Momma and Daddy decided that it was time for us to move to Gainesville so they started packing. I wanted to help Momma with the packing so I was going through some boxes to make sure she was packing everything in the right way. Momma was sure that they could handle the packing okay so I got to spend a couple of weeks with Ahna and Grumps all to myself! The first thing we did on vacation was stop at this big beautiful flower garden. There were more flowers than I could ever hope to count. Grumps called it a Rest Area on I-40 in Arkansas, but I don’t really know what a “Rest Area” is, or a “I-40” is, or what a “Arkansas” is. But I know a flower when I see it, and this was a big beautiful flower garden. I wanted to touch every single flower, but Grumps said we didn’t have a year. Ahna let me touch some flowers before Grumps put me back in my car seat. Even today, I’m still trying to figure out what a year is, but I haven’t really lost any sleep over it. The next day Grumps and Ahna took me to a good Old Baptist church out in the country. The people there were so friendly. I really enjoyed being there. After church I spotted a clock and told everyone where it was just in case any of them didn’t know. We ate lunch there and visited with them. Did I say they were friendly? I really liked them, and I think they liked me, too. Soon, we were back in the car heading for something called “Branson Missouri”. Grumps drove up, down, and around hills. I don’t know why he couldn’t just drive in a straight line. Ahna and I played the game “Up and Down” where I raise the arm rest on my car seat up and then down over and over again. Ahna and I had a lot of fun playing “Up and Down”, “Itsy, Bitsy Spider”, and “Where is Thumbkin”. When we finally got to Branson, Ahna and I got to sit out on a balcony. We saw a furry little animal. Ahna said it was a groundhog. It was nice out there. After supper, Ahna and Grumps took me into this shop that had clocks, clocks, and more clocks! I have never seen so many clocks in one place. Sometimes, I think Grumps just enjoys torturing me – I mean really – he takes me into a shop full of clocks and won’t let me touch a single one! The day after we got to Missouri, Ahna and Grumps took me to something called a “Little House on the Prairie”. The house belonged to somebody named Laura Ingalls Wilder and her husband. They weren’t home that day, but some other people showed us around. I got to see her pa’s fiddle, but Grumps wouldn’t let me touch it no matter how much I told him that I wanted to. All I wanted to do was just touch it! I think Grumps needs to work on being a little bit nicer to me. Instead Grumps let me have a stick. As much as I like sticks, I’m still wondering if that was a fair trade. They told us that she wrote a lot of books – I like books. The next night we went to “Dixie Stampede”. There were so many pretty horses in their stalls. A sign said not to touch the horses because they bite. Even so, I was a little bit mad at Grumps since he wouldn’t let me get close enough to touch a horse. See what I mean about Grumps needing to work on being nicer to me? But we sure did have a lot of fun once we got inside. Grumps and Ahna bought me a new stuffed horse to go with my other horse. Then we got to see this real funny guy throw a bunch of stuff up in the air without dropping any of it. He threw tennis rackets, some big knives, rings, scarves, and plates. He did all this while saying some very funny things. I laughed real loud and clapped a lot. He was so much fun to watch. It looks like it was a lot of fun so one of these days I may show Momma how to throw plates. After watching him, we got to go into this big room. They gave us some food to eat – the soup was very tasty! But the best part was that they kept bringing horses, cows, and flags out for me to see. Horses, cows, and flags – somebody must have told them what my 3 most favorite things are! How else could they have known? The next day we rode a while in the car to somewhere called Oklahoma and Kansas. We saw something called “Route 66” which Grumps said is supposed to mean something from history, but it just looked like an old road to me. Back at the condo I stacked blocks for Ahna and Grumps. They cheered and clapped so I cheered and clapped. They were having so much fun watching me that I just had to keep stacking blocks higher and higher. I can’t really count yet, so I’m not sure how many blocks I had stacked. Grumps said ten, but I don’t know what ten is. Grumps seems to know a lot about numbers. Then Ahna read several books to me - I love it when Ahna reads to me. She knows so many things that are in the books. She ought to be a teacher because I think she would be a really good one. The drive back to Ahna and Grumps took most of a day. Grumps set up a TV just for me on the back of his car seat. Ahna let me watch “The Fox and the Hound”, “Aristocrats”, and “Mary Poppins”. Sometimes Ahna would lay her seat down so that she could watch with me. The best one was “Allison Krauss and Union Station” in concert – I had to watch it twice! I liked to bounce my head and foot and hand with the music. Of course, every time I saw Miss Krauss’s fiddle, it would make me think about Grumps not letting me touch the fiddle at Laura Ingalls Wilder’s house so I would tell Grumps and Ahna about her fiddle. Grumps really needs to work on being nicer to me about that fiddle! Somebody said that I had Grumps and Ahna wrapped around my little finger. I mean really … just look at how much bigger they are than my little finger! Maybe I misunderstood what they said. I had so much fun on vacation with Ahna and Grumps, but I am glad to be back home with Momma and Daddy. I was a little concerned about Momma and Daddy being able to move without me, but they said that they had some very good help. All my toys, my bed, and Mara are here so it looks like they were right. Grumps said that in less than a year (I am still having trouble with understanding what that year thing is) I will forget the vacation since he doesn’t remember anything from when he was as small as me – I don’t see how I could forget since we had so much fun. Anyway, it was a great vacation, but I am glad to be home with Momma and Daddy.