THE NEWTON'S

On the way home we drove through Northwest Arkansas. Since we lived there right out of college and Ashley was born there, we had to stop and drive by some places. We went past the church we attended, then by Rich's old work- Walmart headquarters. Then drove over to my favorite Chinese Buffet in Rogers. After that we went to drive by the hospital Ashley was born at, and was surprised to find it was no longer a hospital! Then we went and drove past the apartment we rented for one month before we moved into our house and then our old house and pointed out to the kids the tree and bushes that we had planted when we lived there. On the way home I just had to take this picture of Angela... the headphones broke and the little tension thing that keeps it small enough to stay on a childs head had broken, so we figured out a new way to keep it nice and snug on her head... a rolled up pull-up! lol! None of the other kids would use it, but she seemed to be fine using the modified headphones. :...

The next day we slept in a little bit. Then headed to IHOP for breakfast. Everyone ordered breakfast foods- the kids getting pancakes with chocolate chips, or chocolate pancakes, and all of them covered with whipped cream and cherries on top... well except for Angela. She was Adamant that she wanted a cheeseburger! We were worried she would change her mind and complain that the other kids got the pancakes and whipped cream when the food came out, but she loved her cheeseburger! lol! After that we went and did a little more outlet shopping before heading to the chinese acrobats show. I don't have pictures of that either. It was a bit of a dissapointment, and was more of a variety show instead of just an acrobatic show. In looking for pictures online I'm dissapointed that it looks like a lot of their more impressive acrobatic acts weren't in the show that we saw. We had a quiet evening after that. I think we were starting to tire from the busy pace we had kept the previous da...

I forgot to take any pictures at the Dixie Stampede, so I'm borrowing some pictures from Flickr to show what it is... The outside, then as you walk over to go in you pass all the horses used in the show and can see their names and what type they are. Inside there was a pre-show of a commedian/juggler and then you go into the huge stadium for the dinner and show. It's a very well orchestrated production and the kids really enjoyed it! You would think after that that we would be tired and ready for bed, but no... we went and played another round of miniature golf, and then went to see a movie that night- Race to Witch Mountain. It was a fun evening and the kids thought it was neat to be out at a movie that late at night.

The next morning we got up and went out on the paddleboats at our resort. We went far out into the middle of the lake and past that closer to the other side. Alex and Ashley had a lesson in cooperation as they were on a paddle boat together. Then had a hilarious fight while on it about how fast to paddle and where to steer the boat. I wish I had gotten it on video, but it was hard enough to paddle, steer keep Angela in her seat and take a couple of pictures... video'ing it wasn't really possible. After that we headed to the Outlet Mall for shopping before going to the Dixie Stampede that evening.

The second day we went to Silver Dollar City. It was cold and windy that morning. The kids weren't thrilled with having to stand out in the wind while we waited for Rich to get the tickets. It was opening day and I think they had a lot of kinks to work out to get the ticket lines moving smoothly. Once we got inside they rode on a fun fast roller coaster, then we warmed up with hot chocolate while watching a show and then we went and played in the kids fun zone. We had some lunch, then split up- Rich with the big kids and me with the younger kids and hit the rides the kids wanted to go on. Then meet up just in time to leave for the day.

After riding the ducks we decided to go to one of many miniature golf courses and play a round of golf! The kids love playing miniature golf and we don't keep score, we just play for fun!

We decided we needed to get away for a little trip over spring break, so we packed up the car and headed over to Branson for a few days. :) First stop when we got there was to ride the Ducks! All the kids loved the duck whistles, and Ashley got soaked as we went roaring into the lake! Alex took the opportunity to drive the boat while we were on the water. It was a fun time!

Here are a few more pictures. :) My friends little boy was being too cute posing for his pictures! Having a snack...

Last Friday was a gorgeous day. A friend called and invited us and some others to go to the zoo. So we sent the big kids off to school and Alyssa and Angela and I joined our friends for a few hours at the zoo. We had a great time seeing the animals, taking pictures, and playing with friends!