Thursday, February 26, 2009

SNOWY DAYS...
While we were home (Ashtabula, Ohio) for the holidays, we got some snow. Being in the snowbelt it shouldn't be a surprise, but in recent years our holiday trips home haven't been big in the snow department. This was the first time Brandon experienced any significant amount of snow. Laedyn too, of course. Laedyn, Nick, and my brother, Eric, are watching Brandon play. Laedyn was not as thrilled about the snow experience as Brandon was. It actually scared her a bit.Even having Uncle Eric pick her up was not going to make her happy...

There's so much snow you can't even tell where the road is! When I was growing up there were two huge trees just past where Brandon is standing. The city had them cut down recently. It just looks weird and bare now.Uncle Eric dug around in the garage until he found an old plastic sled. He then tied on a nice sturdy rope so we could pull Brandon around in the snow.
Dad (aka Papa) did a good amount of the pulling.
He even played a little "King of the Mountain" with Brandon on the roadside snow banks. They were kind enough to pause in their game so I could take a picture.Nick even got to have a ride in the sled! Yes - they are playing in the middle of the road ... there was not a soul in site and the packed down snow was slide-ier than the snow in the yard.Our next stop was Walnut Beach for some real sledding action. The hill next to the library wasn't being used, so we decided to break it in.I couldn't resist - I had to take a turn too.
OK - so I took more than one turn. It was fabulous fun! Nick was a little more adventurous than I was!
My little snow angel ... The abomidable snow-daddy?This is the view from where we were starting to sled down the hill. You can't sled from the top because farther up is a bunch of stairs. Off in the distance you can see Lake Erie.
We walked back to the house after we got done sledding. Brandon was too tired to walk - apparently he was too tired to even sit upright in the sled. Don't worry - we loaded the giggly thing back into the sled and went home for some hot chocolate!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Sunday we went for a hike at Cadron Settlement Park near Conway. Cadron was a small settlement along the Arkansas River early on in Arkansas' history. Cadron served as a riverboat stop and was also a stopping point along the Trail of Tears. Many of the displaced native americans died from cholera, and some were buried at Cadron.


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This building, called the blockhouse, was used as a fortification against the native population across the river. It was also a meeting and gathering place for the locals. At some point it served as a private residence. The actual blockhouse is long gone - the one seen here is a reproduction.The trail at the park was a loop the followed along the river bluffs for awhile and then moved inland. Many of the river overlooks were quite nice. The trail through the woods wasn't very wide, but the whole thing was graveled. There were numerous mountain bike trails criss-crossing the foot trail the whole time. We did not see any bikers however. We did meet a family with a funny little dog named Chilly Willy. Brandon was obsessed with the name of that dog and repeatedly asked where it got it's name and why.Toward the end of the trail Brandon decided he needed a lift, literally. Nick, great Daddy that he is, carried both kids for awhile. This was Laedyn's favorit part of the whole excursion -- having her hero, Brandon, up top with her was the highlight of her day!
Before we started out on the hike, Brandon said he wanted to see the sunset. We assured him we would not be there that long ... we were wrong!He was pleased to sit on a stone bench and watch the beautiful light from the sunset reflecting on the river ... until his hands got too cold and the lure of the cookie waiting in the car got the better of him.Back at the parking lot we stopped to admire the sunset sky once more. It was fabulous!We ended the day with another self-timer portrait. Laedyn loves the beeping followed by the click and flash. She laughs and laughs ... who knew it would be so easy to get her to look at the camera and smile!!!