Sick Kid, Crater of Diamonds, more travel

Monday morning, Matthew again had a fever and he'd been coughing all night so after breakfast, we took him to urgent care. The diagnosis? Pneumonia. Poor kid! They put him on an antibiotic and a cough/decongestant medicine. He has been doing much better since (acting normal with no fever, just some coughing).

Playing with toys in his room.

Getting xrays. The gown was a bit large!

We then headed out of Texarkana to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. U has wanted to go to the park ever since he read about it as a kid. The roads we traveled were narrow, back roads with occasional small towns (population 68 in one of them). We enjoyed digging through the dirt. No diamonds were found, although we did find some cool rocks.

Drive into the park.

Lots of time in the car.

Looking and digging.

Megan searching for treasures. We got a shovel for each of the kids to use. Megan lost hers. Twice. The second time was permanent.

Sarah sifting the dirt. She'd really been looking forward to visiting the park and thought she'd make her fortune. She discovered it was hard work and not so easy to find diamonds. She still enjoyed looking.

Matthew, Me and Megan.

Sarah and Megan doing some wet sifting.

Matthew was feeling a bit tired (remember he has pneumonia) so he and I watched for a bit. We decided to head for the car when we were caught in a torrential downpour. Everyone got soaked and muddy!

Megan, Matthew and U as we were leaving.

Matthew, Megan and Me.

Sarah.

We have discovered why it is so green out east: It rains. A lot. It rained the entire drive from Crater of Diamonds to Memphis and most of the way from Memphis to Atlanta. Thankfully, none was as hard as the rain Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon.

Crossing into Tennessee.

Heading into Mississippi. We were on surface streets, so this is the only sign.

"Sweet Home Alabama."

Georgia.

The Olympic torch in Atlanta.

Greenville, we will see you soon!

We went to the monthly Lego build where the kids built dragonflies.

Some were more thrilled with the activity than others....

We then went to U's Aunt Kathlene and Uncle Mike's home in Buford, Georgia. They have a beautiful home on a lake and everyone was looking forward to spending a bit of time out of the car.

Tucson Temple Open House, 1st 2 days of travel

We left home bright and early yesterday morning for our trip east.

First stop: Tucson Temple Open House. Yesterday was the first day of the open house and we were on the very first public tour. (Me had snagged the reservations as soon as they were available.) It is a pretty temple, with lots of desert landscaping and beautiful artwork.

The bus ride to the temple.

Sarah and Matthew rode in the very back.

Pretty temple!

With Christus statue.

With picture of temple.

Outside with the temple.

We then continued on our way, passing through New Mexico into Texas. The kids did pretty well. We purchased them a license plate activity, which they have really enjoyed doing. We also got a US Atlas for kids, which has been fascinating! (For example, we have learned that you cannot eat roadkill in Tennessee; however, you can in West Virginia.) A heavy rainstorm at night convinced us it was time to stop for the night. We stayed in Odessa, Texas.

Texas.

Our hotel had Texas shaped waffles! Pretty cool!

This morning after breakfast, we headed towards Fort Worth. Matthew had woken up with a fever and had been coughing in the night and we thought we might go to a pediatric urgent care clinic there. However, he was doing much better by the time we got there so we continued on our way. We drove through some really heavy rain a bit east of Dallas. We learned that hazards lights are helpful for such situations to help other cars see your car. We ate dinner in Shreveport, Louisiana (state 41 for Me!) at a yummy Southern eatery before heading up into Arkansas (state 42 for Me!). We are staying in Texarkana, Texas tonight (city is half in Texas and half in Arkansas, hence the name). When we got to the hotel, U and the girls loaded up a luggage cart and headed into the hotel. Matthew and Me drove around the hotel and saw license plates from 10 states Matthew did not yet have in his sticker book!

I love all the green we are seeing! I feel like Dallas/Ft Worth was mostly trees; the only way I could tell we were still in a larger city is the number of lanes on the interstate!

Louisiana. Love the French.

Arkansas.

Yummy dinner! U and Me both got delicious fish while the kids got cheeseburgers.