Eureka Springs in Spring...

This past weekend I took Friday off from work and took my amazing mom's to Eureka Springs, AR. This is something my sister and I have wanted to do for a while now and I'm so glad the weekend finally got here!  Just us girls. (Sorry Jared! you're too young to count, and you almost got your toenails painted anyway.)  We have many things to celebrate, like our health and happiness, and we thought this would be a great getaway to celebrate life a bit!  We drove up Friday morning and spent two nights just hanging out with each other, eating home cooked meals out on the deck overlooking the wildlife filled trees, enjoying a bit of shopping, soaking in the outdoors, laughing a lot at the joy our little ones bring us.........and drinking a few margaritas!  :)

I am an extremely blessed girl, surrounded by loving family and friends who mean the world to me.  :)  I'm so thankful for these family times together!

Narrowing down the photo's to post was difficult because I captured so many smiles.  I apologize for nothing. Enjoy them all!!!

Rylie loved the cabin and we actually set up her pack-n-play in the upstairs closet with the white-noise maker. She was nice and cozy in the closet and she slept all through the night.  She also enjoyed running up and down the stairs. Thank goodness we have a one story house at home, I don't think I could handle the constant desire to play on the stairs.  For just a weekend, though, it was cute. She only tumbled once and it wasnt too far. That quickly taught her that sliding down on her rear was a safer method of going down them.

I love the look on Jareds' face... "hey cousin, watch the flips, you're butt's in my space!"  Lord, watch out when this boy starts walking!

Our little chunky monkey. 6 months old.

Rylie enjoys helping out with her baby cousin. More like a baby brother, really. A "brousin"... if I may take the liberty of creating a new word!  I like it!

Every meal on the deck, listening to nature and to the kids! :)

We can't have a serious girls cabin get away without some toenail polishing. Rylie sat so patiently while I painted every toe. Her baby doll's little plastic feet also got a coat of paint! 

Of course we had some before bed silliness! Rylie loves to dance and twirl.

Helping Aunt Tay Tay again. She's a good little helper!

Showing Nana her freshly painted toe's that mommy just did.  The color happened to match Aunt Tay Tay's and Nana's recently pedicured toes perfectly... something she seemed to be excited about! 

Good morning! Cheer's to coffee and juice!

Tracie bought a cake for our weekend. Can you believe not a crumb made it back with us. We ate the entire thing in under 3 days. And it wasn't a small cake. So yummy!

Stopping for a quick break and a feeding time for Jared.  We didn't shop too much this trip. It was definitely a low key, slow pace weekend. Which was exactly how we'd planned it...and needed it.  So nice.

Rylie's new favorite "baby" needed a bite of her banana. 

We went to a gorgeous attraction called Blue Spring Heritage Center. It's a natural spring that has a constant flow of clear blue water that stays a brisk 54 degrees.  This beautiful spring has been flowing for hundreds of years.  There is a lot of cool history associated with this spring. We will definitely make this a place we visit at least annually.  Rylie did great with the relatively short hike and exploring along the path.  Both grandma's did great too!  :)    http://bluespringheritage.com/history_intro.shtml

"Really mommy, another picture?!"

The spring itself, surrounded by beautiful landscaping.  Each day 38 million gallons of water flows from the center of this spring into a trout-filled lagoon that flows into the White River.  It was a gorgeous and peaceful place.  We sat and splashed our toes in the very cold water. Rylie had to do it too and didn't seem to mind how cold it was. She would have sat there until her toes froze off if I would have let her.  Silly girl!  She loves water!  Jared snoozed through the entire walk. He'll be big enough to enjoy it next time.

Rylie pointing out some flowers to Nana. 

Is Grammie and Nana helping Rylie down the stairs or is Rylie helping her favorite grandmothers down the stairs?  It could go either way here!  I love it!!!!  :)



You must stop and smell the roses!!

Sharing some pizza with her Grammie. 

And sharing the blanket before bed with Nana!  

I can't think of a better way to spend a long weekend.  I could use another few days of just the same stuff.  I think my mom is already wanting to plan another weekend in the Fall.  Great memories!

Happy Easter 2012...

As Rylie grows older, (what seems like a lot each day), I realize more and more how strong my desire is to create an amazing childhood for her.  She doesn't understand everything yet, but she sure tries, and I enjoy so much guiding her through her experiences.  And, of course, on special occasions like Easter weekend, the camera goes non-stop.  I took some really cute photo's of her and the family this weekend.  A little recap before I we get into pictures...  Nana and Pops came to Tulsa for Easter weekend and we had a great time.  Saturday we went to our Churches annual Easter Egg Hunt. It was great fun and there were tons of kids out there having a ball. They section off the Easter eggs by age group to give the younger kids a better change of not getting trampled over by the bigger kids.  Sunday after church I cooked Easter lunch and we had our own Easter egg hunt in our back yard. We all had a ball spending time together.  My family is awesome! Life is so good! 

At our Church Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. Southern Hills Baptist Church sponsors a HUGE Easter egg hunt each year at a park that is right down the street from our house, making it very convenient to walk to. 

 

Rylie and this little boy went for the same egg and the little boy got to it first. He looked at Rylie and then handed the egg to her.  It was so cute. So Rylie put her basket down and gave him a hug. So sweet! 

 

Tracie brought Jared over to the park after his swim lesson. He's too young to pick up eggs, so he just giggled for uncle Brian.   

Pops and Rylie reading a book before bed on Easter eve.

 

Easter morning!  Rylie LOVES her vintage plastic bunny rabbit that lights up.  She kept hugging it and talking to it.  Poor thing wont come around again until next year, but it was the best Easter decor I think I bought this year.  Mr. Easter Bunny will be around for years and years!!

 

 

Rylie's eating her very first Peep. Little did I know the sugar high she would get from it. (I try very hard to limit her sugar intake.) She loved them!  I let her have two. The rest are in the trash!

 

Tracie striking a pose with her beautiful baby boy, Jared. He's almost 6 months old and his 9 month size clothes are TOO SMALL for him.  He'll be plowing Rylie down to get to the Easter eggs next year I'm sure!

Tracie, Allan and Jared.

All of us before heading to Church.  I love this picture! (and I love the easy-to-set 10 second timer on my camera!)

 

 

This was the only photo I could get where both kids kept their bunny ears on. Rylie was pulling them off faster than I could put them back on her.  She did not want to take part in playing a bunny! 

 

 

 

 

Racing to the back deck for another deviled egg!  Yummy!

 

The deviled eggs Tracie made. So cute!!!!

 

Happy Easter to everyone. I hope your holiday was filled with many blessings!  And thank you Lord, for giving your only son so that my sins could be forgiven.  On this Easter day, as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, I pray that you continue to fill my heart with patience, love, and selflessness.  You are an amazing God!   And as Rylie would say.... "nigh nigh Zezus". :)