Crystal Bridges

Bentonville is about to get an amazing addition to the city....Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art! The museum plans to open 11-11-11. So the construction is non-stop until it is completed. While Christian was a VBS last week, Andrew and I decided to go explore the walking trail and observation deck.


Andrew on the observation deck watching the construction!

Andrew and I loved exploring the trails and I can't wait to explore the museum!

PandaMania! VBS 2011!

This past week was Vacation Bible School at our church! PandaMania was the theme and we had over 400 kids signed up for VBS! WOW!

Christian said VBS was his favorite part of summer so far! He loved his crew leader Landon and enjoyed being a "helper" each day!

The crowd of kids singing to the songs of VBS!

Andrew enjoyed watching big brother when we came to pick him up each day!

This morning at church, Christian sang a couple of the songs at the beginning of service. It was so sweet watching all the children sing about their love for God! Thanks to all the volunteers that make VBS such an amazing event each year!

Father's Day weekend

On Father's Day, our family went out for lunch at Fred's Hickory Inn. It was yummy!
I was glad to get this picture of Pops and Jim with the boys in the swing in the restaurant.

That weekend, we also checked out a local car show!


Andrew enjoyed strolling around while Christian, Dad and I looked at all the old cars and hot rods! It was fun but HOT!


We spent Sunday afternoon at the pool!

Jim enjoyed an afternoon of golf on Father's Day then he came home and cooked out dinner on the grill for us. Christian and Andrew are the luckiest boys in the world to have the best dad ever! Love you Jim!!!

Art of Wine!

Two weekends ago, Jim and I joined our friends Brandon and Susan for an adult weekend getaway down in Fayetteville. It was Art of Wine Festival weekend at the Walton Arts Center!
This is an event that we have always wanted to go to, but it was always held the weekend we had vacations planned. So this year, it was our mini-vacation. ;)
I reserved a two bedroom condo in the Underwood Building on Dickson Street for the occasion.


The condo was really nice and had a great view of Old Main!

Let the wine tasting begin!

Susan and I ended the night at the new Waffle House on Dickson Street!
Can't beat late night hashbrowns and chocolate milk! ;)

Art of Wine was a lot of fun! We hope to do it again next year!
Thanks to Hope who babysat the boys for us while we had our little overnight getaway!

Mets Season Comes to an end...

Christian's last baseball game of the season was a couple weekends ago. With all the endless rain, they only played half of the scheduled games, 3 weeks in a row without one game. But our last game was bright, sunny and lots of fun!

Andrew LOVED watching his big brother! Each time Christian would go into the dugout, he would yell "Ba! Ba! Ba" over and over again!

These two are almost attached at the hip when they are together! So cute!
Looking forward to next spring's baseball season!

Last day of first grade!

Well, it is official. Christian is no longer a first grader but going to be a second grader.

Wednesday was his last day of school for summer break. Christian brought home his report card a few days ago and had all A's!! We are so proud of him! Tuesday, Andrew and I joined Christian for lunch on the next to last day of school.

After school, Christian told Andrew he was happy that he would get to spend more time with him. :)

I think Andrew enjoys having his big brother around!

Christian was so excited and had all these "plans" he wanted to do to celebrate the last day of first grade! First on the list, bake a cake! Strawberry with confetti icing by request!

They enjoyed licking the beaters!

Andrew yelled, "Party, party! Cake, cake!"

Next on the list of things to do on the last day of school....camp out. Yep. He wanted to camp in his tent in our downstairs den. So we set up the tent and got his sleeping bag ready!

Last but not least, Christian wanted to roast marshmellows in our fire pit in the backyard.


He had so much fun!

After a belly full of marshmellows and a shower, he was ready to get in his tent. He told me he was an "expert camper" because he had his watch, flashlight and a book to read. :)
I love my little expert camper!

The last ARVEST1 deck party...

This past weekend, Jamie and Rachel hosted what may be the last ARVEST1 deck party. This spring tradition has been a yearly event consisting of endless cookout grub, ladder golf and watching everyone kiddos run around until they wear out. Good times, good times. :)

Candace and Trent

Charles and Kathy

Rachel and Annie ready to party!

Let the games begin!
Jacob, our newest trader on the desk, had never played ladder golf before. But he caught on quick and the guys had a serious competition accompanied by the most diverse playlist of songs in the background. Who knew one could like Humpty Dance and Taylor Swift?!!

Enjoying the shade as the sun goes down!

Jamie, Stephanie and Trent (and yes, those are cut off Sevens Jamie is wearing, haha!)
We missed Jennifer and Paul this time but maybe if Jamie and Rachel get an apartment in NYC with a deck, we may have to do it in New York next year. ;) Any chance that's in the budget Jamie?!

Memorial Day weekend 2011!

This past weekend, we stayed in Van Buren with Jim's parents. We had the BEST time!
The weather was warm, the pool was open and our bellies stayed full. :)

Pops even got out "Jamaica"! This is an inflatable pool and activity toy that Jim's parents bought when they watched Christian when we were in Jamaica in 2007. Andrew loved it!

Andrew jumped in head first every time! He LOVES the water!

Pops and GoGo opened their pool this weekend but the water was COLD! Christian did not seem to mind. ;) At least it was 90 degrees outside!

The first evening, we had dinner at Big Jake's steakhouse, which is Christian's favorite place to eat when we go to VB. Andrew likes it too because of the "choochoo" that runs across the top of the restaurant. Christian likes their "cowboy bean soup" and said he wants to wear boots next time we go. haha!

The second night, Pops cooked steaks out of the grill and they were DELICIOUS!

And of course, this view NEVER gets old...

I love sitting outside and enjoying the view of the Arkansas River and being where Jim and I were married. So special. One of my favorite places in the whole world.

On Memorial Day, we went to downtown Fort Smith for the Old Fort Days Parade!
In all my years of living down in Van Buren, I don't think I had ever gone to the parade. I think Pops enjoyed it as much as Christian and Andrew. ;)

Christian's favorite was the police cars and sheriffs that started the parade. ;)

Andrew liked the horses. He kept saying "horse, horse!"

My favorite part of parades are always the old cars. :)

After lunch, we headed back home. We all had a fun filled weekend!

Andrew was worn out!

Christian was too but would not admit it. ;) He looks so big in this picture. I can't get over how much he is growing up! (sniff, sniff).
Thanks Pops and GoGo for a fun weekend! We love you!