Fun times in Arkansas!

Last weekend we made the long (7 hour) trek out to Greers Ferry Lake north of Little Rock Arkansas.  Mr Matt's (Heil) family has a fantastic Lake house up there and we were lucky enough to get invited for the weekend.  The lake is absolutely fantastic, crystal clear clean water surrounded by lush green forests and small mt peaks.  It was sparsely developed with few docks on the lake.  This is truly one of the most spectacular recreational lakes in the entire country.  We were very blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy it!

The lake had all sorts of fun things to do and we did them all.  We did cliff diving, tubing, hiking and feeding the fish.  I'll save the hiking and tubing for Emilie's blog.  Ian was a trooper and totally got into the cliff diving.  If fact, he was super excited about being in the water in general.  The first night we got there we went out for a sunset cruise and he was all up in the water like a champ.  Jumping off the boat like it was nuthin!  We went out to the short cliffs on Saturday AM and Ian jumped off the low cliffs which were about 8 feet tall which is pretty high for a 3 footer!  When we went out to the big cliffs he was awesome there to jumping off the short sections like it was nuthin!  There were a few belly/face flops but he shook em off pretty good.

We went into the marina and they had a fish feeding area on the dock.  It was pretty crazy, there were hundreds of good size carp all snapping their mouths on water trying to get some food.  The more food you through out the more they went crazy.  It was a regular fish frenzy and Ian definitely got a kick out of it!

We had just an awesome time out on the boat and hanging out with Matt, Leah, Liesl, Angie and Isabella.  Such a fun weekend it was worth the 14 hours worth of driving!

American Ninja Warrior is Awfully Good!

Oh where to start.  Ian has become such a sweet little boy.  His mother and I are often the recipients of random "I love you's" from out of the blue.  Complete with a hug and a kiss.  This little boy is about as sweet and caring as they come.  Of course he has his moments where the tazmanian devil comes out if things don't go his way, but 99% of the time he is super lovey dovey.

He's also been in the habit of using the word "awfully" to describe something as superlative.  "Mom, I'm awfully hungry" or "Wow, that motorcycle was moving awfully fast!".  It's really funny to hear and we have no idea where this 3 year old came up with it.

He's in that stage where he knows what he wants to say and for the most parts know which words will allow him to convey his thoughts.  However, sentence structure and syntax fly completely out the window.  It's hilarious to hear he describe things in his own little dialect.  I wish I could remember some specifics but they are so weird and random if you don't write them down immediately there's no way you'll remember them.  I will try and come back and update this blog with some of the funny ones, as they happen! 

Mr Ian is a BIG fan of American Ninja Warrior (as is Dad) and he constantly asks to watch it.  Which is actually pretty cool since Dad and Mom like watching it too.  It never gets old and heck, Dad might even try and find an AMW gym to join so he can go on the show...we'll see. 

Ian is so bold wherever we go.  If he sees fun he'll go right for it.  If we're at a festival he'll bolt to whatever he sees as fun.  If we're at a restaurant he'll bolt to the play area and start playing with whomever is there.  I love his attitude, he's just there to have fun and enjoy it all with anyone who will enjoy it with him.  We were at Katy Trail the other day and he wanted to go up to the back where the bean bag toss was and we told him to just go.  Without batting an eye he headed up there and went for it.  He got right in the mix and had a blast with mom and dad keeping an eye on him from afar.  Most kids would be too scared to do it, not Ian, he's all about it.  I hope he never loses this part of his personality.

Ian is one super fun, super loving little kiddos and he's super funny too!  Perhaps a career in the comedic arts awaits...we'll have to continue to encourage his antics and fun loving nature.  Go Ian!

-dad