Last month, the Sevedge side of our family took another vacation together. Similar to our last
Sevedge Family Vacation, my Aunt Diane and Uncle Emilio gave us their time share points, which covered all of our lodging. So grateful! We chose Fairfield Bay, Arkansas for this trip because it was close enough to drive to and it was near a large lake, which is always fun! Being close enough to drive to is a blessing and curse for our little Weaver family. Yes, it's cheaper, but Gracie's carsickness and the winding Arkansas roads aren't exactly a good mix. And because she doesn't like to take liquid Benadryl, she went unmedicated most of the trip. But then I realized she could have Dramamine! God Bless Dramamine!
We left KC to head to Fairfield Bay on Father's Day. We planned to stop at Pomme (our camping lake) on the way there, so we could pick up our boat. Google Maps estimated the trip to be about 6 and half hours, so I assumed it would take us at least 9 hours. We were pleasantly surprised to arrive in around 8 hours. Not too shabby!
After unpacking and checking out a local restaurant, we all headed to bed the first night because John, Ryan, Kyle and I had a float trip adventure planned for Monday! The boys and I got up early and drove about 45 minutes to the Buffalo River Outfitters where we
naively signed up for the 10 mile float trip in a raft. The cute little sign said the 10 mile trip took between 4-6 hours. The cute little girl at the counter said 4 hours if you stay in the boat most of the time and 6 hours if you stop to swim a lot. We decided 4-6 hours was about right for us, so off we went! These 2 teenage boys drove us down to the drop in a 1960s (not kidding!) school bus. It was about as rickety as you can get without being broken-down. The driver was checking his text messages while he's driving us down these winding, gravel roads at 45 miles per hour. All the while I was thinking 2 things... #1 - I'm so glad we didn't bring Gracie on this trip with us! #2 - I wonder if the people that live in these dilapidated houses are allowed to sign up for Amazon Prime? I mean, could
anything really ship to
this location in 2 days?! Random, I know. But we were in backwoods, hick country, Arkansas. For real. Ryan and John kept humming the Deliverance song - I have never seen that movie, which was probably a good thing, considering our surroundings! Anyway, these cute little boys drop us off, hand us life jackets and paddles then say "Enjoy your trip!" That was it. Off they went in the old bus!
So the boys and I hop in and get going. We're about 10 minutes in and John says, "You know, the arrival time difference between paddling and not paddling is probably like 10 minutes." So from this comment, I infer that we can just float along and relax, not stress about paddling often. So we did. All of us just casually paddled off and on, lazing around, and enjoying being on the water. So after an hour and half passes, John says, "We've probably gone about a mile, I'd say."
A mile?! This trip only takes 4-6 hours and we're almost 2 hours in and we've gone a mile?! About that time I realized that that the river is moving pretty darn slowly. Like, at some points the wind was blowing us upstream. Not joking. So I challenged John's "10 minute" philosophy and made those boys get to work paddling! I named myself the sunscreen queen, making sure everyone reapplied liberally and often.
In the end, we arrived at the pick-up spot 7 hours... yes, SEVEN hours later! It was no big deal though. The cute little teenage boys were there to pick us up. One even said, "I was wondering where you were! We've been here for 3 hours!" Oh well! We really had the best time! A day on the water never disappoints. Stopping for lunch on a sand bar, riding the rapids (I use that term lightly) in and out of the boat was such a thrill for Kyle. It was a great way to spend a day!
While we were slowly floating down the Buffalo River, Graham Cracker, Steph and all 3 little girls went to the Welcome Breakfast where they found out about all the fun activities the resort would offer throughout the week. Lucky Steph even won a free round of golf! Of course she generously shared that with her husband and brother-in-law.
The girls spent the rest of the day swimming, trying out a couple of the different resort pools. They quickly stumbled upon one particular pool that became everyone's favorite. The pool is perfect for kids and even has a restaurant attached called "Sharky's". The wait staff take your order while you swim and deliver your food and drinks to you poolside. It was so, so cool! We don't have anything like that at home. The kids (and Mommas) thought that was pretty awesome!
That evening after dinner, we all headed back to the pool for the "Dive-in Movie". They set up an inflatable movie screen and showed The Jungle Book after sunset. The kids splashed and swam, watched the movie, ordered ice cream poolside, and had the best time. Seriously, probably the highlight of the trip for Gracie! It was super cool to be swimming with colored lights under water and the movie playing on the screen. Needless to say, we went to the pool multiple times throughout the week. Our little fishies could've swam the whole week away!
 |
| Graham Cracker and her Mini-Me chillaxin' in the shade! |
Gracie jumping in!
