El Dorado "Spring" Field

I just love being able to visit friends on the way to the lake. This year we left a day early so we could go to Kevin & Brandi's house in El Dorado Springs. Kevin was in my class in pharmacy school and Brandi graduated a couple years later. They run a very succesful pharmacy in town and my boys LOVE playing with their boys, Blayze & Rees. Someday Violet & Sage will be buddies, too, I'm sure. Kevin has always been the "energizer bunny"; I am constantly amazed at how he can fit 48 hours worth of activity in a 24-hour day. After working his 10+ hours at the pharmacy, he worked in the Optimists' Club corndog stand at their "El Dorado Springs Picnic" until 1:00 a.m.! Here he is in the yellow shirt dishing up some corndogs to the hungry boys.

Kevin must have known how much Calvin loves his corndogs -- look at the size of that thing!

We left Kevin with the corndogs and the rest of us took off to explore the rest of the fair. It was quite the production for a small town!

It was adorable how Rees was explaining to Calvin how things worked at their carnival.

We told Calvin he could pick one ride, and the helicopters were the winner. He and Rees shared one. . .

. . . And Oliver shared one with this random girl. He didn't care, as long as he got to "drive"!

After the oh-so-exciting ride on the helicopters, Calvin also convinced us that he needed to play one of the games. He decided the dart & balloon game looked challenging enough.

He won! (Okay, so the guy running the booth guaranteed they would each get something if Russ paid him $5, but we'll let Calvin continue thinking he won.) These fabulous little stuffed dogs were the prize. What carnival experience would be complete without walking around with some tacky little stuffed animal??

I just love Violet's expression here. You know she's thinking, "I don't want this junky little toy!"

Before leaving the fair, the boys made their way to the original spring that gives El Dorado Springs its name. Oliver was ready to try it out with Blayze & Rees.

I don't think he was much of a fan (neither was I).

We told Kevin & Brandi that we'll try to make it again next year for the fair and stay until the "greased pig contest" -- their boys are champions at this, and I think it sounds hilarious! We left their house Friday morning and headed to Springfield to visit Oliver's heart buddy, Eli, as well as his parents and grandmas. (For Oliver & Eli's story, see the post "Two of a Kind" from June 4, 2008). I love seeing these boys grow together and hope they will always be friends. As soon as we got to their house, they immediately started playing with the trains and could have done this all day if we'd let them. (By the way, do you think we could do a "hair transplant" between the boys? Eli has the most gorgeous hair of any little boy I've ever seen!)

We debated whether or not to go swimming in their beautiful pool, but decided we'd save that for another day.

Oliver & Eli played a bit on Eli's rocking horses. . .

And then Calvin & Violet joined in on the fun! What kind of kid has 4 rocking horses in their house, you ask?

The same kind of kid who has 104 real horses outside! Molly, Eli's mom, took the boys to see a couple of the babies, and they were so cute!

Calvin got to try out being a stable hand. I think he may have a future here, unlike Oliver, who is still ridiculously afraid of horses.

Thanks for letting us play at your house, Eli -- We'll see you again soon!

While We Were Gone

When we left for the lake last Thursday, the trusses (which would become the floor) for our new house were just being delivered.

The guys were also starting to frame in our basement. I knew things would look a little different when we got back. . .

When we got home today, we found actual rooms! Here the boys are welcoming you in our front door:

Here is our beautiful living room:

Our elaborate master suite:

And here is our stick house as it stands today:

It's really starting to take shape -- so exciting!

Lake Vacation

When kids are crammed in a super-deep bathtub, that can only mean one thing: Bull Shoals Lake and Grandma & Grandpa's lake house!

This is Ross' first trip to the lake, and Oliver was quick to show him how things are done (even what to wear, it appears -- the best thing about their outfits is that Oliver's is an 18-month size and Ross' is 24 months. . .Ross is a full year younger than Oliver.)

Violet decided to try out one of her bikinis, but became WAY too interested in her "baby button" (as Calvin calls it), so we had to go back to the one-piece.I bet you've never seen a set-up like this on a boat before! Violet's feeding tube, as well as a portable fan, are rigged up to keep her happy.
Calvin had so much fun playing with Ella. . .
They jumped off Grandma Jo's boat over and over and over again. They jumped on the count of 3, then the count of 6, 16, 24, and pretty much as high as Grandma was willing to count!
They also took the tube for a ride. If you look closely, you'll see both of them have their tongues out. . . such concentration involved in this tubing.Ella thought she was pretty hot stuff driving the boat. When Uncle Scott would try to help her, he swiftly got his hand slapped!
Calvin's favorite thing on this trip to the lake was definitely jumping off "Snoopy" -- he jumped every day we were there, multiple times. We decided to try and get a picture of all the kids jumping at the same time. Calvin got a little eager and jumped the gun a couple of times, but finally we got it. Jackson is the highest, jumping off Snoopy's nose, then Sydney & Bryson are next, then Calvin & Luke are on the lowest ledge.
There they go! Calvin was still a little ahead of the rest of them -- so impatient!
Calvin decided this year that he wanted to ski just like Sydney & Jackson. I learned to ski when I was 5, so I thought there was a chance he could do it at 4. Grandma Jo was a great coach in the water. "Keep those skis together, we're getting ready!"

Here was Calvin's first attempt. He forgot to let go of the rope when he didn't get up. I'm pretty sure the lake level dropped by a couple of feet while Calvin was trying to ski.

A L M O S T . . .

Unfortanately, this was the best we could do for getting him up on skis! Oh well, he IS only 4. . . we'll try again next year.

One of the favorite new things the kids did this year was "double tubing" -- they had so much fun bumping each other as they crossed the wakes.

Calvin was on the big tube with Jackson & Luke. . .

. . . while Oliver stayed safe between Sydney & Bryson.

And Uncle Russell showed that men truly can multi-task. He very capably held both ropes AND his beer and even appeared to be meditating at the same time. (I'm glad he didn't have to choose between the kids and his beer, though. . .)

Calvin and his buddy, Luke, always have fun at the lake.

Oliver and Ross having fun getting snacks on the boat.

We often feed the fish while at the lake, but this year the boys got to feed the geese as well.

After a full day on the water, we all get busy making supper.

While the adults were cooking, the kids decided to dance to the music playing. Oliver & Calvin got things started. . .

Grandma Jo is never too far from a party, so she grabbed Ella and they joined in.

Then Ross wanted in on the action, too. The kids were being so cute dancing all around the living room.

Once again, we had a wonderful lake vacation. My kids just love playing with their cousins, and I'm so thankful for the time we spend with our family!

(Random thought while looking at the above picture: Which one of these is not like the others? Have you ever seen a better-looking group of blonde-haired, blue-eyed children + Oliver?)