Turns out May was a pretty exciting month around here! We started the month off in perfectly fantastic style by sharing a wonderful weekend with our dear dear friends the Hutches. We love us some Hutches. And it turns out their days of being Arkansans are numbered (bittersweet feelings here...), so good thing we did this. We enjoyed showing off our new museum, having a lunch picnic, and then after naps and playtime, heading off to the main event:
The next May adventure was fishing! Since Campbell wasn't feeling well, Spencer took Cadence and Layla and Campbell and I had a day to ourselves. The girls were excellent sports but were extremely spoiled. Five rainbow trout were ascertained that morning, and the girls think that every cast ends in a fish. Each catch had to be kissed by each girl.
Above: eeeeeeeeek! they are so cute. I can hardly stand it. (the kids, not the fish)
After the fishing trip they stopped by the "Buss Stop" for legendarily, unneccessarily large ice cream cones. Yum!
Spencer was beginning to feel pretty gun-ho about being rugged around these parts, so he ordered a camping trip one Friday morning. Well, it was the friday before Memorial Day and no reservations had been made, so we called our friends and asked if their Missourri property was available, which it was. Then I had the uncomfortable task of inviting my friends to get in the mood for a last minute camping trip. yeah, no luck with that :)
The camp:
The dog.
So it was just the Clives vs. the wild, which turned out to be a great night. One of my truly favorite memories of all motherhood was made that night, actually. After a weinie roast and smores (and pink and yellow Peeps, Layla will remind you), we went out into the meadow and tried to catch fireflies. They were everywhere, it was truly magical, and the girls were so in to it! Words are typically my weapon of choice, but I simply can't give words to describe this magical moment...
The next morning we walked down to the stream and fished some more. We caught a little guy and let him go, after kissing him, of course. We chased frogs. We caught polliwogs. We learned about crawdads. We got soaked. In pajamas. We headed back to camp covered with ticks.
Campbell's first fish:
We got back to camp and began taking down the tent and packing up the van. I was very overwhelmed with ticks covering my children so I changed their clothes and buckled them into the van to watch "Spirited Away". Not very rugged, but hey, remember I had Lyme Disease? Not very happy about ticks just now.
We got everything packed and ready to go and then couldn't find the dang dog. In the last hour of our adventure she had finally decided that she liked the wild and had gotten a little over-zealous about it. After two hours of looking for her ( = two hours of picking up ticks), we left. Without her. Spencer sighed and suggested we get a roomba and name it Abby.
Isn't she cute? What a sweet thing to be left in the wild.
When we got home, just as we suspected, we had a voicemail saying our dog was found. Phew! Spencer went back to get her and then we spent the rest of the day trying to get ticks off of everybody and everything. I can't tell you the total number of ticks but if I had to guess I would say about 50, including the dog's. 
Isn't she cute? What a sweet thing to be left in the wild.But it was fun and a great way to make memories, so yes, Spencer, I enjoyed it. :)
There was swimming, tubing, fishing, popsicling, grilling, napping, sunbathing, foot-racing, and romantic-toasting (oh, and it WAS our anniversary, you know that, right?).
That night Spencer and I went out to celebrate our anniversary and went to bed at like 10. Ten! that's some anniversary date :). But we were pretty tuckered. Not as tuckered as we were going to be.
You see, there is a magical week in the world of Walmart called "Shareholders'". In this week, hundreds of Walmart associates and shareholders descend upon our vast metropolis of Bentonville for the annual Shareholder's meeting. But, since Walmart owns the souls of most performers, via their labels who depend on Walmart for a great deal of their business. It's an exciting week.
This year the free concerts were Carrie Underwood and Cheap Trick opening for Aerosmith. Free, ladies and gents. So of course we went. And had a great time! All the shows were REALLY good.
I couln't help myself from getting a little "dolled up" for Aerosmith. My shirt says "I [Fender] 80's". It was perfect for both the concert and the Demo derby. good stuff.
5 comments:
Whew! I think I'll go to bed at 8:45 tonight just from reading about your adventures! Sounds exhausting, but in a good way. And I would never set toe outside if there were ticks to be had at every turn. You are a good sport!
What a fantastic weekend!
I love all the stories of your adventures! How you get the energy to dress up in all your glory amazes me.
That's my 'I Fender 80's' shirt! Hundreds of miles away and I can still catch y'all with my clothes... :) That looks like way too much fun and those girls are changing so much! I cannot handle their cuteness. Also, I almost started crying when I thought poor Abby was gone. Glad she was found.
Sounds like a blast! Ticks scare me... I was reading your previous post about not wanting your kids to grow up. I was bawling off and on all week because I was realizing how fast the kids were growing and there is nothing I can do to stop it. :( Miss you!
Love,
Kathryn Hawks
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