Arkansas Trip 2009

"Hey Bent! Guess where we're going?!!!
To see Great Grandma Fondren.... AND we get to ride in an AIRPLANE!!!!"

Delayed flights are never a problem if you remember to
bring something cool to do while you wait.

It's been a year since we were all together. With my only sibling, Deb, in Florida and my mom in Little Rock, Arkansas, it's not so easy to see one another. We did this last year and had so much fun, we decided to do it again. Deb, her daughter Jackie and grandson Camden (from Atlanta, GA) flew out and met us at Mom's. This year, Danielle had both Ethan and Bennett, so we flew together. All considered, the flight out went really well. The boys were wonderful!
Deb and Danielle.



Ethan and his cousin Camden (5 months younger) hit it off great.
Ethan would line everything up just so...





and then Camden would show him how to "fix them".
Cousin time is the best!

Danielle and Bennett "chillin" while we chat.


Mom loved getting to hold her newest great grandson.
As you can see, the feeling was mutual.


Jackie preparing "Christmas" dinner for us. Yea, I KNOW it was the 15th of October.
We just decided to celebrate early with Mom since we couldn't be together in December.
Why? Why not!!!!! :)
(Jackie, this picture cracks me up. You belong on the cover of a cooking magazine. The title?
The Happy Homemaker


Mom brought out her special tablecloth and glasses for our dinner.
Pesto Bowtie Pasta and a beautiful green salad. Yumm!

For dessert Jackie made "fried dough" (like elephant ears). We each brought a Christmas tradition to share and this was Jackie's. She and Chris like to make it on Christmas morning.
We had an assembly line set up- one to stretch the dough, one to fry it and one to sprinkle the powdered sugar.
Total F-U-N as you can see.

"It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas, mmm...m...m...m...mmmmmmm."
With a budget of only $10.00, we managed to wrap up something special for everyone. This required a bit of creativity, which made it all the more fun. We were allowed to give something we already had, to re-gift things we didn't need, look for treasures at Goodwill, g-sales, etc.

Deb and Danielle brainstorming over a "Name that Christmas Tune"
game we were playing. Danielle was momentarily clueless. Either that or
she was royally BORED. I will hope it was the former.



For Mom's tradition, she shared the story of Christ's birth from the Bible.

Time to open gifts.
Ethan was overjoyed to discover toy cars inside some of the wrapping paper.


I gave Deb a glove box First Aid kit.
(Not that you're accident prone or anything. ;)


I surprised everyone with homemade Christmas stockings. I filled them with homemade caramels and fudge and a few other fun things I found.
Jackie has just discovered the "ULTIMATE" gift at the bottom of her stocking-
Two bracelets from Hot Topic.
One said "New Moon" and the other said "I'd rather Die than Be With Anyone but Edward".
Danielle found similar ones in her stocking.
Seeing their faces light up just made my night. :)



Mom seemed especially pleased with the homemade candy.


Jackie was the lucky recipient of Ku Klux Kathy this year.
When Mom allowed us to go through all her Christmas ornaments last year and divide them between us, the "scary" blonde angel with the head that kept falling off was
not the MOST coveted. So, after a few good laughs we decided to dub her "Ku Klux Kathy".
Danielle took her home last year for her Christmas tree and each year she is to be passed on to another one of us. All I can say is, "Jackie, you lucky girl!!!"
Guess I'll have to wait another year for the chance to have her grace my tree. :D




On Saturday morning we were up and off to garage sales at the crack of dawn.
Someone was all decked out in her "go go" boots and ready to shop.
The rest of us did good to make it out to the car.



As we backed out we wondered which way Mom was heading. Had we only known we were about to be "had". Danielle and Mom took off the opposite way. She must have totally floored it because by the time we could turn around we almost couldn't catch up with them (which we later learned wasn't an accident). Mother, WHO taught you to drive?!! Luckily, Danielle had her cell phone so we were able to call and see which way they went.
I'm telling you, going to garage sales is SERIOUS business down south.
We all scored multiple treasures. Now, how to get them in our suitcases.





Once we emptied the gas tanks, it was time to hit up our FAVORITE place to eat-
CRACKER BARREL!!!!
(Thank goodness we don't have one of these where we live, right Danielle?)
Mom enjoying one of the cool rockers out front.
Oh, how I would L-O-V-E to have two of these on MY front porch!!

Camden and Ethan in a heated game of CHECKERS.
"Your move Cuz"

On Sunday afternoon we had a family dinner/ get-together with my Mom's side of the family.
It was so fun to be able to see everyone. Some came from as far away as Alabama and Mississippi.

Our 4 1/2 days together ended all too soon. It was hard to say goodbye because we had so much fun and we don't know if we will be able to do this again next year.
Plane tickets are anything but cheap, so we need a miracle to make it work.
Thanks for the memories! We'll miss you.

Jackie, Mom and Danielle

Me and my FAVORITE sister :)
I love you Deb!

Last stop and we're off. This is the hardest part for me. It breaks my heart to
say goodbye to you Mom. We're far TOO FAR apart.
I LOVE YOU!!!!
Thanks for having us.