Arkansas Trip (Post #2)

On our way home from Arkansas, we decided to take our time before stopping in St. Louis for the evening.  The fall leaves and the scenery was so beautiful, so we took a more scenic route.  We stopped to see the Bull Shoals Dam , and then proceeded to drive the Blue Buck Knob Scenic Byway through the Mark Twain National Forest.  It was soooo pretty.  It would have been nice to take this route with slightly older kids, as ours were too young to really appreciate anything, but Eric and I enjoyed it. :)

Enjoying the view at Bull Shoals

The Dam

It was windy...



A brief stop at Noblett Lake

Purty...

 

Another beautiful sight :)

 

Arkansas Trip (post #1)

I will try to keep this brief (famous last words).  We headed out to Arkansas for my grandmother's funeral this past Friday.  We decided to stop overnight in St. Louis on our way there and back to break up the trip and not have it be as overwhelming for the kids (and, let's face it, us, too).  This did make our trip longer, but it made it more bearable, so it was worth it.  Overall, we had a really good trip.  Despite very short (or no) naps for the kids, later bedtimes, and lots of car time, everyone survived, and we were so glad that we were able to celebrate the life of my grandma with relatives that we don't get to see that often.  Without further adieu....

Eden had previously been rear facing up until this trip, but we decided to turn her around thinking that she would enjoy the long ride more if she could see all of us.  I think it helped tremendously!

Holding hands...so cute.

It's time for a cookie!



Ah, blessed silence. :)

Driving by the arch in St. Louis

This was a typical view as we were driving (from about St. Louis on)....it was such a beautiful drive!

The kids before the wake/visitation

The kids all dressed up before the funeral

My mom and her sisters



My bro

My two handsome men!  I don't know if you can tell, but they had matching ties and shirts. :)

 

 

Eden and her secind cousin, Daniel.

This is my grandmother's brother, Dorman.  My grandmother came from a musical family, so "Uncle" Dorman graced us with his singing and guitar playing after the funeral. 

A whole bunch of family/relatives gathered together for some food and fellowship after the funeral.

Mom and her sisters



My aunt and I and our unintentional matching shirts. :)