. Family, Friends.......and Hot Springs. A perfect, BIRTHDAY, weekend.

Well it was a surprise all week. I didn't know what was going on. But my Husband and friend were concocting a fun day for Saturday to celebrate my birthday. It's no secrete that I love Hot Springs AR. We go there a lot. So the plan was to go down there with kids in tow and enjoy just being with each other. The fun part was we did things that we have done before and things we have never done. That made it interesting. The weather also made it interesting. When we left it was cold and gloomy. Not to mention the sheets of rain obstructing our view on the way down. But the weatherman said that it would clear up by the afternoon. So we pressed on praying the whole way. We first headed to Rod's Pizza Cellar for lunch. The Morris family had been there before and we knew how good the food was. This place also has a train that goes around the whole restaurant which the kids love. And TVs in every corner. Cartoons and sports were the only thing on. Why isn't there ever anything else on? honesty! I had my good friend Dawn to keep me entertained. So I was good.

This is a picture to keep forever. Kids talking with their mouths stuffed full with pizza! Gross. OK maybe it isn't a keeper, but this one is. How cute are they! Talen and Kelland.
Layton and Jalen. They are good friends. Sports 24/7 with these two.

Now there are some wacky kids for ya. The brown family has 4 kids as well and we both have kids around the same age. Layton and Jalen, Jaren and Deserae, Kelland and Talen, and Brigham and Brody. Brody is missing in this pic but you get the idea. We are one wild group.

Then it was off to Oakland Park for a little horse racing. We have never been there before and it was a lot of fun. The kids loved seeing the horses even though they smelled really bad. But I was really impressed with how small the jockeys looked. and how muscular the horses were. I really didn't know how all of it worked because I have never been to something like this before. But you could tell that this was something people took very seriously. There weren't a lot of kids there. Mostly people with wads of money and a beer in hand. But it was still very thrilling and exciting to see the horses do their thing. It's something I've only seen on TV. We enjoyed it. I think we'll be back.

This was us just waiting around. There was 30 min in between all of the races. But the actual race only took 5 min. It was hard to wait sometimes with the kids. (Now I know why people don't bring them.) The races went on all night long. But we could only stand to stay for 3 of them. It really just becomes the same thing over and over again. But those 5 min are pretty intense.

OK, I just had to put this picture in. It's so funny to me. Who do they think they are? Seriously!! It reminds me of an album cover for a Rap/hip hop group or something. 9 is a funny age. Yo man! What up Duwg.
The Morris Family at Oakland Park.The Brown Family at Oakland park.

So after this we still had some time to kill so we went to the old down town of Hot Springs (my favorite part) and went to the Fudge Factory for some ice cream. It's a little place that looks like it did the day it opened in the 1920s. A cute little sweet shop. It was fun. And the ice cream was so Divine. But the fudge is to die for. So we stayed clear of that this trip. Maybe next time.

How come children are never happy with what you give them. They always want what isn't theirs. Kelland was a good big brother and shared. With a little convincing from his parents.

Finally a picture of cute Brody. He stole his Mothers ice cream.

Dawn with her girls. Look at all the pink. ........I love pink

What a great day. Thank you Don and Dawn. I love you both for this!