I finally get one Dad!

This past weekend we took 4 of the 6 kids to Worlds of Fun...a theme park here in the Kansas City area that offers thrills for a family with all ages of kids. We had the extraordinary opportunity Saturday night to watch our 4 1/2 year old ride his first "big kid" ride. As he drug us from ride to ride, only to be heartbroken when he was ONE INCH too short to ride with the big kids, the look on his face was well worth the $150.00 it cost in admission. He is now the expert on the octopus, which he will tell you "gets stuck" at the top. The look on his face, and that belly laugh, had all of us cracking up.

One thing that really struck me as I watched my four babies ride the Finnish fling (the barrel ride that spins so that centrifugal force literally sticks you to the wall...only to have the floor fall out from beneath you) is that I remember my dad standing at the top of the barrel, watching me...laughing. It brought tears to my eyes, realizing that I thought I was the one having all the fun all those years ago. Standing there now as the parent, I realize exactly what my dad meant every time he said he had as much fun watching me as I had riding. I felt a new and different connection with my dad Saturday night. Not one of little girl/daddy. But one of parent to parent. Not all of my dads euphemisms have become clear to me yet, but I find that sometimes daily, I "get" a new one. My dad and I had a really great relationship. I hurt him terribly when I was 12, and he forgave me for it. One thing my dad never did was say "I told you so". I owe so much to him, and even though he is gone, I feel a renewed connection to him. I love you daddy.

Wildflowers and Romance In Full Bloom

I think I have finally come down off the high of the weekend. I spent an absolutely fabulous weekend with the hubby on a motorcycle trip where we planned nothing. We only knew when we were leaving and when we needed to be home. We ended up touring the bottom part of Missouri including the Ozark mountains, before we headed into Arkansas.

Being on a motorcycle is about the most intimate thing a couple can do together with their clothes on. It is just the two of you, one wrapped around the other, without the ability to turn your head away and look out the window. My hubby and I use this time to talk about all the things we dont have time to talk about Monday through Friday with six kids beckoning from every room of the house. The closeness we share while on a bike trip is amazing. It helps too that we dont have six sidecars with the kids tagging along.

We managed to find the prettiest, curviest roads in Missouri that were chock full of wildflowers. I love wildflowers, and so this was never-ending eye candy for me. We hiked two miles down a country lane that we didnt want to take the bike on, only to get to a pasture atop a hill that was home to a large portion of hubby's family graves. This little cemetery was delightful. Way back away from any sign of civilization (except the millions of cowpies we dodged to get there) nestled on top of the most gorgeous hill in Missouri, lies a small family cemetery. Hubby's grandparents and several aunts and uncles are buried here, and hubby hadn't been here since he was 7.

We ate at fun little hole in the wall, mom and pop shops that had great food...cheap. We stopped for ice cream cones at the local drug stores on the "square" that still had working soda fountains. On Saturday night we splurged and stayed at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs. This hotel is said to be haunted by numerous ghosts of residents of the past. We trekked that entire place several times, and somehow managed to miss them. But the ambience was the perfect end to a perfectly wonderful three days...complete with creaky floors, dark blustery thunderstorms, and an ancient claw-footed bath tub that managed to spray water EVERYWHERE including on the 15 foot ceilings.

The ride home Sunday was miserable, for two reasons. First, we knew we were headed out of "vacation land" back to reality, and second we were in full sun, and HOT! Now, it is enjoyable to ride, dont get me wrong, but in full sun for 6 hours sucks! Needless to say, we are sunburnt and sore by the time we get home on Sunday night. Would we do it again??? ABSOLUTELY! One thing going away for the weekend does is gives us time to reconnect, the other thing it gives us is the ability to concentrate on each other, and us. I would recommend to anyone, head out on a bike. If you dont have one, rent one! You dont have to be a "biker" to enjoy hitting the road on a motorcycle with the person you love most in the world! Ride on!