Arkansas: Camera Phone Edition

Quick run-down on our trip to Arkansas last week...We've got a full week ahead of us this week, and I didn't want to get too far behind on posting!

Kendall and I had a great time! We made it there and back safely, which makes me very thankful as I was a nervous wreck about driving 8+hours in a car with my child! It's amazing how much help Barney and Strawberry Shortcake can be on a long car trip! :) Thank you, Lord for portable DVD players--I don't think I would have survived without it this time!

I'm pretty sure my regular camera is about to bite the dust--it won't hold battery for very long at all--so that's why posts with pictures are getting fewer and fewer. I have been using my camera phone lately-which is what I did last week-but the photo quality is pretty rough. Oh well. I'm just glad I have a few pictures, even if they aren't the greatest!

We spent a couple of days with Mimi and Gran. Some may have seen this on Facebook, but it's just way too funny...After lunch one day, Mimi asked me if I saved room for c-a-k-e. I said, "Of course!" Kendall says, "I want some?" Mimi says, "You want some what? What does C-A-K-E spell?" Kendall says, " CAKE!" Hilarious.

Later that week, we went over for breakfast in our pj's. Mimi made biscuits and gravy and gran made chocolate chip pancakes. Not long after our breakfast, Mimi offered Kendall a snack. She said, "I have some i-c-e-c-r-e-a-m bars in the freezer.(Obviously you can tell we are on vacation. We are eating non-stop. Ice cream at 10 in the morning, nonetheless.) Kendall, what does i-c-e-c-r-e-a-m-b-a-r spell?" Kendall said, "CAKE!" HA HA HA.
Kendall is pressing her nose against Mimi and Gran's front door. The weather was really pretty outside that day, and she was in-and-out.



Kendall and I drove over to Benton one day to see Meredith, Justin and crew. Kendall has a great love for baby dolls and was completely elated that Aunt Mere let her hold baby Colin. Kendall is looking a little sleepy or something in this pic, but seriously, she couldn't get enough. Each time I tried to hold him, Kendall would say, "I think he needs me!" or something like that. Kendall is also completely obsessed with giving babies their pacifiers. She is such a little momma! So cute!

Get a load of this kid's tongue!!! Graham was totally cracking me up this day for some reason. I was so excited to hear him read in his chapter book and then just wowed by the fact that he and I had an in-depth conversation about sea creatures.

We also spent quite a bit of time with Laura, Tatumn and Finley. Tatumn and Kendall really play well together and seem to enjoy each other, even though there is about a year and a half of age difference. Maybe they will grow up to be as good friends as Laura and I are?? I hope so! This particular day, they were dressing up. You can easily see that Tatumn is Snow White, while Kendall was deemed the hula-fairy.

when in southern arkansas,

you must listen to country music. or at least classic rock. it just doesn't seem right driving without one or the other on the radio.

you must also eat a lot of barbecue and fried catfish. it's heaven in your mouth.

you must speak a little more "southern" than normal. especially when you get around your closest friends or family.

you must lose cell phone service at least once. or at least be on roam.

you must see rice fields, and cotton fields, and wheat fields and somehow find God in the beauty of it.

you must pass a car on a two-lane highway. if it's not a car, then it's a tractor driving 15 mph. after you pass that car or tractor, you must be able to drive 75 mph, and know you won't get a speeding ticket. that road will probably be named after the family that's lived on it for 100 years. (and no, i don't drive that fast. anymore.)

you must have a large garden in the summertime. or at least know someone who does, and mooch fresh veggies off them. most of the time, they've got more than they can handle anyway and grow a garden just to give it all away.

you must see american flags everywhere.

you must square away a couple of hours to do your grocery shopping, because you'll see a million people in wal-mart that you know and find a need to catch up in the middle of the aisle.

and you must...you absolutely must own a pair of rubber boots. how else would you play outside after it rained all night?

Trip Home

I only came home with about 20 pictures on my camera. Very unlike me at all! We really did have a GREAT week. We borrowed my dad's vehicle and spent most of the week in Little Rock since most of my family/friends are that area. Here are some of the highlights:



We hung out with Laura, Tatumn, and Finley one day. The weather was gorgeous, so Laura and I took the girls to the park. Tatumn and Kendall are about a year and a half apart, and I was amazed at how well they playwith each other! Such fun watching these two! I feel doubly blessed to have a cousin that is also such a great friend to me, and watching Tatumn and Kendall together reminded me of Laura and I playing together as little girls.



