Three Day Weekend

This weekend was my cousin Dustin's wedding in NW Arkansas. It just so happened that Veronika was out of school Friday so we decided to make a 3-day mini-vacation of it! We left Thursday afternoon and stopped at MarketPlace in Conway for Dinner. We haven't eaten there in a couple of years, I was so excited to introduce the kids to one of my favorite desserts: The Chocolate Mess! I LOVE this Sundae. The entire glass is covered in chocolate and is literally "glued" to the plate with chocolae. Amanda and I use to scrape the glass clean and eat all the chocolate of the plate too!After dinner we headed to Mt. Magazine in Paris, AR. We stayed at "The Lodge at Mt. Magazine." It was beautiful! It is a rustic/craftsman design, my favorite style! The kids were really excited about the huge bath in our room! All 3 kids took a bath together, it was so fun...like a little pool!

Every room at the lodge is built facing the Arkansas River Valley. Because we arrived so late we didn't get to see our view when we arrived. The next morning we were greeted with this beautiful view!

After breakfast at the Skycrest Restaurant we had a little bit of time to swim. Violet and Phoenix loved the kiddie "wading" pool.

After swimming we drove around and stopped at a couple of overlooks. I am not a big fan of heights, but I LOVE Arkansas in the fall! Next, we headed to the "Signal Hill Trail." Signal Hill is the highest point in Arkansas. It was a 1.4 mile walk round trip, Violet and Veronika walked the whole time, but Phoenix needed to be carried the last .4 mile or so. I was really impressed with how well they did! It's not a really strenuous hike, so it was just perfect for our little ones:) At the top of Signal Hill we stopped and let the kids eat a little snack before our descent!

After our walk we had a little picnic lunch then headed to Bentonville for my cousin Dustin and his fiance Jessica's wedding. Friday night we all went out to dinner and the kids got to swim. Saturday we had breakfast then went out for a little shopping. After showers and naps it was time to get ready for the wedding. It was SO beautiful! It was at the Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel and made such a gorgeous setting for a fall wedding. After the wedding we headed to the reception for dinner and DANCING! Veronika stayed on the dance floor all night! It took Violet a little while to warm up to the loud music and lights but she and Phoenix both had fun. There was a basket of goodies for the kids and they all had fun playing with the disguises!

Sunday morning we ate breakfast, then Steve took the kids swimming again while I got us all packed up. We stopped at Catfish Hole for lunch then headed home. I think me and the babies slept most of the way home. We had such a good weekend, I love being able to get away with my sweet family!

Sick Days

I have to brag on Steve! Last week Phoenix and Violet both had the stomach bug, Phoenix at the beginning of the week and Violet at the end. It had been a LONG week with lots of sick babies who wanted to be held and rocked and loads of yucky laundry that needed to be washed! By Friday I was feeling pretty down and was having a super rough day! We all took a little nap and when we woke up, I went outside to check the mail and found this on my front porch. It really brightened my day :) Thanks Steve! I love you!

Halloween 2011

We've had a couple of fun and busy weeks leading up to Halloween! I love that it is just such a fun, relaxed celebration! This year we had a Ladybug (Veronika), Cinderella (Violet), and Spiderman (Phoenix)! Halloween night our church hosts a huge Fall Fest! They have blow-up houses and activities and horseback riding outside, along with free drinks and food; and carnival type games inside. Normally we do a Trick-or-Treat Hayride with Poppa after the Fall Fest, but since Poppa and Dodi both blew out their knees this year, that was cancelled! So, we took dinner to Poppa and Dodi, then hit a few houses on the way home.

On the Train at Fall Fest

Last week we went to a local Pumpkin Patch with our MOPS Group. There was a Corn Maze, Hayride, Hay Pyramid, "Cow" Train, and lots of other activities. We had a crazy morning getting out of the house and I ran off without our lunch, so we had to leave a little earlier than we wanted.

Phoenix loved his little pumpkin. After his therapy that afternoon he asked to hold it again and fell asleep with it. Notice is arm propped up behind his hand, I LOVE this. He always falls asleep like this and so does Steve :) Normally he puts up both arms, but he had to have one hand on his pumpkin.

The week before Halloween we had Veronika, so we went to "Boo at the Zoo." We haven't been since Veronika was 4, but it has improved alot and we all had a fun time!

Veronika at the "Creatures of the Night" exhibit...she was the only one brave enough to hold the snake!

We wore Spiderman out! Notice his hands here again:)