This was our last full day of the reunion. After breakfast, we had our version of the Snow Olympics, with events for each age group. The first event was the Baby Dash. (I actually don’t really know what the names were, I’m making these up). Shayla, Hannah, and Norah were all born within a few months of each other (more like 6). The object was to see which one could make it to the other side first. I’m pretty sure that none of them had any idea what was going on, but Shayla sure ran for her life. The other little girls just took their sweet time. I think Shayla just saw Daddy on the other side, and wanted to get away from these other people as fast as possible. Unfortunately the video of this didn’t make it.
On your marks…
And… GO!
The next age group did the balloon game where you tie it to your ankle, and you try to pop everyone else’s without yours popping. Well, the grass was so brittle that it popped all of the kids’ balloons before they had a chance to do it themselves. Some of them were quite upset by this. :)
The older kids raced while balancing a cup of water on their heads. There was a little controversy as to who was the winner, but Kendra officially got the gold.
The men had a discus throw. Here they are gearing up.
The women got to shoot “Snubbers” at their husbands.
The next two were team events. In the first, two team members race to a point and back with balloon in between them, and you can’t let it fall or touch it with your hands.
In the second, we had to see who could get the most Cheet-ohs to stick to the dad’s shaving cream covered heads.
Ready to begin:
Getting lathered up… 
Getting Cheet-oh’d:
Cute Shayla and her skinned up knees
Afterward we had an awards ceremony where Shayla received a gold medal for her victory.
David and I both received bronze medals in the men’s and women’s events.
That afternoon we went to see the Christ of the Ozarks. Remember we were in the Bible Belt. Eureka Springs puts on a big production called the Passion Play, and this large statue of Christ is on those grounds. They also have a New Testament tour thing, but we only did the free stuff.
There was also a section of the Berlin Wall there:
And a replica of the Liberty Bell:
It was over 100 degrees and humid. We were all dying, so it sure felt good to get back in the cars and turn on some A/C. From here we divided up into two groups: half went to do a tram tour of Eureka Springs (where I went with Easton), and the other half went to Snake World (David took Shayla).
The tram tour was interesting, but the tour guide was kind of dry. Plus it was just so hot. I think everyone was a little disappointed in it, but I still think I would have chosen it over Snake World.
Eureka Springs was named that because there were a lot of different springs running through it. Unfortunately for us, they were all dried up because of the drought. The springs originally brought people to the area starting in 1879 because they were promised to be the “miracle cure” for a host of diseases.
Grotto Springs
I don’t remember the name of these springs
The homes have a Swiss/Victorian style, and any new home or renovations have to be approved to make sure they comply with the style of all the older homes. There were some really beautiful ones. My pictures didn’t turn out too fabulous because I was trying to take them while we were moving, but also trying to keep the camera out of the hands of Easton.
This one is actually one of the newer homes. Most of them are all pretty old, but have been renovated. 
We also made a stop at the Crescent Hotel, which is said to be haunted. It was built in 1886. I think they said it was originally some sort of hospital, but the doctor was some sort of quack, and so they think that it is some of the people that died under his hands that have come back to haunt. I may not be remembering that correctly. Anyway, the hotel is supposed to be pretty nice, and they have weddings there, but we got to tour it, and I wasn’t too impressed. Obviously it is a very old building, but it just hasn’t been updated much. There was no A/C in there, so I feel bad for anyone staying there.
Inside the lobby
Banquet Room
The staircase. No elevators, so you have to walk all the way to the top.
View from the deck. You could see the Christ of the Ozarks statue in the distance.
The back of the hotel
Is we were going back through the downtown area, we spotted the other half of our group that went to Snake World. They went to get some ice cream, and snapped a picture of us as we drove past.
I don’t have a whole lot of the details on Snake World since I wasn’t there, but I’ll share what I heard. Dale is the owner of Snake World, and he runs it out of an old trailer home. It really looks like the epitome of white trash. There was no A/C in there, and a whole ton of stinky snakes, plus around 20 hot, sweaty bodies. They said it was pretty miserable and they were all dying. Everyone that went seemed to enjoy it, though, especially all the boys.
Going on a ride with cousin Hannah
Shayla and Anna were buddy/buddy. Anna was very sweet and always watching out for Shayla.
It is called Snake World for a reason. These cages are disgusting. This place was definitely not sanitary.
Cobra snake
Supposedly Dale adds animals and fake spiders and such for “added effect.” Check out the alligator on the floor. Awesome.
Shayla petting a snake. David said she wasn’t super excited about it, but she did it.
The group that went.
Eating ice cream afterwards.
Shayla fell asleep on Uncle Brian’s shoulder. She won’t even fall asleep in our arms, let alone someone she doesn’t really know. That tells you how tired she was.
That evening we played a fun game that Ali came up with:
We packed up as much as possible that night and were on the road the first thing Friday morning. We drove straight from Eureka Springs to ABQ, which ended up being 14 hours with the stops for the kiddos. We did stop at a nice place outside of Oklahoma City, I think it was called Midway. There was a Visitor’s Center where we able to use nice, clean restrooms, and then a grassy area where we had ate our lunch, and also a playground where we let Shayla play for a bit. Only problem was that it was super hot outside, which made it a bit less enjoyable.
Here’s a few more shots of the trip:
This is the view from the cabins
Some of the cabins
Cute cousins. Easton and Jackson are about 4 months apart. I think this is so sweet how Easton grabbed Jackson’s hand. Then he scratched him with his claws, which was not so nice. 
Eating. You can’t tell very well from the picture, but this was the absolute worst table ever. It was made from a tree, (as in a cross section of a tree). There were random holes all over, and very few good edges to sit down and eat. 
Sweet boy that has his thumb in his mouth for every picture. This was taken right before we left, so he was a little tired since we had just woken him up. 
Group picture. We are missing Clark’s wife Liz, and their 4 boys who were all in London (where Clark was supposed to be), and also Kyle on his mission.
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