A few days into the trip Jen and I left Meredith with her grandparents and headed a couple hours south. It was the first time we were both away from our girl. The trip coinsided with our fourth wedding anniversary and was a much-needed break. Meredith had fun with her grandparents and barely noticed her parents were missing.

For our anniversary trip, we went to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It's a neat old, tourist town that started as a health spa resort in the late 19th century (note the springs). It's built into the side of a couple of mountains (it's the heart of the Ozarks) and has very interesting old buildings and streets.

We stayed outside of town in a small mountaintop cabin (see below pictures). On the first morning we went on a nature hike down and along side a ridge. After a while we worried that we had over-run the poorly marked trail. Not wanting our trip to feature a search party in the Ozark backwoods, we began to try to find a way back. Eventually we climbed over loose rocks and gravel up a ledge and promptly found ourselves at the front door of our cabin.

The Eureka Springs trip featured eating out, checking out shops, walking around the historic downtown, going for a boat ride, and sitting back and reading. It was a welcome break.

In Springfield, we've been able to balance fun with relaxation. Meredith got to see lots of fish and other animals at the Springfield landmark known as Bass Pro. Meredith couldn't get enough swiming in and loved playing with her grandparents' dog Jake, known as "Jake-Dog." Meredith also spent time and time again collecting little acorns off her grandparents' deck and throwing them into their little goldfish pond. The girl has an arm.

Her parents also got to canoe and finally see the final installment of Star Wars. Meredith's Uncle Dave came for the weekend and had fun goofing off with Meredith and playing ping-pong. Dave very graciously gave up his room for Meredith during her stay. Meredith loved to find ways to "help," by watering plants, giving the dog treats, and sampling apples destined for the cake to make sure they met her standards.

On Monday evening we will return to Minneapolis, and work, school, and daycare. It will be hard to get back into the swing of things after such fun times in Missouri.