The return of OG Halloween!

Halloween has been different these last few years

due to COVID.

We aren't complaining!

We made the best of it

with an epic Hogwarts Halloween Party in 2020

and an away-adventure in Moab in 2021.

We really had a blast with all of that

but we were kind of excited to have an

old school Halloween this year.

Tucker had his first school Halloween party

and I had TWO surprise volunteers at mine!

That was just the warm up!

Mema made us EPIC costumes again this year--

I liked making my cape flutter in the wind

See???

Moon Knight.

Epic.

We also had a hiker,

a Hogwarts student,

Professor McGonagall

and a cowboy

along for the ride.

And what a night it was!

We eventually had to come home

because our bags were too heavy to carry

It was a bittersweet Halloween

for Mom and Dad.

Did you notice it was just us Littles?

Jack hung out with a friend

and handed out candy

And Wes?

He was one of the ghouls in the neighborhood

haunted house

They were paid in candy.

The return of Halloween was pretty fun,

but we may need a hybrid next year.

We kinda missed the party.

Fall Break Finale

I mean, we can't stay at the WOF campground

and not GO to WOF, right?

We walked in right at opening.

It was a cloudy day and

a little cool which meant 

NO LINES.

Can you see me?

I'm alone in the back car

We rode all the coasters

in rapid succession,

multiple times.

We wanted to get them in

before our friends the Welch's came

(Bennett isn't a big fan)

But then we (our heads and stomachs)

needed a break.

They had an Alice in Wonderland

trick-or-treating experience.

Some lower-key rides were appreciated as well

Just chilling

Bumper cars, anyone?

But then we did go back for a few more

roller coasters

While a few of us headed for more,

Mom took the less adventurous kids

to try some other rides.

They waited about 30 minutes

for Cyclone Sams.

Mom thought that might be a tame option...

but it wasn't.

Everything was ok for the first 30 seconds.

And then all the spinning was too much.

Bennett kept his cool

but Tucker started to look really green.

He promptly threw up outside the door.

No worries.

Nothing a few pretzel bites

and some milder rides couldn't handle.

Then it was back to a few more roller coasters

(because how can you turn down

walk-on rides??!?)

before our hungry stomachs

told us it was time to head out for some grub.

Now THAT is how you finish off

Fall Break!

The coolest place to carve pumpkins

Just because we came back early

for my football game

doesn't mean our break has to end!

We have the camper for a few more days

so we headed back out to a campground...

at Worlds of Fun!

It was the perfect place to carve pumpkins--

big table,

hose to spray everything down,

lovely night for hanging outside

We set to work

Mom said it was really weird

to stand back and watch

instead of having to help clean and carve

4 pumpkins

Everyone had their own ideas--

I kept coming up with a new one

and ended up carving 3 different sides

(and maybe using a bit of tape

to keep everything together)

Jack was determined to get noticed

by WOF instagram

and made sure "Larry" the pumpkin

gave them a shout out

They came out awesome!

Larry, a minion, Moon Knight and the scream face

Awesome, right?

 

One and out

My football tournament fell over fall break.

I really didn't want to miss out

so we came in hot from the campground

so I could make the game.

Unfortunately,

we lost our first game

and our season came to a close.

That's ok.

Playing with all my buddies

was worth the trip.

 

Bentonville Day 4--testing our limits

There was a little donut store

next door to our restaurant last night.

Mom and I wandered up there this morning

in search of breakfast dessert.

We thought surely they'll be sold out of the good ones

by 10 o'clock in the morning--

but they had EVERYTHING!

We had a hard time deciding

With our bellies full of breakfast, 

despite the literal pains in our butts,

we hit the Greenway one more time.

We warmed up a bit on the pump park

which Tucker was THRILLED

to be able to ride

(he was on a copilot with Dad last time we were here)

Down the Greenway we go!

We spent the day riding some of our favorite greens

(hello, All American!),

trying out some new greens,

and braving a few blues.

They just opened a new set of trails--

the Oz Castle.

It's cool castle-looking structure

with 5 or 6 trails coming off the top

and going out in different directions

with lots of different difficulties.

It was a trek to get all the way up here

but the ride down was definitely worth it!

