The Kohlmans

Another fun side trip we took in Arkansas was to the Pea Ridge Civil War Battlefield. I'll be honest, I'm sure it's an interesting and educational place to visit, but with a rambunctious toddler, I didn't get much out of it (other than a few good pictures of said toddler). I did love the wide open spaces (Kansas girl at heart)! I didn't know Northwest Arkansas had this kind of landscape.

By far, the best part of Lincoln's trip to the cabin was the rock throwing. The kid could have thrown rocks into the lake all. day. long. It's exhausting to be the one "helping" him, but it was so much fun to see how delighted he was when the rock would splash into the water. Almost every time he threw one, he would say "boom" (no, not "splash" like you'd think); that's his silly little face in some of these. Yep, go ahead. Pick up the biggest one you can find and plop it in right next to your toes.

It took a little while for Lincoln to warm up to the lake. We took the gradual, warm him up approach, which meant that we didn't spend as much time out on the dock/boat as I would have liked (or as much as I grew up with), but there will be time for that in the coming years! He loved being in the boat from the get-go, especially when it was going fast or we were pulling a skier or tuber behind. We went on a couple of (very slow) tube rides in the cove, which Lincoln really liked. Brad was our official boat driver for the week. Brad got lots of fishing time in but didn't catch a whole lot. By the end of the week, Lincoln was (mostly) all smiles in the water. He thought touching the fish was the best thing!

We spent the last week of July in Arkansas with Brad's parents and brother. It was great! When I was little and we were driving down, I always knew these rocks meant we were getting close. That, and the road construction... always the road construction! The first night we were there, Brad, Jeff, and Justin with to the NW Arkansas Naturals (a Royals affiliate) game. Barb and I stayed back at the cabin with Lincoln. He wanted the blinds open, and shortly after we pulled them up, we saw three deer in the yard! They were there most mornings and evenings, except when it was raining. So cool to see them up close! Lincoln didn't get to spend much time up in the loft, but he really liked throwing the ball down to Uncle Justin. He also liked being ornery and climbing up the ladder when he thought we weren't looking! Other highlights of the cabin itself were playing peek-a-boo in the upstairs windows (the look down on the living room), hanging ...