Kyle ready to splash!
Kia hoping Mommy will catch her!
Over the next few days, we divided our time between swimming, relaxing, and exploring! Ryan and John got up early to get in a round of golf one morning. We girls took full advantage of the slow mornings on vacation to sleep in and lounge around. These places Uncle Emilio and Aunt Diane send us to are so convenient because they've got a full kitchen. We ended up cooking nearly all of our meals at home this trip. It was easier on the wasteline and on the pocketbook. My mom, sister, and I also stayed up late a few nights to finish 24 Season One. It was my second time watching Season One, but the first for Steph and my mom. For anyone who hasn't watched 24, holy cow, you gotta see it! I'll admit, it was a tiny bit spooky taking the short walk from Steph/Mom's condo to our condo at 1:00 am after seeing Jack Bauer lay the smack down on the bad guys!
One afternoon, Ryan, Steph, and I drove into town to pick up fishing licenses and gear. While we were there, we had quite a funny experience, which I blogged about
here. But John, Graham Cracker and the kids didn't need to waste their time going to Walmart, so they went hiking and cave exploring instead! Kyle and Kia loved the caves! Gracie wasn't so sure. She still talks about how they were dark and scary. Anything dark is scary to her. But from what Graham Cracker said, all the kids did a great job hanging in there with the walking and definitely earned their ice cream treats afterward!
This was the closest Gracie got to a cave!
Cave explorers, Kia and Kyle!
Poor John had to carry Natalie because the path wasn't conducive to a stroller.
You can see how hot Gracie got...
The second to last day of our trip, we decided to get play on the water for a day. The rain and lightning kind of interfered with our plans, but everyone who wanted to got a turn to go tubing! Kyle started off the fun because he's finally old enough to go without an adult! He quickly learned the hand signals and wasn't bashful about telling Uncle Ry-Ry to
slow down a few times! Graham Cracker was next. And let me tell you, this ol' lady is a tuber! She just rides and rides, only giving the
I'm done signal because she doesn't want to hog the tube! Who would've guessed, Graham Cracker is a closet tuber! I also took my turn on the tube. I didn't just sit with my booty in the hole, I laid across the tube and held on for dear life. My sweet husband knows to go easy on me, but still, somehow, I ended up flying off the tube. I never really mind wiping out, I just hate how sore I am for the next 3 days! I have no upper body strength... seriously! John and Kia took a turn and Kia did a great job for her first time. So brave! John took his solo turn after Kia was back in the boat and that man is strong! John held on through all the waves and maneuvered his body around like he was lounging on the couch. Crazy! Gracie attempted to ride with Ryan, while I drove the boat. It was a mistake. She hated it and I think it's mostly because I don't know how to take off with her back there. I try to go slowly, but I think that makes it worse. After getting her back inside the boat, Ryan took his chances tubing with me behind the wheel. I was a nervous wreck... watching him and watching for other marine traffic. Gracie was flipping out every time he went outside the wake screaming, "Daddy! Noooo!!!!" She'd tremble like it was the last time she'd ever see him. Finally I threw him off, just as the thunder and lightning began. Greer's Ferry Lake is gorgeous! There were some beautiful and majestic homes with amazing views. It was definitely a super fun day!
Steph and Kia
Captain Ryan - I promise he was happy!
Graham Cracker holding Natalie
Kyle... he loves his goggles!
Gracie and me!
Kyle tubing... can't you see him back there?!
Graham Cracker tubing!
John and Kia tubing!
Watching the rain come down!
We made sure to take the kids fishing while we were in Arkansas. All of them were so excited to fish, but none of them really know what they're doing. Stephanie and I refuse to touch the worms, so Ryan spent the whole evening baiting hooks and taking tiny Blue Gills off the lines. It was funny to see the kids squirm when they had a fish on the line. We adults didn't get to do any fishing, but next time I'm going to make sure we do!
Kyle's first fish!
Can't you see that little tiny thing hanging near his waste?!
I asked why he wouldn't hold his own line for the picture?
He said he wasn't scared of the fish, just the hook!
A couple of hot kids!
We ended our trip with a full day of driving back to Kansas City. Gracie was so sad it was "Go Home Day" and asked when we'd get to back to Arkansas?! Sweet girl! We're all so lucky to have the opportunity to travel together and experience so much fun with our big Sevedge family! What a blessing! Thank you again, Uncle Emilio and Aunt Diane! We love you!
