Dad Life · Start Here
Start Here: Who I Am
Howdy, y’all. I’m Chris Uting — husband to Kelsey, dad to Emma, Rhett, and Sadie, and the Arkansas dad behind the camera around here. If you’ve ever wondered who the guy is filming the chaos, this is me.
I’m from Casa. Casa was a small town, and it used to have a small school — the Casa Tigers. 2004 was the last graduating class to come out of there. I transferred to Perry in 10th grade, so I missed being a Tiger at the very end, but Casa is still where I’m from.
My grandparents owned a farm walking distance from the school, and we raised chickens for Tyson. That’s the kind of growing up I had — family close, work honest, and a small town where everybody knew whose kid you were.
Me and Kelsey met through a mutual friend — well, my friend was her cousin’s boyfriend. Maybe husband by that time. I can’t remember. I was working at Virco MFG and still living in Casa. Kelsey lived and worked in Mayflower and was in college at UCA at the time. Somehow that cross-country setup worked out, because we’ve been married since August 7, 2010 — sixteen years now — and I’d do it all again.
These days we live in Mayflower. Emma is 10, Rhett is 8, and Sadie is about to turn 4. If you follow along for any length of time, you’ll meet all three of them. They’re the whole reason any of this exists.
For work, I’m at Sonshine in Conway — Ninja assistant director and maintenance — and I’ve been there since about 2020. The honest story on that job is I was at the gym so much with my own kids that I figured I ought to work there. I also run Hammer Time Handyman Services on the side out of Jacksonville — appliance repair, drywall, painting, the small stuff that keeps a house standing.
So why the videos, and why this blog?
I always thought it would be fun to remember things as they happen. It kinda comes back to what I want to make with Crickets & Rocking Chairs — the podcast where I’m recording my grandparents’ stories — being able to remember things down the road. Life moves fast with three kids, and I don’t want to lose the little stuff.
And also so people see they’re not the only ones doing things or going through things. Not the only dad whose kid melts down in the parking lot. Not the only family figuring it out as they go. If something I post opens up the door to talk — between dads, between families — then it’s worth more than the views.
That same idea is behind most of what I build. The Christmas Lights Guide and the Arkansas Family Fun Guide started with me and Kelsey planning our own family’s nights out and getting tired of Googling everything in pieces. Club 52 is dads taking their kids through the Arkansas State Parks passport, one stamp at a time. And there’s another show in the works with some fellow dads called The Dad’s Debrief. Different projects, same heart: faith, family, and Arkansas.
One fun fact to finish: somewhere around 40 days at Disney this year. Some families collect stamps — and we do that too — but we also collect park days.
Glad you’re here. Pull up a chair.
— Chris Uting, That Arkansas Dad