Even Mom enjoyed the speed and the banked turns

We had lunch in the square,

did a little shopping,

and of course got more Spark ice cream

(F150 for everyone this time!)

We were all feeling the exhaustion 

of 3 days of rides

(nearly 20 miles a day!)

so we headed back...

but not before we rode the trick park

one (or 2 or 3) more times.

Weston got some air

Beckett REALLY made it look good

Everyone laughed at me--

no good pictures

(but there is a video)

of me on my slightly too small bike

with my metal water bottle rattling in the cup holder.

It sounds like the wheels may be coming

off my bike.

Mom couldn't quite get a good air picture of Tuck

but rest assured, he caught some too.

Back at camp,

we had to stop by our new favorite campground bar

for a nightcap.

We played with our new friend Abner--

this precocious 4 year old in the camper next door

(he latched on to us a few days ago!)--

and enjoyed one last night chilling

in Bentonville.

We're changing camps tomorrow.

Sad to go,

glad to rest our legs,

excited for the next adventure...

Bentonville Day 3--the Back 40

After a lot of green trails yesterday,

we decided to branch out and try some blues.

A huge network of trails started at the back

of our campground

and we thought we'd test our resolve.

It's called the Back 40--40 miles around.

Dad found a nice 10 or so miles stretch

for us to loop around.

Well, it was a bit more challenging

then we anticipated

(and our butts were much more sore than we anticipated!)

The path was narrow--about 12 inches across--

and hugged the side of a ravine.

It was actually a huge network of ravines

and paths and woods that was surrounded

by neighborhoods.

It was kid of crazy to feel like you were

in the middle of nowhere

but then climb out of the ravine

into someone's backyard.

Jack, Wes, Beck and Dad were pretty 

capable and fast

while Mom and I putt-putted our way along.

I was not enjoying myself.

Feeling frustrated and scared does not sit well with me.

So I did a lot of really slow riding

and some stopping to pout

and Mom even left me once.

But eventually,

I found my courage

and started to enjoy myself.

Until I fell off the trail.  

I slide about 10 feet

until my bike caught on a tree.

Mom had pulled my bike back on the path

but we thought we needed a picture

for posterity.

That was my only mishap.

It was a tough trail,

but I started to really get the hang of it.

Mom--not so much.

Mountain biking is not her jam.

But she kept pushing.

She said she wasn't born with the balls for it.

We had a few minor falls

but Jack took a big spill.

There was a steeeeeep drop-in

that split into 2 directions.

Wes went one way,

Jack went the other

and when they came back together,

they collided and Jack got knocked off.

A cut on his hand and some muddy pants

is all that he left with

(thank goodness!).

It was pretty back there,

winding through the woods

and we kept our grumbling to 

a low roar

(much to Dad's frustration).

We were all relieved to come out of the woods

onto a paved trail

that led to...a bike park!

This one was much crazier

than the one by our campsite.

There were some big drop-ins

but we were making it look easy

with just a few laps

King of the hill

Lunch made our wobbly legs a bit stronger

and some fire cheesy poofs

(yes, evening South Park resurfaced in Arkansas).

I REALLY loved the bike park

With renewed energy,

we all worked on our skills.

Dad made it look easy

and even Mom climbed up...

and made it look only slightly awkward

We look like a bike circus!

At the bike park,

there was a QR code with a beer beside it.

A bike bar?

Even us kids thought that sounded cool.

And it's down a PAVED road?

Let's go!

It was a nice ride back

down a lovely, much appreciated paved path.

Turns out,

we were back on the Greenway

AND...turns out,

the Gear Garden is

IN OUR CAMPGROUND!

How about that?

Meant to be.

We found the Blowing Spring

that the campground is named for

After some card games

and celebratory drinks

(that was a tough 15 miles!)

we chilled at the camper for a bit

Dad and Jack,

our die-hard bikers,

needed just a little more.

So they took on a few of the blues

that circled the campground

and found some cool spots

Once they'd had their fill,

we headed to JJ's for burgers.

Turned out, it was flip-for-your-burger night

(if you call the coin, your burger is free)--

Jack and Wes won!

We huddled around the campfire for s'mores

before taking our tired butts to bed.

One more day of riding tomorrow--

we better rest up!