This year we decided to do a low-key trip to Hot Springs with our friends and their little boy. J is about 3 weeks older than Hulse and Olivia, so they really are at the same stages and can play together. I took off all week and had some mom-only time, and then we left Thursday morning.
We rented a condo on Lake Hamilton, and it was really nice. We had a quick BBQ lunch and then headed to the grocery store for some essentials. The babies took afternoon naps and then we headed down to the pool. I'm so glad all the babies love water, and they had a good time "swimming" around. We worked up quite an appetite and went to Rod's that night for some pizza. It was sooo good and the kids loved watching the train go around the restaurant.
Friday we slept in and woke up to a little bit of a rainy day, but we decided to go downtown and walk around for a while. We browsed several cute shops and found a really cute toy store. The kids got some new puzzles, balls, and a new book.
After lunch and nap time the weather looked a little better so we decided to load the kids up and try our luck at Magic Springs. The water park part of Magic Springs has a couple of kiddie areas that we tried out. Our friend J loved it, but our kiddos weren't sold on it. I think the water was too cold (our baby kryptonite) for them, and it was kind of overload for them.
We got dry, grabbed some dinner and went over to the attraction side of the park. Hulse and Olivia got to ride their first official rides. They did the train, Ferris wheel, carousel, and seemed to really like them all. We walked around the park some more and closed it down. Not too bad for our first theme park experience. Disney here we come! On the way home we had to stop for ice cream and found this local place that makes their own, it was AWESOME!
Friday and Saturday folks start streaming into Hot Springs, so traffic and trying to eat somewhere was crazy. More sleeping in on Saturday morning, and then we decided to try out the Alligator Farm. The place has been in HS since 1902 and was really the first "attraction" in the area other than the bath houses.
They have a petting zoo with goats, deer, and a couple of donkeys. Hulse and J liked the goats and fed them if they weren't being too aggressive. Olivia, on the other hand, is going through a phase where she's not too sure about dogs, cats, etc, and she was not having any thing to do with the animals. She did seem to like them if they were on the other side of the fence!
They have an indoor area where the animals live in winter and you can touch a baby alligator. Outside are the alligator pens and some other animals. We tried to stick around for the alligators to have lunch, but the kids were hot, hungry, and tired by that time so we went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant near the condo, Jose's. It was so delicious. They had the best homemade punch and avocado dip. We hit the pool again that afternoon, and then had dinner at Purple Cow.
On our way out of town on Sunday morning we went to Garven Woodland Gardens. I've never been, and it was a really cool place. Of course, this late in the summer not a ton of stuff is in bloom, but the waterfalls, bridges, and plants were gorgeous. They have a miniature train garden that Hulse thought was great and said "Choo-Choo" all afternoon. I would love to take them back at Christmas for the lights and in the Spring while the tulips and azaleas are in bloom. The bottom fell out just as we were leaving, and we were drenched by the time we got to the car.
All good things must come to an end, so we headed home, stopping for lunch at Browns' in Benton.
We had a fantastic, relaxing , fun time with our kids and friends. It was nice to be able to get away and be home in an hour at the same time!
(There are many more pictures on Jenn's Facebook.)
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