From Little Rock to Eureka Springs

The last two weeks have provided us with more Arkansas culture then we have encountered in a long time. On Friday, April 20, the teaching staff took the kids to Little Rock for a tour of the Capitol Building and Clinton Presidential Library. The tour of the Capitol was very educational. The building is beautiful with three stories of marble ordained with ornate chandeliers and gold. We were able to see where the senate and legislature meet (when they are in session). And were able to meet and have part of our tour guided by our very own Representative Hoyt.

The Clinton Presidential Library is a very unique structure to say the least. It looks like a gigantic mobile home built out over a river. It is full of all of his presidential papers and every piece of correspondence that took place during his eight years in office. On display was a replica of the oval office. There was also Clinton's limo as well as the china Hilary picked out for their time in office and some other neat relics of their history.

Last weekend we celebrated our first anniversary! We had an awesome time in Eureka Springs which is a unique tourist town with hundreds of Bed and Breakfasts, horse drawn carriage rides, Christ of the Ozarks, the New Holy Land, Thornberg Chapel, caves, shopping, and many restaurants. It is located in the north west corner of the state in a beautiful area of lush green mountains and many small farms. We enjoyed staying both nights in Bed and Breakfasts and were treated to probably the best breakfast we have ever eaten on Sunday morning. Friday night, we spent some time wandering in the shopping district before heading up to see Christ of the Ozarks, an impressive 7 story high statue of Christ with his arms outstretched. The next morning we toured Quigley's Castle. An interesting house built to house plants four feet from the inner wall throughout the house. It also had neat stone gardens. We then went on a tour of War Eagle Cavern. It is a huge cave full of neat artifacts and many bats. From there, we headed to War Eagle Mill, a working mill where a waterwheel generates the power to mill the grains. We enjoyed some homemade cooking in their restaurant before heading back to the next Bed and Breakfast. The second night we had our own cottage. For dinner, we enjoyed eating at Ermillio's where we had some of the best and, according to Jeff, most authentic Italian food ever. That evening we enjoyed watching the video of our wedding that Jeff had put together from the footage taken at our wedding. Sunday morning we headed for home but not before stopping at Outback for a bloomin' onion and some steak. That night we opened the container that has held the top of our wedding cake for the last year. Much to our surprise and great delight, it tasted the same as it did on our wedding. What a great weekend!

As for the pregnancy, the first trimester is over! Can anybody say AMEN?! Most of the morning sickness has ended and Leigh Ann has more days where she feels good then bad. We are thankful for this and look forward to what the next few months will bring.