Sullivan's Oliver Duke

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.  Helen Keller

This weekend was pretty great.  We have been shopping for a new puppy for awhile.  We've talked about it as a family.  We've talked names and we've talked breeds. Jenna and I were finally set on either a Brittany or an Aussie.  Looking for local breeders we found a good Brittany breeder not too far away, Valley M Gundogs. I contacted the owner and got a good feel about him and his pups. At this time he had a litter just born so it would be awhile before they were ready. 

We really wanted it to be a surprise for the kids at Christmas but the breeder sent us a picture at 4 weeks old that melted our hearts.  To sum up an epic negotiation, we went to visit last week, just Jenna and I.  He had two from the litter left to choose from and we fell in love with both.

We took pictures while we were there and that night we played a game with the kids looking at pictures of dogs on the internet. "Do you like this one or this one?"  We snuck in the a picture of the two puppies and they both chose the same one. 

So Saturday afternoon, the kids were told we were going spelunking at at private cave south of Fayetteville.  We drove up to Valley M and told them they needed something extra for this adventure. 

via YouTube Capture

Obviously they were crazy beside themselves. It's funny how the name came to be. We have talked for a long time about a dog and we've had the conversations with them. We were all agreed we like the names Rex, Ollie, and Duke. Jenna wasn't crazy about Ollie but she liked Oliver with Ollie as a nickname. So Rex, Oliver, and Duke were all on the table without any real resolution. Then BAM, it's time to get a puppy and the only word that comes out of their mouths was Oliver. Go figure.

So we drive up to the house and this follows.

via YouTube Capture

How timid they were in the beginning was pretty comical but they warmed up quick.  The ride home was crazy. He was everywhere but there was no way he wasn't going to be in the back seat with them. Finally Jenna had to get back there to bring some calm to the madness. 

via YouTube Capture

We took him to PetSmart and lavished him with everything a puppy could need or want. Noah read to us that night from his new Brittany book. It was a pretty awesome day.  

Oliver settled in easy. He has zero fear of his crate and mastered the doggy door on his second day. I've been nominated as full time night watchman but that's okay because Jenna wakes up an hour before me so she has to deal with hyper-Ollie :)

The kids? Well the kids are in love. We all are.


Bikes, blues, and the Buffalo?

After 10 years we are kind of over Bikes, Blues, and BBQ.  About the only aspect of the whole festival I've always enjoyed is the BBQ anyways but my days on a cooking team were over years ago.  We don't have a motorcycle and my days of listening to blues in a beer garden we over about a decade and half ago.  I love the festival mainly because of all the money it brings to our area.  Day to day though all I can think about is the TRAFFIC. Yes I went all caps there.  I can turn my radio up enough to not have to deal with the constant need for bikers to rev their engines at stop lights (what's up with that really?). But starting on Tuesday the traffic was noticable and within 24 hours you couldn't get anywhere. Campbell missed ballet on Wednesday because it took Jenna 50 minutes instead of the usual 20 to get to pick her up from school.  So Friday afternoon, I had to get away.  Noah had an ATA workout Friday night and a baseball camp on Sunday afternoon so it would be a quick getaway but it would be quiet nonetheless.  First thing I did was call the BOC (Buffalo Outdoor Center) to see if the campgrounds were overrun by motorcycles.  He reported a lot of motorcycle traffic through Ponca and Jasper and a few were at Steel Creek.  So down the dirt road (or trail is more accurate) to Kyle's Landing we went.  Of course, we got off to a late start and it was lunchtime before we got on the trail.  The campfire was worth it though. It was rushed and way too much work for such a brief trip but it was nice to just be the 4 of us for awhile. 

The bikes got there revenge on Sunday though.  We stopped in Kingston for a quick bite. We were on schedule to have Noah back on time, when we got bombarded by....TRAFFIC. Foot and road. The poor King's River One Stop was overrun. While we were there they both called for extra help and it arrived before our food was ready.

It will be one of those weekends where the romance of the memory will be greater than the actual fun we had but I'll take it anyways.

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What a date!

Last Saturday, Annie and Pops surprised the kids by taking them to the Razorback game. Jenna and I suddenly had a date night.  An overnight date night to boot.  We did what most sensible couples do-we went on our first 30+ mile bike ride.  We originally were going to ride from our house on the greenway to Core's new brewpub in Rogers. When we got there, though, we decided it wasn't quite far enough so we decided to keep going to the Peddler's Pub in downtown Bentonville.

Dinner was great.  The beers were great. Riding home in the dark...not so much.  Bentonville's trail system is confusing in the best of conditions.  In the dark is a different ballgame. We did fine for the most part.  Jenna got her front wheel off the path once and took a spill.  Another badge to show Campbell girls can be tough too.  We got home not as exhausted as we thought but ready for the couch just the same.  It was quite a night.

ALS Bucket Challenge

ALS is the most devasting disease I've ever dealt with. It is one of the things I'm truly scared that myself or a loved one will ever have. Please accept the challenge if you are asked and spread the awareness. If you aren't going to accept please give to your local ALS charities. We have no idea what causes it and it is 100% fatal. 

I accepted Mika McFadden's challenge. I challenged Sue Carey, Holly Jordan, Melissa Powell, Jeff Lyons, Nicholas Lyons, and Noah Sullivan.

Noah accepted my challenge. He challenged Lea Earp, Jackson Lanning, Banks Dyer, and Parker Morris.

Spread the word!

Farewell #2

The problem with having 2 phones and a camera on a trip is its hard to gather all the photos together for an album.  Okay, it's not "technically" hard but it's all about finding the time. So until I  can find the time I'll just let you know we had a great weekend.  An unexpected highlight of the trip was dinner at the T-Rex Cafe.  How awesome is that place? The game was great.  Jeter got a hit and scored a run.  The Royals prevailed though on the backs of two huge home runs so there was drama and there was some offense. Noah was crazy into the game to the point he wouldn't let me take his picture when the Royals went ahead.  It rained during the day so we didn't get much pool time. The kids were up late two nights in a row but spirits were good and they were troopers.  Here's a pic until I can get it all compiled.

Branson-Spring Break 2014

We were able to get away at the end of Spring Break for a few days in Branson.  It was the first time we've gone with the passes to Silver Dollar City.  In fact, I was the only one in the family to have never been to SDC. We stayed in a condo on Lake Taneycomo and it was both beautiful and relaxing. We watched people fly fish in the mornings and had dinner on the patio at night. We had an indoor pool  to keep the kids busy during the down time.  On day 1 we ate at Joe's Crab Shack and hit the Landing and wrapped it up with the Titanic museum.  Day 2 we went on a bike ride from Table Rock Lake to the Marina and had a picnic on the lake.  Day 3 we hit SDC and got our money's worth.  The kid's hit one area of rides hard and then Noah got up his courage to ride Thunderation, his first roller coaster.  He comes from a long line of roller coaster people so the pressure was on.  He was crazy nervous by the time we got to the front but he didn't bail, even though a kid his age bailed right beside us. The day ended with a thunderstorm at 430 so it was a mass exodus. Couldn't dampen our spirits though because the kids had a blast.

The adventure continues off the beaten path

It took me multiple years to convince, her but finally Jenna saw a Jeep was the only way to fulfill our lives.  I joke but we are crazy excited.  We've been looking for almost 2 years and the bullet was bitten this past week. Somehow the weekend offered us a reprieve from the arctic vortex for 2 days and we actually were able to the doors and front t-tops off. 

Can't wait to see where the spring will take us.

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