Show & Tell Tuesdays: My Hometown(s)

Hey Tuesday! It's so good to see you!

I'm linking up with Andrea today for Show & Tell Tuesdays, and today, we're talking about our home towns!

I grew up just west of Little Rock, Arkansas. We definitely did not live in the city though! 

I have fond memories of growing up and playing on my grandma and grandpa's farm. They grew strawberries, peaches, and apples. My cousins and I would play outside for hours, and we would help out on the farm whenever my grandparents insisted. I remember snapping green beans, playing in an old wagon, swimming in the creek, and picking strawberries right out of the field and eating them.  We had cousins, aunts, uncles, and family all around us. There was always someone home and willing to take us in. It was pretty fabulous that I could walk to my grandma's house whenever I wanted. We were definitely able to roam free.

Growing up, I always longed to live in the city and now I  wish I could go back to when life was simpler.  On the other hand, I always dreamed of living in my parent's front yard and building a house. I had the spot picked out and everything. 

When I was in college, my family sold their land outside of Little Rock, and we've all moved away from the homestead. 

And now that DJ and I have moved so much in the last 10 years, I almost feel like I don't know where my hometown really is, so I thought I'd high light a little bit about each town. 

Little Rock, Ar

Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas. I have toured the capitol so many times, and had many of my bridal portraits taken here. The capitol is dressed up and gorgeous at Christmas time. 

Did anyone watch the show Designing Women? If so, you might recognize this house. There show was set in Georgia, but the house shown in the opening credits is in Little Rock. 

Little Rock is known for it's annual festival, Riverfest, which is held every Memorial Day weekend! I haven't been since college, but I danced here with my dance studio several times. 

And, I'm sure you've heard of the Clinton family. Bill Clinton's presidential library is in Little Rock. 

Pinnacle Mountain is a state park outside of Little Rock. We had field trips here, and would often visit the park and climb the mountain. There are little trails too. It's a fairly easy climb and the views are gorgeous at the top. 

I found this picture online, but I had to share because it's one of my favorite views from the top. The lake is Lake Maumelle, which is super close to my house growing up. You can't swim in the lake, but there is fishing and lots of sailboats. On the right hand end of the lake you can see the damn, and a green field. Growing up, our church had a sign up day for Vacation Bible School and we took a hot air balloon up in that field and then right back down. And maybe you can make out the road on the right side of the field. My child hood church is on that road, and I always thought it was cool that you could see it from the top of Pinnacle. 

Jonesboro, Ar

DJ and I met while attending Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. I spent 5 years of my life here and had some of my fondest memories in college. I was an RA and Hall Director. 

And a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. But, we didn't have a sorority house then. 

Instead, University Hall was our home. Each sorority had a suite on a floor. Ours was on the 3rd floor. 

In college with some of my favorite girls! Once I met DJ I was a sucker for football and went to all of the games. 

Ruston, La

When DJ and I first got married, we moved to Ruston, La. Ruston was crazy small and everyone knew everyone which made it a really difficult place to adjust in to. We bought our first home here, so it holds fond memories. 

DJ worked for Louisiana Tech, and I loved getting to go to the games and cheering on the Bulldogs. We had many opportunities to meet people and begin learning the ropes of college football and the lifestyle that goes along with it. 

Terry Bradshow attended and played football at La Tech. 

While we were there we attended many fundraising events and met other NFL players and Brooks and Dunn. 

The town was cute and quaint, but I also found myself spending my weekends in Shreveport or Monroe. 

A year after we moved to Louisiana, we sold our house, packed up, and moved to Indiana. 

Muncie, In

I loved Muncie because of it's small town feel. The downtown had a lot to offer including Art Walks and great restaurants. 

I think Muncie is where DJ and I really grew in to the people that we are and where many of our fondest memories are. For me, that's where our life really began and we had to learn to rely on each other because we were so far from family. Gretchen and Megan were both born in Muncie. We bought our second home here, and we just really grew as a family. 

Muncie is famous for the Ball Brothers, you know- the canning jars. The Minnetrista is a gorgeous area, over looking the river, and several of the Ball brother's homes are here. Today they have luminary walks at Christmas, weddings, and other events. The gardens are simply gorgeous. 

The Minnetrista also has a little children's museum inside. Look at baby Gretchen!

We had family photos taken at the Ball Brothers houses and the Minnetrista one year. 

There was also an outdoor play area where we took Gretchen on several occasions.

Our favorite place in Muncie, was Pizza King. Pizza King is the restaurant that inspired Papa Johns. In fact, Papa Johns began in a dorm basement at Ball State. 

Concannon's bakery was also another favorite in Muncie. Their flavored popcorn was probably my favorite, especially their Christmas mix!

We lived in two houses in Muncie. the first one was a rental because I swore to DJ that we shouldn't buy a home here. The town really felt like it was beginning to die despite some of the wonderful things it had to offer, and I wasn't comfortable with the housing market. However, after we lived in Muncie for two years, we decided to go ahead and purchase a home. We lived here for a year and a half before DJ was offered a position in Tulsa. 

Muncie is around an hour from Indianapolis, which had a ton of things to offer as well. The zoo, Conner's Prairie, shopping, and Indiana also had gorgeous old bridges and festivals. 

One fall my parents came up so we could all drive to the Covered Bridges festival. 

Tulsa, Ok

Oh Tulsa, how I love thee. I think you're everything we've ever looked for in a town. You're closer to family, you offer fun for the kids, your weather is warm (albeit wendy), and you have a small town feel without being a small town. 

Every Christmas we enjoy the lights at Rhema Bible Church.

And we frequent the parades. 

We cheer on our Hurricane. 

And you have fabulous local shopping. 

Tulsa has great little aquarium that the girls love!

And we love visiting the zoo too!

Some other fun things in Tulsa:

Everyone from Tulsa knows about the Driller. 

And we have our own minor league baseball team, The Drillers. 

We've taken the girls a few times and they love the playground and splash pad! It's a great way to cool off on a warm summer evening. 

The Blue Dome District is full of bars and restaurants. 

Tulsa is home to the Hard Rock Casino and a handful of others. 

Guthrie Green is located downtown and has food trucks, fountains, and music. 

Tulsa has great shopping at Utica Square. 

Tulsa also has several museums including the Philbrook Museum, the Gilcrease Museum, and an air and space museum! 

Tulsa seriously has everything that we need and so much to offer. It's been fun getting to explore our new home town.

Thanks for stopping by today! You can see my other Show & Tell posts by clicking here.