An Overdue Post of Mom and Dayna's Visit!

Life with my mom has always been an adventure. We lacked dull moments growing up, and things haven't changed. As a semi-last minute trip my mom and her bff Dayna came to Arkansas to visit. They arrived on Wednesday evening. I had kind of expected/hoped they'd make it here earlier in the day but they made it around dinner time. I made porkchops with baked apples, mashed potatoes, broccoli and margaritas. :) This was also the last night I had with George because he left for SERE (aka training) the next morning. So Wednesday night we chatted with George and helped him get all packed up and ready for his own big adventure!

Thursday morning, I had to drop George off at the airport, and say our goodbyes. It was sad, as usual but hey- it's not a very long trip, so it will fly by! I got home around 7:30am... (and you should all know from previous posts that I don't really do 7:30am....) but I did it! We had coffee, and planned our trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas! Mom, Dayna and I had a lovely drive on a very pretty day to Hot Springs. We found the visitors center, chatted with a woman there and found a place where we could do the natural hot baths but not be naked... which was really funny to hear my mom say that. We found the local barbecue place Whole Hog Cafe. We have one in Little Rock, which is phenomenal and award winning. The one in Hot Springs wasn't as good as the one here but it was still a good lunch! We then walked down the street to the Quapaw bathhouse. We asked the receptionist a lot of questions and somehow managed to get a short private tour into the basement to see a giant rock and spring which was putting out water at a really high temperature (don't quote me but I think it was around 143?) Hot! We were sweating down in that room, which I secretly loved. Ahhh give me warm weather any day! We soaked in the 'tub' which was really a giant room with 4 pools, each at a different temperature from 94-102 (again, I think).



After we finished the pools, we went to Oaklawn where we watched the horse races! I'd been to one once before when we went with the Aldermans and other friends to hot springs, so I kind of knew the ropes. This time it was nice weather so we got to go outside as the horses ran by which was a lot of fun. We bet a little bit here and there. Dayna and I were winning pretty good! We were only make small bets, under $5 so we weren't really winning anything, but it was still really fun. In between each race we'd all find someone who looked like they knew what they were doing and ask their strategies, and for advice. Everyone was so nice and helpful and told us a lot of tips and secrets. My mom finally decided to bet $6 on one race and did a boxed trifecta, which means she had to guess which horses would place 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and she did! She went to the window to collect her winnings and won $27! She and Dayna screamed and jumped up and down, making everyone turn and look at them. They were acting like they had won thousands of dollars--- it was really funny to watch everyone around them react to their 'big win'. So the next race Dayna and I decided we would do what she did, pick the winners. We all picked the same horses (we chose the favorites) and watched them race. They all placed again!!! We were SO excited, all of us jumping up and down, hoping we'd win another $30 or so. We took it to the window and we only won like $6.40 on a $6 bet. I was so bummed out! Hahaha. It was funny to see how when we lost our whole mood would change, and we'd be so negative and not smile, but then we'd win again at the next race and would be SO excited. It was a lot of fun! On the very last race we chatted with a lady about what to bet, how and why. She referred us to one guy who she said had won at least $1000 that day, and that he was "on fire". We talked with him and he was telling us which horses to bet on and why, and how much we should bet. He even gave Dayna $25 dollars to bet on one horse, that way if he was wrong he wouldn't feel bad. Sadly for Dayna, he was wrong- but luckily she didn't lose any money on it. All and all I walked away only $6 down, and was able to play for 7 races, or 3.5 hours on $10. I think it was a successful day! We made it home and had dinner here, leftovers and sandwiches, and went to bed at a reasonable hour!






