Wild, Wild, Week Review

 Last week Katniss and her boys came down to visit.  They were supposed to fly in late Friday night, July 12 but one of the kid's softball team made the playoffs, so they rescheduled for late Saturday night.  This had advantages and disadvantages but it is what it is.  We were more distraught that our cleaning lady had to cancel so we didn't have a spotless house.  Reminder to the future: it takes 20 minutes to get to the airport from here and usually incoming flights are delayed.

We had enrolled our kids and hers in a day camp because she and Nightingale had to work, or at least so no need to consume too much PTO, thus stretching vacation time.  This meant I got to drive them to and from camp, which is only 25 minutes away.  

We bought more food than we could eat.  We also went out for Pizza on Tuesday because we found a place where the kids eat free if you order a large or extra large pizza for the adults.  The kids get to build their own pizza, while the adults try to compromise on the toppings.  Katniss is a picky eater.  

On Thursday the weather broke and we decided to go out to eat and later watch the bridge change colors.  We went to our newly discovered haunt, the Overton Square area.  

At the end of the week, we left for Hot Springs to visit the Magic Springs, the water park that our kids love so much (and we have season passes for).  It was just a 2-night stay but even so, with seven people, the trunk was full and the seats were up.

We stayed at the same motel as the first time we visited and though we got a non-smoking room, since people go outside to smoke, the room smells a little smokey.  however, it is only 6 minutes from downtown and Magic Springs (in the other direction), and it costs less than half what the higher-end hotels cost this time of year, we dealt with it.  That's easy enough to do when all you do is use the room to sleep.  The hotel pool was open so we took advantage of that too.  

Unfortunately, the restaurant we went to Friday night had a kitchen fire so our food was delayed getting to us.  They did the best they could and gave us a 20% discount on the food (not the expensive drinks) but it was still tough because we were getting hangry.

For the most part, this was a fun visit.  There were some tense moments scattered here and there.  Katniss parents different than we do.  A lot of times we'd be in a shop and she'd get something her kids were asking for, so we had to do the same with ours, whereas we'd normally either skip the gift shop or not get anything.  She also manages to find something wrong with any restaurant we go to but that is just her nature.

We will next see her and the boys in November when we visit my mom for her birthday and Thanksgiving.