Arkansas Visit February 2009

Chad, I and Chase went to Arkansas to visit my inlaws. The drive was very pleasant. We had great weather and the temps started out just right. The farther we drove the cooler it became, but the sun was shining and we took several breaks along the way. Chase did very well in the car. I was grateful since most of our trips really don't go past 3 or 4 hours in the car. That is about all Chase usually takes before the crying begins! When Chase started to get the least bit fussy, we would find a rest stop, gas station or if it was near eating time, a place to stop and eat. This gave him ample time out of the car seat and when we were ready to leave, it was like almost starting over from the beginning! After 11 hours, We finally reached Arkansas. During the drive to Mountain View, Chad and I saw so much damage from the recent ice storm. There were so many power poles down, trees toppled (on power lines), trees on roofs and we saw one on a car too. We saw long rows of NEW power poles put up without any power lines on them. There were lots of people without power. We were listening to the radio and came across a emergency station that was reporting counties and cities, towns that still remained without power. They were listing places that were to be worked on and were asking people NOT to call in and report that power was still out as that it was slowing down repairs and power restoration.

We arrived at my inlaws around 6ish pm. We were all very excited to see each other. It had been nearly 9 months since we had been together. My mother-in-law went straight for the baby! And Chase just loved it all. We got the grand tour the new house and picked our bedrooms. We slept upstairs. We were the first to sleep up stairs! Chase and I slept in the right side bedroom (ON THE NEW BED TO BEAT THE BOOT!)and Chad in the left bedroom. We had the upstairs bathroom. AGAIN a first. we were the first to shower upstairs, I believe. The house was very lovely and homey. It had excellent views from every room and window. My favorite part of the house was the breakfast room. It was very dainty and quaint. We could watch the birds from the breakfast table. (although we didn't really ever eat breakfast there). The outside was very woodsy. There were lots of down trees. Chad and my father-in-law worked a couple of days outside pulling down trees. The second day they were going to cut them up but couldn't get the chain saw going. So we all went for a drive. We saw lots of places in town. We went to a place called Calico rock and saw an amazing view of the river and town.(in which my MIL found some history on the river! VERY INTERESTING). We also went to a little shop strip and I can't remember where but it was a historical place. We went in and looked around. There were some really cool and neat things in the shop. There were some old type toys that I played with as a little girl. This is where we got Chase's b'day gift from my inlaws. It was a Pixar Disney Cars rug. It is a pretty nice sized rug that Chase can play on the floor. The man who owned the shop also owned an ice cream parlor next door. Due to the ice storm, and lost power, I believe he lost about $600 worth of ice cream. It was sad because his insurance deductable was about $10,000.00. He said they went to a hill side and poured out all the sour ice cream. He was also handy in sewing things...after a long debate and persuasion, I had my favorite purse have it's broken strap sewn back on. I hope it will live another year! Around lunch or dinner I am not sure which, we stopped at a Mexican diner to eat. It was so nice. The hot sauce and chips were terriffic. I had eggs ranchero and had a very different experience as the ranchero sauce was none I've ever eaten before. It looked like a barbeque sauce type but still had the tomatoe taste. It was very good. We really had a nice time looking at all the tour spots for the Music places even though it was not in season. One day, my MIL took me to a Mennonite lady's home, Elsie. She was making a baby quilt for her soon coming grandbaby. It was still on the quilting frame and there was suppose to be a quilting get together but it had been cancelled due to the lack of power for some of the people. It was interesting to meet her and hear a little about how she came to be in Arkansas. I also met a lady named Mary. She was very nice and interesting as well. We also met a couple that were my inlaws friends. Their names were Carl and Jean. They were very nice and are very involved in many things. There was also another couple that we were able to meet, I can not remember their names but I believe the man helped my FIL work on the house. I feel good that my inlaws have friends there. I think they will have much to do for a long while. The woodsy land will be enough to keep them busy for a while.
While there, the weather seemed cold and windy. On one of those days, we went for another car drive just to see some scenery. We went down Meisenhiemer road and on to a farm. We saw a sow and her 15 piglets running openly. While driving, we also saw a HUGE pig. I have never quiet seen a pig so big before! We had supper at Pizza Inn and had great visits with each other. Chase made sure to leave fingerprints on windows and doors. Best of all, I GOT TO LISTEN TO A FEW DAYS OF SOUTHERN GOSPEL MUSIC! Chad didn't complain ONCE while driving in the car home. It was great.