Hey, you're back!
Just like you promised. That makes me so happy that I won't even mess around
with a lengthy introduction that you likely find yourself wanting to skip
through so that you can get to the story at hand.
After we finished up our afternoon at the Scott Family
Amazeum, we headed back to the Eliasen home for some more afternoon fun and
dinner. If you were to ask Ellie the single biggest thing she remembered about
our time at the Eliasens, I would almost guarantee she would mention the giant
swing first and foremost.
When I say 'giant swing', I'm not exactly sure what you have
in mind but I am positive that your vision of it is wrong. For one thing, it is
very much not for kids. Suspended from a branch at least twenty to twenty-five
feet in the air, the swing enables a person to get quite the running start
before propelling themselves out over a small ravine (for lack of a better
term). If you'd prefer not to go flying over the ravine, you can instead use
your feet to push backwards off of the tree trunk, sending you flying back the
way you came.
Of course, once Ellie saw this beast of a swing, she
immediately wanted to ride on it. However, it only took one session of swinging
while sitting on my lap for her to realize she was in for more than she
bargained for. And I quote, "Too high, too high, too high." Lucky for
her, Malachi's dad had some smaller versions of the giant swing inside his shop
that were more her speed.
Actually, inside that very shop was where we ate our supper
for the evening. Malachi's dad had a beautiful fireplace built in his wood shop
so that he could work out there year round. Of course, a bonus of such a
feature is that it is also great for roasting hot dogs even when the weather's
a little chilly outdoors. After our dinner was over, unfortunately it was time
for us to head to our hotel for the night so that we could put the kids to bed.
Actually, I should restate that last sentence. Our plan upon
arriving at the Springhill Suites was to put the kids straight to bed.
Fortunately for Ellie though, I can be a bit of a pushover whereas fun things
are concerned. Therefore, after completing our check-in (and subsequent long
conversation with Carl, the front desk guy), we headed up to our room where
Ellie and I quickly changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the indoor
pool for some swimming.
One thing about indoor pools is that they are normally warm.
Not this one. It probably took me the better part of five minutes to get brave
enough to finally dip in the water up to my shoulders. That was not the case for
Ellie. With her life jacket buckled on, she immediately threw herself into the
water and began happily doggy-paddling around the pool. I wish I could say that
the water got warmer the longer I was in it, but that would be a lie. Overall,
it was still a fun experience.
Once we got back upstairs to the room, we each took a quick
shower to get the chlorine off before we all headed to bed with Bethany and me
in one queen bed, Ellie in the other, and Ethan nestled in his pack-and-play
over in the living area of our suite. Now, if you've never seen a toddler with
a queen bed all to herself, I assure you it is quite the sight.
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| Not a great picture, but you get the idea. |
After a good night's rest, the first thing Bethany and Ellie
did was raid the continental breakfast downstairs where Ellie fulfilled her
lifelong dream of eating a waffle in a hotel. Actually, I don't know if that's
really her lifelong dream. It is, however, something she greatly enjoyed. After
that, the four of us headed back to the pool for family swim time. Even Ethan
got in on the action although it did lead to a dramatic quivering of his lower
lip. After about 40 minutes of swimming, we headed back to our room, washed up, and checked
out of the hotel.
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| Waffle!!! |
The last stop on our Arkansas adventure was back at the
Eliasen house where we spent the afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather we
had been lucky enough to receive. Between playing frisbee, swinging, and
chasing cats, Ellie had quite the time. Finally, after a meal of really,
really, really spicy tacos, it was time for us to load up and head back to
Kansas City.
All in all, I'd say that our very first overnight stay in a
hotel room with any kids, let alone two, went really well. No one screamed
through the night, alienating guests through paper-thin walls. No one got sick
or injured. In fact, the worst thing that happened over the entire weekend was
Ellie getting pushed down by a dog. Either that or her getting a toothbrush as
a kid's meal prize. Verdict is still out on that one. #DaddyWrite
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