The Calm Before the Storm

Saturday afternoon, we had a neighborhood Halloween party. Our committee did a great job putting it together. There was yummy food and tons of cute games for the kids. It was amazing to be at our second neighborhood party (the first was a pool party 4 days after we moved in) and not be the new people anymore. Its amazing how many families we have gotten to know in such a short time. Addison isn't dressed up at the party because we had a little pumpkin carving crisis and had gotten finished at Urgent Care just a few minutes before the party started.

She was attempting to help Tommy carve one small piece of her pumpkin, with his close supervision. She only had the knife in her hand for a few seconds, before she slipped, trying to put the knife into the pumpkin and ran her hand up the blade. We didn't really know at that point what we were dealing with, we just knew there was ALOT of blood. Thankfully we just finished CPR/First Aid. Tommy rode in the back with her and applied pressure to her hand, while I drove to the closest urgent care. Reagan and Gracyn were a great help getting what we needed and getting loaded in the car quickly. Throughout the ordeal, both sweet little girls shed some sympathy tears out of worry for their sister. She ended up with 5 stitches in her thumb and her index finger glued together. We are just so thankful she didn't do any serious damage.

Friday night, before our Saturday carving incident, all was well. They debuted their costumes at 2 parties that night. One of our neighbors hosted a cookie decorating for the girls and then Tommy's office rented the party room at FASTLANES and we had a fun night of bowling and arcade games with his co-workers.

This is the calm before the storm, just a few minutes before she cut her hand. Our pumpkins never got past having the lids cut off, and I don't think they will this year. We were all a little traumatized. I see lots of painted pumpkins in our future.

First Days in Bentonville

Mimi came to help unpack the house and play with the girls. She unpacked tons of boxes before she left. On this afternoon, she painted birdhouses with the girls while I worked on the house.

We caught a turtle. Contrary to what you might think, they are actually pretty speedy when they want to be. We were just heading to a pool party when the girls found him. We tucked him up in a corner of our yard and he was no where to be found when we got home.

I knew before we came that alot of our furniture wasn't going to be well suited for this house, but I never had time to sell it before we came. I was right and we spent the first few days here with furniture stacked everywhere. Then, I sold it all on Craigslist and we had a few days with no furniture, until I got some new things.

First day at the town square. The girls and I had a blast exploring and they loved that they had just seen this location weeks before on TV, during Jill Duggar's proposal episode on 19 Kids and Counting.

We explored the square and then spent a few hours hiking around Crystal Bridges, which is a huge trail system around our art museum.

Then we had our first Crepe....from a food truck (another first) and we were in LOVE. Definitely a fun, unique must-see experience here. The BBQ truck next door is also delicious.

Unique Art displayed outside the museum, just off the square.

We went to Tulsa for a long weekend and met Miss Debra, Phil and Austin at a horse show Deb was judging.

We watched lots of hours of horse show.

And, on our last day there we went to the aquarium.

We spent many days at Addison's new barn. Thankfully the sisters love to go. These adorable kitties and the owners 4-year old daughter help.

We got used to a new gym. NOTHING even remotely like Lifetime Fitness here. We realized we were spoiled, but we have gotten used to it. Gracyn asked me nearly every single time, "Mommy, why is Jesus naked here?". 

We got to know new neighbors. One of our neighbors built this fabulous bike wash for the kids.

Daddy's office hosted a skating party. Our favorite!!!

The big girls took turns going with me to my early morning Pilates class.

More and more days at the barn.

Thank goodness they love these kitties.

This picture should have been first. It was the day we closed on our house. Nothing eases the pain of a move or makes a home-buying celebration better like a cookie cake. Since then, we get one any time we can think of a reasonably good reason too. 

Gracyn's Dance Recital

Miss Linsday's ballet and tap class 2013 

Gracyn's PreSchool Graduation

Way back in May, Gracyn had her pre-k graduation. I have said it 1,000 times, but I LOVE the preschool she and Reagan went to in Ohio. Love the school, Miss Marsha, chapel, the teachers and most of all the families we attended with. Gracyn's class stayed almost the same between her 3-year old year and pre-K, and we were very close with several families in her class, so it made for an extra special year. Miss Julie and Miss Dana gave her a great foundation for her school years to come. This day was a tough one for Mama. Last baby to finish preschool and moving in 2 weeks is a tough combination. I got through the day and ducked out quickly before there were any major public breakdowns!!! Miss Julie and Miss Dana awarded Gracyn with a leadership award, which is the same award Reagan had received in her class. We were so grateful for this special final day and all the amazing days of learning and fun that lead up to it.

Meet Mrs. Fluffy Whiskers

Sometime in August, just before school started back, we were outside with lots of neighbors playing one evening. During our playtime, one of our neighborhood families returned from a walk and joined us. They also had a sweet little kitty following along. They had been walking for quite some time and she followed them home. My girls, of course, began to love on her and feed her. She liked their turkey and also all their affection. When we headed in for the night, she followed us home and waited patiently on our porch until the next morning when we came back outside. And this was the beginning of our porch kitty.

Her first full day at our house, we ran to the store to get cat food. The girls and their friends played with her on our porch for 6 straight hours. By day 3 or 4 it was starting to look like she was content to stay. We posted pictures and lost signs around the neighborhood. After a few weeks with no phone calls I began wondering what we were going to do with this cat. I called every local shelter and they were all full. The city was no help and had no ordinances in place for cats. After a few days of phone calls, it was decided that we would take the kitty to get her shots, be spayed and have a wound she had on her side treated and she would live permanently on our front porch.

She has turned out to be the sweetest pet!!! While we weren't expecting to get a cat, we are so glad we did. Mrs. Whiskers prowls around some, especially at night, but by day she lounges on our porch. She loves all of us and snuggles and purrs whenever we come out. She even follows us to the bus stop everyday. When neighborhood kids are out playing, you will find her nearby. Even she and Maggie have become unlikely friends. The girls frequently say she is the best thing about Arkansas. We love our new porch kitty.