Laura had a doctor's appointment the same afternoon we took the girls to the park and wanted to know if I would stay with Tatumn. I ended up taking both girls back to Mimi and Gran's house. They shared Oreos and played on the front porch. Mimi and Gran had a blast watching the girls play together.

Laura and I also planned to get together on Tuesday. We were going to take the girls to a story hour at the library, then have lunch with her mom in Conway. Laura came down with the stomach bug and had to cancel. I needed to go back over to her house anyway, so I ended up taking Tatumn for the day. We went back over to Mimi and Gran's house for lunch. The girls again had a blast playing together! The most fun was watching them pretend like they were each other's baby. They would take turns rocking each other in the chair. PRECIOUS! They also played hide-and-seek with Mimi. The best part was when Mimi hid with them!

Evan's sister, Meredith, just had her third boy about a week ago, so Kendall and I took a little day trip over to Benton to see everyone. Evan's mom was in town helping with the baby and his dad drove down so he could see Kendall, too. I'm very thankful it worked out for Kendall to see Evan's family as well! We had a great day...Kendall and the boys played and I got to love on sweet baby Colin. No pictures, though. My batteries were dead. I think Meredith and Sheila got some, so hopefully there will be a few floating around sometime! It was a great day!

Kendall and I drove to Stuttgart on Thursday. We made a stop by the bank to see Mrs. Ann, to which as soon as we walked in her office, Kendall said, "Does she have chocolate??" Not sure where that came from, but you better believe a Reece's egg was found! We then went out to Mammaw and Pappaw's house for the rest of the day. My Pappaw has learned some mad cooking skills in the last couple of years, and fixed a full-fledged meal of beef stew, cornbread, and brownies. I was completely impressed! (Yes, each were either a package or mix, but hey, from a man who put a microwave baked potato in the oven with the plastic on it, he's come a LOOONNNG way.)

We had such a great day with my Mammaw and Pappaw. I made some chicken spaghetti to stick in their freezer and we played a game of dominoes. I was excited that Mammaw was able to play with us, too. While I still beat her in the game, she held her own until the very end! :) Kendall took right up with both of them. In fact, Mammaw said, "Do you talk to her about us? Because she is so comfortable with us! She acts like she's around us all the time!" Kendall especially loved the blue guitar and giving Mammaw "rides" in her remote control recliner. Mammaw ate up every minute of it!

What a great week! Looking forward to doing it again in May!

weekend get-away

Over Labor Day weekend, I traveled to New York City. This trip has long been in the planning stages, as one of my closest friends from high school, Adriane, lives in Washington DC and we've talked forever about me coming to visit her.

Adriane's family has always been like a second family to me. In high school, her parents built a house and the extra space upstairs was deemed as "Leah's room" on the house plans. No joke. Adriane's house was always the gathering place and her mom and dad really just had a way of making you feel like you were part of the family. Not just me, but also to most of the people we ran around with.

When my mom died, Adriane's mom, Mrs. Ann, (aka Nana Ann in our house) really just stepped it up and in many ways helps fill a void. She frequently sends packages to Kendall filled with clothes and goodies. She also calls and emails periodically to check up on us. I'm so thankful. Adriane laughs and says she just likes buying for Kendall because there will never be any grandchildren, since neither Adriane nor her sister are married. I beg to differ. :) Whatever the case, it's a blessing and I'm grateful for this precious family.

Probably around Christmas last year, Mrs. Ann, Adriane, and I started talking about planning a weekend get-away to New York City. My precious husband found room in our budget to make this happen, and I didn't even have to do a lot of coaxing! :) Initially, we wanted to do it on my birthday weekend/anniversary of my mom's death, but because of school and other scheduling, we couldn't work it out, so the trip got bumped back to Labor Day Weekend. All the better...an extra day to not have to ask off work!

So last Thursday night, I packed up my one little suitcase and hopped on an airplane bound for The Big Apple at a very bright and early 6:15 in the morning! For those of you who don't believe that I can pack light, below is the proof. I didn't even take a purse, just put everything in my carry-on!
We stayed at W the Court, which was in a great location. Mrs. Ann's sister, Cecile and another friend of Adriane's met up with us for the weekend. Besides the fact that the bathtub drain had issues, the hotel was great and in a perfect location.

Mrs. Ann and I booked our flights at the same time, and while we weren't on any of the same flights, we both flew the same route. I was actually able to fly stand-by and get on her plane from Chicago to New York. I was super exited about this, since I was due to arrive later than she was and was a little nervous about trying to find her at the LaGuardia airport. We didn't get to sit together, but at least we were able to easily find each other and get to the hotel.

