Tulsa and Hot Springs!

I can't began to even tell you how amazing our week vacation with family was! We just had an amazing trip overall! Eli was great in the car...believe it or not! We just entertained constantly with books, toys, new toys, snacks, and a borrowed DVD player (he only would watch like a 10 minute show once in a while, but it was a life saver). We stopped every 2 hours to run around and stretch our legs and it really helped! The drive from Tulsa to Hot Springs was GORGEOUS! I was in awe of the beauty of the Ouachita National Forest. The only bad part for me was it was extremely curvy and I got car sick on the way there, but was prepared for the drive home. We were laughing because when we stopped in Mount Ida, AR to eat there was a sign showing 2009's "Opossum Queen". There were tons of little mined Crystal shops along the road, as well. Brandon said as kids they always loved to stop and pick out crystals to take home. In Hot Springs, we were all thrilled to see Brandon's Grandparents, Great Grandma, and all of his family from Dallas. We all stayed with his grandparents in their house on Lake Hamilton. We enjoyed walking Eli and picking out which lake house/cabin we would want. Eli LOVED all the attention from the family. He started saying "Mimi" and "Papa", so that was fun! It was so neat to see him and his cousin Gavin (almost 4) play together and interact. They gave each other kisses, played ball, danced, took baths together, etc. Eli begged for Bob and Donna to play "SEEK" with him the whole time. Brandon taught both boys to jump off the bed into his arms, so they enjoyed playing that game as well. We went for a walk in downtown Hot Springs to check out the springs and tour through an old bath house. It was really strange to see this hot water just bubbling out of the earth pure enough to drink and almost too hot to touch. Amazing! They have faucets where you can just fill up your bottles/jugs for free from the hot springs. Eli and Gavin made "wishes" and threw some coins in one of the fountains. They loved it. Another highlight of our trip was going to Lake Ouachita. The boys loved swimming and we lounged on the beach enjoying the beautiful lake and surroundings. We visited Eli's Great Great Grandma, Munnie, who is 97 twice during our trip. She just loved all the family being there. Although she has dementia, she is still the fiesty woman she has always been and kept us laughing our heads off the entire time. She kept saying how adorable, precious, handsome, etc. Eli was. Eli liked sharing his snacks with her. She got a kick out of it! Eli and Gavin had fun running up and down the halls of the nursing home and playing ball. I'm so glad Eli got to meet Munnie. Do you know anyone who has a GREAT GREAT Grandma alive? I'm sure I'm leaving out a ton of info, but overall we had just an incredible trip, made a lot of wonderful memories, and are looking forward to future trips! I guess pictures and videos will tell the story :-)