Mama Sez . . .

The Park off Horsebarn Road

2011-09-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

Rogers is booming. There has been a lot of growth here in these past few years. Thankfully, the city hasn't neglected families or the benefits of a beautiful park. We, personally, love this park. It reminds me of the park I used to love as a little girl in Alabama. My sister and I adored playing in the creek there. They've done a fantastic job, in my opinion, with upkeep on this park. The landscaping is quaint and clean. The bathrooms are almost always decent (nothing fancy, but clean). It's a wonderful atmosphere: a family at a picnic table enjoying lunch; a mom nursing her youngest while her preschooler plays; cyclist riding by down the paved trail; a young guy using the equipment across from the park to work out; a dad showing his boy how to shoot a basket; and a group of giggling girls dipping their toes in the cold creek.

So, here are some pictures from our trip there on this beautiful afternoon! Check it out if you haven't. Pack a lunch, take your bikes, or just let your kiddos wear themselves out on the swings and jungle gym. (I sound kinda like an infomercial now!!)

Holidays! Operation Christmas Child

2011-09-22T18:28:00.000-07:00

The Holidays have been on my mind a lot the past couple days. I love fall and harvest celebrations and Thanksgiving. But, I absolutely, positively adore Christmas. The red. The green. The lights! The smells of vanilla, cinnamon, pine needles, and delicious things baking. The stories and traditions. MMM. I LOVE IT ALL!

Anyway, as I was googling for some ideas I remembered that Operation Christmas Child would be right around the corner. Sometimes people forget about this fun and simple feel-good act of giving because it's always plopped in the middle of the season. SO . . . here's an early reminder!

We're planning to do two boxes -- one from each of our girls (even though one is a newborn!). But, I'm pretty sure if you wanted to do 1 or 1,000 they'd be ok! There are lots of things you can pack in a shoe box and you might impress yourself. I like to get a toothbrush, toothpaste and soft terry washcloths regardless of age or gender. This can be a cheap, quick, easy family project!! Your kids can be "Santa Claus" for someone on the other side of the world.

Here is the Samaritan's Purse website. Here are printable instructions and box labels.
The drop off dates are November 14-21 and may vary by location.
Here are the directions to our local drop off locations:

Bella Vista

- Bella Vista Baptist Church

Centerton
- First Baptist Church

Fayetteville

- Calvary Chapel Fayetteville

- Ridgeview Baptist Church

Rogers
- Calvary in the Ozarks

I will be sure to come back and update this post if anything changes. I'll also add a quick link to any other Christmas related posts so it's easy to get too!!

The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

2011-09-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Last year, my husband, N, and I went to downtown Bentonville just for the fun of it on. (If you haven't experienced some of the beautiful downtown areas of NWA then please GO! There are so many fun shops, beautiful park areas, interesting people and so much history.) We stopped in the little art museum on the corner, happy to find a very interesting Mata Ortiz pottery exhibit. In the back, they also had a video and model for the museum that was supposed to open in the area very soon. At that point, they were still working on the foundation and perfecting the plans.

I decided to do some googling to find out what the progress of this new museum. Last I heard it was supposed to open this fall. Lo and behold, there's a website up! It is supposed to hold it's grand opening on November 11th. I am actually very excited. While there is plenty to do in the area for families and children, it's not as easy as living in a big city and going to the local zoo or aquarium. This place looks better than I could've imagined! I'm so looking forward to having this available to us in the next few years. I will definitely be looking to add a membership to the Crystal Bridges Museum to our budget.

Check it out!!

Other museums in the area I'm hoping to check out soon:

Walton's 5&10 (FO' FREE!)

Arkansas Air Museum

Daisy Airgun Museum

Shiloh Museum of Ozark History

Oh Hai!

2011-09-14T12:05:00.001-07:00

I'm a semi-crunchy Mama of two, 18 month old N and newborn E, living in NWA (Northwest Arkansas). I've lived in the area since 2008 and despite making other plans it's looking like my husband and I will be here for at least a few more years! I'm on a mission to discover all the fun things this area has to offer for us. Come back soon to hear about our experiences as we explore. You'll probably find other mommy stuff on here too, like a post I'm working on about baby-wearing, tips on places you can feel comfortable breastfeeding in public, and info on some of my favorite places to shop for kid stuff around here!

Three places/events we hope to attend in the upcoming fall/harvest season:

Ozark Corn Maze

Farmland Adventures

10th Annual Trick-or-Treat on the Square

More to come soon!