Rock Cave, Bear Cave, and Bat Cave

This year Ben and I decided that we were going to introduce Madelyn and Greyson to the some of the simpler hikes around Petit Jean. So, before we even left MN we started talking about the the caves that we could hike to - Rock Cave, Bear Cave, and Bat Cave. Before too long, Greyson was saying, "Rock Cabe, Bear Cabe, Bat Cabe??" He was ready! So was Madelyn. They were SO excited!

Climbing the Turtle Rock by our duplex

Hiking to the Rock Cave

Grandmomma with the kids in the Rock Cave

Family Pic in Rock Cave

Hiking to Bear Cave

Looking for bears in Bear Cave

You may notice that we didn't go to the Bat Cave.... well, Ben told us after Greyson started yelling, "Bat Cabe!!", that he had always called the Rock Cave "Bat Cave" when he was growing up and that it wasn't a separate cave. It took awhile to convince Greyson that we weren't missing a cave hike and he sure wasn't happy about it...

All in all, we were so impressed with their stamina and excitement with the hiking! We had a blast! We will definitely be doing more family hiking in years to come!

Hike to the Falls

Every year at Petit Jean, a big group goes to Cedar Falls. It is a pretty steep hike down and back up and very much a workout. We usually start at 9am, hike down and hang out at the falls for a while and then get back to the cabin to take showers and eat lunch. I love hiking down and seeing what the falls look like because some years it's great! and other years it's just not. Well, wouldn't you know it, this year it was super-great and I couldn't hike down to see it.... a broke my foot/toe two days before!! Oh well... Ben took great pictures for me so I could see it too. :)

Extended Family Time

Petit Jean 2009 Family Picture

My family and I returned home yesterday evening from a 12 day roadtrip between our home in Minnesota, Ben's parents' home in Oklahoma, and a rustic resort in Petit Jean, Arkansas. It was a VERY good trip and I'm SOOOOO glad that we decided to go for that long. It really made the trip worth it. The Petit Jean portion is a 3-day family reunion started by Ben's grandparents 26 years ago. It is amazing! Everyone has a great time and it has really been a blessing to us because there is NO WAY that Ben, myself, and our kids would stay in touch with the 70+ people in Ben's extended family if we didn't have this extended time together. Here are some pics showing us (mostly Madelyn) hanging out with the extended family. She really loved it this year and really started to understand the family dynamics going on. It was fun to watch!

Grandmother and Grandaddy Rhodes with Madelyn -

they started the Petit Jean reunion 26 years ago

The 1st cousins - one more is on the way!

The Rhodes Jr. Clan stay in a duplex together so we get a lot of time to catch up.

Madelyn likes to hold her cousin Sam.

Madelyn also bonded with Elizabeth (who would teach her spanish!).

Madelyn and her 2nd cousins, David and Anna.

For more posts and pics about this year's Petit Jean, go to Stephanie's blog and Christina's blog.

Petit Jean 2008

For those that don't know what Petit Jean is, it is a mountain in Arkansas on which is a state park where Ben's grandparents host a family reunion every year in June. We try to make it every year, but last year we weren't able to go because Ben was graduating from seminary. That made it all the more important and exciting to go this year! However, with flight prices skyhigh and three tickets to buy, we decided that we would drive instead of fly. This would be our first roadtrip with two kiddos in the minivan. It would be four 7-hour days on the road round trip. I spent 3 months before the trip just mentally preparing for it! AND the kids did great! I had been told by numerous people to be prepared with a DVD player but had decided that we would only pull out the laptop and a DVD only in a dire emergency scenario, and we didn't need it! I was very impressed at how well they did. The first day, Ben and I were very strict about having a quiet time from after lunch until 3pm (that is their normal nap time). Madelyn didn't have a problem with that, but Greyson woke up early and we made sure that he knew that he was supposed to be quiet and then at 3 gave him a big snack and lots of attention. He caught right on and didn't have a problem the rest of the drive days! (That is MY smart boy!)

Another treat was being able to stop and spend time with the White Family on the way down and back. Thanks White Family for taking us in! We loved seeing you and the kids had so much fun with Charlie! And I LOVE the mohawk!

Every time we go to Petit Jean, there is a hike down to a waterfall the first morning we are there. It is a pretty hefty hike but a cool tradition. The last couple of times we've been to Petit Jean, the falls has been pretty puny. This year it was much better. (I'm sure that is much to the dismay of the Midwest, who were being flooded at the same time.) It is so fun to hang out around the falls and visit. We are thinking that Madelyn may be ready to hike it next year, or maybe the following year. We'll have to see.

Living in Minnesota, it is hard for me to remember how hot and muggy it can be in the south. It hit me like a brick on this trip. In the cabin we were in, the AC was running non-stop it seemed. the first dinner (which was a "birthday dinner" for everyone), Aunt Lou handed out these kiddie windmill toys. When Mike got back to the cabin, he set one up to spin in the AC breeze. If only we could have harnessed the power generated! Because it was so hot, we took the kids to the pool to go swimming - the first time this year due to the cooler weather in MN. Madelyn absolutely loved it. Greyson not so much. I'm not sure what he didn't like. He likes his baths. Maybe because the water was on the cooler side...

It was great seeing Stephanie prego too. She is having trouble with swelling in her legs and feet but otherwise seems to be holding up well. The rest of the family is great too. I love seeing them and I especially love seeing them interacting with my kids.... It is always such a blessing to experience family loving on them. This trip was the first one that I really felt able to just stand back and let Madelyn venture out and interact on her own and it was wonderful to watch! I especially loved meeting the new members of the family - babies Anna, David, and Logan and new cousin-in-law Josh. They all seem to fit into this eccentric family well!

On the second night, we have a family talent show. We had a great time this year cutting up and having a good time. Madelyn dressed up in her dancing outfit and danced to Ben's 5 aunts singing "I Love Being a Girl". She also insisted on getting up and singing songs to the crowd - of course, "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "A,B,C's". I think she could have sung to us all night. I told her that we will have to work up a special song for next year!

And besides me going OCD about a tube of hydrocortizone cream, it really was a great time!!

a special treat - 4 generations of Rhodes boys