Tag: roadtrip

Arkansas Easter Good for the Gray Sky Blues

Arkansas Easter Good for the Gray Sky Blues

I don’t think I have ever been more thankful for Easter in Arkansas than I was this weekend. Other than the obvious festivities, good food and catching up with family, Saturday’s weather couldn’t have been more delicious for a girl who is positively sick of the gray skies and cold temps in the Midwest.

Easter

We reached the mid-70s with sunny skies in Blue Jay Hollow and everyone spent most of the day outdoors. Other than the protests to the sunscreen, the kids enjoyed made-up games, football and who knows what else. The grownups sat around sipping cold drinks, catching up on the days since Thanksgiving and keeping half an eye on the youngsters. I absolutely relished the sun, which had been completely absent from my life for about two straight weeks. What a perfect Easter eve day!

Easter

It was such an enjoyable outdoorsy kind of day that it became a task just to get everyone inside to color Easter eggs! My son declared that we wasn’t coloring eggs this year, but I nixed that idea awfully quick! Of course he begrudgingly came indoors with the other children and then had a blast dying eggs all sorts of greens, pinks and blues (and even a few browns).

EasterThe big hit was the Egg-Mazing machine that my niece brought along. This thing is so cool!  I definitely need to acquire one of my own. While the egg spins on little wheels, you simply hold a marker against the egg to make nearly perfect little, or big, stripes all the way around the egg. It looked like so much fun, most of the moms even gave it a go. Saturday hit a high note with the Easter egg hunt, especially with the addition of several money and candy eggs, and we all lingered outside in the waning sun until the mosquitoes ran us indoors.

Unfortunately Easter Sunday turned off cooler and rainy, but I accepted this fate because the day before had been so cooperative. We attended church at Thornburg Baptist and then back to Nannie’s for more family time and good food. When we finally arrived home Monday, we were greeted with more gray skies, a snow-covered ground and temperatures barely above freezing. Yuck! Was the near-perfect picture of Easter eve in Blue Jay Hollow just a dream? If so, I’m going back to bed. . . wake me when the sun comes out!

Treasure Hunting at the Wide Spot in the Road

Treasure Hunting at the Wide Spot in the Road

getawaypopcapI’m counting down the days until my annual trek to Sparks, Kansas (literally a wide spot in the road), for the latest installment of their fall antique and flea market. If you have been a reader for a while, you know what a fan I am of this shindig, and I’ve been attending for years now.

The huge trash and treasure sale is being held September 3-6 this year along K-7 and 240th Road. Just head north from Hwy 36 and you can’t miss it. Sadly, my sister won’t be tagging along for this venture, but I’ve arranged a sleepover at grandma’s for my little one and I’ll still be hitting the road just past the crack of dawn. (Come to think of it, I’m so glad my name’s not Dawn.)  Booths open between 7:00 and 8:00 am and close by 6:00 pm.

I think the best parking is in the back, as long as it’s not raining — if it’s sloshy and you’re not driving a 4×4, you might think about parking elsewhere. Of course, it looks like the weather beings are calling for hot and humid temps, so you might want to think about Dawn’s crack as well. If you arrive early there are a couple of spots that serve breakfast, and tons of places to grab lunch or snacks throughout the day.

I’ll be wearing my Small Talk Mama shirt, so if you see me, be sure to say, “Hey!”