Heltz Family: May 2009

We have had some fun this past week so I thought I would include a little collage of the week!

Monday was Memorial day and we didn't do a whole lot but eat dinner at mom and dad's. Alyssa Kate wanted her corn like the rest of us so she had her first corn on the cob instead of having cut off the cob.

Tuesday was Greyson birthday and he got to hang out with us most of the day. That night we celebrated at his house and Alyssa Kate wanted to dress up in his batman costume. She wore most of the costume and he wore the cape. They were quite a pair. Wednesday morning we went to out second play date of the week at Alyssa Kate's buddy Noah's house, long story slightly embarrassing! Then that night she got sick and ended up going to the doctor Friday. Just a virus but she looked so pitiful that I took a picture of her sad face.Alyssa Kate got a computer game in a meal from Chick-Fil-A a few months ago and really enjoys playing it. Caroline was fascinated Friday night when she did.

Today is Saturday and I went to work but our census dropped very low and it was my turn to be overstaffed so I left at 3pm. Alyssa Kate was supposed to go to Greyson's pool party today but she was still running a small fever and spent one hour during nap coughing so we thought that she shouldn't infect all the little children. She has not realized that she missed it and we will have a mock party when Greyson returns in a few weeks from his Grammy's house. When she woke up from nap though she was feeling much better and so she got dressed up and went with her Mawmaw and Aunt Kathryn to a ballet recital. Alyssa Kate was apparently enchanted and Mawmaw has decided to pay for her to have ballet lessons in the Fall which Alyssa Kate is excited about...so is her mommy :) While they were gone Wes and Caroline and I ran some errands. It was nice to spend time with just the big C. After Alyssa Kate got home she and her daddy planted seeds for a wildflower garden. Pawpaw also had a surprise....a nest with four little birds in it in his workshop. We were all excited and got some good pictures.

Caroline was too fun tonight and at dinner she was loving drinking water from a straw but wanted to do it continuously. When we would take it away she would just shake and screw up her face. In the pictures it looks like she is crying or making noise but surprising there is almost no noise coming from her mouth. It was hilarious!

Wes built the beds for the wild flowers then Alyssa Kate sprinkled the seeds and helped daddy cover them up with soil.Alyssa Kate thought the baby birds were very cool!I do need a little advice: Alyssa Kate has a great gag reflex so when she gets a bad cough she will throw up...we just cleaned up the latest a few minutes ago. We have tried Delsym-does no good for her and the doctor suggested honey but it didn't seem to work....any ideas???

Wesley and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on Sunday the 17th. When talking about what fun way to celebrate that time together we decided to take the girls on a trip we had been wanting to for a few months. That may sound odd to some but both of us have so much fun with the girls and find no two better examples of God's gift of our marriage than them. Wesley is the king of finding fun things to do, so he planned the trip and the girls and I were along for the ride. So, on Wednesday we embarked on a little Arkansas vacation. We left the house at 7 am with two sleepy but excited girls. We decided to turn Caroline's car seat around a few weeks early so she could watch the DVD player we borrowed from Mimi and Pop (it was a wonderful distraction). Our first stop was Conway for some breakfast at Chick-Fil-A which was too yummy and fueled us up for the morning. The girls spent most of the morning watching Dora and Diego. I know that we traveled as kids without a DVD player but I am not sure how :) Our next stop was in Alma to pick up some chicken for a our planned picnic lunch. I can honestly say this is the first time I have been there when a KFC has opened. All the people were extremely nice and our chicken and sides were hot and fresh. We took the food and drove to Devil's Den State Park. The weather was beautiful, warm (not hot), low humidity and slightly breezy. Unfortunately they were doing construction on the playground but Alyssa Kate was able to run and play in the grass and climb on the rocks with her daddy. We ate our chicken and sides then Wes attached our little backpack leash to Alyssa Kate and they sat on the rocks and watched the waterfall. It was beautiful and we actually decided after driving around and looking at some of the cabins that we are going to go back this summer for a few days and stay for another mini vacation.

