Kids' first camping trip + Texas

For this year's trip to see my family in Texas, we decided to go through Arkansas and meet my parents there to do some camping. Our way through Arkansas took us right past the small town where my cousin Ken and his wife Danielle live. We spent the night with them, had some great pizza, took a tour of the college they attend, and had a great time catching up.

Then, we met my parents at Mt. Magazine State Park. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. The kids played with glow sticks and bug-catching kits. For their first time camping in a tent, they did pretty well! They went to bed way too late (after 10 PM), but that's pretty typical when they're in a new place. They were too excited to settle down.

After hiking around the park the next day, it started to rain and was forecast to have severe thunderstorms, so we packed up the tent and stayed in the lodge the next night. The storm was pretty intense, so that was a good call. We swam in the indoor pool and ate dinner at the restaurant, so it was a pretty cushy second day of "camping."

After that, we headed south to Crater of Diamonds State Park to dig for diamonds. It had just rained the day before, so the field was crazy muddy, but apparently that's the best time to find diamonds, so we went for it! We didn't find anything more than some cool looking rocks, but it was fun. Libby and Piper really got into it and were covered head to toe in mud. They were jumping in puddles, laying on their stomachs, squishing mud in their hands. It was awesome. (Those pictures are on Jared's computer, so I'll have to add them later.)

They were freezing after we hosed them down, so we had to bundle them up in blankets.

Finally, we spent a few days in Dallas, making the rounds to see my siblings and my grandparents. I love this picture of my sister, my mom, and me. I feel so tall next to them!