Red, White and Blue Festival

Last night we went to the "Red, White and Blue Festival" at the ASU campus. Every year the college puts on a great little festival with lots of activities for kids, a rodeo, 5K, and music. It's great!

 It was really fun but the weather made it so much more enjoyable that normal. Usually this time of year it's in the upper 90's. Last night it was 75 degrees and gorgeous!

We got the kids are dressed in their patriotic attire and I even curled Bailey's hair.

Doesn't it look darling?

She loved her curls and kept saying "look at me!!!"

Right before we left for the festival.

I couldn't believe how crowded it was. I guess because the weather was so nice, the entire town decided to come to the festival. The lines were long for the pony ride, but Bailey was so excited to ride the "horsey" that we had to do it.

Once she actually got on the horse she was totally serious and held on so tight. But she loved it. After her turn was over she started crying "my pony. my turn." She was so sad to get off the pony.

 While Bailey and I waited in line for the pony rides, Tanner and Daddy waited in line for the huge blow up slide. He loved it.

Then we got in line to ride the toddler train.
Here are a couple of cutie-pie shots of the kids while we waited in line.

At the last minute Tanner decided he didn't want to ride, so it was just Bailey and I on the train.

Then we went and got the kids each a balloon. They loved their balloons- they are so easily entertained.

 

After that we bought a bag of kettle corn (which was so delicious!!!) and settled onto our blanket to watch the firework show.

I love this shot of Tanner and Daddy all cuddled up to watch the show.

Here are a couple family shots, right before the show started.

Oh and this is one of my favorites from the night.

This was Bailey's face when the fireworks started going off. She loved it!

Right before the fireworks started, Nanny, Papa and Aunt Laura showed up. Tanner was so excited to sit with them in his camp chair and watch the fireworks.

He kept saying "That was awesome!!!"
I love that kid's enthusiasm.

We weren't sure if Tanner would be ok with the loud noises from the fireworks, so my parents brought him these noise-cancelling headphones. He looked so hysterical wearing them.

He didn't wear them the whole time, just took them on and off. It was so funny.

 

ASU always does such an amazing show. We love going their fireworks and plan on coming home for this event each year after we move.

Here are few cool shots of the fireworks.

 

 

I can't get over how wonderful the weather was and it made for such a great night.

I love this time of the year and I'm going to miss these small town celebrations once we move.

We are looking forward to the 4th of July  this week and have a lot of fun stuff planned.

Stay tuned for more pictures!

Exploring Northwest Arkansas

Today we got home from a 5-day trip to Northwest Arkansas. Chris' new job paid for us to "explore" the area for 5 days. They covered our gas, our hotel and our food, which was awesome. We took full advantage and had so much fun. It made me really excited to move there. There is so much to do with young kids.

We got into Rogers around 3:30 and I immediately headed over to Target to get my "fix". (How fun will it be to have a Target so close? I'm beyond excited for that!)

After stocking up on snacks we checked into our hotel. Which was a nice suite with separate rooms. One was the bedroom and one was the living area. We set up the kids in the living area with Bailey in the pack-n-play and Tanner on the couch.

Then we went out to dinner at "Five Guys." Oh my word- so delicious. I've tried lots of burgers and this is on my top 5 for sure!

Here's Tanner and Dad devouring their burgers.

Oh and Bailey was a big fan too!

After that we just drove around and explored the area and then went back to the hotel to settle in for the night.

Tuesday morning we ate breakfast at Einstein Bros Bagels and then we met our realtor to look for a rental. We found one and applied for it right away. It's super cute and I really hope we get it!

Then we went out for lunch. We decided to go out for sushi at this place known as "gas station sushi"

Sounds sketchy, I know, but it was super good!!!

It is adjacent to a gas station, not actually located inside a gas station.

Tanner thoroughly enjoyed his "noodles" and he loved using the chopsticks.

then it was back to the hotel for naps.

That night we went to "Chuck E Cheese" for dinner. This was a big hit with the kiddos.

