Yesterday
… was Mother’s Day. I had a perfect day full blue skies, the warm sun, happy voices, picnics, sleeping late, a new mint dress, famous art that made my heart pound and Starbucks. 
Maybe no day is truly perfect (Bear refused to listen to us while he rode his bike on a pathway and crashed an Indian Kite Festival) but perhaps it was the small mistakes, frustrations and “SMILE DANGGIT AT GRANDMA!” as well as “DON’T TOUCH THE NORMAN ROCKWELL PAINTING!” that made the day that much sweeter.
Life,with it’s mess and imperfections sometimes is simply brilliant and I store it all up, praying against another famine.
I hope your day was perfect and blessed.
PS We are taking off a few months of the Real Love Series to focus on LIFE in summertime and busyness. We will pick this back up in soon!
Living Locally: Top 7 Places to visit in NW Arkansas
Photo from a NorthWest Arkansas Stats article, http://www.premierderm.net/north-west-arkansas-stats
I love Northwest Arkansas. I love Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville, Rogers and all the little towns tucked in around them. I feel blessed to live in this strange area of the United States that is blessed with being some of the richest 2 counties in the United States because of Walmart and the business and vendors connected to them.
I have neighbors from New Jersey, California and friends from Portland and New York City. With the largest University in the state just a few miles down the road from us we constantly meet people from different countries. I’ve traveled a lot, lived overseas and have been exposed to a lot of different cultures and feel it shaped me into who I am today. I love the diversity that this area of the country provides and the more I travel, the more I’m thankful to call this area my home.
Because I love where I live, I decided I wanted to start to show a few of my favorite places in this area. I thought a lot about this list, getting a bunch of opinions from people to make a list that I think really does reflect the best of the best in this area.
So, to intro this series I’m going to share the Top 7 Places to visit in NW Arkansas if you ever get the privilege to travel here:
1. Devil’s Den State Park, 20 minutes south of Fayetteville (Bring a picnic lunch and comfortable hiking shoes, some of the best views in the state!)
2. Crystal Bridges & Walton 5 & 10 Museums, Bentonville AR (Eat lunch at the Crepes Paulette food truck or Tusk & Trotter beforehand on the Bentonville Square! If you need some coffee, stop at TH Benton’s, also on the square!)
3. Fayetteville Square, Fayetteville (Bonus: if it’s the weekend in warmer months, the Farmer’s Market is rated #1 in the Country! Look for Bliss Cupcakes, Tim’s Pizza, Celi’s True Mexican Restaurant and fun boutiques like Riffraff and Savoir Faire- and while you are down here the Fayetteville Library is fantastic and Dickson St is a great place to end the day at a trendy bar!)
4. Buffalo River State Park (Elk along the river in the Boxley Valley early morning and late afternoon/sunset with Eagles spottings in the trees. If you like canoeing this is the top place in the state, beautiful with the bluffs!)
5. War Eagle Mill- east and north of Springdale or East and south of Rogers (Visit a historic, working mill over 100 years old and walk the old wooden bridge over White River, scenic and the drive there is beautiful! Delicious restaurant and great gift area!)
6. Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Animal Safari, Gentry (an amazing and unique experience for kids and adults- call ahead to see what baby animals are available in the petting zoo. The last 2 times we went we were able to hold baby lion cubs!)
7. Eureka Springs Downtown, Eureka Springs (Thank you Jacqueline Wolven! Eureka is such a charming, quaint and culturally diverse small town- amazing shopping. It has a European feel to it and the food is delicious!)
Here are some pictures of us living locally with a few blog posts included if you want to read more of our adventures!
At the entrance of the Animal Safari! We have been able to hold and pet baby lions, tigers, monkeys, kangaroos, goats, camels, zebra’s…. What a special place! Read a blog post on it HERE: (http://www.thebusynothings.com/animal-party-wild-wilderness-drive-through-safari/)
Eating a Blueberry Crepe from Crepes Paulette at the top 5 Nationally ranked Bentonville Farmer’s Market at Downtown Bentonville last summer. They have amazing produce, musicians on every corner and local craftsmen. Here is a blog post HERE: (http://www.thebusynothings.com/exploring-bentonville-farmers-market-5-favorites-of-the-day/)
On the patio at Crystal Bridges! What an amazing, world class place! Read my blog post about my visit HERE: (http://www.thebusynothings.com/crystal-bridges-lifewithboys/)
a picture of Katy’s from a few years back at the Buffalo River- our families on a canoe trip.
*Origionally I had “Top 6 places” but edited it to include Eureka Springs!
