Arkansas: Part One

Well, let's just say I took a LOT of pictures (somewhere close to four hundred) and if that is any indication of how our children will be documented there will never be a shortage of pictures. We just had too much fun with everyone and I love learning more about my new camera. Being the coolest aunt and uncle I know, Daniel and I came prepared with gifts for the girls to help them warm up to us. Before I could even get ready the first morning we were all playing with Bella's new princess puzzle book and Hannah's Tangled Look-and-Find book. Here is what we did the first half of the week:

We put together the puzzle book at least a dozen times.
We found Rapunzel and her friends. Hannah was surprisingly good at finding things I thought were hard.


Monday:



We checked out downtown Bentonville. Erin and Jason took us to the Station for lunch for some delicious burgers. We saw Waltons Five and Dime, the beginning of the Wal-Mart empire.

Our plans were to play outside, but it rained on our parade. So we went bowling instead!

We had dinner at a BBQ joint called the Whole Hog. That was some dang good southern bbq! Even the leftovers the next day made my stomach smile.

Tuesday:

With an extra pair of hands around, Erin decide we should try to snap some family photos. I had no idea that getting three wiggly girls to smile at the camera at the same time. Erin and Jason are quite the comedic pair when trying to make the girls smile big for the camera. At the,very least, they had Daniel and I laughing.

Here are a couple I thought turned out alright:

Wednesday: My Birthday!

For my first birthday away from my side of the family, we sure had an excellent day. Erin made some delicious waffles for breakfast and later we packed up a picnic and headed out to a little place called Blowing Springs. Its a cool little spring that makes the Arkansas heat quite pleasant. Then made our way back home to make some birthday cupcakes! Well, Erin made the cupcakes and the girls and I scooped batter and iced the finished product. I was very surprised when a package arrived at Erin's door for me! I only knew one person who would go out of their way to make sure I had something from them on my birthday: my spectacular mom. :) She sent me a box of decadent chocolate covered strawberries and creamy cheesecakes. Possibly the best package I have ever received.

Then we packed up for dinner and a little nature walk. The Walton Family has donated millions of dollars to create a premier American Art museum right in Bentonville. It is surround by beautiful gardens and exciting hiking and biking trails. We walked out to the observation deck to check out the progress of the museum (due to be finished in November). The hike ended up being a little sweatier than any of us anticipated, but it was gorgeous! After we all cooled down, we went to Bella Napoli for dinner. Holy delicious homemade Italian food! Sooo good. We ended the night with a chick flick. That's my kinda birthday

Can you see the bike made out of branches?

Did I forget to mention that per my nieces request, I had a Barbie birthday? Complete with matching cups and plates, pink balloons and streamers, and pink iced cupcakes.

That's right. It was one rad birthday.