Arkansas family trip #2

 Our next stop in Arkansas was North Little Rock so we could visit my dear college friend, Mindy and her family.  She has two adorable boys, Will, who is just about 3 months older than Luke Lawson, and their own Luke, who is 2.  We had a lot of boy energy and fun, that's for sure!  They have a beautiful home and a great yard to play in.  Here's Jon working hard to give the boys a ride...

Silly Jake and Luke Hodges...

 Luke tried his hand at pulling...

 These two seemed to take a liking to each other...

 Here they are....some big, strong guys!!!

 We spent one day at a free wildlife museum, then had fun at a park splash area...

 We saw the bears, so we couldn't resist a "Sic 'em!"

 Our final night we went to a minor league baseball game.  We were a little scared it might rain, but instead the weather cooled off and it felt great!  We all had a lot of fun at the game.  Ms Mindy helped all the boys get some free ball caps...

 Here's just a whole lot of silliness!

 We had an awesome trip to Arkansas!  We had the best time spending time with close friends and see our boys laugh and play together. It will be fun to watch them grow up and continue to play on these summer trips!

Arkansas Family trip #1

 Our family of 4 trip for the summer was to Arkansas.  We planned to visit one of my college friends in North Little Rock for a long weekend, so we decided to explore a different part of Arkansas as a family on our way.  We ended up finding a place called Degray Lake Resort State Park.  A state park/hotel!  It ended up being a perfect place for a little trip.  We left early Tuesday morning so we could make the most of the two night stay.  And we're off!

We arrived, checked in, and were given a schedule of activities the park offered.  I think the activity schedule is what made this trip so great.  Jake especially loved picking out what to do and enjoying them.  Our first activity was  "Meet the snake" so we headed to the visitor center.  Mommy definitely didn't pick this one, but I was happy to be photographer!

 Here are the boys listening to a park guide educate everyone on snakes....

 Then the petting began...

 Our room overlooked the pool and this beautiful lake...

 It was July, and it was Arkansas, so it was HOT!!!  We quickly put on our bathing suits and hit the pool...

 The park offered several hiking trails, so we went hiking either in the evening or first thing in the morning to enjoy the trails, but avoid the heat.  Here's the start of our first evening hike...

 This hike was great for many reasons!  It was a perfect distance, there was a great spot to stop by the shore and throw rocks, and it was shaded.

 Throwing rocks.  Enjoying the evening lakeside view...

 Morning hike time dressed in our bathing suits so we can hit the water after we're finished...

 Our morning hike brought excitement from these tiny cute frogs...

 Hitting the lake "beach"

 There was a crazy tree on the shore...

 Another activity was origami frogs shown below.  We also played "yard bowling" and water balloon volleyball compliments of the wonderful activity schedule!

 Our final morning we hit the lake on a paddle boat...

 The resort view from the lake...

 The ride was fun, but it was hot, so we were happy to finish our paddle boat ride, head back to the air conditioned room to pack up then head back to the beach.

 After a picnic and more swimming on the beach area of the lake, we finished our Degray Lake adventures with a boat ride.  This boat ride was the motorized kind that someone else drove for us!!!  We enjoyed a nice scenic drive around the lake then got to hop off for some swimming.  It was a great ending to our little trip!