Breanne Came To Visit!

Is this an oil painting? NOPE just the beautiful Arkansas countryside! 

Some of these photos were taken with Breanne's phone so they aren't the best quality but I was super impressed by the quality of the camera on her phone!

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Breanne came to visit! It was SO nice having her here! Especially because Trevor has been going to Alabama every weekend for training! I was pretty excited when I found out she was coming! She wanted to surprise me, but Trevor kind of dropped the ball on that one. ;) Unfortunately she came Thursday night and left Sunday morning so we only had 2 full days but we made the best of it!

I took her to Eureka Springs for her first day and she absolutely loved it! More than I thought she would! I seriously am going to take anyone there who comes here because it's so cool! My brother took me there the first time I came! It's just a quaint little town and I love it. So we explored around until the late afternoon (because I can't drive at night very well! My eyes are going SO bad!). When we got back into town we went to the amazing outlet mall we have here. I love it!

The next day we went to another mall and Breanne got some really cool stuff! I was slightly jealous! Then we went to Crystal Bridges which is an amazing art museum! This rich lady built this museum and bought all this art and made sure that it was free for the public! So nice! There are a lot of Norman Rockwell paintings there like "Rosie The Riveter"! Then we went back to the outlet mall (We like shopping, okay?). Then went out to eat and hung out! It was so nice just to hang out with a friend!! I'm super grateful for Breanne and glad she still likes to hang out with me and likes me enough to fly all the way to Arkansas!!! So any friends who want to come visit me you are certainly welcome to! Ask Breanne - Arkansas is cooler than you'd think!

Eureka Springs

About an hour away from where we live is this awesome town called Eureka Springs! Its so beautiful. Except the weekend we went there was an event called "Bikers, Blues, & Barbecue" so there were soooooo many motorcycles everywhere! Ughhh it was so hard to get anywhere. The first time I came to Arkansas about 2 years ago my brother took my mom and I here and I fell in love!
As we got there I had to use the bathroom so we found the quickest place we could and we were so lost and in some random neighborhood and I had been telling Trevor about these really old hotels that are supposedly "haunted" and we accidentally drove right to the biggest one! So we roamed around the hotel and below this hotel is this Catholic church so we went and roamed around that also.
There are trolleys running the streets showing cool places around Eureka Springs and when we left the hotel we went down this random street and it was just a quiet little neighborhood and we saw a trolley parked so we stopped to see what they were looking at as they were leaving. It was this wall of ivy hanging down and a deep staircase and a small little cave! It was so incredibly beautiful outside of the cave and down inside the cave it was so cold! It was actually really creepy. Inside in the very back was a candle and a little statue. It was freaky.
After exploring we got a bite to eat and headed to "Christ of the Ozarks". It's a huge Christus. The first time I saw it was 2 years ago when I first came and we were driving and I saw a HUGE statue of Christ off in the distance in between the trees and I was like "What the heck was that!?" So we went and checked it out! It felt like we were in Brazil! Its big but not as big as Brazil's. It was so fun exploring except for all the bikers!

4th of July Week

Wow.. it's been a while! I'm a slacking on the blog department. My computer is so slow now and I already do a lot of work on it so I get frustrated (ya know.. with the slowness..) and the last thing I want to do is get back on here but here I am.

My parents decided to come visit us the week before the 4th of July! I was SOOO happy! They got in late Friday night and we woke Emma up to see them and it took her a minute to realize who they were but then she was so crazy and excited to see them! ESPECIALLY her grandma. Her and my mom just love each other so much! But she love love LOVES my dad too! She kept laughing and it was so adorable! The next day we kind of just wandered around the city and shopped. It was so fun having them see Kansas City a little bit.

Monday my parents, Emma, and I traveled 3 hours south to Arkansas to my brothers house! Trevor had to stay in KC and work so we spent the week apart which was so hard for us! We had an amazing time hanging out with Mike and his fam! I just love Arkansas! Its so country yet where they live its still a city. My fav. I loved hanging out in their backyard and playing yard games. It was the epitome of summer!

The 4th of July is actually my mom's birthday! So its a pretty special holiday for our family besides it being our country's birthday! Trevor came down that day and it was a joyous reunion! ha! We basically just hung out and then in the evening we ate tacos and did LOTS of fireworks! The babies were a little scared but so cute. My parents ended up leaving that night which was super hard. Especially for Mike and I. It was so good to see them. I miss them a lot. It was such a fun week!

Arkansas > part 3

Our last day in Arkansas we went and explored Bentonville which is where the Walmart headquarters are! We got lunch and met up in this square and ate. Across the street was Waltons which was one of the first Walmarts and the front of it is (I'm pretty sure anyway) the original Waltons and inside is a little candy and toy shop. Once you go through this doorway its an actual museum! It's pretty cool! Then we went and had ice cream at the shop next door.

After we went to Crystal Bridges which was an art museum! Its HUGE! I'm so sad we didn't go see the Van Gogh exhibit. I'll have to go next time I'm there. I didn't realize it was there until later! We wandered around and ended up in this fun little kids room which had tons of art supplies and fun things to do! We spent a good amount of time in there.

Then when Michael got home from work Trevor, me, Emma, Mike, and Heather went to some Mexican restaurant that made us sick! It was good company though! I was sad that it was our last night. I love hanging out with them!

P.S. Some of these pics are from my sister-in-law!

Arkansas > part 2

On Wednesday we just hung out while Heather took pictures for some people. It was so fun! I just love hanging out, its one of my favorite things to do! I love just to be with my family and enjoy their company.

When Michael came home from work we went to this park by their house and had pizza. We played tag, frisbee, and climbed on the playground. It was so fun to see Emma on the swing for her first time! We put Emma and their youngest in together and it was hilarious! I absolutely love these simple memories.

Also I love where my brother lives. Their neighborhood is so pretty. I love all the big brick houses!

Arkansas > part 1

We arrived at my brother Mike's house on Monday night and my sister-in-law Heather made us an amazing dinner. She seriously is the best cook that I know! Her meals are always so good that I get to the point where I physically cannot eat anymore! We just hung around and talked and enjoyed each other's company because we hadn't seen each other for about a year and a half!

The next morning we, Heather, and things kids went to Fayetteville and explored this little square area! It was sooo pretty! Heather had some coupons so we all got some yummy cupcakes in this cute cupcake shop that used to be an old post-office! The buildings there are so old and unique.

Then we went back home and hung out until Michael came home. Trevor, me, Emma, Mike, Heather, and their youngest all went to PF Changs. Dang that place is good! I've never been there! Then Trevor and I went shopping for a bit at this place called the Promenade. It's like a mall but outside and instead of the hallways its just little streets! It's a way cool place. Then back to their home and hung out! I just love their family. Seriously. Their kids are such good-hearted kids. I definitely want my kids raised around them. They are all my little buddies! and my brother and SIL are so hilarious and so easy to be around! I just love them!

P.S. Heather took some of these! Obviously the ones I'm in!