Adriane and Cecile rode the train in from DC and got to the Hotel shortly after we did. We walked to Grand Central Station to have lunch, then on to the New York Public Library. And let me just say...for this reader, that place was AMAZING!! Such a beautiful building! After the library we did a little shopping, then headed back to the hotel.

Adriane was quite the little tour guide. She frequents NYC for business, so she mapped out all our days and made reservations for all dining, except for Sunday. Friday night we ate at Otto, which is one of Mario Batali's restaurants. Adriane was also able to score AMAZING orchestra seated tickets to the Lion King, which was unbelievable. After the show, we looked at the bright lights of Time Square then headed back to the hotel.

Saturday started off with a trip to Mood Fabrics. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous things. And to be really honest, I didn't see any prices that I thought were out of control. Just normal, fabric store prices. But just beautiful things, really. Adriane got some fabric to make pillows for her apartment and the rest of us just oohed and aahed.

The rest of Saturday was spent walking. We went to a Hell's Kitchen Flea Market then had lunch at Pastis, which is a French restaurant and apparently very scenester, although we didn't see anyone. We walked and shopped and walked and shopped, then stopped in for desserts at Dean and Delucca, which is the most beautiful grocery store I think I've ever seen! After our desserts, we took the subway to Ground Zero, then walked out to get a view of the Statue of Liberty, the Hudson River, and Ellis Island. Saturday night's dinner was at DeSantos, which was a Tuscan Italian place. it was YUMMY!!!

On our way to dinner, we stopped in a store called Lush, but before we went in, the below window display caught our eye.

It's hard to tell, but the guy in the picture is sitting in a galvanized basin full of water and soap! Only in New York, right? The funniest was watching all the people walk by and say, "Oh my goodness, that dude is in a bathtub!" It was pretty funny!

We slept in a little later on Sunday, then headed out to Central Park. From there, we met up with my cousin Scott for lunch at Brooklyn Diner. From lunch we walked and walked and walked and walked...seeing Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, NBC Studios, Rockefeller Center, all the 5th Avenue shops, and a street fair. We had a very late dessert at Serendipity, then decided on a whim to visit the Empire State Building.

Monday was departure day. Thank goodness for later flights! We were able to hit the street fair in front of our hotel and grab some crepes for breakfast before heading to the airport. I think everyone made it safely home by early evening.

Meanwhile...back at the ranch....Evan and Kendall winged-it at home all weekend. Kendall got Krispy Kremes for breakfast one day and pepperonis another. The also attended Madea's Family Reunion (which is another story for another time, and not on the blog), went swimming at the Seminary pool and got some new tires for the car. Kendall talked her daddy into buying some new princess sunglasses with pink tinted lenses, which are awesome! Evan also braved the church picnic with Kendall, but I laughed when I asked him who he sat with and he replied with "The Roys," knowing that he partially did that so Maggie and Katherine would occupy Kendall! He knows how to work it! :)

I think you could visit NYC a million times and never see the same things or eat at the same restaurant. It's truly an amazing place. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to go, and for all the people that made it happen...Evan, Abby (for babysitting on Friday), Mrs. Ann, Adriane, etc. It was a weekend to remember!

Arkansas Trip

What I learned:

Flying on an airplane with Kendall but without Evan always brings a great sense of accomplishment.

Kendall is loved by many.

What's visiting family without a little bit of drama?

Kendall really loves sunshine and water.

So does her momma.

Children are influenced by other children.

It's really easier to just stay in one place and tell everyone if they want to see you, to come there than traveling all over creation with a toddler and all her stuff. Really, much easier. Especially when daddy isn't with us!

I have sweet, sweet friends.

And a precious, precious family.

What I will remember:

Kendall will be potty trained because of Tatumn.

And eat hot dogs.

Watching Kendall interact with all her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins is joy to my heart.

Kendall stood guard over Gwen's birthday cake.

Jackson told the waitress that "she could go ahead and take his plate even though it still had mashed potatoes on it. Those really didn't have any flavor."

It's bittersweet for me to visit the farm. And Mammaw and Pappaw. I always expect it to be full of life, like it was when we were growing up, but it's not. Great memories, but visiting is just not the same.

Dinner at Mimi's Cafe with Heather and spending the day in Russellville with Kendra and Allyce. I'm so thankful for great friends. And that Jill came over for a little while before leaving for Denver. :)

How horrible it is to tell someone their dog got run over. Awful. I'm still sad thinking about it.

