A Hibbard Outing

I’m actually going out of order on our weekend posts, partially because the project we started on Friday is not complete. I really don’t want to start showing pictures until it’s all done!

We determined a couple of weeks ago that Friday the 4th would be our big rearrange day. It’s not that we wanted to ignore Independence Day. But, rearranging is like a party for our family! We decided we’d work on the rearrange all day, then grill for supper and sit down to watch A Capitol Fourth on television. (Around here, even planning fireworks enjoyment is all about avoiding mosquitoes.) So, that’s what we did. And it was a really good day.

On Saturday we got up bright and early to head to Star City to meet the Hibbard extended family. We were going to meet at the Village, a shopping community just outside of town. We forgot that the whole community takes the first week of July as vacation week every year. Oops! Since we were the ones who arrived first and figured out what was going on, we started pondering a new plan.

Between Star City and the Village, there is a little veteran’s memorial park. We headed that way to let the kids run while we made alternate plans. (Technology can be a pill, but our smart phones and texting options were a big blessing that morning!) They thoroughly enjoyed the tank!

Amazingly enough for the first week of July, being out in the sun was not unpleasant at all! But, when it did get a little warm, a shady picnic table provided delightful shade – again, a shock for July. Humidity usually keeps the shade from offering much relief, but this really was an amazingly perfect day weather-wise!

After a bit of a wait, Grandma & PopPop caught up with us. We finalized our new plans and took just a few minutes for PopPop to explain how the howitzers worked.

Plan B involved a trip to the Delta Rivers Nature Center in Pine Bluff. We met the rest of the crew there and started off by feeding the catfish and turtles. I tried to get pictures of the size of the catfish they were feeding, but the water was just too murky. Those fish were HUGE!

(Allow me a moment to show off our beautiful teenagers – Morgan & Olivia.)

We crawled through trees,

enjoyed science lessons with Aunt Stephannie,

saw alligators and rather large turtles and tortoises,

and went into the lab where we saw various furs, antlers, and dissected animals.

Of course, we couldn’t leave without exploring the gift shop.

The girls decided to pick out rings.

I love Olivia’s choice of ring color. She’s usually a blue or purple gal, but this time her decision was between blue and green. That puzzled me, so I asked why green was an option this time around. Apparently, the main character in the novel she is writing loves deep green. She always has something green on or with her. Olivia decided that having a bit of green would be like having a little piece of that character with her, so she went with the green. I love that!

We finished the day with lunch together. Aren’t they a good-looking bunch of cousins?