13 year old daughter and Christmas

[wendy]

Quote:
petit jean state park, we got to stay 5 days. my husband works offshore and is home only about a week at a time. he is a service technician and it was our first time using our camper. we had so much fun. all 4 kids, the dog and us! my second to oldest birthday was while we were gone. i hide a cake we picked up in town and picked up a present (forgot her other present at home

) hard to remember everything! we were so excited to be getting to go. i am almost 40 and that is the first vacation i or my husband has taken without having to visit family while vacationing.

as you can tell i was/am very excited about out first camping trip! sorry to go on and on. hubby bought me a digital picture frame and we can look at our vacation pictures all the time

i gave him a surprise scrapbook frame that i made from our trip!

where do you live, i see you put central ark. (it took us 7 to 7 1/2 hrs to get there from here) so that was not too bad!

wendy

 

[wendy]

Quote:
yeah, you are so right on the credit unions! we belong to 2 of them!

wendy

 

[jackiedon]

Wendy,

I live between Benton and Bryant, just south of Little Rock.

I LOVE Pettit Jean. We have been camping there a lot. They have some cool activities for kids everyday. I bet it was nice to vacation and not have to visit family. I think Arkansas has some beautiful state parks. Mt. Nebo is really pretty, I've never camped there but have visited.

Let me know if you guys come back to Arkansas.

jackie

 

[Picky Chicky]

Ideas...

Concert tickets are fun, but there is a lot to be said to having something to 'play' with on Christmas day. I also loved getting the new clothes when I was her age, but it stunk knowing what I was getting. There's a lot to be said for a couple surprises.

Does she have a phone in her room? Dangerous idea

but since she has a cellphone, maybe it's not too bad of an idea.

Does she have an iPod?

What about a computer/laptop? My kid brother works at Best Buy and he said that since sales have not been good lately, that everyone should expect some great deals even prior to "Black Friday".

Personally I would have loved to of had an electric/gas powered scooter.. .what are they called today, Razors?

Last but not least, I loved the idea of re-decorating the bedroom... new paint, new sheets, new curtains... but could get expensive.

I'm going to be in the same boat as you, but I'm trying to figure out my 7 year old and what she'll want. Hmm....

 

[wendy]

Quote:
you are so right on the state parks! we ordered state park guids from ak, tx, ga, ms, tn, and al. ark. had the best put together guides, the most parks and some beautiful sites! alabama came the closest to your state! we want to go see some more state parks up there and go back to petit jean when the leaves change next year in the fall. one of my daughthers got to go back to ark. with a family member. the oldest did not want to go back! i thought that is crazy! i was jealous, i wanted to go back! we have been throwing around the idea about buying a place up there after we pay this place off. but who knows what will happen between now and then. it is nice to dream!

i just know i told hubby that part of me did not want to leave. it was so beautiful! if i lived there i would be hiking all the time! loved it! i posted a thread on here about coming home and breathing better after being in ark and avoiding surgery on my nose!

wendy