Meet the owners

 Hi! We’re Caitlin and Suzanne, the owners of The Happy Lark. 

This is us now. We like to think we've grown out of our awkward phase. Don't tell us if you disagree.

Here's a little about us:

·     We're sisters

·     We're from Bartlesville, Oklahoma (#gobruins)

·     We both graduated from OU (#boomer)

·     Caitlin is a pediatric physical therapist

·     Suzanne used to teach high school math

·     Caitlin is mom to Lena (3)

·     Suzanne is mom to Holly (7), Gregory (5), and Piper (5 months)

·     We like to have FUN! Toys, parties, crafts. You get the idea. 

Suzanne and her family, Christmas 2018

Caitlin with her family in 2018

A little background. Including ourselves, we have nine brothers and sisters. Nine. Yes, nine. Our parents are divorced and both remarried, so we’re counting the whole crew in there.

This is some, NOT ALL Y'ALL!

When our mom and step-dad got married, we acquired three new siblings. Were they nice? Did they want to play with us? We had no idea! To house their new blended family, our mom and step-dad bought the weirdest, coolest house in town. Special features included:

 -An indoor rock garden

-Really creepy window wells (great hide-and-seek spot, if you can avoid the spiders) 

-Curtains featuring a very special “1970s wine bottle” motif

-Built-ins of all sorts (built-in tooth brush holders, built-in kleenex dispensers, built-in phone nooks, built-in desks, built-in dressers…. you get the idea)

-A dark room. A big, creepy, dark room 

Our sisters were our constant playmates and we loved it!

What is a young family with six children (the total count for this particular house at this time) to do with a dark room? No photographers in the house. No time for hobbies for the parents. No way a door would stay shut for more than five minutes at a time anyway. 

So much crafting going on when we were growing up.  

Since the dark room was in the giant walk-out basement where all the kid’s bedrooms were located, it made sense for it to be a playroom. Since the girls out-numbered the boys four to two, it was ours! 

Way ahead of the top knot trend. 

In walks a random babysitter, glitter crafts ensue, and before you know it, a giant bedazzled sign saying “ART ROOM” was strung across the wall and an integral part of our childhood was born. 

Our sister Lauren (in the background) made this sweet doll house in the art room. Her current occupation? Architect. Her style has improved a little since then. 

What did we do in the Art Room? Art? Occasionally. For the most part, we played. All day. Every day. At least that’s how we all remember it. It’s possible we did other things…. but they just don’t stick out in our memory! Things we did in the Art Room:

-Play school (with occasional cameos by our brother, Principal Luke. A total jerk of a principal.)

-Barbies (with a democratic method of distributing clothes and accessories)

-Dolls (we each had a pretend career as well; if you were the priest, ya better get the bread and grape juice for communion!)

-Crafts (the mess made from the tiny plastic beads that you iron into shapes almost sent us to boarding school a time or two)

-Pretend mermaids (Oh the drama over who got to be Ariel. So much drama.)  

-Acting out Beauty and Beast (“You can’t be Belle, you have SHORT BOY HAIR!”)

-…. and so much more.

Occasionally we actually did art in the Art Room. Thanks, Mom! 

The bottom line is, we were lucky enough to have a place that was filled with toys that fostered our creativity and imagination. So, so, lucky. Now, on to today’s story… 

We dreamed up the idea for The Happy Lark in the summer of 2014. Suzanne already had young children and Caitlin was considering starting a family as well. We were feeling nostalgic for the “Art Room."

Don't let that sweet face fool you. He was seriously the meanest principal we ever had. Oh and..... we really loved sponge painting. Those socks tho. 

We started thinking… what if we created a fun space for children, kind of like our “art room”? With toys to encourage imaginative play? Where parents could get out of the house (trust us, we get it, sometimes you just need OUT of the house) and connect with other parents? With free coffee!? Inspiration for The Happy Lark was born!

The playspace at The Happy Lark

We had such positive memories of playing as children. And guess what? Play is not only fun, but HUGELY important for children. It’s so important, it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child.

THL is a place to relax and interact with your kids (or grandkids!) in a positive way. 

Through free play, children learn and develop cognitive skills, physical abilities, new vocabulary, and literacy skills - but they also learn persistence, negotiation, problem-solving, and cooperation. As Fred Rogers said, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” 

Check out our flex space for additional table top activities. These are typically suited for kiddos ages three and up. 

SO, play is not only super fun but it’s great for your child’s development too (#winwin). We take play seriously at The Happy Lark and strive to provide an environment that will spark your child’s imagination and create positive memories for years to come. Come play with us!

We love it here. We think you will too. 

Facebook: @thehappylark

Instagram: @thehappylark_fw

Love,

Caitlin and Suzanne