We played games, ate pizza and had a blast getting to spend time together.
(We've really missed Daddy these last 4 weeks)

Bailey rode this horse ride 3 times in a row. Crazy girl. She loves animals!

 

 

Bailey giving "Chuck-E" a kiss. (Really sanitary- I know!)

fun on the carousel

 

 

nothing like a little air hockey. Oh and I adore Tanner's little tongue sticking out.

 

After "Chuck E Cheese" Chris took me over to "Cold Stone" because he knows its my favorite.

Oh it was so good!

Then it was back to the hotel for a quick swim before bed.

(not a bad picture for using the timer on my camera.)

Wednesday we slept in until 8:30. At 10:45 we met Stephanie and "baby Blake" -(that's what my kids call Blake) and headed over the the "splash pad" in Bentonville.

It's a cute little concrete pad with sprinklers/fountains built in. It's free and open to the public.

The kids had a great time. Bailey wouldn't drop my sonic drink but she still had fun! 

Tanner had so much fun walking through every sprinkler! It was so funny to watch him.

We stayed for about an hour- until Tanner bonked heads with some other kid and decided he had had enough. Poor kid.

Then Steph and I got the kids changed and walked over to a restaurant called "The Station Cafe" where we met our husbands for lunch. "The Station" had these delicious burgers and is supposedly the place you HAVE TO go to as a "welcome" to Bentonville.

The kids even enjoyed free ice cream cones.

Those burgers were huge and so good.

Then it was back to the hotel for naps.

We hung out there until Chris got off work and then we headed over to this ghetto Mexican food place called "King Burrito". It was delicious and authentic. Chris discovered it during his first week of work and loves it. I quickly fell in love too when I discovered they served horchata. YUM!

The kids loved the restaurant because of this little "hot dog" truck. They must have rode it 3 times.

Then we drove around looking at more houses and getting to know the area and the areas to avoid.

 

Thursday, the kids and I drove over to Bella Vista for a movie. The theater over there is doing the same promotion as our theater in Mtn Home. $4 for the movie, popcorn, treat and drink.
We saw "Ice Age- Continental Drift".

This is the only picture I was able snag of our morning at the theater. I know it's not a great picture- but Tanner had a great time and loves going to the movies.

Then we met Chris for lunch at "Crabby's"- a really nice seafood place. The kids weren't huge fans of seafood, but Chris and I enjoyed our lunches.

Here is Bailey eating "goldfish" instead of lunch.

After lunch it was back to the hotel for naps.

After naps we hung out for a while and watched some tv

I just love this picture of the kids chillin' on the bed together.

Then we met Stephanie and Blake again and went to the "splash pad" in Rogers.

This splash pad was a little different. It still had lots of sprinklers but it also had buckets of water that dropped repeatedly and water cannons. It was super fun for the kids. It was also free and open to the public. (How nice is that?)

 

When Chris got off work we went over to "P F Changs" for dinner. "
YUMMY! I love their pad thai so much! The kids ate their lo mein and it was so funny to watch them use the "kid-friendly" chopsticks.

 

After dinner we drove around and looked at more houses and grabbed some ice cream from "Braums". (Oh how we love that place!)

Then it was back to the hotel for a movie and bed.

Then this morning we slept in, ate breakfast at the hotel and then packed up. We met Chris and drove around some more. We like looking at different subdivisions and seeing the different styles of homes being built.

Then we met Stephanie, Blake and Aaron for lunch at "Mad Pizza".

Which we enjoyed- it's just like "Larry's Pizza" in Mtn Home.

Then we headed back to our house in Gassville- which by the way is on the market now.

When we got home there was a "for sale" sign  in our lawn. So crazy.

We had a blast in NWA and I'm getting really excited to live there. There is just so  much to do and alot of it is free. It's going to be a blast. And it's only 2 1/2 hours away from my family in Mtn Home.

We'll be home all the time, but we are going to enjoy living in NWA!!!

Thanks to Chris' new company for shouldering our tab for the week- we had a BLAST!