Friday morning we decided to go off on a hunt for the Ozark Mountains. We didn't get out of the house until 11:30. We stopped at the Little Rock welcome center for some advice on where to go. (My mom loves welcome centers). We brought Cheyenne along for the day trip too! The lady there sent us on a chase to find the Buffalo River. We made it West to Russelville, then headed north on "Arkansas' Scenic Highway Seven". We made it not far past Dover and saw a little building that had a for sale sign, it said it included cabins, a little convenience store, RV camp spots, a pond, a house etc. So we stopped to chat for fun. My mom asked the lady behind the counter why people would come there. Her answer was for the waterfalls. Naturally we asked where they were, and went off on a wild goose chase to find these waterfalls she said were all the rave in Northwestern AR. Fastforward about an hour and we were in a campground chatting with the campers and finally found the waterfall. We hiked, even though poor Dayna was in flip-flops. Cheyenne drug me up and down the hill. We took some really pretty pictures and had a good time on the short adventure and really did see some very pretty rolling hills/mountains. It reminded me a lot of North Georgia. We drove back to Little Rock, had dinner at ZaZa's, my favorite local restaurant and drove around looking at the houses in Little Rock, and I dreamed of owning one back in some of the most beautiful neighborhoods I've ever seen. Maybe someday!







Whew. Thinking about Saturday makes me exhausted, so here's a quick summary... We drove to Memphis. We got there mid-afternoon, and had lunch at Rendezvous, a famous rib place. We split ribs and chicken, all were delicious. We did a lap around Bealle Street, took some typical tourist shots, went to the Peabody Hotel and saw the Peabody ducks, who were precious. Then we drove to the Pottery Barn outlet, went to Graceland (just to the outside of the house), and then somehow wound up in Tunica. Keep in mind this was all in 5 hours. We rented a hotel, took a shuttle to the casino, made friends with one of the managers, got a free buffet filled with seafood, prime rib, crab legs and desserts galore. Heaven. There were also free drinks all night, and a free cab back to our hotel.





Mom and I had planned a trip to Las Vegas for my 21st birthday. She started an 'envelope' to save for the trip, but when George and I got married, that envelope went to our wedding fund instead. So we pretended like it was my birthday. Our waiter at the buffet who was from_________ I can't remember, somewhere like South Africa or something... I'll get back to you on that! Anyway, we told him it was my birthday and he sang to me which was funny. I also learned to play blackjack, and lost all my money. :) (Don't worry, only $10 again! and I played a long time!)

The next morning I had to drive back to little Rock and work all day, and I really missed my Mommy and Dayna. They are always such a blast and I cherish each minute I get to spend with them! They're wonderful! I love you two!!!

Someday...

I'm watching Hoarders right now on TLC. Oh M G. I have a new fear in life of winding up like these people. Here is another positive to the military. You CAN'T keep frivolous things. You just can't. It's not possible with all of the moving we do. The 'never knowing' how the next home is going to be laid out, or where you'll put something has really changed my outlook on "stuff".

I had a friend in high school come over to help me clean my room (Ashley is still a great organizer!) and I remember her saying to me... "Why do you have this?" And my always response would be "Well I might need it someday". I've learned a lot about needs and wants, and completely unnecessary items... and how "someday" may never come along and then your stuff has accumulated and you're "buried alive". Terrifying.

Lucky for me though I've moved 3 times recently and the 4th is right around the corner so "someday" forces me to clean out, throw out, donate and store plenty of times a year!

Someday...



I've learned recently that I'm young. Sometimes I forget how young I really am. For some reason lately I've been noticing people all around me telling really awesome cool stories and I'm saying to myself... "why don't I have stories like that?" Well, you know what. I'm going to have great stories too. I'm going to live a full, crazy, and happy life, and it's going to be fabulous. Why do I have to be worried about that at 22 I haven't had enough life experiences. I feel like I haven't accomplished enough, or had enough milestones.... but seriously- it's all rubbish. I've done a lot for a 22 year old, and I'm going to get some really awesome opportunities over the course of this lifetime, so why worry?


Sorry if this post doesn't make a lot of sense. It's late and I'm tried. Hoarders just really freaked me out. :)

OH! And Happy Easter! :) Cheyenne and I took pictures today after we went to church on the base in our Easter Best. She is so cute.

And look for a post soon about Abby, our roommates new puppy!