Tatumn and Kendall eating all of Pappaw's ice cream. That's what he gets for eating so slowly...they both already had a bowl, but realized he wasn't finished, so Kendall got in his lap and Tatumn stood beside him with her mouth open like a little bird. I don't think he minded.

How blessed our little family is!

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and a few days following...

After spending the night at Laura and Jesse's house, we loaded up and headed to Stuttgart to spend a little more time with Mammaw and Pappaw. Before going out to the farm, we made a stop by the Pond's house to see Mr. Kevin, Nana Ann, Auntie A, and Lauren. We had a yummy fajita lunch with them and had fun visiting and catching up on life. I love this family so much!

I'm also really glad we got to spend a little more time with Mammaw and Pappaw on Christmas Eve. My daddy and his sister, Marva, were out there, too, and we had fun playing dominoes with them. Later that afternoon, my Aunt Marva and I took my Mammaw to Belks, which was fun to get out and about with her.

Christmas morning we headed to Fayetteville, which was the last stop on the Christmas Express. Evan's sister, Meredith and her family were here for a few more days with us, so watching all the kids together was a lot of fun. Uncle Larry and Aunt Loretta came out to visit on Saturday, and we always have so much fun spending time with them. Larry and Loretta LOVE Evan and Meredith (and all the little ones) and are just so sweet to all of us. They also have the best stories and the most contagious laughter.

We always love coming to Fayetteville and have enjoyed getting to be "home" for a while. Beware...the pictures are still coming! We've had so much fun visiting our friends and family, going on a couple of dates, and just being out of our normal, everyday routine. Kendall has been the best little thing, too...I'm not sure she'll know what to do when we get back home and her only attention is Mommy and Daddy! I've told her a million times since we've been here that she just doesn't even know how loved she is by so many...which is exactly how Evan and I feel when we come home--very loved and very blessed!

We hope everyone had a great Christmas. Happy 2009!

Christmas Eve's Eve

I accidentally loaded these pictures in the opposite order...sorry.

Aunt Judy and I decided that we just didn't get to see each other long enough on Sunday, so Evan and I drove over to Little Rock on Tuesday morning. We left Kendall with Faith and her friend Lindsey for a bit so he and I could go eat lunch with Jill. Then we just hung out at Aunt Judy's house all afternoon, Jill included. We literally sat on the couch all afternoon, talked and played with Kendall. I love my Aunt Judy and am so thankful for the relationship I have with her, especially since my mom is not here anymore. I was also really glad to hang out with Jill for an afternoon. I also got to see Jill's wedding pictures for the first time since the proofs on the internet. It's the coolest storybook thing starting with their engagement pictures.

Later that evening, Evan and I crashed some of my cousin's Christmas dinner. :) Really, I don't think they minded! My cousins Laura and Lance were getting together to exchange gifts between their families and their mom, so we went over to Laura's house to eat and watch them open gifts. They ordered chicken and dumplings from Cracker Barrel with all the yummy sides and I contributed by going to the gas station and picking up some M&M's, Reeces, and Sour Patch Kids for dessert. :) (Except Laura and I didn't share the SPK's.) We then spent the night with Laura and Jesse, staying up too late talking (girls) and playing video games (boys).


This is Tatumn, Laura and Jesse's little girl. She's adorable. Don't you love the upside down sunglasses picture???

We were trying to get a picture of Tatumn, Gunner, and Gwen in their Christmas PJs, and I thought this one was hilarious! All the kids are of course, doing their own thing. AND, you couldn't get Gwen off her new tricycle!

Laura made these super cute monogrammed shirts/onesies for the girls. I've been really impressed with her craftiness lately! :)

We were trying to get the girls together for a picture and Tatumn was being Miss Bossy Britches. It was hysterical. She was dragging them into the living room and trying to get them all lined up. So funny! Whose side of the family does she get THAT from?!?!?! Surely not the Henderson/Simpson side!!!

Kendall had a lot of fun playing at Aunt Judy's house on Tuesday. Aunt Judy, Faith, and Jilly just loved all over her. She did a lot of going back and forth from the living room to the kitchen and (as seen in the above pictures) randomly calling the Hogs.

What a fun day with my family! Wish we could do it more often!!!

The Rest of the Arkansas Pictures

**I was reading back through this post and I see a million errors. I'm not editing! Too tired. Please don't critique my writing tonight!**

I've been wanting to post the rest of these for a while now, and finally had a chance to do it. Here is the rest of our week in Arkansas.

