I need a vacation!

Oh, that's right we just got back from vacation. So why am I sooooo tired?! As I posted after our trip to North Carolina, vacations just aren't the same when you're the mom. On Saturday night we returned from visiting my grandparents in Arkansas for 2 weeks. The whole Parker/Jacobs/Vander Molen clan was there for the first week (Amanda had to head home after a week to get back to work) totaling 12 people in the same house. Crowded? Yes. Crazy? Yes. Loud? Oh, yes. Stressful? Yes. Good time? Yes. We always have fun in good old Hot Springs and even with all the chaos of 3 young kids in the mix, this year did not disappoint. In pre-children years, our days were very laid back. My grandparents live on Lake Hamilton so our daily routine was: pack lunches, hop on the "party barge", and sun & swim all day long. This year was quite different as we had to work around nap schedules and spent more time chasing than tanning. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all.

A view of the house coming in off the lake...

Kate loved swimming and jumping off the boat into the water.

Luke wasn't as crazy about the water as he was running around the boat. He took at least one nap every day on the boat and even fell asleep at the wheel- good thing Grampa was there to take over the driving.

The babies got quite a kick out of feeling the wind in their... hair?...okay... on their heads.

John, Kate, Luke and I made the 5 hour drive to Oklahoma City and had a great couple of days visiting our friends, the Schatzels. They very generously opened their adorable home to us and showed us a very good time.

Kate loves "baby Ben".

We visited the memorial at the site of the Oklahoma bombing. The most heartbreaking part for me was the chairs. In the grass area (where the building stood) they have set up copper chairs, engraved with a name, each representing a person who died in the bombing. The chairs come in two sizes- the smaller ones being for the children who were killed.

We also visited "Bricktown", Oklahoma City's downtown area that is so cute. They converted their old industrial area into a really nice place for shopping and dining.

Some of the sights along the road between Arkansas and Oklahoma include many abandoned houses and other structures. We saw a few billboards that are unique to the south and very refreshing. And, of course, cows.

In the need for an outing and a break from the humidity, we found a cute little place called Little Bitty City. It's a fun indoor play place that the kids really enjoyed.

Kate was in heaven in their dress-up room.

The daddies had fun, too. =)

Here's a shot of the beard John grew during the first week. It was much fuller a couple of days later but the itching finally drove him to shave it off.