Kids feeling the water when we arrived. My mom and Josh got me all paranoid about brain eating amoebas (actually a thing, I googled it) so we made the kids wear nose plugs the whole trip! Good news, no amoebas came home with us.
Look at this cutie!
View from the yard. Beautiful! Our first night there we experienced a tropical storm!
On our first morning we went on a duck boat tour of the area that included a boat ride on Lake Hamilton. It was so much fun! I think we all enjoyed the novelty of riding in a bus that then floated on the water!
Getting ready to drive down bathhouse row.
On the water.
Check out that ramp! It was so stinking steep.
After our boat ride we walked around the national park a little (which is actually part of a town, it was really neat) and felt the super hot spring water.
Walking some of the trails around the park.
Justin at the springs.
After hanging out in the park, we headed back to enjoy the beautiful afternoon on the lake. Josh and I went out for dinner and to hear a band play later that evening at the Ohio Club. Great place to eat and it has all kinds of history about the mobsters and illegal gambling that was cool.
Saturday morning we got up to do some (a lot) of hiking at Ouachita State Park. First can I just say how cool it is that state parks are free in Arkansas!? I was very impressed by this. Anyway, I took the family on a pretty grueling 4 mile hike. In the future we'll stick to around 2 miles with the kids! They did great and it was a beautiful hike.
A little crooked, but cute picture nonetheless!
Ike posing with Dave photobombing. Looks a little like Dave's going to smack him upside the head with that stick. :)
Seriously, so pretty! Loved all the moss everywhere.
Ike's tiny walking stick that he drug behind. Kinda defeats the purpose of the walking stick but whatever.
Taking a quick break.
Look at these happy hikers who weren't mad at me at all for misleading them on the length of the trail!
The boys attacking Josh.
Sunday morning we went on another hike, this time in Lake Catherine State Park.
We told the kids this was the waterfall we were hiking to. They weren't the most thrilled.
The actual waterfall. Much more impressive!
My mom took the boys Pokemon hunting most mornings, which they loved the most of all.
Always in their jammies of course!
So cute.
They did all the fishing. Never caught a single fish though!
Finally, a panoramic view of the lake from the dock!