After lunch we told the girls it was nap time and they both slept for a little while, then we arrived at the Wildlife Wilderness Safari in Gentry. For all the parents reading this, this place is a must see for small children, and even us big kids. They charge per person in the vehicle and it cost us $28. We got there a little after 1 pm and the first thing we all wanted to do it get out of the car :) After applying lots of sunscreen on everyone we took off to play in the petting zoo. There are goats, huge potbelly pigs, chickens, roosters, turkeys and even kangaroos. Wes bought a $1 bag of bread and corn to feed the animals and that made us a very popular group :) The goats came running as soon as we were in the fence and no matter how Wes tried to keep them from taking the bag they were persistent. They would reach in his pocket and chew on the bottom of his shorts. Alyssa Kate was leery right at first but quickly warmed up and liked the little goats. Caroline really wanted to touch them but her thumb is constantly in her mouth so Wes kept her from contracting who knows what from them. When we drove in the park the nice lady at the gate wrote on our brochure that Alyssa Kate could have a free pony ride. Wes and I were doubtful we could even get her near the pony because anytime in the past we have tried she has freaked out. On the contrary, she was very excited and let the sweet girl at the pen lead her in and put her on the cute white pony. She held on tight and smiled the whole time. I was so proud of her and kind of sad to see her growing up right in front of my eyes. Next stop was to a building that had some monkey's in it but the best part was a baby monkey in a cage wearing a diaper, sucking his thumb and a baby tiger in another cage snoozing on his back. They were too cute and a nice young guy working there told us that they were away from their parents because the dad's were getting a little too aggressive. After seeing a fun camel and some bunnies we decided to get in the car and take the 5 mile long drive through the safari portion. When you enter into the safari section there are multiple signs not to open your windows, leave your car or feed the animals and we soon found out that some people must feed them because the camels in particular came right up to the windows and licked them and would attempt to push through the top of the window. We did break the rules when no animals were right next to us and rolled down the windows to get pictures. I think Wes and I were just as excited as Alyssa Kate with all of these incredible animals walking next to us in a way that I have never experienced before. Caroline enjoyed all of our excitement and rode in her car seat watching out the window. There were adorable prairie dogs at the end who would come right up to car and you could tell by their portly appearance that they were also used to people feeding them. At the end we got out of the car and went into the kangaroo pen and were able to pet them. They just laid there and let the kids rub all over them and they would rub their head up and down like a dog when you scratched behind their ears. One of them had a joey in her pouch who kept peeking their little head out. That was such a great learning experience for Alyssa Kate and how baby kangaroo's are carried.After 4 hours we left exhausted but so happy from our little adventure.

We checked into the hotel and went to eat at a local restaurant Naploi's where the Italian owner loved Caroline and grabbed her chunky cheeks and kissed her. When we finished stuffing ourselves on homemade noodles and sauces we walked next store to an ice cream shop and split some yumminess. We then took our tired bodies back to hotel and everyone took a bath because in Alyssa Kate's words we "smelled like a goat" :) We all laid down to sleep and watched the last 20 minutes of American Idol, at which time Alyssa Kate announced she liked Adam even though we told her that Kris was from Conway where we have eaten at that morning...she was not impressed :) Thursday morning we all woke up at 8 and took it slow getting ready then visited the original Walton 5 & 10 and the giant Walmart Supercenter across from the headquarters. The store was big and very clean...I guess that is what you get when the big boss is just across the street. Then we drove to War Eagle Mill. I was skeptical of a mill being anything worth visiting but it turned out to be beautiful and fun. We got there at lunch time and ate in the restaurant at the top of the mill which had great food, then did a little shopping in their gift shop...I bought some yummy smelling pecan, cinnamon waffle mix that they make there... I can't wait to try it. After lunch we walked outside across this great old bridge and watched the water wheel that operates the mill. Alyssa Kate ate a huge blue sucker that she proceeded to get all over her face, arms and some on her legs...not sure how that happened...and loved every minute of it. Is there anything better then watching your child enjoying something so much!?! We loaded up after the sucker and headed home. We stopped in Russellville and played at a park next to Lake Dardanelles and ate at Whataburger(yummy). Next stop was home where we found that Wes's grandparents had paved the little driveway that leads to our house as an anniversary present. It was a perfect end to a perfect trip! God blessed us with great weather, safe travels and a fantastic family time!

Caroline at Devil's Den State Park