Camping at Choctaw, AR

     After leaving Crater of the Diamonds, we drove 3 hours and spent a night at Choctaw near Clinton, AR. It's on the Greers Ferry Lake and right on the edge of the Ozarks. We were sad that all the RV sites near the lake were full but with over 100 sites, we were able to find one to suit us :).

     Cost is $22 a night for electric sites. They do have potable water so you can fill your fresh water tank and a dump station as well. Around 50 sites have 50 amp but they were full so we opted for a 30 amp site and survived just fine. Lots of trees and curves but we had no problem parking our 40 foot 5th wheel.

     We had been watching a storm build and knew from the radar we were going to get hit pretty hard. We quickly found a campsite and got level then nearly immediately after the children went from the truck to the camper it began to pour. It thundered and lightninged a little, much to my delight, but thankfully the wind didn't pick up. It rained hard for almost an hour then was all over!

Our children were all thrilled to run off energy once the rain stopped!

And we HAD to check out the playground too! I was happy to see that it had black foam instead of dirt under it!

Our campsite. There is a number of sites that share a drive so it's great if you're camping with friends.

Ethan's feet were to tired so he wanted to walk on his head.

     We all took a walk to the lake. It's a beautiful park and everything was so fresh and clean after the rain! Once we got back to the campsite, the girls occupied themselves by rollerblading and the boys used all manner of things as boats in the many puddles :). 

Crater of Diamonds State Park

     Have you ever wanted to find a diamond that you could keep?! Yes, us too! Makayla and Ethan both thought that mining for diamonds would be an awesome thing to do as part of their birthday present and we were happy to oblige. Happily, our friends, Chris and Kimberly and their 4 kids met us there too. 

Lovely campsite!

      The State Park was very nice. Wooded, but we didn't have trouble parking our 40 foot 5th wheel. I should say that Eldon didn't have any trouble but I didn't even like backing just the truck up because of all the trees :).

Our site was at the top of a small hill and the children had an absolute blast riding bikes and scooters down it. At one point, I caught Makayla and her friend hanging onto the scooters and flying down with rollarblades on their feet. They assured me they were perfectly in control, even immediately after both went sprawling out on the pavement. Miraculously, no serious injuries happened and our area was filled with joyful shrieks of laughter.

The diamond field!

     The night we got there, it rained and rained and rained. This was a very good thing since it brings diamonds to the top of the soil. We were told to look for shiny rocks the size of a match head. Since diamonds are oily, dirt doesn't stick to them either. Of course, you have to pay for access to the field but the bill for our family was only $30.

So much mud!

The kids were completely thrilled to have a great reason to get filthy!

It half misted most of the day, which kept us from overheating :)

"I found one!", he kept shouting.

Michael was more enthralled with finding the deepest puddle instead of  a diamond!

"It's important to get your hands in the mud, mom."

So glad I made the boys wear their swimming trunks because they were covered in mud and water!

After 2 hours, these two just wanted to sit under a tree and eat snacks.

     Eldon and I ended up taking Emily, Ethan, and our friend two older boys home around lunchtime. Makayla and Michael were thrilled to stay with Chris, Kimberly, and their 2 youngest children. Much to my shock, they stayed until 4 o'clock! Unfortunately, no one in our group found any diamonds but several were found on the field. It was a great experience and I'd recommend that everyone do it at least once.

Holding their bags of pretty rocks. It must be true that Arkansas rocks have babies because people have been hauling rocks from this field for years and there is still plenty!

Eldon found a tree frog and it provided great entertainment for all until it hopped up the bathroom wall and out of our reach.

The campground has a nice little playground.

"I need to fix this, mama."

     I'm sure other campers wondered why on earth anyone would come to a great State Park to do home improvements but that's exactly what we did! All the stuff from our underbelly was cleared out and Eldon and Chris spent 2 days installing solar panels on our rig. We're so excited since this allows us to do much more boondocking and also leave less of a footprint. 

Crafts

     We did our best to keep the children out from underfoot by going on a hike, visiting the playground, and pulling out all manner of crafty jazz for them to create with.
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3 weeks at Grandpa's!

What could possible be better then spending almost 3 weeks at your grandpa's?! Especially when your youngest aunts are just a few years older then you!

Makayla was thrilled to spend her 9th birthday there. We have no idea how that happened but there is no more birthdays allowed at our house. Our age is frozen ;).

She wanted a flower cupcake cake and did most of it herself!

Puff, puff, puff!

Ethan's birthday was 2 weeks earlier but we stuck some candles in a cupcake for him again since he LOVES blowing them out!

Birthday date. She wanted hamburgers so Whataburger it was!

We bought Ethan a bike with his birthday money from Grandpa's and Aunt Judith. He calls it his motorcycle.

Softball practice! Mom can still hit it :).

I was impressed with our homeschooled kids-they could play and loved it!

My parents cute little house. It's currently getting an addition and remodel.

Dressing up the front with new trim and post covers. 

Handing pieces up to grandpa.

Another helper.

The trampoline gets so much use when we are there.

One cold night we had a campfire.

The gable ends will get new siding too.

Grandma spoiled us so much! Ice cream sandwiches this day.

Ethan loves to "fix" things.

Why ride your own bike if someone will give you a ride?!

Between Eldon, Melody, and I, we mowed or bush hogged almost all 20 acres in 2 days. Fun!

Our "spot" when we visit. Thankfully, we rarely smell the chickens!

Dad's house. The addition will include adding onto the kitchen/dining room and 2 new bedrooms, 1 bathroom, plus a family room. They got a lot of the outside trim work done then started on electrical. 

Cookies! So many yummy cookies!

A few years ago my dad designated this area as a playhouse for the children. They call it Mud Kitchen and spend hours here!

Our junk is their treasures!

So cute!

Michael was using a hatchet to cut down thistles in the pasture.

Texas is so pretty!

The girls played doll almost constantly after Melody got home from school.

Ethan went into the barn every chance he could! He loved to just march along beside dad and pick up eggs. The last day he told me "I'm turning into an old grampy, like grandpa." 

It's very dusty in there so pictures are hard!

     We had a great visit and while we are excited to be on the road again, it was sad to leave. We were able to get our vehicles inspected, take a huge load to Goodwill, and work on other projects and repairs on our camper. Most days Eldon or I would pack eggs for dad so that the guys would then have a little more time to work on the house. We ate together several times a week and made many happy memories together. So long, Texas. We'll be back!