Skip to main content

The hills are alive

Last week Brayden finished his first week as a big Kindergartener while Nate finished his first week officially as an assistant principal. It was a fun time for all.

A trip to the lake that doesn't take 4 hours
We headed to see MiMi and Pa at the lake (Table Rock) on Saturday. I just can't explain how excited I am about this. On Saturday, we did work around the house, ran errands, headed to the lake, dropped off the boys, visited with Dad and Debbie, went to Springfield, ran a couple of errands and made it to a party at Donnie and Winnie's by 6:30 p.m. Now in our "old life," our entire day would have been spent trying to make it to a party in Springfield by 6:30. But here, in this new place we call home, it took an hour and 40 minutes to get from Bentonville to "Pa's lake." LOVE IT!

Now that hour and 40 minutes doesn't come easy, especially for a little boy in the back seat of dad's truck. For some reason I hear the narrator from the Dukes of Hazard in that previous sentence. I think I'm getting delirious. Read it again. You may hear it, too.

Anyway, somewhere around Roaring River, Brayden announced that he was going to be sick. And, as we would expect from our angels, this is how that conversation went:

Brayden: "I think I'm going to be sick." "Yes, I'm going to throw up." "Dad, see that great big hill up there? When we get past it, then I'm going to throw up."

Now Brayden is a puker. He has been since day 1. So when he says he's going to puke, he pretty well usually means it. I handed him a plastic bag just in case, and he says, "But what if some of it breaks the bag and it comes out?" He's always thinking.

A trip to the lake can be likened to a roller coaster
In the midst of this, Beau was taking in what was happening. He finally apparently got tired of hearing about the fact that his big brother may get sick and turned to him and said ever so matter-of-factly, "Bubby! It's O-K. (emphasis on the O-K here) You don't have to throw up." And then Beau proceeded to throw his arms in the air like he was on a roller coaster and scream, "wahooooooo!" "wahooooooo!" He kept those little arms above his head for so long (because we were on such hilly, curvy roads for so long) that they got tired and finally rested on top of his head.

You know when a song just hits you?
On Sunday, we left the lake between 6 and 7, made a couple of pit stops, and were home by 9. And along the way we saw the most beautiful sunset over the Ozark Mountains. I admit it, I'm a big dork. But I just couldn't help but think of Julie Andrews on top of her mountain, arms stretched out, twirling and singing, "The hills are alive. . . with the sound of music. la... la...la...la...."

Nate and I have vowed to always teach the boys about the beauty of the land here. After a while, you take it for granted, and I believe you have to go away and come back to truly appreciate the beauty.

Comments

Unknown said…
Ok ... I nearly peed my pants reading this one. :-) Soooo funny Bice boys! Love hearing about your new life. Glad everything is going fabulously and miss you guys!

Kami

Popular posts from this blog

What if your kids don't like water?

I remember vividly driving home down I-435 one day in 2003. I was pregnant with Brayden and talking to Karen on the phone. Just before I hit the Grandview Triangle, Karen says, "So what are you going to do if the baby doesn't like the water?" Now let me pontificate for just a minute. This is what I love about our dear friends. They call it like they see it. No holds barred. If your best friends can't be straight up with you, then who can? I know that many people don't understand this, for instance, the time Shawn told me I was not holding off my baby weight very well (in fact, I was pregnant with Beau and Shawn just found out). And Karen trying to help me come to grips with the reality that I may have children that don't like water. . . So I remember that day my immediate and very matter-of-fact response was, "That's not an option." Seriously, people, can you imagine Nate and me having kids who DON'T like the water? It's a way of life f...

Heading across country

The boys giggle in bed. Nate checks directions for tomorrow. And I update the blog. We fit our family roles to a tee. Tonight we are in Jackson, Mississippi (M-I-SS-I-SS-I-PP-I). Brayden knows how to spell Mississippi. We're more than half way toward our final destination of Destin, Florida. If all goes well we'll be there by just after lunch tomorrow. Every day for the past three months Beau has asked if today is the day for vacation. And today was the day! My dad was absolutely as excited as Beau. I hear he (Dad) hasn't slept well in two nights just thinking about it. Those two are like two peas in a pod. I can't wait to get to the condo and for them, Brayden, Mazy and Ele to head off to the beach. How much fun there is waiting for us. So I'll try to post some while we're away. I don't know if I'll have a connection. I sooo miss working at Sprint in times like this. It's hard to live without an air card once you get used to being always connected. ...