so grateful for opportunities to spend time with my family, and also to give my boys a taste of what summer was like when I was growing up.

Unfortunately Daniel and my brother-in-law, Robert, were unable to make this trip. We missed them but enjoyed getting together with my parents and siblings.

As our family has grown, it really isn't practical to spend much time at our parents house, so we decided to rent a house at Greers Ferry Lake instead.

My sister drove up from Tallahassee with her kids, then Jack, Isaac and I rode with them to Arkansas. Our brother drove separately from Nashville.

Before we arrived at the lake, we spent one night at our parents. The kids enjoyed picking blueberries and blackberries from the garden so that my mom could make us blackberry cobbler. Though I'm pretty sure they ate more than they picked!

And they also had fun driving the riding mower with my dad and being pulled around on a big, flat wagon by my brother. And we walked through the campus at Harding to show our kids where we all lived and studied many years ago!

The week we were in Arkansas, the weather proved to be unseasonably cool for summer in the south. This stroke of luck meant that we were able to enjoy campfires each evening, but it still got warm enough during the day to swim.

I'm pretty sure the kids would have been happy to hang out at the lake house with the water hose, but swimming and cliff jumping turned out to be a lot of fun too.

Our lake house had a beautiful view of Greers Ferry Lake, but since we weren't right on the water we didn't have to worry about the kids. It was perfect for spreading out, and we had a nice big kitchen for cooking meals.

We celebrated my mom's 62nd birthday and my parents' 41st wedding anniversary. We made them our family's traditional pistachio cake as well as baked salmon, shrimp with cocktail sauce, fried okra, and corn on the cob.

During the day we would swim at Devil's Fork, and were even able to take the kids cliff jumping at Dam Site Marina in Heber Springs. The water was so high that the causeway to the cliffs was underwater meaning you had to wade across!

After jumping on the island cliffs, we ended up going to the really high cliffs since everything was probably about 10feet under water.

My niece, Izzy, surprised us by being a little dare devil. At age 8 she was showing up plenty of teenagers who were too afraid to jump!

Jack and Levi stuck with the medium and lower cliffs, and Isaac was content to splash from the side or float around with me.

We all have so many fond memories from going to Heber Springs and Greers Ferry when we were kids and teenagers (and as college students!). I'm thankful for the chances to make new memories with my kids.

Before leaving the area we visited the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery. They raise rainbow trout here and release them into the Little Red River. The kids were all impressed by the fish.

Jack and Levi (both age 5) loved spending the week together, and Izzy (8) and Isaac (2) are forming a special bond.

Family games in the evenings, and sunsets outside with s'mores around a campfire are the things that childhood is made of. Coffee on the deck, in the cool of the morning, is how every day should start. This summer I am choosing slow as often as I can.

We had such a fun getaway! We are looking forward to spending more time with my parents in Canada next month and the kids are already planning our cousin's camping trip for the fall!

Isaac splashing while the bigger kids get ready to jump. 

Levi jumping off the cliffs.

Jack jumping off the cliffs.

Izzy jumping off the really high cliffs. 

Isaac swimming with Uncle Mark.

Jack demonstrates swimming with no floaties!

Things That Make Me Nostalgic

This past weekend Jack and I joined my brother, my sister and my sisters two kids on a road trip to visit our hometown. There is something about going home that makes me nostalgic. We reminisced about the past, visited old haunts and remembered the good times. 

Here are a few things that reminded me of days gone by:
1. Driving across the Mighty Mississippi and being greeted by the "Welcome to Arkansas" sign. I know that when we see the pyramid, and cross that great river, we are in the final stretch of getting home.

2. Breakfast at Bobby's (now Maddie's Cafe). Unfortunately Bobby's (it will always be Bobby's to me) had a 40-minute wait. With kids in tow we decided to head over to Main Street Cafe instead. I started going to Bobby's in college. It has been my benchmark of what a country breakfast should be. I have had so many intimate conversations in the booths there. It will always hold a special place in my heart. Main Street Cafe is a good back up plan, though we were disappointed that they didn't offer real cream for our coffee. I'm sorry, but powdered cream does not cut it. #firstworldproblems

3. Blackberry Cobbler. My brother requested that we make cobbler during our visit. My mom makes a really great cobber that has a biscuit crust, but Mark specifically wanted the pie crust style cobbler like our Grandma used to make when we were kids. She would always make a little extra crust that we could eat plain or with ice cream once the actual cobbler was finished.

4. Playing in the Lily Pool at Harding University. When I was a child (over 25 years ago), my mom would take me and my siblings to play in the old fountain in front of the Administration Building at Harding. On this trip, we took our kids there to splash in the rebuilt fountain. 

The Lily Pool is also where we would meet (during college) for ring ceremonies – a special time to share your engagement story with your social club. Per tradition, after the ceremony, the engaged couple would be thrown into one of the fountains on campus.

I have so many fond memories associated with this fountain and the university. I made some really great friends during my time here; and more importantly, this is where I met Daniel (on a caving trip no less). The school isn't perfect but overall my experience here was a great one.

5. Swimming at Heber Springs. My family has been going to Heber since I was about 12. I have so many memories of swimming by the dam.

Once we were old enough, we persuaded our parents to let us jump off the (10-15 feet high) cliffs at the Swimming Cliff area. This is a rite of passage for anyone living in this part of Arkansas.

When I was in high school, I got brave enough to jump off the really high cliffs (Tree Top Cliff is approx 20-30 feet high). I can't imagine letting Jack do this, but trying scary things is part of the fun of growing up.

In high school I learned how to water ski at Heber and I have many fond memories of tubing and riding jet skis on this lake.

6. My Dad building sand castles. At Heber, my Dad showed the kids how to make sand castles by dripping wet sand out of his hands. The kids thought this was pretty cool. I remember him doing this when we were little. I have photos from Papua New Guinea of him showing me this technique when I was about Izzy's age.

7. Learning about jobs Grandma had during her life. My Grandma is currently confined to a bed. She is living with my parents, so we all spent time visiting with her and hearing about her life. 

One of her first jobs was raising chickens. She had 200 and collected and sold their eggs every day. During WW2, she had a job inspecting airplanes that were being assembled (think Rosie the Riveter). As she got older she spent many years teaching about sewing, cooking and homemaking through the Extension Club.

She and her husband, Herman, also maintained a huge garden for many years after they retired. From when I was a kid, I remember learning how to shuck corn on her back patio and making ice cream that we all had to take turns cranking with a hand crank for hours. One time she even showed us how to make butter in a very old butter churn that she had.

I am sure there were other bits of memories that were stirred as we visited. These are just a few that stick out to me. 

It is amazing how I forget things, but just a sight, smell or sound can bring those memories flooding back. I am thankful that with a new generation of children in our family, we can share our old memories and also make new ones.