Weekend Update at 9

I have finally recovered enough from our non-stop weekend to regale you with its exciting details.

Saturday Jordan and I packed up the kids in the car and set off for the middle of nowhere.  Which, surprisingly enough is in Western Oklahoma.  Who knew?  (And the kids didn’t mind being packed up as long as we poked holes in their boxes….drum roll, please.)  Jordan’s Great Uncle owns quite a bit of land out there and was also in the possession of most of his grandchildren.   Awesome stuff since that meant that Jaden & Fisher were constantly entertained.  Most of the entertainment stemmed from the elevator they had in their house.  (For reals.  I would have flipped as a kid if I’d visited a house with an elevator.)  Thus, as the adults visited downstairs, the kids rode up and down between the first and third floor about 38 times.  The loud “ding” that the elevator would emit upon arrival kept us up-to-date on their location.

Of course, the elevator didn’t get truly exciting until I agreed to ride in it with the kids.  Somewhere between the first and second floor we got stuck.  And then again on our way to the third floor.  It was hilarious….well, not really.  I was wondering how loudly we would have to yell for help and how long it would take for someone came to the rescue.  Thankfully the elevator, or “alligator” as Fisher calls it, sensed my panic and decided to get its act together.  [whew]  I  have never been so happy to see three flights of stairs.

And what was my favorite part of the day?  Seeing my first Wind Farm on the way home.  I must confess that seeing those giant, lumbering wind mills set as a backdrop to rural Oklahoma was amazing.  I couldn’t stop staring.  (Until I ran off the road…then I stopped.)  ;]

Sunday brought another full day of non-stop fun for us.  We drove up to Jenks, OK which is just outside of Tulsa to visit the Oklahoma Aquarium.  A friend of Jordan’s works there and offered to give of the grand tour.

 

As you can tell, I loved it.  The aquarium was practically crawling with turtles.  [sigh]  Look at that face?  It makes me want to pinch its cheek if that didn’t mean I’d take its head off by accident.

Jaden was content to view the exhibits at her leisure whereas Fisher appeared to be in a race to see everything at once.  (Either that or he was anxious to get to his favorite part…Lunch!)  By the time we reached the Shark exhibit Fisher had finally lost some steam and was ready to really soak in the scene before him.  And around him.  He really got a kick out of standing in the tunnel that ran through the Shark Tank.

 

 

And then came the Loggerhead Turtles.  (A moment of silence please.)  I am almost ashamed of how much I worshiped these turtles as a child.  Instead of logging several hours each day playing Super Mario Brothers, I would spend hours at the computer researching turtles, mostly Loggerheads, and dreaming of a day that I could work with them in the wild or at a facility.  Sadly, that dream didn’t come true.  However, getting to spend some one-on-one time with these guys was amazing.

 

 

This one in particular was super friendly.  (Or super hungry…I am going to pretend that he/she liked as for who we were and not for the slight chance that we were going to feed her/him.)

There were scads of other awesome aquatic creatures there, most of which were in areas too dark to document.  Didn’t want you to think that I was biased towards the turtles.  [Ahem]  ;)

Anywho…the day at the aquarium was amazing.  I could not be more grateful for the chance to have the full tour by Jordan’s friend.  Kudos.  It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience for us all.

A spur of the moment post…

I pride myself in reigning in the occasional gush of feminine hormones, thereby keeping if from appearing here.  This is nothing more annoying than to listen to a woman on an emotional high rant about puppies…or unicorns, if that were possible.  (I certainly hope not.)

However, I have been unsuccessful tonight.  For who can control themselves when being seduced by The Puppy Song.  (Somewhere a fairy just lost it’s wings.)  I speak of course of the opening song to “You’ve Got Mail.”  My all-time-favorite-movie-in-the-history-of-the-universe.  For reals.  I cannot even begin to convey my deep-seated love of this movie…so I won’t.  Just know that this film makes me giddy with delight.  And, as you have probably guessed by now, I am about to watch it.

I won’t go into a montage about why I love this movie, but I will say that it is the epitome of my every childhood wish.  (That is until the quaint book store is squashed by a larger chain store…but I digress.)

Anyway…sorry for interrupting your perfectly wonderful post-holiday daze.  If you were wondering, I am about to entertain myself with songs about puppies, bouquets of sharpened pencils and caviar garnishes.  [sigh]  Pure bliss.

Paper Pilgrim Disgust

Ah, Thanksgiving.  It was good.  We cooked, we ate, we watched the National Dog Show.  Classic.  Then, just before the sun set, we decided to string up some Christmas lights in the front yard.  (I like that the Pilgrims that Jaden & Fisher drew are watching us from the window as we defile their holiday.  Sorry folks, Christmas is way more exciting.)

I’ve never decorated a yard in lights, and since everyone does it, I figured it would be an easy task.  Wrong.  Did you know that you have to be strategic about this kind of thing?  Like making sure you decorate things so that your male and female plugs meet up in the right place?  Well, we figured that out after we’d decorated half the yard.  [nervous laugh]  No worries.  It was only a frosty 32 degrees outside.  The blowing wind kept us motivated.  ;]

How cold was it, you say?  Cold enough for me to put on a hat, which I have never done.  And for me to break down and put on a second pair of gloves, which I have never done.  It was about this time that I wished I had put on my Cuddl Duds.  (That’s right…not only am I drinking un-sweet tea now, I’m also wearing long underwear.  I’m a woman on edge!)

After losing sensation in all my extremities, I decided to press on.  The yard turned out looking quite festive and the kids were utterly thrilled.  [smile]

Heck, I even walked the dogs later that night in the 20-some-odd degree weather.  Who needs toes, right?  ;]