Mama, It was hot.

The first weekend in August our friends the Thomsens came to visit Hot Springs from Dallas. Their oldest, Abigail (8) is really into rocks, so their plan was to visit Crater of Diamonds State Park. Christy and I decided to stay at home (thank God!) with Bethie (2) and Harry, so Matthew, Marc, Abigail, Sarah (7), and Jackson worked all morning preparing to go. They left the house about 12:30, getting them to the park about 2.

Okay - 2:00. August in Arkansas. Predicted to be 106 that day. Matthew said they got to the park excited, paid, made the trek across the baked earth (he said it felt like the movies, walking across a desert), unloaded all their stuff (and they had stuff - picks, rope, a tent, etc.), and then the kids announced they had to go to the bathroom. After having just gone. So they made the trek back and then back again, and then after digging around for about 15 minutes (actually, it was more Marc & Matthew digging, as it hadn't rained in awhile, so the earth was too hard for the kids to get through), the kids asked to go home. That was fine with the fathers, so home they came. Upon return, the girls said they had fun, but never want to do it again. :) Jackson just said, "Mama, It was hot."

Abigail made this sign to stake her claim:
On the way out, Matthew looked back for Jackson, but didn't see him. Turns out he'd found his own fun at this mine:


By the way, Christy and I had a fabulous air-conditioned day making dinner, talking, napping when the toddlers napped. Thank you, Marc & Matthew, for your heroism in fatherhood. You are truly diamonds in the rough (!). Oh, and by the way, 3 diamonds were found that day, one bigger than a half carat. Sigh. . .