Evie in One-Derland

Happy birthday, Evie Claire! We celebrated with an Alice in Wonderland-themed party on DeGray's Lower Lake. It was a beautiful fall day and we had such a great time celebrating with friends and family.

My mom and I scoured the internet for weeks for decorations - Mad Hatters hat and Queen of Hearts crown, oversized playing cards, Tweedledee and Tweedledum hats (which, against my better judgement, I did not make the twins wear), tea party props and a tunnel to take the kids "down the rabbit hole." My mom even found the perfect Alice dress!

My favorite part of the party, of course, was the cake eating! Evie loved her cake, as you can see. She first looked at it curiously ("curiouser and curiouser...") then dug right in! I've never seen a child quite so happy! The twins stole some icing from the big cake (it was so cute!) and everyone snacked on my mom's delicacies.

We love you, sweet Evie Claire!!! I am so proud of the gentle girl that you are, your sweet spirit, your constant smile, your thrill in walking, your curiosity about the world around you, the way you mimic words and sounds and just the perfect person you are. Love, love to you Evie!

Pumpkin Day 2010

Today, the whole family headed out to my favorite Arkadelphia event - Manchester Pumpkin Day! Bounce houses, festival games, a hayride, pumpkin pickin' and country cookin' - it's always a perfect family event.

We saw tons of friends from the kids' school and our church, so they had a ball. My parents are in town for Evie's birthday party, so they got to join us. Good times!

VBS

This August, our church hosted VBS for the first time in several years - and it was a huge success! Our children's director, Breanne, did a fantastic job in coordinating the volunteers, crafts and curriculum (showing me, again, why I am not called to be a teacher!). She led us through a Saturday "Around the World in One Day!" and the kids loved it.

The VBS sessions took the kids through five "countries" where the Presbyterian church has active ministry: Guatemala, Pakistan, the Philippines and Malawi (I realize that's just four, it's late as I'm writing this!). Mary Elizabeth and I took on Malawi and had a great time transforming our room into an African landscape. The kids painted tambourines, listened to African children's songs, heard the Bible story of the Good Samaritan, ate African snacks and talked about kids just like them who are living in Malawi. It was a great experience and even the smallest kids (mine included) really grew throughout the day.

We are so blessed to have a wonderful church home, so many awesome kids and even more awesome adults who take time to teach and love on them.

Boot-Scootin' at the Fair

On Thursday night, we met up with Will the "third twin" for our annual night at the fair.

The evening included first funnel cake (Evie), first roller coaster (Jackson), first motorcycle ride(Jackson and Will), first ladybug ride with friend Emma (Carlisle) and first tandem motorboat ride (Will, Jackson and Carlisle).

We had a great time watching the three have a blast, though the rolls of tickets hit the wallets a little hard! Gotta love the Clark County Fair!

Retro Barbie Bribe

I have very quickly found that I am not above bribery when it comes to my kids. It may be a quick fix, but in the midst of Wal-Mart tantrums or ultra whiny mornings, a little bribery at times helps me keep a little sanity. Gummies, an extra cup of chocolate milk, a new car - whatever it takes.

This was never so true as when we decided to take on the potty training of the twins. Jackson took to it a little faster and is loving his big-boy SpiderMan underwear (and, yes, I realize that one day he will read that I told the "world" about his underwear) Carlisle, in a bout of stubborness, is taking a little longer so I had an idea. I went out and bough a Barbie, set it on the bathroom shelf and told her she could get the doll when she went to the potty 20 times. Lo and behold, look who got a Barbie!

Note: I found this 1985 re-release Peaches & Cream Barbie and just had to get it. I had this very doll growing up and it stopped me in my tracks when I saw it at Wal-Mart. It's fun to see Carlisle playing with her now!

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!

Several months ago, we planned to spend Labor Day weekend with some of our best friends, the Jankowskis. The family lives in Norman, OK, and we love any excuse to get together with them. The "Janks" are also blessed to have twins and our kiddos get along tremendously well! The girls giggle and play with their "Strawbuddy Cake" (Carlisle-speak for the classic Stawberry Shortcake dolls that are oh-so chic among the preschool circuit) while the boys roughhouse and giggle themselves. Abigail in particular really loves Evie, so she was included in much of the fun throughout the weekend.

We've gotten to see our buddies several times this year and were extra excited to spend George and Abigail's third birthday with them.

The weekend was easy-breezy with walking/wagon trips to the local park, home-cooked/grilled meals, early morning pancakes a'la Matt, birthday cupcakes, a chaotic but entertaining photo shoot with the kids and good downtime with our friends.

One "event" that I did not capture on film (but Carrie did!) was the kids' impromptu bath in the backyard. One minute, the two dynamic duos were running around, swinging, riding trikes. The next thing we know, all four have stripped down and have crammed into a laundry bucket! I still can't believe they all fit, or that they had such a good time! Pics to come...

The Ouachita Experience

It may seem a little random that I'm blogging about Ouachita Baptist University, but hear me out... The university (where I work as an alumni director) is launching a "Ouachita BlogAbout" on Founder's Day and is asking all alumni, students and friends to share their Ouachita story.

When we moved to Arkadelphia, I was fortuanate to find a job at Ouachita in the alumni office. Though I went to LSU (still a purple & gold tiger!), I can definitely see how this small, Christian university impacts the lives of both students and graduates. Ouachita has and continues to be a wonderful place to work and has welcomed me into a community I am fortunate to be part of! I'm even teaching a freshman orientation class this semester and, in sharing about Ouachita's culture and resources with the students, have gained an even greater respect for this institution. The students are amazing, the faculty top-notch and the campus is beautiful as can be. How 'bout them Tigers!!

If you have a Ouachita story, blog about it on Monday, September 6 (Founder's Day)! Send a link to your story to Lori Motl at motll@obu.edu and she will link it to the Ouachita blog and web site.

THANKS!