Hot Springs Village, Arkansas

We went out to Arkansas to visit my 82 year old grandmother the weekend of July 24th and had a really good time. My parents met us out in Greenville and we followed each other down. One of the best parts was that my brother got to come at the very last minute! It was so great to see him and actually get to spend quite a bit of time with him catching up. We met at McDonald's in Greenville Friday morning and had a quick bite while Jonathan played a little basketball. He kept hitting the top of the roof of the game so Corey put him inside the game. It was hilarious! He did really well making his shots and when my mom turned around after taking some pictures, she said every kid in the playground was staring! They totally wanted their turn! :)

Straight ballin'

We got to Hot Springs Village around 3:30 pm and just relaxed until dinner. Joseph and I were exhausted afterward so we went back to our hotel room and said we were going to lay down for a bit and then meet everyone back at the house. We never made it! I opened my eyes at 8:30 pm and realized we had both fallen asleep with Jonathan between us so I called my mom to say we'd be there first thing in the morning. I think he and I both slept almost 12 hours, as well as Jonathan! Saturday morning, we met back at Grandmama's house and ate a big breakfast. Then Joseph and Corey took Jonathan down to a little field so he could hit some golf balls while my mom and I got a pedicure. This pedicure was the fastest one I have EVER had. Like, our appointment was at 3:30 and we were sitting at the table where you dry your nails at 3:45! Apparently, since HSV is a retirement community, the older ladies don't like really long/hard foot massages and they want to be in and out! My mom and I were shocked! Don't get me wrong, my nails look great and they did a great job, but about 90% of the reason I go to get a pedicure is for the foot massage and relaxation of it all. Oh well. It's just an excuse to go to my regular salon here in Denton and get the works done! :)

After our pedicure, Joseph, Corey, my dad and I took Jonathan swimming at the hotel pool. It was really fun seeing all the boys play together. Unfortunately, the water felt like a bath but it was still fun. Jonathan is getting so much more confident in the water. He loves jumping to whoever is in the water and doesn't mind his face getting wet.

After that we all got ready to go eat at El Acapulco's, a cute little Mexican restaurant that just opened. The biggest event of the evening, other than my delicious virgin mango margarita, was Jonathan went poop in the toilet for the first time! Technically it's not his first. He had done it twice before but that was a long time ago and he hasn't wanted to do it since. I think it scared him. This time though, he said he needed to go pee pee so I took him and he kept fussing and wanting to be hugged while on the toilet which isn't really like him. He kept tooting (which he thinks is hilarious) and pointing out that he was tooting saying, "Shooey shooey Jonathan" but I didn't think anything of it because he always does it. Then, all of a sudden he squeezed my hands and started pooping! I seriously wanted to scream it from the rooftops! I tried to make a huge deal out of it and be super excited. After we walked out of the stall, there was a line of women all smiling and laughing. I didn't have any potty treats on me so my mom and I walked to the front lobby of the restaurant and they had a Tic Tac machine so my mom bought Jonathan a thing of Cherry Passion Tic Tacs and he ate the entire box! I didn't care - he could have eaten an entire cake for all I cared. He went poop! WOOOOO! Two days later, he's still going poop in his diaper but I know it's a process so I'm not worried. I'll just keep reminding him. Corey also wanted to reward him so we went to Walmart after dinner and he bought Jonathan a really fuzzy dog that we named Poo Poo Puppy. We call him Poo for short. Jonathan loves him and I'm hoping he'll act as a reminder as well. Joseph and I got him a game I saw on my friend, Paige's, blog called Elefun. It's a little elephant that has a fan inside him and he blows out butterflies you catch with a net.

Poo Poo Puppy!

Jonathan was given a CARS coloring book by Grandmama as well as Toy Story 2. My mom actually made both purchases and brought it with her so it could be given to Jonathan once we got there. After he opened his gift, he went straight to the Irish room and started working away. None of us looked at the DVD until a day later. I picked it up thinking I would put it in for Jonathan, and busted out laughing. My mom had bought the Spanish version and never realized it! So funny! Needless to say, we didn't watch it. He was perfectly happy watching the Sr. British Open with Corey Mac or wrestling with Joseph.

Busy boy

Show me your muscles!

Joseph, Corey, my dad and I also went to my grandpapa's memorial bench on the hole he got his first and only hole-in-one on. It's a beatiful par 3 on the Cortez Golf Course, and after he died a bench was placed in his honor. Pretty special.

Overall, it was a really great weekend. We spent most of our time laying around, relaxing and talking. We did play a rousing game of Guesstures late into Saturday night and had a blast laughing at each other. Me, Corey and Joseph were on a team against my parents and Grandmama. We killed them! Joseph won the award for Best Overall Performance.

We left Sunday afternoon and made it back home safely. I love visiting HSV and my grandmama. Jonathan is so lucky to get to be around his great-grandmother GG. We love her dearly!

Right before we left

For some reason, I can't get this picture to delete. So here it is again for your enjoyment. :)