Tuesday, July 12, 2011

A Baby, Bugs, Little Rock, and Chickens

Susan's Very Sleepy

July 10th and 11th
The two grandparents, Steve and I, couldn't have had more fun these past couple of days. I was able to be with Bree and Susan at home and tried to help a little bit on Sunday. I think Bree was even able to sleep a little bit and I did refrain from saying, "Guess what, Bree?" "Susan and I have bonded...I was able to breast-feed her, but just for a little while." That's a running joke in our family and no, I would never do that. I did nurse just all my own children, but ran outta' milk with the last one and couldn't continue after the first month. Breast feeding hard to do when you have five children and you're at the end of those wonderful birthing years.

Jane and Susan Are Getting Aquainted
Charlie is Loving It All

The New Special Baby In Bree's Famous Green Chair
Grandma Susan (me) Checking-out Baby Susan
Monday morning we all piled in the BMW, yes the Big Mormon Wagon and took a trip south to Little Rock. Big bridges are everywhere and lots of water. Both Steve and I were astonished at Little Rock. It's a very classy city and so modern and everyone was so dressed-up downtown. Surely, it's not like California. The city is also very clean.

We Love Little Rock




Clinton Library

We Have Donated To The Heifer Project-Here's The Headquarters!
We also saw the old hospital where Charlie and Susan were born. The capitol building with it's elaborate doorknob and The Presidential library honoring President Clinton. It looks like a long mobile home, but is going to hook onto a large bridge and the theme is linking "today and tomorrow" and it does fit the theme of the city. The museum and library are modern and the all the wonderful six large bridges. Bree had to explain the purpose with the bridge and looking like a bridge for me to consider that it was "interesting" and what else can I say, "It has lots of glass."

Capitol Building of Arkansas in Little Rock


Actually, as far as clean goes...every state past New Mexico has less trash in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas put together, than Highway 126 from Ventura to Piru. Trash trucks in California need to cover their loads better. I am so impressed with this wonderful city and we took so many pictures, it's going to be hard not to post them all. I had to restrain myself with the baby pictures, too. I really, really want to remember it all.







My favorite place was The Old Mill and says 1832 but actually was built in the early 1930's and was featured in the opening scenes of the great movie, Gone With The Wind. I couldn't believe where it was located and how charming and delightful this really old place was to me. I'm sure couples are married there, because of it's beauty. It was really hot as we walked down the steps, so hot in fact ... that I couldn't even touch the handrail to hold. It was 106 degrees and the humidity so high. I can't only describe the air as thick.





Chip, our son-in-law, took us to North Little Rock and showed us the street named after his great grand parents, the Wilhites. There are huge houses everywhere and up by our Church's Stake Center there's a rise and it overlooks the whole city. It really is as breath-taking as San Fransisco.


When we returned to Chip and Bree's home in Mayflower, Steve took me to a frozen yogurt shop in Conway, but this time our main purpose in leaving was we were going to see some Fireflies. Oh, Bree has them in her yard, but I wanted to catch some. That's a joke, in the dark...in the weeds...in the snakes. Ahhh --- No!

Steve and I pulled into the Baptist church parking lot just before the sunset and we saw a little bird with a broken wing and crying. I said to Steve. "Stop!" Like he'd hit a cat or something and he looked out the window and asked, "Bird?" I wanted him to go after it and help it, it was so sad. So my tender-hearted Steve got out of the car and walked to pick it up and it hopped sideways, just out of his reach, and still holding her broken-wing down. Steve started laughing and told me it was a Kill Deer, a shore bird that was luring us away from her nest. "Where?" I said indignantly. We looked it up on our Android Pads and it said that the bird lays misshapen eggs in parking lots and the eggs look like gravel. No way...we probably ran-over them trying to help the momma (or dad) no momma, because she was being her brave little "bear" self.












Ah-ha! It's dark and I see the lights and we started taking movies and pictures. The home-town people made us finally stop because every single car that was on that little road, stopped and asked us if we were having trouble and needed help. The last one Steve said, "Yes, Can you take pictures of these lightening bugs?" The ranger started laughing at the California nuts and said, "No, I just catch 'em" The thought-picture that I had going was that he was wearing hip-waders and had a cane to steady himself to accomplish that feat. It just plain embarrassing that so many were stopping and trying to help.

We drove back to Conway and the smell of roasted chicken was everywhere and Steve was really getting hungry. This town has more places for buying chicken than I've ever seen. I only managed to count the ones on the same road that has a Walmart in Conway. The chicken places lit-up the street. There was Church's Chicken, KFC, Popeye's, Chicken Express (we went there, but Steve decided he wasn't hungry after seeing the fried chicken livers and gizzards) Zacky's Chicken, Chick Fil A, Chester's Chicken, Slim Chicken, and Chicken Center. I said, "Steve there's another one" "Oops, it's a Rent-A-Center..." And he chimed in, "It's all the same, you rent it 'all' for a little while." A person may have to ponder my husband's thinking there, but I knew what he meant.


Arkansas is a whole 'nother country that's for sure. "Oh no, we hit another animal." Stupid rabbit, we were 'bout stopped and it ran into us. Really, it wasn't our fault, suicide, it was "death by tourists."

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