Another House

This was our house in Springdale, Arkansas from 1996-2000. I wish I could find a better picture. The yard was actually very pretty when the grasss was green and after the bushes had grown more and the tree was tall enough to see. I also wish I could remember the name of the grass in our yard. It turned brown and ugly in the winter when it was cold, but when it warmed up it was thick and lush. They plant it in warmer places and it stays green all year. Arkansas didn't get really cold in the winter (at least not like South Dakota), but too cold for this kind of grass to stay green all year.

So this house was the nicest of all the houses we have ever lived in. It had elegant crown moldings, upgraded fixtures (like bathroom sinks shaped like shells), lever door handles, etc. I have never seen a kitchen with more counter space--and cupboards. The master bathroom was so luxurious I actually felt guilty. The toilet was in its own little room with a door, the shower was large, there was a large,beatiful corner tub with jets, double sinks and a large closet right off the bathroom. Our bedroom had french doors out to a patio and in our closet we had a pull-down to an attic space that was perfect for storage and hiding Christmas presents. We had patios and a rock wall with a yard behind and right behind all the grass was a forest. There was a house back there too, but the trees were so thick and the house far enough away that we couldn't see it except in the winter when the trees lost their leaves. We also had church members in the house on each side of us--that hasn't happened before or again since leaving Utah.
There was a lake two blocks from us. The kids would go and get box turtles all the time and bring them home for a while. There was only one high school so the whole community supported the same team. Football games were like reunions. Whole families--many with children too young to go to school at all, would go to the games, along with grandparents and aunts and uncles and community people that just liked Springdale High football. It was fun to go just for the social aspect. Sam did play football for a couple of years. He quit the team his senior year so he could get the house ready to sell. (We had to cut down a HUGE tree and Sam split it all into firewood). He went to seminary and had a job and something had to go, so football was it. I always felt bad about that, but really appreciated his help. Dave had already moved to South Dakota, so I would have been in a big mess without Sam taking care of so many things. Megan and Sam both graduated from Springdale High School.

This is probably the time of my life when I was the busiest. For a while we had four kids playing soccer. Megan didn't play soccer, but she had a job and didn't have her license yet. Some days I would get in my car early, early in the morning and not get home until late at night. I didn't usually have to drive to seminary (and this is where the kids started getting themselves there after a while), but I would drive Rosie to school and between sports, lessons, church and whatever we had going on, sometimes not see the house again until bedtime or later. Other days I would run in and out dropping off groceries and moving the laundry from the washer to the dryer. I even had to quit school for a couple of years because I just couldn't fit it all in.

This was another place that was hard to leave. We had some wonderful friends. The weather was wonderful too. We were right at the base of the Ozark mountains and it was beatiful. We had beautiful autumns with gorgeous colors. Winter never seemed too bad the years we were there. I wore a jacket once in a while, but the only time I wore a big coat was for the last few football games. Springs came early and lasted long. Summers were hot, but we had air-conditioning and didn't seem too bad. Of course, I wasn't out playing football or soccer in the heat, so the kids might feel differently about it.