To Arkansas We Went

We took full advantage of me not being constantly on-call this past weekend. My husband found $27 tickets to visit his brother and family in northwest Arkansas, so we hopped on a plane last Thursday for a three-day stay in beautiful Bentonville! It was a lovely weekend spent with Steve, Amy, Ben, and Mikey.

Thursday

Our Allegiant Airlines MD-80 arrived in Bentonville shortly after 8:00 PM on Thursday evening. Steve was there to pick us up for the fifteen-minute drive back to his home. They live in a beautiful neighborhood, complete with a playground, pool, and nice neighbors! Amy and Ben had stayed up to greet us. She is such a beautiful, sweet lady! Steve and Amy are really neat people.

Friday

Steve had to work. It didn't stop Amy, John, and I from having a wonderful Girls Day Out! We drove through downtown Bentonville and discovered a cupcake bakery. The nice thing about being on vacation is that it's even easier to talk people into stopping for a cupcake...even at 10:00 AM! We then went to Walmart so I could get a few things I hadn't packed. We decided to make cookies later that evening and also bought supplies for that. Then we went to a nice mall. John wandered Borders while Amy and I got our pedicures. What an incredible treat! It was only the second one I've ever had, but I felt like a million bucks afterwards! We tried to grab lunch at Mimi's Cafe but didn't want to wait half an hour in line for a table. The food court ended up being lunch instead, and we topped it off by sharing a delicious Snickers caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Soon, it was time to head home before the boys got home from school. John and I decided to take a nap while Amy took their dog for a walk around the neighborhood. When all the boys were home from work and school, we watched a movie, played games, made cookies, ate dinner, and had a nice visit.

It might not be common knowledge, but I smashed my finger in the door about three months ago. I mistakenly thought it would be fun! After the first month, it was usable though ugly and blue. Just these past three weeks, however, it has slowly started to fall off and catch on everything. When my pedicure specialist saw it, he said he could fix it! I've had to baby it so much so it wouldn't get worse, and therefore I was all for his magic on my fingernail! He first glued it, then used filler to make it even with the rest of my nail. I feel like a new woman not having to worry about that stupid nail any more! If you're ever deciding if smashing your finger in a door is a great idea, I advise against it! It's nice to have it repaired for now.

Saturday

It was cold! It was only made worse by the blowing wind! We ended up staying inside most of the morning to keep warm. It wasn't hard keeping busy because Amy had purchased everything to make gingerbread houses! It was fun assembling them, and even more fun eating them! It was soon time for a late lunch out with the adults only. We were all in the mood for Mexican and decided On The Border would be perfect. It was nice to get away with just the four of us and converse. Have I mentioned how much I like Steve and Amy? We stopped at Krispy Kreme on the way home to grab dessert for us and the boys at home. John and Steve also popped into a store to rent a PS3 game to play that evening. Can you believe they didn't want to go to a Christmas concert with us?! Amy, Mike, and I went to the concert alone and sure enjoyed ourselves. The talent was amazing, and there is nothing better than hearing music dedicated to this season!

Sunday

As a high councilman, Steve had to speak in another ward at 9:00 AM. John and I got ready to go with him to listen for moral support. He is a fantastic speaker, and I really enjoyed his talk. He told some stories from his and John's childhood, and I always love hearing more about that. We then came home to delicious pumpkin spice muffins made by Amy. After a late breakfast, we got ready for their church at 1:00. They have a really nice ward, and almost everyone works at Walmart Headquarters. All three meetings were nice, and the smell of Crockpot Stew when we came back to the house was even better! Amy and I had a nice conversation while Steve went to meetings and the boys watched a movie. Soon it was time to be dropped off at the Bentonville terminal to catch our flight home. My sister picked us up late last night, and we walked through our door around 11:15 PM.

The entire weekend was so nice. John and I don't travel for fun very much, and it's always nice to see new places while visiting fun family. We really enjoyed ourselves and appreciate greatly Steve and Amy's hospitality! And we got out of the state before the need for camouflage and no teeth struck us!