Because my dad didn't know when he would be back from Arizona, we opted to fly to Little Rock and just hang out there for a few days. We knew it would probably be late Tuesday or Wednesday before he got back, and even thought about staying in Louisville until then, but I just needed to be near my family. Evan's sister, Meredith, was ever so gracious to let us come invade her space. I didn't get very many pictures from being at her house, but we had a great time with them. Kendall loved getting to be with Graham and Thomas. (For the most part. I think she and Thomas have a love/hate relationship going on.) Meredith got a few more pictures. (You can go here to see those. I especially like the one of Kendall in her car seat and the one of Kendall and Thomas watching TV.) Evan's parents were actually supposed to be in Louisville the week we came to Arkansas. They are being gracious enough to let us borrow a vehicle from them for a few months, until we decide what we want to do for a second vehicle, and were driving to Louisville the Tuesday after my mom died. Instead of coming to Louisville, Evan's parents came to Little Rock instead, and just kind-of stayed on stand-by for us all week. I have to say that I was a little sad that we didn't get to spend more time with them, but am so thankful they were able to be around to help us out. Kendall actually had her first overnight stay at Aunt Mere's with Nana and PawPaw the night of the visitation. (Mommy and daddy didn't even call to check up on her!) Having them around all week was SUCH a blessing.
Kendall also got a new car seat while we were in Arkansas. I actually sent Evan to pick it out and told him I didn't really care what he came back with. When I saw it though, I knew that Meredith picked it out. It was way too girly to have been picked out by a man! I love it, though! Thanks, Mere! My dad got back to Arkansas late Tuesday evening, so on Wednesday, we (Dad, Kara, Keith, Coby, Jackson, Evan, Kendall, and I) were finally all together. That night, we sat down and ate a yummy meal of Jones BBQ and then played outside with the boys for a while. I have to admit that sitting outside was very bittersweet to me. I loved watching the boys run around and play (we were ALL out there together) but couldn't help but think how much my mom would have enjoyed having all her kids and grand kids there at one time together.

Coby and Jackson LOVE Kendall. They wanted to hold her and play with her, and just love all over her. Coby kept saying to Evan over and over again, "Aren't little babies so much fun?" Jackson wanted to carry her around a lot and help feed her. He was constantly asking, "Where is Kendall?" So sweet.

I have some of the most amazing friends in the world. When we got to Little Rock on Monday, Evan took Kendall for the rest of the evening and I went out with three of my favorite girls-Jill, Heather, and Laura. We did a little shopping and then went to Mimi's Cafe for dinner. (Yummy! Very much a place that Evan would never step foot inside! Way to feminine!) Heather, Jill, and Laura were MORE THAN GRACIOUS to me. I can't even write about it because I will start crying. They are just wonderful, and have been even more wonderful since I've been back to Louisville.

I also have to say a big thank-you to all my high school friends, Adriane, Sarah, Robin, Carrie, Meghan. (Sorry, no picture here. I didn't think bringing my camera to visitation would be appropriate.) I didn't get to visit with any of you as much as I wanted, but I knew you were there and that's what mattered most. It's funny that after my dad called me to give me the news, the first person I called (besides my family) was Adriane. I don't know, but there was something about telling the people that had known me the longest. I remember thinking how comforting it was to hear Mrs. Ann and Mrs. Barbara's voice on the phone late that night. Maybe it's because they were like mother's to me (still are in so many ways) and they just know how to console girls. Whatever the case, I love ALL of you so much and am so thankful that you were there for me.

I was also touched that so many people from Fayetteville drove to Stuttgart for the funeral. Fayetteville is FOUR HOURS away! That is NO quick trip! Thank you Jennifer, Wendy, Karen L. , Ginny, Judy, Karen, Joyce, Taylor, Brian, Kendra, and Scottie. You just don't even know...

Kendall was having a big time in this walker during the lunch before the funeral and then after. She was EVERYWHERE! Coby, Jackson, and Faith were having fun playing chase with her. If we had a big space, we'd SO have to get one! :)

Of course, it was so good to see all of our extended family, even if the circumstances were not so hot. My cousin, Scott, flew in from New York and I was so excited to see him. I hadn't seen him since our wedding in 2005. He is one of my favorite people in the whole world and it was really good to visit with him for a bit. I also loved getting to see my grandparents and then some other distant cousins (Ginger and Amy, wish I could have visited with you more!) that I haven't seen in a while.


So, that's basically the trip in a nutshell. I hated the reason that we had to go to Arkansas, but the time we had with family and friends was wonderful.